Upon hearing this, the two junior disciples looked shocked, but couldn't hide their excitement at watching the spectacle.
"How could that be? Senior, how could you have committed academic misconduct?"
"That's right, that's right. Everyone can see that my senior sister spends all her time in the lab. It's definitely the whistleblower who's spreading rumors."
Bai Jiaojiao observed the expressions of the two people and, seeing nothing amiss, said, "The innocent are innocent. I have already submitted my lab notebook, and the teachers on the academic committee will clear my name."
"Yes, that's right. Senior sister, don't worry."
The two junior brothers kindly offered Bai Jiaojiao a word of comfort, but they couldn't help but glance at each other.
This news is so exciting, I have to tell others right away!
In the afternoon, news of Bai Jiaojiao being reported spread throughout the building.
Two of Bai Jiaojiao's junior female classmates, who were on relatively good terms with her, came over to comfort her. This matter was far too serious. For a researcher to be reported for academic misconduct was even more humiliating than being slapped twice in front of everyone.
The building wasn't just filled with Ji Guizhang's students; some of the teachers weren't even part of Ji Guizhang's team. Ji Guizhang was quite strict with his students, so they were just shocked and didn't dare to discuss it much in private. But the other students and teachers were much more eager to watch the spectacle.
Bai Jiaojiao watched coldly from the sidelines, unable to discern who had made the report.
Ji Guizhang called Bai Jiaojiao to his office and said, "Don't let this affect your progress. If you want to graduate on time, you need to hurry up now."
Bai Jiaojiao was so nervous about graduating because Ji Guizhang was trying to secure a government-sponsored spot for her to study in the Soviet Union next year. After two years of doctoral studies there, she would be among the top talents in the country.
Moreover, Ji Guizhang believes that the research project Bai Jiaojiao is currently working on has great practical value. If she can really get to the final stage, it might be accepted by a top journal.
"I know, teacher. I wasted a whole morning today, but I'll spend more time making up for it tonight."
Ji Guizhang nodded: "However, you still need to take care of your health. You are still young, so don't overwork yourself and develop chronic illnesses."
He only said this to Bai Jiaojiao; to other students, he would definitely urge them to work harder and be more diligent.
"Thank you, Professor Ji. I will be careful. I'll go do my experiment now. You can continue with your work, Professor."
After Bai Jiaojiao finished speaking, she left. She couldn't possibly stop the experiment just because she was waiting for the investigation results. Bai Jiaojiao threw herself into the experiment and had long forgotten about those things.
When Shen Heng got home and saw the cold stove and empty pots, he knew that Bai Jiaojiao was "working overtime" in the lab again. These days, where do you see people like that? The workers in their factory would pack up their things ten minutes in advance and line up at the door to wait for the gate to open on time, without lingering for even a minute longer.
Shen Heng waited in the car for a long time but Bai Jiaojiao didn't come down. He had no choice but to get out of the car and go to the building to look for her. Through the glass window, he saw her lying on the table, looking at something intently. Shen Heng stood outside with his hands in his pockets, watching for a long time.
Bai Jiaojiao's neck was a little sore. When she turned her head to loosen it up, she was startled to see a dark figure outside the glass window. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Chen Heng. She was both annoyed and amused.
"What are you doing out there in the middle of the night? Why don't you come in?"
Seeing that Bai Jiaojiao was acting like a frightened little rabbit, and then suddenly became aggressive and pretended to bite someone after realizing it was a false alarm, Shen Heng smiled and said, "I just didn't dare to bother you."
Bai Jiaojiao glared at him and said calmly, "You know it's the middle of the night, why aren't you home yet?"
As Shen Heng finished speaking, Bai Jiaojiao noticed that the hour hand on her watch was pointing to eleven o'clock.
"Oh dear, it's so late. I got so engrossed in reading that I lost track of time. Let's go back."
Bai Jiaojiao tidied up the things on the table, took her bag, and checked the equipment and lights in the building with Shen Heng before going downstairs with him.
"Brother Heng, I got someone reported me today. We submitted an article before, and Professor Ji listed me as the corresponding author. Today, we were both summoned for questioning."
"Who's so blind? If I find out, I'll beat the shit out of them."
After Shen Heng finished speaking, Bai Jiaojiao sighed and rubbed her forehead: "You, stop complaining that Shi Tou talks nonsense. He learned it all from you, word for word."
Who would have thought that Director Shen, with his glamorous and handsome appearance, would casually utter such words?
"Stop nitpicking me. Tell me, how serious is this report? Will it affect you?"
Bai Jiaojiao said, "Anyway, I didn't forge anything, and the evidence has already been submitted. As long as the investigation is clear, it won't affect me. But I can't swallow this insult. I have to know who it is. If it's a misunderstanding, that's fine, but if it's Red-Eyed Guy deliberately doing this, I can't let him disgust me."
Shen Heng chuckled, "That's for sure. But these kinds of whistleblowers probably won't be easy to track down, right? Should we write a complaint letter or something else?"
"No, it's a formal complaint. And the academic committee can't just jump to conclusions; the whistleblower has to provide some evidence to support their claim. That's why I think it's probably someone from our lab. Otherwise, they wouldn't accept a case based on mere accusations of academic misconduct."
After Bai Jiaojiao finished speaking, Shen Heng said, "That's easy, just ask who reported you. This person is really daring, reporting you by name!"
Shen Heng pondered for a moment and said, "But in principle, we shouldn't tell the person being reported who made the report, right? If we find out who it is, we'll have to come up with a dirty trick."
"That's what I think too."
The two loudly plotted how to harm others, without feeling there was anything wrong with it. This is called "an eye for an eye," secretly reporting others behind their backs. People who can do such things deserve to be brought down.
The two went home, got something to eat, and the vicious dog pounced on the food; if they had been any later, they would have starved to death.
"It has suffered so much following us; it can't even get food."
"Give me a break," Shen Heng nudged Bai Doudou with his foot. "It eats better than most people. It's lucky it was born into our family."
Bai Doudou thought Shen Heng was playing with it, and happily went to pounce on Shen Heng's feet.
"You're an old dog, several years old, and you're still so immature."
"What are you talking about? She's only a year and a half older than Shitou."
Bai Jiaojiao couldn't stand Shen Heng bullying the dog, so she bent down, picked up Bai Doudou, and left.
"Hey, isn't an eight-year-old dog old?"
Shen Heng obediently went to clean up the dishes. When he got into bed, Bai Jiaojiao had already washed her face and hands and was waiting for him to sleep in the quilt.
"Go to sleep early and don't overthink it."
Shen Heng kissed Bai Jiaojiao's forehead, then reached out and pulled her into his arms, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm in a good mood." Bai Jiaojiao isn't going to let something like this bother her. She has so many things to do every day, and she falls asleep the moment her head hits the pillow at night.
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