Lu Guixin hadn't walked far when her phone rang inside her pocket. It was a call from the capital. She answered the phone and spoke in an aggressive tone, which was unlike her usual gentle voice. "Just watch. I'll settle it on my own, Dad."

  　　Lu Chengzhou lazily reminded her, "Do a good job. Don't embarrass your mother."

  　　As soon as Lu Guixin ended the call, she received another call. This time, it was from Tan Ying.

  　　Tan Ying sounded relaxed as he said, "I've already clarified on Weibo that it was my great-grandfather's birthday that day. I've also contacted a few media outlets, so this matter will soon die down."

  　　"Die down?" Lu Guixin laughed, her voice light, slow, and sinister. "Do I look like a magnanimous person?"

  　　Tan Ying froze and instinctively looked at his phone to check the name of the person he was speaking to. For a moment, he thought he'd called the wrong number. When he confirmed that he was indeed speaking to the right person, he asked hesitantly, "Lu Guixin? My little princess?"

  　　Hostility shone in her eyes. "I have to know who's picking on the new student who's been barely here for a few months and hasn't offended anyone."

  　　As the Tan family's heir who grew up with high expectations of him, Tan Ying naturally wasn't a simple character. Despite his young age and frivolous appearance, he was a deep and introverted person.

  　　After getting over his initial shock at the change in Lu Guixin's attitude, he chuckled to himself and said, "Alright, I won't get involved, then." I should have known. Even though her IQ might not be as high as her parents', she still grew up under her parents' influence. There's no way she's that simple.

  　　Tan Ying remembered how her parents were notorious for being ruthless and how her uncles and brothers were always coddling her lest she suffered from any injustice. If the idiot behind the exposé finds out who they've offended, I bet they wouldn't even dare cry.

  　　After ending the call, Lu Guixin strode off to the toilet while assembling her other phone.

  　　The toilet was empty as everyone was currently outside discussing the post on Weibo.

  　　Lu Guixin stood in front of the sink and speedily assembled the small, complex metal instruments in front of her. Her fingers flew across the red projection keyboard that was on the black porcelain countertop without even looking down at it.

  　　A beam of light projected from the left side of her gold-rimmed glasses and onto the white wall, showing the surveillance footage of the entire Ming City.

  　　She searched for all the footage from the time she left Ming City High School and got into the Tan family's car on the day of Elder Tan's birthday.

  　　People and cars flashed across her eyes as the video played at maximum speed.

  　　The Xia family's car, which was sent to fetch Xia Cheng, followed the Tan family's car all the way from the school gate. Upon reaching Hotel W, the Xia family's car didn't enter the hotel's parking lot. It stopped outside for a few minutes before driving off.

  　　Lu Guixin took out her phone. The time shown on the huge electronic screen in front of Hotel W matched the time the Xia family's car stopped outside the hotel entrance.

  　　…
　　Meanwhile…
　　The Year Three cohort.

  　　All the students were discussing the news of Lu Guixin and Tan Ying going to a hotel. Most of the Year Threes had seen Lu Guixin's face on the school field previously, so they were certain that the person in the photo was her.

  　　With photos serving as proof, a few girls in Class One's classroom haughtily said, "What else do you guys have to say? Who said that Su Zeyue spread false rumors and that Lu Guixin wasn't promiscuous?"

  　　"She spent five whole hours inside the hotel with Tan Ying. That's the true colors of your so-called innocent campus belle."

  　　"You people drove Su Zeyue away!"

  　　"Zhou Fu." One of the girls looked at Zhou Fu, who was sitting in the last row. "Are you going to continue to stand up for Lu Guixin? Su Zeyue was forced to withdraw from school for just stating the facts."

  　　"I found it strange when the school made the decision to have Su Zeyue withdrawn. It turns out that Lu Guixin has Tan Ying behind her."

  　　"How disgusting. On the one hand, she went to a hotel with Tan Ying while she deliberately approached Zhou Fu."

  　　The girls who got picked on by the guys for speaking up for Su Zeyue felt a sense of triumph at this moment.

  　　While holding his phone, Tian Rong glanced toward the seat near the door in the last row.

