6
Not only were the bystanders baffled, but even the protagonist duo was momentarily stunned.
The novel’s setting described the female lead as having a pure, lotus-like appearance, but with an extremely resilient heart. She never bowed her head in the face of power or money, proud and stubborn. It was precisely this temperament that made the male lead and several yet-to-appear supporting male characters love her to death.
A few days earlier, Jiang Mian had cornered Guan Xin at Zhishu Pavilion and handed her a check for two million yuan, telling her to leave Gu Qiwen.
Was being rich such a big deal?
Did money make you invincible?
Could money buy someone else’s boyfriend?
Guan Xin sneered. Leaving aside the fact that she would never treat Gu Qiwen like a piece of goods to be passed out around, the idea that two million yuan could make her back down, what kind of person did that make her?
She rejected Jiang Mian, but the latter thought she wanted more and added another three million. Guan Xin trembled with anger, feeling disgust toward Jiang Mian for the first time.
The other woman was insulting her and Qiwen with money!
And after Guan Xin refused, Jiang Mian was furious and frustrated, tried to hit her. If Qiwen hadn’t arrived in time, Guan Xin would have been struck.
She and Gu Qiwen had grown up together, truly in love. There was no way she would ever give him up. She wanted to assert her claim to Jiang Mian. If the other woman kept harassing them, Guan Xin would report her. She refused to believe Jiang Mian could over the sky with one hand.
Guan Xin had prepared herself for a direct confrontation with Jiang Mian. But when she unexpectedly ran into her again, Jiang Mian completely ignored her?!
Guan Xin’s expression soured.
Although Gu Qiwen’s attention was slightly drawn to Jiang Mian, his focus remained largely on Guan Xin. Seeing her face change, his heart ached. Eager to protect his beloved, he didn’t hesitate to call out. “Stop right there!”
Guan Xin knew him well and understood what he intended to do. With so many people around, Gu Qiwen was a guy. If he treated Jiang Mian poorly, word would spread and harm his reputation.
“Forget it.” She said, sighing as she took his hand.
Gu Qiwen detected a note of reluctant compromise in her voice. A flash of coldness crossed his eyes. “Don’t worry, I told you I won’t let you suffer.”
He let go of Guan Xin, walked a few steps to stand in front of Jiang Mian, and stared at her coldly. “Jiang Mian, I told you to stop. Didn’t you hear me?”
Jiang Mian had fallen for Gu Qiwen at first sight and immediately started chasing him. At first, before he developed any real dislike for her, his attitude was decent. But later, he grew annoyed, and his demeanor worsened.
Around that time, a female student handed Gu Qiwen a love letter. Jiang Mian, already frustrated by how he treated her, watched as he accepted the letter quite graciously. Enraged, she stormed over and slapped the girl.
From that point on, Gu Qiwen began to loathe Jiang Mian. But no matter how badly he treated her, she remained determined to have him, fawning over him at every turn and even attempting suicide by wrist-slashing for his sake.
Though Gu Qiwen felt disgusted, Jiang Mian’s actions had cemented a belief in his mind: no matter how poorly he treated her, she wouldn’t get angry—at least not at him.
Jiang Mian stopped walking, squinting as she sized up Gu Qiwen, her gaze lingering especially on the faint bluish-purple bruise on his cheekbone.
Two seconds later, she glanced toward Guan Xin and spoke in a voice just loud enough for the three of them to hear: “Senior Gu, does that injury still hurt?”
Guan Xin’s expression shifted. She looked at Jiang Mian uncertainly. How did she know about Qiwen’s injury?
Gu Qiwen’s face turned extremely dark. After being beaten by Han Xu’s bodyguards and thrown out of the hospital gate that day, he had gotten basic treatment elsewhere before returning to school. Afraid of worrying Guan Xin, he had simply said he ran into some robbers and got hurt.
Jiang Mian’s words brought back the humiliation of being utterly powerless to fight back that day. His chest heaved with suppressed anger, and the fury in his eyes deepened bit by bit.
Jiang Mian chuckled. “Don’t get so worked up. Your health is your own. It’s not worth getting angry over, don’t you think?”
“Apologize,” Gu Qiwen spat out through gritted teeth.
Jiang Mian raised an eyebrow, looking confused. “Apologize for what? Senior Gu, just because you’re an upperclassman doesn’t mean you can demand an apology from a freshman for no reason, right?”
“Apologize to Guan Guan!” Gu Qiwen suddenly reached out to grab Jiang Mian’s wrist, and his target was her injured wrist.
A cold glint flashed in Jiang Mian’s eyes. She dodged swiftly, then stumbled backward, taking a moment to steady herself. To anyone watching, it looked as if Gu Qiwen had pushed her.
Clutching her hand, Jiang Mian’s eyes reddened in an instant. She looked at Gu Qiwen in disbelief. “Senior Gu, I already promised I’d stay far away from Guan Xin whenever I see her. I also promised I’d stop bothering you. So why are you still doing this to me?”
