CHAPTER 13: The Church Rat.

"Arghhhhhhhhh"

Jade let out a loud scream, and the entire class turned quickly to look at her. She was hyperventilating with clammy hands as her blood runs cold. The frenzied, disjointed thoughts as her mind zips from one unrelated thought to another.

"Are you okay?" Chen approached her, feeling concerned. He felt her neck with the back of his palm. Jade was heating up.

"No! I am so not okay. How can I be okay when a 65k diamond bracelet just vanished like that? I mean, my dad just got me those few days ago. Oh Chen, I can't believe I misplaced such treasure". She rushed her speech and slowed down gradually as she became sober, leaning on his broad chest with tears wetting her eyelids and ruining her mascara. She sniffs in repeatedly.

"It's okay, it's okay big baby. It would surely come back okay?" Chen reassured her, patting her back and running his fingers through her silk hair.

"How can you say that? My 18th birthday is coming up and I've already matched it with the dress I ordered online. Can't you see how frustrated I am right now?" Jade sheds more crocodile tears in his muscular arm.

"Stop crying Jade. It must have fallen off somewhere around the hallway" one of her minions said to her, stroking her hair.

"Or perhaps it was stolen because I had last seen it on her wrist few minutes ago in class" Jade's other minion added.

Jade paused for a second, holding up her index finger as she plays detective. "Unless... Unless... Hmm.. There is only one church rat in our midst." she raised an eyebrow turning to Mae.

Mae had been sitting alone, jamming to cool songs on her headphone as she looks out of the window hoping for school to close quickly. It had been on her ears all these while, thus, she wasn't paying attention to the class drama.

Before that time, Liang had been giving her cold shoulders whenever she tried to make up a conversation with him. He got fed up with hearing her silly thoughts about food, school closure, and whether he feels the same about her.

He had left the classroom to find peace in the quiet Library, reading books to acquire more knowledge about humans and their environment.

Jade stomped to Mae's desk accompanied by her two minions. She slammed her palm on the desk, clenching her jaw. "Where did you hide it, you sneak thief!"

Mae looked perplexed at her and then took off her headphone "Huh?"

"Give me back my bracelet before the count of two!" Jade stretched out her palm, tapping her feet on the ground.

"Pardon me, but I am lost here". Mae replied, blinking twice, trying to understand what they were on about.

"Oh it kills me that you pretend to be innocent, acting like you don't know what we are talking about, you daughter of Lucifer. Give me your bag now!" Jade's minion snatched Mae's backpack on the desk, unzipped it, and turn it upside down, emptying the bag on the floor.

Jade's eyes broadened in surprise when she couldn't find her bracelet in Mae's belongings. She was outrageously egocentric to apologize for falsely accusing the poor girl but nah, she went ahead saying "Okay now, you knew we would search your bag so you hide it in your body. Hahaha! Nice one."

Turning to the class, Jade said "Hey everybody, we have a smart thief in our class".

Chen's heart skipped a beat when he heard her use the term "smart thief". He had been addressed that way by his Master, Yuze.

"Search her! Search in and out of her pocket." A guy said audibly.

The students gathered around Mae, dropping their 2 cents. Mae eyes widened in terror, flicking from side to side as they searched for an escape route.

"Um, I sh-should go ge-get Mr. Muyi to handle this matter" Chen stuttered, walking towards the door of their classroom.

"Stop!" Jade made a hand gesture, halting Chen. She leaned with her both hands on Mae's desk, looking at her, eyeball to eyeball "Nobody leaves this classroom until I say so. Nobody dares involve the staffs of this school. I will handle this matter myself" she talked with her teeth jammed.

Chen gulped with his palm sweating in his pockets. He did not imagine the situation to escalate. "Oh poor Mae" he said to himself, wiping sweat on his forehead with the back of his palm.

"I- I didn't take anything, I swear" Mae tried to defend herself.

"I- I.. I didn't take anything, I swear. Yenyenyenyenyen." Jade pouted her lips, mimicking Mae's trembling voice.

"Search her to her underwear. She might be hiding it in her panties" One girl in the class said.

"Take off your shoes, Mae." Jade said with her jaw clenching.

"What?" Mae's eyes darted around the room. She looked at her classmates, surrounding her with hostile glares on their faces.

Her minions rushed in, pulling off Mae's shoes forcefully. They looked inside and held their nostrils closed. "Nothing here." both girls said.

"And her socks?" Jade's eyebrow intrigued them.

They turned to look at each other and gulp. Then they held Mae's socks with pinch finger, squeezing their faces as they dipped their hands inside in search of the bracelet. They both looked at Jade, shaking their heads.

"What? What?? Then where could it be? I am certain this church rat is hiding it somewhere. It could be here, anywhere." Jade bite her lips, turning to look at the students. She knew it would be trouble if she had falsely accused Mae and wasted their time.

"Are you sure you saw her taking it?" a student asked.

Jade cut eyes with one of her minions and the girl responded, nodding with uncertainty. If things goes wrong, they would have someone to blame instead of her.

"Get up!" Jade hooked Mae by her collar, lifting her up. She puts her hand inside Mae's bra, struggling to unbutton her uniform with Mae shielding Jade with her arms.

"What are you doing? Please stop... Please stop..." Mae busted into tears.

