A smile curled Jiang Jinran's lips, but her eyes were ice-cold. "Actually, I'm very easy to get along with. If you can't get along with me, look for the reason in yourselves."
She shook her head with a hint of regret. "Give your heads a shake and listen for the ocean. Your brains must be flooded enough to drown a mountain for you to do something like this."
Under Jiang Jinran's relentless barrage, some people even went pale.
Everyone looked grave and said nothing, actually forgetting to argue back.
Just then-
The crisp click of high heels sounded behind her.
Their homeroom teacher, Xu Yuan, had reached the doorway.
She had only just arrived and heard nothing but Jiang Jinran's last few words.
Xu Yuan narrowed her eyes, swept her gaze across the class, and asked sternly, "What happened?"
As though they had spotted their savior, the students immediately breathed sighs of relief.
"Ms. Xu." A tall, slender girl quickly raised her hand. She had very fair skin and delicate features, and her voice was like a spring breeze and gentle rain. "Jiang Jinran was insulting people just now."
Without the slightest hesitation, she had slapped a "charge" on Jiang Jinran almost instantly.
Jiang Jinran glanced at her.
The girl's name was Shi Hui, a wealthy young lady well known throughout the academy.
Unlike Jiang Jinran, she had always been the moon surrounded by a host of admiring stars.
Xu Yuan nodded, never doubting Shi Hui's words.
Teachers working at Imperial Star Academy were actually under tremendous pressure too.
Although every one of them came from a respectable family and had outstanding academic credentials, they were the weaker party before these young masters and young ladies at the top of the pyramid.
So, when dealing with these students born with golden spoons in their mouths, they needed to maintain a delicate balance.
They had to enforce strict discipline in everyday matters, but they must never cross the line-
Such as offending them.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unbearable.
But in Xu Yuan's eyes, Jiang Jinran was clearly an exception.
Her background was mysterious, and her parents almost never appeared. A rumor had previously circulated that she was an academy employee's illegitimate daughter and had only qualified to enter the academy because of this relationship that could not bear the light of day.
Although it was only a rumor, everyone had actually believed it.
There was not a trace of wealth or privilege about Jiang Jinran.
She seemed insecure and withdrawn.
If she was an employee's illegitimate daughter, that would explain everything.
Xu Yuan did not like Jiang Jinran.
Not just because of her lowly family background, but also because of her disastrous grades.
This was a girl who, apart from being reasonably cute, had nothing going for her and nothing likable about her whatsoever.
Without question, in Xu Yuan's eyes, Shi Hui was a wealthy young lady who needed her help securing justice, while Jiang Jinran-
Was an annoying brat she could lecture however she pleased.
"Ma'am."
Not to be outdone, Jiang Jinran immediately spoke up to explain. "I swear to heaven, if I said a single dirty word to insult anyone just now, may I have nothing but rice porridge to eat every day from now on."
Could what I said even count as insulting people? It was sarcasm at most.
Xu Yuan's face was cold, and she did not seem to give Jiang Jinran's words any weight.
Wasn't this girl supposed to be quiet? Why had she suddenly grown such a sharp tongue...
"I don't need you to swear an oath." Her lips parted, and she said with a stern expression, each word ringing firm, "I need you to learn to admit your mistakes!"
Jiang Jinran understood that this woman had made up her mind that she was in the wrong.
She curled her lips into a seemingly harmless smile. "Perhaps you could take a look at the state of my pants first."
As she spoke, Jiang Jinran turned around, presenting her back to Xu Yuan.
"What on..." Staring at the bright red paint on her pants, Xu Yuan's eyes widened in surprise. "How on earth did this happen?!"
"The people accusing me of insulting them did it!" Jiang Jinran blinked, touched the paint on her pants, then raised her hand and smeared it onto Xu Yuan's arm. "Look, genuine paint, no counterfeits here. Isn't that rotten of them?"
Xu Yuan furiously flung Jiang Jinran's hand away, her face filled with disgust. "Jiang Jinran, have you gone crazy?!"
She wanted nothing more than to find a tissue immediately and wipe the paint off her arm.
"Not really." Jiang Jinran smiled, looking utterly relaxed. "Who wouldn't go crazy over being wrongly accused? Don't you agree?"
In the end, Jiang Jinran was "invited" into the office.
Xu Yuan unleashed a torrent of abuse on her, sparing her no dignity whatsoever.
Then Xu Yuan punished her by making her pick up trash on the sports field, forbidding her to return until she had collected enough.
Jiang Jinran had not wanted to go at first.
But on second thought, staying here would only be depressing. She might as well go out for some fresh air.
As she walked out of the office, a girl with blunt bangs and a high ponytail ran over.
"Jiang Jinran."
The girl was panting from her run and called her name with some difficulty.
Jiang Jinran stopped.
"Here." The girl suddenly brought a pair of black sweatpants out from behind her back and held them out to Jiang Jinran. "For you."
"Your pants are dirty. Hurry and change."
"We're about the same height. They should fit you."
Jiang Jinran blinked and began studying the girl before her in earnest.
If she remembered correctly, this girl was named Ji Qingying.
She was pretty much the only kid in this class who treated the original owner normally.
However, Jiang Jinran's memories and knowledge were limited.
Ji Qingying was a background extra who barely appeared in the book, so there was very little she could know about her. The memories the original owner had left her were scattered fragments too, but they were enough.
After confirming that the girl bore her no ill will, Jiang Jinran accepted the pants with a smile. "Thanks."
She had been planning to deal with her pants before going to the sports field anyway.
With someone offering to help, why wouldn't she gladly accept?
After changing, Jiang Jinran headed to the sports field under the increasingly fierce sun.
Clearly, her homeroom teacher, Xu Yuan, was a snob who served different dishes depending on who sat at the table.
Unlike her brothers, who flaunted themselves, the original owner had kept an extraordinarily low profile at school. She had never shown off her identity or background, and her food, clothing, and everyday expenses were exceptionally modest.
Almost no one knew that she was the Jiang family's youngest daughter.
In fact, not just at school, but throughout high society, very little was known about Jiang Jinran.
The original owner had kept a low profile and did not socialize, as though her family had put her on ice. The people who even knew the name "Jiang Jinran" could probably be counted on one hand.
So, in this aristocratic academy crawling with social elites, Jiang Jinran, an outsider who seemed to have nothing to do with that world, had become everyone's soft persimmon to squeeze.
Xu Yuan specifically picked soft persimmons like her to squeeze.