Chi Yue’s gaze turned towards the wallet, signaling to Xia Chuyi.
Xia Chuyi raised an eyebrow, unsure of what medicine Chi Yue was selling in her gourd.
After wiping her hands on a cloth, she picked up Chi Yue’s wallet that lay in front of her, opened it, and saw a lonely one-yuan tractor note inside.
Xia Chuyi’s brow immediately furrowed. What did Chi Yue mean by this?
"Aiya, Xia Chuyi hurry up, what’s with the dawdling? There’s supposed to be around thirty yuan in that wallet!" Chi Yue said with noticeable impatience.
She had thought Chi Yue’s series of actions were odd, and here it was, waiting for her.
"Sorry, Chi, there’s not enough money in your wallet to cover the bill," Xia Chuyi said calmly.
"What? Impossible! When I handed you my wallet, the money was still in it!" Chi Yue’s assertion was overly dramatic.
Xia Chuyi could hardly stand to watch her perform so extravagantly.
"I didn’t touch the wallet when you put it here," Xia Chuyi said in an even tone, "until just now, when you watched me open it. Inside, there indeed was only one tractor note."
Seeing Xia Chuyi explain without the slightest hint of panic, Chi Yue immediately became agitated and exclaimed, "Are you implying that I’m lying?"
Xia Chuyi responded, "Whether you’re lying or not, I don’t know. I only know that I’m not lying. When I opened your wallet, there indeed was no money in it."
Chi Yue then angrily said, "Xia Chuyi, are you suggesting that I invited my classmates out to eat without bringing any money?"
"Or that I simply can’t afford to treat people because I have no money?"
At this point, Chi Yue bit her lip hard, forced her eyes to redden, and put on a victimized expression, "Xia Chuyi, are you deliberately hiding the money to embarrass me in front of our classmates?"
This accusation was a heavy one to bear.
"What are you talking about, Chi Yue!" Jiang Shuqin immediately stood up and scolded Chi Yue, "Why would Xia Chuyi hide your money?"
Moreover, when she said "hide," everyone knew that what Chi Yue really meant was "steal."
Upon hearing this, Chi Yue turned to Jiang Shuqin and said, "Jiang Shuqin, I don’t know what kind of spell Xia Chuyi has cast on you, that you defend her at every turn."
"You know the face, not the heart! Just because she’s close to you, aren’t you afraid that she’s using you?"
Jiang Shuqin shook her head and tsked, "Heh, Chi Yue, are you talking about me? Then I don’t know what’s gotten into you, why are you always making trouble for Xia Chuyi?"
"You!" Chi Yue’s brows knitted in anger, "Jiang Shuqin, so you don’t believe me? Let me make it clear to you, when I left the house, I put two ten-yuan banknotes, one ’Mawu,’ one ten, and three one-yuan notes in my wallet."
"All of us in Room 202 saw it. Now, the wallet has passed through Xia Chuyi’s hands, and the money has disappeared."
"If it wasn’t her who took it, then what, did the money grow wings and fly away on its own?"
Now, she didn’t talk about "hiding;" she directly said "took." Clearly, Chi Yue was hell-bent on framing Xia Chuyi.
The companions from Room 201 looked at each other, all furrowing their brows.
The other classmates exchanged looks with each other as well.
They thought: Regardless of whether Chi Yue had forgotten to bring the money, or Xia Chuyi made it disappear, in the end, if Chi Yue couldn’t pay, then they, among themselves, would have to settle the bill.
Among them, Zhan Yi, who hadn’t brought any money at all, became a little panicked and said urgently, "Xia Chuyi, if you stole the money, just hurry up and hand it over."