Chapter 25

At the Riverside Institute of Technology, behind the small playground on the back mountain, behind a row of huge palm trees.

“Slap!” A loud slap echoed. Immediately after, an angry voice shouted, "Good, very good, you actually found someone to frame the woman I like! Fortunately, this time it didn't cause an irreparable mess, or I wouldn't have let you off easily!"

Still seething with anger, Peng Jie kicked a pebble at his feet, sending it flying over ten meters away.

Xiao Pang looked at Peng Jie, who was glaring at him, with a委屈 (grievance) on his face, and hurriedly explained, "Brother Peng, I did this for your own good."

A flash of surprise crossed Peng Jie's eyes as he asked, "For my own good? For my own good, you set up a frame to make the woman I like look bad?"

"It's not like that, Brother Peng, you misunderstood me."

Peng Jie waved his hand impatiently, "What exactly happened? Explain it clearly to me."

Xiao Pang, holding his sore cheek, hissed and said, "Brother Peng, wasn't I trying to reduce your competition? Think about it, if Su Yuan, that guy... no, that girl, were to be confirmed as the underwear thief, her reputation would be damaged. People would look at her differently, and no other men would compete with you for her."

"So you did this for my own good?" Peng Jie asked, squinting his eyes.

"Of course! I, Xiao Pang, always act for Brother Peng's benefit, without any selfish motives!" To frame Su Yuan, it was impossible to have no selfish motives. The ugly label of "underwear thief" would be enough to make the Su kid's life miserable.

"You fool!!" Peng Jie raised his hand to strike again, but Xiao Pang quickly dodged.

"Brother Peng, was what I did wrong?"

"Absolutely wrong!" Peng Jie gritted his teeth. "Is there a more absurd and ridiculous idea than yours? Did you think about it? She's a girl. If you force her and try to pin the label of underwear thief on her, what if she decides to reveal that she's a girl? Do you think this would help me or just cause me more trouble?"

Xiao Pang was stunned, "Brother Peng, did I really do something wrong?"

"Wrong to the extreme!"

From Xiao Pang's perspective, he believed Su Yuan was a boy, so his plan was based on that assumption. If the label of "underwear thief" were pinned on her, she would have no way to argue, thus avenging his personal grudge and clearing the way for Peng Jie.

But Peng Jie couldn't agree. He believed Su Yuan was a girl, and Xiao Pang's actions were a self-destructive move. He now understood the meaning of the saying, "I'm not afraid of a god-like opponent, but I am afraid of a pig-like teammate."

"But she's clearly a boy, why would she admit she's a girl?" Xiao Pang was puzzled, scratching his head.

"Fortunately, the underwear thief incident didn't involve her." Peng Jie glanced at Xiao Pang, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one for himself. "By the way, where did you find your helper, and why didn't the 'perfect' plan work?"

Ignoring Xiao Pang's incompetence, Peng Jie began to doubt his ability to handle things.

Xiao Pang was also puzzled and said innocently, "That person I found from the streets, and it took some effort to find him. Do you remember the incident last year when girls' underwear was stolen from the dormitory?"

Peng Jie took a puff of his cigarette and said, "You mean, that person was the underwear thief at the time?"

"That's right!"

"Good job, you've got some guts!" Peng Jie said, not sure if he was praising or criticizing him.

"Tell me, how did you instruct him?"

Xiao Pang was eager to show off in front of Peng Jie, his small eyes squinting into slits as he chuckled, "It was actually quite simple. The day before, I had him go into the girls' dormitory to steal the girls' underwear. When Su Yuan and the others went to class, I had him secretly put the underwear in Su Yuan's wardrobe. Then, he went back to the girls' dormitory to steal more underwear, this time to draw the girls' attention and lead them to Building 17."

Peng Jie nodded.

Worried, he asked, "Wouldn't he be exposed?"

Xiao Pang confidently replied, "Don't worry, he's a seasoned criminal, he knows what he's doing."

As they spoke, they noticed a commotion on the nearby pedestrian path. A group of girls was parading a thin man, and some girls were throwing stones at him to vent their anger. If it were ancient times, they would have thrown rotten eggs.

Peng Jie blew a smoke ring and asked curiously, "What's going on? Go check it out."

Xiao Pang, also surprised, watched as the "criminal" was clearly visible. He suddenly became nervous and stammered, "Brother Peng, that... that person being paraded, it seems to be the underwear thief we just talked about."

The cigarette in Peng Jie's mouth fell to the ground, and he slapped Xiao Pang, "Didn't you just guarantee that he wouldn't be exposed?"

"Brother Peng, I didn't expect this to happen!" Xiao Pang was on the verge of tears. Not only was he worried about the consequences, but he was also upset about leaving a bad impression on Peng Jie.

Kicking Xiao Pang, Peng Jie said angrily, "Clean up the mess immediately. I don't want this to involve us."

"Brother... Brother Peng, you can rest assured. He has a sense of brotherhood. He was paid, and he won't say anything."

Just then, the thin man looked up and saw Xiao Pang behind the palm trees. Xiao Pang, short and round like a ball, was easily recognizable.

"Slap!" Another small stone hit his forehead. He cried out in pain and shouted, "It was him, that person paid me to do it, I didn't intend to steal girls' underwear!"

"Quick, catch those two, they're the masterminds!" the leading girl shouted.

"Damn, this is the brotherhood you talked about? Run!!" Peng Jie glared at Xiao Pang and ran away.

"My God!!" Xiao Pang knew this couldn't be resolved peacefully. Peng Jie could run away, but with his distinctive appearance, he had no chance of escaping.

The girls, like angry hens, surrounded Xiao Pang and started punching and kicking his round body.

---

Stepping lightly, Su Yuan's mood was good after leaving the Student Affairs Office. When she reached Building 17, she received even better news.

"What, the underwear thief was caught?" she asked, her eyes wide and bright.

Gao Jun nodded, "Yes, don't forget there are cameras near the flower beds at the bottom of our dormitory building. The girls, unsatisfied with the search, asked the security office to check the surveillance footage. They could vaguely see a figure."

"Initially, they thought the footage wouldn't help, but unexpectedly, they found the culprit. Just now, Ye Hao went down and saw a suspicious guy near the dormitory. When he got closer, it turned out to be the guy who almost knocked you down at the stairwell. Ye Hao kicked him and caught him."

"Later, the girls came back and took him away. It turns out the guy was there to check his 'work,' but he met Ye Hao and was caught red-handed."

Su Yuan nodded, realizing there were too many coincidences. But regardless, she was grateful to Ye Hao.

"By the way, where's Ye Hao?"

"Oh, he was called by Class Advisor Qin."

Su Yuan was taken aback. Her intuition told her that Ye Hao being called by Class Advisor Qin was related to her. But she remembered that Teacher Wang and Class Advisor Qin had promised to keep her secret. They wouldn't betray her so quickly.

She knew that since Class Advisor Qin and Teacher Wang were aware of her "situation," she couldn't stay in the boys' dormitory—she couldn't stay for long.

The two teachers were also worried about any accidents. They could accommodate her for a while, but they wouldn't allow her to stay in the boys' dormitory indefinitely, as they couldn't bear the responsibility.