"Another one—Gao Liang, completely wrong on every question!" Liu Hei-Gou had never even glanced at Gao Liang's exam. In his eyes, if the student could get all ten questions right, it would be as if the sun rose from the west. He looked down his nose at Gao Liang with utter disdain. Gao Liang truly felt that way—right then, he resolved that he would no longer let Liu Hei-Gou look down on him. He had to prove himself: mature, strong-willed, and the very best student. At least, not to be overlooked by Liu Hei-Gou. A strong inner voice was urging him on. "Master, how lucky you have such a teacher! It's like he's speaking nonsense!" Ying'er stepped in to defend Gao Liang. As soon as she finished speaking, a clear, bright female voice chimed in: "Mr. Liu, I must admit, today's test was quite challenging. Even I can't guarantee getting all the questions right!" The students turned to see the attractive girl from the front row—Class President Zhang Yuping standing up. "Yes! Yes! Exactly what Class President said!" The students nodded in agreement. "Be quiet! Be quiet! Are you turning against me? Have you never heard of giving a voice to the student who ranks last in the entire school? Honestly, let me tell you—today, I'm already being exceptionally generous to someone!" Liu Hei-Gou tapped the lectern with his blackboard eraser, resounding with each tap. Seeing Liu Hei-Gou's flushed face and the anger in his eyes, the students fell silent. After all, Liu was the class head, and his words carried weight in their minds. Gao Liang sensed something was amiss and realized today might mark the beginning of his departure from this place. Indeed, right there in front of everyone, Liu Hei-Gou announced: "Following deliberation by the School Committee, Gao Liang has been officially expelled." Next, the ten grounds for dismissal were announced: things like fighting and brawling, drinking and smoking while on duty, skipping classes, failing to attend lectures, being hard to manage, and damaging the school's atmosphere. As the students watched, Liu Heigou listed these reasons with ease, clearly and enthusiastically, his face filled with excitement. It seemed as though the highlight of his teaching career had become an obstacle and a hindrance—only by dismissing him could he achieve steady advancement and greater recognition. Being a man who valued his reputation, Liu Heigou had prepared to rise and leave. But then, a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit entered the classroom, accompanied by a young female secretary. Liu Heigou's voice stopped abruptly, and he smiled politely, bowing and nodding eagerly: "President Fang! You've come at the perfect time! High-light's exam papers are all wrong—there's enough grounds for dismissal!" "Ah!" President Fang narrowed his eyes, took two exam papers from Liu He-gou. Within just five minutes, President Fang's expression grew serious, which made Liu He-gou feel deeply uneasy. He asked cautiously, "President Fang, what's wrong?" "Old Liu! How do you teach? You don't even look at the papers!" The president angrily tossed Gong Gao's exam paper to Liu He-gou, who, with trembling hands, carefully received it and compared it against the standard answers. He found only one question wrong—actually, not entirely wrong, just stuck at the step where the wrong calculation formula was used. If graded at all, a reasonable score should be half. Then he glanced at Zhang Yu-ping's paper. Though all answers were correct, the final, most challenging question showed clear revisions—clearly, this problem was a real stumbling block, even holding back his own top student. It was evident that considerable time and effort had been invested to finally solve it. President Fang Bin, who himself began his career as a mathematics teacher, gave a satisfied smile to Gao Liang, which deeply moved him. Previously, he had never seen the president smile at him so warmly—this smile conveyed approval, anticipation, and encouragement. "Yet, President, Gao Liang still didn't get all the questions right!" Liu Heigou, though deeply impressed by Gao Liang's answers on the exam paper, was a man who expected nothing less than perfection—so he insisted on scrutinizing the final question closely. "Excellent! Then let's have a fair decision!" President Fang Bin, not one to be rigid or all-or-nothing, invited under the president's supervision, not only the class monitor Zhang Yuping and the study monitor Dong Jiao, but also the sports monitor Xiang Yunfei, to join in reviewing the exam papers of all students. These three top-performing students, along with Teacher Liu, jointly evaluated the entire class's responses. With the president observing closely, Liu Heigou worked diligently and thoroughly, and soon prepared a detailed score sheet, which he then presented to the president. "First place: Zhang Yuping! A perfect score of 100 The principal read it aloud. Zhang Yeping stood up, receiving admiring glances from her classmates, blossoming like a single, radiant flower. "Second place, Dong Jiao, 88 points! Third place, Xiang Yunfei, 80 points!" But the principal's face darkened, and he sharply scolded Liu Hehong, saying, "Old Liu, how did you arrive at these figures? How come the second-place score ended up at the very bottom?" "Oh!" Liu Hehong, pale with shock, quickly managed a strained, embarrassed smile, saying, "Principal, this is just my habit!" "Nonsense! You're clearly harboring ill will toward Gao Liang! Don't you know our school never gives up on any student?" The principal was renowned for his authority, and only then did Liu Hehong truly realize that the well-thought-out, self-driven plan to expel a student had turned out to be his one-man show. The principal was now clearly assessing what kind of move he was making. "Principal! Principal! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" "How could I have failed to grasp your teaching philosophy!" Liu Heigou, desperate to save his job, suddenly, without regard for the students present, slapped his own cheeks hard, his face solemn with sorrow, saying, "I'm wrong. From now on, I'll never dare to dismiss any student without your approval. Please give me a chance to make amends!" "Very well! Just now, Gao Liang scored 95—already a remarkable achievement. I just watched the real-time exam results from Qinghua Attached Middle School; even their top student managed only 98. It seems that, aside from Zhang Yuping, Gao Liang is truly exceptional!" The principal admired Gao Liang with a warm gaze, while the students listened intently, their eyes shifting naturally to the quiet, unassuming boy sitting at the back, who spontaneously clapped their hands. "If you don't nurture students like this, you might as well go back home and tend to your three mu of farmland!" Fang Bin's words struck like a decisive blow to Liu He-gou's heart. Liu He-gou realized that he was a contract-hired teacher—should his teaching fail to meet the school's expectations, he could be dismissed at any time. With his legs giving way, he nearly fell to his knees, fortunately being steadied by Xiang Yunfei, the sports committee member. With a trembling voice, he forced out a single tear, adopting a pitiful, pleading demeanor—like a stubborn little dog seeking favor with its master—expressing his heartfelt commitment to the principal in a moving, emotional tone: "Principal Fang, I swear I will shape Gao Liang into the most outstanding student!"