As she flipped through the photos and saw one stolen shot of herself after another, she was completely stunned!
Class Teacher Chen observed her expression. "What is going on here? Can you explain?" She was still willing to hear Sophie's side of the story. After all, the photos were so shocking that they essentially told their own story just by looking at them. "If the truth is not what the photos suggest, then even if it costs me my job, I will fight for you—for the rights of my student!"
Yet, even though dozens of unbearable consequences flashed through Sophie's mind in an instant, she didn't say a word.
"Speak up! I believe you're not that kind of student, but you have to open up and tell me the details so I can help you!"
Sophie's eyes were filled with profound sadness, but she kept her lips tightly pressed together, saying nothing.
"Sophie!" Class Teacher Chen grew anxious. She truly didn't want to see this outstanding student, excellent in both character and academics, be expelled.
Sophie remained silent.
Though Class Teacher Chen was burning with worry inside, she could only patience herself and gently persuade her: "I've always known how hard it is for you to work part-time while studying, but no matter how difficult things get, you must have principles! The day before yesterday, the school bulletin board already posted the notice of your withdrawal. But if there's more to the story, you need to speak up—because I really want to help you, and you have to believe that I will do everything in my power to help. But if you say nothing now and let the school administration misunderstand all the way to the end, then no matter how much I want to, I won't be able to help you at all!"
Sophie lowered her eyes.
"You're still not willing to say anything?" Class Teacher Chen's brows furrowed deeply. "If you don't speak up soon, then I truly won't have any way to—"
"It's my fault," she said softly.
"What?"
"It's my fault."
"You mean... it's your fault?" Class Teacher Chen held her breath as she pressed, "You mean these photos reveal something that's not fabricated—that it's all real?"
Sophie nodded slowly.
"How is this possible? I believe you're not that kind of person! Were you coerced?" Class Teacher Chen voiced her suspicion. The photos were all shot from angles focused on Sophie, and the male figure in them had been deliberately blurred, making it impossible to clearly see the man's face.
"Everything... was of my own free will," Sophie said, lifting her head and looking directly at Class Teacher Chen. "No one forced me..." she said honestly.
"Do you realize what you're saying?" She was utterly shocked. "You're saying everything in these photos was voluntary?"
"Yes, voluntary!" Sophie lowered her head again and said no more.
Class Teacher Chen was both shocked and disappointed! She stared at Sophie, her mind filled with countless questions she wanted to clarify, yet she didn't know where to begin!
Sophie had not only admitted that the person in the photos was her but had also confessed that it was entirely voluntary. At this point, no matter how many questions she asked, it would be futile!
Seeing the heavy expression on Class Teacher Chen's face, Sophie remained calm.
After bowing deeply to her, she said, "I'm sorry! I'll head back to the classroom for the exam now." Then she quietly left the office.
The moment she stepped out, Sophie felt utterly lost...
She had no idea who had taken those photos or why they had ended up in the hands of the LSE chairman.
Though she desperately wanted to confront him and clear up the questions in her heart, she knew she would never even get to see the chairman—and even if she did, he would never tell her who had taken the photos!
It felt as though her life had suddenly turned upside down. All her years of hard work seemed to have been in vain; the chips of her fate appeared to be held solely in God's hands!
Just as she entered the examination hall, Sophie was immediately notified to go to the Student Affairs Office for a meeting with the Academic Director.
"Could I finish the exam first and then go? It will only take two hours. I want to complete this semester properly," Sophie requested expressionlessly.
The teacher from Student Affairs looked troubled. He glanced up at the students in the classroom who were all watching him, and finally, unable to bring himself to make things harder for this poor girl, he nodded in agreement.
...
"The person in the photos is me," Sophie said, her eyes showing not a trace of panic but rather a sense of relief, as if a burden had been lifted. She stared at the stack of photos on the desk. "We were in the executive suite of a hotel—just Ned and me. I was the one who invited him... and in the end, Ned did give me fifty thousand pounds."
