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

Chapter 308 Don’t cry until you see the coffin

"Money back!"

"Money back!"

The parents' voices grew louder and louder, and they all seemed exceptionally excited, influenced by the atmosphere around them.

They once trusted Jia Hua Art Exam Training so much, and had such faith in the teachers there. But when asked crucial questions, they were evaded with the excuse of privacy. Who can accept such an answer?
When it comes to a child's education and future, who can remain calm and composed? Who can swallow their anger and remain silent?

Even scammers wouldn't be this perfunctory!
Some newly arrived parents, seeing the chaotic scene, couldn't help but step forward to find out what was going on. After hearing what other parents had to say, they all joined the line to get their money back.

This art exam training school, which doesn't care about students' grades and only knows how to make money, should hurry up and get the money back. Are they going to keep it to buy the principal a Land Rover?

Zhou Maoquan's face flushed red and then paled. He knew that if things continued to escalate like this, it would have a devastating impact on the training center's reputation.

So he took a deep breath and said in a gentler tone, "Parents, please be quiet and listen to me first, okay?"

"What other excuses do you want to come up with?"

"Refund the money first, then we'll talk."

The parents responded one after another.

"Everyone, don't rush, I'll announce the students' art exam results now," Zhou Maoquan said loudly.

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent instantly. While everyone was getting their money back, they hadn't forgotten their original purpose.

Seeing that the parents were no longer agitated, Zhou Maoquan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "I will announce the students' art exam scores and rankings, but this involves the students' privacy, so I hope everyone will keep it confidential after seeing it."

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone!" said one of the parents standing at the front.

“As an art exam training institution, the best form of advertising is the students’ results. If Jia Hua’s art exam results are good, I will not only not ask for a refund, but I will also help you promote your institution,” another parent said.

"Yes, we are reasonable."

"Hurry up, the kids will be out of class soon."

“We not only look at the students’ art exam scores and rankings, but also at the number of students in each training class and the number of students in each training class who pass the art exams of top art colleges,” Zhang Wen said loudly.

Other parents nodded in agreement, saying that knowing the number of students in the class and the number of students who passed the art exam would give them an idea of ​​their child's pass rate.

This information is very important to them.

A high pass rate indicates that the training institution has strong teaching capabilities; a low pass rate indicates that the training institution has poor teaching capabilities.

Having spent so much money, no one wants to send their child to a bad training institution.

Upon hearing this request, Zhou Maoquan's face turned green, and he said with a bitter expression, "I'm sorry, parents, it's fine to publish the list of students who have passed the entrance exams for prestigious art schools, but the rest is a trade secret of our training center and cannot be published."

"Come on, you just said that student performance is private information. I asked you how many people are in a class, but I didn't ask how much money a class can make. What kind of trade secret is that?" Zhang Wen said dismissively.

“That’s right, which training class doesn’t have a WeChat group? What kind of trade secret is that?” a parent next to me said.

"Refund if you don't disclose it!"

"Yes, refund! Refund!"

The hall, which had just been quiet for a moment, started to get noisy again, as no one wanted to miss this opportunity to learn about the training institution.

After all, the more you know, the more confident you will be.

Zhou Maoquan's lips twitched, wishing he could slap himself twice. He shouldn't have talked about privacy in the first place, but now these parents were going too far, even wanting to know about business secrets.

Did not say?

Under the current circumstances, this is definitely not feasible.

There were over a hundred parents present, and all of them received refunds. The training center will lose at least several million yuan.

If these parents continue to slander the training center in the training class's WeChat group, the losses will be even greater, and the art exam training brand that has been built up over more than a decade will be destroyed.

"Okay, okay, please wait a moment, I'll go back to my office to retrieve the data now," Zhou Maoquan said quickly, then fled the hall as if escaping.

He just wants to calm things down as soon as possible and prevent them from escalating, because the longer it drags on, the more parents will come to pick up their children. There are about a hundred people now, but soon there will be more than two hundred or three hundred.

When the parents saw the principal compromise, joyful expressions appeared on their faces—the smiles of victors.

“We should stick together from now on and never give in to these art exam training institutions,” Zhang Wen said to the parents around him.

“That’s right. They don’t even dare to disclose the number of students or their scores. How can such an art exam training institution give us a sense of security?” the family said after hearing this.

“Yes, I will never listen to propaganda again; it’s all a lie,” a female parent said.

“Unless you use facts to promote your message,” Zhang Wen added.

