CH 27

Early in the morning, Qin Juran raced to the A2 personnel room to find that Lin Wei and the others had already arrived. Qin Juran cast a look around, but Ruan Nan wasn’t there.

By the time she arrived, Lin Wei was on the verge of breaking into a fight with the student worker who was on duty, so she quickly stepped between them and asked, “What’s going on?”

“He’s playing dirty!” Lin Wei was tall and handsome, enough to even be deemed one of the “male gods” of S University. Given that, the commotion he was currently causing in the personnel room made him the center of attention of all the workers present.

Qin Juran frowned and walked up to the student on duty: “Hello classmate, I also lost something the other day. I’d like to request the auditorium’s video footage from the night of September 30th.”

Upon seeing Qin Juran, the student calmed down: “There were some technical difficulties with our monitors a few days ago and the memory has been cleared, so there’s no more past footage.”

“This seems too timely to be a coincidence…”

“Yea, with a coincidence like this, you must’ve erased it yourself!” Lin Wei shouted.

The student worker didn’t argue with Lin Wei further and gestured apologetically towards Qin Juran, signaling that there was nothing he could do.

Qin Juran didn’t persist. If the culprit was daring enough to post something like that, of course they wouldn’t overlook such obvious details that could be used against them.

Nonetheless, thinking about how a mere college student would go this far out of their way to hurt someone made Qin Juran feel disgusted.

Qin Juran pulled Lin Wei over to the corner. “How’s Ruan Nan?”

Lin Wei furrowed his brows: “Wang Yuanyuan is with her right now. Sister Nan hasn’t read the forum post in full yet, at least, so she hasn’t really reacted.”

Qin Jura nodded. “Don’t cause any commotions. I’ll think of another method.”

“The surveillance footage is already gone, what other methods are there? Who could Sister Nan have angered so much that they’d resort to such a cruel stunt?”

Qin Juran pondered out loud: “I think I have a good idea of who it might be, but I might need your help. Make sure you keep your phone on and check it often.”

Lin Wei nodded, half believing, half skeptical. Before he could ask Qin Juran more, she had already picked up her bag and left.

As Lin Wei watched her retreating silhouette, he mumbled bewilderedly to Zhou Ziqing: “Somehow, I get the feeling that Qin Juran is very in grasp of this whole situation…”

Zhou Ziqing also frowned, pursing his lips, “Recently, she’s been keeping her word. No wonder Sister Nan said that she changed.”

The next matter of the morning was a large class lecture. Within the group, only Lin Wei was in the same major as Ruan Nan and Qin Juran. Lin Wei and Zhou Ziqing soon left the school building and went their separate ways to class. When Qin Juran arrived at the class, she saw that Ruan Nan was already there. Lin Wei sat in the back aisle, his legs stretched out, fidgeting in an agitated manner.

Qin Juran’s entrance attracted many curious gazes from the fellow students; it seemed that everyone had seen the forum post.

She walked straight towards the classmate sitting behind Ruan Nan: “Hey, would you mind switching seats?”

The girl had a sweet and docile appearance. When she looked up to see Qin Juran, she pushed up her glasses and nodded, then moved to a different seat.

After Qin Juran sat down, she continued to pull out her notebooks as if the entire class wasn’t currently focusing on her, waiting for her to act up. Even Ruan Nan unconsciously straightened in the chair in front of her, but Qin Juran continued to mind her own business. Only when the bell signaling the start of class chimed did the classmates look away.

This was the first time Qin Juran was sitting behind Ruan Nan. A light, citrus smell emitted from her hair, the glossy curls rolling past her shoulders, partially covering the delicate curve of her white neck.

Qin Juran raised her head slightly to peek over her shoulder. Ruan Nan’s notes were all very neat, and her handwriting matched her appearance – graceful and angular.

When Ruan Nan felt Qin Juran’s breath faintly graze against her neck, the hand holding her notebook trembled slightly, and an inexplicable sense of protection washed over her. Qin Juran seemed to be edging forward expectantly, so Ruan Nan purposely leaned back slightly.

The distance between the two shrunk further and further and the breath on her neck grew increasingly distinct, right up until the professor at the podium turned around and she heard a sound of realization from behind her: “Oh, that’s a ‘2’, huh.”

???

Ruan Nan whipped her head around to face Qin Juran, who was sporting a pair of wide gold wire-framed glasses, bright red lipstick, and a casual blazer. One of her sleeves was rolled up, revealing a slender arm that was wrapped tightly around a notebook. Her entire demeanor exuded a never-before-seen sense of discipline and intellectualism.

And given that she was studiously staring at the PowerPoint, she must’ve been edging forward earlier to get a clearer view of the screen.

At that moment, Ruan Nan realized that she was the only one overthinking things. When Qin Juran’s eyes flicked to hers, she felt a wave of shame and indignation, and quickly turned her head back indifferently.

Behind her, Qin Juran felt a tinge of glee. Silently grinning to herself, she reached out a finger, and, using a book as a cover, lightly traced the outline of a heart onto Ruan Nan’s back.

A slight shiver ran down Ruan Nan’s back, but this time, she didn’t turn around.

Ten minutes into the lecture, a student suddenly knocked on the classroom door, interrupting the professor mid-speech. When the annoyed professor asked what the matter was, the student called out: “Ruan Nan, please step out for a minute.”

