Chapter 3: The Standard Configuration of the Golden Age White Lotus

Jiang Qingrou didn’t even lift her eyelids. Jiang Fei, on the other hand, was a little surprised—how come Jiang Qingrou wasn’t reacting at all? This wasn’t like her usual behavior. In fact, the first thing Jiang Fei did when she entered the room was to glance at Jiang Qingrou. But since Jiang Qingrou was sitting sideways to the door, she couldn’t see her face clearly—only that her eyes were closed. She had expected Jiang Qingrou to throw a fit the moment she noticed her arrival. Instead, Jiang Qingrou didn’t even open her eyes. What was she thinking?

Jiang Fei was surprised, but quickly averted her gaze and smiled. “Xiao Zhi, I need to get my makeup done, otherwise I won’t make it in time.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaozhi smiled first, “Xiao Fei, you’re so beautiful—once you’re all made up, you’ll definitely stun everyone!”
But then her face showed hesitation. “But the teacher already collected all the makeup products after confirming everyone had finished their makeup…”

Hearing Jiang Fei’s voice, Qin Lulu hurried over. She had just been humiliated by Jiang Qingrou and was desperate for Jiang Fei to help her save face. As she walked into the dressing room, she caught Zhao Xiaozhi’s last sentence, and purposely raised her voice:
“Just use Jiang Qingrou’s, isn’t she your cousin? And she already took advantage of you—what’s borrowing a bit of makeup? She owes you some compensation anyway!”

This made Jiang Qingrou finally open her eyes. She rubbed her temples, her head aching slightly.

She had already picked the least conspicuous corner to stay out of sight, yet somehow they kept dragging her into things. She originally thought that with Qin Lulu gone, the scripted events from the novel wouldn’t happen. Who knew this idiot would follow Jiang Fei so quickly. Was she off practicing or acting like some creepy stalker?

In the book, it was exactly because of Qin Lulu’s provocation that Jiang Qingrou lost her temper and started arguing with her, making a big scene. In the end, Jiang Fei had teary eyes as she said not to borrow the makeup anymore, which finally brought the quarrel to a stop. After all, the whole fight was for Jiang Fei.

And yet, everyone afterward blamed Jiang Qingrou. In their minds, Jiang Qingrou had already “stolen” Jiang Fei’s spot, which was practically public knowledge. So no one thought it was wrong to pressure her into lending her makeup—in fact, they thought she should have offered it willingly.

Faced with all the gossip and stares, the original Jiang Qingrou—just a pampered eighteen-year-old girl—was overwhelmed and reluctantly lent out her makeup. Later, Jiang Fei not only used it to do a unique and eye-catching look for herself, but even offered Jiang Qingrou’s makeup to other girls. Jiang Qingrou, too shy to stop her, ended up with a bad reputation, while Jiang Fei came off as generous and helpful.

In a way, Jiang Qingrou lending that makeup helped reinforce the idea that she had stolen Jiang Fei’s application spot. After all, Qin Lulu had already laid the groundwork with her words—“compensation.”
If Jiang Qingrou had a guilty conscience, why would she need to “compensate” anyone?

What a joke. Her spot was rightfully hers. Why should she compensate someone who stole her application form?

After years of surviving in the entertainment industry, how could Jiang Qingrou possibly tolerate the crap the original version of herself had endured?

With that, she glanced over at Jiang Fei.

Jiang Fei had a delicate, innocent look. Her phoenix-shaped eyes carried a fragile sorrow, her skin was fair, her waist slim—so slim that the dance costume, which fit snugly on others, looked a bit loose on her. She looked like a frail beauty, the kind people wanted to protect.

Oh, the classic “white lotus” setup—pitiful face, stick-thin figure.

Jiang Qingrou gave a light laugh and turned to Qin Lulu, her voice soft and sweet:
“Qin Lulu, you’re really funny. What position of Jiang Fei’s have I taken? What exactly do I owe her? Can you explain it clearly?”

Qin Lulu sneered. “Don’t play dumb. You really want me to spell it out?”

Still burning from her earlier embarrassment, Qin Lulu was desperate to regain face.

Jiang Qingrou turned her head slightly toward Jiang Fei, who had stayed silent all this time, and gave a faint “Hmm?” through her nose. Her expression was one of genuine confusion.

She was beautiful, with striking features, but her large round eyes looked pure and innocent. Her voice was soft and gentle. Her face was vibrant, but her gaze was clear and clean—as if she truly didn’t understand what was going on.

Even Jiang Fei, who had wanted to stop Qin Lulu from saying more, felt a flash of frustration in her heart.
Sure, the application form had originally been stolen for her by her brother—but once her name was written on it, it became hers. If Jiang Qingrou’s second brother hadn’t come and taken it back, what business would Jiang Qingrou even have being here?

Jiang Fei loosened her grip on Qin Lulu’s arm.

It was like giving her permission—Qin Lulu immediately went all in. “That application form was originally Jiang Fei’s. You took it and changed it to your name. There are eraser marks on the form! You dare deny it?”

If people had only 60% believed the rumors before, now the girls in the room were completely convinced that Jiang Qingrou had stolen Jiang Fei’s spot.

Even Bai Zhenzhu frowned and didn’t speak up like she had earlier.

The girls looked toward Jiang Qingrou—some curious, some cold, some with open disdain.

An ordinary girl, faced with so many stares, would likely be flustered—even if she had the truth on her side, she’d struggle to explain it clearly.

But not Jiang Qingrou.

She had faced far worse online trolls than this. The netizens she had fought off in the past were ten times more aggressive than Qin Lulu.

She, Jiang Qingrou, had always been the queen of clapping back at haters personally. Would she be afraid of this?

What a joke!

Smiling calmly under everyone’s gaze, Jiang Qingrou slowly stood up. The makeup she had just finished applying and her custom-fitted dance dress were now fully on display.