Outside in the hallway, several people looked at each other in bewilderment.
“Did I just see that wrong? That Meng Yu actually walked into the classroom holding hands with Jiang Cheng?”
“You saw it too? I thought I was hallucinating from staying up late last night…”
“So you all saw it too?”
“Yeah.”
“So Meng Yu has switched sides?!”
The leading woman slapped the railing, her voice suddenly rising three octaves.
“I knew it…”
Wang Jia muttered beside her. “Today’s Jiang Cheng is really strange. There’s something indescribable about her…”
No one paid her any attention.
“You don’t think… maybe Meng Yu actually likes Jiang Cheng?” someone suddenly said.
“After all, leaving aside her personality, Jiang Cheng really is Haiyuan Academy’s prettiest girl, isn’t she?”
“Now that you mention it, I feel the same way. Honestly, even I kind of—when I look at Jiang Cheng—”
“Impossible.”
The head woman denied it outright. “I know Meng Yu’s personality. That tomboy is definitely planning to get close to Jiang Cheng secretly and then hit her with something big.”
As she spoke, she walked to the window and peered out.
She saw Jiang Cheng in the back row smiling faintly, handing her drink bottle to Meng Yu.
‘Stupid fool.’
The woman sneered coldly.
‘Everyone knows Meng Yu hates drinking from someone else’s bottle. Just wait—she’ll take it, then splash the whole thing in your face!’
Then she saw Meng Yu take the drink.
Meng Yu twisted off the cap…
Meng Yu tilted her head back and took a big gulp.
Meng Yu’s face flushed red as she said, “Thanks.”
***
The woman’s eyes widened in disbelief.
‘You traitor, with those honest eyes, you actually switched sides!’
‘Wait, that was your drink, wasn’t it? I saw it!’
‘Drinking your own beverage and saying thanks?’
The woman felt the world must be ending if something this absurd could happen.
Or…
A flash of inspiration hit her.
‘Could it be that Jiang Cheng has some dirt on Meng Yu? Threatening to expose her secrets if she doesn’t cooperate?’
Thinking this, she scrutinized the two in the back seat again.
Well, there was no sign of coercion.
She decided to go ask herself.
“Meng Yu… um… Xiao Yu, can I call you that?”
Jiang Cheng rested her chin on her hand, propping herself up on the desk as she looked at Meng Yu.
“Yeah… of course.”
The girl in the baseball cap lowered her head and mumbled a reply.
‘She really is socially anxious,’ Jiang Cheng thought to herself.
‘She obviously wants to make friends, but can’t even say a complete sentence.’
‘Good thing Lord Cheng here is kind-hearted and can’t stand seeing a pretty girl suffer.’
With the noble ideal of protecting all the maidens of the world, Jiang Cheng made up her mind and took the initiative to start a conversation.
“Xiao Yu, do you really like sports? I often see you playing basketball when I pass by the sports field.”
“The way you shoot looks really cool. Too bad I could never do that.”
“Sometimes I see you playing baseball too. Sorry, I don’t even know the rules…”
Maybe because she had lived a second life, Jiang Cheng’s memory was especially good. When she actively tried to recall, she could remember most things.
Hearing this, Meng Yu buried her head even lower, pursing her lips without a word.
“What’s wrong, Xiao Yu? Are you feeling unwell—”
“Jiang Cheng!”
Just as the girl was about to express concern, a sudden voice interrupted her.
She looked up at the woman behind her.
The woman stood with her arms crossed, sneering. With the light behind her, Jiang Cheng couldn’t make out her expression clearly. She assumed the woman was also coming over to make friends.
“Zhang Mei.”
Meng Yu raised her head and frowned.
“Heh.”
The woman let out a sarcastic laugh, about to start something.
“Zhang Mei!”
But then the girl’s voice suddenly rose a few notes—almost as if she was… excited?
“Zhang Mei, I really like your paintings! Do you remember me? We were in neighboring classes back in junior high!”
