There was only one person in the dormitory. When she saw An Ning, not only did she not greet her, she even silently moved away from her.
Then she simply grabbed her lunchbox and went out to eat.
The bed had been slept in. An Ning opened the wardrobe—besides the few clothes she had left behind, there were clearly other people's belongings stuffed in there.
After getting to know Huang Ming, the original owner had moved out of the dormitory.
Most of the things she'd brought from home were bought by her stepmother just for show. Since Huang Ming could give her money to buy new ones, she hadn't taken them. She hadn't expected that just because she didn't take them, they'd be occupied.
"Lin Yuan and the others must have seen wrong. What black hair and carrying a duffel bag? That An Ning hangs with the wrong crowd—her hair was dyed yellow ages ago. Last time I saw her, it nearly blinded me with how ugly it was. Besides, she's already working as a hostess, how could she possibly come back to school?"
An Ning sat in the middle of the dormitory with the door open. Before long, she heard a group of girls' voices approaching from afar.
"Didn't you say she wasn't coming to school because she had a miscarriage?"
"If she's really coming back, it should be because her boyfriend dumped her, and she's back to recover from the abortion."
The girls' shrill laughter came to an abrupt halt the moment they saw An Ning in the dormitory.
Embarrassment spread through the air. The two girls beside the middle one instinctively let go of her arm and took a step back, trying to slip away first.
"Did I say you could leave?"
An Ning stood up, her voice neither loud nor soft, stopping the two who were about to leave.
The two girls stood awkwardly to the side. They hadn't expected An Ning to actually come back. They'd long told Shu Xiaoshan to keep her voice down—who knew what she was putting on, being so loud, as if she were so impressive.
Now look what happened. The person in question had heard everything.
One of the girls gave an awkward smile and played dumb: "An Ning, you're back. Didn't anyone walk you here?"
An Ning glanced at her but didn't bother to respond.
Because of her stepsister's suppression, the original owner had been a pushover at school from elementary through middle school.
By high school, since no one knew her background, and she'd gotten to know people outside of school, she'd changed somewhat.
The girls at school looked down on the original owner for hanging out with society types and freely spread baseless rumors about her, but at the same time, they feared her because she had friends in the underworld.
"Article 246 of the Criminal Law—the crime of insult and defamation. Whoever publicly insults another person by violence or other methods, or fabricates facts to defame another person, where the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights. You can be even louder—that way, after I call the police, there will be more witnesses to the facts."
The three of them had already been startled to find An Ning in the dormitory. After hearing her recite that passage—something about criminal law, something about fixed-term imprisonment—the two beside her shoved Shu Xiaoshan to the front.
"It's not my business. It was all Shu Xiaoshan who said it—said you had a boyfriend and worked as a hostess, and got pregnant and had an abortion."
"Yeah, it was all Shu Xiaoshan spreading nonsense. An Ning, I apologize to you. I'm sorry."
Shu Xiaoshan, pushed to the front, turned pale.
She was different from the others who didn't know An Ning's background. She had been at the same middle school as An Ning and knew how An Ning had been bullied before. So after entering high school, she especially couldn't stand An Ning.
Back when An Ning was still at school, she'd already badmouthed An Ning plenty in private. After An Ning left, she'd started fabricating all sorts of things.
"That makes two more witnesses."
An Ning stopped in front of Shu Xiaoshan, half a head taller than her, allowing her to look down with a scrutinizing gaze.
"As the one spreading the rumors, do you intend to stick by what you've spread, or will you make amends while I'm still willing to speak calmly?"
"It wasn't just me saying it…"
Shu Xiaoshan bit her lip. If it had been anyone else, she might have let it go, but she absolutely refused to admit defeat in front of An Ning.
She was clearly just a slut with no decency, looking all seductive and cheap, dating thugs and skipping school. "Someone saw you with their own eyes wearing a server's uniform at the disco."
As if recalling some piece of evidence, Shu Xiaoshan said loudly.
