Chapter 23: A Baseless Accusation

After lights out, footsteps echoed through the girls’ dormitory corridor.

Suddenly, the door to Xia Ruo’s room was flung open.

Xu Qian stood at the doorway, her face darkened with anger, two of her roommates trailing behind her.

“Xia Ruo, come out!” Xu Qian’s voice brooked no refusal.

Zhang Lin rose and sneered coldly, “Xu Qian, this is our dormitory. Mind your manners.”

Xu Qian scanned the room before fixing her gaze on Xia Ruo. “Xia Ruo, what exactly do you mean by this?”

“What do you mean?” Xia Ruo stood calmly.

“Don’t play dumb!” Xu Qian stepped forward. “Are you deliberately cozying up to Lin Qianfan just to embarrass me?”

Zhang Lin stepped between them. “Xu Qian, where’s your proof? Xia Ruo would never do such a thing.”

“Proof?” Xu Qian sneered. “She’s glued to Lin Qianfan every day. Can’t any of you in this dorm see that?”

Zhang Lin stood her ground. “So what if they’re friends? Xu Qian, who do you think you are? We won’t tolerate your nonsense here!”

“Xu Qian, why are you causing trouble in our dorm? Xia Ruo hasn’t done anything to you,” another voice said coldly.

“Exactly,” another roommate chimed in. “If you have a problem, go confront Lin Qianfan directly. Why pick on Xia Ruo?”

“Mind your own business!” Xu Qian glared at them.

“Who’s meddling here?” they shot back. “Think you’re so great, Xu Qian? We’re not afraid of you.”

The two sides exchanged barbs, tension thickening the air.

In the heat of the moment, no one knew who struck first, but chaos erupted instantly within the dorm.

Other roommates quickly rushed forward to pull them apart.

The commotion soon drew the attention of the night supervisor.

“What’s all this noise? Don’t you want to sleep?” the supervisor stood at the door, anger etched across her face.

Xu Qian straightened up immediately and pointed at Xia Ruo. “Teacher, it’s her! She stole money from our dorm!”

The supervisor frowned. “What? Explain clearly!”

“Our dorm’s money was short fifty yuan a few days ago. I suspect Xia Ruo took it,” Xu Qian said, feigning innocence.

Zhang Lin snapped, “Nonsense! Xia Ruo would never do such a thing!”

“If she didn’t do it, then search her bag and see,” Xu Qian sneered.

The supervisor looked at Xia Ruo. “Xia Ruo, what’s going on?”

“I didn’t steal anything,” Xia Ruo said softly but firmly.

“Then let me search your bag,” Xu Qian said with a cold smile.

Xia Ruo hesitated briefly before handing it over. “Search as you wish.”

The supervisor rummaged through the bag but found nothing unusual.

At that moment, a fellow villager and roommate, Song Qian, spoke up.

“She usually doesn’t buy much, but this weekend she came back with bags full of stuff. If she didn’t steal, where else did it come from?”

“Stop lying!” Zhang Lin’s face turned pale with anger.

“Enough!” the supervisor banged the table. “Xia Ruo, have your parents come to deal with this tomorrow!”

Xia Ruo lowered her head, remaining silent.

The next day, Xia Ruo’s mother arrived at the school.

The supervisor recounted the previous night’s events.

“My daughter would never steal!” Xia Ruo’s mother immediately retorted, voice resolute.

“But…” the teacher hesitated, then glanced at a student nearby. “You said you saw her carry a lot of things home?”

The student nodded. “Yes, over the weekend, she came back with huge bags.”

“That’s…” Xia Ruo tried to explain but was stopped by her mother.

“Even if she brought things home, they’re hers. What does that have to do with stealing?” Xia Ruo’s mother said coldly.

Just then, Lin Qianfan entered.

“Those things Xia Ruo has are what I bought,” he said, pulling out several receipts and handing them to the teacher. “These are the shopping receipts.”

The teacher took the receipts, carefully checked them, and her expression softened.

“Looks like this was indeed a misunderstanding.”

Xu Qian stood aside, her face dark.

After the teacher left, Xia Ruo accompanied her mother home.

Suddenly, Xu Qian strode up to Lin Qianfan, teeth clenched, voice seething.

“Lin Qianfan, why are you buying things for her? Why not for me?!”

“What are you to me? Do I owe you anything?” Lin Qianfan raised an eyebrow.

“You…” Xu Qian was too angry to reply.

Lin Qianfan’s tone was indifferent. “Don’t bother Xia Ruo anymore, or I won’t be so polite.”

With that, he turned and left.

Xu Qian stood rooted, fists clenched tightly as a storm of complex emotions churned within.

Staring at Lin Qianfan’s departing figure, her teeth bit into her lips.

Why was he treating her like this?

She had always believed Lin Qianfan would orbit around her as before, never truly leaving despite his sarcasm.

But now, in front of so many classmates, he was defending Xia Ruo, even buying things for that ordinary girl, and confronting Xu Qian directly.

Humiliated, yet unwilling to accept it.

She looked down at her fingers, nails digging nearly into her palms, muttering suddenly, “Who even cares about him?”

Li Yanzi, a nearby roommate who sensed the mood, took Xu Qian’s arm and began leading her away, adding fuel to the fire.

“Qianqian, don’t be mad. Lin Qianfan’s not worth it!”

“Look at him now, acting like a puppy, fawning over Xia Ruo. He’s completely blind.”

Another from the back row chimed in, “Exactly, what’s so good about Xia Ruo?”

“Her family’s dirt poor, she dresses like she shops at a street stall. Lin Qianfan must be out of his mind to ditch you for her.”

Li Yanzi sneered, “Just because she won first place in math doesn’t mean she’s all that.”

“Hah, Qianqian, you’re the prettiest in our school. Don’t get upset over him.”

Hearing this, Xu Qian felt slightly comforted but maintained a façade of indifference.

“What’s there to be mad about?” she snorted coldly. “Lin Qianfan’s not someone I even look at.”

“Even back when he chased me, I barely bothered with him. What’s he worth?”

“True!” Li Yanzi quickly agreed, grabbing a magazine from the desk. After flipping through a few pages, she suddenly looked up.

“But Qianqian, don’t be upset. Gu Haotian has been reaching out to you recently, hasn’t he?”

“That’s the real heir—rich family, handsome, totally incomparable to Lin Qianfan the pauper.”

Mentioning Gu Haotian, Xu Qian’s expression softened slightly, pride creeping into her tone.

“Of course. Brother Haotian isn’t in the same league as Lin Qianfan. His family runs a chain of businesses, and he’s a hundred times more generous than Lin Qianfan.”

“Yeah, Lin Qianfan’s childish antics are nothing compared to Young Master Gu.”

Zhang Qian smiled in agreement. “Qianqian, if you’re with Young Master Gu, who in school would dare say a word against you?”

Xu Qian waved her hand, feigning nonchalance. “Need you say more? Gu Haotian’s been really good to me lately. Didn’t he invite me out to dinner just recently?”