Chapter 120

Chapter 120

After Principal Zhou intervened, the Discipline Team lightened their approach. The previously strewn-about documents were now being tidied up.

They searched meticulously, sometimes even flipping through pages one by one, which took quite some time.

At first, everyone watched curiously, but as time wore on, boredom set in. It was then that Ms. Zhang asked Xu Jia, "What exactly did you lose?"

Xu Jia stood not far from her.

After all this fuss, even if she were the actual victim, the school leadership were annoyed with Xu Jia. If the lost item turned out to be genuinely valuable, it might make this search worth it. But if it wasn’t important, Xu Jia would simply be seen as making trouble.

Though Xu Jia didn’t care much about her reputation—after last year’s cheating scandal, she had already fallen out of the teachers’ good graces—she hesitated to speak now.

Earlier, she had only told Yang Ruohua that she had lost something very important. Even Yang Ruohua didn’t know what it was. Now, with Ms. Zhang pushing for an answer, Yang Ruohua also realized he hadn’t asked for details. He had just acted on impulse upon hearing a disliked student being accused.

Seeing Xu Jia stammer and evade the question, Ms. Zhang’s voice turned sharp: "You’re the one who reported the loss, and your teachers are the ones conducting the search. You can’t seriously say nothing’s missing now!"

All eyes in the room turned to Xu Jia.

Xu Jia flinched. "Of course I lost something! And it was very valuable."

Ms. Zhang frowned. "What was it? What’s so hard to say?"

Even Xu Jia, dense as she was, knew that admitting she’d lost a concert ticket would seem petty under the circumstances.

But the ticket *was* expensive, and she *was* desperate to find it—after all, she had worked so hard to get it.

Under everyone’s scrutiny, and considering two full periods had already been wasted, she realized that claiming to have lost money would have been better. This was not something easy to explain.

"It’s…"

"What is it?" Ms. Zhang’s gaze was like daggers.

Xu Jia shrank back. "It’s a ticket. This ticket cost over a hundred yuan, and it was really hard to get."

"What kind of ticket? What ticket is that expensive?"

Yang Ruohua also began picking up on the tension. He glanced at Xu Jia, noticing her face growing pale, and started to worry. Xu Jia had once been one of his favorite students—bright and articulate—but after the cheating incident, his praise of her had backfired. Many in the school privately snickered about his bad calls.

When Xu Jia came to him today with witnesses, he had his own motives—part of him wanted to see this former star student humiliated.

But if this whole scene ended up being a farce, *he* would be the one laughed at.

This time, he absolutely couldn’t lose.

"Ms. Zhang, there’s no need to speak to a child like that. She’s the victim here—your tone makes it sound like *she’s* the thief." Yang Ruohua forced calm into his voice. "What does it matter what kind of ticket it was? The point is, she lost something, and someone stole it. That’s what’s important."

Xu Jia steadied herself. "Exactly! The real issue is that I lost something. We should be focusing on finding the thief!"

Just then, the Discipline Captain’s voice suddenly rose in excitement: "Found it! This yours?"

They actually found something?

Everyone turned to look. He was holding up a blue ticket stub. Several of Xu Jia’s classmates recognized it and began murmuring. Initially, few had believed Xu Meng was the thief, but now that the ticket had been discovered—stashed inside one of Xu Meng’s notebooks—suspicions grew.

The Discipline Captain added, "It was hidden inside Xu Meng’s notebook."

Xu Jia glanced at it. "Yes! That’s my ticket!"

Yang Ruohua reached out and snatched the blue ticket. When he saw what was written on it, he was so furious he nearly passed out. If people found out that such a huge fuss was made just to find a concert ticket for his student, he would be branded a complete moron.

Xu Jia, totally clueless, was absolutely devastated when she realized the ticket was missing.

She had spent ages sucking up to someone just to get this coveted concert ticket, which she flaunted daily, reveling in the envy and jealousy it inspired.

Xu Meng’s face fell. "You lost a concert ticket?"

Xu Jia threw her a dirty look. "I knew it was you! This ticket was such a pain to get. Everyone in our class has seen it—they can vouch for me. Right, you’ve all seen this ticket, haven’t you?"

She had shown off that ticket dozens of times a day, letting people handle it until it was completely dog-eared. Her classmates recognized it instantly and nodded in agreement.

Xu Meng had no idea how Xu Jia had gotten her hands on a concert ticket, let alone why she was claiming hers as her own. But now she understood—Xu Jia did have a ticket, had lost it, and somehow found out Xu Meng had one too, leading her to report it to the teacher.

"Are you sure this is the one you lost?"

"Of course it’s mine!" Xu Jia leaned in and suddenly noticed something off, but she clenched the ticket in her hand.

Her own ticket had been handled so much it was crumpled and worn, while Xu Meng’s was pristine—way too crisp.

When Vice President Zhou and the dean heard it was just a concert ticket, their faces fell.

Everyone thought the same thing: What kind of high school senior causes such a ruckus over something so trivial?

This?

Seriously?

All this drama for a concert ticket? Have you lost your damn mind?

Is this how a student should behave?

Even Vice President Zhou couldn’t control his anger, lashing out at Yang Ruohua, "She’s delusional, but are you too? Was this really worth disrupting class for? Look at this mess!"

The senior students, no longer paying attention to their lessons, were eating up the drama.

Snickers rippled through: "Teacher Yang really spoils his students, huh?"

