Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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A little while later, Gong Yuxue knocked on the door of the dean’s office.
Today, she wore a neat ponytail, and judging from the craftsmanship of the hair tie, it was obviously expensive, not in the same league as the cheap hair ties sold on the street.
Although she was wearing a school uniform, Gong Yuxue’s high head still made her look somewhat mature and a little superior.
She pushed open the door, as if completely unaware of what had happened, and walked into the office, greeting the teachers warmly.
Yan Han had barely met this classmate who always stayed behind the scenes. This was the first time he’d truly looked at this arts and sciences goddess… no, now she should be called a top student who excelled in both arts and sciences. He couldn’t help but think that the girl seemed perfect in every way— fair-skinned, energetic, how could she be so crazy?
….
Sure enough, less than two minutes after entering the office, upon learning why she’d been called in, Gong Yuxue, as he expected, flatly denied it.
Her reasons were quite sound.
“So what if two classmates accused me? Maybe they rehearsed their story beforehand,” Gong Yuxue said, her voice tinged with anger. “They say they were acting on my orders, but what evidence do they have?”
Although she was angry, she also possessed a ladylike composure.
Even though she seemed very agitated, her words were clear and her thoughts were sharp, getting straight to the point.
Yan Han and some of the teachers couldn’t help but frown.
The teachers had probably called the person involved in the case in with the idea that if the other party could confess directly, it would save a lot of subsequent procedures.
However, it was clear that Gong Yuxue’s mental fortitude was far superior to that of the classmate from Class 14 whom she had bribed and Tang Hongbo. In front of so many people, she couldn’t possibly openly admit to being the mastermind behind framing her classmate, and judging from her demeanor, there was indeed nothing unusual about her.
Sure enough, Gong Yuxue immediately added, “Besides, I have no past grudges or recent conflicts with this Yan Han. Why would I go to so much trouble to harm her?!”
….
Unexpectedly, she denied everything outright, completely absolving herself of any responsibility. Tang Hongbo and the classmate from Class 14 who had been instructed by her both wore expressions of disbelief.
Having already gone all out, Tang Hongbo said angrily, “You really are turning your back on me! You were the one who instigated me to frame Yan Han! You said Lin Jianlu was difficult to deal with, and this tactic was perfect for dealing with Yan Han, whose grades were rising too quickly! You said that as long as I got rid of her, I could vent my anger…”
“What are you saying? You have to be responsible for your words. Do you have any evidence for what you’re saying?”
Gong Yuxue didn’t argue with him, only stating that she wanted to see evidence.
In fact, from the moment she started defending herself, she had been avoiding any confrontations or arguments, only repeatedly emphasizing the evidence.
She was truly watertight.
Tang Hongbo, completely at a loss for words, was speechless.
Where would he get any evidence?
Before he acted, he hadn’t anticipated this situation at all, and he certainly hadn’t thought that if things went wrong, he’d need to preserve evidence!
Tang Hongbo was speechless, and the classmate who had simply taken the money was even more speechless.
He stood dejectedly to the side, realizing he had been blinded by greed. He didn’t hate Gong Yuxue like Tang Hongbo did; he was only worried about what his parents would do to him when they arrived…
The argument inside the room was quickly turned around by Gong Yuxue’s few words. Yan Han sat to the side, shaking his head inwardly. He thought Tang Hongbo always thought himself clever, but actually lacked any social experience. It was normal that he couldn’t outmaneuver Gong Yuxue, who was used to using others as pawns.
He guessed that the two of them usually didn’t let others see their conversations, and certainly didn’t leave any records on their phones.
At this moment, Gong Yuxue, who had rendered Tang Hongbo speechless, suddenly teared up and burst into tears.
The current situation was that the two classmates who accused her couldn’t produce evidence, and Gong Yuxue insisted she knew nothing about it and that she was being framed. The teachers were at a loss; in fact, most of the teachers in the room thought Gong Yuxue was genuinely innocent.
Especially with her crying, which calmed the teachers who were initially furious about this shocking frame-up, made them realize that Gong Yuxue’s words made sense—
While they could prove Yan Han was innocent, they couldn’t prove Gong Yuxue was the mastermind.
In this situation, the teachers had to question Tang Hongbo and the other student separately to determine the truth.
