Aside from the small incident at the very beginning, nothing unexpected happened during the entire evening self-study session. Everyone quietly did their own work. Just before class ended, Jiang Jiang suddenly received a message from the driver, Old Liu.
After Wen Xueyun's class ended in the morning, Jiang Jiang had asked Old Liu to look into He Xinyao's situation.
He Xinyao was a native of S City and had studied there from childhood through adulthood. It was not difficult to investigate her. In fact, because of certain things she had done in the past, some people still had a deep impression of her even now. Old Liu had only asked a few questions before he grasped the general situation.
Jiang Jiang did not want to know everything. What she mainly asked Old Liu to find out was whether He Xinyao had bullied classmates when she was in school. This point had not been mentioned in the original text; it was something Jiang Jiang inferred based on He Xinyao's personality and actions.
Someone who could carry out online harassment without any psychological burden and treat her classmates with such arrogance—Jiang Jiang did not believe she had never done similar things before.
After all, when most people commit a bad deed for the first time, they feel at least some unease, fearing they will be discovered. Only after someone has done something wrong and gone unpunished does their courage grow, and their actions become increasingly unscrupulous.
He Xinyao still cared about how her classmates viewed her, so she did not belong to that small group of people who truly feared nothing.
Jiang Jiang was more inclined to believe that she had experienced something similar before and had ultimately escaped punishment, which was why she now had the confidence to repeat the same trick.
Now, based on the information Old Liu had sent back, Jiang Jiang's guess had indeed not been wrong.
He Xinyao had two older brothers. By the time she was born, her parents were already over forty. Her second brother was seventeen years older than her, and her eldest brother was a full twenty years older.
Both brothers, along with her parents, treated her like a little princess. Whatever she wanted, she received. As a result, He Xinyao developed a personality from childhood that feared neither heaven nor earth.
Her personality was very domineering, and her jealousy far exceeded that of ordinary people. If someone else had something, she had to obtain it as well. If she could not get it, she would choose to destroy it.
When she was young, it was only clothes or toys. By the time she entered middle school, He Xinyao began to care about how others perceived her.
Jiang Jiang's fingertips slid upward along the phone screen. As the document pages increased, her gaze grew colder. When she lowered her eyes, even the corners of her brows and eyes carried a trace of chill.
Although He Xinyao's behavior had been within Jiang Jiang's expectations, when her inner suspicions were truly confirmed, Jiang Jiang still felt a surge of intense anger.
She could almost imagine how difficult it must have been for a girl born into poverty to afford schooling. And yet that girl had excelled academically, taking first place year after year.
She had already been struggling so hard against fate. In the end, because of absurd and laughable reasons, she was bullied and humiliated. Ultimately, a vibrant life was forced to leap from the rooftop, and the one who caused all of this was He Xinyao.
What was even more tragic was that, through the joint efforts of the school and the He family, the girl's death did not even stir much of a ripple. The He family had spent only 500,000 yuan to settle the matter, simply because that girl still had a younger brother.
He Xinyao personally drove a young girl in the prime of her youth to death. Not only did she feel no guilt, she even treated the incident as casual conversation when she was bored, her words filled with pride.
Many people knew the truth of this matter. Old Liu had asked many individuals in succession, and their accounts were basically consistent.
Since the truth was already so obvious, why had the matter still passed by in silence?
It turned out that although most people chose to remain silent out of fear of causing trouble for themselves, it was not that no one had thought of speaking up for the girl. It was just that the girl's family had firmly insisted that her death had been an accident and had nothing to do with anyone else. What could others do?
They were, after all, only her classmates and friends, not her family. Even her family chose not to pursue the matter. Others were powerless.
Jiang Jiang felt sorrow for that girl. Although this world was already sufficiently open and free, darkness still hid behind the light. She had paid the price with her blood, yet the murderer still lived freely and happily.
When midnight dreams returned, did He Xinyao truly never have nightmares?
Jiang Jiang silently tugged at the corner of her lips. It did not matter. Whether He Xinyao did or did not, she would make the answer to that question become yes.