  　　Zhou Fu was sitting with his legs wide open and his back against the side wall while looking down at his phone. He was expressionless as he looked at the photo showing Lu Guixin and Tan Ying coming out of the hotel after 11 pm. In his other hand was the slip of paper Lu Guixin had folded for him the night before, and he was spinning it between his fingers.

  　　The malicious comments and criticisms from netizens and their classmates made Xia Cheng smirk.

  　　Someone had posted the entire Tan family's family tree on Weibo, and the public opinion grew louder and louder—people asked the relevant authorities to conduct an investigation on them.

  　　Tan Ying is part of the scandal, so the Tan family is in trouble themselves. And, without their protection, the school will surely punish Lu Guixin for causing such huge damage to their reputation. It's such a shame that I didn't manage to find out anything about Lu Guixin's family even after spending so much money. Not even the netizens could, either. Xia Cheng put her phone away and turned her head to look at Zhou Fu.

  　　He was poker-faced and aloof as usual, and he seemed unaffected by the matter.

  　　Xia Cheng pursed her lips. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Zhou Fu, you…"

  　　Just then, he stood up as the school bell for the next class rang.

  　　Tian Rong asked, "Where are you going? It's time for class."

  　　"Restroom," said Zhou Fu before leaving the classroom through the back door. He kicked the door of each toilet cubicle to check if it was empty and then quickly reassembled his phone into a mini laptop. He leaned against the sink while tapping quickly on the keyboard. Even though it was tiny, it didn't affect his typing speed.

  　　The initial Weibo post had already been deleted by the original author, and they even deleted their own account. After the huge media coverage on that post, the exposer no longer mattered.

  　　That said, it was easy for Zhou Fu to restore the Weibo account, and he managed to trace the IP address to an internet cafe abroad. After hacking into the internet cafe's surveillance system, he found the footage showing the exposer properly concealed in a cap and a mask.

  　　Pretty smart, huh? They got someone abroad to expose the news. Zhou Fu chuckled to himself and made an outgoing call. He shoved his earphones into his ears and then growled aggressively, "I need you to look for someone. I'll send you their information in a bit."

  　　…
　　Five minutes later, Lu Guixin arrived at the Year Three's academic building. As soon as she got out of the lift, she ran into Zhou Fu, who happened to come out of the restroom just then. Neither moved as their gazes met.

  　　A hostile, dark, and icy aura emanated from Lu Guixin, but she closed her eyes to hide those emotions the moment she spotted Zhou Fu. After a few seconds of silence, she opened her eyes again, only to look gentle and mild again. She took a few steps toward him and explained softly, "There's nothing between me and Tan Ying. He only sees me as his younger sister. We weren't there alone at the hotel, and we weren't there to get a room. He took me there for his grandfather's birthday celebration."

  　　"There's nothing between us," said Zhou Fu blandly. "So why did you come all the way here to give me an explanation?"

  　　His tone made Lu Guixin fall silent.

  　　Zhou Fu slipped his hands into his pockets, his voice insipid. "There's no need for you to do that."

  　　"No need?" Lu Guixin's expression became cold as she stared at his face. This is the first time I'm explaining something so seriously to another person, but he's telling me that there's no need for it.

  　　His icy attitude made her instantly sober up, and she started to reflect on her past month's actions. All along, he has been keeping his distance from me, and the reason for our close contact is only due to my proactiveness. Even now, he has no concern about me—not that I care, but his lack of concern has proven that my efforts have been futile. I was simply wasting my time on him. There has been no change in our relationship.

  　　I thought I was close to overcoming an interesting high-level challenge—as long as I made it into the top 300 in the exam, he would agree to fulfill my wish—but everything is clear now. He wasn't playing hard to get with me—he was playing along with me. He treated me well when he was in a good mood and then gave me the cold treatment when he wasn't in a good mood. I thought I was the one in power, but I now realize that the power has always been with him. He's been a spectator laughing nonchalantly at my performance. He gave me a response when he felt like it, but I was so thrilled about it.

  　　Having grown up getting everything she wanted, she naturally didn't think that Zhou Fu would be an exception. However, the truth was that she wasn't capable of thawing his icy heart.

  　　Hah, boring. Since I can give out my heart, I can take it back as well.

