Chapter 44: Is Your Ex–Husband a Garbage Bag? He Can Hold So Much Caleb opened his phone; the “Jing Bang” group chat had 99+ unread messages. While Nash often filled the chat with banter, he sensed this was serious.
He opened the group; someone had posted the ALI preliminary results, tagging Nash.
“The winner is your sister?”
“Nash, your sister is SO smart! Why haven’t you mentioned her before?
Someone added, “Winning first place in the nation’s most prestigious math competition right after a divorce…Mr. Fu,@CalebFu, your thoughts?”
3
Nash jumped in, tagging Caleb.“Remember Evelyn was with Shane on the 7th? That was the day of the ALI preliminary round!”
She asked, “Evelyn left the mansion that day. You said you cut off her internet access. How did she participate?”
Caleb replied, “She went to Shane’s place. She was there all day.”
Nash sent a shocked emoji. “No way! She took the test at Shane’s?Professor Shen Tong Hua is the dean of Peking University’s math department! This is…”
The group immediately jumped to conclusions.
“Did Professor Shen help her cheat?!”
Nash:“Who knows! The ALI competition is online, but you can use the internet for reference. You just can’t share questions or discuss them with anyone.But there are always loopholes online!”
The group buzzed with speculation:
“She’s been a housewife for seven years! She wouldn’t remember that much math!Professor Shen must have helped her cheat!”
Nash
added, “I remember
Professor Shen was Evelyn’s university professor!”
Seconds later, she added, “Oops! I tried to delete that!”
“I doubt the dean of Peking University would cheat for a student.”
The group fell silent.
Soon, Caleb’s phone rang
Nash.
“Caleb, do you think Evelyn cheated?I don’t think she’d do that.”
She wanted to gauge his opinion.
He responded coldly, “She had
the guts to divorce me, but not to cheat?”
Nash suppressed a smile.“You also suspect she cheated?”
Caleb didn’t deny it.“She’s seeking fame and glory!“He was referring to the Shen family.Professor Shen, a respected figure, had supposedly helped Evelyn cheat.
Nash defended Evelyn, “She just wanted to prove herself quickly.She’s a housewife; she didn’t understand the consequences of cheating in a national competition!”
Let Evelyn make a fool of herself. Caleb wouldn’t help her.
* 12.40
Yan entered, his face grim Caleb hung up, listening to Yan’s report.
“Mr. Pu, Calel’s grandmother was taken away by the disciplinary committee?
Caleb’s expression hardened,
As the internet buzzed about the housewife who won first place, doubts arose. Evelyn’s name trended all day after the CCTV interview. That evening, a popular blogger revealed that Evelyn’s professor was Professor Shen Tong Hua.He claimed that Evelyn took the test at Shen’s house And that Shen had given her the answers.
housewife couldn’t possibly score so high!It’s illogical!”
Netizens posted satellite images of Evelyn near Shen’s house that day. Peking University students revealed that Evelyn had been Shen’s favorite student. He’d even clashed with professors from MIT to recruit her.
A Peking University math student posted, “Evelyn frequently went to Professor Shen’s to study. She only prepared for a month.Professor Shen did favor her, even after she left school to get married. He still let her attend his lectures.”
He posted pictures of Evelyn at Shen’s house.This confirmed their close relationship. An anonymous post speculated, “Evelyn’s sudden fame is Shen’s doing! He wanted to create a miracle to secure his position as dean.”
now a
–
Netizens connected this to an incident four years earlier. Shen had accused another professor of plagiarism without proof, ruining his career. The accused professor only recovered two years later and was
contender for dean strong
Shen’s biggest rival.
“Professor Shen is strict and his classes get terrible reviews.It’s likely he’ll be retiring this year.”
“He wanted to create a sensational achievement to prove his teaching ability, so he helped Evelyn cheat!”
Evelyn’s score should be invalidated!”
The hashtag “Evelyn Jiang, Cheating” topped the trending list. The parents who’d apologized deleted their posts. One posted a screenshot of the ALI logo with the words:“Fair competition?”
Media outlets that interviewed Evelyn withheld their videos to avoid online attacks.Dozens of contestants petitioned to invalidate Evelyn’s score.
“Participants are usually top students or elites; unemployed housewives should be disqualified!”
“Housewives have no place in math competitions!”
The ALI committee’s phones were flooded with calls. This was the biggest credibility crisis in the competition’s history.
They held an emergency meeting.
“We’ve had online competitions for years.Five cameras, five angles, monitoring participants 24/7.Do they think our proctors are blind?”
“They claim to represent the schools, yet none of them dared to speak up publicly.They’ve disgraced their institutions!”
“We’ve verified Evelyn’s answers three times and found no evidence of cheating.These people have bitten off more than they can chew!”
12:40
< Chapter 44: Is Your Ex–Husband a Gar…
*****a, say something! They think you’re a Hello Kitty!”
Seventy–year–old ****a slammed his fist on the table.“We owe the public an explanation.Contact all platforms. Tomorrow, we’ll release the full video footage of Evelyn’s competition to prove she
didn’t cheat!”
Evelyn received a call from reporter Chi Fei late at night.
“Ms. Jiang, have you seen the online accusations about your score?”
Evelyn remained calm.“Yes.”
“Is it true you took the test at Professor Shen’s house?”
Evelyn admitted, “Yes.”
Chi Fei gasped.She was the reporter who’d defended Evelyn and Zoey at the school. Evelyn said, “There’s no proof that being at Professor Shen’s means he helped me cheat. This has impacted him, but I had no other choice.”
Chi Fei pressed, “Why? Why did
you go there?”
Evelyn smiled.“You won’t believe this. My ex–husband cut off my internet access that day.I tried to find a café, but he sent a signal–jamming vehicle after me.”
Chi Fei exclaimed, “Is your ex–husband a garbage bag?He can hold so much!“Maintaining her professionalism, she asked, “Why did he do that?”
Evelyn sat on the sofa.“I made a mistake staying in his house.Everything he gave me was an illusion.I finally understood not to rely on a man’s conscience.I can only rely on myself!” “The online sentiment is against you. What are your plans?”
“I fear the silence of the Fu mansion more than rumors.” Her voice was soft, but her strength was unshakeable.
“I won’t back down. I’m not afraid of criticism. The final results will prove everything!”
After hanging up, Evelyn opened her contacts.She looked at “Professor Shen.“She hesitated to disturb him so late.
Her phone vibrated.It was Shane.