"Yes, hearing is unreliable, seeing is believing."

"..."

A few minutes later, Zhou Maoquan rushed back, handed the A4 paper to the front desk, and asked them to stick the paper on the wall.

This time, he learned from his previous mistakes and not only listed the names of each training class, but also clearly wrote down the schools each student applied to and their art exam rankings.

Actually, all of this information has been stored on his computer. Every year after the art exams, the teachers of various training classes would compile statistics on the students' art exam results, but they just didn't release the information to the public.

Parents immediately gathered around to check on the students' performance in the art exam.

"Only eight students from the film and television performance enhancement class passed the entrance exams for Beijing Film Academy, Huazhong Opera Academy, and Shanghai Opera Academy. The pass rate for top universities is less than one in ten. Isn't that too low a cost-performance ratio?"

"There are only 4 students in the intensive course, and they are all ranked low, so it's not cost-effective at all."

“The full course is better, with 12 students… no, it seems like the students overlap with those in the advanced course.”

"It seems like the pass rate for key points in dance training classes is higher..."

"The worst off are art training classes, where the pass rate for key courses is less than five percent."

"..."

Hearing the parents' discussion, Zhou Maoquan quickly stood up to explain: "Dear parents, this pass rate is already considered very good in the whole of Beijing. Other art exam training institutions may not be higher than this. Moreover, the overall pass rate of our Jia Hua Training is relatively high. Please do not focus all your attention on top universities. For example, in film and television performance, in addition to Beijing Film Academy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Shanghai Opera, there are many other good art colleges."

"That's true, but who doesn't want their child to get into the best school?" one parent remarked.

"That's right. We put so much effort into our children, not so that they can go to ordinary art schools."

“Even graduates from Beijing Film Academy, Huazhong Opera Academy, and Shanghai Opera Academy are not guaranteed to become stars, let alone those from other art schools.”

"..."

Perhaps because they had heard too many nice words during the consultation, the parents all showed disappointment after seeing the list.

The psychological gap is just too big.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhou Maoquan became anxious. Thinking that if they were going to die, they would die together, he looked at the parents and said:

"Think about it, everyone. There are so many art exam training institutions across the country. It's already quite remarkable that Jia Hua has so many students who have passed the exams for top art colleges. If you don't believe me, you can ask other training institutions. The vast majority are not as good as Jia Hua. Really."

After saying that, he winked at the receptionist.

The two receptionists immediately understood and quickly tried to make amends.

"Dear parents, Jia Hua is a top-notch art exam training institution with over ten years of experience. We have earned the affirmation and recognition of countless students; otherwise, we wouldn't have existed for so long."

"You can ask any of the top five training institutions in Beijing; we're not afraid to compare."

Upon hearing this, the parents silently thought: It seems we need to be more cautious about enrolling in art exam training classes; we can't just listen to the institutions' advertisements. "That makes perfect sense," Zhang Wen said at this moment. "When buying something, you should compare prices from multiple vendors. Art exam training is related to a child's future, so we must compare prices from at least ten vendors. It's better to ask around than to rashly enroll and ruin the child's artistic dream."

"Well, that makes sense."

“It’s never wrong to be cautious.”

Other parents chimed in.

Zhou Maoquan craned his neck and looked at the young man standing at the back of the crowd with a grateful gaze.

At the same time, I felt a sense of relief: finally, I've seen a reasonable parent.

"Crack!"

At this moment, the training center door was pushed open from the outside, and Wu Shicheng hurriedly walked in. He was stunned when he saw the scene in the lobby, and then found the receptionist who had called him earlier.

"Tingting, where is the principal of Xingxiang Art Examination School?"

Xu Tingting was already annoyed when she heard Wu Shicheng's words, and coldly replied, "I don't know."

"what?"

Wu Shicheng was completely bewildered.

He thought to himself that he hadn't offended this woman, so why was she acting this way?

"Tingting, didn't you call me just now? How could you not know?" Wu Shicheng asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, I don't know. Maybe he's outside. I told him to wait outside," Xu Tingting said irritably, then smiled at the parent beside her. Her mood changed faster than flipping through a book.

Wu Shicheng scratched his head, just about to go outside to look for it, when suddenly a voice came from behind him.

"Wu Shicheng!"

Zhang Wen burst out from the crowd, grabbed the other person's collar tightly, and angrily shouted, "You Jia Hua Art Exam Can't compete with our Xing Xiang Art Exam, so you hire some thugs to beat me up. You're shameless!"

