Chapter 17 “She Has Plenty of People Around Her…”

By the time Jin He returned to the infirmary, Pei Duo Xing’s emotions had stabilized considerably, and Cui Zhe had also learned the reason behind her conclusion.

“Just because you encountered Xia Mi La, you think she’s the mastermind behind this?” Cui Zhe felt this was far too arbitrary and one-sided.

Pei Duo Xing now also felt her conclusion wasn’t entirely rational, but since she had already spoken the words, what could she do?

“At that time…” she muttered gloomily, “I didn’t think that much about it. Besides, she’s the person with the most motive in this school, isn’t she?”

Cui Zhe sighed: “Even if she has motive, that doesn’t necessarily mean she would do this. You don’t understand, Mira… she’s not that kind of person.”

Hearing this, Pei Duo Xing became even angrier: “A-Zhe, I’m the one who got hurt. Do I have to lie here in this sickbed and accept your criticism?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Pei Duo Xing persisted relentlessly: “Don’t you think it’s particularly ridiculous to preach about truth and virtue to me right now?”

Cui Zhe had nothing to say.

He had seen the video too, had seen how Jin He accused Xia Mi La.

But what if this matter really had nothing to do with Xia Mi La?

Jin He felt similarly dismissive. He had just taken a punch from Jin Can, and he added this debt to Xia Mi La’s account as well.

“Maybe she didn’t do it. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have such thoughts.” He snorted coldly, “She has plenty of people around her who’d want to stand up for her and do things on her behalf.”

No sooner had his words fallen than the infirmary door was shoved open violently.

The ones who entered were Xu Lian Yi and Song Ya-yun.

They had originally been heading back to the classroom to find Xia Mi La, but along the way they saw the video and came straight here.

Xu Lian Yi glanced at Pei Duo Xing on the bed and directly challenged Jin He: “What right do you have to say Mira was behind the video? Do you have evidence? What gives you the right to slander Mira in front of so many people?”

Damn… this is never-ending, Jin He was furious: “Evidence? You think Xia Mi La didn’t do it? What evidence do you have?”

“How laughable – you slander someone, then demand the slandered person provide evidence?” Xu Lian Yi didn’t back down, “Then couldn’t I just say you did this? You wanted to create a fake hero-saves-the-beauty scenario, hiring people to bully Pei Duo Xing so you could step in and rescue her – doesn’t that make perfect sense? What, you say it wasn’t you? Then please provide evidence!”

When she had seen that video earlier, she had nearly exploded with anger.

Even if she wasn’t his fiancée, just a childhood friend, Jin He shouldn’t fabricate accusations and publicly blame Mira in front of everyone, making her the laughingstock.

“I was the one who said it.” Pei Duo Xing wasn’t without the courage to admit it. “During lunch break, I specifically avoided everyone and only encountered Xia Mi La on the road. Then I was immediately captured. Can you honestly say this matter has nothing to do with her?”

“This is your basis?” Xu Lian Yi nodded. “Fine, Jin He might not be able to do it, but we’ll find evidence and catch the real culprit soon. When that happens, remember your words clearly and obediently apologize to Mira. Otherwise, I won’t mind turning your current slander into reality!”

Her words were even more arrogant than Xia Mi La’s, both provoking and mocking his incompetence. Jin He was so angered he laughed: “Xu Lian Yi, have you lost your mind? What status do you hold to dare speak to me like this?”

Xu Lian Yi remained neither humble nor pushy: “With my status, I naturally cannot shake Young Master Jin He in any way. But the same applies to our Mira. Her reputation and prestige aren’t something anyone can casually undermine either!”

After saying this, she left with Song Ya-yun.

Cui Zhe remained dazed for a long time.

“What’s going on with Xu Lian Yi?” He recalled Jin He’s earlier words, “Are the people around Xia Mi La this bold now?”

Jin He let out a cold laugh.

Pei Duo Xing gripped the quilt so tightly her fingers turned pale and painful.

She felt an indescribable sense of defeat in her heart.

Although she was the victim, Xia Mi La had so many people willing to trust and defend her. She possessed far more than Pei Duo Xing ever did.

Not just Cui Zhe, even Song Ya-yun was startled.

“Yi Yi, what’s wrong with you?” She patted her chest to calm herself, “How could you speak to Jin He like that just now? I was almost scared to death.”

Her personality was quite similar to the female lead’s – soft and dependent, not skilled in confrontations.

Among the three of them, Xu Lian Yi was the strongest, but she had never been this bold before, daring to directly challenge Jin He.

At this moment, Xu Lian Yi also felt somewhat nervous.

She knew very well that her former self indeed lacked such courage.

But now Mira was different.

Xia Mi La had changed, no longer allowing others to manipulate her like before. Following beside Xia Mi La, her own courage had doubled.

However, whether in the past or present, clearing Xia Mi La’s name and seeking justice for her was something she would definitely do.

“I’m going to find Li Cainv now,” she instructed Song Ya-yun, “You investigate the source of the video on your phone, ask around everywhere to see who exactly did this.”

