After reading the contents of the post, each of the professors had an expression more vivid than the last.
Guilt, embarrassment, and a rising sense of being manipulated—these emotions were written all over the professors' faces.
At the same time, public opinion began to shift on a massive scale.
After all, last week's exposé only had a few blurry photos of someone's back and some emotionally charged accusations. But now, with the forum restored, the pinned post laid out evidence so detailed it sent chills down everyone's spine.
Who exactly was backing Li Qiao so fiercely—enough to dig up and openly publish private check-in records from the Royal Hotel, and even include surveillance footage of people entering and exiting?
It was simply unbelievable!
Ru Wen, the woman who had caused the scene, remained silent for a long while. Then, stiffly, she turned toward Jiang Yi and asked in a tense voice, "So the one who sent me that anonymous email about my husband cheating—was it you?"
Panic flooded Jiang Yi's face. She stood beside the desk, frantically shaking her head. "It wasn't me! I don't know what's going on! Someone's trying to frame me! Li Qiao—it's you, isn't it? You're framing me!"
"Jiang Yi, have some shame!" one of the students in the same group couldn't hold back anymore.
She scrolled through the forum post and said loudly, "It's all clearly written in this post. You gave that newly registered campus account to Ms. Ru Wen—that's how she was able to log in and post the exposé. The IP address and message records are all there. You did this, and now you're trying to pass the blame!"
"You're lying! I didn't—" Jiang Yi screamed in denial, but no matter how loud her voice got, her panicked eyes gave away the truth.
At that moment, the previously confident and calculating Ru Wen looked utterly frozen.
She had come today with the intent of causing a scene—to humiliate the mistress and force her to back off in shame. But now it was clear: she had been used as a pawn.
Worse still, she'd mistaken the enemy for a friend.
Staring at Jiang Yi's flustered expression, Ru Wen found her face more and more detestable.
She took a stiff step forward, but before she could go any further, Li Qiao slapped her stack of thesis papers onto the table with a resounding thud. Her voice was cool and sharp: "After going through all this effort to frame me, Jiang Yi—must've been exhausting, huh?"
As she finished speaking, she shot a glance at Ru Wen's pale face, curling her lips into a cold smirk. "Still want to slap me?"
"I… you…"
Ru Wen found herself speechless. Especially under the intense gaze of Li Qiao's pitch-black, doe-like eyes, she felt a suffocating pressure, like something had wrapped tightly around her throat.
In her earlier fury, she had completely overlooked the terrifying aura that Li Qiao carried.
Now, looking closely, she was stunned to realize: how could a mere college senior radiate such a threatening presence—one that felt like a brush with death?
The atmosphere in Room 307 had become tense and stifling.
Perhaps the reversal had come too quickly. Even Ru Wen couldn't fully process what had just happened.
Knock knock—
A sudden knock on the door shattered the stillness.
The head of the Academic Affairs Office, Director Duan Yuanhui, stepped into the room.
Standing at the door was the man himself, well into his forties…
Beneath his thick eyebrows, Director Duan's narrow eyes radiated displeasure. He scanned the room with a stern expression and said, "Li Qiao, Jiang Yi, and this lady—come with me to the office. The rest of you, resume your thesis defenses."
At the same time, in the noisy hallway outside, someone suddenly shouted in a familiar voice:
"Jiang Yi, WCNM!" (Note: A vulgar internet slang insult in Chinese)
After the outburst, the speaker ducked down, hiding behind the noisy crowd, revealing only the top of their head, with a small pair of sunglasses perched on it.
Soon after, Li Qiao and the others followed Director Duan out of the academic building.
Order was finally restored in the thesis defense venue.