All the students in the class turned to face Ruan Nan, and Qin Juran noticed her shrink slightly in her seat. Before she could speak, Lin Wei replied from the back of the room: “Where are your manners? We’re in the middle of class. What do you want?”

The student rolled his eyes, drawling out, “It’s about the forum post. The secretary wanted to –”

The class broke out into hushed whispers, while the professor could only stare cluelessly from the podium. Ruan Nan didn’t waste any more time and simply packed her belongings and followed the student out of the room.

Lin Wei fidgeted anxiously in his seat for a moment, but in the end, he couldn’t help chasing after them.

The secretary’s office was in a different building. As Lin Wei was catching up to Ruan Nan, he notified Zhou Ziqing and Wang Yuanyuan as well, and the four of them arrived at the office just about at the same time. Despite their insisting otherwise, Ruan Nan shook her head and walked inside alone.

Within the room sat the school secretary as well as the counselor. Upon seeing Ruan Nan, the old counselor even smiled and nodded at her.

Ruan Nan walked up to the long desk they sat at: “Secretary, you wanted to speak to me?”

The secretary was rather ostentatious in nature. He cleared his throat audibly and set down the files in his hands, asking with a hard face: “I’m sure you know about the forum posts by now, Ruan Nan?”

“Yes,” Ruan Nan answered simply.

“Why did you do something like that? We have no right to meddle in your personal relationships with your classmates, however, this matter not only affects the performance of so many other students, but the school’s reputation as well…”

“I didn’t do it.” Ruan Nan’s reply was respectful but firm.

“What is it that you’re saying you didn’t do? Is the content of the forum post fabricated?”

“Yes.”

The female deputy secretary sitting nearby frowned deeply: “If it wasn’t you, then why did the post say so? Who would want to frame you for no reason?”

Ruan Nan’s face darkened, and she fiercely interrupted, “Isn’t that your job to figure out, instead of sitting here interrogating me?”

“Watch your attitude!”

The deputy secretary had always looked down upon these heavily made-up, overly dressed girls like Ruan Nan. Thus, now she finally had the opportunity to report Ruan Nan directly to the principal for punishment.

Ruan Nan didn’t bother looking her way, only jutting out her chin expectantly. The secretary let out another cough: “You claim that it wasn’t you, but do you have any proof to show for yourself?”

A single name flashed across Ruan Nan’s mind, but she turned her head away. “No, I don’t.”

“I’m not going to lecture you here,” the secretary sighed, “This post was reposted by a public social media network just this morning, and now it’s gaining more and more fervor, with rumors about campus bullying spreading around. Ruan Nan, for the sake of our department and our school’s honor, please release a formal apology.”

“I won’t apologize for something I didn’t do.”

The deputy secretary slammed a hand on the table: “If you don’t apologize then how do you plan on taking responsibility? How are we supposed to take care of this matter?”

Her sharp and piercing words were audible from outside the room. Zhou Ziqing and the others immediately knocked a few times on the door and rushed in. Lin Wei stepped before the secretary and spoke, “Secretary, this matter has nothing to do with Ruan Nan. We don’t know who would pull such a scheme behind our backs, but we’ll find them sooner or later.”

The secretary’s eyes twitched: “So you can find out who did it? But, how long will it take? How much bigger do you want this issue to become? As your educator, how am I supposed to explain this to my superiors?”

“I’m telling you again: I will not apologize for something I didn’t do.”

Ruan Nan stood stick straight, her fists clenched inside her sleeves, her gaze steady with resolve. As the three dubious stares focused on her, Ruan Nan felt utterly powerless at being accused and framed, and her face paled.

The two sides were at a deadlock for a moment, until Wang Yuanyuan broke the silence: “How about this, Secretary – we will write you a letter that guarantees that Ruan Nan wasn’t behind this. Once we ascertain the situation, we will post a clarification online. If we can’t find the culprit by the end of the week, then we will all accept the punishment.”

Zhou Ziqing also walked over: “Yes, I’ll write one, too. If we can’t figure it out, then we’ll face the consequences.”

The secretary peered at the two: “Are you two in our department?”

Lin Wei chimed in, “They’re not, but I am! I’ll write it!”

“You already have a disciplinary punishment on your record! If you write one, it’ll just make things worse!”

Before Lin Wei could dispute him, there was another rasp against the office door.

When the counselor saw the newly arrived visitor, he immediately broke into a smile: “Qin Juran, what brings you here?”

Qin Juran had taken off the glasses, leaving only a casual top that exposed half of her pale arms, on top of a pair of wide-leg jeans that accentuated her tall height. Her entire being exuded a composed and competent aura.

She nodded a greeting to the counselor as she walked in. Once the secretary saw her, his expression softened a bit: “Juran, you’ve come just in time. We were just discussing the apology; since you’re already here, why don’t you let Ruan Nan what the best form of apology to you would be.”

The counselor added in agreement, “Feel free to speak your mind, Qin Juran. The secretary and I are both right here for you.” He was clearly implying that she needn’t be afraid of Ruan Nan’s presence.

Qin Juran strolled calmly to Ruan Nan’s side. She shot a glance at the deputy secretary, then raised her head and asked plainly, “When did I say that I was here for an apology?”

The secretary’s eyes widened: “Then what are you here for?”

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Qin Juran hooked an arm casually around Ruan Nan: “To write the letter of guarantee.”