Ripples Across Campus

The incident involving Qu Chao spread across the entire campus in less than a day.

College students loved gossip.

The campus forum, which usually only had posts about course swaps or second-hand sales, was now completely flooded with discussions about him.

Even the moderators, perhaps long annoyed by him, pinned a summary thread to the very top.

The post detailed everything from beginning to end.

Many replies followed, with people saying the original poster wasn’t the only victim.

Over the past few years, many had experienced Qu Chao’s troublemaking firsthand.

Although Xu Shuche hadn’t explicitly mentioned Qu Chao’s connections with faculty, others revealed it anyway.

That sparked an even bigger uproar.

Yet Xu Shuche himself didn’t think much of it.

He continued his day as usual, finishing his tasks.

It wasn’t until around four in the afternoon that he received a message from his supervisor.

He exported the document and sent it to Sui Xiang.

“I’ve checked everything. It should be fine.”

“You can start preparing for the presentation. Ask me if anything’s unclear.”

Sui Xiang nodded, hesitating as if wanting to say something, but in the end only sighed.

Meanwhile, Jian Yixun had been quietly watching Xu Shuche.

The moment Xu Shuche stepped out, he followed.

Xu Shuche noticed and turned around.

“What’s wrong?”

“Where are you going?” Jian Yixun asked.

“The supervisor wants to see me.”

His tone remained calm, as if nothing had happened.

“The supervisor?”

Jian Yixun’s throat tightened.

“Is it because of what happened this afternoon?”

Xu Shuche thought for a moment and shook his head.

“I’m not sure.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Jian Yixun couldn’t shake the feeling it was related and worried someone might pressure him.

“It’ll be better if I come along.”

“No need.”

Xu Shuche smiled gently.

“I’ll be fine on my own.”

Jian Yixun looked at him in surprise, that familiar quickened heartbeat returning.

He had always thought Xu Shuche was soft and delicate, someone who needed support.

But once again, Xu Shuche surprised him.

Every time he thought he understood him, a new side appeared.

And all those pieces formed someone more vivid and real.

“Why are you worried?”

Xu Shuche noticed his expression and reassured him instead.

“I’ll be okay.”

“If you’re really worried, you can come with me.”

“I’ll go in and talk to the supervisor, and you wait outside, alright?”

Jian Yixun nodded blankly and followed behind.

They walked through unfamiliar corridors until stopping at a door.

“Wait here,” Xu Shuche said.

“I’ll be quick. Want to grab dinner after?”

“Mm.”

Jian Yixun wanted to say more, but the door had already closed.

Only then did he realize—

Xu Shuche had been comforting him.

Had he unknowingly been the one being taken care of?

Inside, Xu Shuche saw Qu Chao sitting on the sofa, quietly crying and wiping his tears.

The moment he noticed Xu Shuche, he cried even harder.

“Teacher, you wanted to see me?”

Xu Shuche ignored him completely.

The supervisor sighed, rubbing his head.

“You two could’ve resolved things privately.”

“Now the whole school is talking about it.”

“I handled it poorly,” Xu Shuche said calmly.

“I’ve caused trouble.”

“It’s not just trouble…”

The supervisor handed him a printed document.

“Are you saying this paper was plagiarized?”

Qu Chao immediately stood up.

“I didn’t plagiarize!”

“Then how do you explain this section?”

Xu Shuche spoke calmly.

“It’s identical to mine.”

“What a coincidence.”

Though he didn’t raise his voice, every word was sharp.

Qu Chao’s mentor tried to defend him.

But Xu Shuche, who rarely argued, still spoke steadily.

“Then it’s my fault?”

“For showing him an unpublished paper?”

His eyes turned slightly red.

A female teacher nearby couldn’t stand it anymore.

“If it’s plagiarism, there should be consequences.”

Hearing the word “punishment,” Qu Chao panicked.

“I don’t want punishment!”

“You don’t get to choose,” Xu Shuche’s supervisor said firmly.

“Why did you plagiarize in the first place?”

Qu Chao fell silent.

“Teacher, I have one more request.”

Xu Shuche raised his head, his voice calm but firm.

“I request that he be removed from the joint research project.”

“Xu Shuche!”

Qu Chao jumped up.

“Who are you to decide that?”

“Because your academic attitude is problematic.”

Xu Shuche listed his reasons one by one—

Plagiarism.

Disrupting the lab environment.

Occupying others’ resources.

Compared to Qu Chao’s agitation, he remained composed and rational.

“Of course, the final decision is up to the faculty.”

He bowed slightly.

“Sorry for the trouble.”

Then he turned and left.

Outside, Jian Yixun stumbled back a few steps.

He had clearly been eavesdropping.

Xu Shuche looked at him.

“Were you listening?”

“I wasn’t!”

Jian Yixun clicked his tongue awkwardly.

“I just… I mean…”

“Just what?”

Xu Shuche pressed lightly, then noticed his flushed face and let it go.

“Let’s go. Didn’t we say we’d eat?”

“Right. Eat.”

They walked side by side.

Jian Yixun couldn’t hold back.

“What did you talk about?”

“It wasn’t really a discussion,” Xu Shuche said.

“More like a one-sided confrontation.”

“The supervisor asked if my claims were true. I confirmed they were.”

“Qu Chao denied everything, but no one believed him anymore.”

After a pause, Xu Shuche looked at him.

“By the way, what’s going on between you and him?”

“I thought he liked you?”

Jian Yixun scratched his head, embarrassed.

“He confessed to me before. I rejected him.”

“But he kept bothering me… joining the basketball team, trying to talk…”

“I got annoyed, and when he spread rumors about you…”

He lowered his voice.

“I dragged him into the locker room and… hit him.”

Xu Shuche froze.

“You hit him because he spread rumors about me?”

“No! I just found him annoying!”

Jian Yixun denied instinctively.

Then, more quietly—

“…but also because I didn’t want to hear those things about you.”

There was silence.

Jian Yixun swallowed, about to apologize—

But Xu Shuche suddenly laughed softly.

“Idiot.”

“You didn’t need to stand up for me.”

“I could handle it myself.”

“You just ended up causing trouble for yourself.”

“But…”

Xu Shuche turned slightly, his cheeks faintly flushed.

His voice was soft, but it landed directly in Jian Yixun’s heart.

“You stood up for me.”

“I was really touched.”

“Thank you, Jian Yixun.”