Chapter 147: No Escape (3)

“Yeah, remember when the student council president openly admitted that Qiao Xi was his girlfriend? Qiao Xi didn’t deny it at all; everyone in Senior Class 1 heard it.”
“Do you think they might have had a fight? Maybe Qiao Xi and the president broke up, and now he’s trying to win her back?”
“That’s possible...”
“She must be really afraid of people not knowing the student council president is after her. The whole school knows about it now. Honestly, Gu Dieyan is so much better than her in comparison.”
“If you’re jealous, just say it. Why drag Gu Dieyan into this?”
“Isn’t it true? She’s jealous of Gu Dieyan’s beauty, that’s why she purposely pushed her down the stairs. If Gu Dieyan gets hurt and can’t come back to class, then no one will compete with her for the president’s attention.”
“Come on, everyone knows how the president treats Gu Dieyan. Does Qiao Xi really need to do something so petty?”
“Maybe she’s just that bored. Otherwise, why would she transfer all the way from Yingran? And her relationship with that guy, Gu Heng, is so suspicious. They say nothing happened, but who believes that?”
“That’s true. I met a student from Fengyang online who said that before Qiao Xi transferred, she and Gu Heng were inseparable.”
“Did she say why Qiao Xi transferred?”
“Not really. She said she only heard that Qiao Xi saw Gu Heng and Leng Xinmeng coming out of the same room, with Leng Xinmeng wearing Gu Heng’s T-shirt. The night before, they had been drinking, and a few days later, Qiao Xi transferred.”

“Could it be that something inappropriate happened between Gu Heng and Leng Xinmeng, and Qiao Xi was either upset or trying to avoid them by transferring? That actually makes sense...”

...

As soon as Qiao Xi entered the classroom, she could hear the murmurs.
The few girls who had been chatting eagerly fell silent when they saw her.
After all, they were gossiping about her, and about such sensitive matters. Who knew if she might lose her temper or take it out on them?
But obviously, they had overthought it. Qiao Xi didn’t even glance their way and walked straight to her seat.
“Did she just not hear what we were talking about? How come she’s so calm?”
“I think we hit the nail on the head, so she’s too scared to say anything.”

The girls whispered while staring at Qiao Xi.
Soon, the bell rang, and everyone returned to their seats.

The teacher entered and began the lesson. Qiao Xi listened quietly, not letting her mind wander.

When class ended, Gu Panxi came over.
“Qiao Xi, come with me to the store to buy something.”
Qiao Xi didn’t want to sit there and be the subject of curious stares, so she got up and said, “Let’s go.”
As they left the classroom together, Gu Panxi asked, “Qiao Xi, are you upset?”
“What?”
“About what they said. They dragged your friends into it and treated rumors like facts. You must have heard, right?”
Their voices were loud enough that even standing at the door, Qiao Xi had overheard some of it.
“I heard a little,” she said.
“Then why didn’t you say anything?” Gu Panxi asked. “It was different before when Chou Chou was here; she would stand up for you. But now that Chou Chou’s back in Fengyang, no one’s defending you. I don’t really have the standing to argue for you either since we’ve only known each other for a month. But I know you don’t like to talk much, but if you keep quiet, people might think you’re easy to bully.”