"Director, please don’t falsely accuse me and He Zhilan, we are not in a relationship, we are very good friends, but not in that way!" Tan Heqian became anxious as soon as he heard it, thinking that it must have been when he and He Zhilan were discussing her parents’ affairs and someone saw them. If he was misunderstood by the teachers that he and He Zhilan were dating, it would be really hard to clarify.
Tan Heqian’s thoughts were also what He Zhilan was thinking, so, He Zhilan knew that the director certainly wouldn’t believe Tan Heqian’s explanation.
So, He Zhilan pondered for a few seconds before she responded, "Director, Tan Heqian and I have known each other since we were young, so our friendship is naturally different from others. I regard Tan Heqian as my sibling. I was feeling a little down recently, so Tan Heqian has been comforting me. I think that might have led to this misunderstanding."
Hearing He Zhilan’s words, Tan Heqian quickly reacted and nodded in agreement, adding on, "Yes! Director, Zhilan and I have known each other for over a decade now. We’re old friends!"
"Director, I didn’t expect that Tan Heqian and I would be misunderstood by others. We know we’re just really good friends, but other people don’t know that. In the future, Tan Heqian and I will be more mindful." He Zhilan quickly corrected her own attitude up and acknowledged the mistake. However, the mistake she acknowledged was only that she and Tan Heqian were so familiar with each other that they hadn’t paid attention to their behavior and conduct.
The school director viewed the two dubious, but in the end, he chose to believe them. Only then did he let down his stern mask, pick up the piece of gossip paper published about them, examined it carefully, and asked, "He Zhilan, do you have any suspects? Have you offended anyone recently? The content of this gossip paper is really disgusting."
"Who else could it be? Is it not that..."
Tan Heqian was about to name Gu En when He Zhilan promptly stopped him. The director noticed this and understood He Zhilan’s hesitation.
The director casually said, "He Zhilan, quite a few people saw you and Gu En arguing at the cafeteria entrance today, isn’t that right?"
Some things don’t need to be stated explicitly with smart people. He Zhilan nodded, didn’t say a word, and just stared at the Director.
At this point, though it wasn’t spoken out loud, the mentioned name and He Zhilan’s silence said it all.
The director felt a headache coming on, "Why her? She hasn’t come to school in days and when she does, she does something ? Did anyone see her posting the gossip paper?"
"We were all in class in the morning, only she didn’t attend." He Zhilan replied, so who could possibly see? Even if one or two people did, who would stand up for her, He Zhilan, and offend Miss Gu En.
"Well, this situation is problematic. If someone saw it and could testify, it would be easier, but no one saw it, there’s no evidence. For ordinary people, we could invite them over for questioning, but it’s just our luck that it’s Gu En." The school director was genuinely in pain, "I heard that both the Gu family and Lan family only have one girl, both families are very protective of her. Without any evidence, summoning her for questioning and she could complain to her family, this small matter may escalate."