Chapter 13: Although she didn’t know either…

“The two of us…” Cui Zhe glanced at Pei Duo Xing again before looking away. “We were neighbors when we were little. We haven’t seen each other in a few years.”

This was a polished version of the truth.

Pei Duo Xing was not appreciative. “My mom used to be a housekeeping auntie at his house. With a family background like mine, what right do I have to be Young Master Cui Zhe’s neighbor?”

Cui Zhe was momentarily speechless.

Pei Duo Xing’s family had never been well-off, but she was kind and lovely when she was little, not sharp and angular like she was now.

Thinking about how she had just lost her father over the summer vacation, it was understandable.

The Pei Duo Xing that Jin He knew had always been like this sensitive and stubborn, yet exuding a sense of lonely helplessness, like a pitiful little hedgehog with not much strength.

“Let’s go,” he said without elaborating. “Let’s go eat.”

Pei Duo Xing was already starving. She didn’t refuse, and the three of them went to the cafeteria to eat together.

*

Because of that video, Bai You Na had indeed been very well-behaved in front of Xia Mi La recently.

She mostly kept her distance and didn’t try to make her presence known.

However, after school today, when she returned home and had dinner, she couldn’t resist going to Xia Mi La’s room to find her.

“What is wrong with you?” she questioned Xia Mi La. “Everyone in the cafeteria saw it at noon. Are you just going to let a lowly sponsored student cling to He’s side like that?”

Xia Mi La was about to change into comfortable loungewear and do her homework.

She casually tugged at her necktie. “Why does Older Sister have no sympathy at all? The transfer student’s background is very pitiful. Jin He is just too kind, so he probably can’t bear to see it.”

Bai You Na couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She had originally thought Xia Mi La had gotten smarter, but it seemed she had become stupid again.

“I’ve known A He for so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen him pay so much attention to another girl,” she said with a frown. “His feelings for the transfer student definitely aren’t just simple kindness. If you keep letting this go on, you’ll regret it sooner or later!”

Xia Mi La suddenly burst out laughing. She leaned on the edge of her desk, bending over for a good while before straightening up, though the amusement in her tone hadn’t faded. “Older Sister used to wish that Jin He and I would break off our engagement, but now you’re suddenly so kind and concerned.”

Her voice was still laced with laughter and sounded very pleasant, but the content made Bai You Na’s face flush with embarrassment.

Ever since Xia Mi La had torn all pretenses with her, she rarely spared her any face when she spoke.

Bai You Na didn’t have any deep sisterly affection for her either. She braced herself and retorted, “You and A He breaking off the engagement is one thing, but you being trampled under the foot of a transfer student is another. Don’t forget, your surname is Xia. Losing to a sponsored student would be too humiliating.”

Xia Mi La lazily continued to untie her necktie. “Since you know my surname is Xia, you should also know that our Xia family is not an accessory to the Jin family. Whatever decision Jin He makes, that’s his business. It has nothing to do with me.”

Bai You Na was still a bit confused even after walking out of Xia Mi La’s room, not quite understanding the meaning of those words.

Xia Mi La seemed completely unconcerned about Pei Duo Xing. Had she stopped liking Jin He? Impossible… She must love Jin He so much that she would even tolerate the women around him.

Isn’t that how this circle worked? Marriage was marriage, and love was love.

But for Xia Mi La, the sole daughter of the Xia family, to not even have the courage to deal with the woman by Jin He’s side a sponsored student with no background whatsoever was just too pathetic!

The thought made Bai You Na’s anger flare up again. What an act! That Xia Mi La only knew how to put on airs in front of her!

*

The next morning, as soon as Xia Mi La reached her front door, she saw Zhao Taihe parked by the roadside on a black motorcycle.

“Good morning, Princess,” he said, taking off his helmet to reveal his bold eyes and brows. He smiled and waved at her. “Want a ride? I’ll take you to school.”

“No,” Xia Mi La refused without a second thought, walking towards her own car.

The driver had already opened the car door for her.

She got in, rolled down the window, and bid him farewell. “See you at school, Knight.”

“So heartless.” Zhao Taihe walked to the window. “I waited for you for quite a while.”

“Did I ask you to wait?” Xia Mi La asked.

“Well, no.”

“Then there you have it.”

She refused to be guilt-tripped.

Zhao Taihe sighed helplessly and passed an invitation through the car window. “There’s a party on Saturday. Do you want to come?”

It was a party hosted by their White Tiger Hall, but they would also invite people from the Azure Dragon Hall. After all, they were in the same circle, and business dealings were unavoidable. Of course, more often than not, they deliberately invited their rivals to compete in this and that.

The female lead was gentle and low-key, and because she was engaged to Jin He, she was content to be the woman behind him and rarely participated in such events.

At this moment, however, Xia Mi La accepted the envelope. “Sure.”

Having achieved his goal, Zhao Taihe didn’t immediately retreat. Instead, he took another step closer, resting his arm on the car’s window frame and lowering his head to speak to her. “Hey, that transfer student, do you want me to teach her a lesson for you?”

Xia Mi La’s eyes drifted over to him. “Thinking of doing something tasteless again?”

School bullying was tasteless.

Being scolded, Zhao Taihe, on the contrary, grinned.

Xia Mi La was different from them. She had always been clean.

“Aren’t you leaving yet?” Xia Mi La urged. “We’re going to be late.”

“I know.” Zhao Taihe straightened up and waved at her.

He watched the car drive away, then put on his helmet and mounted his beloved motorcycle.

