Chapter 57: 057
Huo Yashan suppressed her anger, rounded the corner, and said in a hushed tone, “What can’t you say to my face? I hate people who badmouth others behind their backs more than anything.”
The two girls jumped in fright, their faces slightly changed. “So, so sorry.”
They quickly lowered their heads and ran off.
Their families were ordinary; talking badly about Huo Yashan behind her back was one thing, but being caught by Huo Yashan face-to-face was terrifying. They were afraid Huo Yashan would cause trouble for their families.
During lunch break, Huo Yashan arrived at Shi Xinran’s dorm room door and kicked it, causing a loud bang.
“Shi Xinran, open the door!”
People in the neighboring dorm rooms heard the noise and opened their doors a crack to peek out. Seeing Huo Yashan, they immediately recalled the rumors from the morning.
Shi Xinran, being someone who knew so many people and had countless sycophants, naturally also heard the rumors.
Her first reaction was fear, followed by regret that she had memorized too many answers and scored too high; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been suspected along with Huo Yashan.
However, she quickly calmed down.
As long as she could prove that she had no contact with Huo Yashan during this period, she could clear herself of suspicion.
As for scoring too high, that was not an issue at all; she could easily make up an excuse.
For example, the exam questions happened to be types she was good at, or she could ask Shi Lian and Bai Xinyue to vouch for her, saying that they had hired a high-end private tutor for her, who taught her daily via video calls, and that her parents had already discussed her bringing a tablet to school with her homeroom teacher.
Her excellent performance this time wasn’t due to cheating, but her own effort.
Shi Xinran was just about to video call Shi Lian on her tablet to get their stories straight when she heard a loud bang from the door, followed by Huo Yashan’s furious voice.
Shi Xinran was so scared that the tablet in her hand fell to the floor. She didn’t even bother to pick it up, quickly ran over, and opened the door.
Huo Yashan’s face looked like a brewing storm. She pushed Shi Xinran aside and walked into her dorm room.
Huo Yashan didn’t hold back her strength. Shi Xinran was pushed backward several steps, her back hitting the wall. The sudden intense pain drained the color from her face.
Huo Yashan slammed the door shut with a “bang,” then approached Shi Xinran and said, “Shi Xinran, you’re very bold. You dared to reveal that I saw the test paper in advance.”
Shi Xinran finally recovered from the pain, her face pale. “Yashan, I didn’t. Please believe me.”
Huo Yashan snorted coldly, “Don’t forget, it was you who instigated me to do this. Besides you, I didn’t even tell Fei Yaxin. If it wasn’t you, then who was it? I was careless, easily believed your words. You did all this to get revenge on me, right?”
Shi Xinran wanted to expose Jiang Xuenian’s involvement, but the thought flashed through her mind for only an instant before she dismissed it.
No, if she implicated Jiang Xuenian, and Huo Yashan went to confront Jiang Xuenian, what if Jiang Xuenian said something detrimental to her?
The situation would certainly be far more serious than it was now.
Huo Yashan had no evidence at all. As long as she insisted she didn’t say it, she could definitely appease Huo Yashan.
Thinking this, Shi Xinran’s eyes quickly welled up. With a blink, tears fell, and she said aggrievedly, “Yashan, I didn’t. I truly am grateful that you wanted to help me. I don’t know why this is happening. Could it be that someone overheard us talking, which led to this rumor?”
Huo Yashan carefully scrutinized Shi Xinran’s expression, frowning slightly.
Shi Xinran showed no signs of guilt, and Huo Yashan began to wonder if someone really had been eavesdropping.
Shi Xinran continued, “If I really leaked it, I wouldn’t have scored so many points this time. Wouldn’t that make people suspect me too? You heard the rumors; you must know what they’re saying behind our backs. I’m not that stupid to implicate myself just to frame you.”
Huo Yashan’s stern expression softened slightly. “You’d better not be lying to me, or you know the consequences of deceiving me.”
Shi Xinran had heard these two sentences before, but not for the first time. The last time she heard them, she was furious. This time, however, her heart trembled, and she felt a touch more fear.
She tried hard to remain calm and said, “I would never lie to you.”
Huo Yashan turned to leave. Shi Xinran quickly said, “Yashan, someone must have seen you come to find me. To prevent them from spreading rumors, shouldn’t we clarify things?”