Song Ya-yun nodded: “Okay.”

It wasn’t particularly difficult.

Twenty minutes later, everyone saw another video in the group chat.

It was campus surveillance footage – the exact segment Pei Duo Xing claimed she encountered Xia Mi La.

The two met, she ran toward the right fork in the road, then someone chased after her, and Xia Mi La pointed in the opposite direction.

Not only did she not reveal her whereabouts, she even provided cover for her.

Song Ya-yun’s investigation quickly yielded results.

This matter had nothing to do with Xia Mi La. There wasn’t even a mastermind behind it – simply too many people wanting to mock Pei Duo Xing.

The group appearing in the video were led away by Xia Mi La and didn’t succeed. Those who caught Pei Duo Xing were another group.

Most of these people were neutral parties. Surprisingly, White Tiger Hall didn’t make a move.

But given Jin He’s concerned behavior today, White Tiger Hall’s intervention probably wasn’t far off.

Xu Lian Yi threw the evidence in Jin He’s face: “If you don’t apologize to Mira publicly before everyone, I won’t mind asking Han Lin for an explanation in Xia Hong’s name.”

Though still a threat, Jin He had lost his earlier arrogant demeanor.

He had seen the video and the internal group chats of the perpetrators.

From Xia Mi La’s perspective, this entire incident was a case of sheer misfortune. She had simply been getting some fresh air on the terrace when she happened to run into Pei Duo Xing, and that chance encounter dragged her into this mess, leading to Jin He publicly humiliating her in front of everyone.

One could even call it a case of repaying kindness with enmity.

Many armchair critics began lamenting after the fact: “I knew it was impossible! Xia Mi La isn’t that kind of person at all!”

This realization only made Xia Mi La’s situation appear more pitiful—after all, Jin He had taken sides against her without even hearing her out.

Jin He was now filled with remorse.

He hadn’t deliberately meant to target Xia Mi La. At the time, he had been so enraged by Pei Duo Xing’s injury that he lost his temper.

Now that he had calmed down and regained his rationality, he belatedly remembered what kind of person his fiance truly was.

She was too gentle to ever raise her voice, too kind-hearted to even step on an ant, and she always approached others with tolerance and goodwill.

While he had been worried she might confront Pei Duo Xing and had instinctively pitted them against each other, looking back, he realized he should have trusted her more.

But he couldn’t entirely blame himself either. After all, compared to Xia Mi La, Pei Duo Xing seemed so much more vulnerable, so it was only natural that he would want to protect her more.

Pei Duo Xing, meanwhile, felt utterly humiliated. Xia Mi La’s actions in the video felt like a sharp slap across her face.

She never would have imagined that after she left, Xia Mi La would cover for her.

Why? She didn’t need such condescending kindness!

Didn’t she hate her? Or perhaps she simply hadn’t regarded her as worthy of consideration at all! Her actions were nothing but a display of her own superiority!

Pei Duo Xing felt a pain even more suffocating than having flour paste smother her nose and mouth.

Wealth, reputation… and now, even her character and morals had been utterly overshadowed by Xia Mi La, trampled into the mud.

“I…” Her voice came out hoarse and strained. “I should go apologize. I need to apologize.”

She had wronged Xia Mi La. She had to face up to her mistake this time.

“You don’t need to go,” Jin He stopped her. “I’ll handle it.”

“But I…”

Jin He shook his head. “I reprimanded Xia Mi La without knowing the full story. Given your state at the time, how could you have known any better? So this is my fault, and I’ll be the one to apologize to her.”

*

By the time Xu Lian Yi and Song Ya-yun returned to the classroom to find Xia Mi La, her new phones had already been delivered.

“You’re back,” she greeted them with a smile, waving them over. “I asked them to bring three. Perfect timing—we can all get new ones together.”

Xu Lian Yi hadn’t known that Jin He had smashed Xia Mi La’s phone too. Hearing this, she immediately grew angry again.

“Mira…” Song Ya-yun burst into tears.

She glanced at the phones, then at the ever-optimistic Xia Mi La, and suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness and sympathy for her.

“Hmm?” Xia Mi La looked at her, amused. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like the new phone?”

“Wah…” Song Ya-yun was still upset, but she genuinely liked the new phone. “I… I do like it.”

“Mira.” Xu Lian Yi grew nervous again now that she was back by Xia Mi La’s side.

She had confronted Jin He earlier and wasn’t sure if Xia Mi La would blame her for interfering. Although Mira had seemed different lately, Jin He was still someone she cared about…

As she wrestled with her thoughts, Xia Mi La spoke up.

“Yiyi, thank you.” She smiled at her, “You did exceptionally well today.”

Xu Lian Yi immediately relaxed.

Feeling at ease, she momentarily didn’t know what else to say. After all, she hadn’t done these things to seek credit, but only for this moment when the truth would come to light.

Instead, Xia Mi La raised her hand and gently patted her shoulder, softly comforting her: “From now on, no matter what you want to do, just go ahead and do it. I’ll be here to support you.”

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Author’s note: Yiyi is the GOAT~[Cheers]