The four of them were caught in a standoff as sharp as needle against wheat awn.
The onlookers, who had just been enjoying the show, suddenly grew excited at the turn of events—there was drama, there was gossip.
When Yang Yutian heard Li Xu’s words, her once-innocent face immediately revealed a touch of sharpness.
She could no longer maintain her façade of calm and serenity.
Her friend was the first to speak: “Are you trying to scam people here?”
Xie Tingting replied with a smile, “Scam? Not at all. My clothes really do cost this much, I still have the purchase record.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can take the clothes to a luxury goods store for appraisal. Didn’t you just say in Haishi dialect that you’d rather apologize than pay compensation?”
As soon as she said this, the faces of the two girls opposite her alternated between green and white.
They had assumed these two were outsiders, since their faces were unfamiliar.
They never expected both girls to understand Haishi dialect, and both seemed to come from well-off local families.
The chubby one clearly knew all about luxury goods, didn’t act petty at all, and dressed simply—probably pretending to be weak while hiding her strength.
The slender one was carrying a designer bag; her family must be well-off too.
They were used to thinking highly of themselves, but now that they’d run into two tough opponents, they didn’t care about appearances anymore. Instantly, the ones who looked bad became themselves.
Yang Yutian glanced again toward the corner at Jiang Minglang.
Seeing Jiang Minglang’s gaze also turn in their direction, she suddenly felt a surge of confidence.
“We were just talking, anyway. Besides, you were the one standing in the middle of the path.”
Yang Yutian finally spoke, her voice soft and gentle, as if she were very sweet, and her face flushed as if she were the one being bullied.
“I was indeed at fault. I apologize to you.
“I’m sorry………………”
As Yang Yutian spoke, her eyes filled with tears.
She looked as if she were so shy and introverted that she had no choice but to say such humiliating words under pressure.
Seeing that some people around them were already taking out their phones to record, Li Xu suddenly shouted on the spot, “No one is allowed to record!”
Her pitch-black eyes swept over the crowd with an intimidating aura. The college students who had been eager to record and post to their Moments all awkwardly lowered their phones.
“If you’re going to apologize, then apologize properly. Why cry? We’re freshmen; what we said is reasonable.
“You messed up my friend’s clothes like this, and now you’re pretending to be the victim?”
“And also, from the very beginning, I’ve been recording on my phone. If anyone dares to post a video of us talking here today and twists the facts to say we bullied you, I’ll release the entire recording—including the part where you spoke in Haishi dialect.”
She curved her lips and showed the recording screen on her phone to Yang Yutian.
When Yang Yutian saw the words “Recording in progress,” her expression instantly froze, and that aggrieved look in her eyes cleared up a bit.
“And another thing, this milk tea shop has surveillance cameras. Whether it was my friend standing in the middle of the path or someone else not watching where they were going, we can check the footage to find out.”
After speaking, Li Xu gave the crowd a shy smile:
“Sorry, everyone, for disturbing you. My friend and I are both freshmen, and we ran into this situation just after registering. If you didn’t know, you’d think we were the ones at fault.”
“This Sweetie here must be a senior, right? As a senior, you should know to admit your mistakes and apologize when you offend someone. Do I, a freshman, really need to teach you such basic rules?”
As she spoke, her expression was calm and her tone cool. For a moment, her plain and simple appearance was completely overlooked—she became the center of everyone’s attention, the true focal point of the scene.
“This girl is right………………”
“The one who spilled the drink all over someone is in the wrong, right? Now that I look at it, she really is acting like a green tea………………”
Sure enough, as soon as Li Xu finished speaking, the whispers in the crowd immediately shifted in her and Xie Tingting’s favor.
Xie Tingting looked at Li Xu with growing gratitude and admiration, even a touch of deep awe.
***
Sensing that the situation was turning against her, Yang Yutian quickly bit her lip and apologized several times in a low voice.
“If you want compensation, I’ll pay you…………”
Xie Tingting: “That’s not necessary, Senior.” She emphasized the word “Senior.”
She switched expressions, her eyes smiling as she said, “I’m not short of money. If you’d apologized sincerely earlier, I wouldn’t have been angry at all.”
“It’s just a piece of clothing—if it’s ruined, I’ll just get a new one, it’s not a big deal.”
Maybe it was Li Xu’s attitude that gave her confidence and a sense of security—her flustered look vanished, and she seemed calm and self-assured—just like in those rounds of Werewolf when Li Xu led her to victory.
Her words only made Yang Yutian’s previous act seem even pettier.
Yang Yutian’s friend’s face changed, wanting to say something, but Yang Yutian quickly tugged on her sleeve and said, “Xiao Fei, forget it, let’s go.”
The two of them left, looking rather dejected.
As they walked away, the crowd gradually returned to normal, everyone going back to their milk tea and phones.
