Chapter 63 [VIP]
The trouble Chu Ling mentioned came very quickly.
Pei Xingzhi had already planned their process, so when the Alpha and Senior Li came to see him with the teacher that day, he didn't have much of an emotional reaction. He just raised his eyelids, glanced at them, and told them to wait until he finished his experiment before coming over.
The Alpha was clearly not one to sit still; upon hearing Pei Xingzhi's words, he rolled up his sleeves, intending to teach him a lesson. Senior Li and the teacher they had brought along quickly grabbed the Alpha, urging him to finish his work before pulling him away.
Before leaving, Li Zhengping glanced back at Pei Xingzhi, who was still busy with his experiment. Neither their arrival nor their departure could earn him a single look.
Pei Xingzhi didn't respond to them, as if they weren't looking for him at all, and that what they were talking about had nothing to do with him. He continued his experiment at his own pace, ignoring the curious gazes of his classmates, until someone, unable to contain their curiosity, finally came over and asked him a question, at which point he stopped what he was doing.
"Um, Pei Xingzhi, what do they want from you? I heard it's related to Li Zhengping's experiment? Wasn't his experiment already finished? What's going on now?"
"Didn't you know? His experimental data had some problems and didn't pass the initial project review. Li Zhengping said that someone had tampered with his data, so the teacher came with a group to investigate."
"What went wrong? Li Zhengping's abilities shouldn't be so bad that he couldn't even pass the preliminary review, right? Pei Xingzhi, what does this have to do with you? Why is the teacher coming to see you?"
"Could it be that Li Zhengping asked you to be a ghostwriter and the school found out?"
"It can't be that bad. Li Zhengping came to him to be a ghostwriter? Hasn't he won quite a few awards? Why would he need to hire a ghostwriter?"
"That's why he came to Pei Xingzhi. He's willing to use other people who are too low-level."
"Pei Xingzhi, stop doing the experiment. Your teacher has been waiting for you for so long. Hurry up and go over there."
The people around him were chattering away, and before Pei Xingzhi could say anything, they had already sentenced him to death in just a few words.
Pei Xingzhi dripped the medicine into the test tube, placed it down, slowly took off his gloves, glanced at them as he had with Li Zhengping, and then got up and left.
"If you can't control your mouths, you can just shut up."
These people were surprised that Pei Xingzhi, who was known for his good temper, would say such a thing. Their expressions froze for a moment, and before they could say anything, Pei Xingzhi had already walked out of the laboratory.
"Is Pei Xingzhi crazy? He did something wrong, why is he taking it out on us?"
"Yeah, who is this person?"
"I used to think he was a nice guy, but it turns out it was all an act."
"Ugh, what's that smell so bad!"
"It's that thing on Pei Xingzhi's desk, it's the thing on his desk!"
"What Pei Xingzhi just did? Throw it away!"
"Ugh, stay away from me, you stink!"
"Ugh! Don't come any closer! Ugh!"
"Get rid of this right now!"
The group, who had just been united in their hatred of the enemy, instantly descended into chaos under the influence of Pei Xingzhi's secret concoction. Pei Xingzhi stood outside the door, watching the farce unfold, and silently closed the laboratory door, thoughtfully adding an extra safety lock.
Enjoy his carefully blended "extra strong perfume" slowly.
*
In the office, Xu Yingyan and two others sat on one side, while Pei Xingzhi sat alone on the other. A computer sat on the table between the two groups, playing the surveillance footage of Pei Xingzhi helping Li Zhengping save data at school that night.
With the surveillance video in hand, these people probably felt very confident, and their attitude towards him was quite arrogant.
Alpha tilted his head back with a smug look, chin in his eyes. Xu Yingyan, who was not entirely neutral, just watched with amusement. Li Zhengping was a little more normal. Although he seemed to have been coerced by Alpha, who knew if he had any real feelings for him?
The three of them sitting opposite Pei Xingzhi didn't actually create any sense of oppression; at most, it reminded Pei Xingzhi of the group of eccentric relatives he had faced during the Chinese New Year.
“Pei Xingzhi, I’m giving you one last chance. The evidence is right here. If you admit your mistake, I can ask the school to let you off the hook. If you don’t admit your mistake, I can’t protect you.”
As a teacher, Xu Yingyan fully displayed his authority, immediately pressuring Pei Xingzhi on behalf of the school. Although he claimed he could protect him, what power did a mere nominal teacher, not even a teaching assistant, have to influence the school's decision?
"Pei Xingzhi, the video is right here. You sneaked back to the lab during your vacation and altered Li Zhengping's experimental data. The evidence is irrefutable; your denials are useless!"
Alpha's name is Zou Ye. Just like his name, he looks rugged and has a reckless personality. Xu Yingyan doesn't dare to say anything too absolute, but Zou Ye's attitude is even more forceful than Xu Yingyan's.
Li Zhengping didn't say anything, his gaze wandering, as if the sofa beneath him wasn't quite his size and he was feeling restless. Seeing that he didn't speak, Zou Ye became a little displeased. He clicked his tongue, giving Li Zhengping a warning. Li Zhengping shuddered, looked up at Pei Xingzhi, then glanced at Zou Ye, and finally spoke haltingly.