Gu Qiwen: “?”
Guan Xin: “??”
Jiang Mian no longer kept her voice down. The surrounding onlookers heard every word clearly and immediately understood why Jiang Mian had walked past them without a second glance.
No wonder she hadn’t been to school for a week—it turned out she had agreed to Gu Qiwen’s conditions, her heart was broken, and she had taken a week to pull herself together.
With just a few words and her expression, the crowd quickly pieced together a narrative: Jiang Mian had loved Gu Qiwen too much, and in the end, she let go for love. Their gazes toward Gu Qiwen unconsciously carried a hint of reproach.
“I liked you, yes, but that was in the past.” The young girl held her head high, stubbornly refusing to let the tears in her eyes fall. “With my qualifications, what kind of boyfriend couldn’t I find? Why should I hang myself on your tree?”
“If I did something wrong before, you could hit me for Guan Xin’s sake.”
The crowd: !!!
What? Judging by her tone, Gu Qiwen had already laid hands on Jiang Mian before?
“But I didn’t do anything today…” Her voice caught. “Forget it. I won’t dwell on it. Otherwise, you’ll just accuse me again of being ruthless and doing evil just because my family has money.”
With that, Jiang Mian walked away, leaving behind a trail of stunned stares.
Some suspected she was putting on an act. But if she was, she was doing it far too well.
According to the original story, not long ago, the school organized a freshman arts showcase. The original Jiang Mian had discovered that Guan Xin signed up for a theatrical performance, so she signed up for one too.
On the day of the performance, several directors and producers sat in the audience—specially invited by the school. Guan Xin’s theatrical performance was the best of the entire event, and right after it ended, a director approached her.
Jiang Mian’s performance, on the other hand, was a train wreck. She forgot her lines, her acting was awkward, her delivery was stiff—a disaster.
At the time, some gossip-loving student had posted a detailed account of the whole thing on the school forum, and with the added context of Jiang Mian chasing after Gu Qiwen, comparisons were drawn between Jiang Mian and Guan Xin.
The result? Aside from her family background and her looks, Jiang Mian couldn’t hold a candle to Guan Xin in any aspect.
That was what had made Jiang Mian’s blood boil, leading to the confrontation at Zhishu Pavilion.
Everyone knew Jiang Mian’s acting was painfully bad. There was no way her skills could have gone from atrocious to divine in just a few days. The only explanation was that her emotions were genuine.
People were prone to first impressions. In her proud, stubborn, aggrieved, and angry state, Jiang Mian had twisted the truth, blending lies and reality so seamlessly that even if Gu Qiwen and Guan Xin wanted to defend themselves, they couldn’t find an opening.
Had Gu Qiwen never hit Jiang Mian?
Everyone had just seen him push her.
Had Gu Qiwen never yelled at Jiang Mian?
Everyone had witnessed his cold words to her.
In short, the crowd’s gazes toward Gu Qiwen and Guan Xin grew very subtle.
Jiang Mian walked breezily into the classroom. So, this was what it felt like to play the victim and act pitiful—it was strangely satisfying.
This also served as a perfect opportunity to make it clear to the male and female leads—especially the female lead—that she no longer had any feelings for Gu Qiwen. They could do whatever they wanted.
Don’t be fooled by the female lead’s delicate, fragile appearance, like a white lotus swaying in the wind, all pitiable and endearing. In the book, every female supporting character who opposed her met a bad end.
Most of the time, she didn’t even have to lift a finger. All she needed was to redden her eyes and act heartbroken, and someone would always step in to deal with her problems for her.
In the original story, no matter how outrageous the original Jiang Mian became later on, she never did anything truly heinous like murder or arson.
Moreover, Gu Qiwen had already married the original Jiang Mian at that point, yet he secretly carried on an affair with Guan Xin—cheating within marriage. Later, when Guan Xin became pregnant, the original Jiang Mian exploded with rage.
That was when her four fathers were still around. Her wealthy father had someone quietly take Guan Xin to the hospital for an abortion.
The original Jiang Mian knew nothing about it, but both the male and female leads were convinced she had done it. Then, one of Guan Xin’s suitors crippled the original Jiang Mian, and Gu Qiwen had her committed to a sanitarium, making sure the staff there gave her “special attention.”
Jiang Mian had lost count of how many times she lamented the original author’s favoritism toward the male and female leads, and the deep-seated malice toward Jiang Mian, the villainous side character.
…
She dutifully attended a full day of classes. When the last period ended, she checked the time—it was barely five o’clock. She pulled out her phone and searched for the nearest jade shop. She wanted to take a look at some jade.
Jade nurtures the person; a person gathers energy. That’s why jade tends to hold spiritual energy within it.
