Song Jinxi watched Jiang Shuyi head into the grade director's office and immediately followed her.

As soon as Song Jinxi reached the office door, she heard Feng Junhua tapping the desk with his fingers while speaking to Jiang Shuyi.

"I'm asking this question because there are some rumors going around in the grade. Although I don't want to suspect any students, this involves principles, and I hope you can answer honestly, Jiang Shuyi."

Hearing this, Song Jinxi immediately wanted to rush into the office to clarify for Jiang Shuyi, but before she could enter, she heard a calm voice say:

"I did not cheat."

Jiang Shuyi's expression showed no change.

She didn't display any obvious annoyance or shout loudly, but her voice resonated with authority.

It was quite imposing.

Song Jinxi had thought Jiang Shuyi would be angry.

As a non-involved party, she felt a bit angry just hearing those words. The person involved, Jiang Shuyi, should be even angrier, right? Song Jinxi thought.

But the reality was that Jiang Shuyi seemed completely calm, as if nothing had happened.

So while Song Jinxi felt relieved that Jiang Shuyi hadn't caused any trouble, she couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

Feng Junhua stared at Jiang Shuyi with a stern gaze.

"Really not?"

Feng Junhua was a burly Alpha, and as the grade director, he always had to maintain a serious demeanor when criticizing students.

He was a teacher who made students feel nervous and scared, a symbol of fear among them.

So whenever he simply stared at students, they would feel intimidated and could hardly help but reveal something.

He wanted to see guilt, retreat, and fear on Jiang Shuyi's face to validate his thoughts.

But Jiang Shuyi looked straight into Feng Junhua's eyes and spoke clearly:

"Director Feng, although I don't know who spread these rumors..."

"But in the next exam, I will still achieve the same score. In the exams after that, and the ones after those, it will still be the same."

"I have no reason to cheat because I have countless ways to prove that I didn't cheat."

"But those who say I cheated have no evidence to support their claims."

"I can call the police right now to investigate who spread these rumors."

Jiang Shuyi spoke with a dignified tone.

"Because I did not cheat, that is the truth."

Feng Junhua fell silent.

After a long while.

"Is that so?" he said.

"If you didn't make a mistake, then that's great." Feng Junhua's tone began to soften.

Since the matter had come to this point, the truth would be revealed in the next exam.

Jiang Shuyi's assertive tone made him waver.

Moreover, for the sake of the school, he didn't want to escalate things by involving the police.

After a long silence, Feng Junhua cleared his throat.

"You can go eat now..."

---

Jiang Shuyi walked out of the office, her face showing no signs of turmoil, calm and composed.

As soon as Song Jinxi saw her come out, she rushed to her side, "Jiang Shuyi, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Jiang Shuyi was a bit puzzled as to why Song Jinxi was there.

Song Jinxi took out her phone, "I'll call Aunt Tang and have her come help you—"

But Jiang Shuyi immediately placed her hand on Song Jinxi's, exiting the dialing screen.

"Don't disturb her at work."

Right now, Tang Wenzhen was busy wrapping up her research project.

Jiang Shuyi didn't want to interrupt her.

"But someone is slandering you, aren't you angry?"

Song Jinxi felt quite angry.

"I won't get angry over something like this."

Jiang Shuyi inserted a few coins into the vending machine and took out a can of lemon tea, handing it to Song Jinxi.

"It would be exhausting to respond to every rumor..."

"As long as I maintain my grades, these rumors will eventually crumble on their own."

Jiang Shuyi patted Song Jinxi's shoulder.

Song Jinxi took the lemon tea, feeling for a moment that Jiang Shuyi seemed a bit like an adult.

---

Jiang Shuyi and Song Jinxi walked to the cafeteria.

After quickly ordering her meal, Jiang Shuyi wandered around the cafeteria, as if looking for something.

After a while, Jiang Shuyi walked in a circle and returned to stand in the center of the cafeteria, looking lost.

"What's wrong?" Song Jinxi, having finished her meal, walked up behind her.

"It seems like Wen Yao has already eaten." Jiang Shuyi lowered her eyes.

Her expression was clearly much more pitiful than when she had just come out of the office, Song Jinxi thought.

Jiang Shuyi was hard to read. Sometimes she seemed mature, but in front of Wen Yao, her maturity seemed to dissolve like bubbles, collapsing completely...

Whenever anything related to Wen Yao entered Jiang Shuyi's view, this Alpha would become like a hurricane, unable to hear or see anything around her.

---

The rumor was resolved during evening self-study.

No one expected that the person to clarify the rumor would be Deng Ningxuan.

During evening self-study.

Deng Ningxuan stood at the podium, holding a prepared speech and reading aloud:

"I am here to apologize for spreading the false rumor this morning that Jiang Shuyi cheated on her exam..."

"The claim that Jiang Shuyi cheated on her exam was a baseless rumor that I spread."

"This was just my unfounded speculation, and I admit that I made a mistake out of jealousy."

". . ." After reading the entire statement, Deng Ningxuan looked at Jiang Shuyi, "To reflect on my personal wrongdoing, I sincerely apologize to you."

"Jiang Shuyi, I'm sorry."

He seemed to bow sincerely.

Although no one knew why the person who spread the rumor would stand up to apologize after spreading it for so long, the expressions of their classmates were clearly complex, filled with looks of suspicion, disdain, and betrayal.

This made Deng Ningxuan, standing at the podium, feel embarrassed and flush.

Jiang Shuyi accepted the apology.

Song Jinxi and Zhou Jingtang reacted very strongly to this apology.

The former tugged at Jiang Shuyi's sleeve, saying that Deng Ningxuan should take that apology to the broadcasting station and read it aloud.