“Pei Xingzhi, I know you’ve always looked down on me, but why did you change my data? I’ve said before that this project was for the competition, and now you’ve changed my data so I didn’t even pass the initial review, and I’ll lose my scholarship for this semester. I’ve always thought I was good to you, so why… why are you doing this to me?”
After Li Zhengping finished his emotional accusation, Xu Yingyan patted him on the shoulder in a comforting gesture, then turned to glare at Pei Xingzhi, as if to say how could he be such a heartless person. Zou Ye also joined in, spewing out a string of nasty insults.
Pei Xingzhi watched their performances one after another with a polite smile, and didn't forget to pour a cup of tea for Zou Ye, whose voice was hoarse from shouting too excitedly, so that he could soothe his throat.
"So what punishment do you want to give me?" The tea in this office had been sitting there for who knows how long. Pei Xingzhi poured tea for them, but then covered his mouth and curled his lip in disgust.
"You secretly altered Li Zhengping's experimental data, causing his project, which had a chance to win an award, to fail even the preliminary round. Normally, this kind of thing should be handled by the school's higher-ups, but Li, out of consideration for your past friendship, specially pleaded for you. All you need to do is provide Li with the compensation you deserve and proactively publish an apology in the school's media, and that will be the end of it."
Xu Yingyan adopted the posture of a good teacher and "comforted" Pei Xingzhi to take the initiative to admit his mistake. Pei Xingzhi did not answer directly, but instead looked at Li Zhengping, who had been pretending to be dead since he finished speaking.
"Aren't you going to report me to the school? After all, I've caused you so much damage."
"No...no need. As long as you admit your mistake, I can let you off the hook." Li Zhengping hurriedly lowered his head to avoid Pei Xingzhi's gaze, and after a long pause, he uttered these few indistinct words.
"How can this be? I made such a big mistake, how can I only receive such a simple punishment? Senior, why don't you just report me to the school?" Pei Xingzhi laughed like a villain, tapping the table with his finger and speaking casually.
This video alone is not enough to determine whether he actually modified the data. They dare not report him directly to the school not because they are showing any leniency, but simply because investigating such matters would take a lot of effort. As long as Pei Xingzhi denies it, the school cannot punish him; at most, they can only issue a reprimand for entering the laboratory outside of designated hours.
Although Li Zhengping is excellent, he's not good enough for the school to go to such lengths to give him "justice." This matter can only stir up a little controversy in the media, but Pei Xingzhi himself has already generated enough buzz. Compared to previous news stories, this little bit of controversy is insignificant. It's possible that even after Pei Xingzhi graduates, this matter will still remain unresolved.
But if Pei Xingzhi takes the initiative to admit his mistake, it will be different. Since he has already admitted his mistake, no one will think about the intricacies involved; they will only think that he did indeed do such a thing. When Chu Ling told him about this, he thought it would be a very difficult situation, but it turns out that they all overestimated the other side's intelligence.
"Teacher Xu, Senior Li, I now truly realize my mistake. Please report me quickly."
"Pei Xingzhi, don't be stubborn and ask for trouble. Li Zhengping is only giving you face by asking you to admit your mistake. If you don't, the school will investigate and you'll be expelled!"
Li Zhengping and Xu Yingyan, who were brought in as accomplices, only had slightly different expressions after hearing Pei Xingzhi's words. Zou Ye, however, exploded like a powder keg, pointing at Pei Xingzhi's face and saying some nasty things. If Li Zhengping and Xu Yingyan hadn't stopped him, he probably would have attacked Pei Xingzhi directly.
Pei Xingzhi looked at the farce unfolding before him and rubbed his temples wearily.
"I do not accept the compensation terms you have proposed. You are welcome to report this to the school at any time." Pei Xingzhi was too lazy to continue the pointless conversation with them and got up to leave.
"Pei Xingzhi—"
He had just reached the door when Li Zhengping called out to him.
"What's wrong, Senior Li? Is there some condition you haven't finished stating?" Pei Xingzhi didn't think he was as innocent as he appeared. The existence of this video proved that someone had been plotting against him since then, or even earlier, but he was completely unaware, only thinking about how to get along with Xie Nanyi every day.
"I just... I just feel like you're too far away from me. You never even spare me a glance... so I can't stop thinking about you, wanting to destroy you... Will you... hate me?"
Li Zhengping's abrupt remark made Pei Xingzhi frown. He glanced at Li Zhengping up and down, then chuckled and said, "No need."
He didn't need to waste his emotions on someone like Li Zhengping; he'd seen far too many like him. He couldn't understand why anyone would sympathize with such a person. Was cloaking jealousy in the guise of "love" really an unspeakable love?
Jealousy is just jealousy; why romanticize it as a distorted form of love?
This was hardly a problem; it was far too easy to solve. Pei Xingzhi didn't return to the lab; he took his things and went straight back to his dormitory.
He hadn't seen Chu Ling for a long time; perhaps he should reconsider Chu Ling's suggestion.
Xie Nanyi wasn't in the dorm. He squatted down and watched Wuyun finish eating the dog food like a little pig, then got up, picked up his phone, and sent a message.
[Pei Xingzhi]: I can grant your request, but I have one condition.
[Pei Xingzhi]: Take me with you when you leave.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com