“No, the blood must’ve splattered into the drawer,” Hua Shasha argued.
“How’s that possible? That drawer was only open a gap before Yun Wei fully pulled it open. How could the blood have splattered inside?
“If Yun Wei really put the mousetrap in the drawer, it’s not possible it could’ve harmed you. Yun Wei can’t be blamed for you getting your hand caught in it.”
“I… I…” Hua Shasha couldn’t possibly outtalk the group of students, and was quickly left with nothing to say.
“Hua Shasha, why did you touch Yun Wei’s drawer?”
“Don’t tell us that you intended to take something that belongs to Yun Wei?”
Very soon, everyone joined in the guessing game, just for fun.
Through observation, the teacher finally understood what had happened and said, “Since it was an accident, let’s not hold anyone responsible. Let’s do this. Hua Shasha, be seated please.”
“Sir, honestly, I didn’t take anything from Yun Wei’s drawer…” Hua Shasha tried to explain herself out of the situation, adding, “It was probably me who remembered wrong. I wanted to borrow Yun Wei’s notebook and went to take it from her drawer. That’s how I got hurt.”
It didn’t matter how hard Hua Shasha tried to explain herself or what excuses she came up with. Everyone was giving her all kinds of looks.
Turning to Yun Wei, the teacher said, “Yun Wei, can you check if you’re missing anything from your drawer?”
Yun Wei shook her head. She wanted to exclaim loudly that her necklace had gone missing.
However, after some thought, she decided that it would be pointless to disrupt the class any further. All she wanted was to plant the idea in people’s heads that Hua Shasha was a potential thief.
“No, I’m not missing anything,” she said.
“If that’s the case, then, for now, I’ll consider this matter closed,” the teacher responded, adding, “But let me remind you all that you’re smart and blessed with natural talent and will probably go on to become the backbone of society, so please don’t resort to petty schemes for short term gains. Stand guard over your code of conduct and core principles and don’t lose sight of your original objective. Now, let’s get back to our lesson.”
The teacher’s words, stern and thought-provoking, silenced everyone into deep reflection.
Hua Shasha, looking positively furious, returned to her seat and was met with countless looks of suspicion and disapproval. Some of the students even quickly stuffed their valuables into their bags and clutched them closely to themselves.
Every one of them had opted to believe Yun Wei and suspect Hua Shasha.
As Hua Shasha sat down at her desk, Yun Wei, a picture of concern, asked, “Shasha, is your hand all right?”
Since she was in acting mode, Yun Wei decided to continue behaving like a kid, as though the person that had sparred with Hua Shasha earlier was someone else.
Seeing Yun Wei in this state angered Hua Shasha, who blurted out loudly, “Stop pretending that you care!”
Since she hadn’t controlled her voice, all the students and the teacher instantly looked in her direction.
One of the guys, feeling that Yun Wei was unjustly treated, admonished Hua Shasha for being unreasonable. “Hua Shasha, Yun Wei hasn’t said a word against you for taking her things. What more do you want?”
“Just stop it, will you? Yun Wei hasn’t done anything bad to you.”
The teacher also chimed in. “Hua Shasha, you need to get some rest. Go home and rest up before you return to school.”
Hua Shasha resigned herself to slouching at her desk, hiding her embarrassed face in her arms.
She stayed in that position for the entire lesson.
After class, the teacher left the classroom.
Yun Wei had sent someone to fetch Bai Wenping.
Not knowing what had transpired, Bai Wenping came over, assuming that Yun Wei had wanted to see him.
“Shasha, someone’s here for you,” Yun Wei stood at the entrance and announced in a loud voice.
Everyone looked up and noted that Bai Wenping had come to visit Hua Shasha.
Now, Bai Wenping had always refused to have anyone know about his relationship with Hua Shasha.
Although his relationship with Yun Wei also hadn’t been made public, he was even more adamant about not making public his affair with Hua Shasha.