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墨書 Inktalez
The rumors of cheating spread like a plague, quickly engulfing the entire campus. The names of Jiang Chi and I became the topic of conversation for everyone, and wherever I went, I could feel the pointed stares and hushed whispers behind me.
"I never would have guessed Jiang Chi would cheat. For a girl?"
"That Lin Xi must have used some tricks. How else could Jiang Chi possibly like her?"
"The photos are out; what more is there to say? He definitely cheated!"
"I think Meng Yao is just seeking revenge because she couldn't have him. That photo is so blurry..."
"A fly doesn't buzz around an egg without cracks; if there were no issues, how could anyone catch him?"
Various voices of speculation, accusation, sympathy, and schadenfreude pierced through me like countless needles, making it hard to breathe. I knew we hadn’t cheated; Jiang Chi had merely reminded me of a formula, and in the end, I completed everything on my own! But that damned photo, taken from an awkward angle, combined with Meng Yao's "report" during the exam, felt like two mountains crushing us into silence. Many preferred to believe the visible "evidence" rather than our explanations.
The situation quickly escalated to the school administration. The counselor called both Jiang Chi and me in for discussions. I held back my grievances and anxiety, trying to present the facts as calmly as possible, emphasizing that we absolutely did not cheat and only engaged in normal thought exchanges within the rules (I instinctively concealed the detail about Jiang Chi reminding me of the formula; I didn’t want to drag him into deeper trouble because of it).
After listening, the counselor's expression remained unchanged. He simply said he understood and that the school would conduct an investigation and let us know. His bureaucratic demeanor, filled with scrutiny and doubt, sent a chill down my spine.
Exiting the counselor's office, I felt as if my steps were unsteady, my heart heavy with dread. The situation seemed more complicated than I had imagined.
At the end of the corridor, I spotted Jiang Chi. He had just come out of another office, his face dark enough to drip water from it, radiating an even colder aura than usual.
"Jiang Chi..." I approached him, my throat tightening as I struggled to find words. We were in this together now, weren't we?
He looked up at me with eyes that were icy and piercing, filled with a disappointment I had never seen before.
"What did you tell the counselor?" he asked, his voice as hard as ice.
"I... I told the truth! I said we didn’t cheat; that photo was just a matter of angle..." I was confused by his accusatory tone. Weren't we supposed to face this together?
"The truth?" He repeated those words with a sarcastic twist at the corner of his mouth that felt like a knife slicing through my heart. "Lin Xi, are you sure what you said was the whole truth?"
My heart sank suddenly, blood seemingly freezing in my veins. Did... did the counselor tell him what I had said? Did he know I had concealed something about the formula?
"I..." Panic surged through me as I stumbled over my words. "I just... I didn’t want to drag you deeper into this... That formula was actually..."
"You didn’t want to drag me deeper?" He interrupted sharply, his cold tone nearly freezing me in place. "Lin Xi, I thought we were partners—at least... friends. When facing problems, shouldn’t we find a way to solve them together? Instead of you trying to be clever by lying and fabricating a version that 'benefits' me while washing your hands of it completely!"
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