In an instant, the venue became so quiet that a dropped needle could be heard.
Ning Che stared at Xie Yuqi in utter disbelief, unable to comprehend that those words had actually come from her mouth.
Her lips trembled as she tried to say something, but then she saw the high and mighty, cold gaze Xie Yuqi was casting down at her. Deep within those eyes, there was an unmistakable glimmer of profound disgust.
Disgust? Dis… gust!
She blinked hard, forcing herself to focus and look again, but it was still disgust.
Her lips trembled uncontrollably once more. She wanted to ask why, but the voice remained trapped in her throat, unable to make a sound.
Right at that moment, a bizarrely sarcastic voice shouted from the crowd.
“Ning Che’s family is so poor, how could she ever afford a diamond this big?”
The crowd immediately let out a collective “tsk,” as if everything had suddenly clicked into place.
“It can’t be a fake, can it?”
“No wonder Senior Sister Xie reacted that way. She actually used a fake diamond to propose!”
“Proposing with a fake diamond? That is so incredibly low-class!”
“Terrifying!”
Ning Che suddenly felt the diamond ring she was holding up with both hands turn into a mountain, pressing down on her so heavily that she could barely breathe.
She stared at Xie Yuqi without blinking, and the disgust in Xie Yuqi’s eyes only grew more intense.
She did everything she could to move her lips, wanting to explain, wanting to argue but it was as if something had stripped away every ounce of her strength.
The hands holding the ring box began to shake uncontrollably.
Yet this scene only served as concrete evidence for the onlookers. The same sarcastic voice shrieked again. “Look! Her hands are shaking! She must have a guilty conscience! She really did use a fake diamond to propose to Senior Sister Xie!”
“Oh my god, how disgusting!”
“I really didn’t expect Ning Che to be this kind of person?!”
Xu Fan, Shen Qingzhi, and the others had been in a complete daze until now. Hearing someone seize the opportunity to smear Ning Che, Xu Fan finally snapped out of it. She shouted at the top of her lungs, “Ning Che’s diamond ring is absolutely real! Stop talking nonsense!”
Shen Qingzhi followed suit, yelling, “You’re all lying! Ning Che’s ring is real!”
But their voices were too weak, drowning in the rising tide of widespread contempt before they could even finish speaking.
Directly following that, an extremely disdainful, cold sneer rang out.
“Heh.”
Along with this cold chuckle, the crowd involuntarily looked over. They recognized that the voice belonged to the person who had made quite a grand entrance earlier, the heir of the Ye family, Ye Lingyi.
A corner of Ye Lingyi’s mouth hooked up into her signature cold smirk, though her eyes were narrowed sideways at the frost covered Xie Yuqi.
“Miss Xie!”
“I didn’t expect that after several years at Federation University, this is the kind of trash you’ve picked up.”
“Your taste is truly quite pathetic!”
The moment those words were uttered, hundreds of pairs of eyes turned in unison toward the bottom of the steps.
Under the spotlight, Ning Che still maintained her kneeling posture on one knee, holding the diamond ring up with both hands.
Her face was as pale as paper, and her arms kept trembling. She looked as wretched and pathetic as a stray dog drenched in the rain.
Ye Lingyi didn’t give her a second glance. Shoving her hands into her pockets, she swaggered right past her.
The crowd let out another collective “tsk,” a messy blend of disdain, contempt, and mockery.
Xu Fan suddenly rushed forward, violently pulling Ning Che up to her feet before shouting at the other three: “Get over here and help!”
The remaining three, who were still rooted to the spot, snapped out of their shock. Shen Qingzhi, Shu Xinyi, and another fellow hometown native, Liu Man, all ran over together.
Xu Fan quickly commanded, “Take off your jackets!”
With one hand, she supported Ning Che, who was swaying and unable to stand firmly on her own. With her other hand, she swiftly ripped off her own suit jacket, wrapped her arm around Ning Che’s shoulders, and used the jacket to shield the top of her head.
“Quick! Do exactly what I’m doing!”
Following her lead, the other three lifted their jackets together, crowding tightly shoulder-to-shoulder to form a makeshift canopy over their heads.
Huddling around Ning Che, the four of them began moving outward, step by step.
Shen Qingzhi asked in a low voice, “Where are we going?”
Xu Fan snapped angrily, “Anywhere! Just get out of here first!”
Even though they used their jackets to hide Ning Che’s miserable state, the surrounding crowd refused to let them go, still raising their cameras to block and corner them.
One person even rushed right in front of them with a phone raised. “Hey, don’t block the view! Let me snap a picture of Ning Che’s ugly face!”
Unable to endure it any longer, Xu Fan slapped her hand out. With a sharp crack, the phone flew out of the person’s hand and shattered into pieces on the ground.
