Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat-Chapter 47 - 044 The Painting Has Been Found
Chapter 47: Chapter 044 The Painting Has Been Found
Chapter 47 -044 The Painting Has Been Found
Does Teacher Fang not want to take her to the competition?
Deng Tao frowned, “Why?”
Why?
Since Teacher Fang chose to tell the class teacher of class six about her reluctance to take Deng Tao, she must have a reason not to keep it to herself.
The class teacher asked Deng Tao sternly, “Deng Tao, tell me the truth, did you take Song Jiawen’s painting?”
Deng Tao’s heart skipped a beat, but her face remained puzzled as she said, “Song Jiawen’s painting? Which painting?”
“The one she, like you, entered into the competition.”
“Shouldn’t her competition painting be with Teacher Fang? How could I possibly have taken it? Teacher, you don’t really believe such a ludicrous thing, do you?”
The class teacher of class six knew that Teacher Fang had no evidence, and he actually wanted to defend Deng Tao. After all, she was his student, his talented pupil, and naturally, he didn’t want her reputation tarnished before the college entrance exam.
But…
“Deng Tao, I choose to believe you. If you say you didn’t take it, then I will take you to speak with Teacher Fang and make things clear, but only if you truly didn’t take it.”
Without hesitation, Deng Tao said, “I didn’t take it, teacher. Although I don’t consider myself a genius, I believe I am no worse than anyone else in painting. You also know what kind of person I am; I would disdain to do such a thing.”
After a pause, she continued to explain, “The last time Meng Qing showed me Song Jiawen’s painting, I didn’t explain because I never asked Meng Qing to take it. She and Song Jiawen have a poor relationship, and because Xu Yan always praises her, Meng Qing was feeling resentful and brought Song Jiawen’s painting to me to look at. Her goal was to have me critique it – Song Jiawen’s painting is not as good as Xu Yan claims. But I had just taken it into my hands and hadn’t yet had the chance to look at it when Xu Yan came over. I unconsciously clenched it when she tried to snatch it away; it wasn’t intentional to tear the painting.
Teacher, that’s the entire story of what happened last time. I didn’t explain right then because Meng Qing is my friend, and I didn’t want her to be punished more severely by Teacher Gao. Now that I’m explaining to you, it’s also just to clarify that I barely know Song Jiawen, so why would I antagonize her or steal her painting?”
Deng Tao answered without hesitation, speaking boldly and confidently, which somewhat startled the class teacher because he had almost believed Teacher Fang and thought Deng Tao was the prime suspect.
Now, after hearing her out, he suddenly realized that because Song Jiawen had joined No. 1 High School with an absolute advantage, all the teachers viewed her differently. Accordingly, whenever something involved her, they would instinctively take her side.
But he knew how upright Deng Tao was; given her character, she indeed would disdain to do such a thing.
“Alright, if it has nothing to do with you, then we can’t just take the blame for this.”
The class teacher had already made up his mind to talk to Teacher Fang and clear up the matter.
After evening self-study, as Deng Tao walked out with the stream of students, she kept her back straight and her eyes forward, not veering off course until she walked out of the school gate and got into her father’s car parked at the curb. Only then did she let out a sigh and collapsed into the backseat.
“Quite tired, huh.”
Seeing his daughter’s state through the rearview mirror, Deng Tao’s father felt heartbroken, “Your mom made you lotus seed and white fungus sweet soup tonight, have more when you get home, it won’t make you fat.”
Deng Tao was very attentive to maintaining her figure and rarely ate greasy foods in the evening.
Hearing her father’s words, she just non-committally hummed a response, her eyes gazing out the window, her thoughts churning, wondering who knows what.
The day after lunch, the homeroom teacher of Class Six brought Deng Tao to Mr. Fang’s office.
In the past two days, Mr. Fang had a poor appetite and had no desire to eat her lunch. Seeing the two enter, her gaze shifted to Deng Tao, with barely concealed fury in her eyes.
But Deng Tao stood straight, unafraid to meet her gaze, her lips curling into a mocking smile, “Mr. Fang, you said that I took Song Jiawen’s painting, but do you have any evidence? Even if you have suspicions, you need a basis, right?”
She was certain that Mr. Fang must have asked Xu Yan. Given her history with Xu Yan, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear what came out of her mouth.
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“Since when has Mr. Fang become someone who only listens to one side of the story?”
The homeroom teacher of Class Six coughed lightly, feigning reprimand, “How are you speaking to Mr. Fang? Haven’t I told you, as long as we explain things clearly to Mr. Fang, she won’t wrong you.”
Wronged?
Mr. Fang raised an eyebrow, looking at the homeroom teacher of Class Six, “You tell me.”
As the head of Meizhong art department, her personality was always somewhat forthright and uncompromising, making her a headache for any homeroom teacher to deal with.
But this time, someone had suddenly set a trap for her, and it was a student she had once thought highly of. The frustration in Mr. Fang’s heart was nearly impossible to vent.
The homeroom teacher of Class Six briefly went over the events of the last time, then said, “Mr. Fang, if you only suspect Deng Tao because of the previous altercation, it’s unfair to her. After all, you’ve taught her art for three years. You know better than any of us teachers how she draws. She has the ability to be shortlisted on her own, why would she hinder Song Jiawen? It doesn’t make sense, right?”
Mr. Fang seemed unmoved after hearing this, tapping her fingers on the desk and pursing her lips in silence.
This obstinate…
The homeroom teacher of Class Six was inwardly annoyed, but still maintained a calm exterior. Just as he was about to say a few more words to persuade Mr. Fang, suddenly the office door was pushed open.
“Sister Fang, Song Jiawen’s painting has been found.”
This sentence shocked the three people inside the room.
Mr. Fang quickly stood up from her seat, Deng Tao’s face turned somewhat pale, while only the homeroom teacher of Class Six sighed in relief—found, it’s good that it’s found, if it’s found then Deng Tao’s suspicions can be cleared.
Teacher Xiaowang came in from outside, followed by a male student with his head hanging low.
In Teacher Xiaowang’s hands was a piece, no, more accurately half of a painting, and even that half was pieced together, the back messily taped with transparent tape, barely forming half of a picture.
If she hadn’t followed Mr. Fang to observe Song Jiawen’s paintings numerous times, becoming very familiar with that piece, it would be difficult to recognize it in this damaged state.
Mr. Fang looked at the painting before her, feeling more heartache than anger, but before she could ask anything, she heard the homeroom teacher of Class Six ask Teacher Xiaowang, “Did he steal the painting?”
He was referring to the male student who had come in with her, the homeroom teacher of Class Six looking at him as if he were unfamiliar, guessing he was not from the senior class.
Yet Teacher Xiaowang glanced at Deng Tao in a strange way before turning to the boy, “Repeat exactly what you told me just now, remember, stick to the facts. Otherwise, prepare yourself for expulsion from the school.”
Perhaps it was the word “expulsion” that rattled the male student, as he shuddered, then began to stammer, “The, the painting isn’t something I, I didn’t steal it, I saw Deng Tao with it last week, I thought she was destroying it because she didn’t like her own work, I—I genuinely thought it was her painting, so I took it from the trash can after she left…”
