Chapter 61: Murder!
A lawn separated No. 1 High School's senior high teaching building from its administrative Tian Jiayu Building, with a scattering of tropical trees planted across it. In Xiahai City, where winters were warm, summers cool, and the climate pleasant, it made for a picturesque, nurturing setting.
Ding Juntao's office had a classical elegance. Two small red flags stood on his desk, and behind him hung an ethereal landscape painting seen from an aerial perspective, bearing a couplet in running script: "Be discerning in worldly affairs; be peaceful in heart and spirit." A faint sandalwood fragrance drifted through the room. He did not much like smoking in his office, afraid of spoiling that lingering scent. Most people familiar with him knew his preferences and accommodated his refined tastes to some degree.
As Ding Juntao read through the documents in his hands, his brows involuntarily drew into a slight frown. Recent public opinion had been extremely unfavorable to No. 1 High School. Waihai Middle School was adept at publicity: the city television station had interviewed it several times, and its advertisements were prominent on the local channel. Although City First Middle School remained firmly established as the city's leading school, Waihai Middle School's gradual promotion of its outstanding students' achievements and even its excellent school ethos and discipline would, to some extent, create an ideal haven in the minds of Xiahai City's parents, who hoped their children would excel.
Under these circumstances, word of certain unhealthy practices at City First Middle School had gradually spread, provoking some negative reactions. Ding Juntao, however, decided to remain steady as a rock. Such a large school, the leader in the city, had climbed to its present position over the thirty years since its founding by relying on stability. As long as they