Chapter 13: I Also Want Cake (13)
Jiang Zhiyan wanted to check Assistant Wang’s information in the script, but there was nothing. Of course, he was the assistant of the female supporting character’s father, an extremely peripheral character. Every time Assistant Wang appeared in the script, it was to deliver something, with almost no lines.
But whatever, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. She just needed to focus on her classes now. If the sky fell, she would go find Liang Xi. After all, she was thick-skinned.
Jiang Zhiyan took a sip of soup contentedly.
Enjoy the good days while they lasted, overthinking couldn’t change anything.
After finishing their meal, Jiang Zhiyan and Liang Xi went to Liang Xi’s house together.
Liang Xi’s parents divorced when she was very young, and she was awarded to her mother. Her mother was a senior executive and very busy, usually staying in the company dormitory and not coming home.
“My house is rather small.” Liang Xi said a bit shyly. “I usually like to buy random things, so it might look a bit crowded.”
“It’s very cozy…” Jiang Zhiyan watched as Liang Xi opened the door. The area was indeed not large, and there were many things, but it wasn’t messy at all. It could be seen that the owner of the house cherished this home.
Hearing Jiang Zhiyan say this, Liang Xi’s face lit up with a smile: “That’s the ceramic doll I bought last week, the whole set. Aren’t they cute?”
“I made this myself, needle felting. See, I’m getting better at it. At first, they were a bit deformed, but now you can tell what they are.”
“Those are the flowers I’m growing.” While getting her schoolbag, Liang Xi had already introduced all her proud works.
It wasn’t that she wanted Jiang Zhiyan to praise her, she just couldn’t help but want to share.
“Do you like doing handicrafts?”
“Yes.” Liang Xi nodded, picking up a small rabbit from the shelf and handing it to Jiang Zhiyan. “I feel a great sense of accomplishment after finishing a piece… This is for you, I crocheted it myself, a small ornament.”
“Thank you.” Jiang Zhiyan took it. It was small, fitting perfectly in her palm. “It’s so cute.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Liang Xi glanced at the time. “We can’t chat anymore, we’re going to be late. I get carried away when I start talking.”
Liang Xi observed Jiang Zhiyan’s expression. She didn’t know if Jiang Zhiyan had adjusted or was subconsciously hiding her true emotions, but Jiang Zhiyan’s mood today was a bit strange.
Fortunately, when she received the rabbit, she genuinely seemed happy.
“What do you think I should give her as a return gift?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at the small rabbit in her hand, thinking about how to attach it to her schoolbag.
“I don’t know.” The system said, while searching for Jiang Zhiyan. “Look, giving these to your best friend, she was moved to tears.”
Jiang Zhiyan: …
“You better stop talking.” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Liang Xi beside her. She was holding an English test paper, her expression clearly not right. “Don’t tell me you haven’t finished your homework yet.”
“I just realized there’s another page I haven’t done. This test paper actually has three pages.” Liang Xi said with a long face.
Jiang Zhiyan leaned closer to her: “Let’s do it together, they’re all multiple-choice questions, it’ll be quick.”
“But there are more than forty questions. How can they print the words so small and cramped? We’re only three intersections away from school.”
“It’s okay.” Jiang Zhiyan moved closer. “You do the front, I’ll do the back.”
“Host, you can actually take a picture of the questions with your phone, that would be more convenient.” The system thought its method was very clever.
“I don’t want to.”
“Tsk.”
Liang Xi turned to look at Jiang Zhiyan.
“Don’t look at me, hurry up.” Jiang Zhiyan poked Liang Xi’s arm, moving her schoolbag from her lap to the seat beside her.
“Oh.” Liang Xi replied, placing the test paper between them.
The questions were very simple for Jiang Zhiyan. She could usually get the answer with a glance. She looked at Liang Xi’s progress, observing her face from the corner of her eye.
The other girl’s delicate brows furrowed together. She would ponder for a while, then, as if having made a major decision, write down the answer very solemnly.
“We’re almost there, almost there.” Liang Xi looked at the school gate getting closer and closer.
Jiang Zhiyan pointed at the questions and started reciting the answers: “Fill them in first.”
Liang Xi quickly wrote down the answers, and then, during the last short stretch of road, she circled some words on the questions, showcasing her “thought process.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’m just guessing?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.
“I trust you, you wouldn’t do that.” Liang Xi glanced at the test paper with satisfaction, then stuffed it into her schoolbag, letting out a sigh of relief. “It’s a good thing I checked, otherwise I would have been doomed. Our English teacher is very strict.”
“I’ve heard. Has she scolded you before?”
“No, but I’m still scared.” Liang Xi touched her chest.
Jiang Zhiyan’s timing was perfect. They arrived at the gate just as the school’s lunch break ended.
