Chapter 234 - 234 An Innocent Woman
234 An Innocent Woman
Xiang Cheng looked at Jiang Xue in confusion and asked, “What are you saying? Why would I invite Shen Xi here today? What nonsense are you spouting?”
Jiang Xue pointed at where Shen Xi was standing and said, “Isn’t she right there…”
...The place where Shen Xi once stood was empty.
“Xue’er, today isn’t the right time to make these sorts of jokes,” Xiang Cheng said unhappily.
With no proof, Jiang Xue could only clamp her mouth shut in resentment. Still, it did nothing to assuage her frazzled nerves. Now that Old Master Xiang had given her his approval, her marriage with Xiang Cheng was as good as confirmed.
As Xiang Cheng’s future wife, Jiang Xue felt she had the right to ask about the relationship between Xiang Cheng and Shen Xi.
“Brother Cheng, have you been thinking about Shen Xi?” Jiang Xue asked as she pulled Xiang Cheng aside.
Xiang Cheng did not expect Jiang Xue to ask him such a question out of the blue. He was angry that she had read his thoughts, and his tone grew harsher. “Jiang Xue, stop messing around.”
Jiang Xue pouted unhappily, “I’m not messing around; I just want to know the truth.”
Xiang Cheng did not want anything bad to happen during his grandfather’s birthday banquet, so he answered, but only perfunctorily, “Xue’er, I have done nothing with Shen Xi. Nothing is going on between us. Stop overthinking things.”
A smile finally bloomed, and Jiang Xue spoke with much relief, “That’s good. Otherwise, I’d be worried. I’m sure you’ve heard about what happened in school while Shen Xi was staying in one of the observation rooms. Although the school has put a lid on the matter, I know the inside story since I’m Shen Xi’s roommate.”
Xiang Cheng knew a little about what had transpired. It was hard not to since the news had caused quite a stir.
However, hadn’t those people who had barged into the observation room already clarified that they weren’t Shen Xi’s lovers? What other inside story could there be?
Jiang Xue noted Xiang Cheng’s confused expression and explained, “I didn’t want to tell you, but you’re my Brother Cheng. I’m really worried about you. You may not know this, but Shen Xi does know those people.”
Xiang Cheng quirked a brow in askance, eyeing Jiang Xue with some suspicion.
Since things had come to this, Jiang Xue had no choice but to come up with a lie.
With a sigh, she said, “I always knew Shen Xi was hoodwinking you, Brother Cheng. You must know by now that Shen Xi’s family is destitute. There’s no way they have the money to send Shen Xi to study at Zhuo Ying High School.”
“Shen Xi is vain,” Jiang Xue said as she continued to fabricate her lie, “To continue studying at Zhuo Ying High School, she seduced several men over the summer break to pay for her tuition. The men she slept with were those eight ruffians that broke into the observation room to be with her.”
Xiang Cheng felt there was a grain of truth in Jiang Xue’s words. After all, the tuition fees for Zhuo Ying High School were not cheap, and it was not something Shen Xi’s current family could afford. Since that was the case, how did Shen Xi come up with so much money during the summer break if she did not resort to illicit means?
Jiang Xue pressed on, “Shen Xi broke up with those men after she fleeced them of their money. However, due to her actions, she contracted a sexually transmitted disease and had to be admitted. That’s why she was staying in the observation room. She met Guan Lei there, and the two hit it off. I hear that the school doctor, Zheng Huai, was also taken in by her wily charms.”
Xiang Cheng’s expression turned unsightly. He had always wondered why Shen Xi had moved into the same observation room as Guan Lei.
After hearing Jiang Xue’s account of the events, Xiang Cheng instantly felt everything was clear.
Jiang Xue chose to strike why the iron was hot, doing everything she could to smear Shen Xi’s image in Xiang Cheng’s mind. Jiang Xue believed Shen Xi would do anything for wealth, even if it meant she had to sleep with a few gangsters to have her way.
Xiang Cheng thought of how Shen Xi had laid with another man, her flirtatious eyes winking up at them, not him, and his eyes turned red with anger. He was beside himself with rage.
If he had known Shen Xi was such a person, he would have taken more drastic measures to win her. Few women could match Shen Xi’s charm and beauty. How could he toy with her if she had contracted a venereal disease?
Xiang Cheng vowed he would not let those scoundrels off the hook.
From Xiang Cheng’s expression, Jiang Xue knew he believed her. Who would want a woman as impure as Shen Xi? Jiang Xue wanted to see how Shen Xi would snatch Xiang Cheng away from her now that he had been fed her lies.
Closing the gap, Jiang Xue said slowly, “Brother Cheng, I love you, so I don’t want you to be hurt by someone like Shen Xi. I hope you understand.”