Chapter 18
The week passed very quickly. Eventually Mo Li had to face the reality that she had to return to school. At this moment, Mo Li’s hit and run was still the hottest topic on both the school forum and the parent group chat. The fact that Mo Li didn’t go to school for a week didn’t not help either. People believed it was because she had been expelled, and why would she if she was not the culprit?
“See, I told you, it was her!”
“She drove into her own brother? Is her heart made of stone? Poor Mo Zheng who has to face this tragedy because of her.”
“I bet it’s because of shame that she didn’t come back to school. Then again she would only be walking into the shark tank if she did.”
“My mom is part of the parents’ committee, she said that Mo Li hasn’t been expelled! The only reason is Mo Family’s monetary donation to the school!”
“Mo Family has had some outstanding and handsome men in their lineage, it’s hard to imagine that this Mo Li is part of that gene pool.”
“You’re absolutely right. She’s definitely the black sheep of the family. They should just disown her!”
On the way to school, Mo Li browsed through the school forum. She was quite a popular character. Just as she pondered what she could do to turn this situation around, she received an email.
Dr. S: ‘When do you think we can meet? Your research will be very important to us, but we can’t confirm the authenticity of your claims through just emails. We need to arrange an interview as soon as possible.’
Mo Li pondered for a moment before she replied, ‘We are not going to meet in person any time soon. This is the information that I can give you for now. If you question their validity, we will have to terminate this cooperation.’
The fact that she was a minor was quite troublesome. If only she could tell her family what she was really doing, but then it would be too drastic a change from the original Mo Li. If people knew that she was that knowledgable about the human central nervous system, there would be questions. She couldn’t just publish her knowledge online either, because she had no avenue and credentials, people would only suspect that she had stolen these research results, or even worse, someone might claim her research results as their own.
‘I’m sure we can talk this over. We need a more accessible channel of communication, it’ll be beneficial for us both.’
Mo Li narrowed her eyes at this reply. All these people in their ivory towers wanted the best result with the least amount of effort put in. If they really valued Mo Li’s research, they could have offered to co-author her research material or even introduced her to the editors of medical journals. But this person did not mention a word about that at all. Clearly, they only treated Mo Li as a tool to prolong their careers. This was the exact kind of person that Mo Li knew to avoid and be careful of.
Mo Li replied tersely, ‘I have to go now.’
The person responded with, ‘Okay, we will keep in touch through emails then.’
When everything was said and done, Mo Li arrived at the school gate. She stuffed her laptop into her bag and got out of the car.
In her former life, her study life had always been solitary. Now that she was thrown into this environment, it would be lying to say that Mo Li was not nervous. The threat of bullying on the school forum did not calm her nerves either. The sun was blinding but its rays were warm.
1
As soon as she appeared, she immediately caused a huge sensation. Thanks to the narration around her hit and run, she was now seen as the evil supporting character in novels, dramas and stories. She was the quintessential villain.
As she walked through the school corridor, she could feel a gauntlet of eyes on her, and most of them were unkind.
After all, there were Mo Zheng’s fans among the students, and their hatred towards Mo Li was pointed and sharp.
At that moment, Qiao Qing arrived at school riding her bicycle. The people immediately rushed forward to surround her.
“Qing Qing, how is our brother’s recovery going?”
“Qiao Qing! I’m sure you knew that Mo Li has returned to school as well. You have such a good relationship with the Mo family. Do you know how did she manage that?”
“That’s right. How much money did her father give the school board? It’s so unfair for the Mo family to let her come back!”
…
Facing the crowd hungry for gossip, Qiao Qing smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, everyone. I can’t reveal the details to the public. As a member of the Mo family, we all hope that this issue can be resolved peacefully.
2
“But please don’t worry. Our Brother Zheng is recovering smoothly. Uncle Mo has found the best doctor for him. It won’t take long until Brother Zheng can meet everyone again!”
Mo Li stood behind a pillar and listened quietly to Qiao Qing. She shook her head and thought to herself, As a member of Mo Family? The girl does know her way around image control. No wonder everyone in the book thought Qiao Qing is the real Mo Family daughter. The girl herself has made it look and sound that way.