Chapter 42: Jiang Mingzhi, A Real Woman

Jiang Mingzhi climbed up to the fourth floor in one go, but she didn’t find Pei Jinyang in Class 6. Helpless, she turned around and began to head back down, heading toward the track.

On the way, she sent a WeChat message to Meng Yuanyuan: “Can you check if Pei Jinyang is in Class 6’s base?”

She should have asked earlier, saving herself the trouble of running all the way up.

What a waste of energy, physically and metaphorically.

Two minutes later, Meng Yuanyuan replied: “He’s there.”

Jiang Mingzhi quickened her pace toward the track. Halfway there, she ran into Guan Jinxu, who was walking towards her with Wei Daiqing and He Yuegui behind him.

If she hadn’t been so preoccupied with her thoughts, she would have noticed how gloomy Guan Jinxu’s face looked.

She had planned to just walk past, but unexpectedly, He Yuegui blocked her path. “You’re here already, so fast? Did you come from the class?”

“?” Jiang Mingzhi furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”

She didn’t have time for distractions.

He Yuegui opened her mouth as if to call her a thief, but Wei Daiqing tapped her hand, signaling her to hold off. “It’s nothing, I just wanted to ask if anyone else is in your class.”

“I don’t know.”

Jiang Mingzhi’s patience was wearing thin. She wasn’t the kind of person who would stop to chat with someone like Wei Daiqing on the way.

Wei Daiqing thought Jiang Mingzhi was trying to create an alibi, pretending she hadn’t been to the classroom. If something went missing later, it wouldn’t be her problem.

He Yuegui, provoked by Jiang Mingzhi’s attitude, pointed at her and said, “What’s with the attitude? You’re acting so high and mighty, thinking it’s an honor to be a thief, huh?”

Jiang Mingzhi, who had been about to leave, took a step back, her eyes cold as she stared at He Yuegui. “What did you say?”

He Yuegui was startled by her glare, but when she remembered that she hadn’t actually said anything wrong, she puffed out her chest. “I said you’re a thief! What’s wrong with that?!”

Jiang Mingzhi felt her anger rise, not towards He Yuegui, but at Pei Jinyang.

Did he even know how much harm one unfounded accusation could cause to someone?

If she hadn’t been a twenty-something mature adult at this moment, could a teenage girl really bear such slander and verbal abuse?

Jiang Mingzhi’s pupils contracted, and she forced a few words out from her throat: “Are you looking for a death wish?”

With that, she turned and strode toward the track. To clear her name, she had to find the real culprit.

He Yuegui stood there, furious. Just as she was about to yell, she saw Guan Jinxu lifting his foot, chasing after Jiang Mingzhi.

Wei Daiqing also pulled her along. “Let’s go see.”

Jiang Mingzhi, with a cold expression, walked across the track straight toward Class 6’s base.

Pei Jinyang was sitting in a chair, lazily playing a game with his legs crossed. “Just get it over with, you’re just here to block the damage ahead.”

Seeing the culprit so relaxed, the tension in Jiang Mingzhi’s brain snapped.

She stormed forward, snatched Pei Jinyang’s phone, and slammed it onto the desk. “Pei Jinyang, what the hell is your problem?”

Pei Jinyang was startled. He was about to yell, but when he saw it was Jiang Mingzhi, he became even more confused. In the end, he changed his curse words and said, “What are you doing?”

Not only Pei Jinyang, but the surrounding classmates were all startled and turned to look at the two of them.

Pei Jinyang tried to grab his phone back, but Jiang Mingzhi dodged him.

“How did the golden bookmark disappear?”

Pei Jinyang furrowed his brows. “What’s wrong with the bookmark? Did you find it?”

“I’ll find your grandpa!” Jiang Mingzhi glared at him from above. “Pei Jinyang, I’ll say this one more time: I’ve never seen any of your gold or silver bookmarks. If you keep slandering me, I’ll tell Uncle Pei, and you can kiss your pocket money goodbye for the rest of the year.”

Pei Jinyang stared at her.

Jiang Mingzhi didn’t back down and met his gaze.

If looks could kill, Pei Jinyang would have died eight times over by now.

