Chapter 1

As an elite educator, every single student I ever mentored gained admission to top-tier universities without exception.

One day, a desperate mother broke down in tears, begging me on her knees to save her son.

Out of professional compassion, I not only tutored him completely free of charge, but I even lent her money for her medical treatments.

Ultimately, her son achieved his dream and got accepted into a prestigious university.

Yet she turned around and publicly accused me on social media of running an illegal paid tutoring ring and extorting massive fees.

To appease the raging internet mob, the school board exiled me to a remote, impoverished rural school.

Unexpectedly, just one year later, her son was expelled from college for violent assault.

Having nowhere left to turn, he had to retake the SAT from scratch.

His mother scoured the entire region looking for someone to tutor him, only to discover that across the entire state, I was the only person capable of getting him back into college.

"Ms. Hall, I have the first two periods this morning."

I had just finished my breakfast at my desk when a student teacher walked up to me.

I glanced at her desk and gently reminded her, "You might want to grab the mic amplifier. The kids in this period can get pretty rowdy."

Taking the hint, the intern quickly strapped it on and nodded. "Thank you for the heads-up, Ms. Hall!"

I stood up and headed outside, the intern trailing close behind.

Morning homeroom study had already begun, but a few students were still goofing around in the hallway.

"Dude, seriously, I found a wild rabbit on the hill after school yesterday! It was so damn cute!"

"Whatever, that's nothing. I caught a wild fox once."

"Yeah, right! Total cap!"

Massaging my throbbing temples, I stepped in and called them out. "Homeroom study already started. What are you guys doing out here?"

"Did you suddenly forget the hallway rules?"

The moment my voice dropped, the chatting students panicked and sprinted right into the classroom.

I stepped in right behind them.

Aside from a couple of kids dozing off, everyone else was diligently reading along with the material.

I walked over to a young girl's desk and quietly slipped a discreetly boxed pack of sanitary pads into her drawer.

Her face flushed bright red, and she whispered, "Thank you, Ms. Hall."

I gave her an encouraging pat on the head.

In this rural community, most of the kids were left behind with elderly relatives while their parents worked away in major cities.

The allowance their parents sent back was barely enough to survive, so they never dared to spend a single penny on themselves.

Whenever I could help, I stepped up.

I pulled up a chair at the back of the classroom to observe the intern's lesson.

She was still green, after all; her classroom management was noticeably shaky.

When the bell rang, I filled out my evaluation sheet and scored her performance.

The intern walked over, looking nervous. "Ms. Hall, I... I don't think I have a good handle on managing the students yet."

I smiled warmly, patting her shoulder. "That's completely normal. I struggled just as much when I first started out."

"You're doing great. Keep at it, I believe in you."

With the observation done, I grabbed my lesson plans and headed back toward the teachers' lounge.

Just as I reached the door, I overheard several teachers gossiping inside.

"Hey, did you guys know? Ms. Hall used to teach at an elite prep academy in the big city."

"Wait, seriously? Then why the hell did she end up in a backwater place like this?"

"You didn't hear? That whole scandal blew up big time back then! They said she ran an illegal off-the-books tutoring ring and extorted insane amounts of cash from parents!"

"No way. Ms. Hall doesn't seem like that kind of person at all."

"I don't buy it either. Look at how wonderful she is to the kids here—she treats every single one of them like her own family!"

"Honestly, even if she did charge for tutoring, so what? The kid got into an elite university, didn't he? Paying a little appreciation fee makes complete sense to me!"

My hand tightened around my binder as I pushed the door open.

The gossip died instantly. Everyone scrambled back to their desks, pretending to look busy.

Acting as if nothing had happened, I walked over to tidy up my desk. Just then, a knock came at the door.

Mr. Miller, our department chair, walked up to my desk and said, "Wren, the principal needs to see you in his office."