Madame is Pretending to be an Academic Slacker Again!

Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Are You a Traitor?

Qin Xin glanced at Huo Zhen without asking or exposing his emotional change, and instead poured him a bowl of calming and sleep-inducing soup: ”Xiangxiang made a lot today, don’t waste it, drink up.”

Ao Xinghao looked enviously: ”Xin, I also want some soup.”

He acted like a child competing for attention!

Qin Xin was speechless: ”Xiangxiang, grab him a bowl of the two-yuan winter melon soup from the cafeteria!”

Xiangxiang suppressed her laughter: ”Okay!”

Ao Xinghao let out a wail that even made Song Anjing, who had been gloomy earlier, laugh.

In the midst of laughter, it was Hu Yi who carefully noticed Huo Zhen’s odd mood: ”Hey, kid, why are you sulking? You were third in frog dissection earlier, right? Your rabbit cutting skills were pretty slick too, third place as well? Even better than Qin Wenrou, what’s there to be upset about? I’m down in third-to-last place, did I complain...”

He had been watching every move that Qin Xin made, leaving no room for his own experiments.

Huo Zhen stayed silent, burying his head even lower.

The atmosphere at the table became a bit tense.

Hu Yi felt something was off: ”Hey, earlier when we came in, the person you ran into and spoke with was Feng Liang, right? That old fart, he’s always deliberately making things difficult for us on the field, could he have told you something shady, making you act as an insider to sabotage our competition results?”

Growing more cautious, Hu Yi sprang up, slamming the table with force.

Unfortunately, his attempt to mimic Qin Xin ended up more like a bungled effort; the table remained steady while his hand throbbed in pain.

”Hu Yi. Sit down,” Qin Xin said coldly.

Then, she swept her gaze across everyone: ”There’s no need for infighting among us. Trust is the minimum requirement.”

Hu Yi promptly sat down, though he still harbored suspicions about Huo Zhen, muttering softly: ”Sister Xin, I get your logic. But I just can’t figure out why a grown man would be so coy, one is one, two is two, if he hasn’t done anything against our group, just say so! What’s with the silence?”

His words seemed reasonable, prompting everyone to look at Huo Zhen.

Huo Zhen’s expression was strange, head still buried, silent and without defense, appearing odd.

Until Qin Xin gently tapped his shoulder: ”It’s okay, no need to talk if you don’t want to.”

Only then did Huo Zhen slowly raise his head, his eyes slightly red, and muttered: ”He used to tutor me... extra classes.”

He was referring to Feng Liang.

”So he’s your tutor, huh, bro should’ve said it earlier, I wouldn’t have misunderstood you then. I get chatting with your teacher when you see them,” Hu Yi’s temper flared up and subsided quickly, soon treating Huo Zhen as a buddy again.

Ao Xinghao, chewing on a straw, grinned mischievously: ”Feng Liang, that old guy, really has an eye for money, taking a professor’s stipend while moonlighting as a tutor... must charge a fortune, right?”

Huo Zhen nodded.

Ao Xinghao continued: ”Tsk, I knew it! Greedy old man! Steer clear of him from now on.”

Hu Yi added: ”Same here, I hate those money-grubbing jerks when choosing friends.”

The boys lacked sensitivity.

Instead, Song Anjing and Xiangxiang exchanged glances, seemingly recalling something.

Yet, Qin Xin quickly shot them a look, signaling them not to reveal it publicly.

They obediently kept their thoughts bottled up.

The meal, filled with bickering and laughter, ended quickly.

During evening self-study, Qin Xin took a moment to message Hong Jingtian: ”Check something for me.”

Hong Jingtian replied: ”Report QUEEN, your most faithful cutie is on-site, checking the Ice Lake surveillance for you...”

Qin Xin: ”How’s the situation?”