How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 307 Hidden merit and fame

As Zhang Wen pushed open the door to Jia Hua Art Examination Training Center, a unique artistic atmosphere immediately enveloped him.

The walls are covered with photos of outstanding students from previous years; their smiles are radiant, and their eyes are full of the light of pursuing their dreams.

In one corner of the hall, many parents were waiting for their children. Some were chatting quietly, exchanging learning experiences, while others were silently watching videos to pass the time.

"Is Mr. Wu Shicheng here?" Zhang Wen asked as he approached the front desk.

"Mr. Wu isn't here. Is there something you need from him?" the receptionist asked, getting up.

“Something’s happened, and it’s serious. Call him right away and tell him to come back quickly,” Zhang Wen said.

Upon hearing this, the receptionist sensed that something urgent had happened, so she immediately picked up her phone and called Ms. Wu.

The call connected quickly.

"Hello, is this Ms. Wu? This is Tingting. Someone at the training center is looking for you..." The receptionist paused here, and after hearing Ms. Wu's words, looked up and asked, "Sir, what is your surname?"

"I am Zhang Wen, the principal of Xingxiang Art Examination Training Center. I just met Mr. Wu Shicheng outside No. 151 Middle School," Zhang Wen said calmly.

what?
The receptionist was stunned after hearing this.

Principal of Xingxiang Art Examination Training Center?
What do they want with Teacher Wu here? Are they trying to poach him?
Poaching talent from competitors' turf? That's incredibly arrogant, practically blatant disrespect.

Teacher Wu, if you're going to change jobs, can't you be a little more discreet?

Wu Shicheng, on the other end, was completely dumbfounded after hearing the man's voice coming from the phone.

Wait a minute, shouldn't that man be at the hospital or on his way there? Why is he at the training center?
and many more!

How did the other person know his name?

He remembered that he hadn't given his name outside the gate of No. 151 Middle School. Could it be that he found out from Tingting?
possible.

But why is this person looking for him?
Wu Shicheng thought for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. In the end, he could only say to his colleague on the other end of the phone, "Tingting, tell him to wait a while. I'll be right back."

"Okay." When the receptionist hung up the phone and looked up at the handsome man in front of her again, her eyes held a hint of hostility, and she said coldly, "Teacher Wu will be going back soon. You can wait outside."

After saying that, he sat back down.

Zhang Wen didn't care about the receptionist's attitude, and of course, he wouldn't go outside to wait.

He didn't come here tonight just for sightseeing.

Zhang Wen glanced at the waiting area where the parents were, thought for a moment, and walked over.

"I'm planning to enroll my child in this summer program that costs 34,900 yuan. What about you?"

“Just signing up for summer classes isn’t enough, right? There’s no need to study after summer vacation, right? I’ve already decided to enroll my child in this 215,000 yuan full-course class with top teachers, so that we don’t have to enroll in other classes later.”

What's included in the full-course program taught by renowned teachers?

"It includes all classes, including summer vacation, weekends, weekdays, and holidays. Actually, what I value most is the film and television performance enhancement class included in it. It is taught by experts. I inquired about it and heard that the effect is very good. I heard that just enrolling in this class costs 107,000 yuan."

"..."

Listening to the parents discussing the fees for the various courses in the film and television performance class, Zhang Wen immediately understood where the five-story building came from.

An expert course costs over 100,000 yuan, and a full course costs over 200,000 yuan. Isn't that robbery?

In comparison, his 30,000 yuan special training course was incredibly generous.

"Big sister, what you're saying is all ancient history," Zhang Wen said in a low voice. "I heard that Jia Hua didn't do well in this year's film and television performance entrance exam."

"Really? I heard that just from Beijing Film Academy alone, eight or nine students passed the three rounds of testing," said a female parent who had previously planned to enroll her in the full-course teacher training program.

"So what if eight or nine students pass the three rounds of testing? The key is whether these students can make it into the top seventy. After all, only the top seventy in the professional exam can guarantee admission to Beijing Film Academy. Even if the others pass the three rounds, most of them are just there to make up the numbers," Zhang Wen said dismissively.

"Yes, that makes sense." Several parents around nodded in agreement.

"Have you heard? This year's top-scoring candidate in the Beijing Film Academy's acting program came from Xingxiang Art Examination Training Center," Zhang Wen said.

"Xingxiang Art Exam Training Center? I've never heard of it. What about you?"

"never heard of that."