Liang Xi walked Jiang Zhiyan to the classroom door before leaving: “If you’re feeling down, come find me.”
“Okay.” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.
Walking into the classroom, everyone’s gaze fell on her.
Jiang Zhiyan figured that during the morning when she wasn’t at school, quite a few new rumors must have sprung up.
She pulled out her chair and sat down. Normally, when she sat down, those gazes would soften a bit, but not today. The gazes were still exceptionally blatant, to the point of being unbearable.
“Is there something you need?” Jiang Zhiyan put her bag down and asked unhappily, slapping her book on the desk with a loud bang.
“Hah, what a pretense. I heard Wei Ting and Lin Shenyu got into a fight over you last night and ended up in the hospital.” Someone beside her said with displeasure. “Feeling pretty smug, aren’t you?”
“It has nothing to do with me. Don’t believe or spread rumors.” Jiang Zhiyan twitched her lips. “Besides, what’s there to be smug about? If you think it’s something to be proud of, I suggest you read more books and reshape your values.”
“You!”
“Then why did they fight?” Another person asked curiously. “It seemed pretty serious. Wei Ting’s eyes were swollen this morning.”
“I don’t know.” Jiang Zhiyan frowned. “I don’t live with them.”
These people weren’t close to her. She had been in the class for a few days and hadn’t spoken a word to them. Now, they seemed to be earnestly seeking the truth, but they were usually the main force in spreading rumors.
She wondered if it had affected Liang Xi.
“Host, don’t worry about Liang Xi, her popularity is much better than yours.” The system observed the situation around Liang Xi, which was completely different from Jiang Zhiyan’s. A world of difference.
As soon as Liang Xi entered the classroom, she was warmly welcomed by the girls in the class. They expressed concern for her health, told her the news she missed in the morning, and then looked at Jiang Zhiyan… despised and loathed. After two people were rebuked by Jiang Zhiyan, no one else dared to approach her.
“Liang Xi, you came with Jiang Zhiyan? Did you meet at school or…” Yang Xiao didn’t want to say the other possibility.
Hearing Yang Xiao’s words, Liang Xi thought of what happened when she woke up that morning, lowered her head shyly, and covered her face with her book: “I stayed at her house last night.”
“Huh?” The girls nearby quickly gathered around. “Why?”
“Something came up.” Liang Xi patted the desk, rubbing her ears uncomfortably. “Oh, don’t be so gossipy. It’s nothing special, just staying over.”
“She didn’t bully you, right? You…” Yang Xiao looked Liang Xi’s uniform up and down. “This uniform doesn’t look like yours.”
“Yeah, it’s hers.”
Yang Xiao leaned closer, took a sniff, and nodded at the person beside her, her expression serious: “It’s definitely hers. Only she smells this fragrant in the entire school. Even her clothes are marinated with the scent.”
“Yang Xiao, you’re being creepy.” Liang Xi immediately moved away from her face and exclaimed.
Yang Xiao rested her chin on her hand, narrowed her eyes, and stared at Liang Xi: “Don’t tell me you two even slept in the same bed! Last time you came to my house, you didn’t even want to sleep in the same bed with me! What happened to being best friends forever?”
Chapter 14: I Also Want Cake (14)
Liang Xi looked at Yang Xiao, a little flustered: “No, it’s just that I was too sleepy last night, and it was a last-minute decision, so…”
“No need to explain further.” Yang Xiao looked up at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle and sighed again. “It’s okay, I’ll bear all the pain alone.”
“Sigh, you sleep with her, but you call me creepy.”
The people around them had expressions of amusement.
Liang Xi covered her face, then sighed: “She really had something to do yesterday. I can’t tell you the specifics, but it was really important, so it wasn’t appropriate for me to make demands and trouble her. When I go to your place, it’s for fun.”
“Alright.” Looking at Liang Xi’s expression, Yang Xiao confirmed that it must have been something serious. “Then do you know why Wei Ting and Lin Shenyu got into a fight? Was it because of that person?”
“No.” Liang Xi shook her head, frowning. “Those two don’t get along, isn’t it normal for them to fight? Why would it be related to Jiang Zhiyan?”
“Because someone said they went to find her yesterday.”
The surrounding people leaned closer, their expressions even more expectant.
“Lin Shenyu did go to find Jiang Zhiyan. After all, I went too, it’s normal for him to go as her boyfriend. Wei Ting went to pick Lin Shenyu up, and then they fought. I don’t know what happened, but it definitely has nothing to do with Jiang Zhiyan.” Liang Xi frowned. “Why are there so many messy rumors?”
Yang Xiao had only said that one sentence, but the actual rumors were definitely more outlandish.
Thinking of Jiang Zhiyan crying on the phone yesterday and nearly being hit, Liang Xi’s heart ached: “Don’t spread rumors.”
