Bai Tiantian gave Lin Xi’s waist a playful poke. “Your CEO is calling you ‘Xixi.’ Hurry up and go to him.”

Lin Xi was practically shoved forward by her friend. After catching a glimpse of Song Xu’s darkened expression, she realized she had no choice but to walk over and stand by his side.

Song Xu didn’t hesitate. He took her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him on the sofa. “This is my girlfriend, Lin Xi.”

The Principal and Vice Principal nodded in unison. Now, this makes sense. Compared to the previous girl, these two actually looked like a matching pair.

Song Xu draped an arm around Lin Xi’s shoulders, leaning in to brush his nose against her hair. “My Xixi always smells the best. While you weren’t here, some woman insisted on sitting next to me. The stench was unbearable—enough to kill a swarm of flies.”

Lin Xi scanned the room. The only woman who had arrived before her was Liu Ting. Song Xu’s implication was clear: Liu Ting had been harassing him.

She suddenly remembered her “duty.” She was supposed to be acting as his girlfriend specifically to ward off these unwanted advances.

Lin Xi turned a sharp glare toward Liu Ting. “It seems some people aren’t content with just stealing speeches; they’re eager to steal boyfriends, too. Were you born a bandit?”

Liu Ting’s composure shattered. “Lin Xi, who are you talking about?”

“I’m talking to whoever was guilty enough to answer,” Lin Xi countered with a cold snort. “A thief always has a guilty conscience.”

“Who stole your speech?” Encouraged by her uncle’s earlier reassurance, Liu Ting decided to dig her heels in. “Unless you explain yourself clearly today, don’t even think about leaving this room.”

“Do you really need me to tell you whether you wrote that speech yourself?” Lin Xi was tired of people touching her things. She usually avoided conflict, but that didn’t mean she was a pushover.

“You really have a habit of taking what isn’t yours.” Lin Xi felt her momentum was lacking while sitting, so she stood up abruptly.

“First, you tried to claim my grades and my ranking. Then, you stole my orientation speech. And now, you’re shamelessly trying to seduce my boyfriend.”

Lin Xi took a step forward, her voice ringing with authority. “Liu Ting, I admit I’m better than you, but you can’t just keep leavening your life with my hard work. Pick a different target for once.”

Standing off to the side, Bai Tiantian was struggling to suppress her laughter. She hadn’t realized her quiet friend could be so sharp-tongued.

Song Xu watched Lin Xi with a visible look of pride. He was more than satisfied with her performance. He gently pulled her back down to the sofa and rested a hand on her waist. “Don’t be angry, Xixi. The school leadership is reasonable. They’ll see that justice is done.”

The two Principals had already been briefed by the assistant. Between that and the current exchange, they knew they had to provide a definitive resolution.

Liu Ting’s face cycled through a spectrum of white, red, and black. Speechless and humiliated, she turned to Deputy Director Liu and whined, “Uncle, say something!”

Deputy Director Liu was currently paralyzed with fear. The moment he realized Lin Xi was Song Xu’s girlfriend, he knew he had kicked a steel plate.

He had discretely asked the Principal’s assistant about the young man on the sofa and learned that he was the heir to the Huayue Group. In those few seconds of shock, he had failed to stop Liu Ting from digging her hole deeper.

“President Song, I am terribly sorry,” Deputy Director Liu stammered, trying desperately to salvage the situation. “This is all a massive misunderstanding. I was the one who took the speech from Teacher Wang. I thought it was exceptionally well-written, so I sent it to Liu Ting.”

“I only intended for her to use it as a reference. I had no idea she would use the entire thing. It’s my fault for a lack of oversight. I’ll have Liu Ting apologize to Lin Xi immediately.”

The Law School Dean was floored. He grabbed the Deputy Director by the collar. “What did you say? The speech really was Lin Xi’s? Why didn’t you say anything back at the stadium?”

“I… I wanted to explain, but you were in such a hurry to leave, sir,” the Deputy Director lied, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead.

The Dean wanted to punch him, but he forced himself to remain calm. “Since it’s a misunderstanding, I will immediately revoke the disciplinary actions against Lin Xi and her friend.”

He then looked at Teacher Wang, who was standing silently. “Young Wang, you’ve been wronged as well.”

“And you,” the Deputy Director added, trying to find a new scapegoat. “Why didn’t you tell me Lin Xi had such a background? This whole mess could have been avoided!”

Teacher Wang was stunned by his audacity. She wasn’t going to take it anymore. “Director Liu, how can you say that? I chose Lin Xi as the representative because she was the most qualified student, not because of her background.”

“If she had been a student with no connections, would you and your niece have felt any need to apologize? Would you have felt justified in your plagiarism?”

“You—!” Director Liu hadn’t expected a subordinate to snap back in front of the high-ranking officials.

“Uncle! You were the one who gave me the speech and told me to just read it. Why should I have to apologize to her?” Liu Ting cried out, utterly dissatisfied with the shift in narrative.

“Shut up!” the Deputy Director hissed, nearly exploding with rage at his niece’s stupidity.

Song Xu had no interest in watching them bicker. He stood up, pulling Lin Xi with him. “Fine. The truth is out. They’ve admitted the speech belongs to my Xixi. I’ll leave the rest for the Principals to handle.”

“Our demands are simple: a public admission of guilt and a formal apology to Lin Xi before the entire school. As for administrative punishments or job reassignments, that’s for the university to decide.”

“Let’s go, Xixi.” Song Xu led her toward the door.

Lin Xi gave a respectful nod to Teacher Wang. As she passed Bai Tiantian, she grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her along out of the office.

Once they were in the hallway, Bai Tiantian’s gossip instincts kicked in. She stared at the interlaced fingers of Lin Xi and Song Xu. “Xixi… is he really your CEO boyfriend now?”

“Tiantian, actually I—” Lin Xi started to explain, but Song Xu cut her off.

“That’s right,” Song Xu said, sliding his arm around Lin Xi’s shoulder. He firmly pried Lin Xi’s hand away from Bai Tiantian’s and tucked her closer to his side. “And from now on, you aren’t allowed to get too close to her either.”

“Excuse me?” Bai Tiantian’s eyes went wide. She pointed a finger at him. “Are you crazy? I’m a girl! I like men! What do you mean ‘guarding’ her from me?”

Lin Xi looked at him in disbelief. “Brother Xu, you’re joking, right? Tiantian is my best friend.”

“You can be friends,” Song Xu said, his face a mask of cold possessiveness. “But no intimate physical contact. Women these days aren’t exactly reliable either.”

He shot a pointed look at Bai Tiantian. Beyond this girl, there was an even more dangerous one named Jiang Ran. He had to keep a close eye on Lin Xi—he wasn’t just guarding against men anymore, but women as well.