Chapter 98: Chapter 97: A Clear Conscience Fears No Accusation
"Look at her, acting all high and mighty." Vivian Kong rolled her eyes while smirking.
Evelyn Dunn and the others’ gaze fell on that petite and delicate figure.
A slightly chubby girl named Jade raised her voice deliberately, sarcastically saying to the person next to her, "Have you heard? Not only did someone rise to fame by sleeping around, but she also drove her own mother to death."
Vivian Kong chuckled smugly, agreeing, "How could I not have heard? I even suspect that her mother felt so ashamed of her daughter that she couldn’t bear to live anymore."
"Be more confident, don’t doubt it, she definitely did." Jade chimed in.
Bang! The sound of a book slamming onto the wooden table grabbed everyone’s attention.
"Aren’t you tired of it?" At this moment, a girl with glasses stood up from her seat, with a stack of books she slammed onto the desk, unable to bear the sight any longer.
Not only because these people were spreading lies about Elliana Lyle, but they were also disturbing her self-study.
Moreover, the librarian here was completely unbothered.
"Aren’t you tired of it every day? What kind of status does the Lyle family hold in South City? Does she need to sleep around to become a star? If you’re going to gossip, do it outside."
...
"Hello, I’m returning a book." Elliana Lyle politely spoke to the librarian at the counter.
After the librarian completed a series of checks, Elliana turned to leave.
The moment she turned around, the polite smile on her face vanished completely, and her eyes bore an icy frost of anger.
Her gaze landed on Evelyn Dunn and the others who were arguing with the girl wearing glasses.
At this point, the librarian also frowned, speaking up, "No yelling in the library. If you’re going to argue, do it outside."
"Hmph! I didn’t see you come out earlier to manage it." The girl with glasses left in anger, holding her books.
Yet Vivian Kong’s mouth continued to spew insults, and Evelyn Dunn glanced at Elliana, scoffing, "How much did you pay her to speak for you? South City’s Lyle family, a business tycoon? Lying so grandly, was your mother not actually killed in a car accident by you?"
"Rumor and slander hold legal accountability."
Elliana’s voice remained calm. She was never good at arguing with others nor afraid of confrontation, but she wanted to tear Evelyn Dunn’s mouth apart.
"Ha." Evelyn no longer responded, just looked at Elliana with contempt, this being Elliana’s first time responding to her words.
However, Elliana’s angry reaction was precisely what Evelyn desired.
High and mighty, Evelyn and her group barely looked at others except through their noses, as if to say, what can you do to us?
But when Elliana walked toward them, Jade lost her earlier arrogance and slipped behind Evelyn and Vivian.
When Elliana reached Evelyn, the distance between them was close.
Even though Evelyn was taller, she didn’t lose any presence.
"Try saying it again?"
"What? Angry?" Evelyn’s face was full of mocking and smugness, naturally not believing that Elliana could do anything to her.
Elliana suppressed the urge to hit someone and said, "Ignorance is not an excuse for your slanders. If you don’t publicly apologize to me, I will take legal action."
Their every move naturally attracted the attention of others in the library, and although it wasn’t crowded with people in such a setting, quite a few were there because of Elliana.
Slap!
A crisp and loud slap echoed in the entire library.
The sound originated from Elliana’s hand and landed squarely on Evelyn’s face.
"..."
Not only were the onlookers silent and shocked, even Evelyn’s group was stunned.
Evelyn only felt an intense burning on her face and became the subject of many gazes, an embarrassment she had never experienced before...
Furious, Evelyn let out a piercing scream, "Ah―――!"
"Elliana! You dare hit me? You dare hit me!" Amid her shouts, Evelyn clawed towards Elliana.
Even the usually indifferent librarian couldn’t sit still, and several sharp-eyed male students came to break them apart.
Evelyn’s first attack was blocked by Elliana’s elbow, and she smoothly dodged aside.
Falling to the ground, Evelyn still refused to give up, baring her teeth as she got up to pounce on Elliana again, her face enraged and completely losing her usual graceful image.
At this moment, Elliana was protected by several tall male students, preventing Evelyn from making another attempt, while Evelyn was pushed away by the boys!
"..." Evelyn sat on the floor, quickly assisted by Vivian and Jade.
"Get off!" Evelyn shrieked and pushed away those trying to help her. The same guys who usually surrounded her now stood in front of Elliana!
She suddenly had tears in her eyes, bitterly streaming down her cheeks.
"Yun Jie... forget it, let’s go..." Vivian, though pushed away, still had the face to come back and persuade.
"Today I hit you, we’re even for now, but keep your mouth clean in the future! Or else you’ll suffer consequences you can’t afford!" Elliana’s voice was void of emotion, her face incredibly dark.
She usually never cared about gossip, but Evelyn had shifted the talk to her deceased mother and added insults, a line Elliana couldn’t stand.
Evelyn ran out of the library crying, followed by Vivian and the others, while Elliana was surrounded by the gentle concern of several girls.
"I’m alright, thank you."
...
The next day, she came to school as usual, and Evelyn seemed to have learned her lesson, staying away from her the whole day.
Rather than saying she didn’t come to bother, it would be more accurate to say she was nowhere to be found, like she had vanished from the school, a person who loved dressing up and hanging around was suddenly nowhere in sight.
Some classmates who shared a dorm with Evelyn mentioned she cried all day after returning yesterday and sat on the bed playing with her phone in the morning, seemingly planning to hide in the dorm and not come out again.
Such matters didn’t particularly concern anyone, assuming Evelyn was too embarrassed to show herself after the library incident.
Over the next two days, Evelyn still didn’t leave her dorm, but everything on campus remained the same, unaffected by her absence.
On the fourth day, early morning.
Dew hung on the tender green blades of grass, the willow trees by the man-made lake sprouted with new buds, and Elliana went to the library for self-study as usual.
Around nine in the morning, two or three young men in police uniforms arrived at the library, asking the librarian a few questions, who then pointed to where Elliana was seated.
The police officers walked towards Elliana, and she sensed something unusual when she looked up to find three officers standing by her desk.
She removed her earphones and was questioned by one of the officers, "Hello, are you Elliana Lyle?"
"Yes, I am." Elliana looked up at them, a bit confused, but her conscience clear, she harbored no fear.
Facing the police, she remained composed, quietly waiting for their next words.
ps. Five updates tomorrow, five updates tomorrow, five updates tomorrow, some things are worth repeating three times.