Fan Xue rushed up to Jiang Miao. “Jiang Miao, do you dare say that to our leaders—to Political Commissar Hu and Old General Yue?”
“Your words are an insult to Political Commissar Hu and Old General Yue!”
“First of all, Political Commissar Hu is not the kind of person who would abuse his power for personal privileges. Old General Yue is a veteran revolutionary who has never once used his position to give his children any special treatment.”
“And Yue Mingyuan—he became a combat hero at such a young age entirely through his own efforts on the battlefield!”
“With a single sentence, you’ve wiped out all the military merits of Old General Yue and Yue Mingyuan, and you’ve even dared to slander Political Commissar Hu!”
“Jiang Miao, let me tell you something—just for that remark, I’m not letting this go!”
Fan Xue, fuming, was about to storm out of the training room. “I’m going right now to call the regiment leadership and tell them about this. You can just wait for your punishment!”
Jiang Miao instantly panicked. She had only spoken on impulse, completely unaware that her words would have such serious consequences.
“Fan Xue, don’t go!”
Jiang Miao grabbed Fan Xue’s arm, but Fan Xue shook her off. “Jiang Miao, if this were the first time you’d said something like this, I wouldn’t hold it against you.”
“But you’ve said it multiple times. The regiment leadership has already spoken to you about this before, yet you still haven’t learned your lesson—you keep spreading rumors and smearing Old General Yue and Yue Mingyuan.”
“I can understand you being jealous of Ye Zhiqiu, but you can’t let jealousy drive you to spew venom and stir up trouble!”
“You might feel better after saying those things, but have you thought about the terrible impact your words could have?”
“And you, Wen Shengnan!”
Fan Xue didn’t let Wen Shengnan off the hook either—she knew full well that Jiang Miao’s behavior today was most likely instigated by her.
“If you ever dare to say again that Ye Zhiqiu got where she is because the Yue family has her back, or that she’s riding on their coattails, I’ll report you right along with her!”
Wen Shengnan had been enjoying the show, never expecting the fire to turn on her. Sensing Jiang Miao’s gaze shift dangerously, she quickly struck first. “Fan Xue, I was wrong. I only repeated it because I heard Jiang Miao say it all the time.”
Jiang Miao’s eyes went wide in disbelief at what she’d just heard. “Wen Shengnan, that’s a lie! You’re the one who said those things—that’s why I started believing them!”
“Jiang Miao, you’re the one who loves to run your mouth. When have I ever said such things? At most, when we were alone together and you brought it up, I’d nod along—otherwise I was afraid you’d get upset and stop talking to me.”
Wen Shengnan had washed her hands of it completely.
Even Jiang Miao knew how serious this was, so of course Wen Shengnan knew it even better.
That was why she had always said such things only when she was alone with Jiang Miao, letting her absorb those ideas.
She knew that with Jiang Miao’s personality, once she’d made up her mind about something, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from repeating it endlessly.
“Wen Shengnan, you—!”
Jiang Miao never expected her own friend to stab her in the back so deeply. She completely lost it, charging at Wen Shengnan. “Wen Shengnan, I’ll kill you!”
Wen Shengnan certainly wasn’t going to just stand there and take a beating. She quickly shoved another girl in front of her as a shield.
Jiang Miao lashed out indiscriminately, hitting several people—but Wen Shengnan came out completely unscathed.
Her parents had died early, and she’d grown up as a dependent in her aunt and uncle’s home. Her uncle ignored her, and her aunt would beat her whenever she was upset. Since childhood, Wen Shengnan had learned exactly how to dodge a beating.
“Quick, grab her!”
Tang Xuejun and the instructor both rushed forward, but Ye Zhiqiu, Fan Xue, and Han Siyang were even faster.
Though all three of them looked soft and delicate, they each had surprising strength. Han Siyang even knew grappling techniques, and within moments she had Jiang Miao pinned to the ground.
Jiang Miao grew even more unhinged. Even pinned down, she refused to stay still, glaring furiously at Wen Shengnan and shouting, “Wen Shengnan, just you wait!”
“Jiang Miao, you’re the one in the wrong—how can you blame me?”
Wen Shengnan wasn’t afraid of retaliation. She knew Jiang Miao was finished.
After causing such a huge scene, Jiang Miao would definitely be eliminated, her file sent back to the cultural troupe, and then she’d be expelled.
She’d originally planned to use Jiang Miao a few more times to get back at Ye Zhiqiu, but now she was turning on her instead—what a waste!
She had no idea which deity Ye Zhiqiu had prayed to, to be so fortunate.
After everything that had happened, she still got to marry Yue Mingyuan, and so many people were protecting her.
There was still a long time before the final selection, and during that time, there would surely be others who couldn’t stand Ye Zhiqiu. When that time came, she wouldn’t have to lift a finger—someone else would do the job for her.
Jiang Miao’s emotions remained unstable, and Tang Xuejun had no choice but to notify her regiment leaders to come and take her away.
She didn’t document this incident in Jiang Miao’s file. Although she was strict, she wasn’t merciless.
Jiang Miao was still young, with a long road ahead of her. If this experience taught her a lesson—if she could learn not to speak carelessly and not to let jealousy consume her—then her life could still take a different turn.
But if it went into her file, it would be like destroying her future prospects.
Tang Xuejun didn’t mention the matter publicly, but she did have a quiet word with Jiang Miao’s superiors.
She also specifically brought up Wen Shengnan’s behavior, because she believed what Jiang Miao had said.
Barking dogs seldom bite.
And at her age, she was a pretty good judge of character. People Wen Shengnan’s age might think they hid their true nature well, but it was always written on their faces.
However, the regiment leadership clearly sided with Wen Shengnan. They made it clear in every word that they didn’t believe she was that kind of person, and even sang her praises extensively.
Tang Xuejun chose not to say anything more.
There was no direct evidence in this case, so she wouldn’t do anything to Wen Shengnan—but if she tried any more tricks later on, she wouldn’t go easy on her.
In the arts, virtue comes first. Without good character, even the highest level of professional skill doesn’t make one worthy of being a dancer.
After Jiang Miao was taken away, Wen Shengnan ended up with a dorm room all to herself.
Though the rooms hadn’t been reassigned yet, Fan Xue had already moved her belongings to the room next door.
The same girls who had previously wanted to move into their dorm now avoided her like the plague, never with a kind word.
Wen Shengnan knew they were projecting their hatred for Jiang Miao onto her.
How amusing. There’s a perpetrator for every grievance—they’d listened to Jiang Miao in the first place, yet now they were giving her dirty looks.
It wasn’t as if she’d told them to say all those things or to cause that scene in the training room.
If they couldn’t even see that much, they had no one to blame but themselves for being used as pawns.
But then again, Wen Shengnan had never been particularly close to anyone anyway. Now that people were ignoring her, she kept up the same aloof, indifferent demeanor as always.
Every day she came and went alone, spine straight, like a proud peacock.
“She sure is confident.”
Ye Zhiqiu, Fan Xue, and Han Siyang were not far behind Wen Shengnan. Fan Xue curled her lip at Wen Shengnan’s back. “She’s the worst one of all, yet she puts on this innocent act.”
“Some people are just like that,” Ye Zhiqiu said. “They don’t believe they’ve done anything wrong, so they always carry themselves with that look of utter composure.”
