Chapter 199: I showed you mercy

Ah!

A piercing scream drowned out the noisy chatter in the cafeteria.

Students queuing at the window for meals, and those who had already gotten their food and were eating at the tables, all seemed to have received some command, uniformly turning toward the source of the sound.

Two female students faced off. One wore a khaki mid-length trench coat, Chelsea boots, and a slender, well-proportioned leg showed between the coat's hem and the boot tops, dazzlingly white. She had her hair tied in a low ponytail with slightly curled ends. Her face was objectively beautiful—calm, it was already aggressive; when angry, her aura flared, making her hard to withstand for most people.

Everyone on campus should know her, freshmen included.

It was Xia Xi.

Yesterday, the person at the center of controversy faced much discussion; she fired back with a big rebuttal, showing no fear.

Although that post was still up on Tieba, viewed by many, few people now insulted her; instead, most praised and supported her.

Compared to timidity, her public response seemed generous, making it clear who was superior to the vague, snarky poster.

The other female student was unknown to everyone; she had sticky soup on her face, garlic bits and vegetable leaves in her hair, and the front of her white sweatshirt was a horrendous sight, resembling the outer wall of a trash bin into which leftover rice and dishes were dumped in the cafeteria corner.

The cafeteria fell silent for a moment, then erupted in heated discussion.

"Holy shit, who is that, does she have a grudge against Xia Xi?"

"I don't know......"

"Scary, Xia Xi suddenly lashed out."

"I know, I know, Zhou Xiaoyu, a member of the Student Union's External Relations Department."

"Huh? What grudge does she have with Xia Xi?"

"Then it's unclear."

Zhou Xiaoyu trembled with rage, both hands raised and hanging in midair, not daring to touch her clothes, nor to mess up her hair or face; her eyes stared at Xia Xi like arrows, ignoring the embarrassment of being watched, she shouted at the top of her lungs: "Xia Xi, are you sick?!"

Compared to her hysteria, Xia Xi remained calm as an outsider, lightly asking back: "Who exactly is sick?" She didn't intend to play riddles with Zhou Xiaoyu, making clear the cause of this scene: "The post on Tieba was yours."

Her tone was utterly certain, leaving no room for argument.

Xia Xi's volume was not low; many people present heard it, and an uproar rose.

Zhou Xiaoyu's face twisted with fury for a moment, then froze; she certainly wouldn't admit it, speaking stubbornly: "Not me! You mad dog, biting whoever you catch, right?! You believe I won't smash your mouth?!"

Having been scolded, Xia Xi didn't get angry but laughed instead; she had recently been watching Empresses in the Palace with Zhao Lei, and easily thought of: "You think you're the Imperial Concubine's maid? Still going to smash my mouth?"

She still wore that smile, this time laughing at Zhou Xiaoyu's naivety: "Zhou Xiaoyu, you surely don't really think I'd come confront you without evidence, do you?"

Xia Xi was deliberately bluffing her; the IP address as evidence wasn't sufficient, and the way it was obtained wasn't proper, so it couldn't be used openly. But Zhou Xiaoyu would throw herself into confusion.

As she expected, Zhou Xiaoyu's expression lacked the earlier confidence, she gritted her teeth and said: "What evidence do you have proving I did it?"

"Why should I tell you?" Xia Xi kept her cards close, continuing to threaten her: "If you have the guts, don't delete the post; I'll report to the police that someone infringed my reputation—see if they can find you, and that'll settle it. You haven't heard the saying, 'The internet is not a lawless land'? You think changing your phone number and registering a new account will hide who's behind it? You underestimate our nation's police."

The surge of anger in Zhou Xiaoyu's head cooled inch by inch; her face, flushed from rage, gradually turned pale, her lips trembling, unable to speak for a long while.

Xia Xi leaned slightly forward, hands behind her back, half-smiling: "Zhou Xiaoyu, do you remember last time when you anonymously wrote a complaint letter that I uncovered? I warned you—if you dare provoke me again, I'll slam a tray onto your face."

