It was Li Sitong, Xue Jiao's mother.
She had clearly rushed over in a hurry, with beads of sweat still on her forehead. "Teacher, what did you need to see me about?"
As she spoke, Li Sitong walked into the office and moved to stand beside Xue Jiao.
She almost instinctively wanted to ask— What trouble have you caused now?
But flashes of past events crossed her mind— No! I can’t keep distrusting Jiao Jiao like this!
Li Sitong closed her slightly parted lips and stood next to Xue Jiao, looking at the teacher.
Yin Fang took a deep breath and repeated herself.
Li Sitong froze for a moment after hearing it, then turned to look at Yi Tianyu.
She had seen this boy before—the one who had stood up for Xue Jiao during her conflict with Cheng Mingjiao last time, and the same boy who had once scolded her.
So… back then, was it because…
Just as suspicion began to rise in her mind, a sentence suddenly exploded in her head—
You never believed me in the first place!
Li Sitong swayed slightly, then the doubt in her eyes faded as she looked at Xue Jiao and tentatively asked, "Jiao Jiao, what’s going on?"
Her tone was questioning, curious—not accusatory.
"No, there’s no early romance. I wouldn’t do that." Since entering the office, Xue Jiao had repeated this same line, only now with even more conviction.
Li Sitong nodded and smiled. "Mhm, Mom believes you."
Then she turned her gaze to Yin Fang. "Teacher, Jiao Jiao isn’t involved in any early romance."
Yin Fang was taken aback, looking from Xue Jiao to Li Sitong.
She had already raised her hand earlier, prepared to intervene if Li Sitong lashed out like last time—she would definitely stop her.
Who would’ve thought Li Sitong would actually say she believed her?
"No early romance," Yi Tianyu chimed in.
"Then why were you so angry?!" Yin Fang raised her voice.
Yi Tianyu stared at her. Though still a teenager, his tall stature carried an intimidating presence.
"Because—I didn’t like what you said."
Yin Fang staggered slightly, her body swaying as anger flared up again.
Yi Dafa quickly spoke up. "Teacher Yin, look, both kids are saying they’re not dating. Could there be some misunderstanding here?"
"That’s right, teacher. Who wrote the anonymous letter?" Li Sitong held Xue Jiao’s hand.
"No name. Here, take a look." Yin Fang suppressed her temper and gestured toward the letter on the desk with her chin.
Li Sitong picked it up and examined it carefully.
After a moment, she turned to Yin Fang. "Teacher, look at this person’s wording—‘Gu Xue Jiao has improper conduct and an unprincipled attitude. She doesn’t deserve to stay in Class One.’ This clearly shows deep resentment toward Xue Jiao. Don’t you think it’s possible this person wrote it out of dislike for her, so…"
Before she could finish, Xue Jiao’s eyes fell on the letter.
"It’s Cheng Mingjiao. Cheng Mingjiao wrote this."
Xue Jiao was exasperated. Cheng Mingjiao’s hatred for her had reached a point of obsession, seizing every opportunity to sabotage her.
"Cheng Mingjiao’s handwriting isn’t like this, is it?" Yin Fang was stunned, then felt a pang of disappointment toward the high-achieving girl. "I know Cheng Mingjiao’s handwriting. If you want to defend yourself, don’t falsely accuse others!"
Her voice wasn’t just disappointed—even her eyes carried a look of frustration, as if lamenting Xue Jiao’s failure to meet expectations.
Xue Jiao blinked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her posture was impeccable—slender yet upright, her back straight. Her clear, cool eyes stood out on her delicate oval face. Though still young, her beauty was already evident."That was written by Cheng Mingjiao with her left hand. She can write with both hands."
Xue Jiao knew this because of the original owner. Cheng Mingjiao could write with both hands. Although her left-handed writing was far inferior to her right, the mere ability to write with her left hand was quite impressive.