  　　Zhou Fu was about to say something upon noticing that something was off with her, but she suddenly chuckled to herself and nodded with a self-deprecating smirk. "Fine. I have no more concerns now."

  　　Zhou Fu frowned at that.

  　　Lu Guixin raised her hand with her palm facing up. "Return it to me."

  　　"What?" Zhou Fu looked at her with confusion.

  　　Her cold voice rang out. "The slip of paper I wrote for you last night. Return it to me."

  　　Zhou Fu didn't take it out, though. "Why do you want it?"

  　　Lu Guixin seethed. "I'll say it for the last time. Return it to me."

  　　Upon seeing her irritated look, Zhou Fu pursed his lips, took out the folded piece of paper from the pocket of his school uniform, and passed it to her.

  　　"I can't believe that you brought it around with you." Lu Guixin sneered as she took it from him. "Unfortunately, I no longer want it." There's no need for me to cling to someone who won't respond to me. It's time I pick up my ego.

  　　"Game over, Zhou Fu." Lu Guixin stared into his eyes, her voice devoid of any warmth. Right in front of him, she tore up the paper and dumped it in the trash bin outside the restroom.

  　　Zhou Fu's pupils constricted at that. For the first time, a trace of panic appeared in his usually calm and aloof eyes as he instinctively reached his hand slightly toward the trash bin.

  　　As soon as Lu Guixin finished saying her piece, she turned around and headed toward Class One's classroom.

  　　Zhou Fu curled his fingers. He wanted to go after her, but he ended up walking to the trash bin instead. He looked inside the bin but couldn't find what he was looking for. It seemed that the pieces of paper had fallen to the bottom of the bin from the sides.

  　　With a frown and pursed lips, Zhou Fu then reached both hands into the bin and rummaged through it.

  　　…
　　Lu Guixin could hear the voice of Class One's form teacher even before she reached the entrance of the classroom. "Stop talking about Lu Guixin and Tan Ying. The school and the relevant departments will get to the bottom of this matter before putting up a notice. Let's get on with the lesson."

  　　As soon as she said that, she heard a bang. The classroom's door had been kicked open. The loud sound made her jump in shock. It came from the metal door hitting the wall. She whipped her head around, only to see Lu Guixin standing in the doorway. Without her glasses, the latter's pretty eyes appeared especially clear. At this moment, her eyes were unusually dark, and she was wearing a sneer on her face.

  　　"Hi, I'm looking for Xia Cheng." Lu Guixin greeted the teacher in a gentle and polite tone, but it somehow sent a chill down the latter's back.

  　　The form teacher was present at the principal's office previously to handle Su Zeyue's matter, so she knew who Lu Guixin was. It was her first time meeting the girl face-to-face, but all it took was a look at the latter for her legs to go wobbly. She was so frightened that she stood rooted to the spot.

  　　The way the students looked at Lu Guixin varied, too. How can she come here after what happened?

  　　"Teacher, I'm looking for Xia Cheng," Lu Guixin repeated herself slowly while maintaining her smile.

  　　When the teacher snapped back to her senses, she didn't dare to say anything else. She looked at Xia Cheng, and her voice trembled a little as she said, "Xia Cheng, you should go out."

  　　As everyone's attention was on Lu Guixin, they didn't realize their teacher's odd behavior.

  　　Although Xia Cheng didn't know why Lu Guixin was looking for her, she was flustered at the thought of what she had done. Don't tell me that she's found out? But that's impossible. I spent a bomb hiring a stranger from another country to publish that post in an internet cafe and leave that country right after. My plan was all flawless. There's no way she'd know.

  　　At the thought of that, she felt slightly relieved. She then got up and walked out of the classroom.

  　　Lu Guixin was standing in front of the metal railing, expressionless and with her hands in her pockets while looking down.

  　　Xia Cheng slowly walked up to her. "Why are you looking for me?"

  　　Lu Guixin turned around. Being half a head taller, she looked down at Xia Cheng with a cold smirk.

  　　When Xia Cheng found it hard to breathe when faced with such a piercing face, she hated herself a little for being so cowardly. She thus said in annoyance, "What do you want…"

  　　Lu Guixin slapped her on the face.

