I Am Already A Queen

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Yin Junjie

"Oh..." Qiao Meixia simply responded, her expression remaining unreadable.

The moment the insensitive question left her mouth, Han Mengyu realised just how inappropriate and offensive her curiosity sounded.

"I am so sorry!" Han Mengyu hurriedly apologised, waving her hands in panic. "I truly did not mean anything bad by it!"

"It’s fine." Qiao Meixia shook her head calmly. "I did learn proper table manners a long time ago."

"But you are genuinely, breathtakingly elegant." Ruan Jiaojiao nodded in genuine admiration. "You don’t look like someone who is merely pretending or forcing it for show."

"Exactly!" Shou Meiling agreed enthusiastically, leaning over the table. "Most rich kids need years of relentless tutoring before proper dining etiquette becomes second nature. If you only learned them recently, then you are an absolute, certified genius."

What none of them could ever possibly comprehend was that Qiao Meixia had indeed been forced to master proper table etiquette a very long time ago. However, she had never learned those flawless movements willingly or out of high-society pride.

Back in her dark, traumatic past, every single dining lesson had been brutally forced upon her. She had been made to practice every minute posture repeatedly under ruthless supervision just to earn a single, pitiful scrap of food. Every angle of her posture, every whisper-silent movement of the knife and fork, every sip of soup, and every single bite had to be executed with absolute perfection.

If there was even the slightest, microscopic mistake in her posture, her plate would be brutally dragged away, and she would lose her only meal for the day. Because she had no other choice if she wanted to survive, she had practised tirelessly until every single movement became deeply engraved into her very bones and instincts. After so many years of survival, those pristine, aristocratic manners had become as natural to her as breathing air.

...

The long school day finally came to an official end.

Qiao Meixia glanced briefly at the clock mounted neatly above the front whiteboard. The hands read exactly 4:30 p.m.

She quietly packed her notebook into her shoulder bag, stood up from her desk, and prepared to exit the classroom. However, just as she turned her body around, she accidentally brushed against the tall boy who had been sitting beside her all afternoon.

"I-I am so sorry!" The boy apologised immediately, stumbling back half a step.

Even though it had clearly been Qiao Meixia who had accidentally walked directly into his path, he was the first to blurt out an apology. His ears turned a vibrant, noticeable shade of red, and a faint, embarrassing flush spread rapidly across his cheeks.

"No." Qiao Meixia shook her head, her voice even. "It was entirely my fault."

"Bro, hurry up! Let’s go!" One of the boy’s boisterous friends called out from the hallway outside.

"Yeah, coming!" The boy answered over his shoulder before turning back toward Qiao Meixia. After hesitating awkwardly for a brief, tense moment, he looked down and quietly muttered, "Be... be careful on your way home."

As soon as those frantic words left his lips, he quickly turned on his heel and walked away in a hurry, almost as if he were deeply afraid of staying near her for a single second longer.

Qiao Meixia silently watched his rapidly departing figure disappear down the hall.

During their extended lunch break, the three girls had enthusiastically supplied her with a mountain of information regarding the academy, especially concerning the strange, intimidating boy who had ended up sitting beside her all day.

His name was Yin Junjie. He was a prominent young master hailing from the immensely powerful Yin Family and was notorious throughout the entire student body for doing whatever he pleased without consequence. Even the strictest teachers had gradually become accustomed to his lawless behaviour, usually choosing to turn a blind eye unless his actions became far too disruptive.

That also neatly explained why he had been completely absent during the morning roll call.

The coveted window seat Qiao Meixia had casually chosen earlier actually belonged strictly to Yin Junjie.

The three girls had originally planned to frantically warn her about it after class to save her from his wrath. Unfortunately, before they could find the right opportunity, Yin Junjie had already arrived, causing the entire issue to be temporarily forgotten. Fortunately, completely contrary to everyone’s terrifying expectations, he had not caused a scene or started a fight at all. In fact, after realising someone was occupying his private desk, he had simply claimed the empty seat beside her without a complaint, leaving the entire class thoroughly bewildered and stunned.