"!!!"

The hall fell silent instantly as everyone turned to look, their eyes filled with curiosity about the gossip.

what's the situation?
If you can't win a competition, you resort to violence?
There are melons, big melons!

Zhou Maoquan was completely dumbfounded after hearing this.

Isn't this the parent who just came to his rescue? How come it's someone from another art exam preparation institution?

and many more!

Xingxiang Art Exam Prep?
Isn't this the art exam preparation institution that Wu Shicheng mentioned on the phone before?

Is this the person who can guess other people's professions?

When Wu Shicheng was grabbed like this, a hint of panic flashed in his eyes. He carefully examined the person in front of him and a question immediately arose in his mind.

That’s not right!

How come this person isn't injured?

Didn't Brother Huang say he taught this person a lesson? Why doesn't he look like he was taught a lesson at all? Could it be that Brother Huang taught the wrong person a lesson?

But at the time, outside the gate of No. 151 Middle School, he clearly pointed to someone himself, and Brother Huang's description was correct.

Test!
Is Brother Huang lying to him?

That shouldn't be the case. We've collaborated so many times before, why would he stand us up this time?

Puzzled as he was, he knew now wasn't the time to dwell on it, so he retorted defiantly, "What are you talking about? Who hired thugs to beat you up? How could a large art exam preparation institution like Jia Hua do such a thing? Don't try to extort me, okay? Are you trying to damage Jia Hua's reputation? Be careful, or I'll sue you for defamation!"

After saying that, he reached out to grab the other person's hand, trying to pry it open.

However, after several attempts, he not only failed to get the other person to let go, but instead pulled the collar of the shirt wider and wider.

Zhou Maoquan was naturally aware of this matter. Fearing that Xingxiang Art Examination would escalate the situation, he immediately shouted to the security guards, "Someone, security guards, quickly drag this person out and stop him from causing trouble here."

He wouldn't dare to use force against the students' parents, but he wouldn't tolerate his competitors.

Zhang Wen didn't say anything, but calmly took out his phone from his pocket, found a video, clicked to play it, and turned the volume up to the maximum.

Next, a conversation began in the hall.

“I said that a friend of mine transferred 500 yuan to me and asked me to find a few people to come and ambush you at No. 151 Middle School.”

What's your friend's name?

"Wu Shicheng".

"You guys have done this kind of thing quite a few times before, haven't you?"

"No, this is the first time."

"What did you say? I didn't hear clearly."

"Yes, yes, it's happened more than ten times since the year before last, but we were just bluffing and never actually hit anyone."

The sound echoed continuously on the first floor, reaching everyone's ears.

At that moment, the parents seemed to understand something. They never expected that Jia Hua Training would do such a thing. It was an insult to teachers' ethics, too despicable and shameless.

Wu Shicheng's face turned pale instantly when he saw the blond-haired man being rubbed against the ground in the video.

He never expected Brother Huang to fail, let alone betray him, especially since he had just sent him 500 yuan.

That's incredibly dishonest!
Sensing the unfriendly looks from the parents around him, Wu Shicheng immediately denied it.

"It's fake, this video is fake. Did you have someone film it? I don't know this person at all."

"Oh, really?" Zhang Wen sneered, watching the other person's stubbornness as he waited for the cabinet to be filled. Suddenly, he reached into the other person's pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

Wu Shicheng panicked and quickly reached out to grab it, shouting, "Give me back my phone! This is robbery! I'm calling the police!"

“Okay, go ahead and call the police. That way you can go in and give a proper account.” Zhang Wen turned on his phone, found that there was no password, so he found the call log, saw the number marked 'Brother Huang', and dialed it back directly.

Wu Shicheng was still scrambling to grab it, completely panicked.

None of the parents around intervened to stop the fight. They also wanted to know if the matter was true or false, but seeing how anxious and flustered Ms. Wu looked, they were probably sure she had done something wrong.

"Beep...beep...click!"

The call connected quickly.

"Hey, Mr. Wu, we're at Haidilao, do you want to come and eat with us?"

As soon as the voice rang out, everyone knew that Teacher Wu had not been wronged, because the voice was exactly the same as the voice in the video just now.

If, as Mr. Wu said, you don't know this person, then how come you have this person's number in your phone?
And it sounds like the two of them are very familiar with each other.

As expected, like boss, like employees; they're all liars.

The crowd's eyes darted back and forth between the principal and the teachers, their gazes filled with disdain.

……

(End of this chapter)