Chapter 406 - 419: Counterattack 2
An Ning’s voice stood out, as did the name Jiang Xia.
Because in the class that had just ended, Jiang Xia, who had been admitted as the top-ranked student to the finance department, had failed to answer even the simplest question.
It wouldn’t have been a problem if he simply couldn’t answer. But the imposter Jiang Xia had stammered and stuttered, sounding like someone who could barely string a sentence together.
An Ning’s shout made the imposter Jiang Xia point at himself in confusion, as if to ask, ’Are you calling me?’
Standing at the door, An Ning called out again, "Is Jiang Xia here? I’m from his hometown. His grandpa asked me to bring him something."
An Ning, at the doorway, completely ignored the imposter. She walked straight into the classroom, scanned the room, and asked with a puzzled look, "Did Jiang Xia not come to class?"
Yin Xuemei, who was standing nearby, seemed to catch on. She was about to step forward and play along with An Ning, but someone beat her to it.
"Miss, he’s Jiang Xia."
The voice was smooth and refined, as pleasant as the sound of a clear spring.
An Ning turned her head. The moment she saw the man, a flicker of awe flashed in her eyes.
He stood tall and graceful, with an air as refined as jade. His exquisite peach blossom eyes, with a touch of pink at the corners, could make one think they had encountered the Peach Blossom Demon.
"Thanks for the heads-up, but what are you talking about? He’s Jiang Xia? Are you kidding me? Jiang Xia and I are neighbors. How could I not know he looks like that?"
An Ning’s words made even the previously uninterested students stop in their tracks. They all turned to look at the imposter Jiang Xia, who stood frozen, at a complete loss.
"I-I—I’m Jiang Xia. My name is Jiang Xia."
The imposter—whose real name happened to be Jiang Xia—stubbornly explained that his name was, in fact, Jiang Xia.
An Ning looked at the imposter, her gaze deeply probing. The man’s intelligence seemed somewhat deficient.
"Do you have two people with the same name in your class? The Jiang Xia I know placed third in this year’s national college entrance exam. He’s a first-year student in Class One of the finance department."
An Ning revealed even more details, and now many students in the classroom chimed in. They all told her that the bespectacled man before her was, in fact, Jiang Xia, the one who placed third nationwide.
An Ning acted as if she were deeply provoked. She pointed at the imposter and exclaimed, "Impossible! He is not Jiang Xia! I watched Jiang Xia get his acceptance letter. How could he have been replaced by the time he got to school?"
"No, that’s not right. Jiang Xia was supposed to meet us yesterday, but he didn’t show up. You came instead. Tell me, who are you really?"
"Where did Jiang Xia go? What did you do to Jiang Xia?"
An Ning’s voice rang out, and the implications of her words were chilling.
An imposter stealing his spot? Someone usurping his exam results?
Such a thing was a grave injustice to every student who worked hard for the college entrance exam.
The youth are always the angriest, and the ones with the strongest sense of justice.
Soon, a thick crowd had formed, encircling the imposter Jiang Xia. An Ning stood at the center of it all, confronting him.
Actually, "confrontation" wasn’t the right word, because the imposter had started to cry. This man, who was well over six feet tall, was holding his head and sobbing wretchedly.
The situation was now seriously disrupting classes. The professor for the next period arrived, and after getting a grasp of the situation, he looked at An Ning and asked, "Who are you? Can we trust what you’re saying?"
Challenged, An Ning held up her student ID high for all to see. "I am An Ning, this year’s number one scorer on the national college entrance exam. Jiang Xia and I are neighbors. We took the exam together—I placed first, he placed third. We received our acceptance letters together. I’m a student in the math department, and he’s a student in the finance department. So why isn’t Jiang Xia here in this class?"
Every word was clear, and every word was an accusation.
The professor, realizing the gravity of the situation, sent a student to find the principal or a dean.
But before the student could even leave, a school official arrived with a speed that made An Ning take note of whoever had sent for him.
"Everyone break it up, break it up! What are you all gathered here for! If you have class, go to class! Skipping class right at the start of the semester? Don’t you want your credits?"
The man spoke with the imperious air of an administrator. He strode into the classroom from outside and shot An Ning a hostile glare.
"Young lady, if you have a problem, you can take it up with the school administration. Don’t cause trouble here."
"Cause trouble? Who’s causing trouble? I’ve been perfectly calm this whole time."
An Ning’s refusal to play by his script made the man’s expression darken.
"Let’s go. Take up any issues with me. Don’t disturb everyone else’s classes."
The man wanted to take the imposter Jiang Xia and An Ning away, but An Ning refused to cooperate.
"Wait a moment. May I ask who you are?"
"I’m the vice-principal of this university. You got a problem with that?"
The vice-principal fixed An Ning with a predatory glare. Most people would have buckled under such pressure long ago, but An Ning didn’t even flinch. She met his gaze and returned it with even more intensity.
"Yes! Why are you trying to take me away from here? What are you trying to cover up? I just want to know who this Jiang Xia is!"
An Ning refused to back down an inch, and the vice-principal, who had come specifically to resolve this, felt his displeasure mounting.
"I don’t know who this student is. You two, come with me. We’ll find out once we investigate in the records office."
An Ning first sneered. Then she began to laugh, her laughter growing louder and more unrestrained, bordering on manic.
"The records office? What a coincidence. I was just there. It flooded. And what do you know, Jiang Xia’s file was a casualty—submerged and ruined."
"How... very coincidental."
Those words, "how very coincidental," dripped with sarcasm.
The crowd of gawking students and teachers was only growing, showing no signs of thinning. If this kept up, the situation would become impossible to contain.
The vice-principal, growing anxious, changed his tack. "How could that have happened? But no matter. The Education Bureau will have backup files. Rest assured, miss, I will investigate this thoroughly. We won’t let any student be wronged."
It was a tactical retreat, a reasonable move designed to make it seem as though An Ning would be the one acting in bad faith if she refused to cooperate with his investigation.
All eyes fell on An Ning. She simply took a step back and shook her head.
"I’m calling the police."
"I come from a rural background, with no power or influence. The law is my only protection. I have strong reason to believe that my friend from back home, Jiang Xia, has been harmed by someone and his status—whether he is alive or dead—is unknown. I want to file a report."
Having said her piece, An Ning turned and actually started to go call the police.
Her mission was to expose this matter, and the bigger the spectacle, the better.
"Stop!"
The vice-principal ran up from behind, intending to grab her with brute force, but An Ning gave him no such chance. In a flash, she dodged him and bolted from the classroom.
"First-year finance student, Class One, Jiang Xia, has had his identity stolen! His fate is unknown!"
"First-year finance student, Class One, Jiang Xia, has had his identity stolen! His fate is unknown!"
The moment An Ning’s shout rang out, it was met with an amplified response. Hua Cheng had arrived.
It was unclear how the kid had pulled it off, but there he was, holding a megaphone. Behind him was a procession with several long, white banners and a crew beating gongs and drums. They stood downstairs, echoing An Ning’s shouts from below.
An Ning shouted from upstairs, Hua Cheng shouted from downstairs.
The news that a first-year student, Jiang Xia, had his identity stolen instantly spread like wildfire across the entire Beijing University campus.
By the time the principal got the news, all he could do was let out a mournful sigh. ’You could have at least given me a heads-up!’