  　　It was so loud that the sound resonated throughout the entire hallway and even reached all the classrooms on that floor. All the students sitting near the window immediately stood up and looked out of it. What they saw left them floored, for Xia Cheng was lying sprawled on the floor with blood trickling from her nose and mouth. "D*mn!"

  　　Just how hard did Lu Guixin hit Xia Cheng for her to end up in this state?!

  　　The teachers in the classrooms all ran to the doorway and were rendered speechless by what they saw. The color drained from the face of Class One's form teacher as she threw her chalk aside and walked out. She was so shocked by the scene that she couldn't say anything at all.

  　　Smirking, Lu Guixin tilted her head slightly. The aura she exuded was so frightening that it left one's head numb.

  　　The slap made Xia Cheng feel dizzy, and there was a buzzing sound in her mind. She was unable to climb to her feet despite her repeated attempts, and blood flowed out nonstop from her nose to the ground.

  　　The form teacher gasped in shock when she got a clear look at Xia Cheng's face.

  　　Lu Guixin slowly crouched down and placed a hand on her knee for support. With her other hand, she clamped down on Xia Cheng's jaw and lifted her off the ground to make her look up at her.

  　　Xia Cheng instinctively shivered in fear when her vision cleared up enough for her to meet Lu Guixin's eyes. She was so scared that she cried to her teacher for help. Blood flowed out of her mouth and onto Lu Guixin's hand when she did so. "Teacher… Save me…"

  　　The form teacher, who had never seen anything like this before, said with trembling lips, "L-Lu Guixin, is there a misunderstanding somewhere? There's no way Xia Cheng—"

  　　Before she could finish saying her piece, she found Lu Guixin directing her glacial look at her. Her eyes widened in fear as she sucked in a breath, not daring to say a word more.

  　　It was dead silent on the entire floor.

  　　Tian Rong and the few other guys leaning out of the window stared dumbly at Lu Guixin. Is this really the soft-spoken campus belle we know?

  　　As Lu Guixin squeezed Xia Cheng's jaw, the latter whimpered in pain. It felt as if her jawbones were about to be crushed.

  　　Lu Guixin smiled and asked gently, "It hurts, doesn't it?"

  　　Xia Cheng, who was filled with fear, grasped at Lu Guixin's wrist in an attempt to break free.

  　　Everyone who was watching this didn't dare make a sound.

  　　Still smiling away, Lu Guixin coldly asked, "Do you now know how angry I am?"

  　　"You mad woman! You're a lunatic!" Xia Cheng whimpered in pain while glaring at the other.

  　　Lu Guixin's smile vanished all of a sudden. "This slap is for following the Tan family's car and taking photos of me and Tan Ying."

  　　Flustered, Xia Cheng blurted, "What nonsense are you spouting?! I didn't do it! It wasn't me! What evidence do you have?!"

  　　Slap!

  　　A slap landed on the other side of Xia Cheng's face this time.

  　　Xia Cheng shrieked as she fell over to the ground. Blood flowed from her cheek, and she could barely move.

  　　Everyone watching this couldn't help but shiver in fear. She reduced Xia Cheng to this state with just two slaps…
　　In a squatting position, Lu Guixin dangled her arms off her knees. Xia Cheng's fresh red blood was a glaring sight on her fair hand, and her voice sounded particularly innocent despite the bone-chilling coldness in her eyes. "This slap is interest for tarnishing the Tan family's name. You shouldn't have gotten other people involved and used the Tan family's reputation against me. I'm a little mad now, so I'll take this as interest for the time being. You won't mind, right?"

  　　"I didn't do it. I didn't do it." Xia Cheng's red lips opened and closed as she kept repeating that over and over again.

  　　Lu Guixin tugged the corners of her lips. She then grabbed Xia Cheng's collar and lifted her up. It was like Xia Cheng was nothing more but a rag, having been slapped and then lifted again.

  　　Lu Guixin tightened her grip on Xia Cheng's uniform. "You just won't admit it, huh?"

  　　Zhou Fu frowned when he saw Lu Guxin almost strangling Xia Cheng to death after he came out from a corner of the corridor.

  　　Upon seeing Zhou Fu, the form teacher hurriedly said, "Zhou Fu, hurry and go pull them apart."

