Zuri glanced around, her eyes filled with contempt as she swept over the two gossipy women before calmly and composedly leaving.
Only after the two had walked away did the surrounding chatter resume.
Regardless of the murmurs behind her, Azura was grinning widely, giving Zuri a thumbs up. "Wow, that was really impressive."
Zuri felt nothing.
She just wanted to attend school quietly, but there were always people eager to jump in and seek attention, which was extremely frustrating.
When Esme and Shen Menglai started avoiding her, Zuri knew something was up, but she never expected Shi Feifei would go out of her way to investigate her.
This period of silence had been a preparation, seemingly waiting for the day to completely tarnish her reputation.
"Who's so unscrupulous to post those things on the bulletin board? It can't be that delicate, pampered heiress from your dorm, can it?"
"Mhm." Zuri replied, eight or nine out of ten, it was her.
"Come on, let's go settle this with her." Azura was instantly furious. She was sick of anyone messing with her friends.
"Don't be impulsive."
Without evidence, confronting her would just be a waste of time.
"First, let's find evidence."
"I'll go to the school administration to retrieve the surveillance footage."
"There's no surveillance around the bulletin board. If we want evidence, we have to go through those two." Zuri's gaze fixed on Esme and Shen Menglai standing ahead.
"Then what are we waiting for!"
Without another word, Azura charged forward, blocking Esme and Shen Menglai.
"Is there something you need?" Shen Menglai asked coldly.
"Do you already know what's going on?"
Shen Menglai and Esme avoided eye contact.
"We don't know what you're talking about. We're going to eat." Shen Menglai had no intention of explaining, pulling Esme away.
Zuri stepped forward, standing before them. "I know you've already seen what's on the bulletin board. Do you think it's abnormal for an orphan like me to possess those things? Do you, like everyone else, assume I'm impure, being kept by someone? That's why you chose to avoid me?"
Esme opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Shen Menglai.
"You know what you did. We're not on the same side, so don't speak to us anymore," Shen Menglai replied coldly.
Zuri gave them both a deep look, not saying an extra word, just uttering one word, "Fine."
She let them leave.
"Are you just going to let them walk away?" Azura frowned.
"There are plenty of ways; it's not like they're indispensable."
On the other side, Esme couldn't help but say, "Isn't what we're doing a bit wrong? What if it's a misunderstanding? I don't think Zuri is that kind of person."
Shen Menglai gave her a withering look. "Don't be fooled by her lofty façade. I've heard before that many girls, relying on their looks, go around messing things up and corrupting the atmosphere. I hate those people the most."
Esme had nothing more to say.
Meanwhile, Zuri was about to take action at the source, but she didn't expect Shi Feifei to have already been summoned to the guidance office.
"What is this about, Director?"
"Look for yourself!" The director unceremoniously placed a thick stack of photos on the desk.
Shi Feifei picked up the photos in confusion, but when she saw them clearly, her face turned pale.
"You have seriously violated school rules. The academy has decided to give you a demerit. If you offend again, you will be expelled."
The evidence was irrefutable; Shi Feifei couldn't even cry out in protest.
"You need to post an apology statement on the bulletin board and restore Zuri's reputation."
"I won't." Shi Feifei's face stiffened.
She couldn't bring herself to admit, in front of everyone, that she was the one who framed her, even if it meant getting beaten to death.
"Is this your attitude?" The director's expression darkened.
"If you want to discipline me, do so. If you want to expel me, go ahead. But if you want an apology, forget it."
She had never endured such grievances in her life.
The department head probably didn't expect her to be so stubborn, showing no remorse whatsoever.
"I'll ask you again: do you choose to apologize or to have your student status revoked?"
"If you want to expel me, expel me."
Shi Feifei slammed the door and left, nearly infuriating the department head.
Upon leaving the director's office, Shi Feifei immediately called her parents, crying on the phone.
"Dad, I'm being bullied. The school is siding with the bullies and wants to expel me. Boohoo, I'm not going to study anymore."
Upon hearing his daughter's cries, Shi's father felt heartbroken. "Good girl, don't cry. I'll find someone right away. I won't let anyone bully my precious daughter."
"Dad, you have to get that woman expelled. She's just a kept mistress. I don't want to live with a woman like that. Whenever I see her, I feel disgusted."
"Okay, okay, I'll find someone. Be good and don't be angry," Shi's father comforted her.