Pei Jinyang said, “What exactly am I slandering you for?”

Jiang Mingzhi turned to He Yuegui, who was standing among the onlookers, and asked, “You, tell me, what exactly is the rumor about me?”

He Yuegui, completely caught off guard, nearly lost her balance as she was pulled into the center of the storm.

Jiang Mingzhi shouted, “Well, say it! Weren’t you so confident just now?”

He Yuegui shrunk her shoulders, not realizing that when Jiang Mingzhi was angry, she was this terrifying! This was even more intimidating than when she had yelled at Wei Daiqing that day.

“Well… someone said she stole your golden bookmark and sold it for money.”

After speaking, He Yuegui immediately rushed back into the crowd of onlookers.

Wuwuwu, there’s safety in numbers.

Pei Jinyang furrowed his brows. “But I didn’t say that.”

Jiang Mingzhi slammed his phone onto him, and Pei Jinyang instinctively reached out to catch it.

“Whether you said it or not, I’ll say this once: I have a mother, and I’m not at the point where I’d steal your mother’s stuff.”

The statement was ambiguous, and Pei Jinyang couldn’t even tell if the last part was a direct insult at him.

Jiang Mingzhi: “I suggest you also keep an eye on your friends. Don’t let them say things they shouldn’t. Otherwise, one day, I’ll personally go and tear their mouths apart!”

Actually, she already had a good guess about who started the rumor.

However, the root cause of the issue was Pei Jinyang.

Pei Jinyang’s thumb was hit by the phone and a dull pain shot through it, but he didn’t dare show it.

After venting her anger, Jiang Mingzhi began to calm down, and the veins that had been protruding around her neck slowly started to recede.

“I’ll say it again, I’ve never touched your bookmark, and I’ve never seen it.”

Pei Jinyang raised his hand in surrender. “So, all this fuss is just to talk to me about this?”

His indifferent attitude was the trigger for Jiang Mingzhi’s anger, and her emotions, which had just calmed down, were now on the verge of exploding again.

Suddenly, her wrist was gripped, and a gentle, determined voice came from behind.

“We all believe you.”

The warm touch on her wrist quickly extinguished the spark of anger. Jiang Mingzhi felt her heart soften with a small, relieved sound inside.

Pei Jinyang’s gaze fell on their clasped wrists, and the fingertips holding his phone turned white from the force.

Just as they were about to turn and leave, he reached out and grabbed Jiang Mingzhi’s other arm.

“Next time, if there’s an issue, talk to me privately.”

Jiang Mingzhi nearly cursed out loud, shaking her arm fiercely to try to break free, but she couldn’t.

She turned her head and sneered, “What? Afraid of being discussed? But when you were spreading rumors about me, did you think about how I’d be discussed?”

Pei Jinyang saw her smiling, but he could feel the sharpness in her tone. His subconscious guilt flared up. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Jiang Mingzhi snorted coldly, lowering her gaze to where he was still gripping her arm, and said in a cold voice, “Let go.”

Pei Jinyang released his hand from her cool skin, revealing several finger-shaped marks, showing just how hard he’d been holding her.

“Alright, alright, everyone go back, nothing to see here.”

Chen Zhanbei, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines, dispersed the surrounding classmates.

Jiang Mingzhi walked away with Guan Jinxu.

Pei Jinyang kicked his chair aside and left the scene as well.

The storm had passed, but its residual tension lingered in the air.

Many classmates whispered among themselves, exchanging gossip.

“Hey, what just happened?”

“It seems like Jiang Mingzhi was slandered for stealing Pei Jinyang’s bookmark, and she came to settle the score.”

“Did you see? Jiang Mingzhi was so fierce, she completely overshadowed Pei Jinyang with her aura.”

“Who said she was gentle? She’s a real badass.”

“So she really didn’t steal it?”

“If she didn’t steal it, then who did?”

“Hey! Don’t spread rumors, or she’ll come and tear your mouth apart.”

Outside the track field, Chen Zhanbei caught up to Pei Jinyang. “What happened, Pei Ge?”

Pei Jinyang, with his head lowered, was typing on his phone. He asked, “Where’s Sheng Qiaoxi?!”