"I only know five performance training schools: Jia Hua, Hua Ying, Huan Ya, Xin Ling, and Yi Ying."

"Yes, yes, I saw a ranking online, and these performance training institutions are ranked in the top five for art exam training."

"You don't really believe this ranking, do you?" Zhang Wen said in surprise. "These online rankings have no credibility whatsoever. They're all advertisements bought by training institutions. It's like when you search for specialist hospitals, whichever hospital pays the most money gets to be listed at the top of the search results. It's just a pity for the patients who need medical treatment, since the cost is ultimately borne by the patients themselves."

"Well, that makes sense."

"It seems that you can't completely trust those rankings online."

Zhang Wen's gaze swept across the faces of the parents around him, and he continued, "The full-course program with renowned acting teachers costs over 200,000 yuan, which is no small sum. Nobody's money grows on trees. I think it would be better if we went together to ask how many of Jia Hua's students made it into the top 70 in the professional exams for Beijing Film Academy, Huaxi Opera, and Shanghai Opera this year. What do you think?"

Then she looked at the parents of students studying other art subjects, such as fine arts, music, and dance, and urged them, "You should also ask around and see how the rankings are. This is a very important reference for us. We can't let the money go to waste, right? It's useless to just listen to how great the teachers are. We also need to look at the results. Xingxiang Art Exam Training Center's slogan is 'Full refund if you don't pass the art exam.'"

"That's right!"

"That's right, we have to ask. Summer vacation is coming soon, and we can't let this delay the child's studies."

"Let's go together."

Parents in the waiting area stood up and walked together toward the front desk.

Zhang Wen stood in the crowd, deliberately walking slowly, and finally stood at the very back, concealing his merits and fame.

When the two teachers sitting at the front desk saw so many parents suddenly coming over, they quickly stood up, wondering what was going on before get out of class ended.
Despite their doubts, the two greeted their parents with smiles on their faces.

"Teacher, my son is in the acting class. I would like to ask how many students from Jia Hua Training School were admitted to the top 70 of the three major film and television schools this year?"

"My daughter is in a dance class, and I'd like to know how many students passed the Beijing Dance Academy's professional exam this year?"

"My granddaughter studies vocal music..."

"My younger brother studies art..."

Parents began to speak, and the hall became noisy for a moment.

A hint of panic flashed in the eyes of the two receptionists, and their smiles froze on their faces. Everyone was waiting for their children, so why were they suddenly concerned about this?

"Parents, please be quiet and don't disturb the children's studies," Tingting said loudly.

"..."

The scene immediately fell silent, but the parents did not leave; they were all waiting for an answer.

Tingting unconsciously swallowed and forced a smile, saying, "Dear parents, the art exam results are the students' privacy, and we are unaware of them."

The parents looked at each other, thinking that what the receptionist said seemed to make sense. "Impossible! When you advertised, you said that many students were admitted to top art schools every year, but when we asked about the results, how could you say you didn't know?" Zhang Wen shouted from the back of the crowd.

Upon hearing this, the parents all loudly agreed.

"That's right. If you don't know the results, how can you be sure that the students have been admitted to top art schools?"

"Are you trying to make false claims?"

“You say it’s a matter of privacy, and I won’t say anything. But you say you were unaware of it, and I absolutely do not believe you.”

"..."

The two receptionists were encountering such a situation for the first time, and they were extremely flustered, wishing they could find a hole to crawl into immediately.

Of course, the two could only think about it; if they actually did that, they would be fired tomorrow.

"Parents, please listen to me." Tingting raised her hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and finally said with a wry smile, "Please go and rest in the waiting area. I'll go and ask the principal for instructions."

"What are you going to ask for instructions about?" Zhang Wen asked, hiding in the crowd. There was a tall man in front of him, probably about 1.9 meters tall, who was blocking his view.

"Ask the principal if he knows the students' art exam results." Tingting picked up her phone from the table, but then thought it was inconvenient to make a call, so she walked out from behind the front desk and hurried towards the elevator.

"Parents, there are chairs in the waiting area." The remaining receptionist pointed to the waiting area.

“We’re not tired, we’ll wait here,” one of the female parents said. She wouldn’t leave until her questions were answered.

She doesn't mind spending money on her child, but the money can't be spent in a murky way. Even if it falls on the ground, it should make a sound, right?
"My butt hurts from sitting for so long, I might as well stand up and stretch," Zhang Wen said.