However, they had already said everything they needed to say; no matter how they questioned them, even with their parents’ testimonies, Tang Hongbo and the other student’s statements remained the same, and no one could provide evidence, making the path to uncovering the truth very difficult.
Later, when Gong Yuxue’s guardian arrived at the school, they insisted that Gong Yuxue wouldn’t do such a thing, spouting a lot of official rhetoric and claiming the school would bear responsibility for falsely accusing a student before investigating the truth. The teachers were even more helpless.
If things continued like this, they might not catch Gong Yuxue, this big fish, and she would become even more cautious in the future, Yan Han thought.
Having spent time with Big Brother Lin recently, his imagination, previously stifled by poverty, had begun to expand. He realized that the so-called guardian wasn’t Gong Yuxue’s parent, but a lawyer sent by her parents. This made him understand that things were far more difficult than he had imagined, and he better understood the teachers’ worried expressions after learning that Gong Yuxue was the “mastermind.”
However, Yan Han didn’t back down.
Half the afternoon passed, and all the other students’ parents had arrived. He was the only one left, but he remained remarkably calm and composed in the face of the crowd.
Yan Han said, “Since there’s interaction, there must be evidence. Tang Hongbo, when and where do you usually meet with Gong?”
The parents looked at the student sitting calmly on the sofa with curiosity.
To be honest, from the moment they entered the office, every single one of them had noticed the student in the school uniform sitting in the corner of the sofa.
After all, if it weren’t for the Luze High School uniform, Yan Han’s appearance alone would have made him look like a young celebrity.
Moreover, he sat there with an air of exceptional poise, impossible to ignore.
But now wasn’t the time to admire his beauty.
Tang Hongbo’s mother immediately nudged her son with her finger, “What exactly happened? Tell me now!”
After this incident, Tang Hongbo’s parents rushed over.
Both wore thick-rimmed glasses; the mother was a middle school teacher, and his father was a research and development engineer at an electronics company. They both had a scholarly air about them, and Tang Hongbo’s father, looking utterly disappointed, said nothing.
His mother also felt ashamed, especially in front of so many people. She just wanted to take her son home for a proper talking-to, but the matter wasn’t clear yet, and Tang Hongbo was a crucial witness. Unable to take him away now, she could only anxiously nudge her son, hoping he would quickly explain what had happened.
Tang Hongbo was now solely focused on taking someone down with him. Although he didn’t like Yan Han either, facing a common enemy, since he’d been asked, he could only carefully recall:
“The first time was on a weekend. I was studying in the library outside the school when Gong Yuxue recognized me and struck up a conversation. The rest… sometimes on the way home from school, and once when I was cleaning the classroom alone. I’ve seen her twice outside of school too. In short, every time we met, it was when there were very few people around.”
He grew increasingly angry as he spoke.
He had a habit of studying in the library every weekend, and that’s when Gong Yuxue approached him.
Gong Yuxue only met with him to talk; he didn’t even know her phone number!
He was a bit introverted, especially with girls, and never thought of proactively contacting them or asking for their phone numbers.
But now, thinking back, it was clear he’d been used as a suicide squad, and Gong Yuxue was trying to prevent herself from being implicated if things came to light!
Recalling the look of surprise and delight on Gong Yuxue’s face when she first approached him, he genuinely believed it was because he was a good student and well-known at school, and that she was surprised by such a chance encounter…
Now it seemed that it was all an act; Gong Yuxue’s approach to him was premeditated!
“Then there’s no evidence.” Gong Yuxue was too aggrieved to speak at this point, and her lawyer was the one providing the words.
Her “guardian,” still speaking in a very official tone, said, “Excuse me, student, after hearing your explanation, I feel even more that Gong Yuxue has been wronged.”
His tone was infuriating, and Tang Hongbo couldn’t help but retort, “If you really don’t believe me, I’ll go to the library right now and get the video for you!”
“What library? Does the surveillance video have official, legally valid proof? Who knows if your video is fake?”
“I… It’s from the provincial library! How could the surveillance video there be fake!” Tang Hongbo shouted, practically going crazy with anger, “Or the campus! We met yesterday! There must be some evidence!”
“Class 9 and Class 10 are so close, does accidentally going up and down the stairs together count as meeting?” Gong Yuxue’s guardian cut him off directly: “Unless you can produce solid evidence, otherwise…”
Tang Hongbo, driven mad with anger, didn’t know what to say. He also believed he could find evidence, as long as he was willing to spend time checking the surveillance footage and collecting evidence.
