Zombie Bodyguard-Chapter 1566 - 1563: Admission Turmoil (Part 2)

Lin Tian once again sat in the black bulletproof car, that familiar feeling returned. Although the bulletproof car was somewhat lacking compared to Yun Xiaotian’s ride, it had been used for several months and had developed some emotional attachment. At least it witnessed many happy moments.

Following the familiar road, Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan returned to Xikou City High School. It was summer vacation, yet the school gate was somewhat lively, or rather, noisy.

Outside the gate, there were several banners hanging, mostly celebrating how high the school’s admission rate was, how many students were admitted to top-tier universities, and how many to prestigious universities.

But among these congratulatory banners, there was one particularly eye-catching one with grievances written all over it: "Heartless teacher, give back my child’s university!"

There were parents gathered under the banner, the noise was incessant, and there were so many people that even the school security didn’t dare to drive them away.

Lin Tian did not stay to watch, pulling Second Miss towards the school gate, but was stopped by security: "The school has had some issues these past couple of days, entry requires showing a student ID."

Lin Tian frowned slightly, not because he was stopped, but because he didn’t know what happened at the school. After showing the student ID, the security guard saw the name and was momentarily stunned.

"You’re Lin Tian...?" the security guard exclaimed.

"Yeah, isn’t it written on the student ID?" Lin Tian asked curiously.

The security guard chuckled, "I’m new here, but I’ve already heard your legend, Lin Tian. The principal instructed that if you came, please go to his office immediately."

"Principal Yan?" Lin Tian was slightly taken aback, having a memorable impression of this principal.

"Yes, Principal Yan," the security guard confirmed.

Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan exchanged a glance, and turned to enter the school gate, walking through Lin Yin Road, not heading to the classroom but instead to the office building.

As they reached the office building, Lin Tian encountered a few teachers. He and Xiao Manxuan greeted them, but the teachers seemed absent-minded, as if they were preoccupied.

"Lin Tian, I heard that Xikou City High School had good results this year. Logically, the teachers should be happy," Xiao Manxuan said, shaking her head as she watched the teachers’ retreating figures, puzzled.

Lin Tian shrugged, indicating he wasn’t sure: "It probably has something to do with what’s happening at the school gate?"

They arrived at the principal’s office, knocking on the door with questions in mind.

"Come in," Principal Yan’s voice came through.

Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan went inside, seeing Principal Yan sitting behind a desk with a newspaper in his hand. As he saw them, he quickly stood up from behind the desk, smiling broadly, "Lin Tian, Mr. Xiao, you’ve come just in time. Take a look at this newspaper."

Curious, Lin Tian took the newspaper, with Xiao Manxuan peering over to look. The most important page displayed a prominent headline: "Xikou City High School Breaks Historical Records in Admissions to Key Universities and Undergraduate Programs!"

Additionally, a subheadline read: "Ranked First in the Province for Admissions to Key Universities!"

There were also two photographs, one of Xikou City High School’s gate and the other of Principal Yan.

"Congratulations, Principal Yan, you’ve made a name for yourself in the education sector this time. You must be receiving so many awards and bonuses," Lin Tian half-joked.

"It’s all thanks to the joint efforts of the teachers and students, and your contributions are not insignificant either. You’ve helped many students," Principal Yan replied modestly with a smile, though to Lin Tian, it sounded somewhat perfunctory. It was likely that he had gotten used to saying this after being acknowledged by city leaders frequently.

"Oh, and there’s one thing, you and Mr. Xiao are the top scorers of the provincial college entrance exam. Many reporters wanted to interview you, but knowing you both dislike publicity, I turned them away. Hope you don’t mind my making the decision on your behalf," Principal Yan added.

Top scorers of the college entrance exam? Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan exchanged smiles; such a title was not something they particularly cared about, "Thank you, Principal Yan. We really do prefer to avoid that kind of attention." Lin Tian appreciated the favor, as otherwise they’d be bombarded by a barrage of reporters’ questions, giving them headaches.

"Principal Yan, when we entered, we saw someone holding a banner at the school gate. What’s going on with that?" Xiao Manxuan, noticing Principal Yan avoiding the main issue, directly asked.

Principal Yan seemed like he was waiting for them to ask. As soon as Xiao Manxuan mentioned it, he quickly explained: "The situation is a bit complicated, involving some teachers within the school, and it’s somewhat tricky."

"What exactly happened?" Lin Tian asked impatiently. This Principal Yan certainly had a way of speaking in circles.

"It’s like this. Two classes encountered some issues when filling out college applications, involving about fifteen students. These fifteen had relatively poor exam scores, and attending an undergraduate institution was out of reach for them. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. With good performances, there are naturally some not so good ones."

"But the problem arose when, on the day of filling out applications, these fifteen students were forcibly kept back by their teachers and made to choose specific vocational institutions. According to those students, the teachers locked the door and wouldn’t let them leave until they filled the application," Principal Yan stated, cautiously glancing at Lin Tian to see his reaction.

Lin Tian’s expression turned cold, and not just him, even Xiao Manxuan looked displeased because Lin Tian immediately grasped what was going on.

Vocational colleges are schools ranked below undergraduate institutions. This in itself isn’t an issue. Being below undergraduate means their educational resources aren’t as good. However, as long as students have ambition and are willing to work hard, they can succeed no matter where they study.

However, each year quite a few vocational schools struggle with enrollment, and to attract students, they resort to various tactics. This incident undoubtedly involved teachers receiving benefits to recruit students for that vocational school.

Lin Tian had heard during the middle school entrance exams that some teachers would direct students to vocational high schools. He didn’t expect similar events at the college entrance level. Some students, fearing trouble, wouldn’t dare speak up, but this time the issue was exposed.

"Did you know about this at the beginning?" Lin Tian asked coldly.

Principal Yan immediately denied it: "I didn’t. Initially, those fifteen students didn’t dare to speak out, but later, when some parents were dissatisfied with the applications their kids had submitted, they interrogated them until the truth came out, and I only found out after the parents started causing a scene."

The principal hesitated for a moment, as if he had more to say. Seeing his reluctance, Lin Tian raised his voice, "Just say everything at once."

"Here’s the thing. During the application process, among the fifteen, some didn’t fill out the forms as instructed, and those teachers privately altered their applications. The biggest problem was that in altering them, they made a mistake and included a student ranked in the top ten of the entire city in this mess."

"Imagine this, someone in the city’s top ten could attend a key university, yet ended up being misfiled to a vocational institution. How can you expect the parents not to cause a commotion?" Principal Yan babbled, clearly vexed by the matter as he explained.