“I-I only wanted everyone to know about it so that they would not be deceived by Qiao Nan. I mean no harm. It is the truth. I mean no harm.”
Regardless of what she said, Yu Xiaoxiao did not believe Lü Yan’s words.
Given what was written on the thread, she would not believe that she meant no harm. She was out to destroy Qiao Nan!
Yu Xiaoxiao crossed her hands about her chest. “What follows after?”
“Will you help me?” Lü Yan looked at Yu Xiaoxiao through teary eyes. “Please help me explain to Qiao Nan. I have good intentions, but it turns out the opposite way. I will delete the thread immediately. I will apologize to her. Can you persuade her not to blow things up or look into it?”
Yu Xiaoxiao snorted. “Qiao Nan has turned infamous in school overnight because of your thread. You should have seen everyone’s attitude toward Qiao Nan. You have tarnished her reputation. Do you think things will be alright if you apologize to Qiao Nan?” She was not that shameless to make this request of Qiao Nan.
“Xiaoxiao, y-you have to help me. Tang Jiayun was the one who lent me the camera. Why is it that she is absolved from this and I have to bear full responsibility? If not for Tang Jiayun, I would not be displeased with Qiao Nan.” Tang Jiayun was the person who started everything. She was influenced by her. Tang Jiayun had to bear a bigger responsibility.
Yu Xiaoxiao let out a breath. “It is no wonder that Qiao Nan wanted to move out of the dormitory. She is not foolish. She is smarter than me. Lü Yan, we are roommates. If you really feel that reason is on your side and that the faults lie with others, you can sit here and pray that Qiao Nan could not find evidence of your participation. You can pretend that you have not done anything. If Qiao Nan finds out the truth and wants you to answer for it, try telling her what you said to me just now, and we shall see if she is willing to accept it or not.”
“Xiaoxiao?” Lü Yan widened her eyes in shock.
“Hehehe.” Yu Xiaoxiao laughed, a glint of mockery in her eyes. “I suppose you know that what you said is totally absurd, yet you tried to coax me to explain to Qiao Nan on your behalf. Fine, you are vicious. Everyone is a fool while you are the only smart person. I am too foolish. I am fearful of being with such a smart person like you.”
Yu Xiaoxiao walked off after that.
The library was a better place than her dormitory. Hopefully, there were empty seats there.
Yu Xiaoxiao knew very well that she was not Qiao Nan and she did not have friends like Shi Qing. It was not an easy task to change her dormitory, and it was a faraway dream to think of moving out.
Since she had two terrible roommates, the only thing that she could do was to follow in Qiao Nan’s footsteps-keeping a distance from her roommates. It was better to be a loner than to mingle with evil-natured people.
On the other hand, after the thread had been posted, the teachers at Peking University learned about it, knowing that it would have a bad impact on the school and they worked quickly to think of ways to resolve it.
Unlike the other students, the teachers at Peking University would not sentence Qiao Nan guilty solely because of a photo.
In the photo, Qiao Nan did not behave inappropriately, and the two of them kept a respectful distance from each other. Moreover, one could tell from Qiao Nan’s expression that she was being prim and proper. Besides, Qiao Nan always had good results and she participated in the work-study program. The school had just started, but Qiao Nan did not once slack in her work.
Qiao Nan had not been seen behaving abnormally in school. Her clothes looked simple and ordinary, definitely not branded. Her clothes did not seem to be brand new, but they were clean and tidy.
In addition, Qiao Nan had not been seen wearing luxury goods or belongings that were beyond her financial circumstances.
Many students had cell phones but Qiao Nan did not. She would use the phone when she needed to make a call.
She was just an ordinary student. It was a serious matter to say that she was a kept woman. It was not something that could be said easily of someone.
If the thread was true, the public would misunderstand that there was something wrong with Peking University. If the thread was untrue, the public would still feel that Peking University had bad school ethos as one of their students had maligned an innocent student.
The teachers were concerned and worried that their students would malign their peers.
Therefore, having heard about this incident, several teachers at Peking University had a discussion to come up with solutions.
They were experienced in life and knew that students like Qiao Nan could not have behavioral problems.
They could not find Qiao Nan guilty based on a photo. Similarly, they could not determine right away that Qiao Nan was innocent. The best solution was to talk to Qiao Nan and find out who the man in the photo was.
Perhaps they would be able to tell whether the thread was true after finding out the man’s identity.
Before the teachers sent someone to look for Qiao Nan, Qiao Nan had already come looking for them. “You must be Qiao Nan. You have come at the right time. We need to ask you some questions.”
From Qiao Nan’s anxious look, the teachers in the discussion group knew that Qiao Nan must have heard about the thread. “Qiao Nan, can you tell us who the man in the photo is?”
“He is my elder.”
“Oh…” So he was her elder. “Does your dad know this elder of yours?” The teachers could not take Qiao Nan’s words at face value. They had to verify with Qiao Nan’s parents.
“Yes.” Chief Zhai was her father-in-law. How could he not know him?
“Then, what is your house’s telephone number? If you don’t mind, we want to…” The teachers at Peking University felt relieved at Qiao Nan’s answer. It was good that she was not a kept woman. After all, compared to students who maligned their fellow classmates, it was worse to have students who were a kept woman, and it would have a larger impact on the school.
“Teacher, calling my dad to verify whether the man is my elder is not important right now. What is important now is to block the thread and delete the photo. The photo itself has a larger impact than the contents of the thread! If possible, can you contact the principal?”
Qiao Nan was in a hurry. If this was not put to a stop, Peking University and the government might step in.
“What do you mean?” The teachers did not understand Qiao Nan’s meaning. “Will the photo cause such dire consequences?”
Qiao Nan hit her forehead. She did not let the teachers know of her relationship with her father-in-law. She only said that he was her elder. She dared not reveal her father-in-law’s identity anyhow. “Teacher, you have to believe me. You have to deal with the thread right away. We must not allow the students at Peking University to keep discussing the thread, and they must not be allowed to forward it to the public. We have to delete the photo right away.”