Jiang Jiang saved the materials Old Liu had sent. She did not ask him whether he had informed Ji Xu'an about this matter.
In fact, at the beginning, Jiang Jiang had not intended to let Ji Xu'an know. After all, behind He Xinyao stood Zheng Zhouzhou.
This person possessed the protagonist's halo, like supple willow branches, growing freely in the spring breeze, not easily torn apart.
Only when winter's severe cold arrived could she be dragged down from the branches.
Therefore, when facing Zheng Zhouzhou, Jiang Jiang had to be more cautious. What she had originally planned was to slowly provoke He Xinyao, guiding her to do irrational things, so that everything would appear natural and justified.
But now Jiang Jiang had changed her mind. He Xinyao was originally a scum with no moral bottom line. For someone like that, doing something harmful in a moment of anger did not seem strange at all.
Jiang Jiang decided to add a fierce blaze to the fire.
And this opportunity came faster than even Jiang Jiang had expected.
After evening self-study ended, Jiang Jiang went with Ji Heyuan to the A2 Teaching Building for interviews.
Because all clubs were holding their first round of interviews tonight, there were many people coming and going in the A2 Teaching Building. Jiang Jiang even saw He Xinyao's figure in the crowd.
She watched as He Xinyao entered one of the classrooms. When passing by the door, Jiang Jiang seemed to glance inside casually and saw clearly that it was the interview site for the Literature Club.
What a narrow road for enemies.
The Hanfu Association that Jiang Jiang wanted to join was notoriously on bad terms with the Literature Club. The reason she had helped the senior named Qian Yun fix her hair that day was because two girls from the Literature Club had messed it up.
If He Xinyao successfully joined the Literature Club, then there would be yet another layer of grievance between her and Jiang Jiang.
Jiang Jiang sighed inwardly, then continued toward her destination, temporarily casting He Xinyao to the back of her mind.
Meanwhile, He Xinyao, who was sitting in the classroom waiting for her interview, frowned when she glimpsed a figure flashing past the classroom door.
She had been walking in a hurry earlier and had not paid attention. The person passing by the door had looked very much like Xie Xiao. Could she also be here for an interview?
Jiang Jiang entered together with Fu Xihe. She had basically met several of the seniors sitting in the front row, except for one who looked unfamiliar.
"You're here." Qian Yun was the first to notice them. She had a deep impression of Jiang Jiang. Seeing that Jiang Jiang's steps were somewhat slow, she quickly stood up and came over.
"Hello, seniors." Jiang Jiang's eyes were filled with a smile. As her lips moved, the dimples on her cheeks appeared and disappeared.
"I heard from Xihe that you were injured. Can you still manage? Why don't you sit down during the interview later?" He Jingjing also came over.
Jiang Jiang smiled and politely declined. "It's fine. I've mostly recovered."
It was just that Ji Xu'an and Ji Heyuan were both very nervous, always treating her like a fragile porcelain doll. In reality, Jiang Jiang no longer felt much pain when walking, though for certain reasons, she still stepped carefully in her daily life.
Seeing that she was not forcing herself, He Jingjing felt relieved and did not insist further.
After all, everyone else would be standing. If only Jiang Jiang were treated specially, she would inevitably be isolated.
"By the way, Xie Xiao, you probably don't know who this is, right? This is our Vice President Tu Wei." He Jingjing pointed to the unfamiliar senior. "Tu Wei, this is the very impressive junior I mentioned to you."
Tu Wei was striking and radiant in appearance, and her personality was quite outgoing. "Hello, junior."
She extended her hand toward Jiang Jiang. Jiang Jiang lightly grasped her hand; their palms touched and separated immediately.
Tu Wei did not make any small movements, but Jiang Jiang always felt that the way she looked at her seemed to carry deeper meaning.
That gaze did not seem like it was directed at a stranger she had never met.
However, during the subsequent interview, Tu Wei did not display anything further. Her attitude toward everyone was the same.
