Third Person's POV
Melinda's spine stiffened instantly, and she slowly turned her head, her eyes filled with restraint and unease.
She stammered, "Yes... yes."
"Are you from room 317?" the principal asked.
Melinda nodded, wondering why the question was being asked.
"Is Raven from your dormitory?"
"...Yes, she is," Melinda glanced at Raven not far away, a hint of barely noticeable panic flashing in her eyes.
Raven was taken aback, and the principal's gaze followed suit.
"Are you Raven?"
Raven's body tensed, nodding stiffly, her heart lifting with a sense of foreboding.
The principal looked down at the complaint letter in her hand, her expression grave as she said, "We received a report that you fabricated false information and spread it within the school, severely damaging the campus atmosphere and infringing upon a female student's right to reputation." She then placed a flyer with a photoshopped image of Vanya in a compromising position in front of Raven.
Her gaze piercing, she questioned, "Did you do this?"
Seeing the flyer, Raven was struck dumb, her face a canvas of horror and helplessness.
She stammered in explanation, "It's not me! I didn't do it! I didn't do this at all!"
"After investigation, this photo has been photoshopped, and the content spread is not factual. Please cooperate with our investigation."
Hearing the principal's words, Raven tried to defend herself, but Melinda cut her off, saying, "Raven! How could you do such a thing? I know you were trying to stand up for me, but you can't... you can't forge photos and frame others."
Melinda feigned a heartbroken expression, inwardly relieved that she could finally shift the blame.
Raven looked at Melinda in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She was screaming inside, "I didn't do this. Why is Melinda saying that?"
Fawn immediately stepped forward, declaring, "It couldn't have been Raven. We're together all day. She didn't have time to post this on the bulletin board!"
Fawn's eyes were filled with trust and protection for Raven, along with dissatisfaction and suspicion towards Melinda.
"We're giving you a verbal warning this time. If it happens again, we will contact the local police station to handle it."
With that, the principal left the classroom.
Raven felt as if all her strength had been drained, leaning limply against Fawn.
She kept muttering, "I didn't do it... it wasn't me."
Then, Raven lifted her head, her eyes filled with anger and confusion as she looked at Melinda across from her, "Melinda, why did you say that just now?"
"I... I thought you did it..." Melinda's eyes welled up with tears, sobbing.
She tried to appear wronged and innocent, but she couldn't meet Raven's gaze.
Fawn glared at Melinda, her tone scolding and furious, "Melinda, you went too far just now! Do you know that by doing this, you're making everyone think it was Raven?"
With Fawn's rebuke, Melinda's tears flowed like a broken dam.
But in her heart, she thought, 'As long as I can muddle through this, I don't care what you think.'
Raven didn't defend Melinda this time, either. Her heart was filled with disappointment.
Fawn took Raven's hand and said angrily, "Let's go!"
Melinda watched them leave, her face still pale, but she breathed a sigh of relief inside.
She was secretly relieved. 'At least this matter is over, and no one should know that I did it.'
Vanya's POV
The news of the principal's visit to Melinda's class spread through the school like a gust of wind, quickly reaching my ears.
At that moment, I was having a meal in the cafeteria, seeing Wilmot sitting opposite me.
I asked directly, "Are you behind this?"
Wilmot was slurping spaghetti, and upon hearing my words, he looked up.
A bit of cinnamon was still on the corner of his mouth as he replied, "How could I? I wouldn't do such a trivial thing. Besides, it ended up just being a verbal warning. If it were me, I would have made sure she was expelled."
He was right. With Wilmot's temperament, he would either stay put or strike in a way that left the other party defenseless.
"So who did it?" I frowned, full of suspicion.
Logically, if someone wanted to teach Melinda a lesson, they should have targeted her directly.
But the person behind this deliberately threw the dirt at Raven, making a big fuss that ended up being a big show with little outcome.
Raven only received a verbal warning, while Melinda was left unscathed.
At that moment, I saw Derrick walking by with a bread roll in his mouth and a plate of dishes in his hand.
I reached out and grabbed the corner of his shirt. "Stop!"
Derrick turned his head and mumbled, "What?"
"Did you do it?" I asked directly.