Zhang Mei froze for a moment.
‘Is that true?’
Before she could ask, Jiang Cheng kept chattering on.
“I remember you used to be a really warm and kind-hearted kid. And so pretty.”
“A few days ago, when I went back to the junior high section to find my little sister, I still saw that painting of yours hanging on the wall.”
“I had actually forgotten we were junior high classmates until that painting reminded me. It was really cute…”
“Stop it! Just stop!”
Zhang Mei’s face suddenly flushed red.
She remembered. All of it.
That time in junior high, she had made a bet with the homeroom teacher that if she entered the school art competition, she’d get a day off from homework.
In the end, she submitted a messy scrawl, but those idiots called it “Picasso style” and hung it on the wall.
‘Ugh… an unbearable dark history…’
“Ahem…”
She cleared her throat, opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say. She stood there awkwardly, stammering.
Jiang Cheng noticed her embarrassment and patted the seat. “Xiao Mei, sit here. It’s okay.”
Zhang Mei sat down beside Jiang Cheng, her face still flushed. Too flustered to even correct Jiang Cheng’s overly familiar address.
The group gathered at the window, who had been ready to watch the show, were all stunned into silence.
Only Wang Jia stood with her hands on her hips, looking very proud. “I told you so. Today’s Jiang Cheng is really strange, and especially charming.”
‘Wow, this isn’t just a little charming.’
‘This is basically a succubus!’
***
Lin Family Mansion
“Whew…”
Having finally dealt with all the affairs, Lin Shuangxue leaned back in her chair and let out a long breath.
A maid with a slender figure, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward and began massaging the girl’s shoulders.
“Finally cleaned up that guy’s mess…”
Lin Shuangxue rubbed her temples, looking exhausted.
“Thank goodness Miss didn’t agree to his demands, or this time would have been troublesome.”
The maid smiled warmly.
But Lin Shuangxue shook her head. “An An, how many times do I have to tell you? Don’t call me Miss. Just call me Shuangxue.”
“How could I?”
An Xin shook her head. “I’m no longer the Miss of the An Family. Now I’m just a maid.”
“…”
“Forget it.”
Lin Shuangxue didn’t insist. “A while ago, I asked you to investigate Jiang Cheng. Did you find anything?”
“Reporting, Miss. Miss Jiang Cheng is just an ordinary person. She’s even heavily in debt. She definitely doesn’t have any background.”
“Heavily in debt?”
Lin Shuangxue frowned, then quickly moved on. “Then how did Jiang Cheng know that nouveau riche would be investigated recently? Does she really have no government connections?”
“Reporting, Miss. As far as I can tell, Miss Jiang Cheng is just an ordinary student.”
‘That’s strange.’
Lin Shuangxue absentmindedly twirled a strand of hair around her finger, lost in thought.
“Miss, during the investigation, I came across something about Miss Jiang Cheng. Would you like to hear it?”
Her mind in a mess and having not slept all night, Lin Shuangxue waved her hand casually, signaling the maid to continue.
“There’s a group of people at school who seem to be trying to isolate Miss Jiang Cheng.”
“What?!”
Lin Shuangxue shot up from her seat.
After sitting so long, her blood circulation was poor, combined with a sleepless night and standing up too quickly—she suddenly felt dizzy.
An Xin quickly stepped forward to support her arm, feeling a pang of sympathy.
“Miss, maybe you should rest for a while…”
“I’m fine.”
Lin Shuangxue waved it off. “Just a little tired. I’ll rest after I deal with Jiang Cheng’s situation first.”
She took a deep breath, gently patted the maid’s hand, tied her hair into a high ponytail, and headed for the door.
“Alright then…”
Seeing Miss’s insistence, An Xin had no choice but to comply.
“Miss Jiang Cheng should be in her first class right now,” she said. “I’ll drive. We can catch up before the second class starts. Miss, you can get some rest in the car.”
“You’ve been, very tired.”
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