Your contract is not valid and is unenforceable.

If you accept ANY payment in RMB you will have broken Chinese law and be subject to fines and deportation. The agency and school are composed of Chinese citizens who could care less if that happens to you.

If you are a U.S. citizen, even if you go to Hong Kong you will be unable to get a Z visa.

If you did do any research prior to coming to China, you should know all of this.

Your decision to protect the identity of the agency is immaterial; they are all the same.

Go to the agency and rip up the contract and refuse (or return) any payment. If they threaten you, they are posturing. So far they are the ones who have broken the law.

Perhaps now is a good time to stroll around and meet some helpful foreigners and check out some schools while you are in China on a student visa, as some delusional, and apparently independently wealthy, contributors to this forum have suggested.