She lowered her gaze, glancing at Zhou Xiaoyu's disheveled attire: "I showed you mercy, hoping you won't repeatedly be clueless. At the swimming pool incident, I didn't argue with you—do you really think your schemes are that clever? It was because that night I got what I wanted, and couldn't be bothered to argue with you."

Zhou Xiaoyu shuddered, looking into her eyes, where a chilling coldness lay.

Those around heard clearly what had happened: the post on Tieba defaming Xia Xi was posted by Zhou Xiaoyu, who even stirred up the comment section, sparing no effort to smear Xia Xi.

Had it been someone with a poorer mindset, being exposed like that might have caused an emotional breakdown; Xia Xi settling the score with her was entirely understandable.

For a moment, everyone whispered and pointed at Zhou Xiaoyu.

"I never expected someone so dark-hearted, looking fairly pretty, to have such a black heart."

"Wasn't there someone analyzing that in the post yesterday? This person is obsessed with Xu Yanfeng to the point of madness, treating Xia Xi as a love rival. Laughable—even if Xu Yanfeng isn't with Xia Xi, he wouldn't be with her either; who knows what kind of antics she's up to."

"I'm from the Student Union, to be frank, she's targeted Xia Xi more than once. Once, late at night, she sent Xia Xi to a faraway pedestrian street to solicit sponsorship, then stole her credit."

"Holy cow, they're bringing workplace politics onto campus! What happened next? What happened next?"

"Later, Xu Yanfeng exposed her on the spot, stripping her of the External Relations Department head position. Because that day Xia Xi ran into Xu Yanfeng while soliciting sponsorship, he drove her back."

"When did this happen?"

"It was when Xia Xi had just started pursuing Xu Yanfeng, right? She joined our Student Union for him."

"Kind of sweet—did Xu Yanfeng start protecting his wife so early?"

"We've gone off topic, everyone…… Speaking of which, Zhou Xiaoyu is indeed hard to fathom; supporting Xia Xi's police report to resolve this, otherwise who knows what underhanded tricks she'll pull later."

"This shows education and character aren't equal; our school actually has such a person, despite having received higher education. There are also not a few girls who secretly crush on Xu Yanfeng, yet they don't act like her—truly a bit terrifying."

So many eyes filled with condemnation, contempt, and anger stabbed at her like boomerangs; Zhou Xiaoyu felt a prickle on her back, could bear it no longer, and ran away crying.

Xia Xi glanced at the mess on the floor, a flicker of regret crossing her eyes—not for Zhou Xiaoyu, but for the wasted food: her sweet and sour pork ribs, her braised beltfish, her garlic sautéed greens…… She should have stayed calm, taken a few bites first, then confronted Zhou Xiaoyu.

To avoid adding extra work for the cleaning auntie, Xia Xi went to fetch a broom and dustpan to clean up; however, when she turned around, Xu Yanfeng in a white shirt and black trousers stood three meters away, elegant and noble as if a work of art.

Xia Xi blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating.

Xu Yanfeng didn't vanish with her blink, indicating he was real.

When did he arrive? How long had he been watching? Did he see her and Zhou Xiaoyu fighting?

Perhaps it shouldn't be called a 'fight'; it was her one-sided retaliation against Zhou Xiaoyu.

Xia Xi recalled the scene just now—her lifting the tray and slamming it onto Zhou Xiaoyu looked savage, truly like a monkey in the forest that snatches someone's banana, eats it, then throws the peel at their face.

She seemed never to have done such an image-damaging act in front of Xu Yanfeng; she froze there for a moment, her hands and feet stiff, not knowing where to put them.

Under the gaze of many, Xu Yanfeng walked slowly up to Xia Xi; before he could speak, she took the initiative to change the subject: "You haven't been coming to school much this semester—why did you suddenly show up today?"

Xu Yanfeng didn't take the bait, sidestepping the topic, saying: "Just now, you and Zhou Xiaoyu…"

Xia Xi instantly turned into a shy maiden, falsely accusing: "She bumped into my tray."

Xu Yanfeng: "…"

Everyone: "…"