Chapter 75 Chapter 75
Grace couldn't care less. She felt a mix of relief and triumph at having escaped the jaws of the wolf. Before stepping out, she turned back and said, "Fine, I'll be waiting."
Though Grace spoke defiantly, she moved quickly. She opened the front door and walked out, only daring to breathe easier once she started the car and drove down the driveway and out of the neighborhood.
It was still early, and traffic wasn't too heavy yet. Although she appeared focused on driving, her mind had already wandered far away. She was entirely occupied with figuring out how to deliver the items to Mrs. Meyer. Same-day courier services were available, but she wasn't comfortable with that option. Besides, she had some matters to discuss with Mrs. Meyer, and phone conversations never seemed a good option.
Distracted, she nearly rear-ended the car in front of her at an intersection. Slamming on the brakes, she barely managed to stop. Before she could wipe away the cold sweat, her phone rang. Flustered, she answered without checking the caller ID. "Hello?"
"Grace, it's me," said a close colleague. "Where are you right now?”
"On my way," Grace replied. "Almost at the school."
"Um...something happened at school," her colleague stammered, sounding unnatural. "It seems like someone's targeting you. You should brace yourself.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What happened?”
"Someone posted your poster on the bulletin board." The colleague answered.
Whether she was prepared or not made little difference. The posters had long been removed from the bulletin board, but their contents had already spread far and wide. Whether the rumors were about an "illicit teacher-student affair" or "being kept by a wealthy man," they were absolutely nerve-wracking, especially considering the woman involved was married.
From the moment Grace parked her car until she entered the office, she was met with countless stares. Even those who had greeted her warmly before looked away awkwardly now, pretending not to see her.
Some people were already in the office, gathered together and whispering. When they saw her enter, they fell silent and turned their heads in unison to look at her. Their gazes settled on her; each expression was different. Perhaps accustomed to such scenes, Grace managed a smile in their direction before walking impassively to her desk and sitting down.
A whistleblower letter lay on her desk. She picked it up, glanced at it, and looked up, asking, "I’m just curious—I heard an enlarged version was posted on the bulletin board outside the building. If anyone knows who took it down, please let me know. I need it."
The colleague who usually got along well with her hesitated before stepping forward. "It was that boy from your class. I think his name is Nathan.”
Grace thanked him, grabbed her bag, and headed to the exam room to proctor. Halfway there, she called Nathan. As soon as he answered, she cut straight to the point. "What happened to the papers you tore down from the bulletin board?"
Nathan's voice was taut, ready to snap like a bowstring. "Ms. Hill, rest assured, I'll find out who did this."
Grace frowned. "I'm asking where those things are."
"I tore them up and threw them away," Nathan replied. He had been furious when he saw them, pushing through the crowd to rip down every single poster and shred them before tossing the pieces straight into the trash.
When he heard no response from Grace after a moment, he realized he might have gone too far. His voice trembled with anxiety. "Ms. Hill? Are you angry?”
Grace was furious. Those papers were evidence—how could he just throw them away? Yet, she managed to suppress her anger and replied coolly, "Focus on your exam first. We'll talk about this later." She paused, then added reassuringly, "Don't worry about it. I'll handle it."
With that, she hung up.
She proceeded to proctor the exam as usual, stealing a moment to lie on the lectern alone. She pulled out the anonymous accusation letter and examined it closely. The letter specifically named her and Nathan, yet it failed to detail any concrete incidents. Instead, it pointed to a wealthy man named Norman, alleging that they frequented places of vice and lived corrupt, degenerate lives.
Grace couldn't help but snort coldly. If they knew the surname "Norman," how could they not know Benjamin's full name? Clearly, the sender knew Benjamin was a force to be reckoned with and dared only to make a vague reference to a wealthy man.
She didn't dwell on who might have done this. She had neither the energy nor the inclination.
She dared not provoke Benjamin, but this matter held little fear for her. Had Nathan not torn down and discarded that big-character poster, she would have used it as evidence to report the incident directly to the university security office.
Now, with only these few accusatory letters, she was at a loss. For the time being, she could only hold her ground and wait for developments.
During lunch, Grace slipped away to send Mrs. Meyer a local express delivery. After waiting past the scheduled delivery time, she called Mrs. Meyer from a payphone outside the exam hall. Only after confirming that the package had arrived did she feel slightly relieved. They exchanged a few more words before Grace hung up.
Returning to her office, she ignored the stares and went about her tasks, focusing on two things. First, she needed to buy another phone to facilitate communication. Second, she had to find another opportunity to meet with Mrs. Meyer. She felt uneasy. Even if the fingerprint matched, relying solely on a single fingerprint left behind years ago to convict Benjamin was too risky.
Benjamin, Benjamin... Every time she wrote his name, her hand would tighten involuntarily, nearly gouging the paper with the pen tip.
Grace was lost in thought when her class monitor rushed in from outside, calling out, "Ms. Hill, you need to come see this! Nathan's in trouble again!"
The mere mention of his name now gave her a headache. She crumpled the scribbled paper into a ball and tossed it into the wastebasket. Rising with irritation, she motioned for the monitor to follow her out. Only once they reached the hallway did she ask, "What happened?"
The class monitor cautiously glanced at her and replied, "He got into a fight and was taken away by the school security office."
The cause was simple; it stemmed from the poster incident that morning. Nathan had convinced himself that two girls from the neighboring class were responsible. He confronted them, and as they argued, things escalated. Nathan didn't hit the girls, but he ended up fighting the boyfriend of one of them, who rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
This wasn't a minor incident. Several boys and girls were taken to the school security office together.
Grace gritted her teeth in frustration. She really wanted to stay out of it, but now that the matter had reached the security office, the department would soon find out. Whether she got involved or not was no longer her choice. Sure enough, as soon as the class monitor finished explaining the situation, the advisor from the neighboring class emerged from her office. She gave Grace an awkward glance and said, "Ms. Hill, the department wants us both to go to security. It seems there was a student fight.”
Grace forced a smile and replied, "All right."
She accompanied her colleague to the campus security office. By the time they brought out the two boys with black eyes and bruised faces, along with several girls, it was dark outside. No blame was assigned. Both parties were simply instructed to write self-criticisms. Nathan tried several times to speak to Grace, but she ignored him. Only after her colleague led her students away did she turn to him with a frosty stare. "Nathan," she said, "there's nothing more unforgivable in this world than stupidity."
Nathan's face flushed crimson; he was too flustered to speak.
Grace had no desire to argue further. She shot him a cold glance before turning and walking away.
The office was now empty. Grace opened the door and sat alone at her desk, lost in thought. After an unknown amount of time, she heard a soft knock at the door. Distracted, she responded absently and paid little attention until the person stood before her desk and remained silent for a long moment. Only then did she look up in surprise. It was Benjamin.
Seeing her stunned expression, he raised an eyebrow and smiled lightly. "What are you thinking about? You were so deep in thought that you wouldn't have noticed if a bad guy walked in.”
His words made Grace pause, and she couldn't help but chuckle. Wasn't he the bad guy?
Her laughter made Benjamin realize how awkward his words were. A rare flicker of embarrassment crossed his face. "What are you doing? Why haven't you gone back yet?"
He asked with feigned nonchalance, but something caught his attention. He gave a soft "Hmm" and pulled the blank sheet of paper from in front of her. He examined the faint traces of writing on it.
Grace had a habit of scribbling randomly on paper when she was deep in thought. However, she hadn't been pondering anything important earlier. The sheet in front of her was still blank—what was there to see? She froze at first, then remembered what she'd written on the previous page. A buzzing sensation filled her head, and her mind was blank.