Li Mei's face was a mottled red and white as she struggled to compose herself. After a long moment, she finally managed to force out, "Alright, that's enough. All of you, go back to your rooms and rest. We have to catch the bus back to school early tomorrow morning. We'll deal with everything else once we're back at school!"
After saying this, Li Mei turned and walked away, afraid that if she lingered a moment longer, Shen Yi would lose his temper and hit her.
Qin Jiao's brow furrowed. 'In my past life, after we got back to school, Li Mei brought my younger uncle and his wife to the principal's office. They berated me and then forced me to drop out. But nothing at all happened to Shen Yi...'
Qin Jiao's eyes darkened, and she clenched her fists. 'I've been given a second chance. I absolutely will not live another tragic life!'
'Everything Lin Nian stole from me... I'm going to take it all back!'
'As for Shen Yi... I'll just stay as far away from him as I can!'
With that thought, Qin Jiao walked out without even glancing at Shen Yi.
Shen Yi, a few steps behind, lifted his head and watched Qin Jiao's retreating back with a complex yet gentle gaze.
**
This was the cheapest guesthouse in the provincial capital. A bed for one night cost three yuan, and the school would never have been willing to spend the money if they hadn't been required to stay for two nights.
There were four beds to a room. When Qin Jiao entered, two other girls were already inside, sitting on the bed by the window and staring at her with complicated expressions.
"I never thought Qin Jiao was so shameless."
"People said she liked Shen Yi before, and she denied it. But now look, she goes and does something so outrageous!"
"She's only doing it because Shen Yi's family is rich. She probably thinks that if she can hook him, she won't have to worry about taking college entrance exams or finding a job."
"Her grades are so lopsided, what kind of college could she get into anyway?"
The two girls were muttering to each other. Their voices were low, but Qin Jiao's hearing was excellent, and she heard every single word.
A glint flashed in Qin Jiao's almond-shaped eyes. Her voice was cold. "Why don't you tell me, then? What exactly did I do just now?"
The short-haired girl stammered, "That... that shameful affair... you want us to repeat it? We saw everything just now!"
"Exactly! It's so humiliating! You were lying down together. At this rate, it won't be long before you're pregnant!"
Qin Jiao leisurely leaned back against the quilt and lifted her chin.
"You two don't actually believe that you can get pregnant just by lying next to someone, do you? Go back and read your biology textbook carefully. And if you still don't get it, go home and ask your parents how you were made."
After hearing her words, the two girls' faces flushed beet-red.
Qin Jiao sneered inwardly. 'These young girls. They don't know anything, just blindly repeating what others say and spreading rumors.'
'In my last life, it was this kind of seemingly innocent ignorance that ruined me!'
'There's an old saying: gossip can drown a person. A casual word from them could be the last straw that breaks someone's back!'
Just then, Lin Nian pushed the door open and came in from outside.
Qin Jiao crossed her arms, her tone flat. "Shen Yi and I didn't do anything. We were framed. If I find the person who did it, I definitely won't let *her* go!"
The two girls looked a little bewildered, but Lin Nian, who had just entered, suddenly paled.
However, she quickly composed herself and said in a concerned tone, "Alright, it's getting late. Teacher Li told us to get some rest. We have to catch the bus at five-thirty tomorrow morning, so everyone should get to sleep."
Lin Nian was exceptionally popular in their class. She had a good temper and was a top student, so many of her classmates liked her.
After she spoke, the two girls, as expected, said nothing more. They just pulled their blankets over their heads and went to sleep.
Qin Jiao, however, was scrutinizing Lin Nian. Lin Nian's eyes were clear and her smile was placid, but Qin Jiao's intense stare made her skin crawl. Lin Nian immediately went and turned off the light.
As the room plunged into darkness, Qin Jiao was trying to figure out how to find proof that Lin Nian had framed her when a sudden pain shot through her head, and she was completely swallowed by the blackness.
An unknown amount of time passed before Qin Jiao opened her eyes. She found herself in a space about ten square meters in size.
There were no windows on any of the four walls, yet the space was brightly lit by some unknown source of light.
The area was completely empty, except for a well in one corner. The spring water inside it looked exceptionally clear.
As if moved by some unseen force, Qin Jiao reached out, cupped some of the water in her hands, and drank.