She needed to find something with spiritual energy to use as a medium, to set up a small spirit-gathering array in her room—anything to speed up her cultivation, even just a little.
Just as she stepped out of the classroom, Lin Feifei, dressed in a white gown and waiting in the hallway, immediately came up to her. “Mianmian.”
After meeting Guan Xin, Jiang Mian realized that Lin Feifei’s style of dressing was extremely similar to Guan Xin’s. But in terms of temperament, Lin Feifei fell far short—by more than just a little.
It just went to show that not every supporting female character could successfully challenge the female lead.
Lin Feifei was there to apologize. She had thought it over all night. Since Jiang Mian had already suspected her, she might as well admit it and then spin another lie. She was sure that Jiang Mian, with her empty-headed ways, would be easy to fool.
She had deliberately chosen this time—right after school and this location, right outside the classroom so that her apology would be heard by everyone. She could also use the opportunity to spread a few other rumors.
But before she could even open her mouth, Jiang Mian had already walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “If you say even one more word, I’ll make sure you can’t survive at this school. Want to try?”
Lin Feifei’s body froze. Staring at the delicate, beautiful face so close to her own, her lips moved but not a single word came out.
Jiang Mian released her and walked unhurriedly down the stairs.
She took a taxi to the nearest jade shop. After searching the entire store, she found no jade containing any spiritual energy. Still, she didn’t feel discouraged.
If the spiritual energy in this world’s air was this scarce, then treasures imbued with spiritual energy would be even rarer. She would just take her time searching.
Just as she was about to leave, something in the corner of the shop caught her eye—a faint flash in her peripheral vision.
Jiang Mian’s heart stirred. She stopped. “Shopkeeper, what’s that?”
“Oh, those are just some scrap jade pieces I collected. They’re not worth anything.” The owner said enthusiastically, “If nothing here suits you, how about leaving your contact info? When new jade arrives in a couple of days, I’ll let you know.”
A jade dealer naturally develops a sharp eye. The moment this young lady walked in and told him to bring out all the jade in the shop, and with her bearing and manner, it was clear she came from money—someone he could make a good profit from.
“Let me take a look,” Jiang Mian said.
Though puzzled, the owner had his assistant put the bag from the corner on the counter and open it. Inside were indeed large chunks of scrap material. Jiang Mian examined them for a moment, then said casually, “I’ll take this. Name your price.”
The owner was speechless.
“Miss, this stuff isn’t worth much,” he said.
“I like buying things that aren’t worth much,” Jiang Mian replied offhandedly.
In the end, the owner named a figure, and Jiang Mian paid without haggling.
Seeing how generously she paid, the owner regretted not asking for more. He had thoroughly inspected those scraps and was certain they were worthless—even a scrap collector wouldn’t want them.
Watching Jiang Mian leave with a smile on her face, carrying the bag, the owner couldn’t help but wonder if he had missed something. Was there actually something valuable in that bag of scraps?
Jiang Mian carried the bag back to her apartment building, stepped into the elevator, and pressed the button for the 18th floor. As soon as she stepped out, she heard an electronic, mechanical voice: “Sorry, the password you entered is incorrect.”
Jiang Mian: “???”
She saw a man standing in front of the apartment across the hall, his eyes covered with a white cloth—the same man she had encountered in the parking garage the night before. His fingers were just withdrawing from the keypad lock.
Jiang Mian: “…”
Was the world really this small?
She watched as the man re-entered the password. The same error message sounded again.
Jiang Mian spoke up. “Besides entering a password, you can also use a fingerprint. Have you tried that?”
“I did,” the man replied, showing no surprise at all. “It didn’t match.”
Uh…
“What’s your password? Let me type it in for you,” she offered, thinking that since he couldn’t see, he might have pressed the wrong keys. “You can change the password once you’re inside.”
The man quietly stepped back two paces, making room for Jiang Mian. “521521.”
Jiang Mian entered the code. The next second, the same incorrect password message sounded again.
Jiang Mian: “…”
Are you sure your password is correct?
As if reading her mind, the man said, “That is the password.”
“Then maybe the electronic lock is broken,” Jiang Mian said. “Do you have a key?”
The man shook his head.
“Call your assistant?”
“My phone is inside.”
Jiang Mian: “…”
“Call the property management,” she said. She phoned them, and they said someone would come up shortly. Feeling that she had done all she could to help, she was about to head back to her own place.
Just as she opened her door, her peripheral vision caught the man standing alone in the hallway—pale-faced, the white cloth over his eyes, though no longer stained with blood like the night before, still a reminder that he couldn’t see. He looked rather pitiful.
Jiang Mian hesitated. “How about waiting at my place until the property management gets here?”
At her words, the man’s head turned slightly, giving Jiang Mian the odd feeling that the eyes beneath the white cloth were looking at her.
After a moment, the man spoke, his voice gentle. “That would be troublesome for you.”
**