Signal

After evening classes ended, Hesta once again came to the ninth floor of Wenhui Building. Molly's office was still closed. She stood before the tightly shut door for a while, then left without a word.

She longed to see Molly and hear his thoughts on the matter firsthand. She wanted to ask whether he knew about the supervisory team's actions that afternoon... and whether he agreed with them.

As she left Wenhui Building, Cheng Xiaoshu caught up with her.

"Jane!"

Hesta turned around. "Xiaoshu?"

"I remembered you had class here tonight," Cheng Xiaoshu said as she ran up beside Hesta. "As soon as I got out of class, I went to your classroom, but I waited forever and never saw you... Did I get the place wrong?"

"Did you need something?"

"I wanted to explain why I withdrew the complaint, I..."

"Lin Jiao already told me." Hesta looked at her. "Did Zuo Wentao cause you any trouble afterward?"

Cheng Xiaoshu shook her head. Her throat moved slightly as her gaze dropped. "I... I've been thinking these past two days..."

Cheng Xiaoshu's words hung in the air. After waiting a moment, Hesta suddenly took her by the arm. "Let's talk while we walk."

The two wandered aimlessly along the tree-lined paths of the campus, but Cheng Xiaoshu could never find the right opening. She could tell Hesta did not mean to blame her, yet she still desperately wanted Hesta's forgiveness. The conflict between those feelings tormented her, and she had no power to resolve it—at first, she had only wanted to offer a few words of explanation for her helpless cowardice, but now she found a hint of hypocrisy in her own words and actions.

Hesta stretched as she walked. Seeing that Cheng Xiaoshu would not speak, she brought up what