Chapter 22 — Cafeteria Confrontation
Bai Xia was almost done eating when she noticed a small group walking toward her table, the sound of their footsteps echoing against the tiled floor. The cafeteria, once filled with chatter, began to quiet down as curious students turned to watch. Leading the group was Liu Yue, a sharp-tongued girl from Class B, followed by Zhao Fen, who was holding Shang Shan's arm as if comforting a fragile porcelain doll.
Shang Shan's face was pale and streaked with fake tears; her voice trembled just enough to sound pitiful.
"Xia Xia," she called softly, her tone weak but laced with venom.
Liu Yue smirked, stepping closer until she stood right beside Bai Xia's table. "You must really think you're something, huh?" she sneered before suddenly slamming Bai Xia's bowl off the table. The noodles spilled across the floor, the scent of beef broth filling the air.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Bai Xia didn't flinch. She merely turned her gaze to Liu Yue, her expression calm and cold.
"You owe me one yuan for my meal," she said flatly.
Liu Yue blinked, then burst into laughter. The students behind her joined in, their laughter echoing mockingly.
"One yuan? You should be thanking our Shan Shan for feeding you all this time!" Liu Yue scoffed. "Ungrateful much?"
Zhao Fen clutched Shang Shan's hand tighter. "Yeah! You've always been living off Shan Shan's kindness, and now you turn around and humiliate her in front of everyone?"
Shang Shan lowered her head, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. "No… please don't blame Xia Xia," she said softly. "She didn't mean to… it's my fault for not giving her money for lunch today."
Her trembling words immediately enraged the students from Class B.
"Shameless!" one shouted.
"Such a gold digger—how could you treat your friend like that?"
"She's been pretending to be nice just to get free meals!"
"Shang Shan even buys her food every day, and this is how she repays her?"
Their voices overlapped, like a storm of accusations. Bai Xia sat silently through it all, her eyes calm, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Her silence only made them angrier.
Liu Yue slammed her hands on the table. "Say something, Bai Xia! Are we wrong? Or are you just too proud to admit you're a leech?"
Zhao Fen added sharply, "Maybe she thinks she's better than us now because she suddenly started acting like some rich miss from the city."
Shang Shan gently tugged Zhao Fen's sleeve, pretending to mediate. "Don't say that, Fen Fen… Xia Xia isn't like that… she's just… confused right now…" Her voice was sweet, fragile, sickly innocent—the kind that could twist a knife while pretending to soothe a wound.
But her words only poured more fuel into the fire.
"Ha! Confused? More like fake!"
"Didn't she even insult Shang Shan's mother earlier?"
"Ungrateful brat!"
The cafeteria buzzed with hostile whispers.
Bai Xia slowly placed her chopsticks down, her movements deliberate, her gaze sharp enough to slice through the air. Her faint smile turned icy.
"Are you done?" she asked quietly.
Liu Yue frowned. "What did you say?"
"I asked," Bai Xia said, her voice dropping, calm but piercing, "if you're done making fools of yourselves."
The words hit like a slap. The laughter and insults faltered.
Liu Yue's face flushed red. "You—" she started, raising her hand to slap Bai Xia.
But before her hand could fall, Bai Xia caught her wrist midair. Her grip was firm, unyielding. The look in her eyes made Liu Yue's heart skip—a sharp, cold glare filled with something darker than anger. For a second, Liu Yue swore she saw murder in those calm eyes.
"Touch me again," Bai Xia said softly, "and I'll make sure you regret it."
Liu Yue froze. She tried to pull back, but Bai Xia released her only after a long, tense silence.
"Now," Bai Xia said, turning her gaze to Shang Shan, "let's clear something up."
Shang Shan blinked, her lashes trembling. "Xia Xia, I—"
"You've been telling everyone you buy my meals, that I live off you, that I insult your mother, that I'm a burden." Bai Xia's voice was calm, her tone cutting like glass. "Let me remind you of what actually happened."
The cafeteria fell silent. Every student leaned in to listen.
"In the past," Bai Xia continued, "you'd ask me to do your homework, run your errands, and even carry your bag. You'd then tell everyone you were helping me when it was the other way around. You once told me you didn't have enough money for lunch, and I shared mine with you. But you repaid me by spreading lies."
"That's not true!" Shang Shan's voice cracked.
"Oh?" Bai Xia smiled faintly. "Then let's talk about last week. When you 'accidentally' poured juice on my old bag and promised to replace it. Funny how you suddenly showed up at school with a new one that looked exactly the same, isn't it?"
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
"I— I only did that because—"
"And," Bai Xia interrupted, her tone still calm but colder, "you told people you fed me, when in truth, you used to tell me to buy food for both of us—and then claimed you paid. Isn't that right, Shang Shan?"
Shang Shan's face drained of color. "No! I—I didn't—"
Before she could finish, a few students from nearby tables stood up.
"We were sitting right behind you both that day," one said. "We heard everything—she never paid a single coin!"
"Yeah, I remember that too! She even told Bai Xia to carry her lunch tray!"
"And she said her family was rich, but she couldn't even pay for her food once without asking someone else!"
The tide shifted.
Liu Yue and Zhao Fen exchanged nervous glances. The whispers around them grew louder, colder, turning against Shang Shan.
"So she's the liar…"
"What a green tea bitch…"
"I can't believe we actually defended her."
"She used tears to trick everyone…"
Shang Shan stumbled back a step, tears spilling freely now, though this time they were real.
Bai Xia leaned back in her chair, her expression calm but her voice sharp. "Oh, and one last thing," she said softly. "Since your friend here spilled my meal, you owe me one yuan. Or perhaps, Shang Shan, since you always buy my food, you'd like to pay for it instead?"
Shang Shan froze. She opened her mouth but couldn't speak. Everyone could see the truth—she didn't have the money.
The room buzzed with realization.
"So much for her rich family."
"She can't even pay for noodles."
"What a joke…"
Shang Shan's shoulders trembled. She couldn't bear the humiliation any longer. Covering her face, she ran out of the cafeteria in tears. Liu Yue and Zhao Fen, though clearly ashamed, chased after her.
As the crowd began to disperse, a few students turned back to Bai Xia.
"Sorry, Bai Xia," one murmured. "We shouldn't have believed her."
"Yeah… we're really sorry."
Bai Xia only gave them a faint smile and nodded. "It's fine."
When they finally left, she picked up her juice, took a calm sip, and looked out the cafeteria window.
"These are just children," she murmured to herself, her tone distant. In her past life, she had lived fifty long years. Petty drama like this no longer fazed her.
As the sunlight poured across her face, she thought quietly—
Shang Shan this was only the beginning.