How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 202 - 204: Cunning Plan_1

Xue Sufen had been played by Cheng Shuqin for three years, and now she was being schemed against. She couldn’t swallow the indignity, but she had no ideas of her own and couldn’t bring herself to discuss it with Li Qiao.

Even less willing to be outdone by Li Qiao, she wanted to showcase her own capabilities, "I’ve decided to bide my time and wait for Cheng Shuqin to slip up before I deal with her!" With these cunning words, she left.

Li Qiao took the thesis back to the dorm first while Cheng Shuqin and Ma Hongxiang were looking for books needed for class. She deliberately threw the thesis onto the table with a smack.

Ma Hongxiang asked with concern, "Li Qiao, what happened?"

"I don’t know who sneakily copied my thesis and sent it to the journal, but their abilities were lacking. They didn’t develop the suggestions Professor Xue made, leading to a rejection." As Li Qiao spoke, she covertly observed Cheng Shuqin’s reaction.

A jolt went through Cheng Shuqin’s heart. How did the thesis end up in Li Qiao’s hands? Did she write the wrong name by mistake? She blinked and glanced to the side, "Copying your thesis to submit to a journal? How did you receive it?"

Li Qiao took in Cheng Shuqin’s reaction and intentionally said, "Of course, the person copied my name as well."

Ma Hongxiang said, "I can’t believe someone would be that idle. It must be a nervous thief who copied your name too." She laughed and said, "Who knows who it was, trying to steal a chicken only to lose their rice."

"It wasn’t me, anyway," Cheng Shuqin emphasized.

Li Qiao replied, "No one said it was you. But by saying that, it kind of feels like ’thou doth protest too much.’"

Cheng Shuqin: "... Don’t talk nonsense."

Class was about to start, so Cheng Shuqin left in a rush.

Li Qiao walked unhurriedly behind with Ma Hongxiang, who was asking Li Qiao how to write a thesis. Li Qiao shared everything she knew. Cheng Shuqin, feeling guilty, looked back and saw them whispering to each other, thinking they were talking about her.

Could the word spread that she stole the thesis? She decided to strike first to teach Li Qiao a lesson and suppress her momentum.

...

The opportunity came sooner than expected. During lunch break, Li Qiao didn’t return to the dorm.

Ma Hongxiang packed up two books and was also ready to leave.

Xue Sufen asked, "Where are you going?"

"The library. Li Qiao excels in every subject and still studies so hard, it doesn’t make sense for me, a half-baked student, to be idle," said Ma Hongxiang as she left.

Xue Sufen couldn’t sit still and muttered to herself, "Everyone runs to the library as if they’re on steroids, disturbing my peace." Her grades were on par with her classmates, and if she slacked off, she might end up last at the end of the term.

She had to start studying seriously.

Xue Sufen gathered her books.

Cheng Shuqin intentionally left before Xue Sufen, glancing in her direction now and then. When Xue Sufen turned towards the library, Cheng Shuqin returned to the dorm and hid her silver bracelet in the very back of Li Qiao’s locker.

She would search everywhere for it when it was time to sleep.

Because she looked down upon Ma Hongxiang and was no longer as close to Xue Sufen as before, she searched her locker for a long time, but neither of them said much.

Cheng Shuqin finally took the initiative, "Have you seen my silver bracelet?"

Xue Sufen slightly lifted her eyelids, "No."

Ma Hongxiang added, "I haven’t seen it either."

Cheng Shuqin pretended to be anxious, "How can it be missing? My mother bought me that bracelet for my 18th birthday. It’s really special to me. If you see it, please tell me."

Xue Sufen and Ma Hongxiang said in unison, "Sure."

"It couldn’t have been stolen, right? No one else came to our dorm today," Cheng Shuqin hinted very clearly that it was someone from the dorm who stole it.

Xue Sufen immediately retorted, "Are you suspecting me?"

"Of course not. Your family is so well-off, what kind of bracelets haven’t you seen? You’d probably not even want my bracelet if I gave it to you for free," Cheng Shuqin said to Xue Sufen, knowing well what kind of words she liked to hear, having been high school classmates for three years.

At this moment, every sentence made Xue Sufen smug.

Ma Hongxiang panicked, as there were three people living in the dormitory.

One of them was the victim, and another was ruled out, leaving just one suspect—wasn’t that pointing directly at her? "I didn’t steal anything."

"Did I say you stole? Why so defensive?" Cheng Shuqin used Li Qiao’s argument to stifle her words, leaving the naturally inarticulate Ma Hongxiang tongue-tied.

"I—I definitely didn’t steal. I haven’t even seen your bracelet. You can search me if you want." In an effort to prove her innocence, Ma Hongxiang took the initiative to offer her locker for inspection.

This was exactly what Cheng Shuqin had hoped for.

She immediately began searching Ma Hongxiang’s pockets and locker but found nothing.

Although Ma Hongxiang hadn’t stolen Cheng Shuqin’s silver bracelet, her heart was still in her throat while being searched. Now she finally took a long breath of relief. She locked her locker without bothering to accuse Cheng Shuqin of the baseless accusation and moved on from the incident. fгeewebnovёl.com

Cheng Shuqin said, "If it’s not Ma Hongxiang, then who could it be?"

Xue Sufen replied, "Are you suggesting Li Qiao?" Li Qiao came from the countryside, but she lived quite comfortably.

Grandma said Old Mrs. Qin’s grandson had never been to school.

What can one do without an education except farm?

There was also an elderly person in the family who needed care.

Was Li Qiao’s stipend enough for the whole family?

She suspected they must have a great deal of ill-gotten wealth.

But would Li Qiao hide stolen items in the dormitory?

After careful thought, she remembered Li Qiao only returned to the dormitory in the morning and for a brief time. She asked, "When did you notice your bracelet was missing?"

Cheng Shuqin pretended to think and after a moment replied, "I saw it this morning. I should have worn it on my wrist."

Xue Sufen believed that if Li Qiao took it, she wouldn’t have had the chance to move it yet because Li Qiao’s clothes that day had no pockets. Surely stolen items couldn’t be openly worn, could they? She said, "Search Li Qiao’s locker and see."

Cheng Shuqin, seeing her crafty plan almost succeeding, rejoiced secretly though she said out loud, "Could it really be Li Qiao? I think she seems quite well-off."

Xue Sufen replied, "How much money can a country person have? According to my grandma, her in-laws come from a ’bad’ background. Would a family with a good background really accept them?"

They must have their own indelible stains too.

Cheng Shuqin said, "Then help me witness as I search, you and Ma Hongxiang."

Ma Hongxiang was unwilling to be a witness. Li Qiao had been kind to her, always ready to help with her studies.

Even if Li Qiao had stolen it, she was willing to believe there was an unspeakable difficulty.

"Ouch, I suddenly have a stomachache." Ma Hongxiang acted her part thoroughly, grabbed some paper, jumped out of bed, and dashed off without waiting for further conversation.

Cheng Shuqin had already started rummaging through Li Qiao’s locker because she was afraid Xue Sufen might also be unwilling to testify for her, which would have been a wasted effort. She quickly found the silver bracelet.

Xue Sufen had an expression of dawning realization.

She knew it—Li Qiao was untrustworthy. She had to tell her uncle immediately not to waste energy tutoring such a student.

To avoid embarrassment for him as a teacher when Li Qiao’s misdeeds came to light.

She put on her coat and went to knock on Xue Lingqing’s door.

As soon as Xue Lingqing opened the door, she slipped into the room and closed the door behind her, "Uncle, I’ve got something important to tell you—Li Qiao is a thief."

Xue Lingqing’s gaze sharpened, "What do you mean by that?"