Chapter 77: Slandered by Others

“How could it be missing?”

Gu Wan’s words made everyone in the dormitory look up.

Zhong Qing looked at her, puzzled.

“Wanwan, could it be that someone stole your necklace?” Jiang Qiqi frowned, her tone unfriendly as she spoke, glancing at the other two people in the room.

“We just went to take a shower. Who knows if someone might have gotten greedy and snatched your necklace while we were gone?”

“I don’t know…” Gu Wan’s voice trembled with anxiety, almost on the verge of tears as she rummaged through her suitcase, inside and out.

But she still couldn’t find it.

Jiang Qiqi’s implication was hardly lost on Zhong Qing.

She furrowed her brow, a hint of sympathy flickering in her eyes as she looked at the flustered Gu Wan and spoke gently, “Gu Wan, why don’t you look again? Maybe you set it somewhere before you left and forgot about it.”

Zhong Qing walked over, standing nearby, her voice soft and comforting. After all, they were all roommates. If the necklace was truly lost, none of them could be completely absolved.

“That’s impossible,” Gu Wan shook her head. “I remember I deliberately took it off before my shower and placed it right here on this desk.”

Her face was drawn with worry as she touched her neck, continuing, “This necklace was a gift from my mother. I always wear it…”—her words implied its great value.

“Shen Chaoxi, was it you?” Suddenly, Jiang Qiqi, noticing how calm and unbothered Shen Chaoxi appeared amidst the commotion, stepped forward and questioned her.

“Why is it that we’re all so anxious, yet you’re just sitting there? I bet you took Wanwan’s necklace…”

In Jiang Qiqi’s eyes, if Shen Chaoxi could be so ambiguous with men, what was so strange about her stealing someone else’s necklace? Perhaps she simply took it to wear herself.

“Me?” Shen Chaoxi’s pale face barely flickered as she spared Jiang Qiqi a glance.

But Jiang Qiqi blocked her, forcing Shen Chaoxi to look up.

“If you’re going to accuse someone of theft, you’d better have proof,” she said coolly. “Otherwise, if you go around slandering people with nothing but your mouth, how will the real thief ever be caught?”

“The real… what real thief?!” Jiang Qiqi was taken aback.

Wasn’t she accusing Shen Chaoxi of being the thief?

“We’ll know if you took it as soon as we search your things!”

At these words, Shen Chaoxi’s previously indifferent expression turned cold in an instant.

Her gaze grew sharp, her pale, sickly face shadowed by a sullen chill, as if the very air in the dormitory had dropped several degrees.

Jiang Qiqi faltered, startled by the sudden shift in Shen Chaoxi’s demeanor.

With a raised brow, Shen Chaoxi regarded Jiang Qiqi with utter indifference, as if to say, “You think you’re worthy of touching my things?”

The feeling unsettled Jiang Qiqi, leaving her at a loss for words.

“You can search my things if you wish,” Shen Chaoxi finally said. “But if you don’t find anything, what will you do then?”

Shen Chaoxi wasn’t the type to argue about whether her things could be searched. If Jiang Qiqi wanted to do it, she could. But she would have to bear the consequences.

Jiang Qiqi swallowed hard.

She didn’t know why, but despite the girl before her looking frail and thin, her complexion so pale she seemed unwell, Shen Chaoxi’s gaze was chilling, sharp enough to pierce straight through her.

But Jiang Qiqi didn’t like Shen Chaoxi. Besides, she’d already said what she had—how could she back down now?

She forced herself to maintain her composure, saying, “Why wouldn’t we find it? I’m sure you took it; you’re just acting guilty and trying to scare me.”

It was an attempt to intimidate her, to make her too afraid to allow the search.

“But what if you don’t find it?” Shen Chaoxi didn’t protest, she simply repeated her question, eyes fixed on Jiang Qiqi.

“If we don’t find it, you can do whatever you want,” Jiang Qiqi blurted out recklessly.

She was convinced Shen Chaoxi was just stalling for time, trying to bluff her. The conviction had taken root in her heart: Gu Wan’s necklace had to be with Shen Chaoxi.

“Fine.” Shen Chaoxi smiled faintly.

She hadn’t brought much with her. She remembered her days at the military base; even without any warm clothing, she could survive half a month in the mountains. So before coming here, she’d packed almost nothing—which was part of why Jiang Qiqi looked down on her, thinking she came from a poor family.

So, in front of everyone, Jiang Qiqi began searching every inch of Shen Chaoxi’s bed, desk, and suitcase.

But the necklace Gu Wan described was nowhere to be found.

“How could this be?” Jiang Qiqi muttered anxiously as she rummaged, “Why isn’t it here?”

Moments ago, she’d been swaggering, certain Shen Chaoxi had stolen the necklace. Now, her face was tight with nerves. What would she do if nothing turned up?

“Jiang Qiqi, I think you should stop,” Zhong Qing said. “You’ve already searched everywhere. If it’s not here, then clearly Gu Wan’s necklace wasn’t taken by Chaoxi.”

When Jiang Qiqi finished, Shen Chaoxi finally looked up, her gaze casual as she said, “If nothing turns up, you said I could do whatever I wanted. Those were your words, weren’t they?”

“I did say that. So what?” Jiang Qiqi’s face was stiff, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. But after a moment’s hesitation, she steeled herself and met Shen Chaoxi’s gaze. “Go ahead—say it!”

“Oh? What do I want to do?” Shen Chaoxi sneered. Gu Wan, watching from the side, seemed a little frightened. She hadn’t expected the seemingly delicate and easily bullied girl to remain this calm.

Then they watched as Shen Chaoxi walked over to Jiang Qiqi’s bed, picked up a basin of water, and dumped it right onto the covers.

The movement was swift and decisive.

Jiang Qiqi’s eyes widened in shock, her face twisting as she shrieked, “Shen Chaoxi, what are you doing?!”

“I’m letting you know what it feels like to have dirty water thrown at you,” Shen Chaoxi replied.

Zhong Qing stared, wide-eyed with surprise. Shen Chaoxi was not at all as she had imagined.

From their earlier interactions, she’d thought Shen Chaoxi was just a sickly, aloof girl—calm, perhaps because of her poor health.

But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case at all.

Gu Wan had watched quietly from the start. When she saw Jiang Qiqi’s face flush red with anger, she seemed unable to hold back any longer.

Just as Jiang Qiqi was about to argue with Shen Chaoxi, Gu Wan’s expression changed. She quickly stepped forward to stop her.

“Qiqi, I’m fine,” she said gently. “Since we can’t find it, then the necklace is just lost—it’s all right.”

Gu Wan was warm, considerate, and generous. Who could dislike her?

But Jiang Qiqi was indignant. Not only was she furious, she glared at Shen Chaoxi.

“She soaked my bedding—how am I supposed to sleep tonight?”