What's wrong with me, a school principal, listening to students' suggestions?

"Where did you submit the report?"

"Tomato City TV Station, the 'Seeking Truth' program."

Ma Desheng lowered his voice, his tone tinged with worry.

"You know that program? They usually do undercover investigations and exposés, and they're best at finding emotional triggers."

"Once they point the camera at 'the principal playing video games with students,' public opinion will easily explode."

"Do you know who fed you the information?" Lin Yucai leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

"Anonymous, but I guess it's just a few of them."

Who else could.

Liu Jianguo, or Qian Wenhua.

The biggest thing these two have in common right now is that they can't stand seeing No. 13 Middle School continue to improve.

Although it's unclear what Liu Jianguo is concerned about at No. 13 Middle School, he's sure to be involved in some of these troublesome matters.

Needless to say, Qian Wenhua was an even bigger threat.

The reason why No. 1 High School has been able to outperform other schools over the years is that one relies on its reputation and the other on its student body.

If No. 13 Middle School really makes a comeback, No. 1 Middle School will be the first to lose attention and resources.

Not to mention that the students at No. 1 High School are almost going crazy with envy lately.

If No. 13 Middle School continues to be popular, where will No. 1 Middle School put its face?

When will the people from "Seeking Truth" arrive?

"If all goes well, tomorrow."

"You came pretty quickly." Lin Yucai smiled.

"You can still laugh?" Ma Desheng asked anxiously. "If this isn't handled properly, it'll be even more troublesome than the Education Bureau issuing a document."

"With a single cut and a narration, even black can be portrayed as gray."

"Director Ma, please don't worry."

"How can I not be in a hurry?"

"You go to work as usual tomorrow, don't do anything else."

"What do you mean?"

"It means, let them film it."

"Let them film?" Ma Desheng was stunned.

"Yes, please come in since you're here."

"Don't stop them, stopping them will only make you look guilty."

"But what about the e-sports arena..."

"There was never a problem over there."

Lin Yucai stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the outline of the campus under the night sky.

"Since they want to see, I'll let them see as much as they want."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Principal Lin, are you hiding some other trick up your sleeve?"

Lin Yucai looked at the e-sports arena in the distance, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

"It's not exactly a backup plan either."

"I just haven't had a chance to lift the veil yet."

After hanging up, he dialed another number.

The phone rang a few times before I answered.

"Xu Jianfeng, are you asleep?"

"Principal Lin? Not yet, what's wrong?"

"Where's the finishing touches on the second floor of the esports arena?"

"The equipment is all set up: floor mats, mirrors, treadmills, and weight training area—everything is in good condition."

"All that's left is to do a final overall cleaning and then remove the barriers."

"Remove everything first thing tomorrow morning."

"tomorrow?"

"Yes, the sooner the better."

Although Xu Jianfeng didn't know what had happened, he still readily agreed.

"Okay, I'll call the workers now and start work at seven tomorrow morning."

Lin Yucai hung up the phone and then sent a message to Su Qingyan.

"If reporters come tomorrow, don't stop them."

The other side replied very quickly.

"Was it done by Liu Jianguo and Qian Wenhua?"

"pretty close."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Dress nicely," Lin Yucai said after a pause.

Three seconds later, the other side sent a period.

Then came another sentence.

"You'd better be serious."

Lin Yucai replied with a smile.

"Of course it's important business. We'll be on camera tomorrow, and we can't let No. 13 Middle School lose face."

This time, Su Qingyan took more than ten seconds to reply.

"OK."

Lin Yucai put away his phone and looked towards the e-sports arena again.

The building stood quietly in the night.

Liu Jianguo wanted to use the media to turn the words "e-sports arena" into leverage against him.

pity.

He had no idea who would be cut if the blade were flipped over.

Lin Yucai turned off the office light and glanced at the runner-up trophy on the cabinet one last time before leaving.

Then he reached out and gently patted it.