  　　Zhou Fu was already next to Lu Guixin by the time the teacher completed her sentence. He squatted down and grabbed Lu Guixin's wrist, his frown deepening even further when he felt how cold her skin was. "Let go, Lu Guixin."

  　　"Get lost!" Lu Guixin shook his hand off and then pointed at him coldly. "Stay out of my business."

  　　All the students gasped in shock when they heard that. Wow, she's so fierce! Never mind that she came all the way to beat Xia Cheng up, but she's even scolding Zhou Fu now and asking him to get lost… She looks as if she's going to fight him right here and now…
　　Zhou Fu didn't say anything and just forcefully pulled Lu Guixin's hand away from Xia Cheng. He then pulled her up and said softly, "Stop fighting and come with me. I have something to say to you."

  　　"Well, I have nothing to say to you." The cold indifference and hostility were apparent in Lu Guixin's eyes as she looked at his hand on her. "Hands off."

  　　Zhou Fu ignored her and started dragging her away.

  　　It was only after they left that the students and teachers released their breaths.

  　　"Is this even the campus belle we know?" Tian Rong muttered under his breath in disbelief. And not a crazy troublemaker?

  　　The form teacher immediately ran over to Xia Cheng's side. Her face was pale as she anxiously asked, "What's going on, Xia Cheng? Why did Lu Guixin say that you were the one who took those photos?"

  　　"I didn't. It's not me," Xia Cheng tearfully answered, her oral cavity filled with blood. "I have no idea why she said that, but I really didn't do anything. You've got to believe me…"

  　　With trembling hands, the form teacher hurriedly took out a piece of tissue and wiped the blood on Xia Cheng. She had been Xia Cheng's form teacher since Year One, so she had known her for almost three years. Xia Cheng was good at studying, kind and good-natured, talented, and had even won many awards. She was so outstanding in all aspects that even the school leaders and teachers were very fond of her. She even had a good reputation among the students as well. She was basically the perfect student that all teachers wanted.

  　　Hence, the teacher didn't think Xia Cheng was capable of doing such a thing. Besides, she reckoned that the latter had no reason to do so when she and Lu Guixin had nothing to do with each other.

  　　"Could there be some misunderstanding here?" The form teacher panicked upon recalling Lu Guixin's family background. After some thinking, she said, "Yes, there must be. I'll go look for Lu Guixin and talk to her about it."

  　　"I don't know. I did no such thing. You have to believe me, teacher." Xia Cheng grabbed her form teacher's hand tightly.

  　　The latter looked at her with heartache. "Of course, I believe you."

  　　Xia Cheng's tears poured down even harder as she held her face and cried, "It hurts a lot…"

  　　It was only then that the form teacher hurriedly called a few female students over. "Girls, come over and help Xia Cheng to the infirmary."

  　　The chaos stopped, and it became quiet in the entire academic building. The quietness made everyone's heart palpitate quickly as they looked at the bloodstains outside the corridor. It took a long time for them to recover to their senses when they recalled the earlier shocking image.

  　　The video of Lu Guixin beating Xia Cheng up quickly made its way around the school and to the internet, and that instantly fueled the scandal even further, pushing it to the top of the trending list. All the criticisms and malicious comments were directed at Lu Guixin, and the official Weibo page of Ming City High School was completely flooded with comments.

  　　[Ming City High School is a good school. Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch.]

  　　[How disgusting. It's bad enough that a high school female student went to a hotel with a guy, but she even accused her senior of taking photos of her and went to beat her up.]

  　　[What a joke. Why would Xia Cheng follow her and take her photos? She thinks too highly of herself. As a studious Year Three student, she'd rather spend her time doing more mock exams. Why would she waste her time on a person like Lu Guixin?]

  　　[Xia Cheng is a good student. That Year One student can't be compared to her at all. She'd only be getting her hands dirty if she took photos of that student.]

  　　[She's only in Year One, yet she's already such a troublemaker. The Ministry of Education should deal with people like her!]

  　　[Regardless of who took the photos, why would you be afraid of others taking photos of you when you dared to do such a thing? Have you no shame?]

  　　[You can't say that. If someone deliberately took such photos to accuse me of things I didn't do and turn me into a public target for criticism, I'd want to kill that person, too! People can die from cyber-bullying. Look at those names you're calling Lu Guixin. No girls can tolerate them. Please act wisely.]