The atmosphere on site was not particularly relaxed. Once the formal interview began, even He Jingjing, who appeared the most optimistic and outgoing, tightened her expression. The questions she asked were sharp enough that several people were left speechless.
Jiang Jiang performed quite well. At the very least, under the joint scrutiny of several seniors, she did not feel nervous, and her replies remained fluent and clear.
After the interview, they had to go back and wait for the results. Jiang Jiang was about to pack up and leave when Senior Tu Wei suddenly walked toward her.
"Student Xie, you don't speak much in the group chat. I sent you a friend request, but you probably didn't see it." She smiled and held her QR code in front of Jiang Jiang. "Let's add each other. It'll be convenient to stay in touch."
Jiang Jiang did not remember whether she had received Tu Wei's friend request. At some point, her contact information had been exposed, and people added her every day, most of them unimportant. Jiang Jiang had not looked closely.
"I'm sorry, senior. I didn't notice." Jiang Jiang took out her phone and scanned Tu Wei's QR code.
She had become increasingly skilled at using her phone. No one would be able to tell that not long ago, she had been a complete novice who had never used one before.
After seeing Jiang Jiang send the friend request, Tu Wei immediately accepted it. Only then did she smile at Jiang Jiang. "Alright, I have nothing else. Go back and rest early."
Jiang Jiang stopped her at that moment. "Senior Tu Wei."
She looked directly into Tu Wei's eyes. Her tone and expression were not forceful, yet inexplicably gave off a sense of pressure.
"Have we met before?"
Tu Wei was surprised by her sharpness. After all, she had only slightly revealed her thoughts at the beginning and had behaved normally afterward.
It seemed this little junior was not as simple and harmless as that person had said. At the very least, she was quite intelligent.
Tu Wei's mood was somewhat complicated, and it unconsciously showed on her face. "You probably haven't seen me, but I've heard of you."
Jiang Jiang revealed a look of confusion at the right moment.
Tu Wei explained, "I know Chu Yueqi."
Jiang Jiang suddenly understood. Her eyes were clear and transparent, filled only with pure curiosity. "Did Sister Chu mention me to you?"
Tu Wei had been staring closely into her eyes and naturally did not miss any of Jiang Jiang's subtle changes in expression.
When mentioning Chu Yueqi, there was not the slightest trace of shyness in her eyes. Her attitude was open and natural.
So Chu Yueqi had not lied to her. It truly was only her unrequited love. Tu Wei's mood unconsciously improved a great deal.
Jiang Jiang could clearly feel that her smile had grown more relaxed.
Tu Wei smiled faintly. "She told me before that she had a younger sister she knew who was also at S University. When I saw your registration form that day, I even sent her a message to confirm."
"So that's how it is." Jiang Jiang smiled shyly. "Actually, I haven't seen Sister Chu for a while either. I wonder how she's been lately?"
Tu Wei froze for a moment. Meeting Jiang Jiang's distinct black-and-white almond eyes, she always felt that the other party actually knew everything, and that those words had been deliberately spoken for her to hear.
"She's doing quite well. She's been busy with work recently. Maybe when she has some free time, she'll ask you out to have fun," Tu Wei said.
Jiang Jiang did not continue chatting with her. Although Tu Wei's attitude was fairly good at the moment, Jiang Jiang had not forgotten the fleeting trace of vigilance and hostility in Tu Wei's eyes when she first saw her.
Her relationship with Chu Yueqi was probably not just friendship.
After parting with Tu Wei, Jiang Jiang sat on a wooden bench beneath the teaching building to wait for Ji Heyuan.
Because it had indeed ended rather late today, Ji Heyuan was worried about Jiang Jiang and planned to return to Xingyue Bay with her. Fu Xihe had originally intended to wait with Jiang Jiang, but since it was already late, Jiang Jiang told her to leave first.
The night breeze gently brushed past Jiang Jiang's hair. She tilted her head up and gazed at the starry sky above, yet the one she was thinking of was Xie Xiao, who was in another distant world.
