Cheating Craft Chapter 50

Quiz 50: The Examinee That Failed

Two hours pa.s.sed very quickly. The moment the students in the forest square had waited for this whole time had finally come!　

When the teacher announced the end of the compet.i.tion, everyone’s spirits lifted once more. Both sides’ product of “water” was in their own beakers, and they were preparing to pour this into the graduated cylinders.　　

The teacher said, “Now, both sides may pour their products into these 2L graduated cylinders!”　　

“Wait a moment!” Sean suddenly stopped her.　　

Everyone looked at him, unsure of what new trick he was trying to pull. Sean continued to elaborate, “Can Teacher place each of these graduated cylinders on our lab tables, rather than on the referee seat?”　

Everyone understood his words. He intended to maintain a distance between his product and Meng Ming to prevent falling for any tricks!　　

“Does the other party have any objections?” The teacher asked.　　

So unnecessary… Meng Ming didn’t object, and nodded in affirmation.　　

“Thank you very much. Can Teacher first come to our side, then record the volume of product we have?” Sean once again made a request.　　

The teacher brought the 2L graduated cylinder over to Sean’s side. Sean carefully picked up the beaker and poured all the liquid it contained into the graduated cylinder. He then picked up another beaker and emptied that in as well.　　

Both beakers of liquid were water produced by Sean.　　

After they were poured out, the teacher checked the graduated cylinder measurement marking. “Oh, pretty much full. It looks around 1.8L.” She pulled out a purity tester and used a pipette to drip some of Sean’s product onto the tester, and opened it to look.

“There’s no mistake, the purity level is very high. This is pure water.” The teacher raised her megaphone and loudly announced, “The amount of product from this experiment is: 1.8L!”　　

The entire square was filled with enthusiastic applause. Extracting 1.8L of water from 2.5L of unknown fluids was extremely difficult!　　

After hearing this announcement, Sean hurriedly raised his graduated cylinder and with awhoosh, poured out all 1.8L of his product onto the ground. The students all jumped in shock at this action.

“Haha!” Sean laughed and said to the opposing Meng Ming, “Now you guys can’t use my water.”　　

“Sigh…why would we use your water.” [Meng Ming]

“Brother Meng Ming, it’s up to you now.” [Huang Qiao Yi]　　

The teacher raised the other 2L graduated cylinder and walked up to Meng Ming’s table, looking at the beaker on their table.　　

“Oh, you also have two beakers.” She placed the graduated cylinder down on Meng Ming’s lab table and asked him to pour out his water. Meng Ming very carefully poured the liquid in the first beaker into the graduated cylinder. He then raised the second one and held it against the graduated cylinder, very slowly pouring its contents out.　

“Hey, can you hurry up!” Sean was a bit impatient. “If you pour out a whole beaker of stuff at a drop by drop pace, how long will it take for you to finish?! Either way, you’re going to lose, might as well go faster!”

“Why are you so impatient! The last, most amazing thing obviously has to be done slowly.” Meng Ming maintained his original speed and slowly turned over the large beaker of liquid.　　

“What’s so amazing about it! You only have so little water, water…” Sean hadn’t even finished speaking before he suddenly saw that the liquid being poured into Meng Ming’s graduated cylinder was nearing the 1.8L mark! Moreover, there was still a lot of liquid in Meng Ming’s beaker that hadn’t been emptied yet!　　

What…the. Sean lost his voice, and could only blankly stare as he waited for Meng Ming to pour it out.　

It was nearly 1.8L. The students were all holding their breaths, their gazes fixed on the rising liquid surface. Meng Ming’s product had already pa.s.sed the 1.8L mark, 1.9L…2.0L, it pa.s.sed the measurement marking line! …The liquid level was still rising. Gradually, it overflowed; the 2L graduated cylinder couldn’t hold it! It flowed out of the graduated cylinder like spring water gus.h.i.+ng out from the ground.　　

All the students were stunned. Meng Ming’s beaker still had a small amount of liquid that he could no longer empty out.　　

“I still have this much!” Meng Ming raised the beaker in his hand to show the opposite party.　　

“Don’t get excited too early,” Sean roared. “Your liquid hasn’t been tested yet!”　　

The teacher pulled out a new purity tester. She used the pipette to extract some of Meng Ming’s product and drip it onto the tester.　

After seeing the result, the teacher was also frozen in astonishment.　　