"And you have to follow through."
"When have I ever lied to you, Dad?"
After receiving his father's reassuring reply, Shi Feifei felt relieved. She would just wait for that woman, Zuri, to be quietly expelled from the school.
If it weren't for her high school classmate, who happened to know Zuri's middle school classmate, she almost got deceived by Zuri.
After the hotel incident, she had been wary of Zuri's identity, only to discover she was nothing, just a suspected kept mistress.
The thought that Zuri was just an orphan, yet standing on top of her, made Shi Feifei unable to swallow her pride.
While Shi Feifei was smugly waiting, little did she know that her father was already in deep trouble.
"What did you say? The Aiffel Hotel has withdrawn the order? You should go find Manager Wang and ask what's really going on."
Just as Shi's father hung up, the landline rang again.
"Mr. Shi, we have a problem. Our bathroom products injured someone, and that person has reported it to the authorities. Now, the authorities are coming for inspections. A batch of goods stored in our warehouse has been seized."
"Wait here, I'm going to find someone."
Halfway through the call, the phone rang again. "Mr. Shi, there's a major issue."
Upon hearing the words "major issue," Mr. Shi felt a throbbing headache.
If he still didn't know he had offended someone, he wasn't fit to hold his current position.
Mr. Shi thought back but couldn't recall exactly whom he had offended. He dialed an old friend, a well-connected CEO, "Brother, can you give me the details? Who's trying to mess with me?"
The other end of the call sighed. In the past, when he heard about troubles, he would have warned him in advance or even helped out, but this time, the person Mr. Shi had offended was beyond his capacity to meddle with.
"Old Shi, for the sake of our past friendship, I'll tell you the truth. That person hasn't taken action yet. They just want Zhao Si to give you a little lesson. That person, who even Zhao Si has to grovel to, what have you done to deserve someone like them?"
Mr. Shi's face turned pale with fear.
He spent most of his time at home, so how could he have crossed paths with someone so powerful? Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Mr. Shi thought of his daughter and immediately dialed Shi Feifei's number.
"Shi Feifei, did you offend someone you shouldn't have?" he demanded.
Shi Feifei was startled by his tone. "Dad, why are you yelling at me?"
"What exactly did you do?"
It was the first time Shi Feifei had ever been spoken to so harshly by her father, and she was taken aback. "I didn't do anything," she replied, on the verge of tears.
"Nothing? Our entire family is about to be ruined, and you say you did nothing?" Mr. Shi's anger flared.
Someone that even a figure as feared and respected as Zhao Yanwang would try to appease was definitely not someone he could have imagined. The fact that they hadn't even made a direct move yet, but just a slight gesture, had nearly destroyed them. If they did take action, the Shi family would be finished.
Shi Feifei was frightened. "Dad, I just had a conflict with that little bitch Zuri. I didn't offend anyone important. She's just an orphan. What could she possibly do?"
It seemed the issue revolved around this girl named Zuri.
"You need to apologize to her right now—immediately!" Mr. Shi ordered.
"I won't!" Shi Feifei shouted, hanging up the phone in defiance.
Why should she apologize? As for her father's claim that they were facing ruin because of her, she dismissed it as nonsense.
Looking at the disconnected call, Mr. Shi wasted no time. He instructed his driver to head to the capital immediately, not daring to delay for a moment.
By the evening, Mr. Shi had arrived at the school, found Shi Feifei, and dragged her to a lecture hall. Classes had just ended, and many students were still around. When they saw Shi Feifei being dragged by her father, they all stopped in their tracks.
Mr. Shi pulled her right in front of Zuri. "Zuri, I apologize on behalf of my daughter for her disgraceful actions. I'm here to make her apologize to you."
He then turned to Shi Feifei, commanding, "Apologize!"
Shi Feifei stubbornly stuck out her neck, refusing to back down. "No, I did nothing wrong," she said defiantly.
"Will you apologize or not?"
Mr. Shi's anger grew with every second. Seeing his daughter's unrepentant attitude, he suddenly felt the weight of his past indulgence, which had clearly led to her arrogance and lack of awareness.
In front of everyone's stunned gaze, Mr. Shi kicked Shi Feifei in the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel. He then pressed her head down in front of Zuri.
Shi Feifei was completely dumbfounded. It wasn't until her father was forcing her to bow her head to Zuri in apology that she realized what was happening.
