Chapter 37

Qiao Zhenzhen followed Chi Shen into the office without understanding why. As soon as they entered she heard the homeroom teacher say coldly, “Close the door.”
Qiao Zhenzhen paused, obediently shut the door, and realized there were only the three of them in the office.
“Teacher, what is it you want with us?” she asked, stepping forward.
The homeroom teacher’s brow was tight. After glancing at her, he unlocked his phone and, clearly angry, slammed it down on the desk. “Explain this. What is going on here?”
Qiao Zhenzhen glanced at Chi Shen in confusion before picking up the phone.
It was the school forum page. The top post had been bumped to “hot” and its headline read something like: “School board member’s daughter Qiao Zhenzhen keeps the grade’s top student, moral corruption.” She hesitated, tapped in, and found a string of photos, mostly taken over the past two days, showing her and Chi Shen eating and swiping a card, and walking back to the dorm together. The pictures were a little blurry, but it was unmistakably the two of them.
The post had been made at three in the morning; in less than five hours it had already attracted more than eight hundred replies. The whole school only had about two thousand students, this many replies meant practically everyone knew.
…No wonder those looks earlier were so weird.
Qiao Zhenzhen pursed her lips and scrolled casually. Most comments were shocked at how bold she and Chi Shen appeared; a small portion were malicious, but nothing extreme.
As she scrolled further she saw someone comment: They make such a good match, pretty heiress vs. brilliant top student, looks like the leads of a movie.
Dozens of people agreed. Qiao Zhenzhen read on and couldn’t help the faint curve that tugged at the corner of her mouth.
She thought the comments were amusing, but to the homeroom teacher they were provocation. He blew up. “You dare to smile? Don’t you know how damaging it is for high school students to live together? Think about the harm it does to the school’s reputation. If these were any other students, I’d expel you all right now!”
Unfortunately, one of them was the school board member’s daughter and the other was the star student the school was pinning hopes on for next year’s top rank; the teacher could only drag them into his office for a stern lecture.
Qiao Zhenzhen set the phone down with an innocent look. “We’re not living together, and I’m not supporting Chi Shen. Teacher, someone is spreading malicious rumors, you have to believe us.”
“They posted the evidence, how can I believe you?” the homeroom teacher snapped, frowning. “Explain this: if you’re not living together, why were you going up to the dorm with Chi Shen in the middle of the night?!”
Qiao Zhenzhen’s lips moved as if to answer, but before she could, Chi Shen spoke up, “I was tutoring her.”
The homeroom teacher paused, stunned.
Her surprise wasn't about the tutoring explanation so much as the fact that Chi Shen had actually spoken up on his own. She'd had him in her class for three years; even if she didn't know him intimately, she knew what kind of person he was. She had only called him in because he was one of the parties involved, not expecting to get anything useful from him, hence her persistent questioning of Qiao Zhenzhen.
But now, Chi Shen had actually spoken up.
While the homeroom teacher was still shocked, Qiao Zhenzhen jumped in: "Yes. Lately I've been going to his place every night. Sometimes we tutor for an hour, sometimes for two; I go over on weekends too. My parents know this, didn't you run into me the last time?"
The homeroom teacher came to her senses and remembered meeting Qiao Zhenzhen in the corridor; she had indeed said she was going to get extra lessons. "...When you said you were getting extra lessons, you meant from Chi Shen?"
"Yeah, he's top of the grade and my deskmate. If I'm not asking him, who else would I ask? Teacher, haven't you noticed I've started studying properly recently?" Qiao Zhenzhen said, lifting her chin.
The homeroom teacher was speechless for a moment, still unconvinced. After a pause she asked, "You say your parents know about this?"
"They do. My mom's been the one picking me up lately," Qiao Zhenzhen hurried. "If you don't believe me, you can call her right now."
Seeing how earnest she looked, the teacher believed her mostly, but because this was serious, she looked up Qin Jing's number in front of her and called.
After two rings it was answered; Qin Jing's unusually serious voice came through: "Why is Teacher Zhou calling? Has Zhenzhen gotten into trouble at school?"
...How was she so sure it was Zhenzhen who got into trouble? Qiao Zhenzhen rubbed her nose, looked up to meet Chi Shen's intent gaze, paused, glanced toward the homeroom teacher, and quietly nudged him to signal for him to keep it down. Chi Shen obediently shifted his eyes to the floor.
The homeroom teacher hadn't noticed their little exchange. Once Qin Jing picked up, she immediately began, "It's like this, I want to ask about Zhenzhen's recent attitude toward studying, what efforts she's made in her review. It's just a small school inquiry."
To avoid parents covering for their kids by lying, she didn't tell the whole truth at first, she wanted to hear how Qin Jing would respond. Qiao Zhenzhen's heart leapt; she prayed her mother would be sensible and clear her name right away.
