Everyone turned to see a distinguished and gentle young man walk into the room.
The moment they saw him, the crowd erupted in low murmurs.
"Baili Jing?! What's he doing here?"
"Didn't Baili Jing cut ties with Jiang Qingli? Why is he still speaking up for her?"
"Speaking of which, did Jiang Qingli really get straight A's? It's rare for anyone in the entire academy to get straight A's, right? Especially in the physical fitness course. The last person to get all A's was Jiang Youchen..."
"Who knows if what he said is true? Even recommendation scores can be manipulated."
"Last year, Jiang Qingli gave Baili Jing so much attitude because of Ling Qing. For him to still lie for her... that's true love..."
"Shh! Ling Qing is right behind him!"
To a Beastman, the surrounding whispers were crystal clear.
Baili Jing pretended not to hear. He walked to Jiang Qingli's side, casually squeezed past Qin Muye, and took her hand, asking gently, "Qingli, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." Jiang Qingli hadn't expected him to come.
Her rational mind told her to pull away, but meeting Baili Jing's concerned gaze, a bittersweet ache welled up in her chest.
His palm was dry and warm, carrying a power that put her at ease.
As if she had done it countless times before, Jiang Qingli squeezed his hand back and gave it a light tug.
She complained softly in a familiar manner, "You took so long to get here."
Baili Jing froze.
To others, it was just a few short seconds, a very ordinary interaction.
But Baili Jing's hand, holding hers, trembled slightly.
The ever-gentle young man was in turmoil, barely able to suppress the overwhelming joy that raged within him.
If he had only been guessing last time, then Jiang Qingli's unconscious reliance on him now, her coquettish complaints just like those from the past dozen years, and the way she looked at him—all of it made him absolutely certain of his judgment—
'Jiang Qingli was back.'
'Not the soul that had been possessing her body.'
'The Jiang Qingli who had grown up with him, who had leaned on his shoulder and asked if he wanted to be with her, who had shared countless wonderful moments with him... was back.'
"Qingli..." Baili Jing squeezed her hand tighter. He had a million things to say, but in the end, all he said was, "Don't worry, I'm here."
Standing a few steps away, Qin Muye inexplicably felt a Barrier between the two of them that was incredibly irritating.
He glanced down at the hand that had just held Jiang Qingli's, his brow furrowed. He snorted coldly. "If you're going to act out some sappy drama, go do it somewhere else."
Jiang Qingli snapped back to her senses and tried to pull her hand away, but it wouldn't budge.
Baili Jing stared into her eyes, his gaze intense and burning.
But after a few seconds, he let go.
Baili Jing realized that the current Jiang Qingli might not have her past memories.
So, until he understood the situation, he couldn't reveal that he had recognized her.
Across from them, Ling Sheng was sickened by their lovey-dovey display and immediately shouted to the young man standing at the door, "Brother! You're finally here! You have to stand up for me!"
"Jiang Qingli, what is going on?"
Ling Qing stood with one hand in his pocket, his cold eyes sharp and piercing, his voice as arrogant as ever.
As he spoke, he shot a displeased glance at Baili Jing, who was standing beside Jiang Qingli.
They had been at the same business dinner when Ling Sheng had called, crying and complaining.
Ling Qing's expression had darkened instantly.
He had assumed it was just another one of Jiang Qingli's tricks to get his attention and hadn't wanted to bother with it.
But when Baili Jing heard, he had insisted on coming along.
He'd claimed that as Jiang Qingli's Beast Husband, he had a duty to be there.
'Her Beast Husband?'
'Has Jiang Qingli ever treated him well?'
Just after they'd gotten out of the elevator, Ling Qing had said coldly, "Mr. Baili, you're the one who insisted on coming. If Jiang Qingli does something to you later, you'll have only yourself to blame."
Hearing this, a flicker of sadness crossed Baili Jing's eyes.
But his handsome face still held a gentle smile. "She wouldn't."
Ling Qing found his desperate, fawning behavior both pathetic and laughable.
'Over the past year, when choosing between him and Baili Jing, Jiang Qingli had always chosen him.'
'The entire interstellar community knew that Jiang Qingli shamelessly threw herself at Ling Qing, with no regard for her own dignity.'
'So today, Jiang Qingli would definitely side with him as well.'
However, at this moment, Jiang Qingli didn't spare Ling Qing a single glance.
Instead, she looked to Ye Linyuan at her side. "Teacher Ye, can you release my training footage?"
A student's training footage is private; releasing it requires their consent.