Zuri was equally shocked by Mr. Shi's actions, jumping in surprise. "Uncle, there's no need for this."
But Mr. Shi held Shi Feifei down, not letting her up even as she cried and struggled.
If he didn't make her understand the severity of the situation today, the Shi family would inevitably be destroyed by her someday. He needed her to feel the weight of her actions!
The surrounding students were all stunned, staring in disbelief at Mr. Shi and then turning their eyes to Shi Feifei.
Mr. Shi signaled to the two subordinates he had brought with him, who quickly moved to hold Shi Feifei down.
"If you don't apologize today, don't bother getting up. As far as I'm concerned, I have no daughter named Shi Feifei."
Shi Feifei saw the grim look on her father's face and heard the finality in his words. It was then that she finally realized her father was serious and that Zuri indeed had the power to bring down their family.
All her previous pride and arrogance crumbled in the face of this harsh reality.
"I'm sorry! I was jealous of you and spread those rumors on purpose. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said through tears, which flowed freely as her eyes blurred with emotion.
More and more students crowded around to see what was happening. Zuri glanced at the growing throng and then turned to Mr. Shi. "This really isn't necessary. Please, let her get up."
"Zuri, you're a good girl. It's my failure as a father that led her to act so recklessly. I should be the one apologizing to you," Mr. Shi said, bowing deeply to Zuri in a formal apology.
His gesture left Zuri utterly taken aback.
Later that day, Mr. Shi left the school with Shi Feifei, and they also completed her withdrawal from school. The incident created a huge stir throughout the design department.
Zuri's reputation quickly spread across the entire department.
"We haven't even made a move, and her father is already here apologizing. Could it be..." Azura thought of the Feng family and the lunches that arrived every day.
Lunches delivered every day meant constant monitoring. Something as significant as this would have certainly caught the Feng family's attention immediately, but Azura hadn't expected them to act so swiftly.
In just one day, they had forced the other side to come and apologize.
What Azura had guessed, Zuri also considered.
After exchanging a glance with Zuri, Azura decided to say no more.
With Shi Feifei gone, a bed in the dormitory was left vacant. Both Esme and Shen Menglai felt a mixture of fear and curiosity after hearing others talk about how Shi Feifei's father had been forced to make her kneel and apologize to Zuri. They couldn't help but wonder about Zuri's background.
When Zuri entered the dormitory, Shen Menglai hesitated several times, wanting to speak, but couldn't bring herself to say anything.
Seeing that Zuri was about to get some hot water, Shen Menglai smiled and said, "I have hot water here. You can use mine first."
Zuri gave her a glance. "No, thank you."
She walked out of the dormitory with her kettle. As soon as she left, Shen Menglai's face darkened, and she muttered, "What's so great about her?"
Esme looked at her, then returned to her book.
Frustrated by Esme's indifference, Shen Menglai climbed onto her bed, pulled the covers over herself, and started scrolling through her phone. When she logged into the campus network, a prominent headline caught her attention.
When Zuri returned with hot water, Shen Menglai excitedly said, "Zuri, check out the campus website. You're on the list of campus beauties, and you're currently ranked in the top three."
"Oh," Zuri replied indifferently, taking a seat and opening her book.
Shen Menglai's enthusiasm was quickly deflated by Zuri's cool response. She almost snapped back but held her tongue, knowing that if someone like Shi Feifei couldn't afford to cross Zuri, she definitely couldn't.
In a dorm room in the finance department, the students were discussing the campus beauty competition. A girl entered the room, and the others quickly asked, "Ruoxi, did you get my idol's autograph?"
An Ruoxi walked in with a long face. "Don't even mention it. The tip from the fan site was wrong, and I went for nothing. I even got there early to grab the best spot."
An Ruoxi was a die-hard fan of Owen, and she was a prominent figure in his fan club, enjoying a certain level of respect.
Naturally, her dorm mates, who were also Owen fans, all looked up to her.
"What were you all talking about?" An Ruoxi asked.
"This year's campus beauty contest. You should check it out—there are a few new students who are really stunning. Xu Yanrui might lose her crown this year."
An Ruoxi's interest was piqued. "Let me take a look."
She scrolled through the list of contenders, but when she saw Zuri's photo, she paused. This girl looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen her before.
The profile said she was a new student, so it wasn't someone she had seen around campus.
It must have been somewhere else...
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