The person stumbled backward, screeching.
“Assault! Ning Che’s group is hitting people!”
“She proposed with a fake diamond ring, and now she has the nerve to beat people up!”
Xu Fan roared in fury, “Beat it!”
By the entrance of the auditorium, Xie Yuqi and her entourage were watching this chaotic scene unfold.
Xia Li turned her head to look at Xie Yuqi. “Xiao Qi, I really didn’t expect tonight’s mood to be ruined like this again. How about I take you back first?”
Xie Yuqi acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. Her gaze was entirely fixed on Ning Che, who was being pushed and escorted outward by Xu Fan and the other three.
Someone else stepped forward with a phone to take a photo. Xu Fan clashed with them again, and the other three closed in to help.
Left standing all by herself in the center of the scuffle, Ning Che slowly turned her head back.
The night swallowed many details, but it could not hide those eyes completely brimming with tears.
She gazed fixedly at Xie Yuqi. It was as if she had thousands of words to say, and an endless amount of grievances to pour out.
Xie Yuqi’s hands, hanging at her sides, suddenly clenched tightly into fists.
She suddenly felt like she couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
Right at that moment, Xu Ziwen gathered up her skirt and ran down the steps.
She quickly walked over to Ning Che’s side and scolded loudly, “What do you think you’re doing? You are all students of the same university! This kind of behavior is an absolute disgrace to Federation University!”
The people who still wanted to capture Ning Che’s miserable state recognized her identity. Not daring to talk back, they could only disperse in all directions.
Once they had moved far away, Xu Ziwen glanced at Ning Che, turned around, and walked away.
Xu Fan and the other three gathered around Ning Che once more, covering her face with the suit jackets as they hurriedly left the area.
Xie Yuqi’s tightly clenched hands slowly relaxed, and she let out a strange sigh of relief.
Xu Fan and the others brought Ning Che outside the gates of Federation University, where finally, no one was secretly taking photos.
The four of them looked at each other for a moment before turning their eyes to Ning Che.
Ning Che stood there numbly, her expression completely vacant, her eyes utterly lifeless.
Shu Xinyi asked, “What do we do now?”
Xu Fan remained silent. She was experiencing a massive headache as well. This was supposed to be a joyful occasion, but it had ended up like this. Her own mind was a tangled mess, leaving her at a total loss.
Shen Qingzhi suddenly said with bitter hatred, “I think she did it on purpose. She clearly knew how deeply Ning Che loved her, yet she still trampled all over her like this!”
The others remained silent.
After a short while, Xu Fan tapped Ning Che on the shoulder.
“Ning Che.”
“Ning Che?”
“Ning Che, it’s me!”
She called out three times in succession, and it wasn’t until she kept waving her hand directly in front of Ning Che’s face that those despairing eyes finally focused on her.
“Xu… Fan,” Ning Che’s lips moved faintly.
Xu Fan sighed, squeezing her shoulder a bit harder. “Ning Che, life is bound to have setbacks. Just push through it, and it’ll pass.”
Shen Qingzhi added, “Ning Che, I believe in you!”
Ning Che pursed her lips, the shattered look in her eyes reflecting an unspeakable sorrow.
Unable to bear looking at her like this, the four of them quickly averted their eyes, pretending to look busy with something else.
Ning Che’s lips twitched for a moment before she finally managed to force some words out.
“Thank… you guys.”
“Ah, don’t mention it. Why are you being polite with us? We’re friends.”
“That’s right, Ning Che. We’re good friends.”
“Hometown buddy, don’t overthink it. Just pull the covers over your head, get a good night’s sleep, and it’ll all be over.” Shu Xinyi also patted Ning Che’s shoulder.
Ning Che fell silent for a moment, then whispered, “I want to be alone.”
Xu Fan hurriedly took the lead to respond, “Alright, I understand.”
The four of them stood in place, watching her figure slowly walk away into the distance.
She was trying her hardest to stand up straight, but her footsteps were still staggering and unsteady, as if something heavy had completely bent her spine.
Xu Fan lit a cigarette and smoked it in silence.
Shen Qingzhi took the cigarette pack and lighter from her hand, lighting one for herself as well.
Then came Shu Xinyi and Liu Man.
Shen Qingzhi said resentfully, “I knew a long time ago that nothing good would come out of Ning Che and Xie Yuqi. How could a wealthy, noble family ever truly look down upon those of us from the bottom?”
She shut her mouth immediately after saying this because among the four of them, only she was truly from the bottom. Xu Fan could be considered middle class, and both Shu Xinyi and Liu Man came from better financial backgrounds.
The only one who was truly as poor as her was Ning Che.