Chapter 846: Demonstrating Ability

Ma Rui shook his head, "I have a woman now, I can't provoke her anymore. Otherwise, my mother would definitely kick me out of the house."

"You kid actually have principles." Zhao Hu chuckled twice, "How is Zhao Weiguo doing?"

Ma Rui then told him everything he had done today from beginning to end.

After listening, Zhao Hu's eyes lit up; he jumped straight off the bed, sat down next to Ma Rui, and patted him on the shoulder: "Ma Rui, if you're going to start a company, you have to count your buddy in! I won't hide it from you, I've worked as a lighting assistant for Zhang Yimou."

Ma Rui glanced at him and said seriously, "Then when you're free, go run around the Beijing Film Studio and try to rent an office and a warehouse."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu's eyes nearly popped out, "Are you serious? Can we really get advertising work?"

Ma Rui smiled and took the business card holder out of his backpack, spreading it out on the bed: "Take a look at who is inside."

Zhao Hu flipped through it page by page, his fingers trembling and his mouth opening wider and wider, until he finally blurted out a curse: "Damn... these are all top-tier big shots of Si Jiu Cheng."

When he said this, his voice was drifting, as if he were in a dream.

Ma Rui smiled, that smile carrying a bit of a young man's irrepressible pride: "To tell you the truth, my eldest uncle is the chairman of the new Industrial and Commercial Federation."

Zhao Hu looked at Ma Rui in disbelief, "Your family's influence is this big? Why don't you have those above pressure the Deputy Director of your department?"

"Those are all small matters, I can solve them myself," Ma Rui said.

Just as they were talking, a head suddenly poked in at the door.

A student in the class named Wang Xingjun said in a panic: "Ma Rui, hurry to the department, the Department Head is waiting for you."

Ma Rui stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked out with a calm expression.

The moment Ma Rui pushed open the classroom door, he felt that something was wrong.

The small classroom was packed full of people. All the leaders were there, and the students of Ma Rui's class were all there too.

As soon as Ma Rui entered, the crowd that had been talking suddenly fell silent, terrifyingly quiet.

The Department Head sat upright in the center, with Deputy Director Liu and Deputy Director Ma sitting on either side, all three of them with dark faces.

Sitting below were the classmates from the class.

The few people who participated in the fight were all sitting in a corner, as if they were undergoing judgment.

The Department Head looked up and saw Ma Rui, beckoned, and asked: "Ma Rui, why did you leave school without permission today without asking for leave?"

Ma Rui's footsteps paused; knowing that Deputy Director Liu was playing tricks, he decided to just go for it and said: "Department Head, I asked Deputy Director Liu for leave."

"You only said you wanted to ask for leave, I did not approve it, so it doesn't count," Deputy Director Liu said.

Everyone in the classroom looked at Ma Rui in unison; some were gloating, some were watching the show, only Liu Wei had worry in her eyes.

Ma Rui still saw it, and his heart warmed.

Ma Rui stared at Deputy Director Liu and suddenly smiled, "Deputy Director Liu, my business is very important and concerns the future of Chen Jiadong; is it not allowed to ask for leave?"

Deputy Director Liu said coldly: "If you were really that kind-hearted, you wouldn't have called the police, and Chen Jiadong wouldn't have been arrested."

As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the classroom grew a few degrees colder.

Ma Rui took a deep breath and suppressed the anger rising up, "Deputy Director Liu, I know you are targeting me, but I don't care; a straight person doesn't fear a crooked shadow. Leaders, why exactly did you call me here?"

Deputy Director Liu said sternly: "You participated in a fight, helping people from the photography training class beat up students from your own class, and caused serious consequences. You called the police privately without asking for instructions, damaging the reputation of the department and the school, and you skipped class... Any one of these things alone is enough to expel you. We leaders have all discussed it; you should handle your own withdrawal procedures. The word 'expulsion' doesn't sound good, we can count it as you voluntarily dropping out."

The students and teachers in the classroom changed their expressions upon hearing this.

Ma Rui smiled, "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. Do all three department heads mean the same thing?"

Ma Rui's gaze moved away from Deputy Director Liu's face and rested on the Department Head.

