Chapter 41: The Puppy Love Partner

Tian Wei had never liked Shang Ying. She refused to wear her uniform properly, lacked interest in her studies, and dressed ostentatiously every day without looking like a student at all. To her, puppy love was bound to happen sooner or later.

Even though Shang Ying had started wearing her uniform recently, sleeping brazenly during class showed she had zero respect for her teachers. Such a student might as well not attend school at all.

So when the administration informed her today that Shang Ying was being advised to drop out, she felt quite pleased internally. Removing a problem student would improve the class atmosphere significantly.

However, Tian Wei genuinely didn't know the boy's name, so she put on a stern face and replied, "That boy's homeroom teacher will handle him. You don't need to concern yourself with it."

‘Handle what?!’ There was no boy in the first place. This was a targeted scam! Who on earth was keeping tabs on her all day? She hadn't even offended the male and female leads yet, so who was playing the villain here?!

Shang Ying wanted to roll her eyes, but out of respect for teachers, she forced herself to hold back and said, "No, I don't accept this."

"You don't accept it?" Tian Wei's voice pitched upward slightly, visibly annoyed by Shang Ying's stubbornness. "It's useless whether you accept it or not. This matter is set in stone!"

"I've never heard of any school rule that says sleeping in class or dating gets you expelled! I didn't threaten society or bully classmates, so on what grounds are you expelling me? Not to mention I'm not even dating anyone!"

Shang Ying certainly didn't want to attend school, but she couldn't tolerate being driven out through such cheap, slanderous tactics. Besides, if she really left like this, that old man Shang Heng would nag her to death once she got home.

Tian Wei hadn't expected Shang Ying to question her so forcefully, leaving her momentarily speechless. The other teachers in the office were already sneaking glances over, their faces filled with gossip.

In truth, Tian Wei didn't know why dating meant expulsion for Shang Ying either. She had simply been too happy to care. The administration had merely told her to inform Shang Ying. Who would have thought Shang Ying would be such a tough nut to crack?!

However, as a teacher, where could she put her face after being refuted so publicly by a student?

Gritting her teeth, she raised her voice.

"Is this how you talk to a teacher?! If you're not satisfied, go talk to the grade dean!"

Shang Ying stared at her for a moment, then gave a light nod.

"Fine, I'll go speak with the grade dean."

‘Speak then! As if she wouldn't dare!’ If the grade dean didn't make sense, she'd go see the principal. She really wanted to see who was bored enough to make trouble for her!

She marched off in a huff with full aura, causing students in the hallway to involuntarily turn their heads toward her.

Stepping into the grade office, the grade dean was leisurely scrolling through short videos. Seeing a student barge in aggressively, his first reaction was confusion, which turned into sudden realization upon seeing Tian Wei chasing after Shang Ying.

‘Ah, shemprobably didn't explain the expulsion matter clearly.’

Shang Ying placed the report letter on the desk and asked straight to the point.

"Teacher Tian says the school wants to expel me because I repeatedly violated school rules through puppy love. Is that true?"

The grade dean set his phone down, let out a long sigh, and tried to soothe Shang Ying's anxious temper in a purely official tone.

"Student Shang, this is a joint decision by the school board. Your puppy love has had a terrible impact, and advising you to withdraw is already a lenient punishment. As long as you cooperate with transferring to another school, the procedures will be handled just like a regular transfer..."

"Terrible impact" my foot.

"Where's the evidence? Evidence of my puppy love! And who am I dating? Make it clear."

Shang Ying was too lazy to listen to his high-sounding nonsense and interrupted him directly.

The grade dean was a middle-aged man with a beer belly and a receding hairline, wearing black square glasses and purple-grey lips. A quintessential veteran math teacher face.

A man of this type detested having his authority challenged above all else. A student who ought to speak to him with timid respect was now confronting him with sharp words. It was something he found completely unacceptable.

The grade dean scoffed, "Fine. You want evidence? I'll bring the person here for you, so don't try to deny it."

Since the school had given this reason for expulsion, they definitely possessed evidence, so Shang Ying's struggle in his eyes was merely the act of a clown, nothing to be feared.

Shang Ying raised her chin. "Go bring them."

‘Let's see what kind of high-level expert you can pull out to frame me.’

Three minutes later.

Shang Ying fell into silence upon seeing Shang Yi appear in the office.

‘Holy crap, not only was she in a puppy love relationship, but she was also playing the incest route?!’

"Nothing to say now, right, Student Shang?"

The grade dean blew on the hot tea in his thermos, took a sip, and let out an irritating slurping sound. Since he used puppy love as a reason for expulsion, he naturally held evidence, such as photos from the school forum.

Indeed, she had nothing to say. ‘A twin brother turned into a lover. Who could possibly argue against that?’ Shang Ying's lips twitched, her face looking like she had eaten something foul.

The grade dean cast an annoyed glance at her, then looked at Shang Yi with a disappointed, heartbroken expression. God knew how disappointed he felt seeing a top student like Shang Yi engaging in puppy love.

‘Young top students like him were just too easily blinded by superficial glamour, lacking self-control entirely!’

When Shang Yi was called out of the classroom by the teacher, he assumed it was for another competition. But after arriving at the office and hearing a few snippets, he understood what was going on.

‘Someone was actually spreading rumors that he and Shang Ying were in a romantic relationship. It was so severe that the school wanted to expel Shang Ying.’

He stepped closer to Shang Ying in a protective stance, his voice quiet yet cold as ice.

"If she leaves, I leave too."

"Shang Yi, what are you saying?!"

Exclamations from both the grade dean and Class 1's homeroom teacher erupted simultaneously, followed by a dead silence across the office. All the teachers stared over in utter disbelief. How could an outstanding student like Shang Yi say something so irrational?

A student's puppy love carried a terrible influence, and the school would indeed consider advising one of them to withdraw depending on the situation, but Shang Yi possessed stellar grades, a walking advertisement for Capital No. 1 High School, making it impossible for them to let him leave.

Shang Ying froze, turning her head to make eyes at him in a mix of speechlessness and urgency. Shang Yi merely looked back at her calmly, blinking twice, without feeling anything was amiss.

So she let out a sigh, whispering, "If you say that, won't they think even more that we're dating?"

Shang Ying brought two index fingers together, then separated them.

"'We're leaving together so we won't be separated.'"

‘Why pull off a cool stunt at a time like this?! Look at the occasion! Look at the atmosphere! This isn't an 8 PM teen idol drama, this is an ethics drama!’

Shang Yi nodded in sudden realization, explaining calmly, "We are siblings."

Shang Ying offered a bitter laugh. ‘Who would believe that right now? Performing a live blood-drop paternity test on the spot would be more convincing.’

Sure enough, those people didn't take this explanation seriously at all. Still, the "siblings" excuse was quite novel. Previously, caught couples always claimed to be "just good friends" or "besties."

Novel as it was, making up excuses wouldn't work either.

The grade dean scoffed, "Don't bother making excuses, you two. This matter was anonymously reported by other students. If you really didn't have a special relationship, would a classmate report you?"

‘Reported?’

Shang Ying and Shang Yi exchanged a glance, both knitting their brows. ‘Who was sick enough to pull such an unethical move?’

"A report? What if it's slander? Without solid proof, if I report you for corruption, would that hold up too?"

Shang Ying was merely using a random example to refute him, never expecting the grade dean's expression to stiffen for a second.

‘Holy crap, did her wild guess actually hit the mark?!’