Chapter 17: Not Exactly

“This ancient text must contain some profoundly advanced medical insights, right?” Qin Fan murmured wistfully as he stood beside Chu Qiao.

Chu Qiao: … Not really.

It’s merely a record of a very ordinary remedy for the common cold. But considering that in ancient times a cold could be deadly, it makes sense that it would be documented in such detail.

Wait a minute…

Could it be that those ancient texts capable of solving modern medical mysteries weren’t passed down from the ancient era at all, but rather from ancient cultivators of immortality?

Chu Qiao recalled the two skills the system had given her and suddenly felt this was not entirely impossible. However, after a long break in civilization, all traces of those cultivators had been completely erased, so modern people simply do not believe in their existence.

A chill ran through her as she instinctively followed the person ahead.

Just as she passed the display case holding the medical texts, a sudden shattering sound of glass came from behind her.

Startled, she turned around instinctively.

She saw the protective glass case shattered on the floor, the fragile ancient texts having fallen out, their pages scattered everywhere.

All the students and teachers were stunned by the scene, looking bewildered at the scattered pages, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Chu Qiao was equally at a loss.

Before she could fully react, Bu Yuzhu, standing behind her alongside Chu Han, suddenly turned pale and shouted urgently:

“Oh my God!”

“Chu Qiao, the triangular ornament hanging from your backpack shattered the protective glass case!”

Chu Qiao: ??

Chu Han’s gaze fell on the triangular charm dangling from Chu Qiao’s backpack, and she frowned deeply.

“Sis, you have to be more careful. With such a sharp pendant on your backpack, how could you get so close to the glass case?”

As soon as she spoke, the surrounding students and teachers, including the president of Luan University who was leading the group, finally snapped back to reality.

The teachers from Luan University hurriedly crouched down to collect the scattered pages.

But once they picked them up, their faces grew even more anxious.

“President Zheng, the pages are too scattered. We can’t tell which page comes before or after!”

President Zheng’s face turned deathly pale.

Because of technical difficulties, the ancient text had not yet been fully translated.

Now that the pages were all mixed up, it was uncertain whether they could still be translated at all. If a mistake occurred, causing the nation to miss a breakthrough in medicine, Zheng wouldn’t be able to keep his position as president!

“Quick! Call Professor Zhou and Professor Liu to my office!” Zheng said urgently as he took the scattered pages and hurried toward his office.

Professor Zhou and Professor Liu were Luan University’s top experts in ancient languages and among the best in the entire country.

He was pinning all his hopes on them.

As President Zheng left with the texts, the scene remained chaotic, everyone whispering anxiously.

The impact of this event was like a bomb going off on the spot.

Qin Fan’s face was grim, but he held Chu Qiao’s hand comfortingly.

“Don’t worry, Chu Qiao. I believe you didn’t do this.”

“As long as we check the surveillance footage, everything will be clear!”

Chu Qiao shook her head.

She glanced at Bu Yuzhu, who was quickly removing something from her backpack and packing it away, and at Chu Han, whose face was full of helplessness, pressing her lips together.

Bu Yuzhu was neither particularly observant nor quick to react.

For her to respond so swiftly this time and immediately identify what broke the glass strongly suggested she was involved.

But now, who actually broke the glass no longer mattered.

The priority was to translate the ancient text properly and resolve the crisis at hand. Only then would the school leaders have the leisure to consider whether Chu Qiao was innocent or not.

Chu Qiao turned, planning to ask Qin Fan to cover for her as she secretly sought out the president of Luan University to translate the text.

At that moment, the team leader, Wang Minghao, approached quietly.

“Chu Qiao, don’t be afraid,” he said softly.

“There are teachers backing you up on this. No matter how severe the punishment, it won’t fall solely on you, a student.”

Chu Qiao was momentarily stunned, touched by his reassurance.

If Wang Minghao took full responsibility for the ruined text, being dismissed would be the best outcome for him.

This teacher was truly a good person.

“Don’t worry, teacher,” Chu Qiao smiled at him.

“You won’t just be fine—you might even get a great merit out of this!”

Wang Minghao was taken aback.

Then he heard Chu Qiao whisper:

“But first, you have to cover for me so I can leave here.”

Wang Minghao: …

That sounds like you’re trying to trick me and escape…

He gave her a wry look but let her go.

With the team leader’s authority, others from different schools naturally wouldn’t interfere.

Qu Yanghui, responsible for Luan University’s team, watched Chu Qiao leave and sneered at Wang Minghao:

“Wang Minghao, you used to be so much better than me in school. How have you become so useless?”

“You can’t even manage a single student and have caused such a disaster!”

“And now you’re just letting her run off? That’s just plain stupid!”

Wang Minghao glanced coolly at Qu Yanghui.

He had worried about being mocked by Qu on the way here.

But now that the ridicule was happening, he remained calm:

“I believe in my student.”

Besides, he was already prepared to take all the blame. Whether Chu Qiao stayed or left made no difference.

Qu Yanghui laughed mockingly:

“She says she’ll help you earn a big merit, and you believe her?”

“What merit is there besides accurately translating this ancient text now?”

“You don’t really think she can translate it, do you?”

The other teachers and students from surrounding schools watched Wang Minghao like watching a spectacle, clearly finding it ridiculous that he believed such claims.

Only Lu Anyun gazed admiringly at Chu Qiao’s departing figure.

“I really want to follow her and see!”

“If big sister Qiao translates that ancient text herself, it’s bound to be useful!”

Bai Lu stood beside Lu Anyun, frowning at her words but did not argue.

If Chu Qiao could truly translate the text, no matter how unwilling she was, Bai Lu would have to admit that Chu Qiao was indeed a bit better than her.

If Chu Qiao failed, she would pay the price for her actions and wouldn’t need to prove that Chu Qiao was a fraud.

However…

Bai Lu’s gaze also followed Chu Qiao’s fading silhouette, quietly wondering:

That ancient text even troubled the two top ancient language professors at their school. Could Chu Qiao really be more capable than the professors?

Meanwhile, Chu Han quietly took out her phone and sent photos of Chu Qiao’s “hasty escape,” along with the full context of the incident, to the school group chat at Xintai University.

Instantly, the entire school was thrown into an uproar!