Chapter 512 - 526: Master

An Ning asked, "Is that so?" No one dared to nod.

The saying "might makes right" truly applied here.

An Ning looked at this group of people, who were both cowardly and bold, and gestured for them to stand up.

One by one, they hesitated, pressing themselves against the wall as they timidly got to their feet, waiting for An Ning to speak.

An Ning then turned to look at the group defending her. Tao Quan was among them.

"You never had any doubts?"

Jiang Xia stepped forward, his voice booming. "I didn’t!"

An Ning shot him a disdainful look. "I wasn’t asking you. Besides, you’re from Shili Gou too, so your score is also suspect. Don’t you get it?"

Jiang Xia gave a foolish grin and moved to stand behind An Ning, saying gleefully, "Perfect. That means we’re in the same boat."

An Ning ignored Jiang Xia’s wisecracks. She wanted to know what the people defending her were actually thinking.

"May I say something?"

An Ning looked at Tao Quan and gave a nod, her feelings complicated. For once, she didn’t give him a hard time.

Like a true gentleman, Tao Quan took an elegant step forward. His voice was clear as he said, "Although An Ning and I don’t know each other well, I don’t believe she would cheat. She just isn’t that kind of person."

"First, that was the national college entrance exam, a nationwide selection process. No matter who you are, no one in Huaxia has the power to tamper with it. Therefore, I don’t believe your claim that Shili Gou cheated holds any water."

"Second, Jiang Xia, Yin Xuemei, and I are classmates. Anyone can see how capable the two of them are; their exam scores are well-deserved. This further proves that your accusation of cheating on the exam is baseless."

"Finally, if An Ning had really cheated, her consistently high-profile actions since she started at the university are completely inconsistent with the behavior of a cheater."

When he finished, Tao Quan gave a small smile to everyone around him and took a step back, signaling that he was done.

The hallway fell silent. Everyone here had a high IQ, and at least some of them had high EQs to match.

Once everyone calmed down, they did indeed see many holes in the accusation.

But...

"...then how do you explain this photograph?"

’A photograph?’

An Ning turned to look at a student leaning against the wall. He was holding a photograph. It showed her leaving Yu the Elder’s house, with Yu the Elder himself seeing her off at the door and handing her a folder.

"The folder has the Beijing University logo on it. The picture was taken the night before our selection competition, and Yu the Elder happens to be in charge of the math competition. How do you explain that?"

An Ning took the photograph and commented, "Not a bad shot. My side profile looks pretty good."

The death glares from the surrounding students made An Ning shrug. "Can’t I make a joke? Besides, it *is* a nice picture."

"I think it’s a great picture too."

"It is indeed quite good."

Hearing Jiang Xia and Tao Quan chime in, An Ning stopped joking around. "This folder doesn’t contain exam questions," she explained. "It’s homework that Yu the Elder gave me."

Even as she said it, An Ning knew how flimsy it sounded. It would be difficult to get them to believe her.

"I’m telling the truth. But judging by your faces, you don’t believe me. That’s fine. We can just go ask Yu the Elder, can’t we?"

An Ning was perfectly candid, and the students’ conviction began to waver.

They had all been selected to be here for this competition and took it very seriously, which was why they were so sensitive about the issue of cheating.

Every one of them had been preparing for this competition for a very, very long time. If first place was really stolen by a cheater, it would be a blow they couldn’t accept.

"If you and Mr. Yu really did conspire to cheat, what good would asking him do? Besides, you’re the only person who got a perfect score."

A dissenting voice piped up, quickly gaining support from the accusers’ side.

An Ning stood there, feeling a bit stuck. She retorted, "So a perfect score automatically means I cheated? Can’t you just accept that I might be naturally gifted?"

"Which one of us *isn’t* gifted?"

"Exactly! We’re all the top students from our schools."

"That’s right."

A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd, the voices growing louder, threatening to descend into chaos again.

An Ning shot them a single glance, and they fell silent.

"I’ll admit, you’re all geniuses. But you have to accept that some people in this world are simply better than you. And I am that person."

"I don’t want to stand here and waste my breath on you. Let me make this perfectly clear: Mr. Yu did not give me an opportunity to cheat, nor did I cheat."

"As for this Mr. Yu you keep mentioning... he’s my disciple."

After An Ning’s final sentence, the hallway grew even quieter.

The silence was broken by someone who couldn’t hold back a snicker. That was followed by more laughter, until the whole hall erupted.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"AHAHAHA!"

An Ning rolled her eyes. After waiting for the crowd to mostly finish laughing, she pointed in one direction and said, "Don’t believe me? Ask him yourself."

Following the direction of her finger, everyone saw Yu the Elder, the university president, and several other teachers.

In the blink of an eye, everyone, except for An Ning, stood up straight and behaved.

Yu the Elder approached from a distance, his steps jaunty. He didn’t look like someone coming to clear up a slanderous mess at all; he looked more like he was on his way to a celebratory banquet.

"Master!"

"Mm."

"Master!"

"Mm."

"Master!"

"I heard you. I’m still young, and I’m not deaf."

An Ning shot Yu the Elder an impatient glare. The smug old man grinned as he walked over, stopping in front of An Ning to perform a formal bow.

"This unworthy disciple pays his respects to Master."

An Ning was speechless. ’How did I never realize Yu the Elder was such a drama queen?’

’What happened to your maturity? Your gravitas?’

If Yu the Elder could hear An Ning’s thoughts, he would have surely answered, ’To hell with gravitas!’

He had been dying to reveal his and An Ning’s master-disciple relationship for a long time.

Yu the Elder straightened up, faced the students, and very solemnly pulled a red cord out from under his collar. Hanging from it was the very Jade Pendant An Ning had given him.

"I truly am An Ning’s disciple. I haven’t even managed to learn a tenth of my master’s skills. This is my proof of discipleship. Among An Ning’s disciples, I am ranked number two."

"Look, there’s a small mark right here."

Yu the Elder carefully cradled his Jade Pendant, showing it to the students, but he made it clear that no one was allowed to touch it.

After everyone had seen the Jade Pendant, Yu the Elder continued, "As for the folder you mentioned, it really did contain homework for my master. The only thing is, I was the one *doing* the homework, and my master was the one *grading* it."

"Finally, the teachers I’ve brought with me can all attest to An Ning’s mathematical abilities."

One by one, the professors from the mathematics department behind him stepped forward to vouch for An Ning.

While they were at it, a few of the professors subtly asked An Ning if she was looking for any more disciples.

They had all witnessed Yu the Elder’s progress in mathematics and were, to varying degrees, a little jealous.

An Ning glanced at Yu the Elder, who was still showing off his Jade Pendant. "One is enough," she said.

’One is embarrassing enough. A second one? You’ve got to be kidding.’

The oblivious Yu the Elder looked at An Ning with a touched expression, his eyes welling up with tears. ’Master is so good to me.’