Chapter 307 - How Much Is Your Pride Worth?
Staring at Wen Xinya who was walking towards her, Xia Ruya clenched her fists tightly, causing her sharp nails to sink into the flesh of her palm. She turned as pale as a sheet while glaring at Wen Xinya who seemed to have a gilded aura.
I used to be the daughter of a wealthy man and the center of attention. Yet, I’ve now become a lowly and disgraceful illegitimate daughter, all because of Wen Xinya!
Although she had been acknowledged by the Xia Family, she had a stepmother, older sister, and younger brother, all of whom she had to suck up to in order to secure her footing in the family. She was extremely careful and felt as if she was stepping on eggshells. One mistake and she would be out!
The Xia Family was willing to take her in on the account that she was the adoptive daughter of the Wen Family. Xia Ruya thought that there would be a place for her in the Xia Family because old Mr. and Mrs. Wen doted on her greatly. Hence, she was not that worried about being ill-treated by her stepmother.
She devised a concrete plan and tried everything she could to get close to Ning Shuqian and Wen Yuya. She wanted to sow discord between Wen Xinya and the Wen Family, so as to make them abandon her completely. She decided to use old Mr. and Mrs. Wen’s affection towards her to her own benefit. Should her plan work out, she would be entitled to a portion of the assets of the Wen family.
However, Wen Xinya’s presence had ruined her plan completely. Old Mr. Wen had distanced himself from her and old Mrs. Wen turned down a minor request from the Xia Family, despite having claimed that she doted on and adored Xia Ruya. Hence, the Xia Family was extremely displeased with Xia Ruya after realizing that she could not be used as a pawn.
It’s all Wen Xinya’s fault!
Why have I suddenly become inferior to her? Xia Ruya thought to herself. Wen Xinya had snatched away her place as the school belle and was superior to her in terms of looks, talent, and academic achievements. Wen Xinya had also outshone Xia Ruya by coming in seventh place during the school election, whereas the latter was ranked below the hundredth place.
Reality was telling her that she was nowhere comparable to Wen Xinya in every aspect!
She could not accept it at all.
She understood that Wen Xinya was destined to be a jinx in her life who would snatch away everything that she had.
She was consumed by feelings of resentment towards Wen Xinya and refused to resign to fate.
“Xinya! What a coincidence. Are you going back to the condominium?” Xia Ruya asked, trying her best to force a smile.
“Why do you bother asking when you already know the answer?” Wen Xinya gibed, staring at Xia Ruya coldly while carrying her notebook in her hands.
“Ruya greeted you out of goodwill and yet, you had to speak to her in such a rude tone. Wen Xinya, have you got any manners at all!?!” Jiang Yuqian barked, fuming with anger at the sight of Wen Xinya. She couldn’t help but feel exasperated whenever she recalled being beaten up by Wen Xinya on the day of the school anniversary celebration.
“Yuqian, don’t you know that she used to be a hooligan? What manners could a hooligan possibly have?” Xia Ruxue quipped, staring at Wen Xinya while seething with anger. She simply could not take it lying down. When she told her mother about the incident after receiving a beating from Wen Xinya on the day of the school anniversary celebration, her mother simply told her not to offend Wen Xinya.
Glaring at Jiang Yuqian and Xia Ruxue, Wen Xinya sneered with a smirk. “You’re right, I used to be a hooligan, so…” She then clenched her fists gently, causing her knuckles to pop.
“What… what are you trying to do?” Jiang Yuqian asked, turning pale as a ghost. She instinctively took a step back. Although her wounds had already healed, they began to ache dully all of a sudden.
“You… you’re not allowed to hit others within the school compound. You can’t do this…” Xia Ruxue spluttered while taking a few steps back, trembling uncontrollably from head to toe. Staring at Wen Xinya, she couldn’t help but feel terrified.
Xia Ruya walked towards them and gazed at Wen Xinya with a look of melancholy. “Xinya, please let Yuqian and Ruxue off on my account! I’ll apologize to you on their behalf if they said anything to offend you.”
Wen Xinya scoffed and looked at Xia Ruya. “On your account?”
“Xinya…” Xia Ruya murmured, sensing that Wen Xinya wouldn’t concede.
“Why should I? How much is your pride worth?” Wen Xinya interrupted, not giving her the chance to continue. She smirked sarcastically, clearly despising Xia Ruya.
Xia Ruya staggered backward and swayed unsteadily from side to side while quaking slightly.
Boiling with anger, Xia Ruxue glowered at Wen Xinya and gibed. “Wen Xinya, you’d better know your limits. You managed to steal the limelight during the school’s anniversary celebration all because of Ruya. If Ruya didn’t cover up the truth for you, do you really think you can replace her as the school belle? Do you think you could have come in seventh place during the pageant?”
“Oh, turns out she did it all for my sake!” Wen Xinya exclaimed sarcastically while staring at Xia Ruya with a menacing smirk and raised brows.
Xia Ruya turned even paler. She felt as if there was no place for her at all whenever Wen Xinya was around. She grabbed Xia Ruxue’s hand and said, “Ruxue, didn’t you want to use some beauty masks? Let’s hurry up and go back to the condominium!”
Refusing to concede, Xia Ruxue pushed Xia Ruya’s hand away and exclaimed angrily, “Ruya, you may be afraid of Wen Xinya, but I’m not intimidated by her at all. I was just stating facts, anyway. If you didn’t stop President Chu from exposing the matter on the discussion forum, how could she have the cheek to stay in Lan Feng!?!”
Jiang Yuqian chimed in. “Exactly. Ruya, don’t be afraid of her. If she gets us riled up, we’ll expose it on the forum and see if she still has the audacity to be so arrogant!”
Wen Xinya raised her brows and waved her hands nonchalantly. She sneered. “You guys go ahead and expose me. You’d better let the whole world know about this. However, no one will believe you!”
Jiang Yuqian and her pals would only be making a fool out of themselves so long as Chu Jingnan did not intervene. Besides… Xia Ruya would not let them ruin her well-devised plan.
“Good… just you wait and see. I’ll announce this on the forum immediately. I shall see if you can still continue being the school belle once this matter is exposed.” Jiang Yuqian sneered, before whipping out her mobile phone to go on the forum.
Xia Ruxue said, “Yes, we must make sure everyone finds out her true colors.”
Xia Ruya was stuck in a dilemma and at a loss for words. She obviously couldn’t let Jiang Yuqian and Xia Ruxue expose the matter about the celebration online and ruin her plan. Hence, she exclaimed while sobbing, “Ruxue, Yuqian, don’t bring this up again from now on. If you really expose this on the forum, we’ll… no longer be friends!”
Wen Xinya guffawed sarcastically. All Xia Ruya does is manipulate others into standing up for her while pretending to be innocent. I really hope to see the day that she receives her retribution. After all, not everyone can be easily manipulated. Wen Xinya thought to herself.