“Here! Chinese, 82, mentally challenged! Math, 89, low intelligence! English, 120, Physics and Chemistry, 90, Ideological and Political Education, out of 100 points you scored 41, total score—a glorious 420! Grade ranking—over a hundred from the bottom! With this IQ, you still want to get into our No.1 High School, a provincial key school? I think once you graduate from middle school, you should hurry up and buy a handcart to haul coal for people!”

Even in his dream, Ryan Carter still wanted to hold back a little, but at this moment, Zane Thompson’s relentless provocation finally made Ryan Carter lose his patience, and a surge of suppressed anger from his middle school days flared up inside him.

He looked at Zane Thompson, his whole demeanor suddenly different, and sneered, “Let me correct you on one thing. My total score just now was 422, not 420. Mr. Thompson, you say that with my mock exam results I can’t get in anywhere and can only haul coal… Then can you tell us, what was your own score on the high school entrance exam back in the day?”

Ryan Carter’s unusual aura at this moment, and his unprecedented bold retort, caught Zane Thompson off guard. He felt as if he wasn’t facing his own student, but a completely different soul.

Zane Thompson naturally sneered through his teeth, “My score back then was, of course, something you could never compare to!”

“Is that so?” Ryan Carter’s refined face broke into a smile. “Of course you can’t compare, because at that time, you were expelled.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Zane Thompson was stunned on the spot! A strange expression appeared on his face as he looked around in panic at the students’ gazes. He wasn’t sure where this rumor had come from, but this was his biggest secret. He knew his reputation wasn’t good, and students and teachers sometimes gossiped about him in the office. He could always find ways to deal with the students, but where did this shocking truth come from?

His voice was noticeably more flustered, “Who told you that? Who’s been spouting nonsense to you? Which office did you hear this crap from? People who spread this kind of thing in private are simply vicious!”

He pointed at Ryan Carter again, “You are vicious!”

Usually, Zane Thompson was so domineering, but now his expression made it clear to the whole class that what Ryan Carter said was almost certainly true.

But countless people were also shocked—how did Ryan Carter know such a secret?

In fact, Ryan Carter had heard about this after he started working, from many classmates who were dissatisfied with Zane Thompson. Those who had been traumatized by him in school talked about his dark past, and only then did they discover that he had once been expelled for fighting off campus, and later returned to school under a different name through connections. When everyone found out, they all cursed him for misleading students, and thinking of his usual behavior made them grit their teeth even more. It was just a pity that no one had ever slapped his old exam scores in his arrogant face.

“You were expelled and still got into No.1 High School… and you say I can’t get in fair and square?”

“If you really get in, then what? If I win five million in the lottery tomorrow, then what? There aren’t so many daydreams in this world for you,” Zane Thompson seized on Ryan Carter’s words in a flash, suddenly calming down, his voice icy cold, his smile like a mask pasted on a corpse. “Stop talking nonsense. How about we make a bet… If you get in, I’ll apologize to you. If you don’t, you’ll have to make a public self-criticism in front of the whole school for slandering a teacher before graduation. I’ll withhold your diploma, and when you’ve done it, I’ll give it back to you!”

Ryan Carter’s eyes were clear, with a hint of a smile. Even in a dream, he wanted to make Zane Thompson lose face.

“No need for an apology. I don’t want any fake compliments. Today you didn’t just humiliate me, you dragged down a lot of people in the class as well… Since even someone who was expelled like you could become a teacher, then someone like me, who you just humiliated, can also become your teacher. How about this—when the time comes, you call me ‘teacher’. How about that?”

Ryan Carter must be crazy, that was the first thought of the whole class. No.1 High School was the best in Shanhai City, and its high school division was a provincial key school. Every year the admission score was over 600, and only the top students from the city’s seven middle schools could get in—it was like crossing a single-log bridge. With Ryan Carter’s usual score of just over 400, even with a full 50 points in PE, he wouldn’t even reach 500. And he wanted to reach the high school admission line in just the last month?

If this isn’t just empty boasting and daydreaming, what is? What a pity, Ryan Carter must have been driven mad by Zane Thompson.

Zane Thompson’s whole face was now dark as thunderclouds. He looked at Ryan Carter with a completely unfamiliar expression, as if someone had exposed his dark side and torn off his mask.

After a moment, his grim face actually broke into a smile, but it sent chills down everyone’s spine. “Ryan Carter, you’d better be responsible for what you say! I don’t want your apology, I want you to make a public self-criticism at graduation in front of the whole school! And I’ll put this in your record! In the future… don’t blame me!”

This wasn’t just an attack on his reputation—it was an attack on his very life. If Ryan Carter had to make a public self-criticism in front of the whole school and it was written into his record, that stain would follow him for life. Good universities, good jobs, would all be out of reach! Zane Thompson was trying to ruin Ryan Carter’s life!

Some sharp students in the class couldn’t help but shake their heads—old ginger is spicier, Ryan Carter had fallen into Zane Thompson’s trap!

Ryan Carter nodded, “Fine! Whatever you say.”

This attitude almost made Zane Thompson cough up blood.