Chapter One: Every Lie Has a Root

Before the police arrived, the gloves were recovered from behind the cistern. The fingerprint was there. Luo Cheng tried to dismiss the incident as a prank between classmates, but each new equation over his head grew simpler. Lin Yan announced every solution: the time of the phone call, the recommendation slot, the new computer lab Chen Hao’s family had promised to donate. By noon, Chen Hao had been taken in for questioning and Luo Cheng suspended. Lin Yan’s name was cleared. No one apologized. At lunch, he carried the cheapest plate of rice and greens through a ring of empty seats. Before, his classmates avoided him because he could answer a problem before the teacher finished writing it.