The evening self-study session ended, and the students in the study room left one by one.
Gu Shuangshuang and An Hao finished reviewing their coursework and were in no hurry to leave.
Resting her chin in her hands, Gu Shuangshuang looked out the window at the shadowy poplar trees and murmured, "An Hao, I really find it hard to believe that Xu Yinuo could do such a thing."
"Right now it’s just our guess." An Hao packed up her books and began to help Gu Shuangshuang organize hers.
"An Hao, have you noticed anything unusual about Xu Yinuo these past few days?" Gu Shuangshuang had noticed that, despite appearing preoccupied, Yinuo pretended to be calm.
Moreover, she deliberately avoided her and An Hao.
Xu Yinuo wasn’t strong-hearted; if she had done something wrong, she would inevitably give herself away.
"I’ve noticed. I’ll give her one more day. If she still doesn’t come forward to speak, I’ll confront her directly! And this time, I won’t be as lenient with her as I was before."
Gu Shuangshuang sighed, "If it really was her, I would be utterly disappointed."
Just as An Hao and Gu Shuangshuang were about to leave, some girls from other classes came into the study room to whisper among themselves.
"I found out when Professor Yan’s birthday is, it’s coming up in a few days. Considering how serious and responsible Professor Yan is toward us, should we get him a gift?"
"Let’s give him a fountain pen! Or a photo album could work too."
"I think we should forget it. When Professor Yan Ye gets back from the volunteer clinic, he probably won’t be in the mood to celebrate his birthday. Now everyone knows that An Hao from Clinical Class One is pregnant; lots of people are secretly saying that the child is Professor Yan’s."
Another rumormonger stirred Gu Shuangshuang’s emotions, and she was about to question them sharply, but An Hao stopped her with a look.
She had no choice but to sit down and continue listening, suppressing her anger.
Someone blurted out nonsensically, "An Hao’s fiancé is a leader in the army. We’ve all seen him; he’s no less attractive than Professor Yan."
"Whether he’s really her fiancé is still uncertain. Maybe it’s just a smokescreen."
"The fiancé is real, and they’re already married. An Hao’s husband has now departed for the Northwest, leaving her all alone. Before that, there were rumors linking her to Professor Yan. Now that her husband’s gone, she definitely can’t stand the loneliness. You don’t know, married women are different from unmarried ones. After going through that event, they can’t help but crave and miss... it."
At the conclusion of the girl’s words, everyone burst into giggles, "You talk as if you have experience."
"I heard it from the widows in my village."
"Hahaha, that might well be true. But let’s not over speculate on this matter, in case the school finds out and we get punished. Besides, without evidence, rumors are just rumors."
"What do you mean, no evidence? This was witnessed by a girl named Xu Yinuo from their dorm."
"Of course! I once found Xu Yinuo’s notebook! I only glanced at it for a moment before she discovered it was missing and came back to ask for it. She’s such a fool to write such things down in a notebook."
Hearing all this, Gu Shuangshuang felt a chill run down her spine.
Xu Yinuo had indeed done such a thing to An Hao!
She must, must confront Xu Yinuo and demand clarity! Such behavior was too unethical, and it caused so much harm to An Hao!
As Xu Yinuo’s former friend, Gu Shuangshuang felt it necessary to have a serious talk with her.
Jealousy and inferiority could lead her down a path of self-destruction!