"Yeah, I worked at Heat Dance Zone for half a month as a server, so I wore a server's uniform. Article 359 of the Criminal Law: anyone who entices, harbors, or introduces others to prostitution shall be sentenced to five years or more of fixed-term imprisonment… If you have doubts about the legality of Heat Dance Zone and want to report it, perfect—I'll call the police about your defamation and slander, and you can report the venue for illegal operations while you're at it."
With that, An Ning headed out.
Seeing that she wasn't just talking and really intended to go downstairs to the dormitory building to use the public phone to call the police—even if she was only targeting Shu Xiaoshan—the other two girls also felt afraid.
They weren't like An Ning. If things blew up, An Ning wouldn't care about losing face, but they were afraid of becoming a laughingstock.
"Shu Xiaoshan, you're the one spreading rumors. You're jealous that An Ning is pretty, jealous that Jiang Chenhua likes her, so you made up those dirty rumors, saying An Ning skipped school to get an abortion at some shady clinic."
"And you—while badmouthing An Ning—you slept in her bed, stole her clothes to wear, and even busted the zipper on her skirt."
"An Ning, it was all Shu Xiaoshan's filthy mouth. We never said anything about you. We just listened to her nonsense, and we didn't believe any of it."
"I don't like Jiang Chenhua, and those words I heard from other people, they weren't mine…"
She had spread gossip about An Ning everywhere, but not all of it was made up by her. When she was saying it, everyone was saying it too—how come now it was all being pinned on her alone?
Fear is a contagious emotion.
When one of the three caved, the others felt isolated and helpless, afraid they'd be the only ones punished.
The two girls didn't want to be dragged down by Shu Xiaoshan and started using her as a scapegoat. Shu Xiaoshan couldn't defend herself and tried to run, but she didn't make it out the door before An Ning grabbed her wrist.
The original owner was like her—slim-built—but because she did a lot of housework, she had considerable strength.
"Apologize or call the police."
An Ning gave Shu Xiaoshan the choice again.
This time, An Ning heard a shame-filled, humiliated "I'm sorry" from Shu Xiaoshan.
"A verbal apology isn't enough. Apology letters—one each, written out with the full details of what happened. Once that's done, this matter is closed."
Having issued the task, An Ning's gaze returned to Shu Xiaoshan. "And you—besides the apology letter, we still need to discuss compensation for the damaged items."
An hour later, three apology letters were posted on the corridor wall outside Room 304.
An Ning was glad she hadn't wanted to waste anything and had brought back the bedsheets and bedding from the rental.
After laying out clean sheets, An Ning began tidying under the bed and pulled out the original owner's schoolbag.
Meanwhile, Shu Xiaoshan was crying in the washroom as she washed An Ning's sheets, duvet covers, and the clothes she had touched.
For the loss of her belongings, An Ning would have preferred direct monetary compensation.
But Shu Xiaoshan wasn't well-off. She emptied all her pockets and could only afford to pay for the zipper on the skirt she had ripped on An Ning's clothes.
The air was thick with hushed whispers, nearly every one of them carrying her name. Shu Xiaoshan's eyes were swollen from crying. She wanted to be as tough as An Ning and quote criminal law, but she didn't know a single article of it.
She also wondered if An Ning had just made all that up. How would someone ranked dead last in class know anything about criminal law? She had only been scared into silence because she was panicking.
"An Ning, have you eaten yet? The cafeteria's about to close."
The dormitory housed six students per room. An Ning slept on the lower bunk by the window. The girl sitting diagonally across from her had been sneaking glances at her ever since she started tidying her bed, as if she had something to say.
She held it in for a while, but when she saw An Ning sit down and look ready to read, she couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up.
Only after being reminded did An Ning realize she'd had nothing but a glass of water all day.
She fished out the original owner's meal card: "Thanks."
"No need, no need," the girl waved her hand. "I'll go with you."
The girl walked over to An Ning's side enthusiastically. "After we eat, we can do homework together. You've been away for so many days… do you need to do homework?"
As she spoke, the girl remembered An Ning's previous state and asked hesitantly.
"I do."
The original owner was a sophomore in high school, having attended for nearly two years. She had no impression of her classmates, let alone bothered to remember her roommates' names.
