Chapter 18: Public Humiliation

“I’m so hot… Why is it so hot?” Lin Juan’s voice was softer than usual, as if something was burning inside her. A strange emotion stirred in her chest—a vague, nameless craving she couldn’t control.

“It’s probably the sun,” Zheng Yu replied, glancing up at the scorching sky. She felt light-headed and weak herself, the heat sucking the energy out of her.

“I can’t take it anymore!”

Suddenly, Lin Juan shoved Zheng Yu’s hand away—the one trying to keep her shirt buttoned—and yanked off her plaid overshirt. Buttons flew through the air as the fabric tore open, revealing the tank top underneath.

Zheng Yu stood there in shock, never expecting Lin Juan to undress in front of everyone.

They were still on the sports field. Lin Juan’s dramatic move instantly drew the attention of students from several nearby classes. Though she was close to Zheng Yu, Lin Juan wasn’t popular—her sharp tongue had earned her more enemies than friends.

As she continued undressing while Zheng Yu stood frozen beside her, students pointed and whispered, their faces full of disbelief.

The gym teacher quickly noticed something was off. He rushed over with a jacket, wrapped it around Lin Juan, and tried to calm her down.

But Lin Juan clung to him, tilted her head back, and attempted to kiss him—nearly making the onlookers’ eyes pop out of their heads.

The gym teacher’s face darkened. He slapped her across the face, snapping her out of her daze. Without a word, he hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her straight to the infirmary.

The school doctor acted quickly. After an injection, Lin Juan finally settled down. The diagnosis? She had taken something she shouldn’t have.

“Oh my god, this feels like a drama,” Bei Xiaolin whispered as she exited the infirmary, her heart still racing. “Yuanyuan, what kind of drug was that? She was practically stripping herself—has she no shame?”

Cheng Yuan pulled her into the grove of trees nearby. “Xiaolin, do you know what Lin Juan took?”

“The doctor just said it was something she wasn’t supposed to…”

“But what kind of something?” Cheng Yuan pressed.

Bei Xiaolin stared at her for a moment before hesitantly replying, “Could it be… one of those ‘springtime drugs’ from TV dramas?”

“Close enough,” Cheng Yuan said flatly. She knew Bei Xiaolin dreamed of becoming a star and might one day find herself in a similar situation. So she warned her deliberately, “Some drugs are strong enough to make a person lose all control—completely blank out their memory. If a man had been around just now… what do you think might’ve happened?”

Bei Xiaolin shuddered, the thought too horrifying to finish.

“Do you know why Lin Juan ended up like that?” Cheng Yuan looked her in the eye.

“No way. You’re saying… Yuanyuan, you didn’t—”

“Lin Juan drank my water,” Cheng Yuan interrupted calmly.

“Your water?” Bei Xiaolin blinked, confused.

“I switched mine with hers,” Cheng Yuan said, her voice even.

Bei Xiaolin froze. After a moment of stunned silence, she muttered, “She tried to drug you… but it backfired?”

“Nice use of the idiom,” Cheng Yuan said with a slight smile. If she hadn’t been cautious, she would’ve been the one humiliated today.

Bei Xiaolin felt a chill crawl down her spine. “Yuanyuan, all because you slapped her that day? She insulted your mom first. And now this? She’s insane.”

Later that evening, after class, Cheng Yuan and Bei Xiaolin were packing up to head to the cafeteria when Lin Juan suddenly stormed over, her hand raised to slap Cheng Yuan.

But Cheng Yuan’s eyes turned cold. She grabbed Lin Juan’s wrist midair.

“Lin Juan, are you out of your mind?” Bei Xiaolin snapped, her disgust for Lin Juan now complete.

“It was you! You humiliated me!” Lin Juan shouted, eyes red and swollen. Zheng Yu had told her what happened. The thought of stripping in front of everyone made her want to crawl into a hole.

“You’re seriously playing the victim now?” Bei Xiaolin scoffed. “You brought this on yourself!”

Cheng Yuan let go of her wrist and asked calmly, “What exactly did I do to you?”

Students heading to the cafeteria paused, sensing drama. Just days ago, these two had fought. And now this?

“The water! You poisoned the water!” Lin Juan pointed at Cheng Yuan accusingly. “You did this to me!”

Cheng Yuan furrowed her brows. “But you were the one who bought the water during PE class. Xiaolin handed me my bottle. I even thanked you—thought you were trying to apologize for insulting my mom. If there was something wrong with the water, it had to be in what you bought. Did you poison yourself?”

The crowd stirred. Everyone had seen Lin Juan hand out water that day. They’d all drunk from the same batch.

Now suspicion turned toward her.

“I didn’t!” Lin Juan shrieked, eyes brimming with tears. “I just wanted to do something nice. How was I supposed to know something was wrong?”

“Then you should be yelling at the shop owner, not me,” Cheng Yuan said lightly. “I never even opened the bottle.”

Bei Xiaolin sneered. “Maybe you had other plans. Trying to hurt someone else and ended up getting a taste of your own medicine. Literally.”

“Exactly. Why would you suddenly start handing out water like a saint?” one student murmured.

“You’ve never been that generous before.”

Lin Juan looked around at all the accusing eyes—her classmates’ stares full of doubt—and burst into tears before running off.

That night, as Cheng Yuan and Bei Xiaolin walked home, Cheng Yuan reminded her seriously, “Xiaolin, don’t ever drink anything you didn’t open yourself, especially if you’ve looked away for even a second.”

“Got it, Yuanyuan. I always thought school drama was just people arguing and gossiping. Li Liang and his gang are bad enough, but Lin Juan…” Bei Xiaolin shivered. “She’s terrifying.”

Cheng Yuan pursed her lips into a faint smile but said nothing.

Li Liang and his crew haven’t learned their lesson yet… And if I’m right, the look on their faces when Lin Juan fell apart today—it was off.