Of course, that slap never landed on Li Qiao.
Just as the woman's hand was about to strike, Li Qiao calmly picked up the stack of thesis materials on her desk. With perfect timing, she smacked the woman's wrist with the thick file just inches before it could reach her face.
Thrown off by the unexpected force, the woman staggered back slightly, her expression twisting in rage as she braced herself on the table and shrieked, "You dare hit back?!"
Still seated, Li Qiao remained cold and composed, her expression unreadable.
The teachers who had rushed over to break up the fight now stood firmly at her side, clearly shielding her, and sternly warned the woman not to lay another hand on anyone.
To Li Qiao, the scene unfolding was nothing short of ironic.
After all, ever since that exposé post surfaced last week, few on campus had bothered to seek the truth. Most of the students—and even many teachers—had been swept away by the tide of public opinion without question.
Now with this woman storming into the school to cause a scene, it only seemed to further validate the false rumor that Li Qiao was a homewrecker.
If she hadn't come prepared, there would've been no way for her to clear her name in this situation.
Li Qiao rubbed her brow, took out her phone from her pocket, tapped the screen, and casually tossed it on the desk. "Lu Wen, right? Before you keep slandering and attacking people, maybe take a look at this first."
That's right—the woman who came to stir up trouble was named Lu Wen.
She sneered dismissively and glanced at the phone with contempt, ready to make another sarcastic remark—only to freeze when she saw what was on the screen.
At the back of the classroom, a few students waiting for their own defense whispered quietly, "Professor, Li Qiao isn't the mistress. It was Jiang Yi all along. The new post on the forum shows side-by-side photos proving it. Jiang Yi set her up—she's the real mistress."
Just like that, the drama flipped completely on its head.
On the podium, Jiang Yi—who had secretly been basking in satisfaction—suddenly turned pale. She hurried back to her seat and, with trembling hands, logged onto the forum. What she saw made her panic.
A post titled "How a Mistress Suffers Social Death: A Case Study" was pinned at the top of the homepage.
Poster: Li Qiao is My Daddy and Also Your Ancestor
The content was thorough and visual, complete with images and breakdowns. It even dissected last week's smear post with a detailed rebuttal.
It showed that Li Qiao and the man she was seen with at the Royal Hotel were only attending an art exhibition. There was even surveillance footage from the art gallery hallway.
On the other hand, a comparison image clearly showed Jiang Yi—in a black dress—linked arm-in-arm with a young man in a white suit, entering the same hotel. But unlike Li Qiao, they only briefly visited the art exhibit before heading to a luxury suite upstairs.
There were screenshots of surveillance footage, check-in records from the hotel—all raw and unedited.
As for Lu Wen, she wasn't some hired actress. Her husband had indeed cheated.
Only, the woman he cheated with wasn't Li Qiao—it was Jiang Yi, the one who had stood by the sidelines acting innocent all along.
At the end of the post was even a screenshot of an anonymous email sent to Lu Wen last week. The email warned her that her husband was having an affair with the "campus belle" of Nanyang Medical University—and attached was a blurry photo of Li Qiao linking arms with Li Yan at the Royal Hotel entrance.
The picture was clearly taken in secret, from a tricky angle. Though it didn't show any clear faces, it was just convincing enough to mislead someone who already suspected the worst.
As it happened, Lu Wen's husband had a similar build to Li Yan, had attended the same art exhibit that night, and even wore a similar suit.
That was the perfect opportunity for Jiang Yi to exploit.
With murmurs spreading through the classroom, the professors overseeing the thesis defense also began logging into the forum to see for themselves.