81: Student gossip

In the morning, it was still gloomy and rainy, but by noon, the sun had peeked out from behind the clouds again.

The cafeteria was exceptionally noisy this afternoon, with students gathered in groups, discussing what happened last night.

The commotion last night was not small, and many students living in the academy were still awake, seeing the distant light and hearing the sounds. If it weren't for the locked doors below, they probably all would have run over to watch the excitement.

“Have you heard? A thief broke into the academy yesterday.”

“I know, there was a lot of noise near the teaching building last night. I happened to be awake and heard the dorm manager auntie say that a thief was caught.”

“The dorm manager auntie might have misspoken. It wasn't a thief; it was a student who went to steal something.”

“Oh, it was a student stealing? I thought it was someone from outside the school who snuck in! But, a student stealing is still a thief!”

“It seems so.”

“No, no, I heard it was some kind of revenge plot.”

“Revenge? Who wants revenge on whom?”

...“Do you know! Yesterday, a thief went to a teacher’s office to steal something! And it seems it was a student from the academy!”

“Really? Do you know which class they’re from?”

“I asked around in various classes this morning, and only Jin Momo from Class 3, Grade 9, didn't come to class.”

“Ah, no way. Isn’t her family quite wealthy? Why would she steal something? What did she steal?”

“I don’t know the specifics either.”

“You guys clearly haven’t heard the right gossip. It seems Jin Momo had a conflict with her Homeroom Teacher, and then she wanted to get revenge on her Homeroom Teacher.”

“Is that so, is that so? What kind of conflict?”

“Is that so? I’m also curious what kind of conflict would cause such a big stir?”

“I heard it was two women fighting over one man!”

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

...“Pfft~”

Listening to the discussions in the cafeteria, which were based on students' wild guesses and individual speculations, Zhao Zixuan spat out the soup he had just drunk.

Fortunately, Li Baoyu reacted quickly to protect the food, immediately using a tissue to block the soup Zhao Zixuan sprayed, so Zhao Zixuan only contaminated the soup and rice in front of him.

Fang Mu also breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, Li Baoyu reacted quickly and protected their dishes. He hadn't eaten enough yet.

“Fang Mu, did you hear that just now?”

Zhao Zixuan asked Fang Mu, while pulling out a tissue to wipe the table in front of him.

“Get lost!”

“Hahahahahahaha.” That single word let Zhao Zixuan know that Fang Mu had also heard the students' absurd speculation about two women fighting over one man. It was hilarious.

“Hahahahaha.” Li Baoyu, who was eating next to them, swallowed the food in his mouth and also burst out laughing.

Compared to two women fighting over one man, the only man they could think of was Fang Mu. A brother's joke wasn't something you got every day, but you had to eat every day.

Fang Mu rolled his eyes at his two mischievous friends, then paid special attention to Zhao Zixuan, who had revealed the matter—he stepped on Zhao Zixuan's foot and even increased the pressure, grinding his foot.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, I’m sorry, brother.”

Zhao Zixuan quickly begged for mercy, feeling the increasing pressure on his foot.

Li Baoyu heard his good brother Zhao Zixuan's plea for mercy and, fearing he would be next, covered his mouth and stopped mocking Fang Mu.

“Alright, I won't laugh anymore. I heard someone went to see your parents today. I wonder what the result was. Did your family tell you anything?”

Zhao Zixuan asked Fang Mu.

“I don’t know either. I only know that my brother came, but he didn’t look for me.”

Fang Mu shrugged.