However, the teachers and parents present clearly didn’t approve of this approach.
Director Gu rubbed her nose in anguish. She’d never seen a situation like this before, where both sides were so adamant and neither had any evidence.
After hearing Tang Hongbo’s description, Mother Tang was more inclined to believe that her son had acted impulsively.
After all, she knew her son well.
So, Mother Tang said to the teachers present, “This child is a bit simple-minded, and he doesn’t get along very well with his classmates, but he would never have the guts to frame someone…”
“But he did it anyway.” Thinking she was trying to exonerate Tang Hongbo, the grade head, who had just witnessed the reversal and couldn’t be more disappointed, interrupted Mother Tang abruptly.
Mother Tang’s face darkened again, but she insisted on finishing her sentence: “What I mean is that Tang Hongbo must have been instigated to do what he did today. He’s still a child, constantly brainwashed, it’s inevitable that he’ll make mistakes…”
“Tang Hongbo’s mother, are you implying that your son was instigated by Gong Yuxue?” Gong Yuxue’s guardian spoke up again, “I think I need to remind you, you’re an adult, and we can sue you for such improper accusations and slander!”
“You…” Tang Hongbo’s mother was also quite angry. They could have just spoken politely, but instead, they kept bringing up the law, which annoyed everyone.
And it seemed the other party was carrying some recording equipment, making things even more difficult. After all, nobody is a lawyer, and nobody comes to school to handle a dispute for their child with a lawyer!
Now, not only were the parents hesitant to speak up, but even the school dared not make a sound.
After all, if this matter was handled unfairly, and the relevant evidence was leaked, it would damage the reputation of Luze High School!
The situation reached a stalemate. After a brief silence, Gong Yuxue’s lawyer spoke again: “It’s already noon. I don’t think we can reach a conclusion on this matter anytime soon. The child has an exam this afternoon. Director Gu, could you please investigate this matter slowly and let us have lunch first?”
His polite question was impossible for any teacher to refuse.
However, upon hearing this, Yan Han’s back straightened slightly.
Like a leopard sniffing danger, his gaze sharpened considerably.
—The reason Tang Hongbo and the student from Class 14 had been telling the truth was because they had never left Director Gu’s or the grade head’s sight.
But if they were dismissed on the spot, who knew who might come into contact with them over lunchtime?
Perhaps their testimonies would change by the afternoon.
The two sides had clashed more than once or twice; he believed Gong Yuxue had the ability.
But at this moment, Tang Hongbo’s parents and the parents of the student from Class 14 felt ashamed and didn’t want to stay any longer.
Upon hearing the suggestion to disband the group, they didn’t object, each secretly plotting how to plead with Director Gu to lessen their child’s punishment.
So, disbanding was readily agreed upon, and at this point, no one really cared about Yan Han’s feelings as the victim.
But since he was the victim, Yan Han could exercise his privileges at crucial moments.
He couldn’t keep Gong Yuxue, but he could at least keep the others, buying some more time.
So he said, “Even without a mastermind… I don’t care who the mastermind is, teacher. I just want the classmate who framed me to apologize.”
“That’s only right,” Director Gu said.
Gong Yuxue glanced at him as Yan Han said this.
Still a young girl, not very experienced, her expression was normal, revealing no emotion, but the contempt in her eyes was unmistakable, as if she were telling Yan Han that she hadn’t lost this round; at the very least, they had tied.
Faced with such a gaze, Yan Han smiled gently at her, his expression and eyes utterly kind, bright and warm, as if there had never been any grudge between them, and they were simply two innocent people brought together for some absurd reason.
Meeting that gaze, Gong Yuxue was stunned.
The grudge had run so deep, and today’s scene clearly showed that Yan Han had turned the tables on her. She didn’t believe the other party was without hostility.
There weren’t that many innocent people in this world.
But his smile truly conveyed no hostility or malice, neither in his expression nor his eyes… Based on this alone, Gong Yuxue couldn’t help but re-evaluate this person.
This person was either genuinely foolish, or more cunning than her.
Gong Yuxue leaned towards the latter.
She used to think that what made Lin Jianlu so infatuated that he was willing to abandon his principles was her rare appearance and her rough, bold personality, something she could never emulate.
But now it seemed… this person was far more difficult to deal with than she had imagined.
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