Chapter 42, Standoff
She stayed at Li Donghao's house for two days. The packages were almost all delivered. Fortunately, Li Donghao didn't have anything else to do, so he stayed home to keep her company and cook for her. Zhang Youyou downloaded a few games on her new phone and played them. Seeing that she didn't have any major emotional fluctuations, Li Donghao felt a little relieved.
When Li Donghao went to school on Monday, Zhang Youyou said that the phone case would arrive in a day or two and that he should remember to pick it up. Li Donghao nodded and watched her go back to her dormitory. He then went to do his own thing. Unexpectedly, he received a call from Teacher Jiang at noon, saying that Zhang Youyou wanted to ask her for a photo of the USB drive and that she was looking for the USB drive in the office. Li Donghao rushed over.
Because Ms. Jiang misunderstood her and thought she had taken the USB drive, Zhang Youyou was still angry. So, as soon as her morning class ended, she went to Ms. Jiang's office to find her. Luckily, she was there. Zhang Youyou asked her directly what the USB drive looked like and what was on it. Ms. Jiang asked if she had found it. Zhang Youyou said no, but she would help look for it.
Ms. Jiang was very impatient and waved her away, telling her to leave. Zhang Youyou refused, saying she had to apologize. This angered Ms. Jiang, who said Zhang Youyou was the prime suspect and that her suspicions were justified. Zhang Youyou refused to accept this unwarranted trouble and stayed in the office while Ms. Jiang searched for the USB drive. Ms. Jiang wouldn't play along, so she opened the door and searched the office alone. When Li Donghao arrived, Zhang Youyou was squatting on the floor examining the ground.
"Zhang Youyou, what are you doing?" Li Donghao asked, puzzled, as he helped her up.
“She said I took her USB drive but couldn’t provide any evidence. I’m here to clear my name!” Zhang Youyou’s eyes reddened, as if she were seeing a relative.
“She has no evidence to prove that you took it!” Li Donghao reminded him.
"But she told everyone I stole her USB drive, and now the whole class is saying I took it. She's slandering me without any evidence!" Zhang Youyou insisted. "And she's a university teacher, yet she spreads rumors. I want to prove myself. I didn't take the USB drive. I want her to apologize to me in front of the entire school!"
Li Donghao looked at Teacher Jiang in confusion, while Teacher Jiang guiltily turned her head away. She had only mentioned this to someone in casual conversation, but a passing student overheard it, and the story spread like wildfire. Now many people knew about it, and she couldn't explain it to anyone. Zhang Youyou was thus unjustly blamed.
Li Donghao comforted her for a moment, then went to Teacher Jiang and said, "How could a teacher say such baseless things?" Teacher Jiang wanted to defend herself, but the words did indeed come from her mouth, so she couldn't escape responsibility either. She could only stubbornly say that unless Zhang Youyou could prove her innocence, she would always be the prime suspect.
Zhang Youyou glared at her resentfully before continuing to search for the USB drive.
After searching for a while, she suddenly remembered something and came to Teacher Jiang, saying in a serious tone, "I'm asking you, when did your USB drive go missing?"
Teacher Jiang looked her over incredulously and asked, "What do you mean?"
“I can’t just search aimlessly like this. I need to know when and where you lost your USB drive.” Zhang Youyou looked every bit the detective, which displeased Teacher Jiang.
"I have no idea."
"You don't know? You don't know that you said I took your USB drive? Then I'll say you stole my bank card!" Zhang Youyou retorted.
"You, you have no proof whatsoever!"
"Do you have any evidence?"
The two stood frozen at the office door, surrounded by many people coming and going, some gossiping onlookers. When Teacher Jiang saw this, she tried to pull Zhang Youyou inside, but she refused.
"What, are you scared?" Zhang Youyou persisted. "Why were you so certain when you told others I was a thief?"
Ms. Jiang looked at Li Donghao anxiously, hoping he could help her, but Li Donghao didn't budge and showed no intention of helping anyone. Zhang Youyou stared at her angrily, and in the end, Ms. Jiang gave up.
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