"Keep making me proud tomorrow."

……

At 9:20 a.m. on Monday, three cars arrived at the gate of No. 13 Middle School.

One interview vehicle bearing the logo of Tomato City TV Station, and two ordinary commercial vehicles.

As soon as the car door opened, the cameraman, sound engineer, and assistant got out first, followed by the host.

Xu Wei, the lead reporter for the "Seeking Truth" column.

She was in her early thirties, with short hair, neat makeup, and a confident stride.

She was holding a script, and she looked like the kind of person who was very good at controlling the pace.

"It doesn't seem as good as the rumors suggested."

Xu Wei stood at the school gate and looked up at the school sign, her gaze lingering on the three characters "No. 13 Middle School".

The cameraman next to her whispered, "Sister Xu, are you really filming this school?"

"Since we're already here, let's take a look around first."

"The anonymous report was very hostile, saying that students were being used as a tool for generating traffic, that illegal internet cafes were being built, and that even the principal was leading the way in playing games."

"We have to find out!"

Xu Wei didn't rush to make a judgment.

Having worked on the program for many years, she knows that anonymous whistleblowing is often highly unreliable.

But she also knew that if this kind of subject matter were filmed realistically, the ratings and discussions would be quite good.

"Let's proceed according to the standard procedure first."

"clear."

Security guard Lao Liu had been notified in advance, so when he saw the people arrive, he didn't stop them and let them pass directly.

Hsu Wei had prepared several contingency plans for the school to prevent her from interviewing, but the security guard was even more polite than she was.

"The principal said, please come in, everyone. They're already waiting in the office."

Even she was taken aback.

Such perfect coordination?

The interview team walked further in.

As soon as she entered the campus, Xu Wei slowed down.

Contrary to the description in the anonymous whistleblower letter of "a chaotic and disorderly environment, with students addicted to games and disorderly campus", the No. 13 Middle School in front of us, although the buildings are a bit old, is not chaotic.

Physical education classes are proceeding normally on the playground.

In the corridor of the teaching building, several students were running towards the office with their homework books in their arms.

The roadside bulletin board displays a list of students who made progress in the midterm exams and posters for extracurricular activities; the lettering is still quite new.

Xu Wei, who comes from an education background, could tell at a glance that something was wrong with the atmosphere at the school.

It doesn't seem like the kind of lax discipline you'd expect from a bad school.

Instead, it has an indescribable air of a good school.

As she was looking around, someone came out to greet her at the entrance of the teaching building.

Lin Yucai was dressed simply today, in a white shirt and black pants.

His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he had a smile on his face, showing no sign of panic.

Su Qingyan stood next to him, dressed in a neat business suit, exuding a very composed demeanor.

"Hello Principal Lin, I am Xu Wei, a reporter from the 'Seeking Truth' program on Tomato City TV."

Xu Wei stepped forward and introduced herself.

"We received reports from the public and would like to conduct an interview regarding your school's e-sports arena and student management issues."

"welcome."

Lin Yucai reached out and shook her hand.

"The eyes of the masses are discerning, and so are the lenses of the media."

"I would be delighted if you could come and see for yourselves."

The words were spoken so smoothly that Xu Wei found it difficult to directly confront him.

"Then let's get straight to the point."

"please."

The camera pans up.

Xu Wei stood on the campus, speaking at a steady pace.

"Recently, the 'Seeking Truth' program received an anonymous tip."

"It is alleged that Tomato City No. 13 Middle School has spent a huge sum of money to build a so-called 'e-sports arena' on campus, which is suspected of turning the campus into a gaming venue. There are even allegations that the principal personally led students to participate in internet cafe competitions."

"To find out the truth, we've come to the site today to conduct an on-site investigation."

After saying that, she turned to look at Lin Yucai.

"Principal Lin, you should already be aware of the contents of the report."

"Has your school built a large e-sports venue on campus?"