The Department Head pondered for a moment and said: "Ma Rui, I will give you a chance to defend yourself. If what you say makes sense, perhaps there is still a turning point."

After hearing this, Ma Rui had wanted to report them directly to the higher-ups, but now he decided to explain clearly first.

He said loudly: "Leaders, the whole incident is like this..."

Immediately, Ma Rui told the cause and effect of the matter, including every detail, "I grabbed the chair that Chen Jiadong kicked over, and I had no way to go and snatch the knife... Therefore, Deputy Director Liu's claim that I was helping the people from the photography training class fight our class simply does not hold water. I was just breaking up the fight..."

Ma Rui spoke like a storyboard script, stating every single action.

Just as he finished speaking, Liu Wei stood up with a start and handed a sketchbook to the Department Head, "Department Head, what Ma Rui said is the truth. What he said is what I saw; I originally wanted to give this to you. I drew every scene I saw."

The Department Head looked at this storyboard script and recalled Ma Rui's words; they were almost exactly the same.

Deputy Director Liu's lips moved, wanting to interject.

The Department Head raised his hand, not giving him a chance to speak.

Deputy Director Liu's face turned pale, his lips pressed into a line, and he swallowed the words that had reached his mouth.

Ma Rui continued: "I will add one more thing: Chen Jiadong and the four classmates who were with him all saw this. There is also a person in our dormitory named Yu Zhiwei who saw it too. The reason I didn't mention Yu Zhiwei is because he has already graduated and is not from our school—he was crashing in our dormitory before, and he might have been afraid of being kicked out, so he didn't dare to testify."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Department Head nodded, turned to Deputy Director Liu, and said: "Old Liu, if this matter is really as Ma Rui said, he is indeed innocent. Your decision to expel him was a bit hasty."

"Department Head, that's not how it happened," Deputy Director Liu said, then looked at the four people who participated in the fight that day.

None of the four spoke, and they all lowered their heads, knowing the principle that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold; if Ma Rui were expelled, they wouldn't fare any better.

Ma Rui pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the Department Head with both hands, "This is Chen Jiadong's confession, which I copied from the Public Security Bureau."

The Department Head took it and read it from beginning to end. When he looked up, his expression had changed, and there was something more in his gaze toward Ma Rui.

Deputy Director Liu's face turned red and then white; his fingers tapped on the table twice and then stopped; his mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Seeing that the Department Head seemed to have changed his attitude, Ma Rui quickly said: "Department Head, actually I shouldn't be considered as skipping class today either. First, I told Deputy Director Liu that I was asking for leave to handle business—regardless of whether he approved it or not, I told him to his face. Second, I didn't go out to play today. I found Chen Jiadong and Zhao Weiguo, and under my persuasion, the two of them reached an understanding, and Zhao Weiguo will no longer hold Chen Jiadong responsible. At the same time, I also told the Public Security people—if both sides no longer pursue the matter, they will also try their best to coordinate and strive to minimize the impact of this incident."

The moment this sentence was spoken, everyone in the classroom began to whisper to each other.

Everyone felt that Ma Rui's ability was simply too strong. Even the Dean might not be able to do such a thing.

The Department Head's eyes widened, and he asked: "Are you telling the truth? Ma Rui? Both of them agreed to reconcile?"

"Absolutely true," Ma Rui met his gaze without flinching.

Deputy Director Liu's face went completely stiff, as if a ball of cotton were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

The room was silent.

The Department Head said: "Student Ma Rui, I'm sorry, I didn't pay enough attention to this matter, you have been wronged. Not only are you not at fault, you are a good student who acted bravely for a just cause. I heard you even paid money for student Zhao Weiguo, that is not easy."

Liu Wei clapped hard, and the other teachers and students slowly began to clap as well.

Ma Rui said, "When I was leaving, Chen Jiadong told me that he knows the mistake he made this time is very serious and that he can no longer stay at the school. He is willing to take all the responsibility upon himself alone, and he asks that the department not pursue the four classmates who were with him any further."

Upon hearing these words, those four classmates felt a sense of relief. They all looked at the Department Head with guilty consciences, hoping he would give them a promise.