The graduating class of that year did not publicly announce exam results. Coupled with the underdeveloped communication systems, notification letters being misdirected or lost was a common occurrence. In such circumstances, the practice of academic impersonation became even easier to carry out.
"Sun Ling's mother works in the admissions office under the Education Bureau and has always been responsible for admissions. Since Sun Ling's grades were consistently poor, she privately used another student's scores. That student, due to particularly difficult family circumstances, did not retake the exam after being impersonated but instead chose to get married. earlier this year, she somehow learned the truth and went to the Sun family to cause a scene. She was later placated by the couple with money."
"Sister Chen, what do we do now?" Lin Qi was shocked when she received the news. How could they dare to do something like this? The Sun couple must have been involved in many other unsavory activities behind closed doors.
"You watch the shop for a while. I need to go out," Chen Lishu said after a moment, gathering her documents and turning to leave the shop.
Honestly, if Sun Zhiqiang could be sentenced, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to target the Sun family. However, what angered her was that Sun Zhiqiang had committed such a grave error, yet he was quickly bailed out. If things continued this way, wouldn't he be able to return to work brazenly not long from now, once this matter blew over?
Chen Lishu had always believed that everyone was equal at school. No matter how great the contradictions and conflicts, she wouldn't take them to heart. But now, Sun Ling was using her family background to plot against her, so she couldn't be blamed for not being polite.
Zou Liang had just finished organizing an interview draft and was about to submit it to Chief Editor Xu. Looking up, he saw a familiar figure and, with a surge of surprise, quickly put down what he was holding and went to greet her.
"Why do you have time to visit today?"
Chen Lishu smiled, "I have something I need your help with."
Upon hearing that she needed his assistance, Zou Liang turned and led her to his workstation. He then fetched a stool and invited her to sit, "Don't be so formal. Please, have a seat. Would you like some water?"
"No, thank you."
Zou Liang poured a cup of water and handed it to her, smiling, "I think we are friends. Friends don't need to be so polite."
"Take a look at this first," Chen Lishu said, handing the documents in her hand to Zou Liang.
Zou Liang glanced at them and sat up straight with a start. He looked at Chen Lishu and said, "This is blatant criminal activity!"
Chen Lishu nodded, "I've had someone confirm this matter. It's absolutely true and valid. I wanted to ask if we can report it."
"You?" Zou Liang looked at Chen Lishu, then back down at the documents in his hand. Provincial Normal College—he had a general idea of what was going on.
"This matter is definitely not as simple as it appears. Once our newspaper reports it, the consequences could be very serious, perhaps beyond the capabilities of our small newspaper to handle," Zou Liang said after a moment of thought, then looked up.
The newspaper wasn't solely his. Any content needed to be submitted for the chief editor's review, and layout arrangements also required prior discussion. He couldn't make the decision entirely on his own, especially given the magnitude of this issue; the consequences of reporting it were entirely predictable.
When the college entrance examination was reinstated, the newspaper had specifically published a special report, so Zou Liang was well aware of the procedures. The incident mentioned in the documents Chen Lishu gave him was definitely not an isolated case. Perhaps people hadn't considered it before, or maybe they knew but were powerless. However, once the newspaper reported it, many people might immediately demand investigations into their own scores. Then...
Chen Lishu had also considered what Zou Liang was thinking. She wanted to have the matter reported directly without involving anyone. After all, given the Sun family's status, if she brought it up, the authorities might discreetly suppress it. But if it were exposed directly to the public, someone would have to step in to resolve the issue.
Whenever Chen Lishu thought of others studying diligently for ten years, only to have their achievements stolen by a few individuals in prominent positions, their lives exchanged, her heart ached for them.
The Sun family was truly shameful and despicable! "It's alright, if it's too difficult, then forget it. However, I heard that it's possible to pay for space to publish whatever one wishes. I can pay to have this information published."
"You wait here for a moment. I'll go ask our chief editor." Knowing Chen Lishu had made up her mind, Zou Liang picked up the documents and went to Chief Editor Xu's office.
About twenty minutes later, Zou Liang emerged, his forehead beaded with sweat. He looked at Chen Lishu and smiled, nodding, "Our chief editor agreed."
...
At the Sun family residence, after Sun's father was successfully bailed out, the gloom of the previous few days lifted. Sun's mother, in a rare display, cooked a hearty breakfast.
"Xiaoling, time to eat," she called towards the inner room, carrying a few fried dough sticks to the table.
Sun's father was already seated at the table reading the newspaper. Seeing the food served, he finally put the newspaper down.
"We used up all our connections for this. You should be able to go back to work in a while, right?"
Sun's father shook his head, "I'll be transferred to a lower-level unit for a period first. It will take at least three to five months before I can be transferred back."
He had done this sort of thing often before. After not accepting bribes from those small business owners, they would divide the spoils privately. This time, they had only collected an extra twenty yuan per household. It was nothing originally, but he never expected to capsize in a gutter and be schemed against by a young girl.
Let her be arrogant for a few days. By the time he was transferred back, her shop would be at its end.
"Why is it always soy milk and fried dough sticks? I don't want to eat this," Sun Ling said reluctantly as she emerged from the inner room, glancing at the food on the table with a hint of disdain.
"I know you don't like it, so I specifically made pancakes for you," Sun's mother said, pushing the plate on her side towards her.
"Are you going to the Jiang family after breakfast?"
Hearing her question, Sun Ling immediately pouted, "Why would I go? I've seen through it. I was so good to her usually, but when my dad got into trouble, she was the quickest to distance herself. I'm not going!"
The thought of being turned away when she visited the Jiang family for two consecutive days, and only after her father returned did the Jiang family's attitude revert to its previous state, made Sun Ling realize, belatedly, that Jiang Yuwei wasn't tutoring at her uncle's place but was clearly avoiding her.
"Ring ring..."
As the family was eating, the house telephone suddenly rang. Sun Zhiqiang stood up, picked up the phone, and after listening for a moment, his face instantly changed dramatically. Without even hanging up the phone, he practically lunged towards the table, grabbed the newspaper he had just been reading, and flipped to the front page. Upon seeing the content in the upper left corner, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
...
Chen Lishu also read that section about the college entrance examination scores being impersonated.
Since Han Shenglin's advice, she had gradually started reading newspapers and listening to the radio. Although most of it was irrelevant to her, she could still glean a lot of useful information from them.
As she had predicted, the provincial and city leaders took the matter very seriously. Sun's mother was suspended from her post and subjected to investigation that very day. All personnel involved in admissions were thoroughly investigated.
They didn't know until they investigated, but the investigation revealed that the Sun family's case was not an isolated incident.