The sudden shout stunned Ji Xiaomeng on the spot.
She always planned ahead and had prepared for every possible scenario before coming, but all her preparations were aimed at the opposing side, the trapped passers-by.
She had considered the possibility of being attacked, abused, begged, or even, however unlikely, running into someone who knew her in real life. She had a strategy for each situation. Even claiming her clothes were recycled or that she had immigrated to Europe as a child was not improvisation; those lies had been rehearsed long ago.
But the one thing she had never prepared for was being stabbed in the back by her own teammate.
So when someone from her own camp suddenly turned on her, panic surged inside her. She quickly shouted, “Park Soo-hyun, what on earth are you talking about?!”
Park Soo-hyun was of Korean descent and had joined the group more than a year before Ji Xiaomeng. When she wanted in, she had bombarded him with private messages on Facebook, pleading until he finally recommended her to the organisation.
When she first joined, Park had personally shown her the ropes.
Back then he thought that, as fellow Asians in a mostly white team, another Asian face would reduce the pressure and exclusion they both felt. A good relationship would mean they could look out for each other, so he had taken good care of her.
In order to fit in quickly, Ji Xiaomeng had initially fawned over Park, even playing at a flirty, more-than-friends, not-quite-lovers ambiguity. To gain his sympathy, support, and help, she had told him many true details about her background.
However, Ji Xiaomeng was far more shameless and ruthless than Park. After just a few actions she began to stand out in the team, and soon her status surpassed his. From that point on, her attitude towards him grew colder.
While growing distant from Park, she started flirting with the team leader, orbiting him daily with an adoring look on her face. This only deepened Park’s resentment.
He had already harboured hatred long before Charlie wade’s psychological suggestion took hold. Now, amplified by that suggestion, the resentment burned even hotter.
He glared at Ji Xiaomeng with pure loathing, teeth itching with rage.
Pointing at her, he roared, “Ji Xiaomeng, you’re a native Chinese who, just a few months ago, was a starving amateur photographer who could only afford a plane ticket to Europe by taking out online loans, and you have the nerve to stand here in public claiming you immigrated as a child? If I’d known how two-faced you were, I would never have let you join us in the first place!”
Ji Xiaomeng jumped in fright. Her heart leapt into her throat, a wave of vertigo made her legs weak, and cold sweat broke out across her skin.
She had never expected Park Soo-hyun to turn on her, let alone expose her like this at the protest site in front of so many live-streaming cameras.
Fortunately her mind worked fast. The moment doubtful looks turned her way, she put on an expression of deep hurt and said, “Park Soo-hyun, I have always regarded you as a senior and a role model on the environmental path, but because you wanted me to be your girlfriend and I told you I wasn’t ready for a relationship any time soon, you’re now spreading rumours about me out of spite?”
“Spreading rumours?” Park bellowed. “You say you immigrated to Europe as a child. Fine, tell everyone which country you immigrated to.”
Ji Xiaomeng knew countless phones were filming and many were live-streaming online. She could only brazen it out. “I… I immigrated to Sweden. What’s wrong with that?”
The environmental organisation she had joined was headquartered in Sweden, because most of its radical members were Swedish.
They had effectively become an established environmental group. The famous climate girl was one of the top figures in that broader network.
Ji Xiaomeng’s team was still just a small, relatively unknown outfit within that profit-driven network.