“It’s…it’s pure water!” The teacher lifted her megaphone and announced, “The product has been tested. Who had thought that it’d actually surpa.s.s 2L!!”　　

There were no sounds of applause in the forest square. Instead, it was replaced by the entire school’s cries of astonishment!　　

“No! How is that possible, he must’ve cheated!” Sean immediately charged over to perform his own tests, but Meng Ming gently lifted the graduated cylinder and dumped all of the product onto the ground.　　

“You’d better not think of using mine either,” Meng Ming said.　　

“Hmph!” Sean forcibly grabbed the beaker which still had some water remaining, and grabbed his own, personal water purity tester and poured the beaker’s water straight onto it.　　

He turned it on and closed it, a.n.a.lyzed it, and the test results… 　　

Sean fell silent. This beaker’s liquid was indeed pure water.　　

Anyone with eyes could see it, the victor was extremely obvious.　　

Sean shakingly fell to the ground, paralyzed. No, impossible…! He’d actually lost to someone aside from Qiao Shun Zhi at a chemistry experiment!　　

“Hey, the matter hasn’t ended yet!” Meng Ming declared. “Hurry up and tell everyone! The cheap tricks of the Scarlet Dragon Pool scam need to stop soon! Also…”　　

Sean forcibly covered Meng Ming’s mouth.　　

After a period of silence, Sean sighed.　　

“I understand now…” His voice was very quiet. Sean had used the drug, yet he’d still lost the compet.i.tion. He couldn’t press on any longer. “As expected, no matter how many effective drugs I use, I can’t exceed the boundary with my strength…I, I…”

The entire school had fallen completely silent, seemingly all looking at Sean.　　

He’d lost to a student from another school.　

“Having failed to get into Provincial University of Medicine several times, I believed that my level had already reached its limit. However, by this year…aside from Qiao Shun Zhi, I had never encountered anyone better than me. I thought I’d seized it this time! Who knew that Qiao Shun Zhi would fall ill then, and…no, these things hadn’t been my idea…!!”　　

Meng Ming interjected, “It was your father, right?”　　

Sean nodded and continued, “My father, in order to allow me–someone that’d flunked the Provincial University of Medicine exam time after time–to get in, he gave me a strange sedative. Mmm, it was only completed recently. Before, he suddenly saw Qiao Shun Zhi, who was a year below me, fall ill…right before the college entrance exam. He believed that if I still didn’t get in this year, Qiao Shun Zhi would become resistance next year. Those tricks were all done by him…” Sean was extremely regretful, and his words were beginning to get messy. “He used a kind of floating lamp, and hired people to change them every morning in the wee hours. They’d use long ropes to tie the lamps to the sh.o.r.eside, then let the lamps fly. A very feeble wind on Scarlet Dragon Pool would blow the lamps to the opposite side.”

Sean’s explanation wasn’t sequential, but this was indeed the truth behind those two crimson dragon eyes.　　

The previous night, Dr. Bozmann had suddenly heard someone was looking for Qing Xiu Hall Medicine Store, and so he’d sent Thomas to go tail them. However, everything seemed to have been interrogated out of him by Duan He.

“And this kind of drug…”

Sean was just about to say, before a loud shout stopped him.　　

“Sean! You’re just conceding like this?!” The sound was deep and powerful.

The students all looked towards the entrance and saw a foreign doctor appear in the forest square!　　

“Father?” Seeing this man, Sean immediately stood up.　　

It was Dr. Bozmann, Sean’s and Thomas’s family head. He strolled up to Sean and said, “You weren’t afraid even after failing the exams twice in a row, and now all you’ve lost is a single experiment! What are you afraid of?!”

Sean said, “No, I don’t want to do this. No matter how hard I work, it’s impossible for me to get into that university…”

Dr. Bozmann angrily shouted, “Nonsense! With that kind of drug, who can possibly beat you in the exam?!”　

Meng Ming was just about to speak, but Duan He suddenly appeared behind Dr. Bozmann.　　

“No,” she said to the doctor. “It’s clearly written on your development data; you know very well the side effects of this tranquilizer!”

“So what?” The doctor’s tone was serious as he said to everyone, “This is your China. For the sake of your exams, you are willing to do everything, including cheat! I just used some drugs, and performed some slight tricks!”　　

“You, just for that purpose…?”　　

