"Yu Qian, classmate?" the teacher standing at the podium asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.
Wasn't Yu Qian supposed to be at a fan support shoot?
What was going on now?
"Xia Qingyu," Yu Qian ignored the teacher, her gaze fixed on Xia Qingyu, "Why did you abstain from the voting session today?"
Did Xia Qingyu have enough confidence in her own beauty?
Did she know that even if she abstained, she would still achieve her goal, satisfying her vanity while also suppressing me?
How could there be such a wicked person in the world!
"Hmm?" Hearing Yu Qian's question, Xia Qingyu found it somewhat perplexing.
If she didn't want to participate, why the fuss about asking why?
Seeing Yu Qian's determined stance, clearly unwilling to back down without an answer, Xia Qingyu twirled her pen and casually offered a reason: "I already have more custom stationery from school rewards than I can use. I don't think this reward is worth disrupting my normal class schedule for."
The other students were also curious why Xia Qingyu had abstained. Hearing her reason, they could only sigh inwardly: A top student with good looks could indeed be willful.
It was true, in fact. The Municipal No. 1 High School didn't want to corrupt students' souls with material possessions. Therefore, besides trophies and certificates, the usual rewards were custom stationery from the school.
They weren't particularly valuable but were very suitable for students.
Since the start of the semester, Xia Qingyu had participated in countless competitions, big and small, not to mention the custom stationery she had received as rewards.
While others found Xia Qingyu's response both reasonable and unexpected, Yu Qian, however, found it utterly unacceptable: "You're lying!"
"Classmate Yu Qian," Xia Qingtian, seated behind her, immediately asked, "What exactly do you want to say? What do you want?"
Hearing Xia Qingtian's voice, Yu Qian clenched her hands tighter at her sides.
It wasn't strange that Xia Qingtian, being a big star herself, knew Mo Jianing.
Perhaps Xia Qingtian had deliberately orchestrated this whole thing with Mo Jianing to pave the way for Xia Qingyu's rise!
And she was just an innocent and pitiable victim in this scenario.
Without any background or backing, she was just an ordinary high school girl.
Open to bullying...
"If you have nothing else, please don't disrupt the teacher's class," Xia Qingtian, as a student assistant, had a duty to help maintain classroom discipline.
"The director said that Xia Qingyu should go over and participate in the filming," Yu Qian finally said unwillingly, her voice tinged with a hint of tears.
Hearing Yu Qian say this, everyone more or less understood why Yu Qian was having such a meltdown.
So, after Xia Qingyu abstained, Yu Qian had won the prize ignominiously but still didn't get the special privilege she desired and was directly "returned."
As the whole process unfolded, the gazes of everyone towards Yu Qian were filled with a bit more sympathy.
Poor thing...
Xia Qingyu found it troublesome. She glanced back at Xia Qingtian before reluctantly getting up and walking out.
Xia Qingtian watched Xia Qingyu's retreating back, her gaze shifting slightly.
If the director had asked them to recommend someone, he wouldn't have specifically requested Xia Qingyu to go.
The person who could make such a request could only be Mo Jianing.
Speaking of which, Mo Jianing had often tried to sow discord between her, Xia Qingyu, and Aunt Liu.
Now, Mo Jianing was likely resorting to the same tactic, intending to badmouth her to Xia Qingyu.
Why couldn't this Mo Jianing learn her lesson?
Xia Qingtian's gaze turned somber as she looked at the filming crowd below the window, her expression darkening.
Yu Qian returned to her seat, feeling increasingly indignant. She buried her face in her desk and began to sob.
How could they bully her like this?
Just you wait!
She wouldn't let this matter rest!
Ultimately, it was her own kindness that led to this!
She would call that outsider after class. She was willing to pay more, to have that person be as vicious as possible, preferably throwing acid to disfigure Xia Qingyu's wretched face!
With that thought, Yu Qian buried her face in her desk, her eyes filled with malice, her expression fierce and unyielding.
Meanwhile, Xia Qingyu arrived at the filming location and walked directly towards the director: "Director, you were looking for me?"
"Yes, Mo Jianing, this is Xia Qingyu," the director immediately introduced her to Mo Jianing: "She is our school's most outstanding student, excelling in both character and academics."
"Heh heh," Mo Jianing naturally recognized Xia Qingyu. Xia Qingtian had spoken ill of Xia Qingyu to her quite a bit back then: "As expected of the campus belle of Municipal No. 1 High School. So beautiful and with good grades. That's great. You'll just be filming a few simple shots with me later."
"I'm not interested. There are so many students here, you should choose someone else," Xia Qingyu refused directly: "Director, if there's nothing else, I'll be returning to the classroom."
"Ah?" The director was momentarily taken aback. Was Xia Qingyu usually such an individualistic girl?
"You might not recognize our Jianing," Mo Jianing's assistant immediately said, "Our Jianing is..."
"She's my sister's high school classmate." Xia Qingyu knew Mo Jianing all too well: "She ate my sister's food, used my sister's resources, stole my sister's voice, and stabbed my sister in the back."
Anyone Xia Qingtian hated was her enemy.
Mo Jianing had caused Xia Qingtian to be cyberbullied. If Xia Qingtian hadn't kept evidence, who knew what bad things Mo Jianing would have done to her!
Mo Jianing had also badmouthed her to Xia Qingtian many times back then. She knew perfectly well: this woman is not a good person!
"What nonsense are you talking about! Who is your sister? I think your sister is just jealous of Jianing and is deliberately slandering us!" Mo Jianing's assistant immediately lost her temper: "If you have the guts, say who your sister is! Let's see if we don't sue her for defamation!"
"My sister is Xia Qingtian." As soon as Xia Qingyu said this, the assistant, who had been acting so ferociously, suddenly went quiet.
The scandal in the entertainment industry back then had been quite significant; it was not a secret at all. And Xia Qingtian's identity, after being bombarded by several trending searches this year, was definitely not something this little assistant could afford to accuse.
Seeing the assistant rendered speechless, Xia Qingyu turned her gaze to Mo Jianing: "I know what you're trying to do. Put away your little schemes; I won't fall for your tricks."
With that, Xia Qingyu turned to leave.
"Xia Qingyu, your sister and I will settle our matters. As for you and your sister..." Mo Jianing sneered: "Do you really think she sees you as a sister? You clearly don't know what she's said about me."
"You're just a baggage brought into the house by a mistress, and you actually think you're a daughter of the Xia family? Everyone knows your mother was hired as a caregiver when Xia Qingtian's mother was seriously ill, to take care of the patient. Instead, she took care of the patient right in Mr. Xia's bed. My little schemes naturally can't compare to yours."
"Why are you looking at me like that? These were Xia Qingtian's exact words back then. Are you upset already? Can't take it? There are plenty more unpleasant things. What do you want to hear? I'll tell you!"