Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

The members of the Discipline Inspection Commission looked in the direction Zhang Yifan was pointing, at the wall covered with banners.

The young cadres took the lead and took down the banners on the wall one by one, their movements swift and decisive, yet their strength uncompromising.

Red velvet banners were piled on the ground, their gold lettering gleaming under the fluorescent lights: "Teaching and Nurturing Students," "Students Flourishing Across the World," "Outstanding Educator"...

Those signs that Principal Meng was most proud of were now lying haphazardly on the dusty tiles, the gold tassels at the bottom of the signs tangled up.

After the banners were taken down, the bare white wall behind them was revealed. The wall was smooth and there were no gaps or traces of hidden doors.

The young cadre bent his finger and tapped the wall. The sound was deep and resonant, the echo of a solid wall.

He felt around the corner of the wall again, but his fingertips only had a layer of white ash on them and he found nothing.

There's nothing there.

The young cadre straightened up, dusted off his hands, and turned to look at Zhang Yifan with undisguised dissatisfaction in his eyes.

"Excuse me, are you sure this is the wall you're seeing? We're handling a serious case. If you're mistaken or seeing things, it's not too late to tell me now. Let's not waste each other's time."

Fu Kai, standing to the side, broke out in a cold sweat and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Sir, the student was probably too nervous and misremembered. How about we...?"

The old discipline inspection commission did not take any action.

He watched quietly from the side, his gaze never leaving the wall from the moment the banner was taken down.

He finally spoke, his voice not loud, but it silenced both the young cadre and Fu Kai.

"Don't you think the placement of this desk is a bit unreasonable?"

Everyone looked at the desk in the direction he was pointing.

This large, heavy, dark brown solid wood desk is piled high with documents and miscellaneous items, and no one would usually pay attention to its location.

But it was only after the old discipline inspection commissioner pointed this out that the young cadres took notice.

A normal person's desk should either be near a window for natural light or face the door for easy reception of guests.

But this table was pressed firmly against the front of this wall, completely obscuring the lower half of the wall, as if it were deliberately blocking something.

To get to this wall, you have to squeeze sideways through the narrow gap between the table and the filing cabinet.

"Move it away."

At the old discipline inspection commissioner's command, the young cadre and another colleague exchanged a glance, and the two walked to either side of the desk, bending over and exerting force.

The table was unexpectedly heavy, and its legs scraped against the tiles with a piercing screech when moved.

It took the two men a lot of effort to drag it out more than half a meter. When the corner of the wall was exposed, the two young cadres were panting heavily.

Now everyone could see clearly that the wall behind the table had a slight color difference from the surrounding walls.

It's not that the paint is uneven, but rather that the paint on one section of the wall is slightly newer than the surrounding area, and a very fine crack can be faintly seen around the edge.

The young cadre paused for a second, then squatted down and ran his finger along the gap.

The gap is so fine that it is not visible unless you get very close.

He bent his finger and gently tapped the wall. It didn't produce the dull echo of a solid wall, but rather a crisp sound with a hint of hollowness.

"There's nothing behind this!"

His voice suddenly rose in pitch.

Several discipline inspection officials surrounded them at the same time.

Someone took a multi-tool out of a briefcase and carefully pried open the board along the seam.

Behind the panel was a hidden door embedded in the wall. Behind the hidden door, a safe, about 60 centimeters square, was firmly embedded between the wall tiles. The door was made of dark gray steel plate, and a thin layer of dust had settled on the combination lock.

The office was silent for a full three seconds.

Then the young cadre gasped and blurted out, "There really is!"

The old discipline inspection commissioner stood on the periphery of the crowd, not going up to look at the safe.

His gaze shifted from the safe, slowly turning to Zhang Yifan.

Those eyes had seen far too many people and things; now, a glint of light flashed in them, as if they were re-examining Zhang Yifan from head to toe.

The desk in front of me is large and heavy, completely obscuring the lower half of the wall.

It took two people working together to drag the table out; Principal Meng couldn't possibly move the table and open the hidden door by himself.

In other words, if the student really "accidentally saw it when reporting grades," then Principal Meng would have to move the heavy desk by himself, open the hidden door in front of the student, and then hurriedly close it, which is completely illogical.

The child was lying.

But how did he know the safe was hidden there?

The veteran discipline inspection commissioner has worked in the discipline inspection system for nearly twenty years and has seen all sorts of motives from whistleblowers.

There were conflicts of interest, personal grudges, a change of heart, and attempts to take advantage of the situation.

But a senior high school student, without any motive, stood up and accurately reported that there was a safe in the principal's office wall.

Is it for the sake of justice? A teenager should be past the age of living off "justice".

What's in it for him?

Standing next to Fu Kai, Zhang Yifan felt a chill run down his spine under the old disciplinary committee member's gaze.

After he saw that the safe was hidden behind the table, he knew that his lie was untenable.

That table required two people to move; that detail is a huge flaw.

But the system only told him that the safe was in the wall, not that it was in the wall behind the table.

But so what?

The safe wasn't his, and he didn't embezzle the money.

He was a student who raised his hand to report the crime, and the disciplinary committee found the stolen goods. That's a fact.

What's wrong with discrepancies in the reported information? Is reporting illegal?

Thinking of this, Zhang Yifan decided to stop feeling guilty and met the old discipline inspection commissioner's gaze with composure, his expression even carrying a sense of righteousness that said, "I just did what I was supposed to do."

After the young cadre snapped out of his surprise at discovering the safe, he quickly realized the same problem.

He put down his utility knife, frowned, and took a step towards Zhang Yifan, about to speak: "Wait, you said you saw this when you came to report your results, but this table..."

A hand steadily blocked his way.

The old discipline inspection official withdrew his hand from the young cadre's chest, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable weight: "Take the safe back first, open it, and take inventory. We'll talk about the rest later."

The young cadre opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but after seeing the old discipline inspection commissioner's expression, he swallowed his words and turned to call technicians to come and dismantle the safe.

The old discipline inspection commissioner walked up to Zhang Yifan.

He lacked the sharp scrutiny of a young cadre, and the anxious worry of Fu Kai. His expression was calm, as calm as a pool of water whose depths were unfathomable.

Then he reached out and patted Zhang Yifan's shoulder lightly, not hard, but his hand lingered on his shoulder for two seconds longer than a normal polite gesture.

"Young man, you're doing very well. Hurry up and get to class, this place is about to be locked down."