“This is all for the sake of allowing my son to get into the university he wanted to attend! What’s so wrong about it? Isn’t this just your so-called ‘cheating?’ I’m just imitating it!”　　

Meng Ming immediately retorted, “Imitate? What you’re doing can’t be called cheating at all.”　

The doctor hatefully glared at Meng Ming. He didn’t believe a little demon’s opinion.　　

Meng Ming said, “Even cheating cannot be used outside the school to bewitch people’s hearts, and such methods definitely cannot be used to harm others.” What upset Meng Ming was how they’d made it impossible for Qiao Shun Zhi to recover from his illness, and made it impossible for Qing Xiu Hall Medicine Store to collect medicinal plants. “Why must you take this kind of harmful drug?! If you have the ability, you should properly display it and use it to contest with others at the exam site. Let me tell you, cheating also relies on true skill!”

“You!” Dr. Bozmann wanted to grab Meng Ming, but he was immediately stopped by Sean. “Father, I think that he’s right.” Sean stopped before continuing, “Ever since I started studying in China, all the C-types and L-types I’ve met were all the same. Their great efforts and struggles during exams earned them grades and scores. There definitely aren’t any students that would harm others behind the scenes during an exam. In terms of L-types, I definitely cannot compare to Qiao Shun Zhi; in terms of C-types…”

Sean turned around and walked up to Meng Ming. “It looks like I can’t compare to you. Your words are absolutely right.” This time, he used English to speak as he stretched out his right hand, “Cheating also requires real skill.”　　

Meng Ming had just planned on shaking his hand, but a student wearing the Qing Xin Central High uniform amidst the crowd flashed in Meng Ming’s vision. He stood there, stunned.　　

Sean also looked behind him. At the sight of the student, his jaw dropped.　　

Qiao Shun Zhi?!

He…heard everything?　　

This student was wearing a thick cover on his face, and he knew that they’d already noticed him. He s.h.i.+fted his body and began to walk up to them step by step.　　

Everything was silent. He stood in front of the stage, and was also unable to speak for a while.　

Finally, he took the initiative to say, “So…this was all the work of you guys, Sean…”　　

Sean wanted to explain, but his throat seemed to be blocked, and he was unable to speak.　　

n.o.body could see Qiao Shun Zhi’s expression.　　

“Sorry, Zhuge Meng Ming,” Qiao Shun Zhi said to Meng Ming. “Not only was I unable to help you guys during the compet.i.tion, you guys helped me instead.”　　

“No need for apology,” Meng Ming hurriedly said. “Moreover, you shouldn’t blame Sean. He didn’t want to do any of this.”　　

Qiao Shun Zhi tilted his head and said, “But, we’d made an agreement before. Yet for the sake of fighting against me for that placing, he…” 　　

Meng Ming caught Duan He’s gaze, and immediately told Qiao Shun Zhi, “Sean indeed wanted to fight for this placing, but he definitely didn’t wish for you to remain ill in bed…he wished to have a proper contest against you on the exam site! Because he didn’t want to attend university to learn how to manufacture medicine. Sister Duan He has looked over all of Sean’s notes before and…”　

After hearing this, Sean immediately returned to his senses, planning on preventing them from continuing, b.u.t.t Meng Ming didn’t stop.　　

“Sean wants to learn…Eastern medicine!”

　　……

Everyone present was frozen in shock.　　

　　……

“Isn’t…his home one that manufactures Western medicine?”

“Why go learn Eastern medicine, this can’t be possible!”

The discussions broke out one after another. Qiao Shun Zhi didn’t understand the reason either.

Sean didn’t refute it at all, and just blankly stared at his own father.　　

“Is that really true?” Dr. Bozmann’s expression finally changed. He said, “I want you to tell me with your own mouth!”

Sean nodded.　　

“Sean, didn’t I request for you to attend university to learn pharmaceutical chemistry?! As long as you learn that well, you can do anything you want. You can go do research, open your own clinic, work in a hospital, anything. The future prospects are boundless.” Dr. Bozmann was beginning to grow angry, “Why do you…I thought the reason you’d insisted on staying in China was because you wanted to learn another country’s medicine manufacturing techniques but…you actually say that you want to learn some Eastern medicine thing!”　

“No, Father. I’ve always wanted to learn Eastern medicine,” Sean didn’t avoid the question.　　

