Chapter 18: Checking the Surveillance

Lu Yiqi nearly jumped out of her seat in anger.

"You’re the one who’s got water in your brain!"

"Quick reflexes, I see."

Wait a minute...

"Didn’t you just say your phone was out of battery?" Lu Yiqi narrowed her eyes, fixing a sharp gaze on Xie Xu.

Xie Xu hesitated. "If I said my phone suddenly revived itself, would you believe me?"

As if!

No one would fall for that.

By this time, classmates were already trickling back into the classroom after lunch. Xie Xu left the table and glanced at Lu Yiqi as he passed her on his way to his seat. "Come with me to the security office after class this afternoon. Let’s check the surveillance footage."

Since it was something important, Lu Yiqi didn’t bother to argue with him. She nodded in agreement. "Alright."

...

As soon as classes were over that afternoon, Chen Ziyi packed up her bag and asked, "Yiqi, do you want to go home together?"

Lu Yiqi really wanted to say yes, but she remembered her promise to Xie Xu and could only shake her head. "No, I’ll walk with Xie Xu later."

"Oh, right, I forgot you two are neighbors." Chen Ziyi tapped her head. "But when did you and Xie Xu become so close?"

Lu Yiqi was suddenly at a loss for words.

How was she supposed to answer that?

She stammered for quite a while, until Xie Xu appeared in front of her with his backpack slung over one shoulder. "Not done packing?"

"Almost finished!" Lu Yiqi replied quickly, then pulled a few books from her desk and stuffed them into her bag, zipped it up, and gave Chen Ziyi an apologetic smile. "Sorry, we’ll head out first."

Chen Ziyi nodded, and Lu Yiqi left the classroom with Xie Xu.

Bathed in the golden glow of sunset, a tall boy walked along the campus path, with a girl a full head shorter beside him. The girl seemed lively, tilting her head up and chattering away to the boy, who listened quietly, occasionally responding with a few words.

"Ziyi just asked a really hard question earlier. Luckily you showed up in time, or I honestly wouldn’t have known how to answer."

"What did she ask you?"

"Uh..." Lu Yiqi paused, her steps slowing. She swallowed hard. "Nothing, really."

"Oh." Xie Xu quickened his pace.

Seeing him suddenly speed up and the gap between them widen, she hurried to catch up. "Hey! Wait for me!"

When the two of them arrived at the security office, the guard, seeing that it was just two students—and one of them an adorably cute and soft-spoken girl—couldn’t help but greet them with a fatherly smile. "What brings you two to the security office?"

Xie Xu answered expressionlessly, "We need to check the surveillance."

The guard’s face immediately changed, his tone growing much more serious. "School surveillance isn’t something you can just look at whenever you want."

Xie Xu was about to say something, but Lu Yiqi, seeing his attitude, knew he wouldn’t handle things gently. She quickly tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to let her do the talking.

Lu Yiqi flashed a smile at the guard. "Uncle, actually, it’s like this..."

She briefly explained the reason they needed to check the footage. On hearing her out, the guard became indignant.

How could such a soft and adorable girl be capable of such a thing? Clearly, she was being falsely accused! Naturally, he couldn’t stand in the way of her proving her innocence.