I Am Already A Queen

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Come To See Qiao Meixia

Without offering a single word of argument, Qiao Meixia calmly gathered her books, pens, and notebook, intending to smoothly relocate to the empty desk beside her. However, before she could even stand up completely from her chair, the boy had already reached out, pulled out the chair at the empty desk next to her, and sat down instead.

Qiao Meixia blinked once in quiet confusion at his erratic behaviour. A moment later, seeing that he had claimed the adjacent desk, she simply sat back down in her original seat by the window without uttering another word.

The classroom lesson resumed as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. No one dared to whisper or speak out of turn again until the teacher finally concluded the lecture and walked out of the classroom doors.

The exact moment the teacher’s figure disappeared down the hallway, almost every single student in the room instinctively turned their heads to glance toward the boy sitting directly beside Qiao Meixia.

The boy immediately noticed the collective weight of everyone’s staring gazes.

”What?” The boy asked lazily, leaning back in his chair as his sharp eyes scanned the room. ”Do all of you have something you desperately want to say to me?”

Almost instantly, every single student whipped their heads back around, frantically pretending to be intensely busy with their own books and stationery. The boy let out a quiet, disdainful snort before rising from his desk and casually strolling out the back door of the classroom.

Only after his intimidating presence had completely left the room did Shou Meiling bounce over to Qiao Meixia’s desk.

”Meixia, let me show you around! Let’s go have lunch together at the dining hall. ” Shou Meiling said with a bright, friendly smile.

”Yes, let’s all go together!” Ruan Jiaojiao chimed in happily, packing up her pencil case.

”Count me in too!” Han Mengyu raised her hand enthusiastically from across the row.

And so, the group of four girls exited the classroom and headed toward the grand campus cafeteria together. Naturally, as they walked through the central courtyard, their group attracted a substantial amount of attention from the surrounding student body.

Part of the intense attention was due to Qiao Meixia’s choice of attire. Since she had not yet received her custom Suyu school uniform, she was still dressed in her signature, low-profile black outfit, which looked remarkably striking and distinct among the sea of structured, high-society school blazers. The other primary reason was Qiao Meixia herself. Her striking, cold appearance and icy demeanour naturally drew countless curious, fascinated glances wherever she walked.

When they finally arrived at the central dining facility, Qiao Meixia paused and quietly surveyed her surroundings. The cafeteria was utterly enormous. Considering that the vast majority of the students attending Hannan First High School hailed from immensely wealthy and influential elite families, the dining hall was constructed on an entirely different level compared to a standard educational cafeteria.

Rather than resembling a basic school cafeteria, the multi-story space looked far more like an elegant, high-end commercial restaurant. Students could order practically any luxury cuisine they desired directly from an extensive digital menu prepared by professional chefs.

Of course, to satisfy basic operational guidelines, the school still provided standard, nutritious lunch sets at affordable, fixed prices. However, very few of the wealthy, pampered students ever chose those basic meals. Most of the students who consumed the standard lunch options were full-scholarship students or those who hailed from average, working-class households.

Indeed, despite being an elite institution, Hannan First High School also opened its doors to exceptional students from ordinary families. However, students from those backgrounds invariably possessed extraordinary, top-tier academic achievements. Most of them had earned full-ride scholarships through their exceptional examination scores and talents, allowing them to study alongside the children of Hannan City’s wealthiest elite.

”Sister Meixia...” A sweet, delicate voice suddenly called out, breaking the awkward quiet.

Everyone in the immediate vicinity instinctively turned around and saw Jiang Yanna approaching smoothly, flanked by several of her close, high-society friends. Their collective gazes immediately settled onto Qiao Meixia, openly and critically sizing her up from head to toe with practised scrutiny.

”So, you are Yanna’s long-lost twin sister.” One of Jiang Yanna’s friends said, slowly looking Qiao Meixia up and down with an obvious, condescendingly judgmental expression. ”You are actually quite pretty, I will give you that, but I really think you should work on improving your attitude a little bit.”

”Hey, what exactly do you mean by that remark?” Ruan Jiaojiao immediately frowned, her expression darkening as she boldly stepped forward to block the path.

