When Su Yang arrived at Zhao Jingxuan's place, her room door was wide open, and faint voices of scolding and quarreling drifted out.
The floor with two apartments per floor was quiet. Su Yang craned her neck and peeked into the open door. She didn't see anyone, but the scolding voices still came out intermittently.
So she took out the message Fang Shuqin had sent her before and double - checked. It was Room 5012 on the 15th floor, correct.
Su Yang hesitated at the door. Suddenly, a scream came from inside the room.
The scream sounded very familiar. Without a second thought, Su Yang immediately rushed in following the sound.
In the master bedroom facing south at the far end of the room, a woman in a black dress was grabbing Zhao Jingxuan's hair as she sat on the floor and smashing her head hard against the bed frame.
Zhao Jingxuan's clothes were in a complete mess. The collar of her plain T - shirt had been torn open. Her face was deathly pale with fear, and she kept shouting, "Let go of me!"
Seeing this, Su Yang quickly rushed forward and tightly grabbed the hand of the woman in black.
The woman probably didn't expect someone to suddenly rush out. She was startled and turned her head.
When their eyes met, both Su Yang and the woman were stunned.
"Ms... Ms. Wu?"
"Su Yang?"
The woman in black who was grabbing Zhao Jingxuan was none other than Wu Jing, the deputy director of the Philosophy Department of University A.
"Ms. Wu, why are you here?" Su Yang never expected to meet Wu Jing here.
Wu Jing ignored Su Yang. Instead, she turned around, let go of Zhao Jingxuan's hair, and then said to her through gritted teeth, "It's no use for you to call for backup. Let me tell you, I've seen so many girls like you. You think you're young and invincible, and you can take shortcuts through improper means. But look at yourself now, Zhao Jingxuan. Has he come to your rescue? Not only hasn't he come, but I bet if you call his phone, he won't even answer it. If you're so stubborn, you'll only end up hurting yourself. He's a man with a family and a child. He's already in his fifties. Ask him if he dares to abandon his bright future for a penniless and powerless girl like you?"
"But he doesn't love you anymore! He loves me. He likes me!" Zhao Jingxuan's eyes were blood - red with hatred. Ignoring her messy hair, she angrily looked up at Wu Jing and roared, "He doesn't love you at all. Think about how long it's been since he touched you!"
Facing Zhao Jingxuan's blatant provocation, Wu Jing just gave a cold laugh, and her eyes showed a sense of indifference that came from seeing through the world.
"Like you? Oh... When Teacher Liu had an affair last time, he said the same thing to that little girl."
Hearing this, Zhao Jingxuan suddenly widened her eyes. "No... It's impossible!"
"Zhao Jingxuan, let me tell you. The male god in your mind is a habitual offender who can't stand being alone and always seduces little girls."
Wu Jing's voice suddenly calmed down. In an instant, she seemed to have transformed back into the provincial - level excellent teacher who was in full control on the podium, looking down at her students.
Su Yang stood there, stunned.
She never expected to witness such a melodramatic scene. But this very scene helped her piece together all the things she couldn't understand before.
Wu Jing didn't stay any longer. But before she left, she pointed at Zhao Jingxuan's abdomen.
"I advise you to think carefully. Liu Weiyong won't divorce me for the child in your belly. Not only will he not divorce, but he won't even see you again. It's not easy to be a single mother. You've just graduated from college. Don't let this wrong path hold back your future."
Watching Wu Jing strut away angrily in her high - heels, Zhao Jingxuan sat there in a daze for a few seconds. Then, as if nothing had happened, she slowly got up from the floor and stared coldly at Su Yang.
"How did you know I lived here?" There was a hint of wariness in her eyes, but her smeared makeup still made her look rather disheveled.
"Shuqin was a bit worried about you and asked me to come and check on you." Su Yang downplayed the matter. Seeing Zhao Jingxuan stagger, she reached out to help her.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Jingxuan quickly withdrew her hand as if avoiding a flood or a fierce beast. Then she said disdainfully, "Su Yang, I don't need your false sympathy!"
Su Yang frowned and took a step back to keep a bit of distance from her. "Xiaoxuan, is there some misunderstanding between us?"
"No." Zhao Jingxuan suddenly pulled herself together and walked past Su Yang sideways.
"If there's no misunderstanding, why did you spread rumors about me on the campus forum?" Su Yang looked at her slender back and asked directly.
Zhao Jingxuan's footsteps faltered. Then she turned her head warily. "How do you know?"
Su Yang understood. "Xiaoxuan, if you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place!"
"If you don't want others to know?" Zhao Jingxuan suddenly burst out laughing after hearing Su Yang's words. "Su Yang, don't pretend to be so high - minded in front of me. Everyone in our dorm 501 knows that you have a crush on Feng Zhiyu. You said it yourself. You said you admired Feng Zhiyu very much!"
"I..." Su Yang thought Zhao Jingxuan was simply unreasonable. "I just purely admire Teacher Feng. There's nothing wrong or inappropriate about that. But the words and photos in your post are all fabricated out of thin air!"
"Pure admiration?" Zhao Jingxuan pushed back her slightly messy hair, turned around, and sat on the bedside table. Rubbing her slightly swollen left cheek, she said, "In this day and age, where is there such a thing as pure admiration? What, do you think you're so noble? Su Yang, dare you say that you didn't apply to be Feng Zhiyu's teaching assistant and do all those odd jobs in the department since your sophomore year just to get close to him? Dare you say that you got straight As in your four major courses in the graduation exam without Feng Zhiyu pulling some strings for you? Or dare you say that you didn't hug and cuddle with Feng Zhiyu in the restaurant?"
Although Zhao Jingxuan was looking up at Su Yang, her tone was haughty and superior. "Su Yang, you're clearly a scheming girl. Don't think you can stay untouched by the mire!"
Su Yang held back her angry scolding. She lowered her eyes and looked at Zhao Jingxuan, who seemed so strange to her at the moment, and slowly spoke.
"Is it because you've gone down a dead - end road with Vice - President Liu that you think everyone around you has to accompany you to the same bad end?"
Wu Jing's husband, Liu Weiyong, was the vice - president and the director of the Moral Education Office of University A.
The fact that the vice - president in charge of moral education had an illicit relationship with his own student was extremely ironic and heart - chilling.
As soon as Su Yang finished speaking, the enraged Zhao Jingxuan picked up the small electronic alarm clock beside her and threw it hard at Su Yang.
Su Yang couldn't dodge in time, and the alarm clock hit her forehead, raising a small bump.
In the pain, she heard Zhao Jingxuan shouting at her, "You don't understand. Teacher Liu and I are true lovers. He loves me. He loves me! You're all just jealous of me, jealous that I can get his love because you're all unworthy!"