These past few days, Shen Xiaoxing had some inexplicable whim to send a driver to pick her up and drop her off at school every day on time. She couldn't refuse either—she had to ride in that flashy luxury car near the campus. Earlier, she could guess that someone might see it and make malicious assumptions, but she never expected them to not only take secret photos but also spout nonsense online!
Sure, she rode in a luxury car with a personal driver, but where did they get the idea she was being kept or meddling in someone else's marriage? She might attract a bit of attention at school, but it wasn't enough for someone to frame her like this.
An Ruo's light brown eyes dimmed slightly. An Qing had just come over two days ago to hurl insults, and now photos were being taken and rumors spread online. How could she not connect the two?
"Not a moment's peace."
Chen Keqiao frowned slightly. "What are you muttering about? Don't tell me you know who did it?"
"With this kind of sneaky, brainless move, who do you think could pull it off?"
At her hint, Chen Keqiao suddenly had an epiphany: "An Qing?!"
"Besides her, who else in Shen City would go this far to destroy me?"
"So what now? How are you going to fight back?" Chen Keqiao cracked her knuckles, eager for action. She looked excited. "Need my help? I just learned a new bone-breaking technique—perfect timing."
An Ruo raised an eyebrow slightly and tilted her head with a smile. "It's a society ruled by law now. Hitting people is illegal."
"This kind of person deserves a beating!"
Pausing, Chen Keqiao squinted at her. "Don't tell me you're planning to let this slide and let her keep bouncing around?"
"A clear conscience laughs at false accusations. I haven't done anything—why should I fear the storm she stirs up?"
Seeing her so calm and composed, Chen Keqiao stomped her foot in frustration and flicked her forehead, but since the person involved didn't care, why was she getting worked up?
...
With no classes in the afternoon, An Ruo buried herself in the library, reading and looking for materials to write a paper. At this hour, the library was nearly empty, with only a few people scattered far away. But every time An Ruo took a sip of water, the glances around her were contemptuous, and when they met her eyes, they quickly looked away, whispering about her.
An Ruo sighed softly. These people mindlessly devoured gossip, treating any little stir on the forum like the end of the world. She often dominated the forum's headlines as the main character, so she was used to this sneaky, furtive scrutiny.
Her phone on the table suddenly buzzed.
It was a photo from Chen Keqiao. She opened it—the school bulletin board had the morning's secret photo plastered on it, along with the fabricated content from the forum. She hadn't expected this to blow up so fiercely in just one morning.
There was a new update on the forum. She clicked in and saw a few ambiguous photos of a man and a woman. The man's face was blurred, but the woman's face was hers!
An Ruo took a deep breath. She was certain she'd never been in a scene like that. It had to be An Qing maliciously photoshopping it!
The murmurs around her rose and fell. An Ruo couldn't stay any longer. She got up and hurried out of the library.
"Ruo Ruo, over here!" Chen Keqiao waved at her from the crowd.
An Ruo squeezed through and saw that someone had maliciously printed out the forum content and stuck it on the bulletin board for the whole school to see. Her sudden appearance shifted the onlookers' attention to personal attacks.
"Oh, isn't this our school beauty? Looks all innocent, but who knew she's a homewrecker? Can't even wait to graduate before taking side gigs—good for you!"
"Don't be like that. Every job deserves respect. Being a mistress isn't easy either. One day the wife might find out and beat her black and blue... Tsk, tsk, that pretty face of hers would be ruined."
"Good riddance, so she won't go around seducing men! Right, Manman?"
The girl named Xu Man snorted coldly, her tone dripping with disdain. "She's making a living with her skills. Why are you all picking on her?"
"True. That old man—how could she even stomach that? How broke is she?"
"You don't get it, do you? Our dear school beauty is clever. She went after Senior Zou to become the Zou family's young mistress, but he wasn't interested. So she turned to old men. If she plays her cards right, she'll be a rich wife!"
"Looks can be deceiving. She'll stop at nothing to marry into money. Look, is her dignity all over the floor?"
Chen Keqiao couldn't take it anymore. She glared and snapped, "Are you all that bored? Got nothing better to do? Your mouths are so foul—did you eat dog crap for lunch?"
The girls' faces turned green with anger.
"What, can't we say it? Then don't do it! Acting all cold and pure, but who knows how wild she is inside? Broke up with Senior Zou not long ago, and now she's crawling into someone else's bed..."
"Shut it!" Chen Keqiao stepped in front, rolling her eyes. "You're just jealous that An Ruo's prettier than you!"
"Jealous of her?"
"Aren't you? Look at yourself—all width, no height, nothing but hips and waist. Your features don't match each other, and you finally got a heart-shaped face, but it's upside down!"
Chen Keqiao was famous for her sharp tongue. She never used curse words, but her words could send someone to the hospital. This outburst drew laughter from the crowd.
"You—"
"Tsk, your face and neck aren't even the same color. Now you're so mad your makeup's caking. Go find a spot to touch up!"
Xu Man sneered coldly. "Twisting words."
"What, you don't agree?"
"Agree? Of course I do. We don't have such refined skills to seduce men."
"You—"
Just as Chen Keqiao was about to throw down with them, An Ruo grabbed her in time and shook her head. "No need to waste words on them."
As they turned to leave, Xu Man's sarcastic voice rang out: "Running away with your tail between your legs, huh? So someone dares to do it but not own up!"
Chen Keqiao wasn't one to swallow an insult. She shook off An Ruo's hand and stormed back, yelling, "Had too much salt at lunch? So nosy. You're just jealous that An Ruo took the school beauty title from you. Oh, and remember when Xu, the former school beauty, confessed to Senior Zou in public? He wasn't interested in you at all—he went all lovey-dovey chasing An Ruo instead. You cried your eyes out back then, didn't you?"
Everyone at A University knew that before An Ruo became famous, Xu Man was crowned school beauty. But after An Ruo's photos appeared on the forum, they became rivals for the title. An Ruo didn't care, but Xu Man always saw her as an imaginary enemy. Then came Zou Yikai, whom Xu Man liked. When he publicly rejected her confession to pursue An Ruo, Xu Man couldn't save face and blamed it all on her, planting deep-seated hatred.
With this humiliating past dragged into the open, Xu Man was furious. "You—"
Chen Keqiao didn't give her a chance to speak. "You know why you're not school beauty and why Senior Zou despised you?" She paused a few seconds, smirking triumphantly. "Because you're ugly!"
The spectators, loving the drama, burst into laughter at that.
Xu Man bit her lip in rage and slapped Chen Keqiao across the face!
Chen Keqiao wasn't one to take that lying down. She fought back, and soon she and Xu Man were tangled up, with Xu Man's lackeys joining in. The chaos surged forward, and An Ruo didn't escape unscathed either.