Chapter 5

Xu Lang had sent a driver, but a nail had punctured his tyre. He’d had to get it replaced first.

Accidents happened. No one could be blamed.

As for the ‘kind person’ who’d shown her the way, he was a guide I’d found online.

I’d told him to make absolutely sure he took her up the most winding, difficult route.

His embellishments and encouragement also deserved some credit for her charging up to confront me with no regard for her appearance.

Unfortunately for her, she hadn’t settled any scores. She’d disrupted Zhou Mingxi’s party and embarrassed Xu Lang in front of his closest circle.

Now, unless his family went bankrupt, she probably wouldn’t get a chance to replace me in her lifetime.

Meng Yuan shook with anger, pointing at me as she broke down.

“You did it on purpose! You did!”

I gave her a smile that said, So what?

Xu Lang and I were standing in the doorway, our backs to everyone in the hall.

No one would see me provoking her.

They’d only think she really was a madwoman.

Xu Lang told the guards to escort her out, then went over to apologise to Zhou Mingxi.

Meng Yuan refused to leave. As she struggled with the guards, her eyes kept following him.

When her gaze passed over Jiang Dai, it paused.

“Su Ying, you’re impressive. Your ex and your current boyfriend in the same room, and they haven’t even started fighting?”

She broke free of the guards and spoke loudly enough for the entire hall to hear.

“Oh, you might not know this, but I went to your high school.

“You dating Jiang Dai was huge news. Everyone at school knew.”

The restless hall fell silent at once.

Zhou Mingxi gave me a cold look, all her former courtesy gone.

She slipped her arm through Jiang Dai’s and brought him in front of everyone.

“Let me introduce you.

“This is my boyfriend, Jiang Dai.”

Xu Lang often told me how formidable Mingxi was, warning me never to offend her.

“Nobody who’s crossed her has come out of it well.”

Meng Yuan had probably only meant to drive a wedge between Xu Lang and me.

Instead, she’d planted a bomb under my feet.

I’d handled hawks, only to have one peck my eyes out.

After that day, Xu Lang didn’t lose his temper with me. He simply stopped seeking me out.

Our relationship existed in name only.

He was afraid of Zhou Mingxi, but didn’t want his cowardice to show too clearly.

People would laugh at him if he broke up with me outright.

Zhou Mingxi’s retaliation came quickly too.

I was dropped from the candidates for several student club leadership elections. Hosting work I’d been promised fell through.

That wasn’t even the worst of it.

My registration for an influential business competition I’d been preparing for was blocked.

A teammate pointed at the registration page. “Look, Su Ying. Every time I submit it, there’s an error.”

Naturally, that was Zhou Mingxi’s doing too.

For her, it took one phone call and the organisers adding a name to a blacklist.

The closer you got to the lives of that untouchable elite, the easier it was for an ordinary person to lose the will to fight.

If someone offended me, I had to swallow it or rack my brains for revenge—and bear the risk of failure.

For a woman born to privilege like Zhou Mingxi, ruining someone took a word.

When I said nothing, my teammate added, “Maybe too many people are registering at once and the site’s glitching. I’ll try again tonight.”

“I don’t think it’ll work tonight either.”

Meng Yuan stood in the meeting-room doorway, gloating.

Our competition preparations involved discussions, so the library wasn’t an option. I’d booked a student union meeting room instead.

As a member of the publicity department, she had access. Her being there wasn’t surprising.

She told my teammates brazenly, “Su Ying offended someone very important. As long as you keep her on the team, you won’t be able to register.”

They looked at me in confusion.

I walked over to Meng Yuan and lowered my voice.

“If I remember correctly, you arrived here playing the bright, kind little ray of sunshine.

“If you’re going to wear a mask, keep it on properly.

“Just because I’ve seen your cards, you’re giving up and showing them to everyone. Don’t you think that’s stupid?

“Am I the only opponent you’ll ever have?”

Then I asked my teammates to remove my name and submit the form again.

“How can we do that?” one protested. “The idea was yours, and you prepared most of the materials. We could drop anyone but you!”

I smiled. “It’s all right. Get registered first. Don’t let me hold you up.”

Since I couldn’t compete anyway, the way to cut my losses was to be a good person about it.

A good reputation didn’t usually make itself felt. But when something really happened, it could save your life.

When I shouldered my bag and left, Meng Yuan was still standing blankly in the doorway.