She glanced at the school uniform the girl was still wearing, with a name tag pinned on it.
— Shi Jiayan.
In the original owner's memories, the two had never really interacted before.
"An Ning, you were so cool today! You left Shu Xiaoshan and the others completely speechless. Are you planning to study law in the future? My uncle is a lawyer, and I want to apply for that major too."
Shi Jiayan had been sneaking looks at An Ning in the dorm, purely because she was blown away by how cool she was.
Because of her uncle, she'd always thought lawyers were cool, but she'd never seen her uncle in court, and she didn't know if he could recite the relevant legal provisions off the top of his head like An Ning had just done, stunning everyone the moment she opened her mouth.
Beyond her impressive presence, Shi Jiayan propped her chin on her hand and blinked at An Ning: "An Ning, you're really beautiful. Can we be friends?"
Shi Jiayan asked uncertainly.
She had only started living on campus when evening self-study began in her sophomore year. After the class reassignment, she'd noticed An Ning right away—she thought she was exceptionally pretty, with a small face and striking features that made her stand out in any crowd.
She'd heard Shu Xiaoshan and the others constantly say that An Ning looked down on people and only befriended shady characters outside of school, so she hadn't dared to strike up a conversation.
Today, when An Ning blew up in the dorm, she'd watched from the sidelines, heart racing. Before she knew it, she was already sitting in the cafeteria with An Ning.
Taking a sip of the beef soup, An Ning nodded in response to Shi Jiayan: "You're very pretty too."
"Really?"
Shi Jiayan's eyes lit up as she touched her own face. Being complimented by a recognized beauty made her feel like her skin was smoother than usual when she touched it.
"You're nothing like what Shu Xiaoshan and the others said. I knew rumors couldn't be trusted. If you were really like that, they wouldn't dare badmouth you so openly. Making them write those confession letters was totally the right call. Now that they've learned their lesson, people who misunderstood you will see you're not that kind of person, and those who harbor ill will toward you won't dare spread nonsense anymore."
Shi Jiayan was clearly a chatterbox. Once An Ning had stamped her with the "friend" seal, her little mouth didn't stop moving.
An Ning could sense she meant no harm, so she was happy to listen to her talk.
They went back to the dormitory to grab their books, then headed to the classroom together to do homework.
"An Ning, now that you're back this time, are you leaving again?"
There was still some time before evening self-study, and there weren't many people in the classroom. When they saw An Ning, a few surprised exclamations still rang out.
An Ning's seat was in the third row from the back. Since she hadn't been there for a month, quite a bit of trash had been stuffed into her desk drawer.
As Shi Jiayan helped An Ning clean up, she asked the question.
She could feel that An Ning's return to school this time was different from before. Before, it was like she was being forced by her parents and teachers, coming to school with impatience. But this time she looked… she didn't know how to describe it. It was like An Ning's name itself—the aura she gave off was calm and settled, without the restless feeling of before.
"I'm not leaving. I'm going to study hard, and my goal is first in the grade."
Shi Jiayan had a good personality, so An Ning felt relaxed when talking to her.
"Wow, An Ning, that's an ambitious goal! But I believe it's possible."
Shi Jiayan knew that An Ning ranked last in the grade, but thinking about how fluently she could recite legal provisions, she figured maybe it wasn't impossible.
"Pfft—"
Shi Jiayan gave An Ning face, but others wouldn't.
The boy sitting nearby heard her say she wanted to study hard and let out a mocking laugh. His voice of ridicule wasn't loud, more like he was muttering to himself: "Last place talking about aiming for first in the grade? Might as well aim to date the grade's top student."
"The grade's top student in the sophomore year is a girl."
Though his voice was quiet, An Ning's gaze locked onto him instantly. Looking straight into his eyes, she stated the fact she had just seen on the honor roll downstairs.
The girl's beautiful eyes held an unfathomable calm. Stared down by such a pair of eyes, the boy mumbled something even he couldn't hear clearly, then quickly walked out of the classroom.
Shi Jiayan, who had watched the whole thing from the side, had sparkling eyes. Her new friend was really impressive!