When everyone had calmed down a little, Li Jiu finally spoke up: "Who said this necklace belongs to Chu Yunyun?"
"This necklace looks like it's worth a fortune, and I saw Yunyun wearing this exact one this morning!" Zhou Ling blurted out.
The others took a closer look and nodded in agreement.
"We saw it too. Yunyun was wearing this necklace this morning."
"Is that so?" Li Jiu snatched the necklace directly from Zhou Ling's hand, held it up, and challenged Chu Yunyun: "Since this necklace is yours, what word is carved in the middle?"
Chu Yunyun was startled for a moment, but quickly answered, "There is no carving!"
Li Jiu smiled. "This necklace has the character 'Jiu' carved on it. It was given to me by an older brother of mine. I think... this necklace isn't yours, is it?"
As soon as Li Jiu finished speaking, the students in front leaned in for a closer look.
"There really is a 'Jiu' character..."
"Li Jiu, Li Jiu—this must be her name!"
"This necklace looks a bit familiar. The outside seems to be wrapped in crystal, and the inside looks like a piece of stone. That stone has a really hard texture and is very difficult to carve."
Hearing the mention of an older brother, Chu Yunyun's heart skipped a beat.
Could this have been given to Li Jiu by the Chu family beforehand?
That would make sense...
The hands at Chu Yunyun's sides clenched tighter and tighter, burning with jealousy!
Even though she had already returned to the Chu family now, they hadn't bought her any gifts at all. In fact... they had just brushed her off with a tiny bit of pocket money.
How come Li Jiu used to have everything, while she had nothing?
Just as Chu Yunyun's mind wandered, Li Jiu suddenly stepped forward and pulled a necklace straight out of her pocket.
"Is this the necklace you guys were looking for?"
Li Jiu placed the two necklaces side by side. At a single glance, everyone could tell that Chu Yunyun's necklace was severely lacking.
Li Jiu let out a disdainful laugh. "A cheap glass necklace—I wouldn't even deign to steal it!"
"What did you say? This is a crystal necklace!" Pricked pride making her defensive, Chu Yunyun subconsciously argued in her own defense.
"Tsk." Li Jiu gave a light tsk and decisively hurled Chu Yunyun's necklace onto the ground.
In an instant, the necklace shattered into glass shards.
Everyone stared in astonishment.
"Holy crap, it really is made of glass."
"Hurry up and step back, make sure you don't get pricked."
"The eldest miss of the Chu family actually wears a glass necklace?"
"Li Jiu! What do you think you're doing? You actually smashed my necklace—do you have any idea how much this necklace cost?" Chu Yunyun's eyes were red as she glared angrily at Li Jiu.
Li Jiu blinked, looking utterly innocent. "Three for 9.9 on Pinduoduo with free shipping. I'll place an order right now to compensate you."
As she spoke, Li Jiu purposefully shook her phone.
That webpage... truly showed Chu Yunyun's glass necklace.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, this phone is yours, and the order history is right here. Even nine-nine was overpriced—you actually bought a necklace for fifty cents!"
Li Jiu couldn't help giving Chu Yunyun a thumbs-up. "Wear a better one next time; I'm worried you'll have an allergic reaction."
The people nearby couldn't help whispering among themselves after hearing that.
"What's going on? Does the eldest miss of the Chu family really need to wear fakes?"
"And she bought it on Pinduoduo? I'm dying, even my three-year-old sister wouldn't look twice at this kind of junk."
"Talk about an eye-opener. I'm laughing to death."
By this point, everyone was looking at Chu Yunyun with mocking gazes.
When had Chu Yunyun ever faced such a massive scene? She instinctively clutched at her clothes.
Zhou Ling, however, reacted quickly. "This must be a misunderstanding! Besides, it's still up in the air whether this phone even belongs to our Yunyun. Who says only glass necklaces shatter easily? There's also a very expensive, rare material that shatters just as easily. For all we know, this is that kind of rare material!"
