Pretending to Understand is the Most Fatal

Sabine City has a total of twenty-two middle schools, which are high schools. There are no junior high schools here, only elementary schools, middle schools, and universities.

Students in elementary school spend nine years at school before moving on to middle school for three years. After completing twelve years of education, they can go to university.

However, not everyone can go to university. Currently, the university admission rate is less than 17%, mainly due to two reasons.

On one hand, the cost of university is still too high for ordinary families. Unlike elementary and middle schools, where the fees are relatively low, not all families can afford the four-year cost of university.

On the other hand, the current education system is essentially a joke. According to surveys by some consulting firms, about 90% of university students come from private schools rather than public schools.

The failure of public education, including family financial problems, ultimately limits people's opportunities to attend university. Lin Qi was unable to attend university in this way, even though he filled out the application form very carefully.

In other words, to go to university, good grades are not important. What is important is to have a family that can afford the high fees, or some family with power.

The reason for the Bayer Federation's current president's victory mainly comes from two aspects. First, he promised to complete the medical reform during his term, reduce medical costs, and make medical care affordable for everyone.

Second, he promised to complete a new round of education reform during his term, expanding the proportion of public middle school students entering universities from about 10% to as much as possible about 20%, so people chose him.

As for whether he can complete it... maybe we will know after his term ends. Some people always face the world with the naive idea that things will turn around at the last second.

Of course, there is no absolute despair for the current education system. Every school has scholarships. Compared with the brutal competition in public schools, scholarships in private schools are easy to obtain. The school board can determine who to give them to, which is why people sometimes say that power is greater than or equal to wealth.

Michael's son, Little Michael, is such a "good boy" who can get a scholarship every year. Academic performance is only part of a student's life. Life, extracurricular activities, and after-school activities are also standards for measuring a student. At least he meets the scholarship standards in the latter three items.

Plus his family background, Little Michael has many good friends at school.

In one afternoon, Little Michael borrowed about three thousand dollars from his friends. This money is far from enough. He needs at least two thousand dollars more, but those at school who can lend him money have basically given him their spare money.

Those he can't borrow from, no matter how much he says, people may not lend him the money.

After finishing lunch like chewing wax, he drove home, ignoring his girlfriend's retention.

At this time, Michael's Wife had not returned from the hospital. To prevent the criminal from returning to harm Michael's Wife, Michael's Wife was still staying in the hospital and receiving police protection.

Many criminals have a inexplicable plot to silence people. The Sheriff is afraid of this, so the whole room is completely empty.

Little Michael, who returned home, began to rummage through boxes and cabinets looking for cash. Michael's Wife is a full-time housewife, which means she will keep a lot of change at home for emergencies.

Soon Little Michael found hundreds of dollars in change, but it was not enough to pay the bartender's fee. He hesitated for a moment and opened the door to Michael's study.

When Michael is at home, he does not allow Little Michael to enter the study without permission. Sometimes there are some files or evidence brought back for research in the study.

Once these things are damaged, it will cause great passivity to the detection of the case, and it will also make Michael take the blame, but now these are not enough to stop Little Michael's impulse to avenge his mother while proving himself.

He stood at the door for a while, then tiptoed into the room. He knew Michael was not at home, but he was still so careful.

He first turned around casually, then focused his attention on the desk. He had seen Michael sometimes put change in the drawer. Not everyone likes to carry too many coins on their body. That thing will deform clothes and make people uncomfortable.

He opened the drawers in order and found the money he wanted, but he was not satisfied. He wanted to continue to see what was in these drawers until he opened the second-to-last drawer and found a gold ring under a file that was obviously sticking up.

He took the ring in his hand and wanted to put it back. He thought it might be Michael's or Michael's Wife's. Just as he was putting the ring back, he saw a line of words on the inner circle of the ring.

Curiosity made him take the ring in his hand again and read it out in the light, "My love, Catherine."

Little Michael was stunned, and his expression froze for a short time. Obviously, Michael's Wife's name does not include the name Catherine, and Michael is unlikely to be called "Catherine" by others, so this ring is undoubtedly someone else's, at least someone is going to give it to someone else.

The harm Michael's Wife suffered last night, and his own efforts to investigate the truth, were all shattered in front of this ring that was obviously full of traces of betrayal.

A surge of anger rose from Little Michael's heart. They were being threatened, and Michael, the head of the family, was betraying them! The thought of putting the ring back vanished. With a cold face, he clenched the ring in his hand and, after a moment of silence, decided to use his not-at-all-mature, but pretending-to-be-mature, brain to formulate a plan.

He would destroy this ring that might disrupt his family's harmony. He was pretending to be mature, giving Michael, his father, a chance to save the family, just like in many TV shows.

In that moment, he felt grown up, mature, and no longer so childish. Naturally, he also had to destroy the evidence.

If he sold this ring, he could almost gather enough money.

Later that day, Little Michael appeared outside an antique shop. He had learned from his father's and his colleagues' conversations that some antique shops often dealt with stolen goods.

They never asked about the origin of the items, labeled them as antiques, and then bought them, issuing receipts.

Little Michael found an antique shop on the other side of the city. He ran so far because he didn't want the antique shop owner to recognize him, which was also a manifestation of his inexplicable self-perceived maturity.

"A gold ring..." The antique shop owner looked to be in his fifties, somewhat balding, wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt.

He wore glasses, looking down at the gold ring he was constantly turning in his hand, and at the inscription inside the ring. Then, he looked up at Little Michael, "How much are you planning to sell it for?"

Little Michael was actually a little nervous. This was his first time doing something like this. He didn't want people to see his childishness. He just wanted to be as mature as possible. He pretended to be calm and said, "Five hundred dollars at least!" He even added a sentence to prove the basis of his asking price, "This is pure gold!"

The antique shop owner curled his lips. "Just because you say it's pure gold doesn't mean it is. I need to burn it to test it. Wait for me for a minute!" Saying that, he didn't care whether Little Michael agreed or not, and turned around and walked into the room behind him with the ring.

If a truly experienced person were here, they should have noticed some problems. No one would let the ring out of their sight, except for those who are immature but pretending to be mature.

The antique shop owner walked into the back room and silently picked up the phone, dialing a private number.

"Someone came to sell a ring... Yes, the one you mentioned last time. I understand, I'll stall him!"

The antique shop owner calmly hung up the phone. Everyone knew that antique shops dealt with stolen goods. The reason they could openly deal with stolen goods without being disturbed by the police or the Bureau of Investigation was actually because of their "cooperation."

They were also one of the informants of the police or Bureau of Investigation agents!

If Little Michael had been able to hear the entire conversation between his father and his colleagues that day, he would have known that the core of Michael's conversation with his colleagues was not that the antique shop was dealing with stolen goods, but that they had found clues from the antique shop.