28 Are You Aiming To Become Qiao Hongye’s Stepmother?

"Keep your voice down, Lu Jia!" The other girls reminded Lu Jia when they saw Jing Yunzhao. 

They were not close to Jing Yunzhao but they didn't hate her either. They were also still feeling bad for Jing Yunzhao after yesterday's incident when Qiao Hongye's father came to their school to make a fuss. None of them had ever seen such a shameless man before. 

"Stop nudging me!" Lu Jia couldn't be bothered if Jing Yunzhao was there and continued loudly, "why should I keep my voice down when I am not saying anything wrong? She might not be Qiao Hongye's real sister but she was raised in the same family and became the top student in school. What right does she have to draw the line with the Qiao Family? Not to mention that Uncle Qiao got angry yesterday for a reason. He wouldn't have gotten angry if she didn't hang out with those gangsters!" 

"What are you talking about? Those gangsters were arrested and my cousin had nothing to do with them!" Su Chu interrupted angrily, unable to take it when Jing Yunzhao was wrongly blamed. 

Why were there people like this who loved to spread gossip? 

Jing Yunzhao pulled Su Chu behind her and walked towards Lu Jia emotionlessly. 

"Did you stay with me in that house? Did you know what kind of life I lived, or do you have the ability to read my mind? I guess you do, because why else would you be trying to stand up for Qiao Weimin? He is still mourning for his wife, you know. Unless you're aiming to become Qiao Hongye's stepmother, since you are so nice to her?" Jing Yunzhao asked directly.

Lu Jia had been Qiao Hongye's best friend even in her previous life. She could understand if Qiao Hongye was jealous of her for being the top student, but she had never picked on or done anything hurtful to Lu Jia.

This was not the first time that Lu Jia had said nasty things to Jing Yunzhao for Qiao Hongye's sake. She used to pretend to not hear Lu Jia, but there is no way that she would let this pass in this life.

The students were about fifteen to sixteen years old, so they were old enough to understand what Jing Yunzhao was implying. Lu Jia's cheeks flushed in anger.

"That's not true! You are just an unwanted bastard and have no right to say that!" Lu Jia screeched as she pointed at Jing Yunzhao, worried that people might believe what Jing Yunzhao said. Lu Jia looked terrifying, like she would attack Jing Yunzhao at any second.

Lu Jia's appearance was quite different from Qiao Hongye's. Although they both had long hair, Lu Jia wasn't as pretty as Qiao Hongye. She had average features, and puberty had given her acne and a dull complexion. 

Her blushing face made her acne stand out even more than usual, and it started to gross Jing Yunzhao out. 

"Are you saying that I should die or that I deserve to be bullied, just because I'm a bastard?" Jing Yunzhao smacked Lu Jia's finger away. "I don't like being pointed at, especially by some filthy creature!" 

"How shameless! Who do you think you are calling a filthy creature?!" Being extra sensitive about her face, Lu Jia ignored those who tried to stop her and lunged at Jing Yunzhao. 

Lu Jia reached out to claw Jing Yunzhao's face like a madwoman. While Lu Jia might have been able to hurt Jing Yunzhao in her previous life, the Jing Yunzhao in this life was an entirely different person. Having spent a lot of time in her secret space practising martial arts, Jing Yunzhao's strength and agility was definitely way better than Lu Jia's despite still being an amateur. 

Jing Yunzhao caught Lu Jia's hand and flung it aside forcefully. Those gathered around could hear the sound of knuckles cracking. 

Lu Jia cried out in pain, her eyes tearing.