She wondered how Xiao Xiao was doing.
Jiang Jiang picked up her phone and recorded the scene of that moment.
Xiao Xiao had worked so hard to get into S University, yet she could not personally take a look at the university she had chosen. She had been forced to transmigrate into a strange world, living with every step fraught with difficulty in the Duke's Mansion. When she lifted her head to gaze at the moon, would she also miss home very much?
Jiang Jiang could not help letting out a very soft sigh. She had not yet pulled herself out of that fleeting train of thought when the rare tranquility was broken by someone approaching.
"Xie Xiao!"
Hearing this familiar voice, Jiang Jiang's eyes turned cold for a brief instant. When He Xinyao walked up in front of her, her expression had already returned to its usual gentle and harmless appearance.
"Student He, this time your throat isn't itchy again, is it?"
He Xinyao was not stupid; she naturally heard the sarcasm in those words. She folded her arms across her chest and looked down at Jiang Jiang condescendingly. "Why aren't you continuing to pretend?"
"What am I pretending?" Jiang Jiang relaxed and leaned back against the chair, looking at He Xinyao with calm leisure.
Seeing Jiang Jiang, who was completely different from before, He Xinyao only felt that she had finally forced Xie Xiao to reveal her true face.
"If other people saw what you look like now, I wonder whether they would still sympathize with you the next time you put on an act."
Jiang Jiang let out a light laugh. "What am I like now?"
He Xinyao was so angered by her arrogant manner that the blood rushed to her head. "Xie Xiao, have some shame. Don't treat everyone like fools. You bullied someone you shouldn't have bullied. Sooner or later, you'll pay the price."
Jiang Jiang let out an "oh," her expression still indifferent.
"Student He, why can't I understand what you're saying? Who did I bully?" There seemed to be a faint mocking smile at the corner of her lips. He Xinyao could not see it clearly, but the grievance in Jiang Jiang's tone was extremely obvious.
He Xinyao could not help taking another step forward. This time, she clearly saw the chill in Jiang Jiang's eyes.
In that instant, He Xinyao actually felt a sense of panic. Xie Xiao's expression and her tone seemed like two severed, even contradictory existences.
Did she… did she know what she was planning to do?
He Xinyao subconsciously wanted to cover her coat pocket and step back, but Jiang Jiang moved faster than she did and grabbed He Xinyao's hand in one swift motion.
"Wait, Student He. You need to explain yourself clearly. You can't just slander me and then walk away."
In her flustered state, He Xinyao forcefully shook off her hand. "Are you crazy?!"
Jiang Jiang fell back onto the bench. After He Xinyao retreated a few steps, she suddenly remembered that Jiang Jiang's foot was still injured and that she could not walk quickly at all.
She stood there with a mocking expression. "Xie Xiao, someone like you only deserves to stay in the gutter. You still want to fly up to the branch and become a phoenix? Be careful you don't fail to climb the high branch and instead fall down and end up a cripple."
After saying this, she thought Xie Xiao would immediately retort. Who would have expected that the other party seemed genuinely struck by her words, lying prone on the bench for a long time without moving?
For a moment, He Xinyao felt unwilling to accept it. She had intended to provoke Xie Xiao, preferably forcing her to blurt out something incriminating. Yet Xie Xiao was extremely cautious. Even though there were only the two of them here and she had already pushed her words this far, Xie Xiao still did not utter a sound.
He Xinyao had no choice but to step forward again. She felt that there was something strange about Xie Xiao and subconsciously did not want to get too close to her.
Mainly because that look Jiang Jiang had given her earlier had truly startled her.
"Xie Xiao." He Xinyao lowered her voice. "Actually, I know that the girl mentioned in that news article a few days ago was you. You were almost molested and even fell from the third floor, right?"
Jiang Jiang abruptly lifted her head to look at her. "What are you trying to say?"
Seeing that she finally reacted, He Xinyao felt a surge of joy, and even more stimulating words slipped out.
"I've always been curious. How did falling from the third floor not kill you? I heard the other person was seriously injured. Why did you only sprain your ankle?"
