Chapter 23 Chapter 23: A Tragedy
Time ticked away second by second and soon the inspection team arrived at the door of Dorm 330.
There were about seven or eight people. The dorm supervisor auntie, staff from the school’s logistics and security departments, a female student from the Biochemistry Student Union, and a female teacher from the Student Affairs Office.
As they entered, Dorm 330 instantly turned solemn and tense. Just a moment ago it had felt like a quiet countryside stream in spring. Now it was transformed into a battlefield cold enough to claim a chieftain’s head.
“You probably already know the situation. To ensure such vile incidents never happen again, the academy will conduct a full inspection of every dorm in this building. Do you have any objections?”
The female teacher spoke directly.
Who would dare object. Su Yuan and the others forced smiles. “Teacher, please rest assured. We also want that immoral person caught. Please search freely.”
Gao Jun spoke boldly, his tone almost heroic. Su Yuan and Ji Yehao quickly echoed him, showing full cooperation. Their attitude left no room for criticism.
The teacher nodded with approval. She thought this dorm was commendable, unlike others that resisted. If nothing was found here, she would make sure to praise them and perhaps even recommend them for recognition.
The search began. The student union girl took charge. She first checked the bathroom. It was fresh and clean, leaving a good impression of Dorm 330. Then she opened the large cabinet. With help from staff, she pulled down a bedding bag. Zip. Inside were plain bedding items. No problem.
Next came the shoe cabinets, wardrobes, drawers, and small lockers.
Su Yuan kept a faint smile. Seeing that no one noticed the bedding bag on top of her wardrobe, she breathed a sigh of relief.
So far everything seemed fine.
Shoes in the shoe cabinet.
Drawers messy but nothing improper.
Small locker empty except for a router box.
Now the wardrobe. Su Yuan felt confident. She had already transferred the incriminating bundles. Inside were only clothes. Nothing else. Yet she sensed she had forgotten something.
Suddenly she remembered the medicine she had bought from the hospital. Her face stiffened. “Oh no.” She prayed they would not recognize the medical names.
The female teacher checked Su Yuan’s wardrobe. At first she found it tidy. Moving aside folded clothes, she noticed a plastic bag with a red cross symbol containing several boxes of medicine. The feared moment did not happen. She casually set it aside.
“Whew.” Su Yuan exhaled, laughing at her own overreaction.
But then her pupils shrank. She saw it. Beside the plastic bag lay a white strap. White lace. Looking closely, one could even see a small rounded piece.
Her heart froze. She had cleared everything, yet one stray piece remained. This was a trap.
From afar she could see it clearly. The teacher could not possibly miss it.
If examined further, the evidence would be exposed. She was doomed.
The teacher pulled the strap. Out came a lace bra buried in the clothes.
Cold sweat poured down Su Yuan’s back. She cursed inwardly. “That twisted fiend. Not only did he plant bundles of underwear in my wardrobe, he even left a ticking time bomb.”
“Whose wardrobe is this?” The teacher turned, her face unreadable.
All eyes fell on Su Yuan. Ji Yehao and Gao Jun thought the teacher had found something else incriminating.
Su Yuan wanted to cry. She timidly raised her hand. The teacher’s gaze was sharp, making her feel utterly ashamed.
To her surprise, the teacher did not announce the discovery. She simply looked at Su Yuan and said, “I noticed your dorm has only three bedding bags. There should be four. Is the missing one yours?”
Su Yuan wanted to feign ignorance, but the teacher’s piercing eyes forced her to admit it. She nodded.
“Where is your bag?”
Su Yuan fell silent. She felt doomed anyway. She pointed to the storage spot. If death was coming, she would face it with resolve.
The bag was taken down. The girl who carried it frowned. “What is inside. It is so heavy.”
Ji Yehao grew anxious. He quickly explained. “It is equipment and bedding.”
The zipper was opened. Inside were indeed instruments, wires, toolboxes, and bedding. The girl exclaimed. “No wonder it is heavy. So many random things.”
Gao Jun added, “Those are mine. I had nowhere else to put them, so I stored them here.”
Everyone nodded in understanding. With so much clutter, they did not check carefully. The dorm passed inspection.
“This dorm is fine. Next one.” The team marked Dorm 330 and moved on.
After the others left, the female teacher approached Su Yuan. She studied her for a few seconds and said, “Come to the Student Affairs Office at four this afternoon. I have something to discuss with you.”
Su Yuan’s face darkened. She thought bitterly. Even if she was not branded the underwear thief, she would at least be labeled as abnormal.
Thankfully the teacher spared her dignity by not exposing the discovery publicly. Otherwise her innocence would be impossible to prove.
“Su Yuan, why look so unhappy. The inspection team is gone. You should be glad.” Gao Jun said.
She forced a smile uglier than crying. From her wardrobe she pulled out the lace bra. “That teacher told me to meet her later. She wants to talk.”
“Ah”
“Ah”
Seeing the bra in her hand, Ji Yehao and Gao Jun widened their eyes. Their faces twisted as they tried not to laugh. They knew Su Yuan was truly in trouble. The big disaster had passed, but a smaller one had landed squarely on her.
“Su Yuan, think carefully about how to explain to the teacher.”
“At least it was not exposed in front of everyone.”
“Stop joking. I am worried enough.”
Yes, Su Yuan was troubled. How would she explain at the Student Affairs Office.
...
At four in the afternoon, Su Yuan arrived at the Student Affairs Office. She paced at the stairwell, hesitating for a long time. Finally she took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Inside were two desks. At one sat the female teacher from earlier, surnamed Wang. At the other sat Su Yuan’s class advisor, Instructor Qin.
Seeing Su Yuan enter, Teacher Wang and Instructor Qin ended their conversation. They gestured for her to sit before them, adopting the posture of interrogation and education.
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