CHAPTER 557: CHAPTER 558: PROVOCATION

"She’s mixed," Shi Mei said, her head lowered as she took a bite of rice, "Her eye color is beautiful."

Dongfang Xuanya was obviously very pleased with herself, "Yes, many people are saying so. They like me because of my eyes, my nose, and my lips."

Shi Mei grinned, "What about your eyebrows?"

"They think my eyebrows are too thin," Dongfang Xuanya said helplessly, "I just have to draw them thicker when I do my makeup."

"You don’t need to," said a girl sitting down next to Dongfang Xuanya with a tray of food, "In the aesthetic standards of our people, you are very beautiful right now, a true beauty," she happily looked towards Shi Mei, "You are the new student of this batch, right? I heard them say your name is Shi Mei?"

Shi Mei looked up at her, confirmed she didn’t know her, probably a senior, and nodded.

The girl seemed very surprised and scrutinized Shi Mei, "So it’s you, huh, who displaced Tu Min and became the exception for the new student admission!"

Her voice was a bit loud, and many people around looked over.

For a moment, Shi Mei felt surrounded by gazes.

"Her looks are okay, but not too stunning, how did she displace Tu Min?"

"Some people just have that kind of ability, what can you do?!"

"To displace Tu Min, she must have some skill, right?"

Hearing these words, Shi Mei frowned, "What do you mean? Who is Tu Min?"

The girl across blinked, "Don’t you know Tu Min? During your audition, wasn’t there a girl who danced with you for the competition? That’s Tu Min."

Shi Mei realized, "Oh, that one, short and skinny, looked like she was malnourished."

The girl stunned for a moment, anger crossing her face, "Watch your mouth!"

"What’s wrong with what I said?" Dongfang Xuanya didn’t understand and seriously asked Shi Mei, "Is it considered offensive in Xia Country to comment on someone being malnourished?"

Shi Mei looked puzzled as well, "I don’t really know, is that a rude remark?"

She threw the question back at the girl across.

The girl, looking embarrassed, didn’t answer and left with her tray.

Dongfang Xuanya felt a bit baffled and asked Shi Mei, "Was she here to... to provoke?"

"You’re not too dumb."

Dongfang Xuanya was even more perplexed, "There’s a saying in Xia Country, ’A woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea,’ it seems quite true."

Shi Mei smiled, "You’ll see more of this in the future, especially in this school, where there are many women, palace intrigue is everywhere."

"What does palace intrigue mean?"

"It means courtly battles."

"What does courtly battles mean?"

"It means open and covert attacks, tit for tat, mutual targeting, being unexpectedly trapped; just be cautious."

"Oh..." Dongfang Xuanya looked impressed, "Your vocabulary is really strong, every word you say is an idiom, I’ve been learning idioms for a long time and still can’t get them right."

Shi Mei slightly tugged at the corner of her lips, keenly aware of the increasing number of gazes on her.

Sure enough, the next day Shi Mei found out she had become famous.

Only after some inquiries did she learn that this Tu Min was a young star in the world of dance, well-respected in her circle at a young age.