The farce came to an end, but plenty of people were still sneaking glances at Li Xu and Xie Tingting, sending messages to their roommates or classmates:
[This year’s freshmen are something else! Just saw two freshmen at the milk tea shop totally diss a green tea upperclassman—it was so satisfying!]
Whether others felt satisfied or not, Xie Tingting certainly did.
***
“Xu Xu, thank you so much, you were amazing! If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been so embarrassed—and that green tea would’ve made me furious.”
“Do you want some milk tea? My treat! Let’s have dinner together tonight, I know a super tasty restaurant, it’s on me!”
Seeing Xie Tingting’s face full of gratitude, Li Xu waved her hand, her expression still calm:
“I don’t drink milk tea, you go ahead. If you insist on buying, get one for that guy in the corner too—I borrowed his shirt.”
Following Li Xu’s pointing finger, Xie Tingting looked at Jiang Minglang in the corner.
Her gaze paused, her heart skipped a beat—what a good-looking guy. He wore a white T-shirt and silver-gray over-ear headphones, standing out in the bustling milk tea shop.
Plenty of girls and guys were sneaking glances at him… Clearly, everyone appreciates beauty.
“You borrowed it from him?”
Feeling the fabric of the shirt on her, Xie Tingting suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
Sensing their gazes, Jiang Minglang looked up at them.
As their eyes met, Xie Tingting’s heart raced a little, but Jiang Minglang only glanced at her before shifting his gaze to Li Xu.
Li Xu crooked her fingers at him, palm down: “Hey, classmate, come here.”
She mouthed the words, and Xie Tingting, seeing her gesture and hearing her tone, thought Li Xu’s way of beckoning someone over was way too practiced and natural, as if the guy wasn’t a handsome hunk but a puppy.
She was about to say, “Let’s just go over to him,” when she saw the handsome guy in the corner actually stand up and walk over with his long legs.
Jiang Minglang himself found it odd. He wasn’t someone easy to approach, nor was he particularly friendly. No one had ever asked him for help so casually, or beckoned to him like a pet.
But perhaps he’d been impressed by how Li Xu had defended her friend earlier—by the time he realized it, his body was already moving before his brain.
Jiang Minglang, over 185cm tall, cast a shadow as he approached.
Li Xu didn’t feel the slightest pressure or discomfort. She asked Jiang Minglang, “Do you drink milk tea?”
Jiang Minglang waved the receipt in his hand: “Already ordered.”
“Oh, my friend wanted to thank you for lending her your shirt and treat you to something.”
Jiang Minglang: “No need, you’re all from Hai Da, right? We’re classmates, helping out isn’t a big deal.”
Jiang Minglang thought to himself, looks like I’m a model classmate now.
Having witnessed the whole thing, he felt that Li Xu—who was a head shorter than him—still carried a lingering aura of intimidation.
Normally, he was pretty sharp-tongued, but now he not only spoke nicely, he even gave the two girls a friendly smile.
After smiling, Jiang Minglang rolled his eyes internally.
Xie Tingting: “Thank you so much! Are you a freshman too?”
Jiang Minglang: “I’m a sophomore, Business School, name’s Jiang Minglang.”
Xie Tingting: “I’m in the Business School too! You’re a direct upperclassman!” She looked delighted.
Jiang Minglang nodded at Xie Tingting, then turned to Li Xu and asked, “What about you? Are you in the Business School too? What’s your name?”
Li Xu: “Oh………………”
She didn’t seem to intend to introduce herself, but when Jiang Minglang asked, she replied, “I’m Li Xu, not in the Business School.”
Xie Tingting was surprised too: “Huh, you’re not in my class?”
Jiang Minglang: “So what’s your major?”
Li Xu: “Physics, in Class Z. There are only ten people in my class.”
Li Xu’s tone was calm, her expression placid, but as soon as she finished, both Xie Tingting and Jiang Minglang’s eyes filled with shock, and they asked in unison, “You’re in Class Z?”
Class Z was the top genius class at Hai Da… The students there were all provincial champions, on par with the Y Class in Computer Science at Q University and the Biology Class at B University.
Those who could get into Class Z were on a whole different level from ordinary Hai Da students.
Jiang Minglang looked Li Xu up and down, recalling how she’d stood up for Xie Tingting just now. He felt this girl—
—was no ordinary person.
That kind of phrase usually only appeared in cheesy novels.
But it really did pop into Jiang Minglang’s mind.
Xie Tingting was just as shocked as Jiang Minglang. The students in Class Z were all geniuses ordinary people couldn’t even meet. What luck she had—not only to meet one, but to be protected by her.
Li Xu’s expression was a little odd: “What about Class Z?”
Li Xu’s expression was a little odd: “What about Class Z?”
Jiang Minglang: “That’s the genius class, isn’t it?”
Li Xu tilted her head and gave Jiang Minglang a smile.
Those dark eyes sparkled with a playful light—the same kind of gaze that once made protagonists in transmigration novels feel their hearts race.
Now it appeared again on the girl’s face as she countered, “What? Do I not look like a genius?”