The latter told Jiang Shuyi that he had already posted the short statement on the school bulletin board and was currently making sure that passing students read it one by one.

In the midst of the arguing, Wen Yao, who was collecting assignments, took Jiang Shuyi's paper away, looking completely indifferent to Deng Ningxuan's little essay.

As expected, she was the type who was completely focused on her studies, ignoring everything else.

Jiang Shuyi tugged at Wen Yao's sleeve, "Can we go home together after school?"

"......Mm." Wen Yao nodded calmly.

---

During the lunch break.

Deng Ningxuan and Wen Yao walked to the math office together.

Wen Yao glanced at Deng Ningxuan beside her and noticed that he seemed to be in a very good mood.

Wen Yao walked ahead with a cold expression.

"Deng Ningxuan."

"The activity record for the sports festival should be with you, have you filled it out?"

Wen Yao asked coldly as she organized her math assignments, turning her back to Deng Ningxuan.

Deng Ningxuan carried a pile of math assignments, "Yeah, I've filled it out."

He looked at Wen Yao, his voice light with a hint of a smile.

"Then please make sure to submit the form to the administration office later, since the deadline is tomorrow. I hope you won't make any mistakes."

Deng Ningxuan nodded.

"Okay."

Wen Yao organized her notebook and, still facing away from Deng Ningxuan, quietly said:

"And also, please apologize to Jiang Shuyi."

". . ."

Hearing Wen Yao's words, Deng Ningxuan felt the fingertips holding the math assignments turn icy.

His expression froze, and he couldn't help but cautiously glance around the empty office.

Confirming that no one else was around, he quickly adjusted his expression, smiling as friendly as ever.

"What are you talking about, Wen Yao...?"

"Deng Ningxuan."

Wen Yao's voice was firm, but in an instant, Deng Ningxuan felt a chill run down his spine.

"I think you know very well what I'm talking about."

Wen Yao's words were unrelenting, carrying a hint of coldness. "You were the one who spread the rumors about Jiang Shuyi, weren't you?"

Deng Ningxuan paused for a moment, placing the books back on the desk, and let out a dry laugh.

He realized his smile was somewhat stiff, his lips pressed against his teeth. "Wen Yao, you shouldn't be someone who can't distinguish right from wrong, right?"

"I might have mentioned something about her, but I was just repeating what I heard."

"How can you be so sure that I'm the one who spread the rumor?"

"I wasn't the one who started it, blaming me like this... isn't that a bit unfair?"

"Do you want to talk about evidence?"

Deng Ningxuan adjusted his glasses, but he felt his palms sweating, unable to straighten his glasses.

Wen Yao glanced at him and slowly began to list names, "Li Qingyan, Xie Mengting, Zhu Chengxin..."

Listening to Wen Yao recite the names of their classmates, Deng Ningxuan felt as if the sweat running down his back was enough to drown him, even though it was December.

"Do you want to hear more?" Wen Yao continued without a hint of concern.

She looked coldly at Deng Ningxuan, "I have many ways to prove that you are the source of this."

"Of course, Jiang Shuyi could also involve others in this matter, like the police or even the lawyers."

"However, this is something even I can investigate, and I think the police would know better."

Wen Yao spoke quietly, her expression showing no signs of fluctuation.

Hearing the mention of the police and lawyers, Deng Ningxuan's expression grew increasingly grim, but he still tried to maintain a smile.

"......You're not joking, are you, Wen Yao?"

"There's no need to make such a big deal out of it, right?"

"Are we close enough to joke about this?"

Wen Yao coldly looked at his already faltering smile and slowly retorted.

Deng Ningxuan looked into Wen Yao's cold, emotionless eyes and found himself momentarily speechless.

In an instant, he recalled the image of Jiang Shuyi standing together with Wen Yao.

He finally couldn't help but murmur:

"So you and Jiang Shuyi are that close?"

"Do you like her?"

". . ." Wen Yao was silent for a moment. "I don't."

"Then why are you defending her so much?"

"Jiang Shuyi is just a slacker who's barely getting by..."

Deng Ningxuan looked at Wen Yao in disappointment, "I know Jiang Shuyi better than you do, I was in the same class as her last year."

"She was always fighting and skipping classes, doing nothing all day, causing trouble."

Deng Ningxuan chuckled lightly, "How could someone like that improve their scores so much in less than a month?"

"I don't believe it."

"Unless she cheated, I can't imagine any other way!"

"What's so special about her compared to me?! Why are you helping her? What right does she have to stand beside you?!"

As he spoke, Deng Ningxuan looked at Wen Yao with a choked voice, finally asking the question he had always wanted to ask.

Wen Yao looked at his heaving chest, her tone unchanged.

"Deng Ningxuan, I told you last time, don't meddle in my affairs. I have no relationship with you, and I don't need you to point fingers at my relationships with others."

Deng Ningxuan felt each of Wen Yao's words piercing his chest.

In a low voice, almost like a form of revenge, he coldly looked at Wen Yao. "Wen Yao."

"Jiang Shuyi used to pursue Yan Jingshu, but what's your relationship with her?"

"I don't think Jiang Shuyi likes you that much either." He forced a smile, his lips curling.

"Now that Yan Jingshu is back, will she still be with you?"

Deng Ningxuan laughed, his expression darkening.

Wen Yao remained expressionless, her demeanor as calm as ever.

After a moment, she calmly raised her head and walked toward the door, seemingly indifferent to his words.

"Deng Ningxuan."

"If I don't hear you clarifying things for Jiang Shuyi by the end of today, I will report it to the police."

". . ."

Deng Ningxuan took a shallow breath, his expression suddenly losing strength, his eyes slowly dimming. "I understand..."

"I will apologize to Jiang Shuyi."

---

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