"I shouldn't have been so arrogant and spread those rumors."
"Please, for the sake of us both being medical students, forgive me this once."
Levi had completely caved.
Just moments ago, he had been acting like an untouchable tough guy.
Claire blinked, mildly amused.
"Have you genuinely realized your mistake, Levi? Or are you just terrified of being thrown in a holding cell?"
She pinned him with a mocking, half-smiling gaze.
Lillian was utterly dumbfounded.
What on earth had Levi done to make the medical faculty's golden child want to send him to jail?
If his actions were bad enough to warrant police involvement, a plate of food to the head seemed like a light punishment.
"What exactly did you do?" Lillian demanded furiously.
Levi felt incredibly wronged.
He had just been talking trash. How did that give Claire the right to launch a full- scale inquisition?
He had only wanted to teach her a lesson in respecting her seniors. He never expected it to spectacularly backfire and blow up in his face.
He desperately wanted to scream that Claire was just being petty.
But with the counselors present, he didn't dare utter a word of defiance.
Levi opened his mouth, struggling to defend himself.
But he couldn't formulate a single coherent excuse.
Lillian shoved his shoulder hard. "You always have plenty to say when you're busy chasing girls!"
"Why are you suddenly playing mute now?"
She looked at her student with pure, unfiltered disgust.
Gritting his teeth, Levi threw caution to the wind. "I'm sorry, Ms. Vance. I messed up.
I shouldn't have spread false rumors about her."
Forcing himself to recount the entire pathetic ordeal was deeply humiliating.
But he had no choice but to lay it all out.
He knew if he withheld any details, Lillian would literally kick him out of the university.
Her fiery reputation was legendary across campus for a reason.
"That's it?" Lillian felt like she was arbitrating a playground squabble.
Claire immediately pushed back. "You think destroying someone's reputation isn't a serious matter?"
Lillian choked on her next words,
a that downplaying it might nd this brilliant, erratic girl off the
deep end
FindNovel.net
"It is serious, but surely it hasn't escalated to police involvement, has it?"
She forced a stiff, diplomatic smile. "Claire,
e is fully prepared to
apologize. Whatever condition
set are completely fair
you
"But could you find it in your heart to forgive him and leave the authorities out of it?"
"His rumor-mongering is inexcusable, and it reflects poorly on my guidance as his counselor."
"I formally apologize to you on his behalf."
"I've clearly been far too lenient in drilling basic decency into them."
"It inflated his ego until he actually believed his seniority gave him power over you."
"Rest assured, I will strictly discipline him moving forward."
Claire could clearly see that Lillian was fiercely protective of her students despite her harshness.
Negotiating directly with a faculty member would eventually put her at a disadvantage as a student.
Instead, she turned to her own counselor, Zane.
Catching her signal, Zane stepped in and immediately began trading verbal blows with Lillian.
He aggressively pushed for severe
consequences for Levi, aiming for a permanent stain on his academic record and a university-wide censure
"You don't understand, Lillian. Claire pours her entire soul into her studies. She's a once-in-a-generation talent."
"Because of that, none of us want a single distraction derailing her academic focus."
"Since Levi's malicious rumors managed to disrupt Claire's peace of mind, we have to eliminate the root cause entirely."
Levi stared in horror.
Eliminate the root cause?
Were they planning to execute him right here in the office?
"It's the only way to ensure her academic path remains completely unhindered," Zane concluded smoothly.
Lillian was speechless. She desperately wanted to tell him to stop spouting absolute
nonsense.
But she couldn't; she simply didn't have the leverage.
"Fine. Levi will apologize."
"He'll do it over the campus PA system. Is that acceptable?"
It wasn't exactly feasible to organize a school-wide assembly just for an apology.
The campus PA system was the absolute maximum concession she could offer. Zane looked over at Claire. "What do you think?"
Claire glanced at Levi, noting his white-knuckled fists. "I'm just worried his apology won't be entirely sincere."