Cheng Mingjiao often showed off her left-handed writing in the Cheng family and boasted about it in front of Gu Xue Jiao. As a result, Gu Xue Jiao had once spent a long time obsessed with practicing left-handed writing, but eventually gave up due to various distractions.
"Yes, I remember now! This is Mingjiao's left-handed writing!" Li Sitong's voice rose sharply.
At this moment, her anger toward Cheng Mingjiao reached its peak. What had she and her daughter done to offend Cheng Mingjiao, making her go to such lengths to harm them?
Yin Fang was also taken aback. If Cheng Mingjiao had a grudge against Gu Xue Jiao, it made sense that she would be the one to report it...
If the early romance were true, given Cheng Mingjiao's already hostile relationship with Gu Xue Jiao and the fact that she sat right in front of the two, she would surely have gathered evidence before reporting them directly!
Writing an anonymous letter was usually to avoid exposure and prevent retaliation from the accused, but this reasoning clearly didn’t apply to Cheng Mingjiao.
So... this letter was most likely slander.
"Are you sure about this?" Yin Fang narrowed her eyes.
Xue Jiao nodded firmly. "Yes. You can ask Cheng Mingjiao to come and write it out to confirm."
Yin Fang choked. How could she possibly summon Cheng Mingjiao here? If they exposed the anonymous reporter now, who would dare to report anything in the future?
"Teacher, it really is Mingjiao's writing. Our whole family knows she can write with her left hand—it looks exactly like this." Seeing Yin Fang frown, Li Sitong stepped forward to vouch for her daughter, afraid the teacher wouldn’t believe them.
Yin Fang’s brows furrowed, then relaxed, then furrowed again, her expression twisting in frustration.
After a moment, she said, "Fine. Let’s leave it at that for now. Sorry for the wasted trip, parents. Gu Xue Jiao, Yi Tianyu, focus on your studies from now on and remember—no early romance."
"Mm," Xue Jiao replied. Yi Tianyu glanced at her and echoed the response.
Yi Dafa had shown respect toward Yin Fang as the homeroom teacher, especially since she was firm and unyielding, but he wasn’t one to hold back his temper either. With a smile, he said, "Then I hope the teacher won’t entertain such malicious and baseless reports in the future. Not only did this waste time and money for both Gu Xue Jiao’s mother and me, but it also had a negative impact on the children."
His words made Yin Fang flush with embarrassment. She took a deep breath and said, "Yi Tianyu’s father makes a valid point. In the future... I’ll be more careful."
"Then we’ll take our leave now. Goodbye, teacher." Yi Dafa led Yi Tianyu out, and Li Sitong followed, pulling Xue Jiao along as they exited the office.
Furious, Yin Fang threw the anonymous letter onto the desk. She had never felt so humiliated before!
She glared at the letter, annoyed at Cheng Mingjiao for stirring up trouble and falsely accusing others.
If not for Cheng Mingjiao’s letter, she wouldn’t have been made a fool of today!
——
Outside the office, Li Sitong smiled at Xue Jiao and gently ruffled her hair. "It’s alright. I believe you. Don’t let it bother you. Go back to class and focus on your studies."
Xue Jiao stiffened at the warmth of the hand on her head before nodding awkwardly.
Li Sitong added a few more encouraging words before finally leaving.Xue Jiao stood still for a moment, shaking her head to clear away the jumbled thoughts before heading back to the classroom.
She had already signed up for the math competition, and now was the time to fully immerse herself in practice problems.
"Classmate Gu!" A voice called out from behind.
Xue Jiao paused, then turned around. Recognizing the person, she smiled politely. "What is it, Uncle Yi?"
Yi Dafa beamed like a blooming flower, squinting at her. "Classmate Gu! What's this basketball competition Yi Tianyu mentioned? How can he play basketball instead of focusing on his studies?"
Understanding his concern, Xue Jiao curled her lips slightly and glanced at Yi Tianyu, who stood behind Yi Dafa with an exasperated expression. "It's to obtain the National Level 2 Athlete certification, which will help him with college admissions."
