Her heart was not at ease, but "it's a foregone conclusion and there is no way to turn the tide," she said.

Over the years, Gou said, she has chosen to let it go. That was the state of the matter until this June. When Chen Chunxiu, a farmer's daughter in Guanxian county also in Shandong, was replaced by an imposter for college, it triggered public concerns — and new resolve for Gou.

That was when she decided to publicize what she had gone through.

"I'm not trying to hurt my teacher, but to correct similar mistakes," she said. "I don't need apologies or any compensation. I just want to find out the truth."

According to Gou Jing, after the imposters in Shandong were brought to the fore, the head teacher surnamed Qiu, now nearly 80, had visited her family in her hometown.

On the second day after Gou posted her story online, the head teacher took his family, including his daughter, as well as milk, flour and 10,000 yuan ($1,413) to Gou's hometown in Jining, to ask her mother where Gou was living now.

After being rejected by her mother, the head teacher traveled over 700 km to Huzhou, Zhejiang province, where Gou currently works.