Chapter 43: The Eternal Runner-Up
The door of the neighboring dorm room opened, revealing none other than the class monitor, You Lexuan.
"Oh, who do we have here? If it isn't our dear anchorwoman, Chen Manbai. Back early today, aren’t we?" You Lexuan leaned lazily against the doorframe, dressed in a luxurious nightgown with a facial mask on.
Chen Manbai took a few seconds to process before realization dawned on her.
"Was it you who reported me for staying out overnight?"
"If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it in the first place."
"Ha! So it was you!"
Furious, Chen Manbai lunged at You Lexuan and yanked the mask off her face.
"Ah!"
You Lexuan shrieked and stumbled back several steps. Though taller than Chen Manbai, she lacked the latter’s intimidating presence and was quickly cornered against the door.
"Manman! Calm down!" Jian Xiangxiang rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Chen Manbai from behind.
Ruan Yu and Xia Qiaofeng each grabbed one of Chen Manbai’s arms to restrain her.
"Making a scene won’t solve anything—it’ll just give her more ammunition," Ruan Yu whispered into Chen Manbai’s ear. "Just scare her a little, then let’s go back before things escalate."
Chen Manbai resisted.
Ruan Yu exchanged a glance with Xia Qiaofeng and Jian Xiangxiang, and the three of them dragged Chen Manbai back by force.
Seeing the danger pass, You Lexuan regained her bravado and shouted at Chen Manbai, "Chen Manbai, you lunatic! Don’t think I won’t call the homeroom teacher and tell her you’re bullying me!"
"Go ahead! Call her right now! What, is the homeroom teacher your dad? I refuse to believe he can shield you forever—"
Before Chen Manbai could finish, Ruan Yu and the others hauled her into their dorm and shut the door.
You Lexuan’s yelling was cut off, and the commotion in the hallway gradually died down.
"Why did you stop me? I was ready to tear that little brat apart today!"
"And then what? Do you still want to stay in school, oh mighty heroine?" Jian Xiangxiang handed Chen Manbai a glass of water and picked up a Mao Zedong Thought textbook to fan her with. "Drink some water and cool off."
Chen Manbai took a deep breath, grabbed the glass, and gulped down the water in one go.
The other three in the dorm watched her silently. After a moment, Chen Manbai slammed the glass onto the desk with a loud "thud."
"Damn it! I didn’t even get to talk about the sports festival before you dragged me back!"
"What’s there to say? She signed you up randomly, so just participate randomly," Xia Qiaofeng said gently. "Unless you’re planning to win medals for her to take credit?"
Chen Manbai thought about it.
Fair point.
But she couldn’t stand how You Lexuan constantly targeted their dorm.
"Girls, tell me—what did we ever do to her? Why does she keep picking on us?" Chen Manbai asked, baffled.
Jian Xiangxiang and Xia Qiaofeng both turned their eyes to Ruan Yu.
"Why are you looking at Ruan Ruan?"
"Ever heard of 'hating the house along with the crow'?" Xia Qiaofeng said.
"You Lexuan hates Ruan Ruan?" Chen Manbai was even more confused. In her eyes, no one at school was more low-key and uncompetitive than Ruan Yu.
"You Lexuan is the eternal runner-up, forever living in Ruan Ruan’s shadow. Even her position as class monitor only fell to her because Ruan Ruan didn’t want it. How do you think that makes her feel?""Even if it's unbearable, you can't abuse your power for personal revenge!"
"He's a high-ranking official, and we're just commoners. What can we do?" Jian Xiangxiang shrugged.
Ruan Yu listened to their conversation quietly without saying a word.
After a long silence, she suddenly raised her head.
"I have a way."
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