"Really?!" Yi Dafa exclaimed, his voice rising.
"Really."
Yi Dafa smacked his forehead. "So the kid wasn't lying! It actually benefits his college entrance exam? Who knew playing basketball could be just as useful as academic competitions!"
Seeing his excitement, Xue Jiao chuckled.
Behind him, Yi Tianyu rolled his eyes dramatically. "See, old man? I wasn't lying!"
His chin lifted, exuding arrogance and pride.
Xue Jiao's eyes sparkled mischievously as she suddenly decided to stir the pot. "Uncle Yi, although basketball can help with college admissions, simply getting the certification doesn't guarantee entry into the desired university. I think Yi Tianyu still needs to study hard. You should keep an eye on him."
After saying this, she walked away with a smile.
"You—" Yi Tianyu stomped in frustration.
"You what?!" Yi Dafa smacked him on the back. "Study harder! Learn from Gu Xue Jiao. Stop daydreaming—don’t think I don’t know you like her!"
Yi Tianyu froze, his face instantly turning crimson as if he'd been caught red-handed. He nearly jumped. "What?! What nonsense are you spouting, old man?!"
Yi Dafa smacked him again. "Don’t play dumb with me. Do you think I don’t know my own son? Listen, Yi Tianyu—if your grades drop in next month’s exam, I won’t help you stay seated next to Gu Xue Jiao!"
Yi Tianyu’s eyes widened in indignation.
If Yi Dafa didn’t intervene, the strict homeroom teacher would definitely separate him from Xue Jiao immediately…
Blinking, Yi Tianyu deflated like a punctured balloon. "Fine… I’ll study!"
Yi Dafa grinned—
"Thought so. You’re no match for me."
——
When Xue Jiao returned to the classroom, Cheng Mingjiao immediately looked up, her eyes gleaming with schadenfreude.
She was convinced that Gu Xue Jiao would be punished this time!
The homeroom teacher’s hatred for students who dated early had been proven in previous years.
Xue Jiao met her gaze and sneered. "Cheng Mingjiao, I know you don’t like me, but writing anonymous letters and falsely accusing people is slander."
When she entered, most of the class had been quietly studying, with even nearby students keeping their heads down.
But as soon as she spoke, several students nearby—and even a few curious ones farther away—turned to look, their mouths agape in shock.
After all, no matter the type of student, no one liked a snitch.
"You’re lying—!" Cheng Mingjiao instinctively raised her voice in protest, desperate to defend herself under the scrutiny of the others.
Xue Jiao arched an eyebrow. "Luckily, you used to love showing off your left-handed handwriting to me, so I recognized it.""Don't you dare spout nonsense! Who reported you? Listen here, Gu Xue Jiao, don't go falsely accusing people!"
"Whether I'm falsely accusing you or not, you know the truth. If you refuse to admit it, we can check the surveillance footage. I believe if we insist, the teachers will help investigate. After all... I'm not like you, spreading baseless rumors." Xue Jiao remained composed. The calmer she appeared, the more meaningful the classmates' gazes toward Cheng Mingjiao became.
At the mention of checking the surveillance, Cheng Mingjiao immediately panicked, pointing at Xue Jiao—
"Who do you think you are to demand checking it?! I didn’t do it, and I can’t be bothered with you!"
"Guilty conscience," Yi Tianyu said coldly as he walked in.
"Nonsense!"
Yi Tianyu approached them. Xue Jiao stepped aside to let him pass. He stood tall while Cheng Mingjiao remained seated, her eyes darting around nervously, unable to meet his gaze.
"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you know best," Yi Tianyu leaned slightly forward. "Cheng Mingjiao, from today onward, you are my enemy."
Cheng Mingjiao was stunned.
Yi Tianyu continued, "In all my years, very few have dared to scheme against me, openly or behind my back. You, Cheng Mingjiao, are something else."
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