"So, you're saying... I won't pass the entrance exam for this school?" Li Jiu crossed her arms over her chest, tilted her head slightly, and spoke with an air of indifference.
"If you manage to get in, I'll do a handstand and eat shit!"
"And I'll crawl all over the floor and call you 'big sister'..."
Li Jiu nodded. "Alright, I'll remember that."
"But if I do get in, every single one of you will go to the sports field and kneel to apologize to me!" Li Jiu laid out the wager, enunciating every word clearly.
"Hahaha! Is she insane?"
"What a lunatic! It seems there isn't a single normal person coming out of the slums."
"Hey, poor girl, what if you don't pass?" a boy not far away asked, teasing her.
"I'll kneel on the ground and crawl around the school once." Li Jiu was so ruthless she even scared herself.
"Fine! I accept that bet!"
"I agree too."
Everyone raised their hands in agreement.
The teacher twitched the corner of his mouth; he didn't dare say much about this. After all, this group of young masters was terrifyingly powerful. If they were to really gang up on him, he wouldn't be able to handle it.
Because the wager had been set, Li Jiu was temporarily settled into the school, pending the results of the exam.
However, news of Li Jiu’s bet spread through the school quickly. When she went to the cafeteria, everyone looked at her and started whispering.
"So that’s the country bumpkin in the school uniform—Li Jiu."
"Typical of someone from the slums, she can't even afford proper clothes."
"Poor and stupid. She’s not even in the same social class as Chu Yunyun."
Chu Yunyun subconsciously lifted her chin, her face full of arrogance. "It doesn't matter. She won't be staying in this school for more than a few days anyway. As soon as the results come out, she’ll be gone. Don't let her ruin your moods."
"I heard a rumor that the bumpkin is actually claiming to be the real daughter of the Chu Family. I suspect... that rumor was started by the bumpkin herself, right?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Yunyun felt a tightness in her chest, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes. She absolutely could not let Li Jiu spread this matter! If she did, she would be the one everyone despised!
"I suppose so. Actually, Li Jiu used to work as a nanny at my house, and I was always very good to her," Chu Yunyun said, grabbing at any excuse.
"Heh, truly a case of pearls before swine," Zhou Ling sneered, casting a cold glare at Li Jiu. "Wait for it, I’m going to teach her a good lesson today." With that, Zhou Ling stepped forward and marched in Li Jiu's direction.
Chu Yunyun pretended to want to pull her back, but in reality, she silently waited to see the show. It would be best if someone else stepped up to teach Li Jiu a lesson, force her to realize she was out of her depth, and make her disappear from the Capital forever.
Zhou Ling walked up beside Li Jiu and deliberately bumped into her. The tray in Li Jiu's hand spun, but it settled steadily back into her grasp.
Zhou Ling was stunned. How... how was she completely unfazed?
After a moment, Zhou Ling immediately put on an angry expression. "What’s wrong with you? Do you not have eyes when you walk?"
Li Jiu lifted her eyelids and glanced at Zhou Ling. She remembered this person. In her previous life, she was one of Chu Yunyun’s "best friends," only to be sold out by Chu Yunyun later on. She was an idiot. But it had nothing to do with her; this girl hadn’t bullied her any less than the others.
"Big sister, you were the one who bumped into me," Li Jiu said, her beautiful eyes darting. "What? Trying to extort me?"
Zhou Ling had assumed that since Li Jiu came from the slums, she wouldn't have any guts, but seeing her so confident, she was caught off guard for a moment.
"You..." Zhou Ling was choked up, then pulled Chu Yunyun over. "Yunyun’s necklace is missing. You must have stolen it!"
"Got any evidence?" Li Jiu crossed her arms and leaned against the table with an air of abandon. She knew that once the label of "thief" was stuck on her, it would never come off. It would be announced to the entire school; not only that, but she would be expelled permanently. No one would dare hire a student expelled from the Royal Academy. This was a clear attempt to destroy her future.
Chu Yunyun’s eyes flickered, and she spoke gently. "You were the last one to leave the classroom. I had left my necklace on the desk..."
Although Chu Yunyun didn't finish her sentence, everyone understood. More and more people gathered around. They all looked at Li Jiu with mockery. Since she was from the slums, it was only natural that she would steal.
Li Jiu chuckled, a trace of impatience flashing in her beautiful eyes.
"So that’s a 'no' on the evidence—just wild speculation. Miss Chu, defamation is a crime, you know? Aren’t you afraid I’ll have you sent to the police station?" Li Jiu arrogantly pulled up a chair and sat down, her aura so intense that even some of the young masters nearby felt a bit uneasy about getting too close.
Everyone began to doubt—is this kid really from the slums? Why did it feel... like she had been trained?
Chu Yunyun bit her lower lip, looking pitiful. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just stating the facts."
"Yunyun, what are you afraid of! She definitely stole it. If not, let's just frisk her!" Zhou Ling said confidently.
Li Jiu raised an eyebrow.
"Frisk me, huh..." Li Jiu drawled out the three words. "Frisking is fine, but if you don't find this item on me... you have to pay me for emotional damages..." Li Jiu held up five fingers.
"Fifty?" Zhou Ling laughed so hard she could barely stand straight. "I knew it, a poor wretch from the slums treats even fifty bucks like a treasure."
Li Jiu rolled her eyes. "I said five hundred thousand!"
"Are you insane? Why don't you just rob someone?" Zhou Ling almost choked on her own spit when she heard the sum.
Li Jiu stood up. "Then you don't have the right to frisk me."
"Stop right there!" Zhou Ling gritted her teeth. She was certain the necklace was on Li Jiu. She wouldn't lose! "I agree!" Zhou Ling declared firmly.
Li Jiu’s lips curved, her beautiful eyes lifting slightly, unintentionally looking alluring and unashamedly bold. However, the crowd’s attention wasn't on that. Only Duan Qili, standing not far away, took it all in.
He chuckled. "Caught a treasure." Coming to the cafeteria today hadn't been a waste.
"Brother Li, this country girl didn't actually steal the necklace, did she?" Jiang Zhi was watching with great interest.
"Go see an ophthalmologist in an hour. I've already arranged it for you," Duan Qili said with a disgusted frown, moving away from Jiang Zhi.
...
Zhou Ling personally conducted the search.
"Everyone watch closely! Don't let this thief continue to plague our school!" Zhou Ling said triumphantly. When she felt a necklace in Li Jiu's pocket, her eyes lit up.
"Found it!" Zhou Ling exclaimed, pulling it out excitedly.
"Whoa, I didn't think Li Jiu was actually a thief!"
"It's one thing to be poor, but to steal things!"
"Report this to the school immediately. This kind of person must not stay; she must be expelled at once."
"Hey, bumpkin, what else do you have to say? We have eyewitnesses and physical evidence—you’re the one who stole it!" Zhou Ling scoffed, her face beaming with delight.
"Student Li, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person. Poverty isn't scary, but moral character is what matters most. Since you've done something like this, I can't plead for you anymore." Chu Yunyun’s expression tightened, her face full of feigned regret.