Zhou Fei’s voice was very calm.
Ye Ci was silent for a long time. The countless emotions that were surging in her heart were finally suppressed.
She closed her eyes. “I understand.”
…
The matter of the leaked questions had spread like wildfire on the Internet. Of course, Yunzhou Second High School also knew about it.
In the year group and the class group, everyone tacitly maintained their silence on this matter.
The matter of leaked questions in a national competition was a huge matter of fraud.
Once it was verified that it was related to Ye Ci and the Ye family, it would probably never be cleared up again.
The people who had previously spoken up for her had also quietly disappeared by now.
Everyone was waiting for the results of the Physics Competition Organizing Committee’s investigation.
…
The next morning, Ning Li woke up and looked at her phone.
On Weibo, the topic of the leaked questions was still on top of the trending list. Ye Ci and the Ye family were also still in the top ten.
Even though quite some time had already passed, the heat surrounding this matter was still high.
Ye Yiming had tried to take down the trending topic. However, this matter was already a scandal. Besides, it also involved the organizing committee and other officials, so it was really difficult to deal with.
Just by relying on the marketing numbers and trolls that his public relations company had raised, it was simply impossible to deal with this matter.
The direction of public opinion on the Internet had also completely changed.
As long as he opened the relevant entry, the topic square would be filled with curses.
Ning Li put away her phone.
After having breakfast with Old Master Lu, Ning Li had brought up the matter of returning to Yunzhou.
“Grandfather Lu, I’ll be going back to the hotel to get my things first. After that, I’ll go straight to the airport.”
Elder Lu was very reluctant for her to leave, but he also knew that her exams had already ended and she had to go back to class.
He did not usually use his smartphone much and had only learned how to use WeChat for Ning Li’s sake. So naturally, he did not know about the controversy on the Internet.
“Alright, after the college entrance exams are over, Ah Li will have to find time to play!”
The corners of Ning Li’s lips curved up.
“Okay.”
Lu Huaiyu said, “I’ll accompany you back later.”
Ning Li was slightly stunned. She remembered that Zhou Fei had specially asked him to send her back, so she nodded.
…
Half an hour later, Fang Qingyun parked the car at the entrance of the hotel.
Lu Huaiyu was the first to push the door open and get out of the car.
Ning Li followed.
“Second Brother, I’ll be back after I go up to get my things. You don’t have to come with me.”
“I’m not lacking in these two steps.”
As Lu Huaiyu spoke, he closed the car door.
Ning Li could not argue with him, so the two of them got into the elevator together.
She pressed seven buttons.
After Ye Ci’s cheating had been exposed, Zhou Fei had helped Ning Li get another room for convenience’s sake.
However, she had not stayed here in the past two days.
Ding.
The elevator door opened.
A familiar face appeared just outside.
Su Yuan.
She was looking rather haggard. Her eyes were red, and the dark circles under her eyes were obvious.
Most of the time, she was the elegant Mrs. Ye with exquisite makeup so it was really rare to see her like this.
Su Yuan had been preparing to go downstairs to buy something.
After she and Ye Ming received Zhou Fei’s call, they rushed over from Yunzhou. They had not brought many things with them.
They had originally thought that the matter would be resolved quickly. Who would have known that there would be trouble with the leaked questions now? For the time being, they were unable to go back.
Yesterday, she had found out about the issue of the leaked questions from the Internet. Only then had she understood why Ye Ming had been so angry at that time.
Seeing that the Ye family had also been implicated, she had not sleep well the whole night.
Ye Ci had always said that the cheat sheet had been given to her by Ning Li, but what was the point of repeatedly saying it when there was no evidence?
She did not dare to ask Ye Ming exactly what was going on. She could only secretly hope that they could solve this matter quickly.
With this thought in mind, she had unintentionally looked into the elevator.
When she saw Ning Li, she was instantly stunned.
“Ning Li? You’re back?”
Ning Li’s expression was indifferent as she walked out of the elevator.
“I came back to get my things.”
As she said this, she walked directly past Su Yuan as if she did not want to say anything more.
When she brushed past her, Su Yuan suddenly reacted and immediately moved to grab her wrist.
“Wait!”
Ning Li heard the movement and tried to move away immediately.
However, someone else was faster than her.
Lu Huaiyu grabbed her wrist and pulled her over. At the same time, he took half a step forward and blocked Su Yuan.
“Mrs. Ye.”
He stood in front of Ning Li, his body tall and straight, blocking her completely. His voice was unhurried and cold.
“Please have some self-respect.”
Perhaps it was because the aura around him was cold and oppressive, Su Yuan subconsciously stopped in her tracks.
She had not expected to meet Lu Huaiyu here.
Seeing that he was protecting Ning Li, Su Yuan’s imposing manner was greatly weakened.
“Second Master Lu, please make way for me. I have something to say to Ning Li.”
Lu Huaiyu said lightly, “Mrs. Ye, if you have something to say, just say it.”
Su Yuan’s expression immediately turned awkward.
This…
How could she say it in front of Lu Huaiyu!?
Her lips moved, and she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
“It’s about some private family matters. I’m afraid it’s inconvenient for Second Master Lu–”
“Is it related to Ah Li?” Lu Huaiyu interrupted her. “If it’s related to her, then it’s the same if you tell it to me.”
Ning Li stood behind him. From her perspective, she could only see the man’s straight and broad shoulders.
She blinked slightly and lowered her eyes.
He was still holding her wrist, defending her resolutely and without hesitation.
Hearing his words, Su Yuan was both angry and anxious, but she did not dare to argue with Lu Huaiyu.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally made up her mind. She looked at Ning Li who was standing behind him and tried her best to restrain herself and asked, “Ning Li, was it you who planted the cheat sheet on Lil Ci?”
Ning Li looked at her calmly.
Things had come to this point. This was the first question Su Yuan had asked after seeing her.
Seeing that she was not saying anything, Su Yuan was a little anxious.
She lowered her voice and said anxiously, “If it really was you, you should admit it to the organizing committee!”
Lu Huaiyu’s eyes were cold.
Ning Li finally opened her mouth.
“Do you think that I was the one who printed out the original test paper?”
Her voice was filled with a hint of laughter.
“So, that’s how highly you think of me.”
Su Yuan was speechless.
She had only wanted to prevent the Ye family from being dragged into this mess. If it really had been Ning Li, the Ye family would have then be able to get out of this mess.
However, she had overlooked one thing: with Ning Li’s current status and ability, how could she have possibly gotten hold of the original test paper?
She was really anxious and confused.
“I… Mother didn’t mean that…”
Su Yuan argued weakly.
Lu Huaiyu’s voice and expression were cold:
“If that’s all that Mrs. Ye wanted to ask, then please excuse me. My time is very precious.”
With that, he turned around and was about to leave with Ning Li.
Ning Li pulled him back.
Lu Huaiyu paused and looked at her.
Ning Li took a step forward and stood in front of Su Yuan.
There was only the distance of one step between them, but it was so far that it seemed like they would never be able to cross it.
The corners of Ning Li’s lips curved slightly as she said softly, “I got first place. Aren’t you going to congratulate me?”
