Xie Ling closed her eyes, sweating slightly at the temples as she resisted the intrusion of those words.
Ji Xue noticed out of the corner of her eye that the person near the wall seemed to sway. Her smile vanished instantly. She turned to the side and asked, “Classmate? Are you okay? You look like you are…”
Xie Ling heard the voice behind her getting closer. She swallowed hard, and before Ji Xue could clearly see her face, she stepped forward and hurried away.
Ji Xue froze, slowly retracting her outstretched hand. She watched as that familiar back climbed into the white car on the roadside, her brow furrowing slightly.
She realized it was Xie Ling. She recognized this car; it belonged to her.
Xie Ling had clearly not realized her identity was exposed. She dove into the backseat of the car like a gust of wind, feeling quite proud of her quick reaction as she closed the door.
Xiao Fu, who held the dual roles of bodyguard and driver, reacted even faster. The phone he had been using for Candy Crush was tucked back into his pocket the moment Xie Ling opened the door.
Only Xiao Mu remained standing in the wind, confused. He looked back blankly at his young lady.
Xie Ling was slightly out of breath. She met those confused eyes and said, “What are you looking at? Oh, the food? It is not ready yet, but I have already paid for it. Go over there and wait.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.” Xiao Mu’s reaction was a beat slower than Xiao Fu’s. He adjusted his glasses, turned back obediently, opened the door, and got out.
Ji Xue watched the man get out of the car, withdrew her gaze, and leaned against the colorfully painted wall, sighing imperceptibly.
She truly did not understand why Xie Ling treated her this way. Was she some kind of virus? Always avoiding her whenever possible.
When Xiao Mu walked into the snack shop, the owner was just finishing the packaging. He gave the owner and Ji Xue a forced, insincere smile, took the bag, and left.
Although the owner was experienced, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. He glanced at the closed glass door a few times and muttered strangely, “Two Alphas? Can they be happy?”
Ji Xue did not hear him clearly. She pursed her lips, thanked the owner, picked up her own share, and left as well.
As long as one registers, cars are allowed on campus. Following the settings in her memory, Xie Ling directed her driver, Xiao Fu, to navigate through several turns until they parked in a marked spot beneath a building.
Ji Xue, who had walked into the school on foot, saw a familiar bench after a while. She sat down to rest and finish her food before continuing on.
The branches on both sides of the road were already budding, though it was hard to notice without a close look. Ji Xue reached out to touch them, and the brow that had been furrowed since just a moment ago relaxed slightly.
Xie Ling waited in the car for a while and only stepped out when she saw Ji Xue walking over from a distance. With her current memory, this was as far as she could go; she needed Ji Xue to lead her to the teachers and such.
Therefore, while waiting, she felt very annoyed by her previous behavior. If time could turn back, she would rather not have eaten that snack—well, she had to admit, the taste was indeed quite good.
As the distance closed, Ji Xue naturally saw Xie Ling leaning against the car, but the recent events made her feel humiliated, so she acted as if she had not seen anything as she approached.
Clutching her bag strap, she walked briskly around Xie Ling, climbed the steps, and went up the stairs on the right.
Xie Ling let out a breath, thinking, That was close. She hurried to follow. For her, any friendly greeting was strictly forbidden—at least, where Ji Xue was concerned. Thus, without any pleasantries, simply brushing past each other left her feeling a strange sense of relief.
The two made their way to the third floor one after the other. Xie Ling, having not exercised in a long time, puffed slightly. She rested her left hand on her waist, and noticing that Ji Xue ahead showed no reaction, she lowered her hand, took a deep breath, and quickened her pace to keep up.
Perhaps because it was the weekend, only one middle-aged woman was sitting in the office.
Xie Ling stood at the doorway and looked around. The woman wore narrow-framed glasses and had her hair in a neat, simple ponytail, looking every bit the cultured professional.
The woman looked up, her expression turning serious, perhaps even cold, upon seeing Xie Ling, but she still took the initiative to speak. “You are here.”
“Yes, I am here. Professor, is there something you wanted to see me about?” Xie Ling avoided that gaze, walked in, and took care to maintain a personal distance from Ji Xue.
“Professor Cheng, you said you wanted to see me about the thesis. Does it need revisions?” Ji Xue stood by the woman’s desk, her head slightly lowered, looking very obedient.
Xie Ling blinked but said nothing.
The woman called Professor Cheng did not answer immediately. She looked up at Xie Ling, leaned back in her chair, thought for a moment, and said, “Student Xie, I have something to discuss with Student Ji. Would you mind stepping out for a moment?”
“?” Xie Ling clearly did not understand this development. She thought, Didn’t you call me here? But she nodded anyway, turned around, and retreated, pulling the door shut behind her.
Ji Xue heard the sound of the door closing and could not help but look back.
Professor Cheng glanced at the watch on her wrist and did not mince words. “Ji Xue, did you write this thesis yourself?”