Only after both vehicles had disappeared from the gate did Bai You Na come out with her schoolbag.

She looked at the empty entrance and stomped her foot in anger.

Damn it, Xia Mi La didn’t even wait for her!

*

Tanmyung High School was bustling early in the morning.

Just because Xia Mi La didn’t plan to do anything to Pei Duo Xing didn’t mean others would be so merciful.

So, Cui Zhe’s warning was not wrong, and Xia Mi La was not wrong to laugh at Jin He’s foolishness.

The more actively Jin He tried to pull Pei Duo Xing to his side, the more of a thorn in the side she would become to others.

Jin He was Han Lin’s only son, a Prince Charming in the eyes of many.

Although he suddenly had a twin brother, as the eldest legitimate son, his status should not change in any way.

While not everyone necessarily approved of Xia Mi La, her family background was indeed impeccable. The only daughter of Xia Hong’s sole heir only someone of such status would do.

In short, even if it wasn’t Xia Mi La, it could absolutely not be Pei Duo Xing.

A sponsored student from a poor family, standing so casually next to Jin He on what grounds?

For a student with no background like her, Tanmyung High School was not such a simple and easy place.

Everyone was eager to teach Pei Duo Xing this lesson through their actions.

When Bai You Na walked into the classroom, Pei Duo Xing was also entering from the doorway, carrying her own desk.

As she passed by, Bai You Na held a hand to her nose, a look of disgust on her face. “It stinks. Does she live in a garbage dump?”

“Right?” her friend at school chimed in with a laugh. “Trash should live in a trash heap!”

The whole class heard this and burst into laughter.

Bai You Na also laughed, shot a contemptuous glance at Pei Duo Xing, and walked to her seat.

“What’s up with you today?” her friend then asked. “You seem to be a little late.”

“Don’t mention it.” Bai You Na opened her schoolbag, took out a powder compact, and immediately started touching up her makeup in the mirror. “Xia Mi La left first this morning, so I had to get another car from home.”

She had to wait a while longer at the gate.

“How come?” Hearing Xia Mi La’s name, others around them joined the conversation. “Besides when Jin He picks you up, don’t you two usually go to school together?”

“Um, yeah.” Bai You Na gave a dry laugh. She didn’t dare reveal the truth about being under Xia Mi La’s thumb, so she just replied, “She’s been in a really bad mood lately.”

That wasn’t exactly a lie; she had been quite temperamental recently.

“Right?” The surrounding students all expressed their understanding. “If my fiancé was getting tangled up with a sponsored student, I’d be in a bad mood too.”

“So, You Na, we should help Mira out more.”

Bai You Na smiled and glanced at Pei Duo Xing.

Although she had no desire to help Xia Mi La, she wouldn’t refuse an opportunity to make Pei Duo Xing uncomfortable.

In another corner of the classroom, Pei Duo Xing was a stark contrast to the relaxed atmosphere.

She brought a bucket of water and a rag to wipe her desk.

Someone had thrown her desk deep into the dumpster. The weather was still a bit hot, and she couldn’t avoid picking up the smell when she retrieved it.

With a grim face, she wiped her desk while listening to the unbridled discussion and mockery from the surrounding students.

And the name of the other girl they mentioned in contrast to her Xia Mi La was spoken with a completely different tone.

This made her feel a sense of injustice.

*We’re all human,* Pei Duo Xing thought indignantly, *so why is there so much unfairness in this world!*

Just as she was thinking this, the bucket of water at her feet was kicked over. The bucket toppled, and the water inside gushed out, completely soaking her canvas shoes.

“You guys…” Pei Duo Xing dodged in alarm, then became furious at the deliberate act.

But no one cared about her feelings. Seeing the expression on her face, they just laughed triumphantly.

“Remember to wipe the floor clean,” someone reminded her. “Our classroom is getting filthy because of you!”
“Hey, did you pick your school uniform from a garbage dump? Why is it so old?”
“Aish, do you have to buy a second-hand school uniform?”

Pei Duo Xing said nothing.

After wiping the desk, she started mopping the floor, swallowing her grievances to get the floor clean.

She thought about what Jin He had said yesterday. He told her to let him know if she was being bullied.

In fact, the targeting had started the moment she walked through the school gates yesterday, but she couldn’t go to him with every trivial matter. That would be useless.

She needed a more severe instance of bullying, something with more serious consequences. Only then would he pay more attention, would he take her more to heart.

She needed a clearer declaration of his support. Only then could she truly establish a foothold in this school.

At noon today, Jin He once again did not invite Xia Mi La to eat with him. The moment the bell rang, he walked out of the classroom by himself.

“Mira…” At the lunch table, even someone as slow as Song Ya-yun sensed that something was wrong. “Did you and Jin He have a fight? Why aren’t you two talking? I heard that after we left yesterday, he took the transfer student to the cafeteria to eat. Mira…”

She was starting to panic because of the surrounding gossip.

Although she didn’t know what she was panicking about either.

Even if Xia Mi La and Jin He broke off their engagement, she would still be Xia Mi La, wouldn’t she?

Those limited-edition luxury goods, those bling-bling accessories, were all gifts from Xia Mi La. They had nothing to do with Jin He.

Her worry did not seem feigned.

Xia Mi La looked up at her and placed a piece of fish on her plate. “Eat more, it’s good for you. Don’t worry so much about other things.”

Author’s Note:
———————-
1. Ya-yun: I may be dumb, but I still know who my sugar daddy is [Please]
2. No update tomorrow, my darlings [Sprinkles flowers]