The remaining teacher stood awkwardly in place, unsure of what to say, and could only stand there nervously as a mere decoration.

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor.

Xu Tingting hurriedly went out, knocked on the door three times, and pushed it open before the person inside could speak.

"Principal, the students' parents want to know the art exam results of the previous year's students. Please go down and take a look."

“Tingting, you’ve been a long-time employee for a while now. Why are you asking me about such a small thing? Just reply that it’s a student’s privacy, isn’t that enough?” Zhou Maoquan said while making tea.

"Principal, I've told them, but they won't leave. There are dozens of parents; I can't handle them all," Xu Tingting said with a bitter face.

Zhou Maoquan was slightly taken aback. So many parents wanted to ask? It seemed that things were more complicated than he had imagined.

"How can you not even handle such a small matter!" Zhou Maoquan frowned in dissatisfaction, then stood up and said, "Let's go see what's going on."

"..."

Xu Tingting thought to herself: If you're so good, then you do it!

The elevator descended and quickly arrived at the first floor.

When Zhou Maoquan stepped out of the elevator, he was startled to see the parents gathered around the front desk. He felt there were more than just a few dozen people; there were definitely over a hundred.

He walked over with a smile and looked at the crowd, saying, "Dear parents, I just heard from Teacher Tingting that you would like to know about the art exam results of our Jia Hua students from the previous year, right?"

"Correct."

“That’s how it is,” the parents replied one after another.

"Dear parents, it's not that I don't want to tell you about the art exam results of last year's students, but we simply cannot disclose their privacy. However, I can tell you with certainty that the number of students from Jia Hua Training who passed the art exam last year has reached a new high," Zhou Maoquan said loudly, looking at every parent present.

Where's the applause?
Why was there no applause?
"Didn't you say you were unaware of the students' art exam results? If you were unaware, how can you be sure that they've set a new record?" Zhang Wen continued to stir up trouble in the crowd.

"Exactly, you say it's a new high, and it just is? What's the basis for that?"

"We don't want to hear what you have to say, we only want to see the results."

"You make all sorts of promises during the promotion, but when it comes to actually doing something, you make all sorts of excuses. How can we believe you if you do that?"

"Online rankings are indeed unreliable; it seems I need to reconsider my summer program."

Zhou Maoquan's expression stiffened, and he asked in confusion, "Parents, who told you we didn't know?"

"she!"

The parents all looked at Xu Tingting.

Xu Tingting's face turned pale instantly, and she shrank back, looking aggrieved.

Zhou Maoquan gritted his teeth and forced a smile, saying, "She's a receptionist, only responsible for greeting people, of course she wouldn't know. I'm the principal, I know."

"They claimed many students got into top universities when recommending the course, completely unaware of the situation? Are they treating us parents like fools?" Zhang Wen continued.

Its main purpose is to establish a moral compass for heaven and earth and to secure a destiny for the people.

"That's right, you have to give us an explanation today, or we won't attend this class."

"Yes, refund."

“False advertising and exaggerated claims must be exposed by journalists.”

The parents surrounded the principal as they spoke.

Seeing the increasingly agitated parents, Zhou Maoquan panicked for a moment, never dreaming that things would turn out this way.

If things are allowed to continue like this, won't Jia Hua's reputation become infamous throughout the entire art exam training industry?

No, we must not let this happen.

"Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me." Zhou Maoquan tried to remain calm and looked at the parents around him. "How about this? Please give me some time. I'll contact the previous students, and if they agree to the announcement, I'll announce it to everyone. How about that?"

"Hehe, no need to ask. They all definitely disagree, or only a few agree. How could a teacher not know the students' art exam results? Who would believe that? If they really don't know, it only shows that Jia Hua doesn't care about its students," Zhang Wen said sarcastically.

Zhou Maoquan's lips twitched. How could he have guessed that?
In fact, he already knew the art exam results of all the students as soon as they were released, but compared with the total number of students, not many were admitted to top art schools.

It's fine to use students who have passed the exam for promotion, but if you really look at it, the data isn't that impressive.

Upon hearing this, the parents immediately understood that the principal was playing a game of feigned retreat with them.

"A teacher who doesn't care about students' grades is unlikely to be a responsible teacher."

"Give me my money back, I'm not learning anymore. It's a complete waste of my time and energy here."

"..."

Zhou Maoquan was completely dumbfounded.

Are these parents so irritable today?
……

(End of this chapter)