Ji Xue was stunned. “Professor, what do you mean?”
Professor Cheng moved the computer screen on the desk, her tone impatient. “Take a look for yourself.”
Ji Xue looked at the two documents on the screen, feeling as if she had been struck by lightning. Her mind buzzed, and the image of Xie Ling finding her at the cake shop flashed across her eyes.
She was filled with nothing but shock. It was impossible. She did not believe that an elite young lady like Xie Ling would do such a thing. Yet, the answer was glaringly obvious: if it was not a coincidence, then Xie Ling must have stolen her thesis.
But if that were the case, why return the USB drive? Why not just throw it away? Why would she do this? Why?
Ji Xue could not figure it out; her mind was a complete mess. Later, she could not even hear what Professor Cheng was saying, as everything before her eyes seemed to fade into darkness.
Xie Ling had been keeping watch outside the door. The soundproofing of the very ordinary wooden door was equally ordinary; she had not heard the entire conversation between Professor Cheng and Ji Xue, but she had heard enough.
She responded to Professor Cheng’s call immediately.
She pushed the door open to enter, only to see Ji Xue with her head lowered, her shoulders trembling slightly, as if she were sobbing. But looking closely, it did not seem like that.
Xie Ling narrowed her eyes, stepped toward Ji Xue, and asked, “Professor, what is wrong with her?”
Professor Cheng ignored the question and showed Xie Ling what she had just shown Ji Xue. As the culprit, Xie Ling knew exactly what it was without needing to look. However, she took a symbolic glance at it anyway.
“Little Anti”: “I gave you a warning; I hope you do not court death!”
Xie Ling kept her mouth shut.
Professor Cheng: “Do you not have an explanation?”
“An explanation?” Xie Ling blinked. She thought for a moment and said, “That might just be because Student Ji and I had a moment of telepathy.”
Professor Cheng was speechless. Ji Xue was stunned.
Xie Ling looked at the frozen Professor Cheng and added, “Look, did I not include a disclaimer at the end? ‘Any similarity is purely coincidental.'”
Well, she did not want to say it that way, but her conscience prevented her from casting blame on others. Moreover, this was the female lead she was most satisfied with in her entire writing career; she really could not do it.
Aside from that, admitting to plagiarism was obviously impossible because the system had done it, not her. Exposing or blaming the system would not benefit her in any way.
Therefore, playing dumb was the worst—yet best—solution at the moment.
Professor Cheng was completely speechless. She never imagined that this Student Xie, whom she had tried to contact all morning to no avail, would say something like this.
Xie Ling nodded, seeming quite satisfied with her own explanation, and added, “Student Ji’s grades have always been excellent. It is just a thesis; she could not possibly have plagiarized.”
Duh. Of course, Ji Xue did not plagiarize. She was the A-student white lotus she had written herself. A graduation thesis was just a piece of cake.
“Little Anti”: “…”
Xie Ling furiously performed a “pause” gesture in her mind, then announced loudly, “Of course, my grades are not bad either. It is impossible for me to ruin my reputation over a thesis. I have not done such a thing.”
Her voice was clear and bright, her tone calm, without a trace of guilt.
Ji Xue had been suffocating under the weight of all the possibilities she had imagined, almost choking on the spot. Hearing Xie Ling’s statement, her breathing suddenly eased, though her cheeks began to flush uncontrollably.
“She could not possibly have plagiarized.”
Yes, that was right. And she could not possibly have plagiarized either, right?
Xie Ling said it was just telepathy.
Was it? Was it really just telepathy between them?
Xie Ling looked out the window, refusing to admit her mistake. “I have finished explaining. Is there anything else? Can I go back now?”
Having taught for so many years, this was the first time Professor Cheng had encountered a student who could argue like Xie Ling. She slammed the table in a rage. “What do you mean you are finished? What do you take me for? Fooling me?”
Ji Xue looked up, her eyes and cheeks red, and said word for word, “But Professor, we really did not plagiarize.”
Xie Ling looked sideways at the girl, who was significantly shorter than herself, saying “we” so clearly. The stubbornness she had maintained for so long suddenly evaporated.
“Um, you do not need to be so righteous.”
“What?” Ji Xue looked sideways, tilting her head slightly with a confused expression.
“Nothing.” Xie Ling said quickly. “You are right. I did not plagiarize.”
Professor Cheng had encountered such situations before. She had originally intended to find out the truth and give them a good lecture, then have them rewrite it. She never expected to meet two such stubborn ducks, their lips so stiff.
It was a day off, and many teachers had gone home, yet she was the one worrying and working hard for them; but they did not understand her good intentions at all, adopting this attitude instead.
Professor Cheng took a deep breath and roared, “You refuse to admit it? Fine! Go back and rewrite it! If you cannot submit a new thesis by Wednesday, just wait to be punished! Trying to pull this on me? Hmph!”