Yuan Ya screamed, her face twisted, and she suddenly became hysterical, completely losing her usual gentle appearance of a good student.

"Why?" Wen Xi's lips curled slightly, his eyes and eyebrows showing a hint of sarcasm, and his voice was flat without a trace of ups and downs. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you this?"

Yuan Ya was silent for a long time before she spoke: "Since you've discovered everything, why did you still do this? We've known each other since we were kids, you're so cruel!"

"So, considering we've known each other since childhood, I should repay evil with kindness?" Wen Xi chuckled. "Yuan Ya, I'm not a saint. How can I repay kindness by repaying evil with kindness? Repaying justice with justice and repaying kindness with kindness is my nature. I thought you should know this well after we've known each other for so long."

Yuan Ya bit her lip tightly, angry and furious: "When did you find out?"

She couldn't understand why she failed when she had disguised herself so well and didn't reveal any flaws at all.

"It should be earlier than you think." Wen Xi patted the falling catkins on his shoulders and said slowly, "I was browsing Taobao one time and saw a painting sold by a store there. It was exactly the same as one of my sketches."

Yuan Ya didn't say anything, her brows furrowed tighter and tighter. She was wearing a gauze skirt from the Xiang family today, and the gauze on both sides was bunched up by her.

"Are you so sure I stole it? Yunshan is in the dormitory, and Song Qingxue is across the street. Who knows if your computer was left outside and stolen?"

"So, in order to avoid wrongly accusing good people, I installed a software on my computer. Your actions on my computer are clearly recorded."

Yuan Ya finally stopped arguing, a thin layer of sweat breaking out on her forehead.

"It's not like I didn't warn you, but you ignored me and even gave me this 'gift'." Wen Xi's tone was as light as a wisp of smoke, clear and slightly cool. "If I hadn't gone to the delivery boy that day, you would have ended up like this, right? Disgraced, expelled from the calligraphy and painting world, and unable to hold your head up for the rest of your life with the name of a plagiarist on your head?"

"Wen Xi!" Yuan Ya was furious as she listened to her description of her impending fate. "Don't be so complacent. Even if I can't beat you, so what? There will always be someone better than you! I don't believe you can still be number one for the rest of your life!"

"I never thought about getting first place in my life. So what if I can't? The sky won't fall."

"Stop talking nonsense here. If it weren't for the honor and benefits of being number one, would you fight so hard?"

"Of course not. I'm not short of money. My family already has three mines, and there will probably be more in the future."

"You!" Yuan Ya was shaking with anger.

"So because you can't beat me and take first place, you're going to frame me?"

"If a man doesn't work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. Aren't you working so hard just to climb up the ladder? What's the difference between you and the rest of us? I don't believe you really just enjoy painting!"

"A summer insect cannot talk about ice."

"Oh, you sound so noble."

"I'm not very noble, but at least I'm not dirty and I won't hurt others for my own benefit.

I like painting, and the fruits of my hard work are what I deserve. The two are not contradictory. A gentleman loves money but gets it in a proper way.

As for rank and honor, I've always taken things as they come. If I get them, I'm lucky; if I don't, it's fate. I don't compare myself to others, only to my past self. As long as I'm making progress, that's enough. There are always people better than you, and there are so many outstanding people in the world. I definitely won't be the best, but at least I can be the best version of myself."

Yuan Ya snorted coldly, glanced at the scar on her arm and said, "Who can't say nice things? The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. If it weren't for those useless thugs, would you still be standing here?"