NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101 - The Competition 9
“Could I see the video you guys circulated?” Mai Dongzi asked the boy.
Mai Dongzi just wanted to take a look and had no intention of asking the boy to send it to her; it was the boy who clicked to share the projection mode.
As expected, Princess Mary appeared only fleetingly in the video. Even Mai Dongzi only had a view of her back, with only Bai Zhizhi’s image being clear and well-defined.
Mai Dongzi thought about it and concluded that this perspective was likely taken by Lan Ruonan.
However, on that day, Lan Ruonan seemed to show interest in both her and Princess Mary, suggesting some tension between Lan Ruonan and Princess Mary. So why was Bai Zhizhi captured in this video?
Mai Dongzi considered that if there were images in the video of Princess Mary being rebuked by Mai Dongzi, causing Princess Mary to lose face, not only would Mai Dongzi suffer, but Lan Ruonan, as the videographer, would also face trouble.
Thus, Lan Ruonan would only subtly show dissatisfaction in front of Princess Mary but would not leave any evidence behind.
As for Bai Zhizhi, Lan Ruonan was not afraid of her. Even though both families were among the top ten, the Lan family was slightly superior to the Bai family.
To be honest, after Mai Dongzi rebuked Princess Mary that day, she prepared for the possibility of retaliation from Princess Mary.
Mai Dongzi’s retort to Princess Mary was not just a matter of pride but a clear understanding that, although she was seen as a peerless talent in everyone’s eyes, she had not yet developed the power to make others wary.
Therefore, in the eyes of these wealthy heiresses, she was merely a fake heiress.
Even though Atom had been added to the family registry and returned to the Xi family, it didn’t hide his illegitimate status.
Moreover, Mai Dongzi’s position in the Xi family was somewhat awkward. If she were harmed, the Xi family might intervene. However, if she were insulted privately, no one from the Xi family would stand up for her, as evidenced by the online bullying incident.
Therefore, even though she knew that confronting Princess Mary would invite retaliation, Mai Dongzi had to face it head-on; otherwise, she would only encounter more such insults in the future.
Of course, Mai Dongzi wasn’t afraid. She had already mentally rehearsed how to deal with Princess Mary’s revenge and how to use her power against her.
Princess Mary, however, had not made any move.
In Mai Dongzi’s perception, the matter seemed to be over, and Princess Mary wouldn’t take further action, so she had gradually let it go over the past month.
If it weren’t for the mention of this incident by the boy, Mai Dongzi might have almost forgotten about it.
“Did Princess Mary and Bai Zhizhi ask you to delete these videos?” Mai Dongzi asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Of course they asked, but since we shared them privately, there’s nothing they can do about it,” the boy replied with a smile.
“Do you all dislike Bai Zhizhi?” Mai Dongzi inquired.
“The boys are okay with her, but quite a few of the girls in our sophomore year dislike her,” the boy said.
Although the boy said this, his expression revealed some degree of distaste and even anger towards Bai Zhizhi, otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought up the matter of the video with Mai Dongzi.
It seems that there are still many smart girls. Bai Zhizhi’s tea-like demeanor really annoys other girls.
That day at the entrance of the directing department, because Princess Mary was the first to show displeasure towards Mai Dongzi, Mai Dongzi’s attention was focused on Princess Mary.
It wasn’t until Bai Zhizhi spoke that Mai Dongzi realized Bai Zhizhi harbored even deeper hostility towards her than Princess Mary, and it even seemed to carry malice.
Neither Lucy nor Mai Dongzi knew Bai Zhizhi well.
The only interaction Lucy had with the Bai family was when Zhao Fenny tried to recommend Lucy to the Bai family’s spoiled young master during a court banquet last year. Zhao Fanni wanted Lucy to marry this young master after graduating from high school.
Of course, Lucy was unwilling, though the young master from the Bai family was interested. Since Lucy was still a minor at that time, she firmly refused, and Zhao Fanni and the young master didn’t dare to force her.
However, Zhao Fanni privately used deception and threats to coerce Lucy. Although Lucy was reluctant, her gentle nature made her only persist in her refusal and work even harder in her studies.
Even though the Bai family’s young master approached Lucy several times, she only avoided him from a distance and did not engage in any extreme behavior towards him.
So, Mai Dongzi couldn’t figure out why Bai Zhizhi would harbor ill will towards her. It couldn’t be because Lucy refused the Bai family’s young master, could it? That young master wasn’t even Bai Zhizhi’s real brother.
Moreover, Bai Zhizhi hadn’t done anything against Mai Dongzi in the past few months.
In fact, the day before, Mai Dongzi even walked past Bai Zhizhi face-to-face. They didn’t greet each other, and Bai Zhizhi had lost that sense of hostility, as if Mai Dongzi was a stranger she didn’t know.
However, Mai Dongzi had an unsettling feeling. She thought that Bai Zhizhi had merely hidden her hostility towards her due to a lack of opportunity.
If her intuition was correct, Bai Zhizhi was even more dangerous than she had imagined.
This was also why Mai Dongzi ended up talking with a stranger; she wanted to probe for information about Bai Zhizhi from this boy. To her surprise, the topic the boy wanted to discuss was exactly Bai Zhizhi.
Mai Dongzi learned from the boy that he and his girlfriend were classmates with Bai Zhizhi.
His girlfriend, lying in the treatment chamber, was a result of Bai Zhizhi’s actions. During today’s individual selection competition, his girlfriend had the misfortune of facing Bai Zhizhi.
“Did you record the match between your girlfriend and Bai Zhizhi? I also registered for the individual competition and want to understand more about my future opponents,” Mai Dongzi said.
This time, she requested that the boy send the video directly to her.
The boy quickly understood. Given this junior’s ability, she would definitely reach the finals of the school competition.
With Bai Zhizhi’s mid-level fifth-stage cultivation, if she faced this junior, she would definitely be in for a beating.
Thinking of his unfortunate girlfriend and remembering that this junior and Bai Zhizhi had a grudge, the boy immediately became more enthusiastic towards Mai Dongzi, describing his girlfriend’s pitiable situation.
Mai Dongzi looked at the boy, who was relying on others to help avenge his girlfriend, and felt no aversion.
From his description of Bai Zhizhi, the boy himself didn’t see Bai Zhizhi’s true nature but trusted his girlfriend’s words, keeping away from Bai Zhizhi because of her.
No one is perfect. Although this boy had limited abilities, it was commendable that he stood on the same side as his girlfriend.
Mai Dongzi looked at the match. The boy’s girlfriend not only had a high level of cultivation but also strong combat skills, though her practical fighting ability was somewhat lacking.
But Bai Zhizhi’s moves were skilled and ruthless, clearly indicating real combat experience. The boy’s girlfriend was quickly knocked down by Bai Zhizhi.
It was truly a harsh scene—her thigh was even broken, which must have been extremely painful.
However, Bai Zhizhi did not break any rules. Even though it was obvious she did it deliberately, there was no place to complain.