Chapter 36: Do Not Believe or Spread Rumors
Ji Xiaoyue had admitted what she did, and the truth was now clear.
But that still wasn't enough.
She had confessed, but she still hadn't faced the legal consequences.
"Is this enough now?" Ji Xiaoyue was still kneeling on the floor. After making the apology post, she handed her phone back to Qin Siyu.
Qin Siyu nodded.
"All right. When the police arrive, I'll tell them exactly what happened. I'll ask them to give you a lighter sentence."
Ji Xiaoyue panicked.
"The police are still coming? I already deleted the post and apologized like you told me! Why are you still handing me over to the police?"
Qin Siyu looked at her with contempt.
"If saying sorry solved everything, then why would we even need the police? What you did broke the law. So naturally, you have to face the legal consequences."
Still on her knees, Ji Xiaoyue crawled over and hugged Qin Siyu's leg.
"Instructor, please! Please don't hand me over to the police! I can't go to the police station! If I get a criminal record, my whole life will be ruined!"
"I've already deleted the post! I've apologized! Tell me what else I can do! As long as I can do it, I'll do anything!"
Qin Siyu glanced at Tian Siyi, then looked toward where Wang Xiaoxiang was sitting.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
In the end, Ji Xiaoyue was only the weapon.
The person who truly wanted to hurt Tian Siyi was Wang Xiaoxiang.
Unfortunately, the evidence stopped with Ji Xiaoyue. Everyone knew Ji Xiaoyue was Wang Xiaoxiang's follower. Anyone could guess that Wang Xiaoxiang was the one behind everything.
But without evidence, they couldn't do anything to her. She could continue targeting Tian Siyi whenever she wanted.
Qin Siyu crouched down and asked, "Then tell me. Who told you to do this?"
"Who told me..."
Ji Xiaoyue instinctively looked toward Wang Xiaoxiang, then quickly shook her head.
"No one told me, I just didn't like her. I was wrong! I lost my judgment for a while!"
Qin Siyu helped her to her feet and quietly whispered into her ear,
"What good does protecting her do for you? All you're doing is making your own crime more serious. Look at her, does she look like she's planning to help you at all?”
“You've followed her for so long. Do you really think she cares about you? To her, you're nothing more than a chess piece that can be thrown away whenever she wants."
Ji Xiaoyue knew. Of course she knew Wang Xiaoxiang wouldn't care whether she lived or died.
But she couldn't expose Wang Xiaoxiang now.
If she betrayed her, her parents' business would almost certainly suffer a huge blow.
She herself would also face endless revenge that she couldn't bear.
Everything that hadn't happened to Tian Siyi could end up happening to her instead. If that was the future waiting for her, she would rather spend a few years in prison.
"There really wasn't anyone behind it. It was all my own decision. I just lost my judgment for a moment."
Qin Siyu frowned.
Ji Xiaoyue was much tougher than she expected.
If they couldn't bring Wang Xiaoxiang down as well, Tian Siyi might still face more trouble in the future.
Still, this incident had shown her just how capable Chen Chen was.
In such a short time, he had uncovered the whole truth. He had even helped make sure everyone involved was caught.
That meant even after they left the military training camp, when Qin Siyu could no longer stay by Tian Siyi's side...
Tian Siyi would still have someone she could rely on.
Qin Siyu's expression turned cold. She let go of Ji Xiaoyue and said sternly,
"Since you're saying you did everything by yourself, then you'll take full responsibility for all of it."
Ji Xiaoyue had just managed to stand up, but after hearing those words, her legs gave out and she fell to the floor again.
She knew that nothing she said now would change anything.
All she could do was pray that the conversation wouldn't turn to Wang Xiaoxiang.
The law had limits.
Wang Xiaoxiang did not.
She swallowed hard and asked in a hoarse voice,
"What... what will happen to me if I'm handed over to the police?"
"I don't know," Qin Siyu replied. "I'm in the military, not the legal system. I'd guess you'll probably be sentenced to one or two years."
One or two years...
That's still better.
As long as I don't make Wang Xiaoxiang my enemy, I can still go back to my family's company after I get out.
When the students heard that she might go to prison, they immediately started talking among themselves.
"She's really going to prison? Isn't that too harsh?"
"Shouldn't she? She should take responsibility for what she did. Why didn't she think about the consequences before spreading rumors about Tian Siyi?"
"Exactly! Think about how everyone treated Tian Siyi these past few days. Have you thought about what would have happened if the truth had never come out?"
Now that the truth was clear, although some students felt sorry for Ji Xiaoyue, most of them spoke in Tian Siyi's defense.
Ji Xiaoyue was still a young woman with her whole future ahead of her.
But so was Tian Siyi.
She was beautiful.
She sang beautifully.
She was cheerful, kind, and open-hearted.
Did she deserve to have her reputation ruined just because someone was jealous of her?
Throughout this whole incident, Tian Siyi had been the victim.
As for Ji Xiaoyue, she was the one who caused the harm. She had brought all of these consequences upon herself.
The police arrived quickly.
As they took Ji Xiaoyue away, they also called out Wang Xiaoxiang's name.
Wang Xiaoxiang looked confused.
No one had mentioned her just now.
The police explained that because she was closely connected to Ji Xiaoyue, they needed her to come with them to help with the investigation.
But Wang Xiaoxiang didn't believe that explanation. There were plenty of people close to Ji Xiaoyue. Why was she the only one being taken away?
It must be Tian Siyi. She must have used some dirty trick. She looked at Tian Siyi with hatred filling her eyes.
"Just you wait!"
She wasn't afraid of going to the police station. Her family had connections.
Besides, there was no evidence pointing directly at her.
No one could really do anything to her.
Still, being taken away together with Ji Xiaoyue would naturally make the other students wonder if she was involved.
After watching the two of them leave, Qin Siyu gave the closing remarks for the meeting.
"Don't believe rumors, and don't spread rumors. I hope everyone learns to think calmly. There's too much information on the internet these days. You need to make your own judgment. Don't believe everything you hear."
"And don't become a weapon that other people can use however they want. If you do, you may end up causing lasting harm to innocent people."
Qin Siyu's words made many students lower their heads.
Especially those who had looked down on Tian Siyi during the past few days.
"All right. That's all for today's meeting. You're dismissed."
Zhao Xiaoqi happily hugged Tian Siyi. "Everything's finally over!"
Tian Siyi smiled and gently rubbed Zhao Xiaoqi's head.
"Come on, why are you acting spoiled with me now?"
She then looked up and was surprised to see Jiang Luyao smiling for what seemed like the first time.
"So you can smile."
"You look really pretty when you smile."
"You should smile more often."
Zhao Xiaoqi turned to look at Jiang Luyao.
When she saw the usually ice-cold beauty smiling, she froze in surprise.
"You have a beautiful smile too."
The voice came from Qin Siyu in the distance.
Jiang Luyao looked at her and said, "Thank you for tonight."
Qin Siyu waved her hand. "The person you should really thank is Chen Chen. I honestly don't know how he managed to gather so much evidence in just one day. He was also the one who suggested gathering all the students together. I just organized the meeting and gave the speech."
Zhao Xiaoqi finally came back to her senses. She looked around and asked,
"By the way... where's Chen Chen?"
Tian Siyi looked toward the front row, raised a finger to her lips, and whispered,
"Shhh... He's asleep..."