Wei Qimian stared at Xuan Yuzhai who was slumped on the ground. His eyes were full of spite, yet he was trying to gain some pity. All of Xuan Yuzhai’s usual grace was gone. Instead, he looked like a wet dog, revolting in that state of sorry plight.
He looked at Wei Qimian pleadingly and eventually she sighed, saying, “Let him go.”
Lin Huai was not surprised. Despite all the evil things Xuan Yuzhai had done, he wouldn’t get much punishment even if he ended up at the Public Security Bureau. As such, they might as well let Xuan Yuzhai leave.
Lin Huai said, “You can go now.”
Xuan Yuzhai nodded his head continuously. Hurriedly, he rushed back to his car, and quickly drove away.
Wei Qimian sighed and said, “I want to meet Niu Haijiao.”
Lin Huai asked, “Meet her right now?”
“Yup,” dejected, Wei Qimian nodded her head and said. “Will you come with me?”
“Alright,” Lin Huai agreed. “I want to hear what she has to say.”
Lin Huai looked at his companions. Pu Chengji was the most sensitive and knew not to interrupt Lin Huai and Wei Qimian’s time alone. As such, he immediately smiled and said, “You don’t have to worry about us. You take the car and go. We will hail a cab.”
“Alright then,” Lin Huai told Wei Qimian. “You guys hail a cab, and I will leave with Mianmian. Oh right, Mianmian, where are we meeting Niu Haijiao?”
“Let me make a phone call first.” Wei Qimian finished talking and whipped out her phone. She tapped on its screen. Soon, the line connected. In her usual voice, Wei Qimian said calmly, “Jiaojiao, are you free now? Let’s meet up. I want to chat with you. Yup, we can meet at the mala hotpot shop near the college. I will head over right now. Alright, see you.”
After Wei Qimian hung up the line, she and Lin Huai got into the car. Then, Lin Huai drove toward the college.
With Lin Huai’s car some distance away, Wu Mengjie still had a look of disbelief. He looked at Wu Jun and Pu Chengji, and said, “Do you dare to believe it? We actually embarrassed Xuan Yuzhai so terribly! I never would have thought that this could happen.”
Pu Chengji laughed. “From our big brother’s vantage point, Xuan Yuzhai is nothing. You just wait. One day, Brother Huai would drag Big Lei off his throne. On top of that, he will also punish those arrogant bastards from the sports major.”
Big Lei was scary enough, let alone the guys from the sports major. To them, these people were on par with demons. Wu Jun and Wu Mengjie shuddered. However, for some reason, today’s battle had made the young blood in them boil. Their eyes leaked with excitement and anticipation.
After Lin Huai and Wei Qimian reached the mala hotpot shop, they searched for a private room. Then, Wei Qimian texted Niu Haijiao the room number. Wei Qimian was silent during the wait, and Lin Huai knew that she was feeling down. After all, nobody would be unaffected by a betrayal of a friend. He felt very uncomfortable inside.
Lin Huai used to hold a grudge against Wei Qimian for her reaction toward the incident. However, he could not help but feel sad for her. All that remaining beef disappeared upon seeing Wei Qimian’s state.
After some time, the room door opened and Niu Haijiao walked in from outside. Her presence was accompanied by her signature laughter that sounded like bells. “Mianmian, why the sudden meet up with me tonight? Ah! You? Why are you here?”
The last two sentences were because she noticed Lin Huai sitting there. Her tone was a mixture of alarm, anger, and uneasiness.
Wei Qimian took a deep breath and said, “Take a seat.”
Niu Haijiao looked at Wei Qimian, and then back at Lin Huai. She knew that something was up, so she turned around and wanted to leave. Suddenly, Lin Huai said, “If you don’t stay, I am afraid that from tomorrow onward, you will not survive in college.”
Niu Haijiao was shocked. Even though she did not entirely believe Lin Huai, the risk was not worth it. So, she turned back around with a cold expression and sat next to Wei Qimian. She said coldly, “Mianmian, are you trying to ease the tension between the two of us? That is impossible! He did those things to me and you witnessed it with your own eyes. I feel only disgust at his face. How could I possibly forgive him?”
Niu Haijiao was afraid of the truth being exposed and decided to hurl accusations at Lin Huai as a precaution.
Lin Huai smiled and retrieved his phone. Then, he played the recording of Xuan Yuzhai’s confession. When Xuan Yuzhai’s words reached Niu Haijiao’s ears, Niu Haijiao paled. She leaped from her seat as if she was stabbed in the buttocks. In a panic, she said, “He is talking nonsense! Xuan Yuzhai is wrongly accusing me!”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “In that case, how about I play this recording in college? Do you think people would believe you or this recording?”
“I…” Niu Haijiao was stunned. She did not like her chances. Her gut told her that nobody would believe her. Furthermore, she did not want this recording to be spread to the public.
