158: Chapter 158 A "Feast at Hongmen" on Campus

The atmosphere at the Imperial Capital Academy of Arts had grown rather strange over the past two days.

Chen Fan's earth-shattering move at the charity gala, along with the Huihuang Group's thunderous strangulation of Beijing Chen Family, had long since spread to every corner of the Imperial Capital through various channels. For a place like the Imperial Capital Academy of Arts, where fame and fortune intertwined, the speed of information dissemination was nothing short of astonishing.

Chen Nianyao could clearly feel that the gazes cast upon her in the art studio had become complex. There was jealousy, there was fear, but more than anything, there was a deliberate sense of alienation.

She was like an isolated island, cut off by an invisible tide.

She didn't mind; she continued to sit quietly before her drawing board, her charcoal pencil outlining the contours of light and shadow on the paper. To her, the chaos of the outside world was far less real than the world on her canvas.

"Yo, isn't this our great artist? Still in the mood to draw?"

A sharp voice shattered the tranquility of the art studio.

Chen Nianyao looked up and saw a girl wearing a Chanel suit and exquisite makeup, walking over with a haughty air, accompanied by several followers.

Chen Jing, Chen Zihao's own cousin, the eldest miss of a collateral branch of Beijing Chen Family.

Chen Nianyao recognized her.

Slap!

A red-headed document stamped with the emblem of the Imperial Capital Academy of Arts was slammed onto Chen Nianyao's drawing board by Chen Jing, causing the easel to wobble and instantly blurring the lines she had just drawn.

The title of the document was printed in bold: "Notice Regarding the Special Board Director Hearing on the Disciplinary Issues of Oil Painting Department Student Chen Nianyao."

"See that clearly?" Chen Jing lifted her chin, her eyes looking at Chen Nianyao as if she were an ant that could be crushed at will. "Your nouveau riche father is out there causing trouble and has completely disgraced our academy! Someone with your family background is simply not fit to remain in this hall of art!"

She glanced around triumphantly; her voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone in the studio to hear clearly.

"I advise you not to hold onto any illusions. This afternoon's hearing is just a formality, and the result has long been decided—expulsion from school, to set an example!"

The surrounding students whispered.

"Did you hear? Several Board Directors have received favors from Beijing Chen Family."

"Nianyao is finished this time; she's definitely going to be kicked out of school."

"Serves her right. Who told her dad to be so arrogant? This is the Imperial Capital, after all."

Chen Jing was very satisfied with this effect; she wanted Nianyao to taste the feeling of being isolated and despised by everyone before she was expelled.

Chen Nianyao looked at the notice on the drawing board, calmly took it down, set it aside, and then picked up an eraser to gently wipe away the lines that had been smudged by the impact.

There was no anger, no fear, not even a ripple of emotion on her face.

This extreme calmness inexplicably stirred a sense of irritation in Chen Jing's heart.

...

3:00 PM, Board Director hearing room.

Behind a long conference table sat five grey-haired Board Directors and two student representatives.

Chen Jing stood at the podium, elegantly displaying the "evidence" she had carefully prepared.

"Respected Board Directors, fellow students, please look at the big screen."

On the projection were several maliciously edited news screenshots, all negative reports about Chen Fan being "involved with gangs" and "beating up a female celebrity."

"How can a family with violent tendencies raise a student with artistic sensibilities?"

Following that, there were several anonymous "testimonies" printed on A4 paper.

"According to anonymous reports from multiple students, student Chen Nianyao has repeatedly used money to lure and corrupt other students, seriously disrupting our school's simple and honest campus atmosphere!"

Several Board Directors nodded solemnly, and one of them cleared his throat, speaking to Chen Nianyao, who was sitting opposite him, in a stern tone: "Student Chen Nianyao, do you have anything to say regarding these accusations?"

The atmosphere at the scene was completely that of a trial with a predetermined outcome.

Everyone's gaze was focused on the girl who had remained silent from beginning to end, filled with scrutiny and contempt.

Chen Jing watched this scene, a smile of impending victory appearing on her face.

Just as that Board Director picked up the document on the table, preparing to read the disciplinary decision.

Nianyao, who had been silent all along, calmly raised her hand.

"Before you all reach a conclusion, I would like to add some material to the hearing that better reflects the true atmosphere of our school."

Her voice was clear and steady, without a hint of panic.

Chen Jing and the several Board Directors were stunned. They didn't understand what kind of tricks she could still pull at this desperate stage.

But for some reason, Nianyao's extraordinary calmness caused a sense of foreboding to rise in Chen Jing's heart for the first time.

Under the suspicious gazes of the crowd, Nianyao unhurriedly took out a pitch-black USB drive from her art supply bag.

It was the one her brother Muyang had stuffed into her hand when she started school.

She walked to the multimedia console in the conference room and, amidst the bewildered looks of the technical staff, inserted the USB drive into the computer port.

She didn't open any documents to defend herself.

She clicked on a video file, and at the same time, her fingers tapped a few times on the keyboard. An inconspicuous background program was activated, and a green prompt box popped up on the console screen: [School-wide broadcast system successfully connected].

The next second, she pressed the play button.

The big screen in the conference room, along with the broadcast speakers and display screens in all classrooms, libraries, and cafeterias on campus, were taken over by the same signal source at the exact same moment.

A crystal-clear video began to play.

In the footage, it was Chen Jing, who, with a few followers, poured a bucket of cold water over the head of a plainly dressed girl in a corner of the art studio.

"Poor wretch! Does what you paint even deserve to be called art? It dirties my eyes!"

Chen Jing's arrogant, humiliating insults were clearly broadcast to every corner of the campus through the speakers.

The video wasn't over yet; the scene shifted.

It was a WeChat chat record between Chen Jing and a stranger, fully displayed on the screen.

"Chen Jing: Is the graduation project done?"

"Ghostwriter: Don't worry, Miss Chen, I guarantee it's up to the standard of a National Art Exhibition gold award. Please transfer the remaining three hundred thousand."

"Chen Jing: You'll get your money."

Immediately following this was an electronic bank transfer receipt, with the payee, amount, and transaction time all complete.

The evidence was irrefutable.

In the conference room, the faces of several Board Directors instantly turned the color of pig liver.

The color drained completely from Chen Jing's face. She trembled all over, her legs went weak, and she collapsed into her chair, muttering unconsciously: "No... that's not it... It's photoshopped..."

On campus, it was complete pandemonium.

Countless students rushed out of their classrooms, watching the live broadcast on the corridor screens, their angry curses ringing through the sky.

"So Chen Jing is the real trash!"

"Academic fraud! Campus bullying! Why should such a person be allowed to stay in our school!"

"Expel her! She must be expelled!"

In the conference room, Nianyao calmly unplugged the USB drive and put it back into her art supply bag.

She walked up to the deathly pale Chen Jing, looked down at her, her voice as cold as a winter lake.

"This is what you call truly disrupting campus order."

The hearing could no longer continue.

Several Board Directors wiped away cold sweat and hurriedly left the venue, repeatedly muttering, "We will definitely handle this seriously, definitely handle this seriously."

Chen Jing was left abandoned and alone in the center of the conference room, enduring the tsunami-like cursing coming from outside the door.

Nianyao walked calmly out of the conference room amidst the awe-filled gazes of the entire student body.

From then on, at the Imperial Capital Academy of Arts, no one dared to provoke this "Sister Chen" again.

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