Overwhelmed by the shame of theft and the frustration of being framed, Jiang Meiyi’s face suddenly flushed crimson. She had no choice but to strike first, pointing at Lin Xialing and snapping, "Lin Xialing, school rules forbid bringing cell phones. I'm reporting you!"
Heyue shoved Jiang Meiyi away from the doorway, and Luo Yilan neatly closed the door behind them.
The three of them stared coldly at Jiang Meiyi, who was leaning against the bedpost, completely unfazed by her threat.
"Go ahead, and while you're at it, let everyone take a look at this video of you—being perverted enough to steal female classmates' undergarments to sell!" Lin Xialing raised an eyebrow. "Let's see whose life is ruined more."
Knowing that Lin Xialing was stubborn and would never show mercy once she made up her mind, Jiang Meiyi tearfully turned to Luo Yilan, hoping to beg for her mercy. "Luo Yilan, aren't you a good student? How can you... hang out with them?"
Hearing this, Luo Yilan actually felt a trace of genuine anger. Stealing someone else's belongings might be a moral issue, and there was even a slim chance of there being unspeakable difficulties behind it, but if Jiang Meiyi was going to attack her friends like this, then she deserved no sympathy whatsoever.
So Luo Yilan said coldly, "What makes someone a good student or a bad student? How do you tell who a real friend is? Is it money? Or grades? Sorry, but I care about none of those things."
Luo Yilan shook off Jiang Meiyi's hand, never expecting that even now, the girl would still try to sow discord.
Realizing that Luo Yilan wasn't falling for her tricks, Jiang Meiyi gritted her teeth and turned to Heyue, who had the gentlest temper of the three.
"Heyue! Heyue, I know you're the kindest one. Please put in a good word for me! I really had no choice, you know that! You know!" Jiang Meiyi grabbed Heyue's hand, tears streaming down her face in heavy drops.
Heyue felt somewhat dazed. Jiang Meiyi kept insisting that she knew—what on earth was she supposed to know?
Seeing that Heyue remained silent, Jiang Meiyi suddenly found her own fawning display utterly pathetic.
The three of them had always been inseparable; she must have been a fool to actually fall for Heyue's nonsense, still clinging to the desperate hope that they would help keep her secret.
Frustration finally broke Jiang Meiyi. She let go of Heyue's hand and began to lash out, speaking recklessly.
"The three of you act so righteous, yet didn't you team up to frame and trap me? I'm a thief, but you're all liars—we're just as bad as each other! Ha, if one of the three of you ever committed murder, I bet the other two would help cover it up and destroy the evidence!"
"Slap!"
"Xiao He..."
"Little Yue..."
Heyue’s sudden, unexpected slap stunned everyone in the room. Even the usually uninhibited Lin Xialing was frozen in shock, completely forgetting to step in and stop her.
Jiang Meiyi stood in a daze. Heyue was always the pushover of the class, never losing her temper with anyone, swallowing every grievance whole. Yet now, she had actually struck her.
Jiang Meiyi let Heyue grab her by the collar, forcing her back step by step until her spine slammed hard against the bedpost with a sharp pain.
"Jiang Meiyi, stop acting like you have some unspeakable hardship! You just selfishly chose the solution that benefited you the most!"
Looking into Heyue's eyes, Jiang Meiyi saw her own terrified, pale face reflected back. The two trails of tears slowly dried, leaving behind a disheveled mess.
"Ask your conscience: didn't you secretly smile when you sold those things off? Treating everyone like fools, you felt quite pleased with yourself, didn't you? Admit it, Jiang Meiyi, you're just someone with a dark side!" Heyue pressed on with every word. "Yes, we framed you—we're two of a kind. What right do you have to judge us?"
Terrified by Heyue, Jiang Meiyi stood stunned for a moment before she covered her face and broke down into heavy, sobbing wails.
"Luo Yilan, I'm sorry..."
Heyue had to admit that Jiang Meiyi's comment about destroying evidence had triggered something deep inside her, instantly dragging back memories of that rainy night she wished she could forget.
