The Pavilion Confrontation

Following Fan Xiaoting and Cold, Chen Ran found the literature club girl who had plagiarized the novel in a pavilion within one of the school’s small parks.

She appeared to have just finished lunch, engrossed in a book by herself.

The girl’s name was Gao Ruixue, and her face struck Chen Ran as rather harsh—a high nose, thin lips, a melon seed face (TL Note: A common East Asian facial shape, characterized by a slender, oval contour tapering to a pointed chin.), and upturned eyes.

She wasn’t unattractive, exactly.

Yet, there was something about her that invariably made people uncomfortable.

Upon seeing Chen Ran and the others approach, particularly Cold, she immediately scowled, as if she had just spotted an irritating fly.

“Why did you plagiarize Cold’s book again!” Fan Xiaoting fumed, pointing an accusatory finger at her the moment they arrived.

The girl before them, Gao Ruixue, merely offered a dismissive smile before feigning ignorance.

“Who plagiarized your book? Don’t make baseless accusations without proof!”

“What you wrote is identical to Cold’s work, and you still claim it’s not plagiarism!”

“Who’s like her? I don’t even know her, so what would I plagiarize?”

“Cold submitted her work to your literature club, and then you, a shameless plagiarist, copied it!”

“Nonsense! She never submitted anything. I have no record of any submission from her!” Gao Ruixue retorted, crossing her arms over her chest, a look of untouchable defiance on her face.

On their way here, Chen Ran had already come to understand why the situation had become so convoluted.

The crux of the matter was this:

First, all the novels Cold had written previously were handwritten in her diary.

Her submissions to the literature club were also handwritten anew, with the manuscript paper then placed in an envelope and sent to the club via the school’s internal mail system.

But who still submits work in envelopes these days?

Everyone uses digital documents submitted through online email.

If a physical mail submission was taken by the girl right in front of them, and there were no surveillance cameras in the school, how could anyone prove she was the one who took it?

Moreover, Cold had submitted her work discreetly, all by herself.

This created a situation where…

Absolutely no one could prove that Cold had submitted her manuscript to the literature club, nor could anyone prove that Gao Ruixue, as a member of the club, had received Cold’s submission.

This was precisely why the girl standing before them remained so brazen, even in the face of her blatant plagiarism.

And it wasn’t just that.

“Go ahead, sue me! Accuse me of plagiarism. Do you think the court will even bother with you? Ha!”

“Can you even afford a lawyer? If you’re incapable, don’t come here to bother me!!”

At this, Fan Xiaoting’s spirits deflated.

She had, in fact, consulted a lawyer previously, only to learn that suing someone for plagiarism was incredibly difficult.

For one, Cold’s manuscripts were all handwritten.

With current technology, it was impossible to scientifically determine when the handwriting on the drafts had been penned.

Ironically, Gao Ruixue possessed digital documents, which allowed her to prove the manuscript was hers.

Therefore,

Winning through legal means was utterly impossible.

As for reporting to the school or the literature club, that would be even more futile.

The literature club and other humanities clubs were already at odds with Cold’s sports club.

They would naturally protect their own, including those in the humanities department, the broadcasting club, the radio club, and the news club.

The last time Fan Xiaoting and her friends had brought Cold to complain to the school, the news club had twisted the narrative, publishing an article in the campus newspaper titled, ‘Humanities Student Plagiarizes Sports Student’s Novel – Can Reality Get Any More Absurd Than This?’

Every line of the report mocked Cold and Fan Xiaoting, accusing them of making groundless accusations without proof.

It was a clear case of blatant favoritism.

Most crucially, no matter what, Cold simply had no concrete evidence to prove that Gao Ruixue had plagiarized her book.

Even though it was an undeniable fact.

Recalling all this, Fan Xiaoting became so enraged she couldn’t utter a word.

Cold, however, remained silent.

Standing to the side, Chen Ran quietly watched the now smug and disdainful Gao Ruixue, who sneered with contempt.

“If you have nothing to do, just scram. Good riddance to bad rubbish!”

Her gaze then shifted to Chen Ran.

“What? Are you planning to hit me?”

“…”

Of course, Chen Ran couldn’t possibly strike her now.

If he resorted to violence, his side, despite being in the right, would lose all credibility.

Yet, Chen Ran merely continued to watch her in silence.

As Cold’s family, he knew with absolute certainty that the girl named Gao Ruixue standing before them had indeed plagiarized.

Therefore,

Simply confirming this fact was enough.

“You had best apologize to Cold right now,” Chen Ran stated impassively.

As expected, he was met with her scornful reply.

“Or else what?”

“Or else you will regret it.”

“Pfft!” Gao Ruixue burst out laughing, then mimicked his words, “Or else you will regret it~”

With a feigned hum of indifference, she simply turned and walked away.

This left Fan Xiaoting, standing nearby, absolutely furious, on the verge of exploding.

“I’m going to go slap her twice right now!!!”

“Let it go, Xiaoting.” Cold held back her good friend, shaking her head, her gaze simultaneously falling upon Chen Ran, whose eyes were slowly turning glacial.

“Xiaoran, you too. Just let it go.”

The young girl spoke weakly.

“Anyway… anyway, I was already…”

‘Anyway, I wasn’t planning to write anymore,’ Cold thought to herself.

She didn’t want to cause trouble at school, especially if it meant dragging her friends and other important people into it.

So, it was better to just let it be.

“Let it go…” The girl kept murmuring those two words.

However,

Chen Ran merely squeezed her delicate hand firmly and declared.

“How could we possibly let it go? Just you watch, Sister Cold.”

“What plan do you have, Xiaoran?!” Fan Xiaoting quickly leaned closer, her expression turning to one of bewilderment when she saw him nod.

In their estimation,

With no evidence, and the other party being utterly shameless with so many allies, there was simply no conceivable solution.

But,

Chen Ran simply felt that…

These girls’ way of thinking was a bit too rigid.

Why bother reasoning with someone who refuses to be reasonable?

Chen Ran offered Cold and Fan Xiaoting a brief reassurance, instructing them to return to class and leave the matter for him to handle.

Afterward,

He stood rooted to the spot, pondering for a moment, then pulled out his phone and made a call to one of his subordinates.

****

After five in the afternoon,

Students began to trickle out of the gates of St. Hua Angel Academy, preparing to head home—the school did not mandate attendance for evening self-study sessions.

Consequently,

Many students would leave school for home around five or six o’clock, once club activities had concluded.

Gao Ruixue was among them.

Walking as the sun began to set, she was chatting and laughing with a few friends, planning where they would go shopping and have fun that evening.

Just then, several strikingly cool and exaggeratedly styled motorcycles pulled up beside them.

The lead rider removed his helmet, whistling as he spoke to Gao Ruixue.

“Beautiful, care for a ride?”

‘Were they male students from the high school division of Xijing University next door?’ Gao Ruixue wondered.

The uniforms of the riders were quite familiar to Gao Ruixue and her friends, and the leading young man was indeed rather handsome.

“Alright,” she replied.

“Then, Princess, please step aboard~” Nishiki said with a smile, striking an exaggerated pose of invitation as he gestured for Gao Ruixue to get on the back of his motorcycle.

Meanwhile,

‘Now Chen Ran, Big Brother, his mission is accomplished!’ he thought to himself.