As he listened to Sophie's account, the Academic Director's eyes grew wider and wider. He covered his mouth, unable to utter a single word.
The other staff members had been cleared from the Student Affairs Office; now only the Academic Director, Professor Charles Cadogan, and Sophie remained.
"Your behavior has seriously violated the school's rules—do you understand that? LSE is a prestigious, traditional university. We allow students to date and to have sexual relationships; that's not an issue. But the school absolutely does not permit students to engage in abnormal sexual transactions. How is that any different from prostitution?" He spoke tactfully yet firmly. He was an honorary professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as a director of a renowned British property group and the owner of luxurious Chelsea residences.
As a professor, he despised such conduct. And because his daughter Lara was infatuated with Ned, for his daughter's sake, this girl had to leave the school. Poor people shouldn't be allowed to have a good life.
"The school already issued a notice the afternoon before last, imposing the punishment of 'expulsion' on you. Didn't you see it?" the Academic Director said sternly. "Not publicizing your scandal has already been the greatest leniency toward you."
Although Sophie had imagined no fewer than ten possible ways the school might discipline her, "expulsion" was the one she feared most. If she were expelled, once she and her mother moved to America, her studies might come to a complete halt, and she would utterly fail her mother's expectations.
Sophie's eyes were filled with profound despair. She twisted the hem of her school uniform with both hands, tears welling up in her eyes. "Professor Charles, please don't expel me. I don't want to be expelled. Can I explain again? I can ask Ned to come and clarify this matter with the school."
"You're a father too, aren't you? If your daughter made a mistake, would you treat her like this?" Sophie looked at Charles Cadogan. "And I've already broken up with Ned. I won't interfere with Lara anymore..."
"Shut up! There's nothing left to defend. Don't drag other people into your problems..." Charles glared furiously at Sophie. How could a girl like this even be mentioned in the same breath as his Lara?
Before he could finish, a sudden urgent ringtone interrupted. Sophie apologized quickly and answered the call. "Hello, this is from the university hospital..."
"Mom..." In an instant, tears streamed down Sophie's face. She grabbed her backpack from the floor without a second thought, bolted out the door, and ran frantically toward the school gate, crying into the phone, "Wait for me—wait for me—"
The office fell silent, leaving only the Academic Director and Charles staring at each other. "Simply outrageous. A student like this should be expelled immediately. Hurry and complete the follow-up procedures," Charles snapped before storming out in a rage.
Ned stood calmly outside the university hospital, waiting for Sophie. It turned out that the person Sarah had called two days ago to arrange a meeting with was him. But when he arrived today, he saw that the hospital had just set up police cordons—someone was threatening to jump.
He squinted up at the rooftop. A small female figure was already half-straddling the ledge. The safety air cushions on the plaza below weren't fully inflated yet, and onlookers were slowly forming a semicircle.
He thought he spotted a familiar figure. Looking closer, it was his mother, Victoria. She was standing in the middle of the cordoned area, screaming something. The distance was too great to make out the words.
Why would his mother be at this hospital at this time? Ned pondered for a moment but found no answer. Glancing at his watch, he saw the appointed time was approaching, so he hurried up the steps and into the hospital lobby.
Suddenly, a thought struck him like lightning: Could the woman on the rooftop be Sophie's mother? Could his own mother have come to the hospital to cause trouble for her again, driving her to the point of jumping...
The absurd suspicion swirled in his mind as he stood in the elevator hallway. He didn't dare dwell on it further. Anxiously, he rushed back out of the lobby, dashed down the steps, and reached the small plaza now surrounded by an ever-growing crowd. He tilted his head back to carefully identify the figure.
The woman on the rooftop had now swung her other leg over the edge. She was facing away from everyone, her appearance impossible to discern. From her build, he could only tell she was very thin and frail, dressed far too lightly for such a cold winter day.
"Sarah, Sarah—how can you do this to me? You vicious woman!" The faint sound of his mother Victoria's cries reached his ears, broken and intermittent.