Chapter 131
Xu Shuangrong paused for a moment, lowering her gaze and giving a bitter smile.
“You’re right. It was all my negligence, so I apologize to Miss Lai.”
“Negligence?”
Xie Mi smiled faintly and said nothing, turning her gaze to Lai Bingxuan.
“May I ask, after you were mistakenly thought to be the bully, what happened?”
“At that time…”
Lai Bingxuan had already developed a natural trust in Xie Mi, and she answered without hesitation.
“I transferred schools.”
“Why transfer?”
Lai Bingxuan pressed her lips together. Although she didn’t want to recall it, Xie Mi’s gaze inexplicably gave her courage, and she spoke.
“Because everyone in the school was cursing me. I hated it all, so I ran away.”
Xu Shuangrong’s expression changed slightly, and her fingertips clenched subtly.
The staff exchanged glances, their eyes gradually turning strange as they looked at Xu Shuangrong.
Xie Mi, who had originally intended to use this information to strike back at Xu Shuangrong, paused when she heard Lai Bingxuan’s last sentence.
Speaking seriously, she said:
“How can you call it running away? That’s a retreat. Retreating is also a tactic.”
Lai Bingxuan was momentarily stunned.
Xie Mi then looked at Xu Shuangrong and tilted her head in puzzlement.
“This is a little strange.”
“Lai Bingxuan said the whole school was cursing her, but you said you didn’t even know she was misunderstood because of you. That’s really contradictory.”
Xu Shuangrong’s face turned pale.
Xie Mi was sharper than Xu Shuangrong had imagined, practically trying to catch every loophole in her words and dismantle them one by one.
[Makes sense. Even someone like Lai Bingxuan, with her family background, had to transfer schools—this proves things got serious. Things got so serious; could Xu Shuangrong really not know?]
[Looking at it this way, Lai Bingxuan is even more pitiable. She did nothing, yet was forced to transfer and carried the false label of a bully for so long. And now it’s being brought up again.]
[Shuangshuang was the victim of bullying. She was also very fragile. You all should stop.]
[Stop the moral coercion. Xu Shuangrong being hurt isn’t an excuse to hurt others. Isn’t Lai Bingxuan more innocent? Xu Shuangrong knew who the real bully was, yet let Lai Bingxuan be misunderstood—she’s the one who suffered the most.]
Xu Shuangrong took a deep breath.
“Yes, I did hear some things at the time. But during that period, I was mentally dazed. I didn’t stand up immediately to explain for Miss Lai, which I’ve always regretted. By the time I got my head straight and wanted to help her, she had already transferred. So…”
“So you just chose not to speak, letting Lai Bingxuan continue to bear the label of a bully because she had already transferred?”
Xie Mi continued the sentence for her.
Xu Shuangrong’s facial muscles twitched subtly.
“I was under too much psychological pressure. It was my first encounter with bullying. My body and mind were tormented, I really…”
“Is it so hard to admit it was deliberate?”
Xie Mi’s voice was calm, her lips curling slightly.
“Constantly emphasizing that you were the victim to downplay the mistakes you made—was the victim identity just a shield for you to hurt others?”
Xu Shuangrong opened her mouth as if to defend herself.
But Xie Mi gave her no chance to speak.
“A matter that could have been clarified with just one sentence caused someone else to suffer for years. I don’t believe it was just your ‘negligence.’”
“All these years, you had countless chances to tell everyone that Lai Bingxuan didn’t bully you, but you never did.”
“Was it deliberate or careless?”
Xie Mi lifted her eyelids lazily, a half-smile on her face, giving Xu Shuangrong a sharp glance.
“Even when you just apologized to Lai Bingxuan, you skirted the issue, saying you were treated like a pawn used to attack her, grandly blaming those who attacked her.”
“How laughable. You’re the real culprit.”
“Xu Shuangrong, do you think everyone is stupid?”
Sweat had already appeared on Xu Shuangrong’s forehead, her face visibly pale.
Xie Mi, from start to finish, remained calm, occasionally tossing a nut into her mouth and crunching it as if chatting casually.
Her soft voice commanded absolute silence in the room; everyone held their breath.
Lai Bingxuan looked at Xie Mi in astonishment.
The lazy afternoon sunlight spilled over Xie Mi, making her seem radiant.
Lai Bingxuan felt a strange light-headedness as memories surfaced.
Years ago, that afternoon, the sunlight was dazzling. She had stood by the principal’s office window, her shadow stretched long, no one beside her.
People had been hiding in the shadows, constantly criticizing her. Xu Shuangrong’s soft sobs annoyed her.
Exhausted from arguing, she had silently stood there, gazing at everyone with resentment.
What was she thinking at that moment?
She thought:
“If only one person could stand by my side.”
“One would be enough.”
But there was none.
The moment she hoped for rescue was the most helpless, and in the end, she got nothing.
Yet now, years later, on a similar afternoon and under everyone’s gaze, she was being questioned again.
This time, someone stood in front of her, shielding her from it all.
Xie Mi was like an invincible, victorious general, effortlessly accomplishing what she herself could not when hysterical.
Xie Mi became her salvation.
[Ahhh, this makes so much sense. No wonder Xu Shuangrong’s apology sounded strange—it was clearly shifting the blame.]
[Don’t treat everyone like fools. Everyone sees through it—it was deliberate.]
[Is it really that hard to apologize properly? Always emphasizing your victimhood—addicted to moral coercion, right?]
[Sob, I feel for my Sister Lai. No wonder she always targeted Xu Shuangrong. She was wronged for so many years while Xu Shuangrong kept playing the victim. Furious!]
[Xu Shuangrong, apologize!]
[Refuse to shirk responsibility, refuse moral coercion, refuse ambiguity—apologize!]
[Apologize! Apologize!]
This time, the live comments were unanimous, demanding Xu Shuangrong apologize.
Not only in other live streams, but even in Xu Shuangrong’s own stream, the screen was flooded.
Shuangshuang fans tried to control comments, but to no avail.
Xu Shuangrong caught a glimpse of the comments on her phone, her lips paling further.
She knew clearly that there was no turning back.
Continuing to argue would only worsen her public image. It was better to admit it honestly, and later try to salvage the situation.
“I’m sorry.”
This time, she bowed deeply to Lai Bingxuan.
“It’s my fault. I caused you to be mistaken as the bully. At that time, I was threatened by the real bully and dared not expose their identity, and inadvertently let you bear the blame. I’m sorry.”
“My cowardice and selfishness caused all this. I’m sorry.”