”Yeah. I do certainly like to know what you’re implying too.” Han Mengyu chimed in, crossing her arms defensively.

”Sister Meixia, your friends are being a little too fierce.” Jiang Yanna said with a helpless, gentle smile, her tone sounding utterly innocent and sweet to any outside observer. ”My friend only made a small, harmless comment out of concern. Do they really need to be so aggressive toward us?”

”Wow... You are really something else, aren’t you?” Shou Meiling said sarcastically, letting out a loud, mocking scoff.

Qiao Meixia calmly looked at Jiang Yanna’s delicate facade before shifting her dark, indifferent gaze toward the girl who had spoken first.

”First of all, I am not your twin sister. Your surname is Jiang, while mine is Qiao. We are not truly related in any meaningful way.” Qiao Meixia’s voice remained entirely calm, flat, and devoid of warmth. Then, before continuing, she glided her eyes back to the first girl. ”Second, how I choose to conduct myself is strictly my own personal business. It has absolutely nothing to do with you or your social circle. So, if you have opinions about me, kindly keep them to yourselves.”

The girl who had spoken earlier instinctively shrank back slightly after meeting Qiao Meixia’s freezing gaze head-on. For some unexplainable reason, those deep, emotionless eyes made a sudden, chilling shudder run straight down her spine.

”Sister Meixia... you really don’t have to be so deeply hostile toward us.” Jiang Yanna sighed softly, lowering her head as though she had been profoundly wronged in public.

”I did not realize that simply stating objective facts is considered being hostile nowadays.” Shou Meiling snorted disdainfully, rolling her eyes.

”Do we really have to stand here and keep talking to them?” Ruan Jiaojiao asked, pulling out her phone. ”Let’s just leave. I am completely starving.”

”Yeah, me too.” Han Mengyu nodded in instant agreement. ”Why waste our precious lunch break standing around talking about such meaningless nonsense?”

”Hmm... Let’s go.” Shou Meiling agreed enthusiastically.

Jiang Yanna stood frozen, not daring to utter a single rude word to any of the three girls. The Han Family, the Shou Family, and the Ruan Family were all major, indispensable business partners of the Jiang Corporation. If she recklessly offended them here, it could potentially create massive, unnecessary financial trouble for her family’s enterprise.

Besides, she had always secretly wanted to recruit them into her own exclusive clique. Unfortunately, because they were assigned to different homeroom classes, they rarely had reason to interact. More importantly, those three had never shown even the slightest intention of getting close to her or playing into her social games.

”Yanna, don’t be upset.” Jin Zexi said softly, stepping up to gently pat Jiang Yanna’s shoulder in comfort. ”Birds of a feather flock together anyway.”

”Hmm...” Jiang Yanna forced out a bitter, heartbroken smile, looking up at him with teary eyes. ”I am just a little hurt that Sister Meixia does not even want to acknowledge me as family.”

Jin Zexi continued softly comforting her without saying anything else, though his eyes lingered briefly on Qiao Meixia’s retreating back.

Meanwhile, Shou Meiling had already happily dragged Qiao Meixia toward one of the cafeteria’s most elite and popular private food stalls.

”You absolutely have to try this!” Shou Meiling said excitedly, pointing at the gourmet menu. ”Their wagyu beef steak is my absolute favourite thing on campus. It’s seriously mouthwatering.”

Qiao Meixia did not overthink the gesture and simply accepted Shou Meiling’s enthusiastic recommendation. After slicing off a small, precise piece and tasting it, she paused slightly in mild surprise. Just as Shou Meiling had claimed, it was indeed remarkably delicious.

While Qiao Meixia quietly and methodically continued eating her meal, she suddenly noticed the three girls sitting across from her, staring at her with strangely intense expressions.

”What?” Qiao Meixia asked, setting her fork down with absolute silence.

”Well...” Han Mengyu scratched her cheek awkwardly, looking a bit sheepish. ”Your table manners are actually far more elegant and refined than mine. I heard rumours that you grew up in the countryside... Do they really teach high-society table manners out there?”

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