Suddenly, Niu Haijiao leaped up and ran to Lin Huai. She stretched out her hand and hoped to snatch his phone away. Lin Huai dodged and placed his phone into his pocket. He could not help but laugh. “Even a thug like Zhang Heng was not my match. Niu Haijiao, a mentally weak girl like you, do you really think that you could snatch something from my hands?”
“I…” Niu Haijiao was desperate and left with no choice. She turned around and looked pitifully at Wei Qimian with tears in her eyes. In a wronged voice, she said, “Mianmian, I don’t know how I offended these two guys. They are working together to discredit me. You must believe me. We are good friends.”
Wei Qimian had been watching silently. Only when she heard what Niu Haijiao had to say did she reveal a disappointed look. That disappointment was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She went from disappointment to despair.
Wei Qimian shook her head and sighed. “Jiaojiao, I had my suspicions about you for quite some time already. Take a seat and let’s talk.”
Niu Haijiao was about to defend herself when she suddenly realized that no matter what she said, it would be pointless. She could only sit back properly and feel uneasiness in her heart.
“Jiaojiao,” rang Wei Qimian’s disappointed voice. “That day, I did believe my own eyes when I saw that scene. Anyone would’ve believed their own eyes. If it was somebody else, I might have doubted it, but you are my close friend and I trusted you completely!”
Wei Qimian’s speech incited shame in Niu Haijiao.
“However, I gave it a second thought. Although I had not interacted much with Lin Huai, he did not seem like that kind of person. Also, everything was too much of a coincidence. He was about to take advantage of you, and we happened to chance upon it? Even if everything was a coincidence, I still felt that guys like Lin Huai and Xuan Yuzhai did not usually have to force girls to have sex with them. Nowadays, college students are attracted by looks, unlike people in the workforce whose priority is usually money. Lin Huai is rather handsome, isn’t he?”
Niu Haijiao asked, “So… you have been doubting me all the while?”
“I did suspect something was amiss. However, I held it back and I didn’t want to doubt you so I chose to believe my own eyes. After all, even if a guy had malicious sexual intent toward a girl, it did not mean that he was an evil person deep down within. It might be just a rash impulse. However, if all that was only a charade and not real, what does that say about you? It could only mean that you were working with Xuan Yuzhai to set Lin Huai up, to spoil the relationship between us. That would mean that you have horrible conduct. Thus, I rather believed what I saw as the actual truth, and not overthink it.”
Niu Haijiao bit into her lips. With an uncomfortable look on her face, she replied, “Yet, at the end of the day, you doubted me.”
“Xuan Yuzhai had already admitted to the ploy.” Wei Qimian looked at Niu Haijiao and sighed. She said, “Jiaojiao, I always treated you like a sister. You really let me down. How are you going to face our other friends in the dormitory?
Niu Haijiao bit into her lips again and said, “I can transfer to another college. Please don’t tell them.”
“No way.”
Niu Haijiao looked aghast. She pleaded, “Mianmian, are you not going to give me a second chance? Are you not going to take into account our sisterhood?”
“I am willing to give you another chance. Otherwise, I would not have come looking for you.”
Lin Huai was surprised by Wei Qimian’s words. On the other hand, Niu Haijiao’s eyes lit up and she said agitatedly, “Yes. I know you still care about our sisterhood. So tell me, what can I do? Can I apologize to you and let the past be water under the bridge?”
Wei Qimian shook her head, and immediately Niu Haijiao said with palpable disappointment, “You mentioned you were going to let me off the hook…”
Wei Qimian replied, “You should still transfer to another college. However, before you leave, you should write a public letter and apologize to Lin Huai. You may include that you were threatened and had no choice but to set Lin Huai up. Now, you have come to your senses and feel ashamed toward your best friend. Therefore, you are choosing to transfer to another college.”
“I…” Niu Haijiao hesitated. However, she thought that this might be a good idea. Thus, she nodded her head and said, “Alright!”
“Okay.” Wei Qimian sighed. “Jiaojiao, I did not want things to turn out this way. However, you have to pay the price for your mistakes. This incident of yours had negative repercussions on Lin Huai. Thus, you have the responsibility to clear his name. This way, you wouldn’t be put on the spot as well.”
“I understand.” Niu Haijiao nodded her head sorrowfully. “I understand, I will put in my transfer request tomorrow.”
Wei Qimian gave a deep sigh.
Niu Haijiao could not bear to stay any longer and decided to leave. She stood up, stared longingly at Wei Qimian, and then back at Lin Huai. She said, “Mianmian, we are not the same. You were born into a wealthy family whereas I’m from a normal family… Thus, my thoughts have already matured. I have to either marry the son of a rich man, or make my own money. Therefore, I am sorry.”
Niu Haijiao finished her speech and left.
After hearing her words, Lin Huai felt sudden sympathy for Niu Haijiao. Although she did not deserve it, at the end of the day, she did throw her conscience away for the sake of money. However, there were a lot of poor people in this world, and not every one of them lacked integrity the way she did.
Wei Qimian looked at Lin Huai with a solemn expression and said, “Lin Huai, I am sorry!”