Рrinсipаl Gaо’s barrage of questiоns left Zhaо Yaуаn at а loss fоr words.
Еven the air was tinged with а faint sensе of аwkwardness.
After a long pause, Prinсipal Gаo dеclarеd dесisivelу:
“Аlright, gо to thе acаdеmiс аffairs office tо comрlеtе the withdrаwal proсedurеs. It’s аlmоst nоon, аnd they’ll bе clоsing soon.”
Оnly then did Zhао Xi seеm tо snар out of it. Her gаzе swept through the crowd, trуing tо locatе Gu Wаnrou.
Whу wаs it that shе and Gu Wаnrоu had dоne this together, yet she was the only one being expelled? She refused to accept it.
Without hesitation, she tried to drag Gu Wanrou down with her.
“Principal, I don’t accept this. Gu Wanrou and I did this together.”
“I admit I dislike Gu An’an, but I couldn’t have come up with such a scheme to frame her on my own.”
“Gu Wanrou told me that if we were going to be expelled, we should both be expelled.”
Boom!
The students around them were all stunned by the bombshell Zhao Xi had dropped.
They couldn’t believe that Gu Wanrou, who was always gentle and gracious in their daily lives, could do such a thing.
But given that Zhao Xi was already facing expulsion, she probably wasn’t lying.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward Gu Wanrou, who had been hiding behind the crowd ever since Gu An’an mentioned the surveillance footage. The students standing in front of her quickly stepped aside, exposing her to view.
Gu Wanrou now stood before everyone, looking fresh and delicate, wearing an awkward yet polite smile.
Zhao Xi grabbed her arm excitedly.
“Principal, it’s her! Gu Wanrou and I framed Gu An’an together. If anyone should be expelled, it should be both of us.”
“Why expel only me and not her?”
Upon hearing this, Principal Gao fixed his gaze on Zhao Xi:
“Do you have any evidence?”
Zhao Xi was momentarily stunned. Immediately afterward, Gu Wanrou gently pushed away the hand gripping her arm, her face perfectly feigning confusion:
“Zhao Xi, what are you talking about? I don’t understand any of this.”
“I know you dislike An’an, and I’ve tried to talk you out of it many times. I never imagined you would do something like this.”
“But now you’re trying to drag me down with you.”
After all, she hadn’t been directly involved in any wrongdoing—she’d left it all to Zhao Xi.
Even if Gu An’an had surveillance footage, it wouldn’t capture her.
Gu Wanrou subtly glanced at the surveillance device clenched in Gu An’an’s hand.
“What are you pretending for? Hah, we’re both sly foxes, shameless creatures. You’re just betting I have no evidence, playing innocent here, aren’t you?”
Seeing that dragging Gu Wanrou down wasn’t working, Zhao Xi began cursing outright.
“Hah, if you really cared so much about Gu An’an, why were you so eager to step forward and apologize when I called her a thief earlier?”
“Weren’t you just trying to cement her reputation as a thief?”
“Otherwise, why didn’t you stand up for Gu An’an and defend her against me?”
“If Gu An’an didn’t have the surveillance footage, thanks to your act, everyone would believe she’s a thief by now.”
Zhao Xi’s words struck a chord with the surrounding students.
The way they looked at Gu Wanrou had subtly changed.
At the very least, they no longer naively believed she was a good person.
Now it seemed that the rumors about Gu An’an being a habitual liar and a thief, which had been circulating from the start, had all originated from Gu Wanrou, hadn’t they?
Usually putting on the act of a good older sister, huh? Turns out she’s a green tea white lotus, so disgusting.
Gu Wanrou’s face also darkened. She wanted to explain, opening her mouth but unable to speak.
“Enough.”
Principal Gao was no longer willing to continue the entanglement.
“If you can provide evidence, I’ll continue handling it. If you can’t, it will be uniformly treated as slander.”
“Go to the academic affairs office first to process the withdrawal.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xi could only glare at Gu Wanrou with unwilling resentment, then grabbed her things and ran toward the academic affairs office.
As for Gu Wanrou, who remained behind, the looks from her classmates in Class One were no longer the same as before.
After dealing with Zhao Xi, Principal Gao turned to look at Gu An’an.
Class One, as the class with the best learning atmosphere at Nan Cheng No. 1 High School, was originally where he had arranged for Gu An’an to be placed, genuinely considering her academic improvement.
He never expected such an incident to occur.
It goes to show that good academic performance doesn’t necessarily reflect good character.
The personal ethics of students at Nan Cheng No. 1 High School still need improvement.
Gu An’an, however, took the initiative to apply first:
“Principal, I’d like to request a class transfer.”
“I don’t dare stay in a class that slanders classmates as thieves. Who knows what else might happen later.”
Such blatant disdain didn’t sit well with the students of Class One present.
In the past, it was always them who looked down on Gu An’an for dragging the class down, feeling particularly displeased with her.
But Gu An’an had only been studying in their class for a limited time, not even having taken an exam yet.
Today, however, being falsely accused as a thief was a hard fact, especially for those few classmates who had just voiced support for Zhao Xi—their faces flushed bright red.
Principal Gao had the same idea and nodded upon hearing this:
“Alright then, pack up your things first and attend another class or two. I’ll go down to see which class would be best for your subsequent arrangement.”
The lifesaver of his little grandson.
She must be properly placed.
Principal Gao began pondering one by one in his mind.
Police Station
After being taken to the hospital for a check-up, Madam Gao was fine, with only minor scratches.
Fortunately, there were no major accidents. After applying some medication, she could be discharged and go home.
On the way, she received a call from the police station saying they had caught the person who attempted to kidnap Xiao Bao and requested her to come in to give a simple statement.
Only then did Madam Gao suddenly remember that there had been many helpful bystanders present at the time. She needed to properly thank them and hurried to the police station.
The one responsible for receiving them happened to be Lu Xiao.
As soon as Sister Qin saw him, she became excited. “Madam, it’s him.”
“Thanks to him at the time, he rushed forward and kicked that damned kidnapper to the ground. Otherwise, Xiao Bao might have already been carried into the car and taken away.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Gao immediately tried to kneel in gratitude—Xiao Bao was her lifeline.
To have watched him being taken away right before her eyes, how could she have lived with that?
Lu Xiao quickly reached out to help her up:
“You’re too kind, Madam. I just happened to be exercising at Nanhu Park.”
“Moreover, when it comes down to it, this incident has also caused trouble for you due to our organization.”
“What do you mean?” Madam Gao’s face instantly turned pale. She tightly grabbed Lu Xiao’s collar, her voice trembling:
“Is it… could it be… those drug lords?”
A few years ago, her son had died at the hands of drug lords.
Lu Xiao nodded. “Back then, a few people escaped when we busted the hideout. We’ve been trying to track them down all these years but never found any trace. I never expected that today, by following the clues, we managed to catch them all in one go.”
“Madam, from now on, you can all live in peace. Xiao Bao won’t be harmed again.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Madam Gao sighed with relief, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Lu Xiao then casually asked another question:
“By the way, Xiao Bao was almost carried into the car at that time. How did you suddenly realize something was wrong?”
Sister Qin clapped her hands and replied:
“That’s all thanks to Mr. Gao. He suddenly called me, asking where Xiao Bao was, and his tone was extremely panicked. I was confused—wasn’t Xiao Bao playing just fine?”
“But when I turned around, I saw Xiao Bao being held by a human trafficker.”
“You mean, Mr. Gao seemed to know in advance that Xiao Bao would be in danger, so he called you ahead of time?” Lu Xiao keenly sensed something off and pressed further.