Out of fear, Jade suddenly unhands Mae when she heard the classroom door opening. They all turned to look at Liang walking into the classroom.

Liang was baffled to see the students quiet in one gathering. He pondered for a while... how could these lousy nuisance be calm today? Well... goodies, he can relax in peace.

He passed through them to his sitting position as they paved way for him.

Jade later turned to Mae saying in a neutral tone "If you are sure you didn't steal my bracelet, you have two hours to prove it before the end of today, else you would face severe consequences" She sneered at Mae and then banged her hand on the desk, threatening Mae.

Subsequently, she turned to Liang as the others dismissed the area one after the other "Oh, hey Liang, I didn't see you there. You better watch your belongings because a thief is roaming free around you" she said in a sweet tone, winking lastly at him.

He looked blankly at her without understanding a word.

Then she turned to Mae, pointing two fingers to her eyes and then pointing them back at Mae "I am watching you... 2 hours..."

Mae gulped after reading Jade's lips without her saying audible words.

__________***__________

The students of JM Memorial High School drew the curtain for the day and were departing the school premises to their various homes.

Mae walked excitedly beside Liang trying to engage him in a discussion.

"Hey, are you also joining the school bus?" she waited for his reply but he just walked like there was a ghost beside him.

"Hey Liang, I'm talking to you.." she paused and emitted a long deep breath.

Then she continued "If it's what you are thinking, I didn't do it. You have to believe me, I've never stolen from my grandma talk more of me committing such scornful act in public. Liang, Laing, are you listening to what I'm telling you?" she stopped walking.

With a pitiful expression on her face, she uttered in a low tone, kicking away a piece of gravel in front of her "There is no point explaining to you anyway. Nobody believes what I say".

He stopped to turn to look at her. Then he exhaled through his mouth. He walked up to her and held her by the hand.

At that moment, Chen was chasing after Jade, he had been trying to talk her out of it but Jade's heart hardened. She enjoys seeing Mae suffer.

"Jade Qing, stop..." Chen ran after Jade as she stomped to Mae, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her to the back of the school building.

The other students were present in the open field, hoping to see a good show. They brought out their mobile phones and digital cameras, making sure they don't miss out on a scene.

Some went live on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and the rest, filming the drama as they chatted indistinctly with their fans.

"Everyone, I asked for you to gather here so that I can disgrace this thief!" she forcefully dragged Mae by the hand and let go for her to fall on the ground.

Then she spat on the ground, addressing the students. "You won't believe what this church rat was caught doing today".

"What did she do?" A guy from the crowd spoke loudly.

Her minion held the camera in front of her face and she whispered to her, "Make sure you capture my good side". Jade turned her cheek to reveal her fine jawline.

The queen bee continued "Today, this thief was caught stealing from me. My friend here..." pointing to one of her minions "My friend here caught her going through my stuff. Mae did not only steal my precious diamond bracelet worth 65k which the best dad in the world, he needs no introduction... you know the man!"

She covered her face with her palm, sobbing as she spoke "My dad gifted me that bracelet. Like it wasn't enough, this church rat stole $5000 from my purse. Right Gina?" she turned to her minion.

Gina had a hard time swallowing saliva in her mouth. She nodded hastily in uncertainty.

The crowd gasped and started cursing at Mae. Others threw stuffs at her.

"Punish her!! punish her!!" The students chanted.

Chen slapped his hand on his forehead, shaking his head in agony "No, this is going too far" he said in his thought.

Liang was standing beside him and his ears twitched when he heard Chen's thought.

"Easy now everyone..." Jade said, gesturing and the jabbering died down.

"I will give her the best punishment she won't forget." Jade said to the crowd, then she looked down at Mae "You are doomed Mae." she smirked.

"I didn't do anything. I didn't steal your diamond bracelet. You have to believe me" Mae sobbed.

"Shh.. Shh.. Shh...." Jade held up her hand, muting the babbling crowd.

"Hahaha, did you hear what the thief just said to me? Say it again" she looked amused at Mae.

Her minion, Gina, quickly moved her phone to Mae's mouth so everyone could hear her speak louder through the mic.

"I-I didn't do anything. I have never stolen in my life, not even from my grandma" Mae's voice trembled. She sniffed in repeatedly.

"Oh, is that so? Then you are automatically calling me a liar" Jade landed a slap on Mae's cheek and spat on her.

Chen molded a fist in his pocket, his hands vibrating and his feet felt as though they're welded to the ground. He clenched his jaw, thinking "If I had known it would be a serious matter, I wouldn't have stolen this bracelet from her. I never thought she would value things as she always bragged about being so wealthy. I mean, she could easily buy another one in a flash but no... She loves putting on a show. Is she doing this to torture Mae Li?".

Liang's ears twitched as he listened carefully to Chen's thought.

"So he is the thief after all. Pff! Human... Not my cup of tea." Liang thought to himself. He shook his head and exhaled a deep long breath, then he walked away with his hands in his pocket.

Jade tormented Mae, pouring a bottle of sour milk on her hair and rubbed rotten fresh egg on her face. She striped Mae as Mae struggled with her, ripping Mae's uniform with her underwear exposed as she paraded Mae around the students. They flashed cameras, chattering and raining abusive words on Mae.

The video trend rapidly, reaching other school platforms in a jiffy.