Chapter 32
“Xia Xibei, did you meet up with Yang Xuan this morning?” Teacher Liu asked, looking at Xia Xibei gently.
“Yes, I did,” Xia Xibei nodded.
“I knew it…”
Yang Xuan’s mother was swiftly shut up by her husband’s fierce glare before she could go on. If she kept throwing tantrums like this, how would the matter ever be resolved?
“Why did you guys meet up?”
“Because I wanted to ask him to return my money,” Xia Xibei answered, bold and straightforward, not a tinge of guilt to be seen in her.
“Return your money? He borrowed money from you?”
“Yes, he borrowed quite a lot of money from me,” Xia Xibei replied, answering whatever questions were raised. “That money was all my savings. I needed to use it now, so I asked him to pay me back, but he refused.”
“So, you guys had a conflict?”
“We argued a bit, but I didn’t hit him. I went back in when class started.”
“You’re lying!” Yang Xuan panicked, “You did hit me!”
Xia Xibei’s face fell, saying with a puzzled look, “Yang Xuan, I don’t know why you’re saying I hit you. Do you have any proof?”
“This is the proof!” Yang Xuan pointed to the scars on his face, furious. “I even have injuries on my back!”
Xia Xibei shot him a glare, arguing, “You’re just finding excuses to not pay me back!” She looked over at the two teachers when she said that, explaining, “I asked him to pay me back today, but he was reluctant. I got really mad and said I wanted to ask the teachers to get involved. But he threatened me, saying he would never pay me back and he’ll teach me a lesson I’d never forget! Not only would I not receive the money, I’d even get humiliated! I didn’t think he was being serious! I never expected…”
Xia Xibei cast a glance at his parents, seeming a little cautious and timid.
The two teachers finally sorted things out, becoming furious instantly.
“What is your connection to Yang Xuan? Are you guys in a romantic relationship?” Teacher Zhang asked.
The Yangs claimed that Xia Xibei was pursuing Yang Xuan. However, Yang Xuan didn’t want his studies to be affected, so he went to talk things over with her, but she beat him up instead.
“No, we are not,” Xia Xibei shook her head immediately. “How could I even have the time for relationships!” She looked at the teachers sincerely, begging them, “Teachers, I assume you know my circumstances. I have to work!”
“So, you have no relationship at all with Yang Xuan?”
“We know each other and have had some interactions, but absolutely nothing romantic!” Xia Xibei said firmly and resolutely.
“Why would he claim that you were pursuing him, then?”
“What?!” Xia Xibei’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, staring at Yang Xuan in disbelief. “Was that how he tried to slander me?! He has a girlfriend already!”
“He has a girlfriend?” Teacher Zhang questioned.
“His girlfriend is Jin Yazhen. I was once good friends with Jin Yazhen. She became Yang Xuan’s guarantor, so I lent my money to Yang Xuan. But I didn’t expect them to gang together and deceive me!”
Xia Xibei’s eyes turned red, tears swelling up in her eyes.
Her reaction gained pity from the teachers, leading them to ask further, “What really happened? Tell us all about it.”
“I did not! She’s lying!” Yang Xuan panicked.
“This godda*n girl must be lying!” Yang Xuan’s mother couldn’t help but step forward. “Our Xuan Xuan would never owe anyone a debt!”
Teacher Liu looked at Yang Xuan’s father with a stormy face, demanding, “Mister Yang, I wish you would cooperate with us in our work!”
Yang Xuan’s father could only hold his wife back and glower at her, hissing, “Listen to them first!”
“Xia Xibei, you may go on.”
Xia Xibei reiterated her previous statement.
“Yang Xuan and Jin Yazhen are a couple. They ganged up on me and cheated me out of my money. I need that money now, but they refuse to pay me back, even trying to defame me in various ways!”
Anger and grief were displayed all over Xia Xibei’s face. She seemed so pathetic.