"Tian Shasha."
As her phone rang, Tian Shasha picked up.
Having called Su Qing many times recently, Tian Shasha was naturally very familiar with her voice.
A moment of panic flashed across her eyes before she regained her composure.
"Su Qing, what's wrong?"
Su Qing, having dialed the number, emerged from behind the tree trunk.
"Don't you know what's going on? I'm right outside your house. Regarding your threats, should we talk it over, or should I just come over?"
Before Su Qing finished her words, she spotted Tian Shasha, frantically searching for her outside the concierge, staring straight at her.
Without further ado, Su Qing hung up the phone and walked towards Tian Shasha.
"Su Qing, what did you say just now? I didn't understand."
Tian Shasha put away her phone, feeling a little uneasy. She looked at Su Qing, feigning composure, her heart still reassuring.
No one would notice; she was being very careful. The corners of her mouth curled slightly, her eyes shimmering with evasion.
"You know."
Su Qing lifted her eyelids and scanned the area. The place was utterly shabby, a single, prefabricated structure nestled on an unfinished construction site.
Su Qing's gaze caused Tian Shasha's fingers to clench into fists. No one had ever directly understood her vulnerability.
Su Qing was also a bit stunned. Tian Shasha was one of the best students in Class 2, and she was also helpful and well-liked.
Perhaps because of the noise from the two people outside, an elderly man emerged from the room.
"Shasha, who's here!"
A voice, tinged with the scent of alcohol, wavered, and the moment the man appeared, a sour, foul smell filled the air.
Tian Shasha's face was filled with unprecedented embarrassment, but she was clearly afraid of the man, so she could only stand respectfully to the side, not daring to raise her head.
"Dad, it's my classmate."
A pair of murky eyes glanced at Su Qing, sizing her up and down, like a venomous snake, its yellow teeth baring.
"Your classmate is quite good-looking."
He said this, one hand behind his back, and then went back inside, only glancing at Su Qing as he left.
Su Qing's arms were covered in goosebumps, and she felt a tinge of nausea. Her clear eyes swept over Tian Shasha's face, unwilling to stay in this place any longer.
As if she had known all along that Tian Shasha would not admit her guilt, Su Qing simply tossed the evidence she had compiled onto Tian Shasha's desk.
The information, with its clear timeline and meticulously organized structure, was thrown in front of Tian Shasha.
"You called me from five phone booths in total. Three of them didn't have surveillance. The two you thought didn't have it, they didn't. But you overlooked the fact that the owner of one small shop, fearing theft, installed surveillance, including one at the entrance."
A few scattered photos showed Tian Shasha in her school uniform, making phone calls. Because those two times were day time, her face was perfectly clear.
Tian Shasha raised her head with some difficulty, adjusting her glasses. She wasn't about to admit it, but instead retorted.
"What can these few photos prove, Su Qing? I didn't do anything. Don't accuse me."
Tian Shasha vehemently denied it, her fingers clenching tighter as she stared at the photos.
"Then take a look at these."
Su Qing pointed at the documents on the table, showing the time, location, and surveillance footage of Tian Shasha's call. They all matched up perfectly.
Tian Shasha's expression remained calm, but for a moment, a look of panic crossed her face. She looked at Su Qing with resentment in her eyes.
"Su Qing, what does this prove? I called someone else, not you. And why are you investigating me? Aren't you worried I might tell my classmates or teachers?"
Telling the classmates and teachers that Tian Shasha's words were full of hidden meaning, Su Qing clearly understood, a hint of coldness etched into the young girl's eyes.
"I forgot to tell you, I recorded all our conversations. If nothing works, we can just go to the police station and have them examine it."
Su Qing had made every possible preparation.
At Su Qing's words, Tian Shasha looked up, her eyes etched with venom.
"I have no grudge against you. Tian Shasha, why are you targeting me?"
"You were the one who did the scholarship thing, too."
Despite her own speculation, the normally downcast girl fixed her beautiful eyes on Tian Shasha.
No matter how hard she searched her mind, she could find no evidence that she had offended Tian Shasha. Even if they hadn't participated in the English competition together, Su Qing wouldn't have known her, wouldn't have known her name, wouldn't have known what she looked like.
"Su Qing, what do you mean I'm targeting you?"
Tian Shasha gritted her teeth. Standing across from Su Qing, she could see her beautiful face, her fair skin a stark contrast to her rough complexion. The girl's beautiful eyes held a tinge of surprise, and she looked indifferent, making her seem like an easy target.
But she had never imagined that Su Qing, who was always easy to bully, or who seemed so easy to bully, would actually fight back, and do so meticulously, even recording and investigating evidence. She was flustered, and disgust was evident in her eyes.
"Since you came, I've been removed from the list of the top 20 students in the grade. Since you came, you've even taken away the scholarship that should have belonged to me. And even after you came, you've caught Jiang Sui's attention. How on earth?"
"Why should the scholarship be yours? Why should Jiang Sui like you?"
Unable to contain her jealousy any longer, Tian Shasha glared at Su Qing with rage.
"Go tell the teacher, go ahead. If you go, I'll send those photos of you and Jiang Sui to the principal's office, to the email, and then to the Education Bureau."
Tian Shasha looked desperate, and Su Qing raised her head and glared at her coldly.
The ultimate cause was Jiang Sui. She should have known this long ago. During the competition, Tian Shasha had said a lot of strange things. She had always assumed she was having some kind of relationship with someone else, never guessing it was Jiang Sui.
From the look of her, it seemed she really liked Jiang Sui.
Su Qing's eyes darkened slightly as she listened to Tian Shasha's words. Thinking of everything that had happened with the young man recently, a sneer curled up at the corners of her lips.
"There's nothing between him and me."
In other words, she wasn't afraid of posting.
But Tian Shasha clearly didn't understand Su Qing's meaning.
"If it's nothing. You two use the same couple's phone?"
"Su Qing, who do you think is blind?"
"Su Qing, you know what? It's this innocent and nonchalant look of yours that's so annoying!"