"Oh, almost forgot about you since you weren't talking. You just slandered me for stealing, and now that the truth is out—pay up." Li Jiu spared a glance for Zhou Ling.
"Why should I?!" Zhou Ling stiffened her neck, intending to renege on the debt.
"So many people are watching. The dignified eldest miss of the Zhou family is planning to welsh on a bet?" Li Jiu narrowed her eyes, a flash of chilliness deep within them.
Zhou Ling let out a light laugh. "Who heard it?"
Although the people nearby had been egging them on, at a crucial moment like this, none of them wanted to stick their necks out. After all... the Zhou family was not to be underestimated, and there was no point in showing off for a poor student from the slums.
If they offended the Zhou family, it would be hard to survive in school from then on.
The scene fell dead silent.
Seeing this situation, Zhou Ling became even more smug. "See? Nobody heard it."
Right at that moment, a recording suddenly played aloud—it was precisely the bet Zhou Ling had made herself just moments ago.
Zhou Ling's face turned black with rage. "Who?! Who the hell recorded that?!"
Jiang Zhi stepped forward holding a voice recorder. "Student Zhou, I couldn't even listen to any more of that. You've got to own up to what you do. Luckily I recorded it just now, otherwise pigs might as well fly outside. This classmate Li here would've been wronged to death."
Zhou Ling stomped her foot in anger. "Jiang Zhi, are you taking the side of some penniless ghost?"
Jiang Zhi quickly shook his head. "I only stand on the side of justice."
Jiang Zhi delivered those words with absolute righteousness.
Zhou Ling was no match for Jiang Zhi. With him backing Li Jiu up, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and transfer the money to Li Jiu.
"Let's go!" Having taken a loss, an angry Zhou Ling left with Chu Yunyun.
Jiang Zhi looked Li Jiu up and down at close range, then curled his lips into a smile. "You've got quite a unique look."
Li Jiu didn't even spare Jiang Zhi a glance; she lifted her foot and walked toward Duan Qili's direction.
"Thanks."
"Hey, hey, hey, didn't you thank the wrong person?" Jiang Zhi darted out in front of her. "I was the one who stepped up to resolve this."
Duan Qili smiled. This good girl actually had a conscience.
She knew right from wrong and could clearly see who the mastermind behind the scenes was.
No, she shouldn't be called a good girl. She should be... cunningly clever instead.
"I don't do losing business. Fifty-fifty split, fifty-k." Duan Qili shoved his hands into his pockets, maintaining that nonchalant air of his.
"You three, me seven. Fair." Li Jiu nodded. "Give me your card number, I'll transfer it to you."
"You got the ratio backward." Duan Qili pushed his luck.
Li Jiu frowned, raised her head, and locked eyes with him.
It had been a long time since she had seen someone so shameless.
"Are you that short on money?" Li Jiu asked.
Duan Qili sighed. "The Duan family cut off my living allowance, so I have to figure out a way to survive."
"And so you milk money from girls?" Li Jiu's reaction was swift, every word hitting the nail on the head.
Even Jiang Zhi was thoroughly entertained.
Who dared to talk to Brother Li like that?
Li Jiu was definitely the first person ever!
"I earned this with my own skill!" Duan Qili lowered his head slightly, speaking with utter confidence.
"Fine." Li Jiu didn't even waste any more breath.
To her, five hundred thousand was just a number anyway—not much money at all.
If the other party wanted it, she might as well just hand it over.
Turning around, Li Jiu tossed the voice recorder in her hand straight into the trash can and walked toward her own classroom.
"Holy crap, Brother Li! Looks like this little girl was prepared all along. Even if we hadn't stepped in, she had her own counter-measures ready." Jiang Zhi clicked his tongue.
"How come..." Jiang Zhi was puzzled. "She doesn't seem like someone from the slums? Can someone from the slums be this magnanimous?"