I am a Big Player
Chapter 430 - 424, Yuan Peng Almost Collapsed (Second Update)_1

Chapter 430: 424, Yuan Peng Almost Collapsed (Second Update)_1

For Yuan Peng, if he could now find evidence that Ren He was the Knight, it was no longer merely a journalist’s persistence with a story.

The fake news incident had a huge impact on him. After publishing such a big blunder, all his colleagues laughed at him—it was simply the most disgraceful episode in his entire career.

Not to mention the integrity of unscrupulous tabloid journalists, Yuan Peng had his own pride. He wanted to be the top reporter in the industry, basking in immense prestige.

But when the incident occurred, it not only devastated his reputation but also got him permanently shelved within the unit, surviving only on a meager salary.

Even if he switched jobs, no other media would accept him, as no outlet could tolerate such an existence.

Sometimes society is forgiving, and some mistakes can quickly blow over.

But at times society can be cruel, and some errors, once made, could mean no longer having a foothold in the industry.

The problem now was that Yuan Peng needed to find evidence that Ren He was the Knight—an act that would wash away his disgrace and signify a meaningful battle for redemption.

He could even clarify the beginning and process of the original blunder, making everyone understand that all of this was not his fault but caused by Ren He impersonating someone else in the marathon!

The error started with Ren He breaking the rules, so of course, he could pin this blame squarely on Ren He’s shoulders.

Dressed, Yuan Peng went to No.13 Middle School. The first person he found was Director Liu of the Academic Affairs Office. Liu was quite puzzled—he thought the matter with Ren He was already in the past; why was a journalist still coming to interview?

However, facing the journalist, he couldn’t say too much, just repeated the praise he had given before.

At that moment, Yuan Peng requested to meet Ren He’s class teacher from those years, a perfectly reasonable request, and Liu naturally agreed.

Xie Miaohan came over and repeated the original statements. Yuan Peng patiently listened before asking, "Mr. Xie, may I have a look at the graduation photograph of the ninth-grade Class 2 from that year?"

"Ah... I’m afraid that’s not possible..." Xie Miaohan was embarrassed at that moment.

"Is there a problem with that?" Yuan Peng was stunned right there. He had patiently listened to the both of you blabbering on, laying enough groundwork before getting straight to the point, and now they wouldn’t even let him look at the graduation photo?

Xie Miaohan replied with visible discomfort, "It’s not that it’s inconvenient, it’s just that Class 2 of the ninth grade didn’t take a group photo that year. I was their class teacher during their seventh and eighth grade, and by the time they were in ninth grade, I had already moved up to the high school division."

Are you kidding me? Yuan Peng was baffled right then. What were you even doing here? The teacher he was looking for was the one from Ren He’s ninth-grade year, right?

It’s quite normal for the seventh and eighth-grade class teacher not to have photos of foreign students, which are usually taken during graduation. And just now, he had probed Liu—the school indeed didn’t have the custom of keeping ID photos of students, as they are typically thrown away with the waste paper sold during every six-month winter and summer vacation.

Before high school, students didn’t have official records. Just like Ren He said, things like "major demerits recorded in your file" from before junior high were just to scare people.

Without any records in the first place, what file are you going to have?

Yuan Peng asked with restrained patience, "Then who was Ren He’s class teacher during his last year in junior high?"

"There was no class teacher; Class 2 of the ninth grade didn’t have a class teacher that year," Liu answered promptly.

Now Li Luobo’s increasingly serious madness made it impossible to allow such a person to be interviewed, right?! Besides, the uncleanliness of Class 2’s original classroom of that year was already a messy affair. If it came up in the media now, where would we put our faces?!

Moreover, Class 2 really did lack a head teacher for the last half year!

Yuan Peng was baffled. Are you joking with me? It was his first time hearing of a class without a teacher. Do you think I’d believe that?

Do you believe this yourself?!

He almost exploded at that moment, having the feeling he had grasped a clue, yet why did such a huge problem arise!

And this problem came out of nowhere, how could there be no homeroom teacher, this is just too unscientific, right?!

"Can I ask why there’s no homeroom teacher..." Yuan Peng asked with frustration.

"It’s like this, after Mr. Xie was promoted to the high school division, the position of homeroom teacher for this class has never been filled with a suitable candidate, so it’s been vacant all this time," Liu explained.

Yuan Peng was totally confused. Was it such a simple reason? Finding a homeroom teacher can’t be that hard to find the right candidate, right? Are you selecting a municipal committee official or what, making it so serious?!

Liu also had his own difficulties to express. Back then nobody wanted to be the homeroom teacher for Class 2, Grade 3, but he couldn’t just say that; as the head of the Academic Affairs Office, he had to maintain the school’s reputation at all times. How could he possibly divulge such things to the media?

If Yuan Peng hadn’t come as a reporter, maybe Liu would have shared it as an amusing story, but once faced with a reporter, the nature of the story changed.

At that moment, Liu suddenly realized, "Ah, that... Mr. Yuan, although there is no homeroom teacher, there is a substitute teacher who basically takes on the role of the acting homeroom teacher every day. I’ll call him over for you right now!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Peng felt reassured. No homeroom teacher, but an acting homeroom teacher would do, how could a class function without one?

Suddenly, the English teacher from that year was summoned by Liu. Right upon entering, he asked what the matter was, and Yuan Peng, not in the mood for pleasantries, directly asked, "Do you have the graduation group photo of Ren He’s class?"

The English teacher paused and said, "Yes, I do. Of course, it’s pressed under the glass panel in my office. You want it? I’ll get it for you!"

And with that, he turned and left. Yuan Peng finally breathed a sigh of relief; as long as he saw the graduation photo, he could confirm the guess in his mind.

As long as he could find that familiar young face in the photo, he would have reason to fully commit to investigating the traces linking Ren He and Knight.

At the very least, it would prove that his direction was absolutely correct.

By the time the English teacher returned with a laminated large photo, Yuan Peng began searching the group picture eagerly for that figure etched in his heart.

The others didn’t know what he was up to and could only wait on the side. However, after a full 10 minutes, Yuan Peng suddenly looked up and asked, "Could you tell me... which one is Ren He?"

The English teacher adjusted his glasses and spoke leisurely, "Oh, you’re talking about Ren He. He never came back to school after finishing the middle school exams, so he’s not in the graduation photo."

At that moment, Yuan Peng nearly had a meltdown and almost slammed the photo on the ground. Not having Ren He, what’s the point of showing me this photo! Are you, like, insane?!

However, what he had clearly asked was, "Do you have the graduation photo of Ren He’s class?" The English teacher hadn’t done anything wrong; Yuan Peng hadn’t specified he was looking for Ren He!

Ren He left right after graduation to debut at Back Sea with Yang Xi, and after his return, he got caught up with entering Capital Fourth Middle School, so he didn’t participate in any of the graduation ceremonies or anything like that.

Not to mention he had no interest in taking a graduation photo.

However, although he didn’t find any visual information about Ren He, it ignited a fierce determination in Yuan Peng’s heart. He just had to find the elusive clue!

Yuan Peng looked up and asked, "Which high school is Ren He at now?"

...

Today is the official engagement ceremony; just came back from my fiancée’s place, so the update was affected, my apologies. I’m getting married, and there’s a lot to do, it’s incredibly hectic...