The malice in He Xinyao's tone was overwhelming, almost undisguised.
"Could it be that you directed and acted out the whole thing yourself?"
"Maybe he never intended to molest you at all, nor did he plan to push you downstairs. Maybe you're the one lying."
Jiang Jiang finally seemed to be enraged. Her chest rose and fell violently, and the look she gave He Xinyao turned vicious. "I didn't!"
He Xinyao immediately pressed on. "Then why was he the only one injured while you were completely unharmed? The internet is flooded with curses against him, while for you there's nothing but sympathy and blessings. Do you dare say it's not because someone hired internet trolls to control public opinion for you?"
He Xinyao did not believe that no one questioned the authenticity of the incident. She herself was skilled at guiding public opinion and understood clearly just how much malice a person could harbor toward another, even if that person was a complete stranger—enough to wish for their immediate death.
Now there was not a single questioning comment about Xie Xiao online. Someone must have stepped in to control the narrative.
He Xinyao even knew who that person was. Wasn't it the powerful backer Xie Xiao had latched onto?
She did not dare speak ill of Ji Xu'an. After all, that was someone even Zheng Zhouzhou had to curry favor with.
But precisely because of that, He Xinyao despised Jiang Jiang even more.
Ji Xu'an and Ji Heyuan must both be blind. They did not like the kind and innocent Zhouzhou, yet treated this vicious Xie Xiao like a treasure.
If not for worrying about ruining Zheng Zhouzhou's plan, and for Zheng Zhouzhou's repeated warnings, He Xinyao would have already pointed at Ji Heyuan's nose and cursed her the moment she saw her.
Thinking of this, the hatred in He Xinyao's heart deepened. She pressed forward step by step. "Do you dare swear to the heavens that you didn't do it on purpose?"
She stared fixedly into Xie Xiao's eyes, and Xie Xiao seemed truly driven to desperation by her questioning, revealing the angry and collapsing expression He Xinyao had hoped for.
"He deserved to die! A scum like him deserved it!"
Ecstasy surged within He Xinyao. "So you admit you did it on purpose?"
But Xie Xiao refused to answer further. He Xinyao did not mind. She had already obtained what she wanted.
"It doesn't matter if you don't admit it. Xie Xiao, I told you, you will definitely pay for your actions."
He Xinyao was brimming with pride. She patted the sleeve that Jiang Jiang had grabbed earlier, as if she had touched something filthy.
Yet Jiang Jiang calmed down in the blink of an eye. "Student He, stop spouting nonsense. Spreading rumors is illegal."
He Xinyao assumed she was just being stubborn. She did not want to argue with Jiang Jiang any longer. She was eager to hurry back and inspect the results of her achievement.
With a cold snort, He Xinyao turned and strode outside, the smile on her face filled with excitement and delight.
To leave the A2 Teaching Building, one had to pass down a long flight of stone steps.
Just as He Xinyao stepped onto the first stone stair, she suddenly heard Jiang Jiang call out to her from behind.
"Student He."
He Xinyao turned her head, her eyes somewhat impatient. "What else do you want to say?"
Jiang Jiang was still standing where she had been. The two of them could even hear people talking not far away, yet the place where they stood was dim and quiet, occasionally punctuated by the chirping of insects.
Earlier, He Xinyao had briefly wondered why Xie Xiao chose to sit in such a remote place. But since it suited her purposes, she quickly cast that doubt aside.
Now, looking at Xie Xiao's face half-hidden in the darkness, He Xinyao suddenly felt she could not see her clearly. She shivered involuntarily, thinking that Xie Xiao was indeed a bit strange. She had heard that Xie Xiao's grandmother knew feng shui. Could it be that she also knew some kind of dark art?
Maybe the reason she dared to jump from the third floor was because she was not an ordinary person.
He Xinyao felt her scalp prickle, yet she refused to show weakness. "If you've got something to say, spit it out."
Jiang Jiang stared at her without blinking. "How exactly do you want me to pay the price?"
