"Xia Qingtian was called away from class temporarily, and she had already requested leave," the teacher said, showing the messages on her phone to the girls. "The notice was sent directly to me from the academic affairs office. If you have any questions, you can approach them."
Seeing the information on the teacher's phone, the girls' faces immediately turned sour.
Was Xia Qingtian that resourceful?
Even the academic affairs office helped her?
It was so hateful.
"Since, since that's the case, then perhaps we misunderstood," Jiang Yingying said unwillingly, clenching her fist at her side. She could only give up, hoping to find a new opportunity after lying low. "We won't bother you any further, teacher. Goodbye."
With that, the girls fled as if escaping, afraid the teacher would ask for their class and names.
She really couldn't believe that Xia Qingtian could even manage the academic affairs office. So what if she was rich and powerful?!
And she still had the audacity to call herself a teacher!
Bah!
Perhaps the teacher was only strict with ordinary students like them, and who knew what kind of person she was behind their backs! What if she betrayed them later?
What would they do then?
Thinking of this, Jiang Yingying and her companions ran even faster.
"They sure are fast to run away," the teacher said, watching the retreating backs of the girls and shaking her head with a smile. "If only they put this kind of scheming into their studies, how wonderful it would be..."
Meanwhile, Professor Tang learned that Xia Qingtian had gone to the laboratory to see Gou Wen instead of attending class.
Professor Tang, busy as ever, only glanced up at her and scolded, "Nonsense."
Xia Qingtian stuck out her tongue, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She had actually intended to go to class, but seeing Tang Ruiyang's state...
"I'll help you explain to the academic affairs office this time," Professor Tang said, taking out her phone. "Really, you should skip class less for things like this in the future! Get those two little muddled eggs over here, I have something to tell them!"
"Okay, Professor Tang," Xia Qingtian replied and walked towards the partitioned area.
At this moment, in the partitioned room, Da Ya and Er Ya were sitting on the bed playing cards. Perhaps it was the telepathy between twins, or perhaps it was because both sisters wore their thoughts on their sleeves, but they had been playing a game of "Chou Wang Ba" for nearly half an hour.
Gou Wen leaned against the side, bored and with unfocused eyes, seemingly contemplating how she had ended up in such a state.
Upon seeing Xia Qingtian, Gou Wen's gaze sharpened. She looked at Xia Qingtian and said, "You came quite quickly."
"I was actually thinking of coming over after lunch," Xia Qingtian said with a smile as she walked in. As she passed Da Ya, she casually drew a card from Er Ya's hand for the hesitant Da Ya.
"Ah!" Er Ya shrieked.
"I win~" Da Ya happily cackled, matching the single card in her hand. "I won, I won~"
"It doesn't count! Qingtian drew it! She cheated for you! It doesn't count!" Er Ya protested. "This round doesn't count! Let's play again! Qingtian, you're not allowed to help her!"
"Next time," Xia Qingtian said. "Professor Tang wants to see you."
Hearing that Professor Tang wanted to see them, Da Ya and Er Ya nudged each other and happily went out with smiles.
Only Gou Wen and Xia Qingtian were left in the small partitioned room.
Xia Qingtian sat opposite Gou Wen and said with a smile, "Is your wound healing well?"
"It's alright," Gou Wen replied. "How is she...?"
"My uncle has been with her all along," Xia Qingtian said, guessing that Gou Wen was asking about Yu Zixuan when she heard her mention her. "She's quite stable emotionally."
"She's getting married next month," Gou Wen's gaze shifted slightly. "When she played house as a child, she loved being the bride. She always wanted me to play with her, with her as the bride and me as her bridesmaid..."
Xia Qingtian didn't reply, just looked at Gou Wen calmly.
"I didn't ask you here for any other reason," Gou Wen said, taking a deep breath as if waking from a memory. "I can't help organize her wedding, and I can't be her bridesmaid anymore, but I can still prepare a gift. Please help me give it to her. It would be the last thing I, as her sister... can do for her."
"Last?" Xia Qingtian looked at Gou Wen, her eyes filled with confusion. "Didn't Professor Tang say that if the experiment is successful, your poison can also be cured?"
"It has nothing to do with the poison," Gou Wen said, her lips curving upwards. "As long as I'm alive, the organization will never relax its vigilance on her. If she wants to leave the organization, it will be even harder."
Xia Qingtian opened her mouth, then slowly closed it again.
What Gou Wen said was realistic. Any attempt to achieve a win-win situation now seemed too idealistic.
It was practically impossible.
"I want to see her get married," Gou Wen said, her nose feeling a bit sore. "Just one glance is enough."
She looked at Xia Qingtian, took a deep breath, and said, "You have to help me."
"This is not easy," Xia Qingtian said frankly.
Just as Gou Wen had said before, now that Gou Wen had betrayed the organization, they would definitely be keeping a close eye on Yu Zixuan.
If Gou Wen appeared by Yu Zixuan's side, she would be immediately eliminated.
They had already decided to lose Gou Wen, a capable operative, and they couldn't lose Lan Ling.
Absolutely, they could not let Lan Ling know Gou Wen's identity, nor could they let these sisters recognize each other.
The organization had only cultivated a few useful talents over the years, which showed how difficult it was.
"You will find a way," Gou Wen looked at Xia Qingtian and said. "I just want to see her once at her wedding, just once, and then I can die with peace. I had prepared a fake identity beforehand, one that the organization doesn't know about. I originally planned to use that identity to leave the organization and take my sister to a place no one knows to start our lives anew once I found her. Now it seems, I cannot go to that place, but she can."
Gou Wen spoke as if settling her affairs. "At that time, I will give Tang Ruiyang an opportunity to gain merit."
"Tang Ruiyang?" Xia Qingtian recalled Tang Ruiyang's expression and demeanor, her lips turning down. "Do you think he would care about such an opportunity?"
"He is a pitiable person," Gou Wen said, lowering her eyes when speaking of Tang Ruiyang. "He is a genuine member of the Tang family, and that identity is not false. Unlike the other children in the organization, Tang Ruiyang was sent by his father back then, as a gift of surrender and as a testament to his resolve to join the organization. His father was a philanderer with many illegitimate children; sending away an eldest son in plain sight to show loyalty was not a loss for him. But for Tang Ruiyang, that was his only father..."
Gou Wen felt the child was pitiful back then, so she offered him extra guidance. However, Tang Ruiyang was just a mischievous kid, and she was only a teenage girl herself, leading a group of children. Watching them repeat what she had gone through, even with sympathy, she was powerless. Children without parents are as insignificant as blades of grass. This saying was absolutely true. Every month someone died, and Tang Ruiyang was the only one who survived until the end. It was both luck and misfortune.