When Shulan Zhou didn't allow the gossiping girl to leave, she wanted to see if she could extract any useful information from her. After all, in her past life, the rumors about her had spread like wildfire on the internet, and it was Lin Muyao who had bribed several internet trolls, letting the rumors fabricated by Guo Jialiang spread rapidly.
But in this life, things had turned out differently. Lin Muyao's internet army had already been dealt with by the school, and recently, the school's website had been restructured. No one dared to spread rumors online at this point.
The only people who knew about the contents of the report were the teachers in the Discipline and Education Office and Director Zhou from the Academic Affairs Office. Even Mu Yaning had only been informed by Shulan Zhou that morning.
If this rumor were to spread among the students, there had to be a trigger. If they traced the source, they would naturally find the mastermind behind it.
"Speak up. Who made you spread these rumors?" Director Zhou said as he pressed his fingers against his temple, slamming his hand heavily on the desk in frustration.
The gossiping girl trembled in fear. "I... I don't know. Someone sent me a message, and I thought everyone else had received it too. So, I asked other people..."
But not everyone had received the message, and when she asked others, they didn't know anything. So, she started to talk about the content in the message, and as she did, more and more people became aware.
Director Zhou turned on the girl's phone and sure enough, there was a message that closely resembled the one in the report.
However…
Director Zhou's face darkened.
"The person who sent you this message didn't instruct you to spread it. You spreading the rumors was entirely your own decision. As a university student, you don't even have a basic sense of right and wrong!"
"You've read so many books, and yet you still act this way."
The gossiping girl looked wronged. "He sent me the message. Isn't that implying I should tell others? I… I was just curious. I wanted to know the truth!"
"At this point, you still dare to argue!" Director Zhou slammed the table. "This is not curiosity, it's stupidity! You were being used as a pawn and didn't even realize it!"
Shulan Zhou pursed her lips. "Looks like you're just a free pawn."
She glanced at the message, her brows furrowing.
"Judging by the situation, this message probably wasn't sent to just her. It seems likely that all the gossip-loving students in the school received it."
"Look at how clever they think they are!" Director Zhou was so angry he slapped the desk again, pacing back and forth in the office. "This needs to be dealt with seriously."
The gossiping girl was unlucky, being caught by Shulan Zhou and the others. There was no way she would escape punishment.
Realizing the outcome, the gossiping girl burst into tears. "Shulan Zhou, I'm sorry. I apologize, please forgive me. Tell the school not to punish me, please. I know I was wrong, I'll never do it again."
Shulan Zhou shook off her hand. "If everyone could just apologize to solve their mistakes, what would be the point of rules and laws in this world?"
"You're right," said Director Zhou. "This can't end just because of an apology. The school must deal with this severely."
Soon, the gossiping girl was sent out of the office after her student information was taken.
Once she left, Director Zhou stepped forward and opened the inner door, pulling Guo Jialiang out of the room.
Seeing Guo Jialiang, Shulan Zhou was rather surprised. She didn't expect the school to have figured out who the person behind the report was so quickly.
"Now that you've heard it all, do you have anything to say?" Director Zhou pressed Guo Jialiang's head onto the box of receipts.
"I don't care how you managed to get that photo of Shulan Zhou and Professor He. The fact is, everything in that report is fabricated by you."
"Given that this involves an off-campus professor, and now the matter has spread within the school, the school must take a serious attitude toward this. You... better prepare yourself mentally!"
Guo Jialiang's face turned pale, and he almost knelt down. "Shulan Zhou, I..."
"How dare you still call her Shulan Zhou!" Mu Yaning stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar. "If I'm not mistaken, your last name is Han, right?"
"Weren't you part of the same team as Shulan Zhou before? What happened? After she left the team and started doing well, winning awards, you couldn't stand it?"
"Using such dirty tactics to target a young girl, do you even have any shame? You've grown so big, and you call yourself a man? Do you even dare to admit it?"
Mu Yaning's words were so sharp that Shulan Zhou couldn't stop her.
It was Director Zhou who quickly intervened, worried that Mu Yaning might get too carried away and start hitting him. He stepped in and pulled her back. "Calm down, calm down. The school has already said they will handle this seriously, and they will."
"You can't be hitting people!"
Mu Yaning snorted. "How could I, someone with the surname Mu, hit someone? Director Zhou, what do you take me for? Hitting people is dirty. I'd rather waste my breath insulting him. That would be too easy for him!"
Shulan Zhou almost couldn't hold back her laughter. "Since this has already been investigated and the mastermind has been found, I won't waste anyone's time."
"How you handle it, I'll leave it to the school to decide."
Director Zhou, clearly annoyed, waved his hand. "Alright, go ahead. But make sure to talk to your teacher. Don't get too worked up over this. It's not worth it."
"Understood, thank you, both of you," Shulan Zhou said, pulling Mu Yaning away and supporting the village head as they were about to leave.
Throughout the whole ordeal, she hadn't spared a single glance at Guo Jialiang.
Her complete disregard made him feel like he was about to break down.
He had never felt so humiliated and regretful. It was as if he had done something that he would regret for the rest of his life!
As soon as he saw Shulan Zhou about to leave, he completely panicked.
"Shulan Zhou..." Guo Jialiang rushed towards her.
But before he could get close, Director Zhou grabbed him and yanked him back. "Stay still. At this point, you still want to harm Shulan Zhou? What on earth are you thinking?"
"No, I didn't mean to hurt her," Guo Jialiang shook his head desperately. "I was wrong, I really was. Director, please, let me speak to Shulan Zhou for just two sentences! Just two!"
He pleaded with his eyes, then ran toward Shulan Zhou again.
Shulan Zhou stopped by the door, her hand already on the handle.
"Sorry, Shulan Zhou, I'm really sorry. I… I didn't mean to. I never wanted to hurt you. I was really helpless. I didn't know what to do!"
"I beg you, can you forgive me? After all, we were once senior and junior in the same team. Over the years, all my care for you was sincere. Please… please help me out."
"I can't be punished, I really can't. If I get punished, I'm done. My life will be ruined. Please, Shulan Zhou, beg the school for mercy. I don't want to be ruined like this!"
"I really don't want this. Please, I beg you!"
Guo Jialiang grabbed Shulan Zhou's arm, shaking it as he begged. The almost 1.8-meter-tall man was now shedding tears in desperation.
"Had I known it would be like this, why did I even start?" Shulan Zhou pulled his hand off her.
"The reason you're doing this to me is because you're afraid that when my paper gets published in the campus journal, people will compare it to yours and see how much better mine is, right?"
"But have you ever thought that my paper's quality isn't something I caused, but you almost ruined my reputation. If I didn't have the courage to face all this, if the village head hadn't kept the IOUs from when I was little, if the school hadn't investigated this thoroughly, and if Professor He had been dragged into this..."
"At that point, it wouldn't just be my reputation ruined, but also Professor He's career. He could lose his job, be criticized and slandered, and even Professors Mu and He Jie would be implicated."
"I could have been expelled from the school, but the worst would be that I might not even survive. At that point, would you still regret what you've done?"