She bit her lip. “It seems like it was this afternoon…”
At this point, she paused. It was during the third period in the afternoon when she and Shen Xingruo had gone to the restroom together, and at that moment, she had just shared her speculation with Shen Xingruo, guiding her to associate with He Siyue. But there were only four periods in the afternoon, where would she have the time to hear it from someone else? People tended to make mistakes when flustered, so if given more time, she might come up with a reasonable excuse. However, with Shen Xingruo pressing her so directly and logically about needing a source, she had no choice but to quickly fabricate, “I heard it from Zhong Xiaoyou of Class 4. After dinner, while passing by Class 4, I chatted with her for a few minutes.”
Zhong Xiaoyou was a close friend of Zhai Jiajing in the first year. If Shen Xingruo were to ask Zhong Xiaoyou again based on what she had just said, she was somewhat confident that Zhong Xiaoyou might sense something amiss, but she hoped Zhong Xiaoyou would help her cover-up.
Shen Xingruo nodded but didn’t move her body. “Lu Xingyan, could you go to Class 4 and bring Zhong Xiaoyou here for me?”
Lu Xingyan looked at the drama for a while and already had some understanding. He tilted his head lazily and made an okay gesture with his hand, then got up straight away.
With Lu Xingyan taking charge, there was nothing they couldn’t handle.
He Siyue also stood up. “I’ll go with you.”
After hearing so many rumors, he had already suppressed his anger, so there was no point in attending evening self-study.
Only Zhai Jiajing’s heart sank like a stone. She was certain—Shen Xingruo was suspicious of her, and not just suspicious, but certain. Shen Xingruo had personally questioned students from other classes earlier, but now, suddenly, she wasn’t going to ask her. She was just standing there, not leaving.
She vaguely understood that Shen Xingruo wanted to prevent her from contacting Zhong Xiaoyou with her phone.
Zhai Jiajing was in a panic, her face becoming increasingly pale.
Within minutes, Zhong Xiaoyou arrived, feeling bewildered at being brought over to another class.
Standing at the doorway, unsure whether to enter or leave, she wondered why these two boys had brought her there. Suddenly, Lu Xingyan spoke up, “Classmate, do you know me and Shen Xingruo?”
As a popular figure in the grade, Zhong Xiaoyou naturally knew them. She hesitated before nodding.
“Do you know who reported us for dating and living together?” Lu Xingyan asked.
Zhong Xiaoyou quickly thought it over and then shook her head. “I don’t know.” Then, she added in a whisper, “Hey, you didn’t bring me here because… you suspect I reported it, did you? I didn’t. I’ve only heard about you two, I don’t even know…”
All eyes turned to Zhai Jiajing.
Zhai Jiajing was the one who spread the rumor during dinner, but since it hadn’t been long and the rumor hadn’t spread widely, the students in Class 4, where Zhong Xiaoyou belonged, hadn’t heard about it yet.
Zhong Xiaoyou’s face showed a look of confusion and innocence, making everything clear.
No matter how many schemes Zhai Jiajing had, she was just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. Holding on until now was already quite a feat. Her mind was in complete chaos as she thought about the consequences she would face. Suddenly, she couldn’t hold back the tears, but she couldn’t find any strong words of defense either.
Shen Xingruo looked at her with cold and distant eyes. “Zhai Jiajing, do you have anything else to say? You’ve been spreading rumors left and right, quite skilled at it.”
Zhai Jiajing choked back tears and shook her head. “No, I didn’t, Xingruo, you’ve misunderstood.”
“What did I misunderstand? Are you saying it wasn’t Zhong Xiaoyou who told you? Then who did? Where did the rumor originate?” Shen Xingruo suddenly pulled her up from her seat. “Stop pretending to be pitiful. Anyone can cry. Have I bullied you? Have I wrongly accused you? If so, where? If you can explain clearly, your classmates can serve as witnesses. I can apologize to you at the morning assembly in front of the whole school.”
Just as some classmates who had initially felt sympathy and believed Zhai Jiajing would never do such a thing began to see Shen Xingruo’s point, they started to shift their allegiance. Shen Xingruo continued, “You also wrote the anonymous report, didn’t you?”
Zhai Jiajing vigorously shook her head. “I didn’t I didn’t.”
Shen Xingruo had been waiting for this response. “You didn’t, you’re innocent, then tell me, when you incited me, how did you know which unit the report specifically mentioned that I and Lu Xingyan lived in?”
Among those most shocked was Shi Qin. Initially, she couldn’t believe Zhai Jiajing would spread rumors like this. However, when Shen Xingruo mentioned it, something suddenly clicked in her mind.
“If that’s the case, there’s one more crucial point: how did he know that you and Lu Xingyan lived together, and which unit you lived in?”
It had only been a few hours since Zhai Jiajing had spoken those words, but they echoed in Shi Qin’s mind. At the time, she hadn’t thought much about it, but now she realized that someone had indeed written a report to the principal about Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan dating and living together, and it had caused quite a stir. However, in reality, no one knew the exact contents of the report.
At that moment, Shen Xingruo timely called out to her, “Shi Qin, do you remember what Zhai Jiajing said?”
Shi Qin remained silent for a while, then nodded and repeated what Zhai Jiajing had said.