"Yes, Su, you shouldn’t say such things lightly. Do you have any evidence?"

The professors and teachers sitting in the front row also spoke up, looking somewhat displeased.

Su Weiyi stood on the podium. She knew she had acted impulsively, but she couldn’t swallow her anger. Her hands clenched into fists.

Zhang Ziyu spoke again: "Su Weiyi, I know you’re better at studies than me and I know you don’t like me. If you think I’m unworthy of this second place, I’ll step down for you, but I won’t allow you to slander me like this."

For art students, their creations are like their children, and nobody allows others to harm their children. Although everyone below was just an audience, it was clear that the balance was already tipping in Zhang Ziyu’s favor.

Su Weiyi’s fists clenched even tighter: "I..."

She was about to say, "I can prove it," needing only a little time.

But before she could speak, a calm voice interrupted: "I can prove it."

Xie Xiaoran, who had been standing silently on the side, suddenly spoke, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

Su Weiyi also looked over. Xie Xiaoran calmly took a step forward, motioning Su Weiyi to step back, then took a USB drive out of her pocket and plugged it into the computer. She clicked on the mouse, and two images immediately appeared on the big screen.

Still calm, Xie Xiaoran spoke: "Xiao Yi and I share a dormitory, but just yesterday, after Xiao Yi returned from outside, she found that her computer’s artwork and the pieces she was supposed to submit were gone. You can see, this first picture is the boot log of Xiao Yi’s computer."

Xie Xiaoran continued, moving the mouse to highlight a timestamp: "It shows that Xiao Yi’s computer was turned on during this period, but at that time, I was working part-time outside. My colleague can vouch for me, and our other roommate was out shopping with friends; her friend can also vouch for her, and Xiao Yi wasn’t in the dormitory."

After speaking, Xie Xiaoran pointed to the second image: "This is the surveillance from the mall. Everyone is familiar with this mall in the city center. The time between the surveillance and the boot log is only ten minutes apart, and it’s impossible to return to school from this mall within ten minutes. This is Xiao Yi’s proof."

After Xie Xiaoran finished speaking, Zhang Ziyu immediately said: "What does this prove? Couldn’t she have carried her computer with her? Or someone tampered with her computer?"

Xie Xiaoran didn’t even glance at her and continued: "On the surveillance, you can see Xiao Yi was only carrying a small bag. Such a small bag couldn’t fit a computer. Could she have just thrown away her computer? Moreover, Su Man and I can testify that Xiao Yi’s computer was always in the dorm. As a former roommate, Zhang Ziyu, you are the only one with access to the dorm key."

"No, there’s also the dorm supervisor, Aunt, but I believe the chances of her tampering with Xiao Yi’s computer are zero. What does everyone else think?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Xie Xiaoran, always under the radar and rarely heard speaking, now spoke at length with a calm but commanding tone.

"Don’t be ridiculous. Just because I have the dorm key, it makes me a thief? Where’s the evidence?"

Then Xie Xiaoran looked at Zhang Ziyu: "I certainly can’t prove you’re the thief."

This statement visibly relaxed Zhang Ziyu, a smile just forming on her lips when Xie Xiaoran spoke again: "But I can prove this painting isn’t yours."