  　　[Nobody's accusing her! The photos are real! There's even the time shown in the photos. Who would believe nothing happened between them when they'd spent over five hours in the hotel?]

  　　[Just admit to what you've done.]

  　　[I wonder what sort of parents she has.]

  　　[Just how influential her backer is, such that the school won't even expel her?]

  　　…
　　Zhou Fu dragged Lu Guixin all the way to the green belt between the academic buildings and then took out his phone to show her the comments online. He stood in front of her and said coldly, "Are you happy now? Are you satisfied with the outcome?"

  　　"Who are you to meddle in my affairs?" Lu Guixin shook off his hand. With her glasses removed, her eyes were clearly revealed. Gone was her gentle and docile attitude, and in its place were arrogance, aggressiveness, and hostility.

  　　Zhou Fu looked at her quietly for a few seconds before asking, "So you've been pretending all along?"

  　　"Yes, so what?" Lu Guixin met his gaze with cold, mocking eyes.

  　　Zhou Fu pursed his lips and softly asked, "What did you mean by 'game over?'"

  　　Lu Guixin smirked and met his scrutinizing gaze with narrowed eyes before saying in a nonchalant and arrogant tone, "Zhou Fu, I get whatever I want. It was your luck that I was interested in you."

  　　Her smirk faded slightly. "But I'm not interested in you anymore, so stay clear of my path in the future."

  　　After saying that, Lu Guixin turned around to leave. However, she was immediately pulled backward by a powerful hand.

  　　Zhou Fu stared at her with dark eyes and clenched jaw as he gritted, "Make yourself clear. A game?"

  　　With hair stuck between her lips, Lu Guixin tilted her head and looked at him with fierce nonchalance. She cocked her eyebrow and retorted with a smirk, "Why do I have to explain anything to you when there's nothing between us? Hm?"

  　　A trace of panic appeared in Zhou Fu's eyes. However, just as he opened his mouth to say something, Lu Guixin shook his hand off and spat, "Get lost."

  　　She then turned around and left.

  　　Zhou Fu was just about to go after her when his phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was a call from abroad. As he watched Lu Guixin go further and further away from him, he pressed the tip of his tongue against the corner of his lips and kicked the wall fiercely. He then answered the call. "Talk."

  　　The caller was taken aback by his aggressive tone, and it took them a second to collect themselves before saying, "Our men have arrived at the airport, but we're a step too late. The culprit has been taken away by other people."

  　　"Other people?"

  　　"Yeah." The caller laughed. "The Tan family is quite influential in Ming City in both the political world and the underworld. They'll settle this matter even without you getting involved, Boss. Then again, I'm surprised that they managed to be a step ahead of us. Is it because I underestimated them?"

  　　…
　　Lu Guixin had her phone in her hand and a pair of black earphones in her ears as she coldly stared straight ahead and walked back to the Year One's academic building.

  　　"We've caught the person," whispered Gu Hui in a low and aggressive tone. "Just leave it to me."

  　　From afar, Lu Guixin could see Xi Yan waiting at the stairway.

  　　Upon seeing her, Xi Yan quickly strode over, looking visibly worried and anxious.

  　　Lu Guixin removed the earphones and greeted her politely. "Ms. Xi."

  　　The news about Lu Guixin beating Xia Cheng up had already spread in the school. Xi Yan, despite having watched the video, still couldn't believe that the usually obedient Lu Guixin would rush over to the Year Three's academic building to beat Xia Cheng up—and that she did it in such a polite way, asking Xia Cheng if she would mind.

  　　The comments on the school forum about Lu Guixin were just as malicious, but she paid no attention to them back then. The reason she got angry this time is clearly because other people got implicated in this matter. Her temper is just like her mother's! Xi Yan could feel a headache coming on. "Follow me to the Academic Affairs Office.

  　　"Okay," Lu Guixin obediently responded.

  　　Seeing that, Xi Yan nearly blurted out, "There's no need for you to pretend to be gentle and obedient anymore."

  　　She sighed, and when she saw Lu Guixin's blood-stained hand, she said, "Go wash your hand first."

  　　…
　　At the Academic Affairs Office.