Yang Ruohua’s face darkened. The moment he realized it was a concert ticket, he knew he was screwed. But now, he wasn’t about to take all the blame. He quickly pivoted, "The issue isn’t what was lost—it’s that a so-called model student stole something! Vice President Zhou, are you saying good students shouldn’t be held accountable? Xu Jia said this ticket is worth over a hundred yuan—that’s no small sum. Most students don’t even get that much for a month’s allowance. And just because she has it now doesn’t prove anything. Isn’t it natural to want to recover something valuable?"

He pointed at Xu Meng. "Shouldn’t the focus be on the fact that this student stole something?"

Xu Meng retorted, "I didn’t steal anything. This ticket is mine."

Yang Ruohua sneered, "How would a student like you get something like this?"

Xu Meng shot back, "Shouldn’t you ask your own student the same question? You’re being totally playing favorites. Why is it fine for her to have it but suspicious for me?"

Her sharp rebuttal wasn’t something an average student would dare voice.

But Xu Meng had nothing to lose. If someone was going to call her a thief to her face, why should she hold back?

Yang Ruohua, who had never been called out like this by a student before, was seeing red. He knew he’d been humiliated—Xu Meng had turned the tables on him. Now, no one cared about the thief; they were all watching him, the clown of the show.

"Quit changing the subject!" Yang Ruohua snapped. "This ticket is Xu Jia’s—there are witnesses! Xu Jia, you tell them."

Under the scrutiny of hundreds of eyes, Xu Jia shrunk in her seat and mumbled, "This ticket was just holding it for a friend… It’s not mine. I panicked when I couldn't find it..."

Xu Meng: "Funny you should mention it, it was also given to me by a friend."

Xu Jia’s face fell: "You’re lying! Who can prove it? Many people in our class have seen my ticket—they'll all back me up. Xu Meng, if you had the guts to steal, then have the guts to admit it! Didn’t you just say whoever stole it should drop out? Now you’re trying to backpedal?"

Wei Xiang, already furious, pointed at Xu Jia and snapped: "You’re setting her up! You must’ve secretly planted it in Xu Meng’s book. You’re jealous of her grades and just want her expelled—that’s the truth! Xu Meng is such a good person, she’d never hide anything selfishly. How could she steal from you? You and Xu Meng have always been at each other's throats since you were kids—you just can’t stand her success!"

At this point, several classmates spoke up for Xu Meng.

Some said, "You can know a person’s face but not their heart," implying they never expected Xu Meng to be a thief.

Others accused Xu Jia of being jealous of Xu Meng and having held a grudge against her for a long time.

Given Xu Meng’s academic performance, the school would never make her drop out.

Not to mention, stealing something so small rarely met the criteria for expulsion—the harshest punishment was usually a serious mark on her record.

With Xu Meng’s rapid academic performance, she was bound to bring the school outstanding results in the college entrance exams. For that reason alone, the school wouldn’t expel her. Even Vice President Zhou was visibly uncomfortable, casting a disapproving look at Xu Jia. It seemed this student wasn’t just a party girl—she was also a troublemaker.

Xu Meng had never shown her ticket to anyone. Unlike Xu Jia, this ticket was her little secret, tucked inside her notebook, meant for a May Day concert with Han Jiming. Even Wei Xiang and Zhang Xiaoyu didn’t know about it.

Though she didn’t know why Xu Meng also had a ticket, Xu Jia felt a wave of relief at this moment.

She was also glad she had flaunted her ticket in class—everyone in their class could testify for her.

"Xu Meng, you can’t find a witness, can you?" Xu Jia gloated. "You’re a thief, a crook."

Being called a thief in front of everyone would shatter most people, but Xu Meng wasn’t most people.

Xu Meng said, "Don’t look at your ticket now. Since you’ve been carrying it around every day, you should know its seat number. So tell everyone—what’s the seat number on this ticket? Which row and which seat?"

Xu Jia’s voice died in her throat instantly. She knew her own seat number by heart.

But could she say it?

Only she knew now that Xu Meng’s ticket wasn’t the original one.

"Xu Jia, go on, tell her the seat number. Let her admit defeat!"

"Yeah, Xu Jia, you can’t have forgotten your seat, right?"

"Seriously? You’ve been handling that ticket every day. Even with the worst memory, you should remember your own seat."

By now, the conversation was entirely between the two of them. Teachers like Ms. Zhang, no fools themselves, had already pieced things together. This girl Xu Jia had been bragging at school about having a concert ticket, while Xu Meng also had one but never saw it as something to boast about—she hadn’t even mentioned it to anyone. That’s why most people could vouch for Xu Jia, while Xu Meng had no witnesses.

Yet she seemed utterly confident.

Xu Meng gripped Xu Jia’s hand, staring her down.

She didn’t know what had happened to Xu Jia in her past life to make her so cunning.

Starting with stealing her admission letter, every step had been carefully calculated. One misstep, and the whole scheme could’ve collapsed.

Xu Meng didn’t consider herself a fool, yet for years, she had never spotted Xu Jia’s flaws. But how could someone so stupid have orchestrated this so perfectly? Who was pulling the strings behind the scenes, guiding Xu Jia step by step until she became the ultimate winner in life?

Xu Meng refused to believe it was fate.

Someone had manipulated everything, allowing Xu Jia to seamlessly replace her.

Who?

Just who was it?

Xu Meng spoke slowly: "I’ve made my case. Now it’s your turn. As long as you can recite the seat number on that ticket, I’ll admit I stole it."

But can you say it?