"I followed the teacher’s advice..." But Tong Mo, immersed in emotions, didn’t notice his odd behavior and, with tears in her eyes, ran down from the podium to follow him outside.
After they had left, the school loudspeakers carried the voice of a school leader—
"As an incident of extremely bad influence has occurred at our school, the person involved will now make a clarification. Please, all students bring your chairs to the sports field and do not spread rumors anymore."
Although the broadcast did not specify the incident, everyone in the school, teachers and students alike, seemed to understand perfectly, and hurriedly carried their chairs to the sports field amidst buzzing gossip.
"We should hurry too," Mengmeng said anxiously, picking up a chair and heading out.
"Don’t you think the homeroom teacher is acting weird today?" Gu Zhihan said, taking the chair from above her head as he spoke.
He had a bad premonition.
"Not at all," Luo Mengmeng shook her head and rushed ahead to the sports field.
By the time she arrived, the field was already densely packed with people.
Tong Mo and Zhuo Wen stood on the main stage, looking at the crowd.
"If it’s explained, the rumors should disappear," Mengmeng thought to herself; at that moment, Zhuo Wen had already picked up the microphone.
His face was extraordinarily sad, his body radiated despair, and his eyes held a hint of apology as he looked at Tong Mo.
"Teacher?" Tong Mo felt anxious instinctively, puzzled as she looked at him.
Why was he showing her an apologetic look?
What on earth was going on...
After taking a deep breath, Zhuo Wen began, "Tong Mo, since things have come to this, let’s make it public."
"What?" Tong Mo was stunned, staring blankly at his face full of despair and decay, "Teacher, what are you talking about? What do we have to make public?"
Why didn’t she understand what he was saying—though she recognized every word—when they were strung together?
"Let’s disclose our secret romance!" Zhuo Wen answered her.
The students and teachers instantly erupted in exclamations, looking incredulously at the two of them.
Seeing a photo was one thing, but hearing it firsthand was quite another.
Luo Mengmeng was also shocked, but she believed Tong Mo certainly hadn’t dated Teacher Zhuo Wen because if she had, she would have definitely told her.
So why was this happening?
On the stage, Tong Mo was so frightened that she took two steps back, her face losing all color as she looked at him in disbelief, "Teacher, what nonsense are you spouting!?"
When did they have a secret romance?
How come she didn’t know?
And wasn’t it supposed to be an explanation of the matter—why had it turned into admitting these baseless accusations?
"Momo, at this point, we might as well just admit it..." Zhuo Wen forced a smile full of apology, "Let’s admit it."
"Teacher, why are you doing this?"
Tong Mo’s face suddenly showed a shocked and despairing expression.
Why was he, like those people, framing and slandering her?
What was the reason for all this!
Zhuo Wen did not answer her, only showing a pained smile that looked uglier than crying.
In that moment, Tong Mo clearly heard the sound of her heart breaking into pieces.
Gasping for air, she struggled to calm herself down and snatched the microphone from his hand, "Zhuo Wen, are you fucking sick in the head? When have I ever dated you?"
Tong Mo knew that nobody else could help her now; the only person who could save her was herself!