"What do you mean attendance is taken, it's only just begun," Li Xiaoxiao whispered. "This professor loves to call out names randomly. You never know when he'll pick a few people, he doesn't follow any pattern at all. It's terrible for anyone who's absent when called!"
No sooner had Li Xiaoxiao finished speaking than the old professor called out, "Sun Zhengbin."
The classroom was deathly silent.
"Sun Zhengbin is not here, is that right?" the professor adjusted the glasses perched on his nose. "Is the class monitor for Accounting Class 3 here?"
"Teacher... I'm here..." The class monitor for Accounting Class 3 was a girl. She stood up, leaning on the edge of her desk.
"Hmm, tell Sun Zhengbin that he doesn't need to come to my class anymore. He'll automatically fail this course and prepare for a make-up exam," the old professor said with a slight cough.
"Hiss..." Everyone gasped, and then silently congratulated themselves for not skipping class today.
"See..." Li Xiaoxiao whispered to Tang Ruiyang. "You'd better behave yourself."
Seeing this, Tang Ruiyang knew he had to give up on his idea of sneaking away. He could only impatiently watch his wristwatch, wondering why time was passing so slowly.
After that, the professor called out a few more names. Everyone was present, and everything proceeded smoothly.
As the class was about to end, the professor finished the last knowledge point of the lecture, closed his book, and said, "There are still a few minutes left, I'll call out a few more names."
Tang Ruiyang looked at his watch, his expression growing more impatient.
"Li Xiaoxiao." The teacher's fingertip traced down the attendance roster.
"Here!" Li Xiaoxiao responded immediately.
"Hmm," the professor nodded, then slid his finger down. "Xia Qingtian."
Hearing this name, Tang Ruiyang immediately responded, "Here."
"Hmm?" The teacher finally looked up in confusion. "Xia Qingtian?"
"Hiss..." Li Xiaoxiao gasped sharply and jabbed Tang Ruiyang hard in the ribs with her elbow, digging into his side.
Caught off guard by the sudden jab, Tang Ruiyang gasped in pain and slumped over his desk, grimacing. He weakly responded with a choked voice, "Here~"
"Hmm? What's going on?" the teacher asked, tilting his head.
"Teacher, Qingtian didn't eat breakfast and has a stomachache," Li Xiaoxiao quickly interjected.
"Oh..." The professor withdrew his gaze and continued looking at the attendance register, muttering, "You should still eat breakfast... You young people don't take care of your bodies now, and it will catch up with you when you're old."
He then called two more names, and the dismissal bell finally rang.
The old professor walked out, holding his notebook and lesson plan.
The students also began to leave, in twos and threes.
"Honestly, Qingtian was almost killed by you. If you're going to impersonate someone, at least be more professional. Does your deep male voice sound like Qingtian's!" Li Xiaoxiao said to Tang Ruiyang with a look of disdain.
Tang Ruiyang lifted his head from the desk, his gaze towards Li Xiaoxiao sharp as knives.
The woman's elbow had struck the spot where Gou Wen had stabbed him earlier. The wound, not yet fully healed, had been sustained solely by his own endurance, as he didn't want to show any weakness in front of Gou Wen, and had managed to hold on until now.
Now, the pain was so intense that he felt completely numb.
If anyone else had dared to treat him like this today, he would have made them bleed from all seven orifices and die without a whole corpse!
"I'm going to find Qingtian for lunch. Are you going to the lab?" Li Xiaoxiao asked casually as she put away her books and slung her backpack over her shoulder.
"Hmph." Tang Ruiyang scoffed, as if he would bother with her. He stood up, clutching his abdomen, and walked out.
"What a pain..." Seeing Tang Ruiyang's cold demeanor, Li Xiaoxiao pouted and decided not to bother with him. She then scurried towards the laboratory.
A few girls who had not yet left the classroom watched Li Xiaoxiao leave. They exchanged a few whispers, then also went out together. However, they did not head towards the cafeteria with the crowd. Instead, they went in the opposite direction, catching up to the teacher who was leaving the classroom for his office and directly reported what had happened, informing him that Xia Qingtian had someone answer for her.
This was a serious matter.
It was sufficient proof that Xia Qingtian was a very unqualified student.
She should be reprimanded and fail the course, be made to prepare for a make-up exam, and ideally, her school awards should be revoked.
This was entirely Xia Qingtian's personal fault. Relying on her wealth, influence, and reputation, she was practicing favoritism. This could be seen as personal moral degradation at best, and at worst, it was a corrupt practice in academia!
For this, a school-wide public reprimand would be considered light.
The old professor adjusted the glasses on his nose, shifting his gaze from the message on his phone to the girls in front of him. "Since you are making such a serious accusation, why didn't you say so in the classroom earlier? Hmm?"
"We... we are..." How could those girls dare to speak in the classroom?
Xia Qingtian might not be present, but Li Xiaoxiao was still there.
If Li Xiaoxiao were to inform Xia Qingtian later, they wouldn't stand a chance against her.
"Teacher, I don't think that's important. What's important is that we're reporting the matter," the leading girl said. She was an acquaintance of Xia Qingtian and Li Xiaoxiao, and was none other than Jiang Yingying, with whom they had had friction multiple times before.
Ever since her previous encounter with Xia Qingtian, which had also caused her counselor to lose face, Jiang Yingying had been afraid to confront Xia Qingtian directly.
After all, Xia Qingtian was not only assertive herself, but Xia's business was also booming.
When she had been bullied by Xia Qingtian last time, losing a spot that should have been hers, she had cried to her parents. Her parents, who had always supported her, had told her to proactively avoid Xia Qingtian's sharp edge!
Listen to that! Was that human talk?
Why should she be the one to tolerate it?
Why was everyone so biased?
Jiang Yingying had never suffered such a grievance in her life, but she wasn't an impulsive fool either. Therefore, she understood the need to protect herself while secretly waiting for an opportunity.
It was just that Xia Qingtian was sophisticated in her dealings and had extensive connections. Not only did the counselor favor her, but two senior professors at the school had also helped her on multiple occasions.
The only fault she could find with Xia Qingtian was her attendance. But since someone was always giving Xia Qingtian preferential treatment, she could only stomp her feet in frustration when trying to cause trouble.
And now, she had finally found an opportunity when Xia Qingtian exposed her weakness. She dared to find someone to answer for her attendance while sitting in such a conspicuous position, and it was in the class of this old stickler who tolerated no imperfections.
Then Xia Qingtian was surely digging her own grave!
She had finally found her chance and was determined to crush Xia Qingtian.
The professor looked at Jiang Yingying and asked, "Are you and Xia Qingtian in the same class?"
"Teacher, isn't that also unimportant..." Jiang Yingying's eyelids twitched. What was going on? The teacher's reaction was not what she had expected. "If you don't believe us, you can check the surveillance cameras at the back of the classroom."
"Mhm, mhm." The other girls nodded vigorously.