Hearing this, He Xinyao let out a breath of relief and felt ridiculous for the momentary tension she had experienced. If Xie Xiao were truly that formidable, would she still be led around by her?
"You'll find out soon enough," He Xinyao replied perfunctorily.
Jiang Jiang seemed to laugh softly. "Alright then, Student He. It's dark and the road is slippery. Be careful on your way back."
She paused, her voice even lighter. "Falling down stone steps hurts a lot."
He Xinyao felt that her words carried deeper meaning, but thinking of the surveillance cameras nearby and the distance between them, could Xie Xiao possibly push her from here?
If Xie Xiao really did that, He Xinyao would be delighted to laugh out loud. That would only give her even more reason to blame Xie Xiao.
She rolled her eyes. "Crazy. Worry about yourself."
With that, He Xinyao lifted her foot and continued walking downward. After taking two steps, she realized there was no sound behind her.
She endured and endured, but ultimately could not resist turning her head to see what Jiang Jiang was doing. Yet at the very moment she turned around, He Xinyao suddenly felt a sharp pain in her calf, as if something had fiercely kicked her. Her entire body pitched forward uncontrollably, and she tumbled all the way down the stone steps.
"Ahhh—!!"
At the instant she fell, He Xinyao's mind went blank. She did not even feel the pain. Only after she stopped rolling did she come back to her senses. Lying flat on her back, her vision darkened in waves.
After a long while, He Xinyao suddenly felt something wet on her face. She raised her hand to touch it. Under the illumination of a nearby streetlamp, she saw that her hand was covered in blood.
She screamed again, "My face!!"
The shrill cry attracted other students who had not yet left, and they all hurried over.
"What happened?"
"What's going on?"
Because she had been the closest, Jiang Jiang was also the first to reach He Xinyao's side.
She lowered her head and looked at He Xinyao lying at her feet. Her tone was slow, her eyes utterly calm.
"Student He, I reminded you just now. You have to be careful when you walk."
He Xinyao's face was a mess, tears mixed with blood continuously flowing out, her appearance exceptionally disheveled and miserable. Listening to Jiang Jiang's mocking words, she was nearly driven mad with rage.
"It was you! Xie Xiao, you pushed me!!"
Jiang Jiang frowned. "Student He, I was standing so far away. How could I have pushed you?"
He Xinyao still insisted that Jiang Jiang had pushed her.
In truth, before she fell, out of the corner of her eye she had seen clearly that Jiang Jiang had not moved at all. She knew very well that it had not been Jiang Jiang who pushed her.
But if not Xie Xiao, then who?
The sensation of her calf being kicked was absolutely not her imagination.
Could it have been a ghost that pushed her?!
Jiang Jiang sighed, her expression saying "I really don't know what to do with you." "There's surveillance here, Student He. Whether I pushed you or not is clearly recorded. You can't just pour dirty water on me because you dislike me."
Under He Xinyao's murderous glare, Jiang Jiang lightly bit her lip and hesitated before saying, "However, I think I just saw a girl standing behind you."
"Her whole body was covered in blood, and her limbs were twisted unnaturally. Student He, do you know her?"
The surrounding air seemed to turn cold all of a sudden. He Xinyao shuddered violently, even forgetting the pain in her body. She stared at Jiang Jiang with eyes splitting in fury, unable to utter another word.
It was that person!
It was her. She must have come back for revenge!
He Xinyao was thoroughly frightened by Jiang Jiang's words. After quite a while, she swallowed and forced herself to appear calm. "Don't try to scare me. What girl? I don't know anyone like that!"
As she spoke, her hand subconsciously reached into her coat pocket, only to grasp at nothing. Her expression immediately became even more panicked than when she had heard Jiang Jiang say someone was standing behind her.
Where was her recording pen?!
—
Author's note:
River God Jiang: Oh wicked-hearted girl, did you drop this golden recording pen, or this silver recording pen, or this perfectly ordinary recording pen that I already turned off long ago?
—
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