Aerial Rain
Translating Web Novel

ATCF Ch 15 Part 1 – The Heartless Jiang Xiao Li (I)

After frightening the group of reporters, Director Li turned his attention to Jiang Ruo and Jiang Zhou, “Follow me to the Academic Affairs Office and explain the matter of the anonymous text clearly.”

Jiang Ruo replied in a low voice: “I want to call my mother first and tell her that I will come home late.”

Jiang Zhou said immediately: “I have contacted her and explained the matter. She should be here soon.”

Hearing what Jiang Zhou said, Jiang Ruo put the phone back into her pocket. She wasn’t afraid of having her mother come, because the anonymous text was not her doing.

Seeing that things came to an end, Jiang Li, whose mind was already full of hot pot, didn’t want to stay any longer and immediately left with Tong Yi. The two left the school gate and went straight to the nearby hot pot restaurant. Neither of them mentioned Shen Mian, as if that incident just now had never happened.

When they were finally seated and began to cook, Tong Yi found that Jiang Li was quite unskilled in cooking and didn’t even know a thing about hot pot combinations. He couldn’t help but wonder, “Have you never eaten hot pot before?”

Jiang Li nodded, “Yeah, this is my first.”

In real life, her illness prevented her from consuming spicy food. As for this body’s original owner, she was not a picky eater, but the orphanage had no leeway in terms of daily expense, and the children there never enjoyed hot pot.

Hearing Jiang Li’s reply, Tong Yi fell into a moment of silence. He recovered after a few seconds and began to teach Jiang Li how to cook meat and vegetable. He also patiently told her how to match the cooked dishes with various oil and sauces to make them delicious.

Seeing Jiang Li’s following his instruction with childlike curiosity, Tong Yi’s lips curved up unconsciously.

Jiang Zhou and Jiang Ruo followed Director Li to his office, only to find that Shen Mian was already there. Her homeroom teacher Mrs. He took her there and had been questioning her about her apparent suicide. Shen Mian, however, remained silent all the time, and only showed fluctuated mood the moment she saw Jiang Zhou and Jiang Ruo.

Seeing that Shen Mian was reluctant to speak, Director Li didn’t say much and just went to fetch a glass of water for himself. He looked quite leisurely, as nothing could be done until these kids’ parents arrived.

Shen Mian’s parents and Feng Yun arrived almost at the same time. The panicked Shen couple quickly rushed to Shen Mian at once, only sighing in relief after confirming that their daughter was fine.

Feng Yun turned her eyes around the office twice, then looked at Jiang Zhou and asked, “Where’s Xiao Li?”

The corners of Jiang Zhou’s lips twitched slightly, but he feigned helplessness as he answered his mother, “She said that this has nothing to do with her, so she left.”

Jiang Zhou had sent a text to notify Feng Yun even before Jiang Ruo began to get involved in this matter. His goal was to let his mother see the scene when Jiang Li was entangled by the reporters and had her know how cold-hearted this so-called biological daughter was.

It was a pity that Jiang Li was even more cold-hearted than he initially expected. Even though the matter of the anonymous text sender had yet to be resolved, she paid no care and went to eat hot pot with Tong Yi, leaving the mess to the rest of them.

After Shen Mian’s parents were sure their daughter was fine, they started making a fuss with Director Li, demanding the school’s responsibility. All the time, Shen Mian shrank behind her parents, silent like a statue.

Seeing Feng Yun only cared about Jiang Li, Jiang Ruo was very aggrieved, “Mom, I really didn’t call those reporters. You must believe me.”

Feng Yun asked in surprise, “What reporters?”

Director Li finally had the chance to speak. He briefly explained the in and out of today’s incident, emphasizing that Shen Mian’s attempt to jump off the building was a fake — proved by the anonymous text the reporters had received in advance.

When Director Li said that the person who sent the text was using Jiang Ruo’s mobile phone, Feng Yun immediately retorted, “Definitely not Ruoruo. She will never do such a thing.”

Hearing Feng Yun’s argument, Shen Mian’s parents gave her a hard glare. Mrs. Shen was the first to speak: “If it wasn’t Jiang Ruo, could it be that our Mianmian sent it? If it wasn’t for Jiang Ruo who kept complaining about your adopted daughter to our Mianmian, would she have a conflict with that orphan?”

Hearing the word ‘orphan,’ Feng Yun’s expression suddenly changed, “What orphan?! You better watch your words.”

Mrs. Shen sneered, “What is she if not an orphan? Could she be the biological daughter of your Jiang family?”

Feng Yun’s face instantly turned red. She was never good at arguing with others and was unable to come out with a rebuttal at prompt.

Jiang Zhou completely ignored Mrs. Shen’s shouting. He pulled Jiang Ruo aside and asked in a low voice, “You really didn’t send a text message?”

Jiang Ruo looked hurt, “Brother, don’t you believe me?”

Jiang Zhou shook his head, “Of course I believe you.” He then turned to Shen Mian’s mother and said loudly, “We can take Ruoruo’s mobile phone to the police station for a fingerprint check. The investigation will tell us who else had used the mobile phone.”

Shen Mian’s expression changed at once, and she shouted loudly, “Don’t!”

All eyes in the room immediately fell on Shen Mian. The shout she had just made was enough to tell everyone who actually had sent the text and called the reporters. Even if she tried to argue now, no one would believe her.

Shen Mian also understood this. Ignoring her parents’ shocked eyes, her voice trembled slightly as she confessed, “Yes… I was the one who used… who used Ruoruo’s mobile phone to send those texts to the reporters. I-it’s all my fault, and Ruoruo is innocent.”

Jiang Ruo looked at Shen Mian in disbelief, as if she couldn’t understand why her best friend did such a thing.

Jiang Zhou didn’t look surprised in the slightest, as if he had expected this development.

Feng Yun’s face was ugly, “If you really thought that you were in the wrong, why didn’t you admit it sooner? If not for A’Zhou to propose to have the police do a fingerprint test, would you let your parents keep accusing Ruoruo?”

After knowing it was their daughter’s fault, Shen Mian’s parents could no longer remain aggressive and had to face Feng Yun’s anger in silence.

Now that the truth of the matter was revealed, Director Li was relieved. Although he had long guessed that Shen Mian’s suicide attempt was no more than a one-man theater, he, as a teacher, couldn’t make any accusation without clear evidence.

Now that Shen Mian finally admitted in person that she had contacted the reporters in advance, the situation became much simpler. The school finally would have ground to ask Shen Mian’s parents to temporarily pull their child out of school under the reason of mental health.

If Shen Mian’s parents refused, he would make them sign an agreement, waiving the school of any responsibility in the case something happened to Shen Mian when she was at school.

Shen Mian’s parents naturally understood this. Knowing their daughter’s suicide attempt was a fake, they immediately became angry.

 

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