Taking advantage of the moment when Wei Linjun wasn't paying attention, they huddled together and whispered.
"Do you know what Professor Wei was just talking about?"
"Not sure. I haven't even seen that girl recently."
"Could she have received a school punishment?"
Someone said mockingly.
"... I think it might be worse than just a punishment."
A girl's voice chimed in.
"What's going on?"
"Just take out your phones and check. The apps must have already pushed the news."
She waved her phone screen in front of them.
"My goodness, she's so excessive."
"Although we knew she was arrogant, this time she's completely lawless, isn't she?"
The leading senior couldn't help but click his tongue, with an uncontrollable sense of schadenfreude in his tone.
"But it has nothing to do with us, right?"
"All we can say is that we've got one less competitor."
An older senior sister said rather unenthusiastically.
"What are you guys doing?"
Just as they were chatting merrily, Wei Linjun appeared behind them.
"Professor Wei, we're just discussing some problems."
The senior forced a laugh, trying to gloss over the situation.
Wei Linjun sighed helplessly.
"I know you're curious, but during school hours, it's better to focus on your studies."
"However..."
He pretended to look worried and stroked his chin.
"Since classmate Xia Sanghuan is capable of murder, who knows if she might steal other people's things too."
"Like the experimental report..."
Saying this, he made an apologetic expression as if he had said something wrong.
"Alright, everyone, go back and continue with the experiment quickly."
However, the speaker might not have meant anything, but the listeners took it to heart, especially since the speaker did have an intention.
Wei Linjun's words made them recall the experimental report that had gone missing a few days ago.
Although it was eventually found without any real danger, it still gave them quite a scare.
This experiment was an impromptu addition by their professor, Wei Linjun. Although they had only helped with a part of it, it was better not to let others know about the drugs involved in the experiment.
However, as time went on, they felt something was off.
"Senior, should we go and ask...?"
"If we ask, won't we expose ourselves?"
"Stupid! Can't you start from this incident?"
"By then, Xia Sanghuan will be in the wrong, and our matter will seem insignificant."
Finally, after some discussion, they decided to go and find Xia Sanghuan.
It could both make her look bad and allow them to fish for information. Why not?
So, that's how the scene just now happened.
The senior stepped forward. Instead of getting entangled with Professor He any further, he raised his voice and shouted into the research room.
"Classmate Xia Sanghuan, I know you're in there."
"We're here this time just to get an explanation from you."
"I believe no one here wants to be in the same research building as a murderer!"
As he spoke, he turned back and gave a look to his followers.
They immediately chimed in.
No matter how imposing Professor He was, he couldn't stop these young people. Gradually, he was at a disadvantage in the confrontation.
"Professor He, I advise you not to interfere in this matter anymore."
"Moreover, you should know in your heart that shielding a murderer will be held criminally liable."
The senior threatened while smiling.
"You—"
Just as Professor He was about to lose his temper, a pair of slender hands tugged at his sleeve.
Immediately afterwards, the girl's calm voice came.
She walked up to Professor He and looked firmly at the group of people in front of her.
"Senior and senior sisters, if you have anything to say, just come at me."
"The professor is old and can't stand this kind of hassle from you."
As she spoke, she silently stood in front of Professor He.
Seeing her fearless look, the confident senior couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt in his heart.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, a boy behind him spoke up.
"Classmate Xia Sanghuan, I think you have the obligation to explain the content in this morning's news."
"After all, your actions have seriously affected social order. You should be in prison now."
The boy spoke without mercy, leaving her no chance to refute.
She knew it was useless to say more now. She just calmly said,
"It wasn't me."
"I didn't kill anyone."
"How could you not have killed anyone? The video and audio are all here. The evidence is conclusive!"
A sharp - tongued female voice also joined the ranks of accusing her.
"And if you're capable of murder, who knows what else you can do?"
"Like stealing the experimental report or plagiarizing others' work..."
Just as this girl was about to continue, a male voice interrupted her.
"Excuse me."
It was Wei Linjun.
"I'm really sorry, Professor He."
He stepped forward and stood behind his students.
Although he was speaking to He Jianyu, his eyes were firmly fixed on Xia Sanghuan.
"My students have caused you trouble."
There was not the slightest intention of apologizing to Xia Sanghuan.
Professor He frowned, looking very dissatisfied.
"Xiao Wei, what's going on with you?"
"Doesn't your research room have any work to do?"
"Do you still have the energy to accuse my student at this time?"
His tone was aggressive, showing a full - fledged attitude of protecting his student.
"It's indeed inappropriate for my students to come to your research room rashly during work hours."
"But Professor He, is it right for you to openly shield the suspect?"
Wei Linjun didn't show the slightest bit of timidity as he met He Jianyu's sharp gaze, leaving Professor He speechless for a moment.
"But there's no evidence to accuse Sanghuan of murder at all."
"The news didn't point out her motive or modus operandi."
"Do you guys have the right to make a hasty judgment?"
Professor He argued unyieldingly.
"Although these haven't been written yet, there's other content in the news."
"For example, at the end of the article, it says that Xia Sanghuan was originally captured by the police, but then someone bailed her out."
"If she were innocent, the police would have released her long ago. There's no such thing as being bailed out."
"Moreover, if that were the case, this news would never have been published!"
The people in front of her spoke sharply, insisting that Xia Sanghuan was the murderer.
The girl felt a buzzing in her ears, and her head even started to ache.
"Xia Sanghuan, Xia Sanghuan, just how capable are you? You managed to find someone who could easily bail you out.
"If you had used these abilities for good..."