Every classroom was lively, with everyone heatedly discussing the topic at hand.
The atmosphere in the International Freshman Class was even more bustling than in the Experimental Freshman Class.
At the back of the classroom, many boys were playfully chasing Xia Dai.
Xu Wei sat aside watching them fool around, a slight smile on his lips.
...
In the girls’ restroom, however, it was unexpectedly quiet, with only three girls talking.
Ye Ziqin, her eyes red, looked at Zhang Xuan pleadingly. "Xuanxuan, I just got messages again from Elephant Entertainment, Gossip Porter, Lion Entertainment, and other gossip media. They’re saying that if I don’t go testify with them at ’E-Lightspeed,’ they’ll expose all the information I sent them online. What should I do? If they reveal the information I gave them and expose my identity, I’m done for!"
"Xuanxuan, please ask your dad to help us. Isn’t he a big lawyer? There should be a way, right?" Wu Li also had red eyes, pleading with Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan quietly watched them, observing their fearful trembling and anxious tears. Her face was pale too, but she remained relatively calm.
"Xuanxuan, aren’t you really smart? Quickly think of what we should do," Ye Ziqin’s face was filled with terror, her dark circles heavy, and her eyelids swollen.
Clearly, she had cried many times.
But no matter how much she cried, it couldn’t lessen her fear by a bit.
As the news online grew more intense in recent days, now that the dust had settled,
she finally realized she was wrong. She had underestimated Ning Youguang’s background and the internet users’ ability to find clues.
"Xuanxuan, can we go together to ask Uncle Zhang for help? Let’s plead with him together. He’s so capable; he must be able to help us, right?"
Amidst Ye Ziqin’s persistent pleading, Zhang Xuan finally sighed and spoke, "Didn’t I tell you long ago not to do something wrong?"
"Xuanxuan?" Ye Ziqin was stunned.
She then saw Zhang Xuan in front of her, still with a sweet face and voice, yet the words coming from her usually envy-inducing, cherry-like lips were the most heartless.
"You made such a big mistake, asking my dad for help won’t work. My dad can’t help you. He’s a lawyer who can defend the innocent, but he can’t turn the guilty into the innocent. You leaked information to the media and slandered Ning Youguang and her father, making it known to everyone online. I feel sad and scared for you, but I’m sorry, neither my dad nor I can help you."
"..." Zhang Li’s eyes widened, looking at Zhang Xuan as if she were seeing a ghost.
Ye Ziqin felt a wave of darkness in front of her eyes.
But soon, she broke down and screamed at Zhang Xuan, "What do you mean your dad can’t help us, what do you mean I did something wrong? Wasn’t this whole thing something you asked us to do?"
Zhang Xuan quickly covered Ye Ziqin’s mouth, carefully looking around until she saw no one was nearby, then she removed her hand from her mouth.
"Shh, don’t speak carelessly. Speaking recklessly can easily lead to charges of defamation. You need to be smart and learn from your mistakes." After finishing her words, she furrowed her beautifully drawn eyebrows, looking at Ye Ziqin as if she didn’t recognize her, with a puzzled look. "I didn’t do anything wrong, and I didn’t ask you to do anything. I only heard about what you did in the past couple of days from you, didn’t I?"
"Zhang Xuan." Ye Ziqin’s heart sank.
Simultaneously, she felt an ominous chill all over, as if a poisonous snake were winding around her, the hissing sound echoing in her ears.
"I know you’re very scared and worried right now, but being scared and worried is useless. Dad said when people do something wrong, they must pay the price."
"Xuanxuan, you..." Zhang Li looked at the beautiful girl in front of her. Her face was the same, yet it felt unfamiliar and frightening.
"Lili, class is about to start. Are you going back to class with me?"
"No, no, you go ahead. I’ll stay with Ziqin." Zhang Li couldn’t help but step back.
"Alright, then hurry up. I’ll head back to class first."
Once Zhang Xuan walked out of the restroom calmly,
Zhang Li’s body went limp. Leaning against the sink, she looked at Ye Ziqin, who was silently staring at the ground, her fists clenched in a state of helpless panic.
"Ziqin, wasn’t it her who told us before that someone like Ning Youguang, who’s so shameless and morally corrupt, should be exposed for everyone to see and learn from? Isn’t that why we decided to give the photos to the media?"
"I took the photos, and I sent the information to the media. What does it have to do with Zhang Xuan?"
That’s why she could so heartlessly clean her hands of it all...
Ye Ziqin’s tears flowed uncontrollably onto the shiny floor of the school girls’ restroom.
She was only seventeen. She couldn’t let the media expose that she created the rumors about Ning Youguang and stirred up the storm online.
If only she had known... if only she had known...