“Since you’re always thinking of her, why would you have allowed such bullying to even happen? Why would you allow students to think of her this way?” Qin Jing said loudly.

Luo Hua scowled, standing in front of Yao Ran.

“All of you are Yao Tang’s classmates. Don’t you notice how she treats studying? She only reads and sleeps. When has she ever listened to class attentively? When has she ever listened to the teacher? This is merely just an investigation. Look, she came out unscathed. Is it not best we deal with this today rather than later?”

Luo Hua sighed, shaking his head. “You students are the reason why Xi Yan gets such a headache every day. Who knows when she’ll be receiving the Excellent Teacher Award with students like you?”

Being the recipient of the Excellent Teacher Award for three years, he was very proud of his achievement.

It was a feat that a newbie Xi Yan couldn’t hope to achieve in her lifetime.

“The Excellent Teacher Award?” Yao Tang finally looked up from her phone. “Elder Kong, do you think my results could get Teacher Xi the award this year?”

Her tone was casual as if she were just asking what they were going to eat today.

Principale Kong chuckled, thinking of her perfect score. “Well, we’ve been hard on Teacher Xi this year. There’s still hope for her yet to win the Award!”

“What?”

Yao Ran had already felt a little strange upon seeing Yao Tang address Principal Kong with such familiarity. And now, she was asking for Teacher Xi to receive the Award. How close were they?

“Every year, the teachers of students who have gotten first place in the national exam have been said to qualify for the Award. I do believe it is possible.”

Glancing at their confused faces, Principal Kong quickly explained.

Xi Yan’s eyes flashed with surprise.

“Thank you. Now, why don’t we talk about how you’ve wronged me?” Yao Tang finally turned to Luo Hua and Yao Ran. Her voice was much deeper and sharper this time around.

She looked like a tiger who had just spotted her prey.

“I…” Yao Ran staggered back in fright.

“What’s there to talk about?” Luo Hua’s eyes flashed with displeasure. “You’ve already been found innocent, haven’t you? It’s 11 PM now. All of you should head back.”

“Indeed, it is quite late.” Principal Kong glanced at his watch.

“I don’t care how late it is. We’ll be resolving this issue tonight.” Everyone froze, standing their ground.

Xi Yan clasped her shoulder. “I know your displeasure of this matter, Yao Tang,” she slowly comforted. “But we don’t have evidence of this today. We have to regroup and talk about this before we rush to any conclusions.”

Obviously, Xi Yan wanted to investigate this further. But staying till midnight wouldn’t do them any good if they didn’t have anything.

There was nothing else they could do.

Meng Yang clenched his fists. He didn’t want to say anything, but they were right. It would’ve been great if there was evidence. Damn.

Lin Xin sighed.

Yao Ran slowly relaxed. That was good. It meant that she was finally safe–

“I have evidence.”

Her words were like a bolt of lightning shooting through her veins. Everyone stiffened, looking over at the student who waved her phone around as if she were holding a prized jewel.

She tapped something in her phone uncommittedly, glancing up at them from time to time.

“And what evidence do you have?”

Yao Ran backed away just a bit, biting her lips. Her palms were soaked with sweat, and she lowered her gaze–struggling to hide her worry.

Qin Jing, however, caught the panicked expression that had flashed across her face. She tilted her head at the sight. Interesting.

“Here it is.”

Yao Tang connected the video directly to the projector, and soon enough, the sound started echoing across the room.

It was a clip from a surveillance camera.

On the screen, they could see that the camera was focused on a girl wearing a bucket hat. She was seated at the corner of the school cafeteria. She was looking back and forth as if she were waiting for someone.

Even if she was wearing a hat and a mask, everyone already knew who she was.

Yao Ran!

Yao Ran gripped her phone even tighter, stepping into the shade to hide her pale face and trembling hands. No. She must find a way out of this!

Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back and feigned curiosity.

The video just continued playing.

After a few minutes of fast-forwarding, a boy wearing a cap appeared in the video. He was holding a game console in one hand and some snacks in the other.

As soon as Yao Ran saw him, she quickly walked up and whispered a few words in his ear. Without looking back, she turned around to leave.

Their meeting didn’t last for three minutes!

The video finally came to an end.

“What are you trying to say with this video?”