As long as he runs fast enough, the ridicule can't catch up with him.

"Director, I just saw a group of students from Class 8, Grade 1 playing with their phones. They were laughing and joking as they returned to their classroom."

Li Yan frowned and looked at the boy standing before him—Qin Ran.

"And you are?"

"I'm Qin Ran, the class monitor of Class 12. They were not only playing with their phones but also badmouthing the school. That's why I came to report them."

If it were just about the phones, Li Yan wouldn’t have cared much. After all, it was the school sports meet, and students could be given a bit more freedom. There was no need to be overly strict.

But badmouthing the school? That was unacceptable.

So Li Yan immediately turned his gaze toward Class 8.

However, most of the competitions had already ended, and the students from Class 8 were already packing up their things to leave.

"Do you remember which students were badmouthing the school?"

"I remember their faces, but I don’t know their names."

Qin Ran had initially wanted to name Lin Mo directly, but that would have been too obvious.

Even if he couldn’t target Lin Mo, going after Lin Mo’s friends wasn’t a bad idea. He remembered exactly who usually hung around Lin Mo.

Li Yan nodded. "Then come with me."

Qin Ran hesitated.

"Director, if I go with you, what if they retaliate against me?"

"What are you afraid of when I’m here?" Li Yan was a principled man. He wasn’t intimidated by students’ underhanded tactics. If there was ever any bullying in the school, he would deal with it harshly.

With Li Yan’s assurance, Qin Ran had no choice but to follow him upstairs to the classroom.

As soon as they reached the door of Class 8, voices could be heard from inside.

"The school is amazing! The prize money for the tug-of-war competition is a thousand yuan! The homeroom teacher said it’ll all go into the class fund. Since some students might transfer to the humanities stream later, we’ll use it up within the next two semesters. Any objections?"

"None at all! It’s a reward from the school—just getting something is already great."

"Yeah, Guangba High really lives up to its reputation as a top school. So generous!"

"Of course! I heard other schools only hold their sports meets for two days at most, and they don’t even have as many events as we do..."

Li Yan listened to the chatter inside before clearing his throat at the doorway.

The students were either sitting at their desks or perched on top of them.

At the sound of the cough, they all turned and saw the stern-faced director standing at the door.

Immediately, they straightened up.

"Director, is there something you need?"

Though Ma Ruixiang was nervous, he still stepped forward to ask.

Li Yan moved aside and gestured to Qin Ran.

"Oh! You’re that Class 12 monitor who welched on a bet!"

Ma Ruixiang pointed at Qin Ran without hesitation.

"Welched on a bet? What bet?" Li Yan asked, confused.

But Qin Ran had already pointed at several students. "Director, it’s them! They have phones on them!"

When it came to phones, if no one mentioned them, they could be ignored. But once someone brought it up, it became a different matter.

The accused students stood up and shrugged. "No way, we didn’t bring any phones."

Among them were Fang Jun, An Yuexin, and the unlucky Su Mingzhao.

Su Mingzhao was baffled. What did this have to do with him? Everyone knew he and Lin Mo had gotten into a fight on the first day of school.

(If anyone could hear Su Mingzhao’s thoughts, they’d add: "Correction—you got your butt handed to you by Lin Mo on the first day of school.")

But all of them denied having phones.

Li Yan looked at Qin Ran skeptically.

"I asked you to point out the ones who badmouthed the school."

Qin Ran felt his scheme unraveling. He could only double down and point at Fang Jun and the others again.

"That’s right, it was them. They were playing with their phones while badmouthing the school."

Fang Jun tilted his head. "We badmouthed the school? The school hasn’t done anything to me—no detentions, no teacher reprimands. Plus, we just won a competition. Why would we badmouth the school now? What’s the reason? What’s the motive?"

He even stepped forward confidently.

"Director, I didn’t bring a phone to school. You can search me, even my bag and desk—nothing’s there."

Li Yan recognized Fang Jun and had a good impression of him. The boy’s reasoning was sound.

At this point, Lin Mo finally spoke up.

"Director, this student claims our classmates badmouthed the school. May I ask—what exactly was said? How was it said? And where did it happen? That way, we can verify whether this actually occurred."

Qin Ran stammered.

"I... I saw them at their class base camp... saying the school was terrible, that the rules were unfair..."

Su Mingzhao cut in without hesitation. "I never went back to the base camp today. After the basketball finals, I came back to change clothes, then went straight to the tug-of-war. There’s no way I could’ve been at the base camp talking nonsense."

The entire class burst into laughter.

Li Yan glanced at Su Mingzhao’s confident expression, then back at Qin Ran. It was obvious the boy was lying. He snorted coldly and was about to say something when—

"Director, I think his real goal was to get you to search our class for phones. That’s why he made up this lie."

Li Yan looked down at Qin Ran again, his stern expression making the fifteen-year-old shrink back.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo walked right up.

"My guess? This Qin Ran has a phone on him too."

Qin Ran’s face paled. Damn Lin Mo—how did he know everything?

Lin Mo pointed at Qin Ran’s pocket.

"Why don’t you check his pockets first, Director?"

Seeing Qin Ran’s expression, Li Yan patted the boy’s pocket.

With just one touch, he knew what was inside.

Years of experience made it easy—whether it was cigarettes or phones, he could tell instantly.

"Take it out. Now."

Li Yan’s voice was sharp. Qin Ran reluctantly pulled out an iPhone 4.

"Hmph! Bringing a phone to school and then framing other students? Fine. School-wide announcement. I’ll have a word with your homeroom teacher—let’s see how you’re managing as a class monitor."

With that, Li Yan confiscated the phone and walked off.

Halfway down the hall, he turned back.

"Oh, and about this phone—you can collect it at the end of the semester. Depending on your behavior."

Class 8 erupted in laughter.

"Wow, someone really shot themselves in the foot!"

Lin Mo stepped right in front of Qin Ran.

"Well? Got any more tricks? I’m ready. They say you’re something special, but honestly? You’re nothing."

Qin Ran clenched his fists, but he didn’t dare swing at Lin Mo—not with Lin Mo’s reputation.

But this humiliation was too much.

So the next second, he turned and ran.

If he ran fast enough, the laughter wouldn’t catch up.

Fang Jun doubled over laughing.

"Perfect! Everyone, remember to check the forum tonight!"