"I refuse."
Jiang Jinran curled her lip and spoke decisively.
Actually, playing a tree was no difficult task for Jiang Jinran, and she wasn't particularly opposed to it.
Her reason for refusing was-
As a little salted fish who had decided to slack off, she didn't want to waste her precious time on this.
Besides, she had given up trying, not given up her brains. Shi Hui was clearly targeting her and harboring ill intent toward her.
This was obviously a Hongmen banquet. If she foolishly walked right into it, wouldn't she just be inviting trouble onto herself...
Speaking of Shi Hui.
The memories the original owner had left behind weren't complete. She didn't know what the original owner had done to offend this young lady and earn her hatred.
Or perhaps Shi Hui was simply following the crowd, joining the other students in targeting the original owner, an unpopular freak.
Compared with the others' blatant ostracism, Shi Hui was less obvious, always doing things on the sly...
But these true villains, these sanctimonious hypocrites, were often the most disgusting of all!
"Refuse?" Shi Hui frowned, looking troubled. "In that case, why didn't you object before we drew lots? Why are you only speaking up now that you've been picked?"
She spoke with clear logic, making Jiang Jinran seem unreasonable, as though she were going back on her word.
"There's a saying: if you're willing to gamble, you have to accept losing. Does Jiang Jinran even understand that?" a boy said with a laugh, eager to fan the flames for entertainment.
"How could she? She's the academic loser who single-handedly drags our class average down several points..."
"True enough, hahahaha!"
Jiang Jinran ignored those voices. She merely looked up at Shi Hui and suddenly sighed before saying-
"Classmate Shi Hui, I won't take part in activities like this again. Taking part makes me unhappy, and when I'm unhappy, I'm like a corpse, practically dead. I might be ordinary and haven't accomplished much, but I'm still my mom's precious baby. If she finds out I've been wronged like this, she'll definitely be upset and heartbroken, and then she'll call the police to arrest you all!"
With that, she tugged at her lips, revealing an inscrutable smile.
The classroom instantly fell silent.
Shi Hui seemed stunned by Jiang Jinran's sudden burst of "crazy talk." Her eyes widened, and she looked somewhat at a loss.
She opened her mouth and was just about to say something when the class bell abruptly rang in everyone's ears.
Class had begun.
Naturally, Shi Hui couldn't remain at the podium. She hurried down with the drawing box in her hands, stealing a sidelong glance at Jiang Jinran as she went.
After class.
Jiang Jinran left the classroom to buy a bottle of water, but she had only just reached the end of the corridor when Shi Hui stopped her.
"We haven't settled the matter of the Hope Cup yet."
Shi Hui blocked Jiang Jinran's path. She was slightly taller than Jiang Jinran, and standing before her, she held a definite height advantage.
"I thought I'd already made myself perfectly clear."
Jiang Jinran tilted her head and spoke with ringing conviction.
"Jiang Jinran, I told you before that this competition is very important. If you refuse, not only will you lose your eligibility for awards and honors, you might even face disciplinary action."
Shi Hui spoke icily, the threat in her words already spilling over.
"Awards, honors, disciplinary action?"
A bright gleam shifted in Jiang Jinran's eyes. She suddenly laughed. "Does any of that matter?"
"If you can arrange for me to stop going to school altogether, I'll even thank you."
After all, studying here was pretty boring.
If she got expelled, she would have a legitimate reason to go home and slack off.
A look of astonishment appeared on Shi Hui's face. She hadn't expected-
Jiang Jinran to be so completely impervious.
It was like punching cotton.
"You know I'll be taking part in the end-of-term assessments too." Shi Hui suddenly changed the subject, a trace of coldness creeping into the corners of her eyes. "You don't care about anything, but what about Ji Qingying? I could absolutely give her a failing mark."
Shi Hui had been watching Ji Qingying's friendly overtures toward Jiang Jinran all along.
Ji Qingying was something of an oddball in this class too, unwilling to follow the crowd.
But her grades were excellent-so excellent that she could pin the entire class to the ground and grind them into the dirt.
So practically no one went looking for trouble with her and invited humiliation.
But that didn't mean Shi Hui wouldn't dare turn her blade on her. After all, Ji Qingying's family background was also very ordinary, and Shi Hui believed she could afford to offend her.
"She seems pretty close to you. Do you want to see her dragged into this because of you?"
Shi Hui's lips opened and closed without emotion, like a demon's whispers pouring casually into Jiang Jinran's ears.
Jiang Jinran couldn't help marveling.
This Shi Hui really had mastered moral blackmail, threats, and inducements.
"Think it over." Shi Hui stepped back, putting some distance between herself and Jiang Jinran, her signature serene smile appearing on her face. "Ji Qingying is one of the few people who have shown you kindness..."
Leaving those words behind, she walked past Jiang Jinran and into the classroom.
Jiang Jinran merely found it rather amusing.
So what?
She wasn't some saint.
Just because Ji Qingying had lent her a pair of pants, did she have to play a tree for her?
When Jiang Jinran returned to the classroom after buying water, the class bell rang just as she arrived.
She sat down unhurriedly and pulled a textbook out of her desk-
Clang.
A very thin piece of iron slid out from between the textbook's pages.
A piece of iron?
Did this belong to the original owner, or had it only appeared today?
Jiang Jinran's brows creased slightly.
She instinctively looked around. The usual classroom, the usual people-nothing seemed strange or different.
She picked up the piece of iron that had fallen onto her desk, a chill seeping into her fingertips.
Turning it over, she abruptly widened her eyes-
There were actually words engraved on the back.
"Go compete in the Hope Cup finals."
Jiang Jinran's gaze couldn't help wavering.
Even today's date was engraved in the lower-right corner.
This also confirmed Jiang Jinran's suspicion-
This piece of iron hadn't been there all along.
Someone had slipped it into her textbook today, perhaps even during the brief time she had just spent buying water.
At this point, Jiang Jinran had to admit it.
The original owner must have harbored many secrets she knew nothing about.
Could this piece of iron that had appeared out of nowhere be connected to the Divine Sound Badge in the original owner's room?
Who exactly was the person who had given her the piece of iron?
And why were they so determined to have her compete in the Hope Cup finals? What relationship did the original owner have with the person behind all this?
Had she been coerced?
Jiang Jinran's mind was a tangled mess, even throbbing with pain.
She had no leads whatsoever. Who could have imagined that, as cannon fodder in a feel-good novel with a powerful female lead, she would end up trapped in such a web of mysteries?
She let out a soft breath and discreetly slipped the piece of iron into her schoolbag.
"Ji Qingying."
Jiang Jinran turned to look behind her. Ji Qingying had her head down, taking notes. Before the teacher arrived, she hurriedly asked in a low voice, "Did anyone come near my desk during the break?"
Ji Qingying looked up, her brows furrowing slightly as though she were trying hard to remember. After a moment, she shook her head uncertainly. "I don't think so."
Jiang Jinran nodded. "Got it."
The other party was highly skilled. Presumably, they wouldn't let anyone discover their movements easily.