As a gloomy supporting female character, Ji Zhaoxi had surprisingly terrible luck with animals.
Almost no animals were willing to approach her on their own.
The internet claimed this was due to having a bad personality, as animals supposedly preferred people with pure and clean souls.
Therefore, Ji Zhaoxi made it her mission to find an animal with a terrible personality, figuring that way, the two of them would get along perfectly.
Thus, one day, Ji Zhaoxi brought a tuxedo cat home.
It had been raining heavily with strong winds. The tuxedo cat, completely drenched, was sprawled on top of a cardboard box, looking pitifully at everyone who walked by.
Seeing this scene, Ji Zhaoxi's heart broke.
She deeply empathized with it; she felt that her own situation was exactly the same as this tuxedo cat's!
Ji Zhaoxi's mother often told her to rein in her overflowing empathy and stop being so melodramatic every day.
Especially on rainy days, her mother felt like Ji Zhaoxi turned into a completely different person—wearing headphones, huddled in her room staring at the rain outside with a sorrowful look on her face.
Whenever asked what was wrong, she would sigh and say that no one in this world understood her.
Her mother had to try incredibly hard to resist the urge to scold her.
Ji Zhaoxi's father explained that she was just going through puberty. Some kids expressed it through rebellion, while others simply became overly dramatic.
Ji Zhaoxi clearly belonged to the latter.
But when Ji Zhaoxi came home soaking wet with that cat in her arms, her mother still couldn't help but twitch her lips.
In the end, Ji Zhaoxi named the poor little cat Ji Dadan.
She hoped the name would make it a bit braver.
As a result, the cat caused such a ruckus that night that Ji Zhaoxi didn't get a wink of sleep...
The Xie family also kept a Tibetan Mastiff named Leiting.
Mother Xie had specifically gone all the way to Tibet to carefully select it.
Leiting's parents had off-the-charts combat power and very high intelligence, so Mother Xie naturally assumed that their offspring, Leiting, would also be a fierce and majestic dog.
However, after bringing him home, Leiting spent his days either whining or pestering people to play with him. He didn't look domineering in the slightest.
The fact that he ate a lot was one thing, but the main issue was his fragile, glass-like heart.
If anyone in the house even slightly raised their voice, he would get upset.
Later on, a highly comical scene would often unfold: the petite tuxedo cat standing in front of the massive Tibetan Mastiff, actively trying to protect him.
It was yet another repetitive day of school life.
A faint sound of arguing from the other side of the classroom caught Ji Zhaoxi's attention.
Or rather, any movement from Jiang Shiyi could catch Ji Zhaoxi's attention.
Jiang Shiyi's brows were tightly furrowed, and the classmates around her also looked rather grim. Xie Sili had his head down, murmuring something indiscernible.
Soon enough, rumors began to spread.
Word was that Jiang Shiyi had embezzled the class funds and was pretending to know nothing about it.
It was an absurd rumor, and hardly anyone believed it. After all, everyone knew how wealthy the Jiang family was.
But Ji Zhaoxi believed it, and she was absolutely convinced of it.
Even though her family is rich, that's a lot of class funds. If it were me, I'd be a little tempted too.
Her deskmate quickly tugged at her arm. This is a sensitive time. Don't say things like that.
What if people actually started suspecting Ji Zhaoxi instead?
To make matters worse, the classroom's security camera had coincidentally broken down. The atmosphere in the class grew tense. The stolen class funds were one thing, but being suspected of the theft would be a massive deal.
Don't worry, Shiyi. The truth will come out eventually.
Yeah, who could be so wicked to steal the class funds?
Jiang Shiyi looked awful. She offered a strained smile. I will cover the missing class funds for everyone.
However, since the money had gone missing while under her care, she couldn't help but feel guilty.
Just then, a flippant voice rang out from the corner of the classroom.
Jiang Shiyi, you didn't just take the money and spend it all, did you? Those are our class funds, you know.
The boy speaking was wearing a basketball jersey, his cheeks dotted with several pus-filled pimples. As he grinned, showing off his braces, his already small eyes squeezed shut until they were entirely invisible.
The girls standing next to Jiang Shiyi shot him several dirty looks.
Meanwhile, Ji Zhaoxi was busy rummaging through her bag for something.
The moment she stood up, alarm bells went off in her deskmate's head. She immediately grabbed her. Where are you going?
Ji Zhaoxi smiled at her. It's fine. I know what I'm doing.
Her deskmate was speechless.
She had literally never seen Ji Zhaoxi know what she was doing.
Sure enough, in the very next second, Ji Zhaoxi hesitantly squeezed through the crowd of classmates and walked right up to Jiang Shiyi.
The surrounding students frowned as they watched her. Feeling nervous under their gaze, Ji Zhaoxi lowered her head.
Jiang Shiyi, please don't worry. Even if you did spend the money, it's okay. You must have had your own reasons for doing so.
Her voice was soft and quiet, but the words she spoke were meant to be incredibly vicious.
The expressions of everyone around them instantly changed. Xie Sili quietly watched the girl beside him, his thoughts unreadable.
A second later, Ji Zhaoxi pulled a handful of cash out of her bag. Most of them were large bills, but there were also several fifty and twenty bills mixed in, and even a few one-yuan bills.
I'll cover the class funds for you.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at her with concern, though a hint of malice seeped through her eyes.
She had known for a long time that Jiang Shiyi would face this predicament. This was all the New Year's money she had saved up over the years, and she had even specifically asked her mother for the loose change that very morning.
She hadn't actually wanted the loose change, but her mother had angrily told her that if she didn't want it, she shouldn't take any money at all. So, she had meekly accepted the small bills.
It was the exact amount of the missing class funds, not a penny less.
Ji Zhaoxi, what is that supposed to mean? Are you insisting that Jiang Shiyi took the class funds?!
I knew you'd butt in again! Are you just incapable of going a single day without bullying Jiang Shiyi?!
The surrounding classmates immediately came to Jiang Shiyi's defense.
Ji Zhaoxi kept her head down and remained silent, looking as if she were resigning herself to their scolding. This submissive attitude only made everyone angrier.
Suddenly, Xie Sili spoke up. Ji Zhaoxi, we all know you're just trying to help Jiang Shiyi. But the money isn't the main issue here. The priority is finding out who actually took the class funds.
Ji Zhaoxi was confused.
What was wrong with Xie Sili? Everyone else could tell she was framing Jiang Shiyi—did he seriously not realize it?
Xie Sili calmly gathered the money on the desk, smoothly unzipped Ji Zhaoxi's bag, placed the money inside, and then carefully zipped it back up.
His movements were incredibly natural and fluid, leaving the onlookers dumbfounded. Were Xie Sili and Ji Zhaoxi that close?
That was exactly what Ji Zhaoxi wanted to ask too.
Jiang Shiyi looked at Ji Zhaoxi with a very complicated expression.
To be honest, she had helped a lot of people before, but she had never met anyone quite like Ji Zhaoxi.
As the class monitor, she knew the address and family background of every student in the class. Ji Zhaoxi's family was by no means wealthy.
This amount of money had to be a significant sum for her.
But seeing Ji Zhaoxi clutching that large handful of cash, Jiang Shiyi's heart instantly softened.
She smiled at Ji Zhaoxi, her eyes incredibly gentle. Zhaoxi, I can't take your money. I will resolve this matter as soon as possible so you won't have to worry.
Ji Zhaoxi fell completely silent.
It was one thing for Xie Sili to completely misinterpret what she was doing, but why was Jiang Shiyi misunderstanding her too?
Where exactly had things gone wrong?
