After what happened that morning, Gu Yifei felt inexplicably irritable.

He was restless in his dorm room and couldn't stay still, so he simply took the bus home.

When he got home, he smelled the familiar aroma of food, which made him feel much better.

"Hey, Xiaofei, what brings you back?"

As Gu's mother was setting the table with dishes, she saw him return and asked curiously.

Gu Yifei was completely absorbed in his own emotions and did not hear his mother's question. He simply sat on the sofa without saying a word.

Seeing him like this, Gu's mother quickly went up to ask him what was wrong.

"What's wrong, Xiaofei? Did something happen at school?"

Gu Yifei then came to his senses and forced a smile: "It's nothing, Mom. I just missed the food at home, so I came back for a meal."

Mother Gu laughed and said, "You're in luck, your brother is cooking today."

Gu Yifei stood up and looked into the kitchen, and sure enough, he saw Gu Jingran's figure.

"Brother's back from his business trip?" Gu Yifei asked.

Mrs. Gu nodded: "Yes, he came back this morning. You two brothers haven't seen each other for a long time, so I found him to keep you company."

As she spoke, Gu's mother walked into the kitchen and whispered to Gu Jingran, "Jingran, Xiaofei seems to be in a bad mood. Why don't you talk to him? I'll cook the dishes."

Gu Jingran did as he was told and looked back. Sure enough, he saw Gu Yifei sitting absentmindedly on the sofa. He then nodded.

He walked out of the kitchen and said to Gu Yifei, "I brought you a gift from my business trip. It's in your room. Come on, let's go see it."

Gu Yifei nodded, got up, and walked towards the bedroom.

The two entered Gu Yifei's room one after the other. Gu Yifei plopped down on the bed, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

Gu Jingran pulled up a chair and sat down opposite him, asking directly, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Brother, do you think I'm really stupid?"

Gu Yifei's voice was muffled.

Gu Jingran raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

Tell me about it.

Gu Yifei then told Gu Jingran everything that had happened at school that morning.

“I always thought you and Mom were prejudiced against Meng Zihan, which is why you always said bad things about her. But today I realized that I was the one who was kept in the dark all along! She's been playing me for a fool, making a fool of me!”

Gu Jingran comforted him, saying, "This isn't entirely your fault. Meng Zihan has been deliberately hiding things from you, so it's not surprising that you were deceived by her. Besides, you grew up together, so it's natural for you to have feelings for her and lean towards her. It's only human nature. It's not too late to see her true colors now."

Gu Yifei was still somewhat frustrated. "I always thought Ye Linchen was bullying her and felt sorry for her. Now that I think about it, I was so blind! How could I be so stupid?"

"Don't blame yourself. Be more careful in the future and don't jump to conclusions about things you don't understand."

Gu Jingran asked about Ye Linchen.

"Do you know why Meng Zihan suddenly brought Teacher Ma to cause trouble for Ye Linchen?"

Gu Yifei shook his head: "I'm not too sure, but it seems to be related to a girl named Zhang Tingting from the School of Economics and Management. I heard my classmates talking about it today. They said that Zhang Tingting is from Beijing and has a very powerful family background. Some people said that she was involved in a murder case before! But according to Teacher Ma, she was threatened by Zhang Tingting and had no choice but to give false testimony for her."

"When Zhang Tingting went to the police station for investigation, she was very arrogant. She even brought a lawyer with her. I guess there must be some important person in her family."

After listening, Gu Jingran frowned, feeling a vague unease in his heart.

He nodded: "I understand. I'll call Ye Linchen after dinner and ask her about the details."

After Ye Linchen reported to the school, she called him to talk about the new school. At that time, she did not mention Zhang Tingting, but only said that everything was fine.

Gu Jingran was about to go on a business trip and didn't have time to ask in detail.

Gu Jingran just got back today. He originally planned to call Ye Linchen tomorrow and ask her out for dinner this weekend, but after this incident, Gu Jingran can't wait until tomorrow.

After having dinner at the Gu family's house that evening, Gu Jingran returned to his car and dialed Ye Linchen's pager.

At that moment, Ye Linchen was reading in his dormitory when the pager on his desk suddenly beeped.

Ye Linchen picked it up and saw a string of numbers displayed on the screen.

It was Gu Jingran's phone number.

Ye Linchen was quite pleased.

Has Gu Jingran returned from his business trip?

Without thinking twice, she grabbed her pager, left the dormitory, and found a public phone to call back.

The phone was answered after only two rings.

A deep, familiar voice came through the receiver: "Hello."

Upon hearing Gu Jingran's voice, Ye Linchen unconsciously smiled.

She gripped the microphone tightly and asked in a light tone, "Brother Gu, you're back from your business trip?"

Gu Jingran's voice, tinged with laughter, came from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, I got back this morning. The business trip to Shenzhen went very smoothly, and I even brought you some small gifts." He then asked, "Are you free on Sunday? I'd like to invite you out for dinner."

"Yes, of course I have time."

Ye Linchen agreed.

"That's good. I'll pick you up from school on Sunday at noon."

After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Jingran inquired about Zhang Tingting.

"By the way, Xiaofei told me when he got home today that you ran into trouble at school? It's related to a girl named Zhang Tingting?"

Ye Linchen hesitated for a moment.

She originally didn't plan to tell Gu Jingran about this.

First, she felt she could handle it;

Secondly, this kind of thing is already troublesome enough, and Gu Jingran is busy with work, so there's no need to bother him.

Now that Gu Jingran had asked, Ye Linchen could no longer hide it, so he told him the whole story.

From the initial conflict to Zhang Tingting bullying others in the dormitory, and then to the various rumors about Zhang Tingting, Ye Linchen told everything without any concealment.

“...Originally, this was just a matter between Zhang Tingting and me, and I didn’t intend to delve into it. But if Zhang Tingting really did kill someone in the past and escaped punishment, continuing to roam freely in Jiangcheng, then it’s not just a dispute between the two of us, but a matter of life and death.”

Ye Linchen was so angry because she felt that this was a living human life that should not be given up so easily.

On the other hand, she had personally experienced school bullying in her previous life and knew what it felt like to have nowhere to turn for help and to be isolated and helpless.

The girl who jumped off the building was braver than her and kept fighting for herself, but in the end she still met a tragic end. She felt sorry for her and was indignant on her behalf.

She wanted to do everything in her power to help her get justice.

On the other end of the phone, Gu Jingran listened to Ye Linchen's story and remained silent for a long time before speaking.

"Xiao Chen, what are you planning to do next?"