Chapter 12: Rainy night

After the rain, the air carried a fresh yet slightly astringent scent of soil, with a damp warmth in the breeze.

Lin Yiwei walked along the path through the camphor forest leading to the dormitory, carrying a gift box.

Passing by a trash can, she had the impulse to throw away what Xie Bo had given her… even the box.

But she felt reluctant; she was a thrifty girl, accustomed to making the most out of everything, even wearing shoes until they were worn out, then repairing them to keep using them.

Lin Yiwei couldn’t bear to waste it, so she took the box back to the dormitory. After drawing the curtains, she took several photos of the packaging box and the beret from different angles and posted them for sale on the campus website.

When it came to setting the price, Lin Yiwei hesitated as there was no price tag on it.

However, it was easy to resolve; she logged into the brand’s official website and easily found the selling price.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Selling price: 84,000.

Lin Yiwei couldn’t believe it. Just a hat! It could actually fetch such a high price of over eighty thousand.

Indeed, poor people couldn’t imagine the world of the wealthy. A girl like her would never spend eighty thousand on such a useless beret that didn’t provide warmth or shade.

The website indicated that this hat was a limited edition for the season and was no longer available for sale.

Lin Yiwei posted the hat in the second-hand trading section of the campus forum, roughly estimating her living expenses for the semester and pricing it at ten thousand.

As soon as the hat was uploaded, upon refreshing the page, there were several new comments—

MeowMeowWeirdo: “Is this for real?”

Cappuccino: “This model is sold out. How come I can see it in the second-hand section?”

AA: “Looks brand new!”

TinyMango: “How is it possible to sell it so cheap? Could it be a high-quality imitation? Check the tag, maybe?”

Lin Yiwei immediately posted a photo of the tag in the comments.

But soon after, there was a reply below the tag photo—

“I checked, it’s real, but wasn’t this a gift from Mr. Xie?”

“OMG!”

“Yeah, check it yourself, you can find the purchaser’s surname on the official website for this brand.”

Lin Yiwei: “…”

She quickly logged into the official website, entered the tag code, and indeed found the purchaser of the item: Mr. Xie.

For a moment, the entire second-hand section exploded, and even the discussion forums had people posting about it—

“Oh my god, some girl is selling the gift Xie Bo gave her in the second-hand section!”

“Hahaha, who’s so heartless!”

“No, my only concern is how Xie Bo is suddenly giving gifts to girls?! Wasn’t it always the girls who gave him gifts before?”

Unexpectedly exposed, Lin Yiwei’s heart was filled with fear, but fortunately, she was using a brand new account with a randomly composed name, making it difficult to trace back to her.

Fortunately, the hat was wildly popular among all the girls on the forum, so she quickly sold the hat and received the payment via transfer.

Sending it to the girls using the campus delivery lockers was also safe, requiring no personal appearance.

As for the card with the little fox drawn on it, Lin Yiwei thought for a moment, didn’t put it in the locker with the hat, and kept it, casually stuffing it into the compartment of her backpack.

At the class meeting the next day, the sisters of the Chi Xiyu Sisterhood Group sat in the back row of the classroom, discussing the beret incident on the forum—

“I wonder who sold the hat that Xie Bo gave.”

“It’s probably fake. When did Xie Bo ever give gifts to girls?”

However, Xu Qianxi decisively said, “It’s true. I checked the tag number on the official website, and it’s him.”

Chi Xiyu wore a neatly tailored shirt from the Figue Art Institute, a pleated skirt in the academy style, a dark red plaid blazer, and a large bow in the same color on her head.

Her makeup was exquisite, but couldn’t conceal the dark circles under her eyes: “Maybe it’s a coincidence. There are other people with the surname Xie who can afford UNI.”

After saying that, she asked Lin Yiwei, “What do you think?”

“I don’t think so, maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Lin Yiwei replied cautiously.

“Could it be Ye Anning?” Xu Qianxi asked, “Isn’t she getting close to Xie Bo recently?”

Chi Xiyu looked at Lin Yiwei, “Could it be Ye Anning?”

Lin Yiwei shook her head, “She’s fascinated by Xie Bo. She wouldn’t sell the gift he gave her, and besides, she’s quite wealthy.”

“Forget about Ye Anning. Even if it was a gift from Xie Bo, who would be willing to sell it?” Chi Xiyu became even more convinced that the hat wasn’t bought by Xie Bo; it was just a misunderstanding. “Weiwei, you and I are on the same page.”

Xu Qianxi pursed her lips, feeling a bit disdainful towards Lin Yiwei, thinking that she only knew how to say things that Chi Xiyu liked to hear.

A flatterer.

During the class meeting, the counselor announced the group mentor system for the freshmen—

As a tradition of the Figue Art Institute, freshmen were assigned mentors upon enrollment, forming groups to complete coursework. The group system would continue until the third year.

The level of freedom was very high.As they left the classroom, Chi Xiyu caught up with Lin Yiwei, “Weiwei, I flipped through your sketchbook, and your style is quite similar to mine.”

Lin Yiwei’s heart raced, but she remained composed on the surface.