Qin Muye interjected, "Don't release mine."
"Then just release the first-kill clip," Jiang Qingli said.
She was calm and composed, and the other people in the classroom exchanged glances.
"She's not really innocent, is she?"
"You can cheat on the written portion, but you can't fake the footage. The school and the military use the same system; hackers and AIs can't break into it at all..."
"Tsk, tsk. If she's proven innocent, those few are going to be so embarrassed..."
At these words, the faces of the few noble children who had questioned Jiang Qingli showed signs of wavering.
Bai Yiyi bit her lower lip and glanced at Jiang Qingli, her heart filled with unease.
'No way. Jiang Qingli is just a villainous side character, a pawn to make me look good. How could she have a moment in the spotlight...'
But Jiang Qingli's confident expression made Bai Yiyi extremely anxious.
She looked to Chi Yun beside her, hoping for some comfort.
But Chi Yun didn't immediately soothe her as he usually did. Instead, he was staring daggers at Jiang Qingli, his eyes filled with resentment and anger.
Soon, Ye Linyuan accessed the necessary permissions.
A large, translucent screen materialized in the room.
On the screen, a Mutant Beast let out a heart-rending roar and lunged at the slender female.
The next second, it was pierced by a bullet.
Three cameras in the training ground had faithfully recorded every detail.
When Jiang Qingli raised her gun to shoot, her posture was perfect and relaxed. Her crimson lips were pressed together lightly, and a few strands of her hair, lifted by the wind, glowed with a divine golden light in the sun.
The entire room fell silent.
It wasn't until the footage finished playing and began to loop that someone spoke in disbelief.
"It really is Jiang Qingli..."
"She got the first kill!"
"Holy crap, that shot just now was so cool. I'm starting to see her in a new light..."
Faced with ironclad evidence, the few nobles who had questioned Jiang Qingli looked extremely grim.
Chi Yun, especially, clenched his fists so tightly his whole body trembled.
'How is this possible?'
'How could this be Jiang Qingli?'
'When did she learn to do this? She's clearly a good-for-nothing piece of trash...'
'But the way she raised her arm looked like she'd practiced it countless times, even more perfectly than me!'
Confusion and helplessness filled Chi Yun's eyes.
Bai Yiyi was the first to react, saying quickly, "That's wonderful! Sister Qingli is innocent!" She breathed a sigh of relief. "I told you so. You can't judge her present just because she's done bad things in the past..."
"Shut up," Jiang Qingli cut her off, pointing her gun at Ling Sheng. "Apologize to me."
"Apologize to you—" Ling Sheng's eyes went wide. "Why should I!"
"So you'd rather get a demerit? I recall that slandering a classmate is also against the rules, right?" Jiang Qingli looked at Ye Linyuan with a sweet smile. "Professor Ye, shouldn't he be disciplined?"
"Cousin!" Ling Sheng's eyes widened in horror, and he hurriedly looked to Ling Qing. "Brother..."
Ling Qing wanted to protect his little brother, but in front of everyone, there was nothing he could do.
If this escalated, it could even end up on the news!
He was in a crucial period of his career and absolutely could not afford any negative press!
Ling Qing gritted his teeth and scolded, "You're being unreasonable. Apologize!"
Ling Sheng knew the situation was irreversible. He reluctantly spat out two words: "I'm sorry."
"Hmm..." Jiang Qingli thought for a few seconds, then said with a beam, "Not accepted."
"You!" Enraged, Ling Sheng advanced on Jiang Qingli.
"Ling Sheng!" Ling Qing knew Jiang Qingli wouldn't let this go. Swallowing his disgust, he said to his brother, "Go get your demerit!"
He shot a dark look at Jiang Qingli. 'Since she can't have me, she resorts to such low-life tactics. What a vicious female!'
-
Ye Linyuan led them to the dean's office.
Jiang Qingli followed behind him, her steps light and cheerful.
The girl's ponytail swayed gently, like the triumphant little tail of a small animal.
With the main parties gone, the crowd lost interest in the drama and dispersed.
Baili Jing squeezed the hand that Jiang Qingli had held, a smile spreading across his face.
"All that effort for nothing," Qin Muye remarked from the side, his arms crossed. His words were laden with meaning. "You came all this way, and she just left with another male."
"It's alright." Baili Jing's smile was very gentle. "Females are always easily attracted by the dazzling world outside."
"But no matter how long you stay in a hotel, it's never as comfortable as home."
Qin Muye: "..."