Seeing Jiang Meiyi's genuine remorse, crying tears of bitter regret, Heyue finally realized what she had just done.
"Xiao He, are you okay?"
Unwilling to dwell on right and wrong anymore, Luo Yilan and Lin Xialing immediately rushed to check on Heyue.
Heyue took a deep breath to push down the tightness in her chest, shook her head at them, and fought back the stinging lump in her throat. She walked over to the desk, picked up a pen and paper, and handed them to Jiang Meiyi.
"Write down all the buyers and their contact information clearly. Otherwise, this video goes straight to the police station. I mean what I say."
-
After finishing the list, Jiang Meiyi checked it over and over again, making sure she hadn't missed a single detail, before walking back toward the teaching building in a daze.
She clutched the slip of paper tightly in her hand, praying that Heyue and the others would keep their promise and not leak the video. If word got out that she was a thief, how could she possibly stay in school? How could she ever take the college entrance exams?
Zhou Wenhe spotted Jiang Meiyi from a distance.
She was walking forward with her head down, and when she passed him, she didn't even notice his presence until he called out to her.
"Jiang Meiyi?"
Startled, Jiang Meiyi looked up. Recognizing Zhou Wenhe, she immediately greeted him respectfully, "Mr. Zhou."
"Luo Yilan said you weren't feeling well?" Zhou Wenhe frowned. "You're in your final year of high school, take care of your health."
Jiang Meiyi didn't dare meet his eyes, feeling as though any eye contact would instantly expose every emotion she tried to hide.
Having taught for so many years, Zhou Wenhe could spot something amiss with Jiang Meiyi at a glance. He probed cautiously, "Or... did something happen that I don't know about?"
Seeing Jiang Meiyi shake her head, Zhou Wenhe let out a long sigh and placed a hand heavily on her shoulder with absolute authority, speaking in a deeply earnest tone: "Your stepmother called me again asking about your grades. She wants you to drop out and work in a factory, but I turned her down for you."
At these words, moisture welled up in Jiang Meiyi's eyes.
Seeing that familiar look of fear in her eyes, Zhou Wenhe finally seemed satisfied, tightening his grip on her shoulder just a fraction. "Jiang Meiyi, you need to study hard to repay your teacher, understand?"
Jiang Meiyi nodded frantically. "I understand, Teacher. I'm going back to class!"
Watching Jiang Meiyi scurry off like a startled rabbit until she vanished from sight, Zhou Wenhe’s face sank once more, turning rigid and solemn. Behind his lenses, heavy, inscrutable thoughts remained entirely hidden from view.
-
Running and looking back over her shoulder at the same time, Jiang Meiyi failed to notice someone suddenly stepping out from ahead, crashing straight into them. "Ah..."
"What's the rush?"
Clutching her head, Jiang Meiyi frantically looked behind Heyue before finally asking, "Why are you the only one here?"
"Because I have a question to ask you." Heyue helped Jiang Meiyi back to her feet. "Back in the dorm today, you said I should understand you—why? And are you really that desperate for money?"
Word had it that Jiang Meiyi's father owned a small tea factory. Logically speaking, she shouldn't have fallen so low as to steal people's things—nor could it simply be some weird compulsion of hers, otherwise she wouldn't have targeted Luo Yilan exclusively.
Anxious, Jiang Meiyi scratched frantically at her arms, where red marks quickly bloomed across her skin. She began acting jittery and paranoid, turning around once more to make sure nobody was behind them before grabbing Heyue's arm and pulling her into a more secluded corner. "Because of the empty classroom! You went there too, didn't you?"
"Could it be..." Heyue's heart sank.
"Ideological and Moral Education class!" Before Heyue could stop her, Jiang Meiyi yanked her shirt down to her chest and spun around.
The sight made Heyue gasp in shock. Across her snowy-white back, a web of bruises and lash marks was clearly visible—scars that instantly looked old and recurring.
Heyue's trembling fingers hovered over the marks, wanting to touch them, but she slowly pulled her hand back out of sheer pity as a horrifying realization formed in her mind.
"Did you steal those things... because of Zhou Wenhe?"