The Chancellor looked at Reine with a serious expression on his face.
He asked her, "Ms Wilson, then do you want me to invite a handwriting expert and check whether these answers were really written by her?"
Despite being put on the spot, Reine calmly replied, "How can that prove anything? Maybe she was the one who wrote the answers after the exam and then switched her answer a script!"
Hearing the conversation between the Chancellor and Reine, the crowd agreed with Reine as they felt that despite having no proof to prove Aelia's innocence, the Chancellor was being biased towards Aelia!
A student sitting in the crowd muttered to his friend, "Hey! I think the rumour about the inappropriate relationship between Aelia and the Chancellor is indeed true!"
Another replied, "I too feel the same! Otherwise, why is the man being so partial towards Aelia?"
"You are right! In fact, the answer script really proves nothing! What Reine said could very well be true!"
"Right? Oh, did you know that it was Leila, Aelia's very own cousin who revealed that Aelia was having an affair with the Chancellor?"
"Really? My God, that Aelia is such a slut! How old is the Chancellor? He's probably of the same age as our father!"
"Ugh! I'm feeling disgusted! I can't believe she sold her body just to get the top rank! This kind of trash should be expelled from a reputable institution like the Phillon National University!"
"Look! How Aelia is still calmly sitting there without batting an eyelash at the accusations!"
"What else do you think she can do? She has got no real evidence to prove her innocence! Tsk! Tsk! We should congratulate her for having such a thick face! Do you think with her thick skin she will feel less pain if I give a tight slap across that slut's face?"
However, when this student turned around and met Asher's cold gaze, she did not dare to approach Aelia.
Meanwhile, on the stage, after hearing Reine's accusation against Aelia, both the Chancellor and Mrs Hansley gave her a grim smile.
The chancellor asked, "Then what do you think we should do to prove Aelia's innocence?"
Reine righteously replied, "There's no smoke without fire! Since there are so many rumours about Aelia, why don't we let her give the examination again next year?"
Mrs Hansley asked Reine with a cold glare, "Are you asking us to hold Aelia back for a year just because of your ridiculous accusations?"
Reine looked like she suffered some major grievances.
She said in a pitiful tone, "Mrs Hansley, it was just a suggestion to repel the rumours. After all, could you provide any better evidence to prove Aelia's innocence?"
Reine was confident that they had no substantial evidence in their hands to prove that the accusations against Aelia were wrong.
Mr Spivak, who had remained silent after getting stunned by Aelia's answer script decided to support his friend's daughter.
"Reine is right! Aelia can give her examination again at the end of next year! This will dispel all the rumours!"
Seeing Mr Spivak dancing to the tune set by Reine, the Chancellor felt really disappointed. It was him who had selected Mr Spivak as the new Head of the Chemistry Department.
Mr Spivak was quite well known among the academicians as an upright intellectual, so the Chancellor felt really disappointed after seeing his muddle-headed decisions.
The Chancellor sighed and replied, "No need! After hearing what I announce next, everyone can make their own judgements about the decision as to whether Aelia should be held back another year due to the charges against her!"
Hearing this, the students as well as Reine and Mr Spivak thought that the Chancellor was making a last effort to save Aelia due to their private relationship.
However, what they heard next made everyone so surprised that they remain rooted in their seats with their mouth gaping in surprise.
With a calm expression on his face, the Chancellor announced, "Today, I'm honoured to hand over the doctoral degree to our fellow student, Aelia Romanov. She has successfully completed her research on botanical poisons and has made major contributions to enhancing our knowledge in this field. I feel proud to tell everyone that her research paper on this subject will be published in the next month's issue of the renowned magazine, Verdant Secrets. Now, I request student Aelia to come up on stage to receive her certificate."
As Aelia stood up and elegantly walked towards the stage, the audience remained stunned in deadly silence.
The Chancellor's announcement was a direct slap to all their faces. They had ridiculed Aelia for using underhanded methods and wanted to expel her from the University.
However, if a doctoral student like Aelia whose research was going to be published in the famous magazine, Verdant Secrets was not even eligible to stay in the University, then were the other graduating students eligible enough to receive their graduation certificates.
The crowd looked on as Aelia gracefully went on stage and received the certificate with a simple thank you.
The students who were previously scolding Aelia were so embarrassed that they felt like digging a hole to bury themselves. Their cheeks were glowing red from the slap they received after hearing the Chancellor's announcement.
Most of them felt ashamed of doubting Aelia without substantial evidence. They glared at Leila and Natalie in resentment for misleading them with false information.
Leila and Natalie just sat on their seats with pale faces. Having their disgraceful and vindictive nature exposed in front of everyone felt extremely embarrassing to them.
Leila hissed to Natalie, "Didn't Reine say that she was sure about the news? What's happening now?"
Natalie responded with irritation, "Why are you asking me? How the hell will I know?"
Meanwhile, as Reine saw that Aelia was about to go down the stage, she blurted out with a disbelieving look on her face, "How? How is this possible? She doesn't ever attend her classes!"
Aelia turned around and looked at Reine with an expressionless face.
Mrs Hansley sarcastically replied, "Miss Wilson, are you now going to accuse Aelia of using her connections to get her doctoral degree? And why would she need to attend the undergraduate classes when she was already carrying on with her own research. Let me tell you something. Many professors from the Chemistry department were helping Aelia as her assistants during the research. So, tell us, why would she attend classes taught by her assistants?"
Hearing what Mrs Hansley said, Reine shook her head, still refusing to believe the truth in front of her. With a pale face, she murmured, "No, I don't believe this! How? How can someone achieve so much at just twenty?"