Chapter 485: Good at Triggering Others
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Following that, Tan Mo could be heard saying, “Well, let me get this straight.”
Lin Fuxi immediately stretched her neck forward in anticipation of Tan Mo’s words.
Tan Mo asked, “Lin Fuxi, are you trying to sabotage my plan by poking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”
“What are you talking about?” Tan Mo’s question caused Lin Fuxi to blanch.
“Why did you probe into my investigation?” Tan Mo remarked with an innocent look. “Sister Yuxi and Sister Yuelin said it before that I should tell no one my findings or a single piece of information about my investigation. Otherwise, the author would disrupt my plan should they catch wind of it.”
“You were relentless with your volleys of questions, especially when they were sensitive ones, even though Sister Yuxi and Sister Yuelin could keep their promises of not asking me anything. You have been asking me about my progress, my findings and so on. After hearing all the questions you asked, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious about your intention.” Tan Mo tilted her head and continued, “Even though they both care about me very much, they could refrain from asking me anything.”
“Now, I’m thinking that you were the author of that article all along, and that’s why you had been persistent with your questions. Are you trying to sabotage my plan or divulge the insider information?” Tan Mo asked.
Lin Fuxi’s face flushed. “I was just being caring!”
“Hmm…” Pressing her forefinger against her lower lips, Tan Mo thought for a minute before replying, “In that case, you should care about me like both of them did.”
At that time, Jin Yuelin and Meng Yuxi were staring at Lin Fuxi, whose face was red all the way to her ears. She looked like she would explode anytime.
It never crossed their minds that Tan Mo could be that good at making people’s blood boil.
Tan Mo played dumb and stretched her arms open. “Look, you’re the one who insisted that I speak the truth, yet you’re upset when I did.”
“And I’ve been telling you that I’m not the author! Whoever that person is has nothing to do with me!” Lin Fuxi bellowed with a stern look. “Any evidence is worth a thousand words. If you don’t have proof, stop pointing the finger at me!”
“Who told you that I didn’t have a proof?” Tan Mo instantly responded.
“Tan Mo!” Jin Yuelin and Meng Yuxi exclaimed in unison.
The two shook their heads frantically in silence, beckoning Tan Mo to stop saying unnecessary things.
Since Tan Mo had her suspicion on Lin Fuxi, she should not disclose any further information to the latter.
Noticing her carelessness, Tan Mo hurriedly stopped speaking and lowered her head as she covered her mouth with her right hand. Putting her guard up, she shot Lin Fuxi a panicky look and averted her gaze immediately.
Lin Fuxi snorted silently at the sight of it.
Tan Mo was but a fledgling who could not retain her composure.
She was highly alert at first, but her competitive nature and unwillingness to yield would lead her to spill the beans after some bickering.
She had proof all along.
Still, Lin Fuxi surmised that it was not solid evidence.
Otherwise, an impatient person like Tan Mo would’ve revealed everything and let her receive the punishment she deserved instead of remaining taciturn.
With that, Lin Fuxi stopped asking questions but began to spy on Tan Mo’s movements.
Since they were staying in the same dormitory, she just needed to pay attention to whatever Tan Mo was investigating.
Everyone in the living quarters each owned a laptop.
Lin Fuxi’s family got her one as well.
Although it was an inexpensive model with only basic functionalities, it was sufficient for studies.
Jin Yuelin and Meng Yuxi each owned a tablet. They didn’t need to bring books to the lecture hall since they could write and scribble on their tablets.
On the other hand, Lin Fuxi only had a laptop but not a tablet.
It went without saying that Tan Mo owned both.
At that moment, Tan Mo was using her laptop to make comparisons of all the photos.
She had a high-end laptop that was capable of running heavy software that required high processing power and had high memory usage.
Tan Mo opened the original photos with the software and imported all the images she took into it.
The software selected photos with the closest angles through data analysis and its internal algorithm.
Once the software selected the images, Tan Mo removed the ones that were rejected.
After configuring the settings, she let it analyze and compare the trees and plants in the background.
Tan Mo looked at the progress indicator since the software needed time to finish the analysis.
The result finally came out around 10 minutes later.
There were two pictures she took that were similar to the original photos in terms of the annual growth rings of the trees, the number of leaves and the position of the weeds.
The software even drew circles on similar parts and enlarged them.
Afterward, Tan Mo keyed in several data, including the photography positions, and then reran the analysis process.
In the end, there was only one image that was similar to the original photos.
Tan Mo renamed all the photos with unique tags.
Hence, she could recall where she took those photos with just a glance.
The remaining picture was the first one she took on the balcony.
In other words, the author of the article was someone from her dormitory.
It was unnecessary to state the obvious regarding the identity of the culprit.
Still, the evidence in her hands was insufficient to plead Lin Fuxi guilty.
Tan Mo anticipated that Lin Fuxi would push the blame on Jin Yuelin and Meng Yuxi, saying they were potential suspects.
Lin Fuxi would point out that Tan Mo could not prove her guilty with such weak evidence.
While it was true that Tan Mo didn’t have conclusive evidence, she had narrowed the potential suspects down to just her fellow dorm mates.
It was indeed a range tiny enough according to her expectation.
Tan Mo recorded the whole photo comparison process and exported the finished video.
She saved it for the next phase of her plan and would later broadcast it for everyone on the campus to see.
She then uploaded the video file to her cloud storage and sent another backup copy to her alternate email address.
Next, she sent a copy of it to Wei Zhiqian on WeChat.
Finally, she added that video to her favorites as a final backup copy.
It was indeed adequate preparation.
Upon receiving the video, Wei Zhiqian immediately replied, “I was about to send you the comparison result too.”
Immediately after, Tan Mo received a zipped file Wei Zhiqian sent her.
The videos and images inside had the same result as Tan Mo’s earlier.
A while later, Wei Zhiqian finished watching the video she sent him.
Wei Zhiqian asked, “So, is it the girl with the surname Lin?”
Wei Zhiqian had his suspicion about Lin Fuxi as well.
Tan Mo replied, “I suspect her too. Although I’ve narrowed down potential suspects to my living quarters, I still can’t prove that it was her doing. Besides, there’s a risk of accusing an innocent person without solid proof.”
She continued, “Actually, I’ve got an idea now.”
Wei Zhiqian replied, “Go on.”
After lights out, Tan Mo closed her laptop and left it on her desk.
With her smartphone in her hand, she got into her bed.
Upon seeing that, Jin Yuelin reminded her, “Tan Mo, don’t you think it’s better to keep your laptop in a safer place?”
Lin Fuxi shot Jin Yuelin a glance.
Tan Mo answered with a smile on her face. “No worries. It’ll auto-lock once I close the laptop lid. One can only access my laptop through fingerprint or password.”
Having heard that, Jin Yuelin nodded and felt relieved.