“Ha, ha, hmph…” Hearing this, Dr. Bozmann could only self-mockingly say, “I went through a lot of trouble to do so many things…came up with all these ways to help you get into the university, yet it turns out that you wanted to learn a field with so little future prospects…”

“No, it doesn’t lack future prospects…!” His volume suddenly increased. “If we had let Mother go see an Eastern doctor back then, maybe…” Here, Sean’s volume suddenly grew softer and softer.

Everyone was still listening.　　

A few years ago, when Sean had come to China to study, he’d never had his own opinions. He had just diligently studied, and went through all academic journals and publications. He’d lived his life however he pleased. He’d often discovered from the books and newspapers that, no matter how many medicines one invented, there were still many incurable illnesses, as well as new types of illnesses being born.

One afternoon, a student suddenly collapsed from heatstroke at the school entrance. At that time, Sean had just happened to be present. Thus, all the students’ gazes had gathered at this little doctor. However, Sean only knew how to administer shots and use medicine. He didn’t have any tools on hand…the him at the time could only blankly stand there, completely unable to do anything.

At that moment, Qiao Shun Zhi had appeared… 　　

He’d only pressed down upon certain parts of the body, yet the person had regained consciousness?!　　

His curiosity had grown greater and greater, and Sean had stepped forward to ask about this result.　

Finally, the two students studying medicine got to know each other and become friends. They both knew that the other person aspired to get into university, so they’d made that agreement. The two had become friends and rivals. With Qiao Shun Zhi as a goal, Sean pursued his studies even more seriously, day after day, year after year. However, the maturing Sean constantly realized that, no matter how much and how great of an effort he put into his studies, he couldn’t catch up to this younger cla.s.smate studying Eastern medicine.　　

The more he thought this, the more magical he felt Eastern medicine was.　

It was then that Sean had decided to learn the techniques of Eastern medicine.　　

“If I master my own medical techniques, and properly learn Eastern medicine…if…” Sean’s mind was flooded with his fanciful dreams from back then. A huge pile of stuff had been squeezed into his brain, unable to escape.

—He wanted to become stronger.　　

A person that wanted to learn Eastern medicine would obstruct Qing Xiu Hall’s path for collecting medicinal plants? This was absolutely not what Sean desired!　　

　　……

Qiao Shun Zhi and everyone present understood. It turned out that while Sean had been studying, he’d been lying to his own father, lying to everyone, even lying to himself this whole time. Thus, Sean hadn’t returned to his home country, persevering and persevering some more in China. Behind the scenes of his several years of exam failures, he’d actually been carrying such huge pressure.

The students all believed that even if Sean continued to fail the exam, he’d never be discouraged!　　

At this moment, Qiao Shun Zhi suddenly asked, “Um, what about Zhou Lun Yu? Why isn’t he here?”　　

Meng Ming told him that Zhou Lun Yu had already gone to collect medicinal plants on Mt. Qing Xiu.　　

Hearing this, Sean suddenly shouted, “I almost forgot! It’s dangerous over there at Mt. Qing Xiu!”　　

“What’s wrong?”　　

“Last time when we went to the opposite bank, we discovered something,” Sean said fearfully. “There were some vicious, wild beasts living in the mist. I couldn’t distinguish what kind of animals they were! In order to make everyone believe in the Scarlet Dragon legend, Father drew those wild beasts to the only road up the mountain. Every time someone pa.s.sed, the wild beasts would defend themselves and beat the person black and blue.”

Not good.　　

“Call Zhou Lun Yu!” Duan He immediately whipped out her phone, yet only got a “no signal” as a reply.　　

“There’s no signal…on that mountain.”　　

“c.r.a.p, we have to hurry up and find him!” Meng Ming hurriedly took a step forward, wanting to race towards Scarlet Dragon Pool. 　　

“Brother Meng Ming, I’m also coming!” Huang Qiao Yi also followed. Duan He also needed to go to the wharf, as she had to call over the person steering the boat.　　

“Wait a moment, bring me!” Qiao Shun Zhi said.　　

“You? Forget it!” Meng Ming couldn’t let a person that had difficulty moving follow along.　　

“Right now, it’s you bringing me, but…” Qiao Shun Zhi caught up. “Once we’re at that opposite bank of the pool, you’ll be unable to see, just like me. I’ll have to be the one to lead the way.”