Qin Jing didn't disappoint. "Ah, I see, that's good... she's been studying much more seriously lately, but I haven't been tutoring her and don't know her exact progress. Still, it should be pretty decent, she's been getting extra help from her classmates."
"Getting extra lessons from classmates?" The teacher quickly seized on the key point.
Qin Jing answered quickly, "Yes, Chi Shen, the top student in your grade. By the way, Teacher, I wanted to ask how Chi Shen has been doing, has Zhenzhen been holding him back? If his studies suffer because he's tutoring her every day, I won't accept that."
Chi Shen's expression softened slightly at Qin Jing's concern for him.
The teacher said a few reassuring words, then ended the call.
As soon as the call ended, Qiao Zhenzhen said, "See? I wasn't lying, was I?"
The teacher glanced at her. "Alright, since that's settled, go back to class."
"Okay, thanks, Teacher." Qiao Zhenzhen gave Chi Shen a look and turned to leave. When she reached the door she realized her little shadow hadn't followed, so she turned back.
Chi Shen was still standing by the desk.
The teacher hesitated. "Is there anything else?"
"Aren't you going to deal with whoever spread the rumor?" Chi Shen asked.
The teacher looked troubled. "Such rumors are terrible, they affect the school's reputation and yours as well. I can't handle this on my own; I have to report the details to the principal, and the principal will decide what to do."
"You can report it to him now," Chi Shen said, standing his ground.
Qiao Zhenzhen hurried back and pulled him: "The teacher's busy, there's no time for this now. Let's just go back."
But Chi Shen, unusually defiant, kept his eyes on the teacher. "A cohabitation rumor about an eighteen-year-old high school student, if not dealt with promptly, could leave a stain on her for life."
He wouldn't allow it.
The teacher, taken aback by his stare, immediately grew serious. "Alright, I'll tell the principal right now. You two go back to class."
Having secured her promise, Chi Shen finally followed Qiao Zhenzhen out.
They kept walking until they were well away from the office before Qiao Zhenzhen spoke. "Honestly, I don't care. It's obviously false, why bother?"
Chi Shen said nothing.
"But thanks for standing up for me. I hope one day you'll fight just as hard to defend your own rights," Qiao Zhenzhen said with a smile. She only then noticed he'd been distracted; she paused and waved her hand in front of his face.
Chi Shen came back to himself and looked at her wordlessly.
"What are you thinking about?" Qiao Zhenzhen asked, curious.
Chi Shen was silent for a moment; he seemed reluctant to speak.
"Come on, tell me," she said, narrowing her eyes.
"It was Zhao Lianqiao."
"I know, who else could it be?" Qiao Zhenzhen shrugged. Zhao Lianqiao really was something; in both lives she had been the biggest villain in my life.
"So I'm a little regretful," Chi Shen added.
Qiao Zhenzhen looked at him. "Regret what?"
After asking, she understood at once. "...You still want to kill someone?"
Chi Shen paused. "I won't."
Not doing it didn't mean he didn't want to; Qiao Zhenzhen wasn't easily fooled. "In any case, you better watch yourself. Now that you've promised me you won't do bad things, you have to stick to it."
"Okay." Chi Shen agreed obediently.
They chatted as they returned to class. As soon as they entered, the sound of recitation in the room noticeably dropped, and one by one scrutinizing gazes turned toward them. Amid the curiosity, Qiao Zhenzhen quickly fixed on Zhao Lianqiao's furtive stare, scoffed coldly, and went straight to her seat.
"I'll deal with her sooner or later." Qiao Zhenzhen muttered.
Chi Shen nodded seriously.
Morning self-study ended quickly. The moment the bell rang, the homeroom teacher called Qiao Zhenzhen and Chi Shen over. "We've reached a decision. Whether this is a rumor or not, it could harm the school's reputation, so the school has decided to delete the post. Let's just pretend this never happened."
Chi Shen's face immediately darkened.
"Anyway, that's the decision. I know you feel wronged, but from now on, if you need extra lessons, go to the library, don't keep going to each other's homes. It's not a good look." The homeroom teacher tried to soothe them as best she could.
Chi Shen remained displeased; Qiao Zhenzhen, on the other hand, was relieved that it was settled and half-heartedly agreed.
But they hadn't expected that deleting the post would spark an even bigger backlash.
That very night another post appeared: 'Qiao Zhenzhen used her school director father's influence to maliciously delete the post.' This time the comments were nothing but abuse. Qiao Zhenzhen stared at the newly bumped thread and couldn't help thinking how foolish Zhao Lianqiao had been, people that stupid could be played like fiddles; how low was their IQ?
In any case, this time Zhao Lianqiao had walked right into the line of fire.