“I didn’t, I was just asking you because there were so many strange things being said.” Yang Xiao said immediately.
“Alright.” Seeing Liang Xi’s unhappy expression, Yang Xiao softened her voice. “I really didn’t spread any rumors, otherwise I wouldn’t have come to ask you, I would have just told you directly. Am I the kind of person who spreads rumors casually?”
“That’s good, don’t make wild guesses, there’s really nothing going on.” Liang Xi took out a box of cookies and handed it to Yang Xiao, then took out some snacks and shared them with the others.
“What’s so charming about Jiang Zhiyan? She made two guys fight over her.”
“Who knows? She said she has a pure relationship with all her boyfriends. Who would believe that? Right? Definitely… tsk tsk.”
A few boys walked in through the back door, chattering and laughing, making suggestive noises, winking at each other, then laughing again. Their voices were especially clear in the relatively quiet classroom.
“Those legs are amazing, tsk. I saw her knee bruised last time. Always pretending to be innocent, I don’t know what she’s pretending for, just a gold digger.”
“Exactly.”
The louder they spoke, the more it seemed like they found it something to be proud of, as if putting someone down would elevate themselves.
“Xi Xi, calm down, calm down.” Yang Xiao looked at Liang Xi’s increasingly dark expression, lowering her voice. “If a fight breaks out, we can’t beat them. If you want to vent your anger, I’ll call my brother. We’ll get him after school.”
“Are you guys sick?” Liang Xi couldn’t hold back any longer. Pressing down Yang Xiao’s hand, she turned around and interrupted the boys’ discussion.
“What does her private life have to do with you? How many boyfriends she has is none of your business! You speak so confidently, is it because you’re rats following her around every night?”
The boys exchanged glances and laughed. The leader smiled condescendingly: “Liang Xi, don’t get too close to her, don’t let her corrupt you, or your reputation will be ruined too.”
Liang Xi clenched her fists. In their eyes, she was just a harmless kitten baring its claws, so they didn’t take her words seriously at all.
“We’re just casually saying a few words. Why are you so worked up, Liang Xi? What, do you want to learn from her?” Another boy’s gaze swept across Liang Xi from head to toe.
“Show some respect with your eyes.” Yang Xiao slammed the table, her temper flaring. “Spreading rumors every day, do you use your mouth as an ass? What, Jiang Zhiyan looks down on you guys, doesn’t even want you to carry her shoes, so you’re lashing out in anger? Indeed, why don’t you look in the mirror and see what you look like? You really think you’re an emperor choosing his concubines?”
“Ptooey.” Yang Xiao turned her head away, her expression full of disgust. “Ugly and delusional.”
“Saying her reputation is bad, oh my, do you think your reputations are any better? Don’t you know everyone else says you…” Yang Xiao raised an eyebrow at the girl beside her. The girl frowned, shook her head, then glanced at the boy and whispered something to the person next to her.
Yang Xiao: As expected, good friends have great chemistry.
The boys’ faces darkened.
“It was just a joke, Jiang Zhiyan herself isn’t even bothered, why are you?”
“What kind of joke? What’s so funny? Besides you guys, who thinks it’s funny?” Liang Xi took a step forward. “Are you so used to acting like animals that you don’t care what others think?”
Yang Xiao’s eyes widened, looking at Liang Xi. This was the first time she knew Liang Xi had such strong fighting spirit. It’s true, when she was calm and reasonable, she was very formidable.
The boy cursed, pointing at Liang Xi’s face: “Liang Xi, you’re nothing good either, always chasing after Yan Yanzhuo, a gold-digging leech. Do you really think I wouldn’t dare hit you? I’m only holding back because you’re a girl.”
“I’m pursuing someone openly. Even if I don’t succeed, I don’t spread rumors. I’m upright and honest, so what?”
“Of course you dare hit me. Judging from how you talk about Jiang Zhiyan, you wouldn’t dare say a word to those guys who change girlfriends every day, because you really can’t beat them, and they would really beat you up for your foul mouth.”
“Oh, that’s right, you wouldn’t say anything to them, you would only kneel at their feet and beg them to teach you some experience.”
Liang Xi clenched her fists. She was actually very nervous. The boy was over 1.8 meters tall, much taller than her.
But her mind was filled with the sound of Jiang Zhiyan crying.
…
“Holy shit, holy shit, Jiang Zhiyan, Liang Xi is fighting with someone because of you!”
Jiang Zhiyan: ???
Jiang Zhiyan quickly dropped what she was holding and rushed out. Yan Yanzhuo hesitated for a second, then followed.
Arriving at Class Nine, Jiang Zhiyan squeezed through the crowd. Many people made way for her when they saw her. Reaching the front, she saw a boy pulling Liang Xi’s hair, looking at her mockingly.