  　　"What's with those pictures on the internet? How old are you to be going to a hotel with a guy?" The disciplinary head's expression was very dark when he said this.

  　　Standing in front of his desk, Lu Guixin succinctly replied, "It was Old Master Tan's birthday that day."

  　　The disciplinary head suddenly froze as he asked uncertainly, "So you went there to celebrate his birthday?"

  　　Lu Guixin nodded.

  　　Upon realizing that she had gone to the hotel with a pure intention, the disciplinary head's anger subsided a bit. He then said, "Even if you're being accused, you can't just accuse Xia Cheng of doing things she didn't do. You even beat her up. From my understanding of her, there's no way she'd do such a thing!"

  　　Xi Yan frowned. "Mr. Zhang, shouldn't you investigate the matter first instead of jumping to conclusions?"

  　　"What's there to investigate?" Mr. Zhang retorted. "Xia Cheng's been preparing for the competition next week. Why would she waste her time doing such a thing?"

  　　Another teacher, who had just entered the office to deliver a document, said, "Lu Guixin, I know that you've often been compared to Xia Cheng on the school forum, but you really have to learn from her. You ought to brush up on your grades instead of finding the person who exposed the matter and trying to pin the blame on her."

  　　Lu Guixin looked up with dark eyes, but she didn't say anything.

  　　That teacher then turned to Xi Yan. "Ms. Xi, I know that you're very protective of your students, but you shouldn't twist the truth."

  　　…
　　At the infirmary.

  　　It was noon, the time when school ended, by the time the doctor finished tending to Xia Cheng's injuries. The white ward was filled with students from Class One who had come over to the infirmary to see Xia Cheng.

  　　The doctor looked at them. "Don't stay too long here. The injury on her face is quite serious. She needs a good rest so that the swelling will reduce."

  　　The form teacher nodded. "Thank you, doctor."

  　　Xia Cheng was leaning against the bed with a mask over her face. It seemed that she didn't want others to see her wretched appearance.

  　　A female classmate comforted her, "We believe in you, Xia Cheng."

  　　"Yeah, we've been classmates for quite some time. We all know your character. You wouldn't do such a thing."

  　　"Lu Guixin's the one at fault for not conducting herself properly, yet she has the cheek to accuse Xia Cheng of exposing her and even beat her up. Why is the school taking so long to punish her?"

  　　"Ms. Xi has already taken Lu Guixin to the Academic Affairs Office. The school will punish her for sure."

  　　"The matter got blown up so much. The school will surely expel that shameless slut for the sake of its reputation."

  　　"Poor Xia Cheng. She even got beaten up by Lu Guixin. If it were me, I'd have called the police!"

  　　"If the school isn't going to deal with her, then let's get the police to deal with her!" said a male classmate angrily. He liked Xia Cheng, so he was extremely disgusted with what Lu Guixin had done.

  　　Xia Cheng shook her head. "Let the school deal with her. It's best to settle things quietly. We're all fellow schoolmates, and we should put our studies first. I don't want to blow things up even further and call the police on her."

  　　When the form teacher heard that, she was even more satisfied with Xia Cheng's magnanimity.

  　　The guy urged, "Xia Cheng, you don't have to be so kind to people like Lu Guixin. She needs to be taught a lesson!"

  　　"Yeah."

  　　"That's right."

  　　Everyone was on Xia Cheng's side.

  　　Just then, Tian Rong, who had been silently looking at his phone, said, "'It's best to settle things quietly'? I'm afraid that's not your call."

  　　Everyone, even Xia Cheng, turned to look at him.

  　　Tian Rong stared at Xia Cheng. "Are you really not the one who hired someone to expose Lu Guixin and Tan Ying?"

  　　"What do you mean by that, Tian Rong? Are you suspecting Xia Cheng now?" The guy who liked Xia Cheng raised his voice.

  　　Tian Rong ignored him and took two steps closer to Xia Cheng as he slowly repeated, "Are you sure you did no such thing?"

  　　Xia Cheng glared at Tian Rong as if she was angry at him for questioning her character. She firmly answered, "Yes!"

  　　"Is that so?" Tian Rong said in a meaningful tone. "Then why don't you look at what's on Weibo now before answering my question again?"