"Furthermore," Xia Chuyi continued, "that ’Meng Zhaodi’ dresses up so ostentatiously, it doesn’t seem like she’s here to sincerely study at Kyoto University."
She recalled the "pure" and "noble" "Meng Zhaodi" that Song Yingjie had spoken of and how, in such a short time, she had managed to hook up with Song Yingjie. It was obvious that "Meng Zhaodi" came to the school to find a match.
Upon hearing this, Meng Xingmang suddenly nodded and said, "That should be the case. I heard that person was motivated because someone in her family married well, stirring up her ambitions."
"And then, by a stroke of luck, she claimed to have received an acceptance letter and thus set her heart on attending Shangjing University."
Xia Chuyi also nodded and said, "If that’s the case, it will be even easier to deal with."
"As long as I’m at school, all I need to do is to vaguely let slip that you’ve already arrived in the Capital, making her nervous and distracted until eventually, she reveals herself unintentionally."
"Then find an opportunity to scare her."
"Force her to be wise and protect herself, ’smartly’ dropping out on her own."
"Will this work?" Qian Qianqian asked doubtfully.
Xia Chuyi smiled and said, "It’s up to us to make it work."
However, based on her experience dealing with "Meng Zhaodi," she felt that the success rate of this plan was quite high.
Because "Meng Zhaodi" was very insecure and had a very weak psychological quality—as evident from her refusal to attend the Hometown Association and her quick submission when tricked into an apology—you could tell a lot from this.
After the plan was set, Xia Chuyi indeed began to act on it.
Soon, "Meng Zhaodi" came looking for her.
"Xia Chuyi, you don’t keep your word! Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t tell anyone about my matters!" "Meng Zhaodi" asked furiously.
Xia Chuyi was very calm as she asked, "What did I say?"
The fake Meng Zhaodi said, "Are you trying to deny it? Wasn’t it you who told people in our department that I am very different from when I was in high school?"
"Meng Zhaodi, have you ever met the real Meng Zhaodi?" Suddenly, Xia Chuyi asked the fake Meng Zhaodi.
"Meng Zhaodi" replied, visibly annoyed, "What do I need to know her for!"
Xia Chuyi shook her head calmly and continued, "If you haven’t even seen her, what if you run into her one day? Wouldn’t you fail to recognize her?"
"Meng Zhaodi" looked startled and asked, "What are you saying? What do you mean?"
"Literally what I said," Xia Chuyi went on, "I heard that Meng Zhaodi... has come to the Capital City."
Her words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving "Meng Zhaodi" staggered as if struck by lightning.
"You, what nonsense are you talking about!" Meng Zhaodi was panic-stricken by her words.
"I—I’m not going to talk to you anymore!" Dropping this line, Meng Zhaodi ran off.
Not long after, the Archaeology College conducted their mid-term paper assessments.
By this time, there was no need for Xia Chuyi to fan the flames; naturally, talk began to circulate in the Archaeology department about "how could Meng Zhaodi, with such poor grades, get into Kyoto University."
Spoken without malice, yet the listeners found significance.
These words, falling on "Meng Zhaodi’s" ears, undoubtedly made her worry—did the classmates know something? Did Xia Chuyi tell the classmates about her business?
Together with the news she had heard from home, that Meng Zhaodi had indeed left Ling County, and it was highly possible that she had come to the Capital...
So, did Xia Chuyi know Meng Zhaodi had come to the Capital City, had she met Meng Zhaodi, or was Meng Zhaodi together with her?