Yang Xiao tried to hit his head with a book but was quickly restrained by others. Her situation didn’t look much better than Liang Xi’s.
Liang Xi’s eyes were red with pain, but she didn’t shed a single tear. She raised her head and stomped on the boy’s foot, her hands tightly pinching the flesh on his arm.
“Stop fighting!” A girl wanted to go up and break up the fight, but was stopped by some boys. “Let go of Liang Xi!”
“Fine, as long as she kneels down and begs me, apologizes to me, I’ll stop.” The boy sneered, his tone smug. He was enjoying this moment.
Jiang Zhiyan casually grabbed a pen from the desk, unscrewed it, and flung it. The pen pierced the back of his hand and fell to the floor. He cried out in pain, covering the back of his right hand with his left hand, but still didn’t let go.
“Fuck! Which idiot?” He looked around, his gaze landing accurately on Jiang Zhiyan.
“Let go.” Jiang Zhiyan walked through the crowd, grabbed a small knife from the desk, looked directly into his eyes, and repeated, “Let go.”
“Are you crazy!” He glared at Jiang Zhiyan. “Who do you think you are? You think I’ll let go just because you tell me to? Hah, aren’t you just relying on a bunch of boyfriends to back you up?”
He mouthed an extremely vulgar insult. Liang Xi stomped on his foot again, grinding her heel down. The boy yanked Liang Xi’s hair hard.
Jiang Zhiyan looked at him coldly, extremely calm, and extreme calmness was a precursor to going berserk.
The next second, her knife pierced his arm. The moment he let go, Jiang Zhiyan pushed Liang Xi into the arms of the girl beside her, then kicked him in the stomach. He fell backward, knocking over a few desks, clutching his stomach as he landed in a pile of clutter, crying out in pain.
A few screams rang out, then silence fell. Apart from the boy’s groans, there was no other sound. The people holding Yang Xiao also let go, taking a step back in fear.
No one expected Jiang Zhiyan to be so strong.
“Are you crazy, Jiang Zhiyan?” The boy clutched his arm, staring at it wide-eyed. He hadn’t expected Jiang Zhiyan to actually dare to attack him.
Jiang Zhiyan didn’t speak. She stepped on his calf, pressing him back down as he struggled to get up.
She held the knife in her left hand and grabbed his hair with her right, pulling him up forcefully. Glancing at his hand, which twitched as if to move, she twirled the knife, and his hand dropped back down.
“Jiang Zhiyan, don’t…” Liang Xi grabbed her arm. She knew Jiang Zhiyan was venting her anger for her, but she couldn’t stab him again.
“Liang Xi started it!” The boy yelled at Jiang Zhiyan.
“Are you shameless? Didn’t you start the rumors about Jiang Zhiyan? And you attacked first!” The girl who had caught Liang Xi yelled, supporting Yang Xiao. “You even pulled Liang Xi’s arm and pushed her against the wall!”
The surrounding people started talking all at once.
“I’m fine! Stop talking.” Liang Xi wiped the corner of her eye, her hand trembling slightly as she grasped Jiang Zhiyan’s. “Jiang Zhiyan, I’m really fine, don’t do this.”
Jiang Zhiyan obediently put the knife away in her pocket, then removed her foot from his leg. Looking at Liang Xi, she reached out to smooth her hair, but after just a couple of gentle strokes, she found many broken strands of hair in her hand. She stared at the hair, her eyes darkening slightly, then glanced at the boy on the floor. He instinctively flinched back, but there was limited space, no room to retreat.
When Lin Shenyu rushed over after hearing the news, he just happened to see the scene where Jiang Zhiyan was holding the knife. Now, seeing her calm down, he turned to Wei Ting, who had arrived with him: “Did you know she was like this?”
“No…” Wei Ting frowned. “She couldn’t even open a water bottle before.”
Yan Yanzhuo walked into the classroom and placed a signal jammer on the floor, his voice neither too loud nor too soft: “Delete all the videos, don’t spread this.”
Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Yan Yanzhuo from the corner of her eye, then looked at Liang Xi: “You and Yang Xiao go to the infirmary for a check-up first.”
“Okay, we’ll go in a bit.” Liang Xi blinked, still holding onto Jiang Zhiyan’s wrist tightly. “Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile. And don’t listen to them, they’re exaggerating.”
“Of course you’re not fragile, you’re super strong. But next time, prioritize your own safety first.” Jiang Zhiyan whispered, looking into Liang Xi’s eyes. She knew Liang Xi would speak up for her after hearing those rumors, but she didn’t expect it to escalate to this point. She couldn’t suppress her disgust as she looked at the boy lying on the floor. “Do you need me to call the police for you?”
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