Of course, they were similar. She deliberately left the sketchbook on the desk for Chi Xiyu to find. Her drawing skills were taught by Lin Xie, especially that sketchbook, with many works copied from Lin Xie’s previous pieces.

If Chi Xiyu’s award-winning works were truly from Lin Xie’s hand, then Lin Yiwei’s style and hers… were practically identical.

“Weiwei, I’ve been a bit busy lately. How about you help me with next week’s group evaluation painting?” Chi Xiyu casually made this request.

“Help you paint?”

“Yeah, our styles are so similar, the teacher won’t be able to tell.”

“But…”

Chi Xiyu patted her shoulder, “There’s no ‘but’, Weiwei, you won’t refuse my request, will you?”

Lin Yiwei pursed her lips.

Of course, she wouldn’t refuse. Chi Xiyu had included her in her sisterhood for the purpose of making her obedient and helping her with tasks.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

“Thank you! I know you’re the best!”

Watching Chi Xiyu’s departing figure, Lin Yiwei felt the fishing line around her fingertips gradually tightening.

She would uncover the whole truth.

…

For a few days, Xie Bo’s displeasure was palpable. With two important events in a row, many spectators were there for him, but he remained indifferent.

On the campus network TalkTok, the frenzy over the beret was something he naturally became aware of.

Lin Yiwei actually sold the hat he had given her!

In the racing club, Li Du was nearly dying of laughter—

“Master Bo, seriously, is this the first time you’ve given a girl a gift?”

“Who the hell is XBdashabi? Next time, bring her to the club, let us see what kind of temper this lady has, hahaha.”

“Wait, her username, XBdashabi, damn, Master Bo, isn’t she cursing at you!”

Xie Bo’s face turned extremely dark, and he kicked open a box of paint cans on the roadside, spilling paint all over the ground.

Li Du quickly restrained his laughter.

He could sense that Xie Bo was genuinely angry.

He had hardly ever seen him angry over a girl before.

All those female companions who used to be around him, which one didn’t coddle him, accommodate him… Who dared to provoke him?

Xie Bo pushed a modified motorcycle, and Li Du quickly ordered someone to open the club’s gate. With a rumbling roar, the man rode off on the motorcycle.

He figured he was going to settle the score with that girl.

Li Du thought to himself, this is really ungrateful. Many girls envy this honor, this XBdashabi…This name was also hard to explain.If she really angered Xie Bo, she wouldn’t have a peaceful life.

There weren’t many people in the convenience store at the moment. Lin Yiwei set up a small easel, just prepared the palette, and then saw a man walk straight in.

At the sight of his face, Lin Yiwei’s heart sank.

He had a naturally difficult-to-deal-with aura, with a stern brow that made him look even fiercer.

Chi Xicheng.

Lin Yiwei’s hand holding the pen couldn’t help but tremble. She quickly put away the easel and stood up to greet him—

“Young Master Chi, why are you here?”

Chi Xicheng walked to the counter and rudely pulled Lin Yiwei out: “You’re quite something, slipping away from me like a slippery squid.”

Lin Yiwei’s wrist was painful from being pulled by him, and she whispered, “Young Master Chi, there… there are surveillance cameras here.”

Chi Xicheng glanced at the surveillance cameras in the convenience store, then let go of her, strolled to the shelves, and casually picked up a glass.

Before Lin Yiwei could react, he raised the glass and fiercely smashed it towards the surveillance camera.

The first throw missed, and the glass slammed against the wall, shattering loudly.

Chi Xicheng picked up another glass ashtray and weighed it in his hand.

Lin Yiwei quickly ran out from behind the counter, hiding behind a safe shelf, watching Chi Xicheng go mad, smashing five or six items before finally knocking down the surveillance camera.

She crouched on the ground, hugging herself tightly, trembling lightly like a startled kitten…

Chi Xicheng didn’t care whether she was terrified or not, he roughly pulled her out: “Tell me honestly, who was the owner of the Rolls-Royce that took you away that night?”

Lin Yiwei shook her head repeatedly, tightly pursing her lips, remaining silent.

Chi Xicheng dragged her behind the counter, forcefully pressing her against the table, gripping her neck with one hand.

The girl’s cheeks flushed red, as if plunged into an endless sea, suffocating.

A drop of despair and humiliation rolled down her cheek…

Just then, the sharp screech of a motorcycle braking, Xie Bo threw off his helmet, striding into the convenience store, grabbing Chi Xicheng’s clothes from behind and throwing him forcefully against the shelf.

Chi Xicheng, being pulled by this force, lost his balance, almost knocking over the entire shelf.

“Damn it!” He angrily stood up, eager to see who dared to lay hands on him!

Looking up, he saw Xie Bo in a black racing jacket, like a demon emerging from the darkness.

And the frightened girl, like a rabbit, swiftly darted behind Xie Bo, trembling nervously.

“Chi Xicheng.”

In Qinggang City, few dared to address Chi Xicheng by his full name, and Xie Bo was one of them.

He raised his chin, staring at him,

“That Rolls-Royce Phantom is mine, Lin Yiwei, she’s also mine.”