Chapter 204: A Man Must Despise Himself Before Others Will

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Jiang Ruoyin completed the related procedures very quickly and passed the slip and a key to Wen Xinya. “This is the key to your room. Keep it properly—if you lose it, you’ll need to to pay for a replacement!”

Wen Xinya stretched her hand out to receive the key from her hand but locked her eyes on the slip in her hand. “Trouble Miss Jiang to wipe away the footprint on the slip.”

Jiang Ruoyin widened her eyes and instantly couldn’t control her anger anymore. “Why should I?”

“You’ve dirtied someone else’s belonging and don’t need to be responsible for cleaning the thing up—that’s it?” Wen Xinya’s voice was dull, her pretty face all tensed up with cold, hard lines, and her domineering pair of eyes had a glow which pierced through one’s heart.

“It’s just a slip, so what if it’s dirty—what’s the big deal.” Jiang Ruoyin was so furious that tears welled up in her eyes. If she really hadn’t meant it, there was nothing wrong with cleaning it up. But the problem was that she had purposely meant to humiliate Wen Xinya just now—if she were to now slap herself and clean the footprint up, wouldn’t it be self-insulting?

Wen Xinya stood there quietly, her young and pretty face felt strong and determined. With a slight squint of her eyes, she revealed a frightening sharpness. “To dirty someone else’s belongings yet not be responsible for cleaning it up—is this the teaching of your Jiang Family?”

Jiang Ruoyin gritted her teeth in anger. However, Jiang Yuqian couldn’t bear to listen any further, as she looked at her angrily and said, “There’s no more use for this slip. If you feel that it’s dirty, you can simply throw it away—why must you make things difficult for Ruoyin like this.”

Wen Xinya’s gaze intensified as it filled up with piercing harshness. “Whether this slip has any more use, to throw it away or otherwise is up to me. Before I throw it away, it’s my belonging—thus, I have the right to get the person who’d dirtied it to clean it up.”

Jiang Yuqian wished that she could tear her glib mouth apart. Xia Ruxue stared at Wen Xinya and said sarcastically, “Oh, I see that someone has brought her airs as the eldest daughter of the Wen Family into the school. What’s so great about you—speaking of background, the Jiang Family isn’t the least bit worse off than the Wen Family.”

Wen Xinya looked at Xia Ruxue, smirking. “This isn’t an issue about background, but that of an individual’s qualities and upbringing.” Saying which, she looked towards Jiang Ruoyin with a disdainful and despising look. “Don’t tell me that Miss Jiang doesn’t even have this bit of basic qualities and upbringing?”

Jiang Ruoyin was so furious that she was shaking all over. “What a glib tongue!”

However, Wen Xinya simply leered at her with a cold look in her eyes.

Xia Ruya hurried over to mediate the dispute. “Xin… !”

A gush of coldness filled Wen Xinya’s eyes as she looked over to Xia Ruya, the edge of her lips curling up into a half-smile which made Xia Ruya have goosebumps, as though she saw death approaching her, and she hurriedly corrected herself. “Miss Wen, just now Ruoyin has accidentally dirtied your admission slip—I apologize to you on her behalf. If you don’t mind, I’ll help her clean your slip up!”

Xia Ruya’s hands, which were hidden away in her sleeves, were curled up tightly into fists—to call her Miss Wen felt like she had stabbed her own heart—that had been a title that used to belong to her. Though jealousy and resentment entangled furiously in her heart, her face was as pale and tender as a budding white lotus, as if shaking along with the wind, appealing to one’s sympathy.

Seeing her in such a state, Chu Jingnan also stated his persuasion. “Since Miss Jiang didn’t mean it, I’d like to appeal to Miss Wen to give me face and let this incident go!”

The sharpness in Wen Xinya’s eyes seemed to almost materialize physically, shooting across to Chu Jingnan suddenly. “How much is your face worth?” Saying which, she started casually chuckling disdainfully and mockingly. “You’ve just taken office and can’t wait to show your power as the president of the student union?” Then, she turned to Jiang Ruoyin once again, with an icy and piercing look. “How would you know that she didn’t mean it—don’t tell me you can read people’s minds?”

No matter how good-mannered Chu Jingnan was, in the face of such unrelenting criticism by Wen Xinya, his expression changed uncontrollably.

Yet, Wen Xinya didn’t have time to appreciate his face-changing skill. She looked to Xia Ruya and said, “Miss Xia, do you dare to swear to heaven, pointing to your black heart beneath a white shell, that Jiang Ruoyin didn’t mean to dirty my slip? Otherwise, please stay high and above out of this—don’t poke your nose into other people’s business.”

Xia Ruya’s eyes rapidly fogged up, and, with a gentle blink, a clear drop of tear fell across her cheek, as she bit down firmly on her lip, looked at Wen Xinya pitifully, yet couldn’t utter a single word.

Such an expression would make one subconsciously remember how delicate and pitiful she was, and neglect what she had previously said on the account of Jiang Ruoyin—even if she didn’t swear, nobody would feel that she had spewed nonsense, and instead, everyone would only feel that Wen Xinya was overbearing.

With things developing as such, Jiang Ruoyin had already gotten herself into a difficult position whereby it was wrong to clean the slip, and also wrong to not clean it. She looked towards Zhong Rufeng pitifully, hoping that he would speak up for her.

However, Zhong Rufeng had already long been attracted by the sharp, glaring sparkle radiated by this young girl, and only had eyes for this young girl with a cold expression, yet with a peerlessly alluring poise.

Wen Xinya strolled leisurely up to Jiang Ruoyin, stretching across her to retrieve the ink bottle. “If you don’t wish to clean it up, how about we reciprocate courteously?”

Jiang Ruoyin was so furious that her lips couldn’t stop trembling. She recalled that at Zhou Tianyu’s party, Wen Xinya had poured red wine over her, and realized that this b*tch was capable of anything—if Wen Xinya were to pour ink over her in front of everyone, it would be even more humiliating for her. With gritted teeth and reddened eyes, she said, “Okay, I’ll clean it up!”

Wen Xinya slowly placed the ink bottle in her hand down, and stared at her with an icy, piercing glare.

She was Miss Jiang—everyone fawned upon her meekly and subserviently whenever they saw her. She had never been humiliated like this.

Jiang Ruoyin forbore with her fury and hatred, stretched out her trembling hand, and pulled out a piece of a napkin from the tissue box on the table, suddenly clenching her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned green and white.

She held back her tears, fearing that if she couldn’t control her own tears from falling onto the slip of paper before her, Wen Xinya would grasp one more chance to humiliate her.

Shivering, Jiang Ruoyin passed the clean slip over to her.

Wen Xinya received the slip, and without looking at it, tore the slip into two in front of Jiang Ruoyin. The hissing sound rang in her ears, extra crisp and clear in the dead silent room, like a demonic voice from hell destroying one’s eardrum, piercing one’s consciousness and triggering one’s senses.

“You…” Jiang Ruoyin widened her eyes and watched helplessly as the piece of A4 paper got shredded to pieces by her, fell to the ground from her elegant fingers, and formed a mess on the warm yellow wooden floor.

“Remember, a man must despise himself before others will!” She slowly lifted her feet, lightly stepped on the mess of shredded paper, turned her back, and swaggered off.

Wen Xinya’s cold voice pierced into Jiang Ruoyin’s heart like a knife. Her eyes reddened with fury—Wen Xinya’s actions had utterly humiliated her.