Huo Yashan turned back, narrowing her eyes. “Clarify what? Until we find out who leaked the information, you are still my suspect. Whatever rumors I have to endure, you’ll have to endure them with me.”
With that, she pulled the door open and walked out directly.
Shi Xinran gnashed her back teeth in hatred, but she couldn’t force Huo Yashan.
Neither soft nor hard tactics worked on Huo Yashan. She would have to rely on herself.
After Huo Yashan left, Shi Xinran cautiously closed and locked the door. Remembering that her tablet had fallen and broken, she quickly went to pick it up.
The tablet had fallen face down. Shi Xinran bent down to pick it up, flipped it over, and saw that the screen was shattered like a spiderweb. With a slight touch, shards continued to fall off.
Shi Xinran trembling pressed the lock screen button. Sure enough, the screen was completely black; it was likely beyond repair.
Shi Xinran: “…” Now what? How was she supposed to contact her family to get their stories straight???
Huo Yashan had obtained the test papers in advance from the newly appointed dean of students. The dean, wanting to curry favor with the Huo family, agreed directly without consulting other school leaders.
In the morning, the rumors began to spread, and by noon, the news of Huo Yashan going to Shi Xinran’s dorm had also spread. By the afternoon, it was common knowledge throughout St. Lyceum.
The director of the political affairs office, whose office was next to the dean’s office, went to chat with the dean of students during the afternoon work hours, bringing up the rumors. “You need to be careful. If it’s true, regardless of whether you’re involved or not, with such a huge public outcry, you’ll definitely be the one offered as a sacrifice.”
The dean of students’ face instantly turned “white” with fright. His lips trembled as he said, “H-how could this happen?”
He had just spent money to get promoted and had only been the dean of students for a short time. How could he be losing his job already?
The director of the political affairs office patted his shoulder and said, “It’s all because Huo Yashan didn’t handle things cleanly enough. She got first place in the grade, fine, but the problem is that someone who usually scores over 600 points suddenly got a near-perfect score, which is inherently suspicious. And the girl she once pursued also got a near-perfect score. Do you think such coincidences exist in the world? Now, public opinion is very unfavorable to Huo Yashan. I advise you to quickly find connections and see if anyone can protect you and shift the responsibility to someone else.”
The dean of students said, “Huo Yashan’s grandfather is General Huo. Can’t the Huo family suppress this?”
The director of the political affairs office said, “No one knew Huo Yashan’s identity originally, so there wouldn’t have been so much trouble. Now everyone is staring at Huo Yashan. General Huo’s integrity cannot be stained because of Huo Yashan. Once Huo Yashan is confirmed to have received the test papers in advance, do you believe that the Huo family will be the first to deal with Huo Yashan?”
The dean of students was completely panicked now. After the director of the political affairs office left, he immediately went to his uncle, the principal of St. Lyceum, for help.
He knocked on the door and entered the principal’s office. The principal smiled when he saw him. “Not busy today? Why do you have time to come see me?”
The dean of students wiped the sweat from his forehead, walked to the principal, and “thumped” to his knees. “Uncle, I made a mistake. You must save me!”
••••
Middle school students were the main force in the school. The public opinion and strange looks made Huo Yashan increasingly irritable, and she couldn’t help but yell several times in the classroom. At first, the students were afraid of her, but later, her yelling caused them to develop a rebellious mentality. Not only did they make veiled criticisms to her face, but they also teamed up to report her to the homeroom teacher.
If it were an ordinary student, the homeroom teacher would handle it themselves, but Huo Yashan was not ordinary. The homeroom teacher could only go to their superior.
Upon arriving at the dean’s office, they found that the dean had taken a week’s sick leave. There was no choice but to go to the former dean, now Vice Principal Xu Jie, to handle it.
Xu Jie keenly noticed something amiss from the fact that the dean had taken a week’s sick leave.
Only a few of them managed the teaching and exams at St. Lyceum. The dean of students was the principal’s nephew. Regardless of whether the matter was related to him or not, the principal would definitely protect him.
Xu Jie’s expression was serious. If she handled this investigation, she would probably be the one ultimately responsible.
Xu Jie decided immediately: “I need to talk to Huo Yashan, and also, give me the Huo family’s contact information.”
Meanwhile, Jiang Xuenian was delighted by Huo Yashan’s current situation, but she had no time to be happy.
For some reason today, every time Jiang Xuenian got close to Shi Qingfan, her body would suddenly heat up, and her heart would beat astonishingly fast for a moment.
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