Qiao Meixia walked out of the classroom, her sleek black school bag slung casually over one shoulder. The moment her feet crossed the threshold into the bustling corridor, she spotted Jiang Chinan leaning against the opposite wall, surrounded by several of his boisterous high-society friends. Choosing absolute efficiency, she simply glided past the group without sparing a single one of them a glance.

"Hey, you low-class country bumpkin!" Jiang Chinan barked out loudly, his voice echoing off the hallway walls.

Qiao Meixia acted as though she had heard nothing more than a passing breeze, continuing her steady, rhythmic pace down the polished floorboards.

Seeing him completely ignored in front of his peers, Jiang Chinan’s friends immediately burst into a round of loud, mocking laughter and began relentlessly teasing him.

"Damn, looks like she doesn’t even acknowledge your existence, Chinan."

"Didn’t you just call out to her? Is she deaf, or are you just invisible?"

"Hahaha... She completely treated you like phantom air!"

Jiang Chinan’s expression darkened into a stormy shade of purple. Grinding his teeth together until his jaw ached, he aggressively hurried after Qiao Meixia and stepped directly in front of her path, abruptly cutting off her trajectory.

"Hey! I am talking to you!" Jiang Chinan snapped furiously, raising his hand and pointing a sharp finger directly at Qiao Meixia’s face.

His fingertip stopped merely millimetres away from poking her forehead.

Qiao Meixia lifted her hand and casually brushed his finger aside with a flick of her wrist.

However, Jiang Chinan stubbornly raised his arm right back up, thrusting his finger at her face once more.

Without uttering another syllable, Qiao Meixia’s hand flashed out like a strikes-first viper, instantly snatching his extended finger. With frightening, surgical precision, her thumb pressed down onto a series of hidden pressure points around his knuckle joints.

"AHH!! Let go! Let go of me right now!" Jiang Chinan cried out in pure agony, his body instantly contorting as an agonising shockwave of intense pain shot straight up his arm.

Only when his knees buckled slightly did Qiao Meixia casually release his hand.

Jiang Chinan immediately clutched his trembling right wrist to his chest, glaring furiously at her with bloodshot eyes.

"You... You crazy bitch..." Jiang Chinan gritted his teeth.

His entire face was flushed red with sheer humiliation and rage, yet he did not dare raise another finger toward her.

"Stop bothering me." Qiao Meixia said indifferently, her voice flat and devoid of any emotion, before walking right past his trembling frame without looking back.

Jiang Chinan could only stand frozen, glaring with pure hatred at her retreating figure. Even after her silhouette had completely disappeared into the crowded stairwell, his index finger continued to throb with a deep, numbing agony. He had absolutely no idea what kind of bizarre martial technique or trick she had just executed on him.

"Chinan!" One of his wealthy friends laughed so hard he almost doubled over, wiping a tear from his eye. "Right now, you seriously look like an angry, pathetic puppy that just got abandoned on the street by its owner!"

"What damn puppy?!" Jiang Chinan snapped irritably, his voice cracking with rage. "Shut your mouth!"

"By the way..." Another friend in the group asked curiously, crossing his arms, "Is that really the long-lost sister everyone in the senior block has been gossiping about?"

"What sister?" Jiang Chinan immediately retorted with utter disgust. "I don’t acknowledge that country bumpkin as my sister for a single second. I only have one true sister in my life, and that’s Sister Yanna."

"Well, you have to admit she is seriously breathtaking." The friend shrugged, an admiring glint in his eyes. "She genuinely looks like an untouchable, icy queen."

"Hmph!" Jiang Chinan snorted disdainfully, rolling his eyes. "She is nothing more than an uncultured country bumpkin."

"To be completely honest..." Another friend scratched his chin thoughtfully, squinting toward the empty hallway. "She actually looks far more like your real blood relative. Her facial structure resembles yours much more than Sister Yanna’s ever does."

The moment those casual words were spoken, Jiang Chinan’s face darkened into a terrifying, dangerous scowl.

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