Chapter Six: Lying

Not a single shred of Xiang Yu’s wit would ever be deceived again by the pathetic act of this viper.

She glanced at Ye Nuoxin, then looked at the homeroom teacher. “Teacher Zhang, I request that the other students who transferred these items be brought here as well. I am willing to confront them face to face.”

Teacher Zhang was a bit confused but immediately nodded in agreement.

Li Qiang and a few others went out to call them.

Only Ye Nuoxin and Xiang Yu remained standing there. One was crying incessantly—whether out of grievance or guilt was unclear—and the other stood calm and independent, her demeanor as resilient and upright as a pine tree.

Teacher Zhang watched them silently, his emotions tangled. Regardless of who was at fault, having such an incident in his class was a scandal.

Soon, the others arrived.

They were two young girls from another class.

One said she had given something to Xiang Yu and that the message was also from Xiang Yu.

The other said she had handed it over to Ye Nuoxin.

This matched Ye Nuoxin’s account.

Xiang Yu’s face darkened; she truly hadn’t expected anyone to throw dirt on her like this.

Ye Nuoxin felt reassured and sobbed, “It really was Xiang Yu who said that. I was just helping her pass it along. She won’t admit it and even slanders me.”

Pitiful and wronged.

Several boys looked at Xiang Yu with disdain and anger—shamelessly taking things and then denying it.

Teacher Zhang’s forehead throbbed as he glared sternly at Xiang Yu. He had almost been fooled by her. Not only was her character vile, but her ability to feign innocence was even more cunning than the shrewdest streetwise con.

The more he had admired Xiang Yu’s composure and clear reasoning moments ago, the more irritated he was now.

Such a student was impossible to reform. It was best she face the harsh realities of society early on rather than corrupt the school’s atmosphere.

Xiang Yu looked coldly at Ye Nuoxin and suddenly said, “Ye Nuoxin, what is that around your neck?”

Everyone was stunned, caught off guard.

Only Ye Nuoxin’s face paled instantly.

Teacher Zhang fixed a sharp gaze on both girls. “Explain yourselves clearly.”

Xiang Yu pointed to a tall boy. “Come here and confirm—did you give Ye Nuoxin the necklace she’s wearing?”

Ye Nuoxin clutched her neck tightly.

Teacher Zhang lost patience and slammed his palm on the desk. “Ye Nuoxin, take out the necklace. I don’t have time to waste with you.”

The necklace was naturally the one given by the boy.

But Ye Nuoxin refused to admit it. “I bought this myself. The gift shop has more than one like it, only about ten or so yuan. I can afford it on my own.”

Teacher Zhang wanted nothing more than to make these students run twenty laps. Time was tight in the final year of middle school, yet these underachievers were tying him up in knots over right and wrong.

They had the audacity to pull stunts right under his nose.

Sensing the homeroom teacher’s frustration, Xiang Yu stepped forward. “Since Ye Nuoxin says she bought the necklace herself, then where did the little red bear plush on her bed come from? And the other items—search her desk and bed and you’ll see.

One item might coincidentally be bought by her, but not everything.

You can search my desk and bed too, to see if any of these boys gave me anything.”

Teacher Zhang’s expression softened; this was indeed a good approach.

He said, “To be fair, I will have a female teacher accompany you during the search.”

Ye Nuoxin was truly panicking now, lowering her head to avoid looking at anyone.

The girl who had tried to slander Xiang Yu was not as mentally strong as Ye Nuoxin. Seeing Ye Nuoxin about to be exposed, she confessed, “Actually, I was the one who always interacted with Ye Nuoxin.”

Teacher Zhang’s anger flared, and he asked sternly, “Then why did you lie just now?”

The girl’s eyes reddened, and she lowered her head, tears falling silently.

How could she admit she was jealous of Xiang Yu’s beauty? How could she confess that the person she liked favored Xiang Yu? Or that she was on good terms with Ye Nuoxin?

Doing so would only add to her disgrace and shame her further.

The boys looked at Ye Nuoxin in disbelief.

Li Qiang ground his teeth and pointed at Ye Nuoxin. “You’re really an ugly troublemaker! Ugly both inside and out!”

Angry, Ye Nuoxin covered her face and cried, hating Xiang Yu even more.

With the matter clear, Teacher Zhang made a quick judgment. Pointing to the girl who hadn’t lied, he said, “You may return to class first.”

Then he pointed to the girl who had lied. “You, wait here for further action.”

The girl left sobbing.

Teacher Zhang then addressed the boys. “You all go back for now. I will talk to your homeroom teacher about your behavior later. Those items will be searched from Ye Nuoxin; then they will be returned to you.

If you really can’t get them back, you’ll just have to accept it. Who told you to be so young and already trying to win girls’ favor with gifts? Use that energy on your studies instead—you wouldn’t always be at the bottom then!”

The boys left dejectedly, like castrated roosters.

Ye Nuoxin cried out, “Teacher Zhang, don’t search my things. I’ll hand them over myself.”

Although angry, Teacher Zhang didn’t insist on searching her belongings. Handing them over voluntarily would save time and effort.

Besides, in his impression, Ye Nuoxin was still more likable than Xiang Yu. Her grades were average; although she couldn’t enter a top high school, attending a vocational or regular high school was certainly feasible.

These long-held impressions were not easily overturned in an instant.