Xiao Shuqing remembered this “Senior Zhou.” He was the Alpha he had run into outside the classroom last time—the guy Yu Siyuan was clearly mutually interested in.
Back then, observing the dense, exclusive atmosphere between them, it was obvious their relationship was just a thin layer of window paper away from being official. If he recalled correctly, they had even taken a photo together that very night, which Yu Siyuan had posted on his Moments.
He had assumed the two were already together. Were they actually not?
Perhaps because he had been staring at the chat screen a beat too long, the younger man beside him couldn’t help but speak up. “Professor Xiao?”
Xiao Shuqing snapped out of it and handed the phone back. “My apologies, seeing your pinned chats made me space out for a second.”
“Ah, that’s because—”
“Is it for your dad to see?”
The Alpha froze, his long eyelashes trembling slightly.
Clutching his phone, he hesitated for a long moment before letting out a soft, meek acknowledgment. “Yeah.”
His timid, awkward demeanor made Xiao Shuqing break into a chuckle. “What are you so afraid of? It’s not like I’m going to scold you.”
“Though, I do think it would be better if you just changed my contact name directly to ‘Wife.’ Or something even more intimate, like Ah Qing? Your current label is far too formal. What kind of Alpha sets their Omega’s contact name to ‘Professor’? You even put the word ‘Wife’ in parentheses.”
As far as a married couple’s contacts went, this setup screamed “fake arrangement.”
Yu Siyuan really was terribly clumsy at lying.
Xiao Shuqing recalled the day the young Alpha had first moved in. Yu Siyuan’s father, a fox-like Omega, had chatted with Xiao Shuqing for a mere fifteen minutes and managed to dig no fewer than ten conversational pits for them to trip into.
This plastic, superficial marriage had probably been laid entirely bare to that foxy father from day one. In fact, it was highly likely that his father had already unraveled Yu Siyuan’s actual sexual orientation and romantic interests down to the last detail.
Xiao Shuqing watched the young man seriously and meticulously changing the contact name from “Ah Qing” to “Wife,” and then finally settling on “Ah Qing Wife”.
He began to understand a little why the boy’s father refused to expose the charade.
After all, his son was trying so incredibly hard to maintain the lie.
Meanwhile, entirely oblivious to these thoughts, the little Alpha finally finished updating the contact name. Seeing the words “Ah Qing Wife [Kissing Face Emoji]” on his screen, even the tips of his ears flushed a brilliant crimson.
When he looked up, he found his designated “Wife” gazing at him with an expression of gentle, parental fondness.
Yet within those beautiful eyes, a hint of amusement lingered.
The older man smoothly averted his gaze as if nothing had happened. “It’s fine. It looks good. I should change yours too.”
With a few quick taps on his own phone, he updated Yu Siyuan’s contact name to “Husband.”
Regarding Tao Jing’s situation, Xiao Shuqing didn’t give it another thought after forwarding the screenshots to Lawyer Nie.
The lawyer seemed busy and didn’t reply until midday.
“Right, I’ve taken a look. The view count has already hit 100,000. What are your plans?” Lawyer Nie’s voice drifted from the speaker, deep and languid. “Last time, you mentioned you had an audio recording, and that more than half of the story he spun was actually based on his own personal scandals, right? I have two approaches for you to choose from.”
“First option: we file a police report first, and I’ll issue a formal lawyer’s letter. My partner says the defamation in this case is blatant enough that the public security bureau can easily overturn it with a basic investigation. Once it’s cleared up, we can have them sentence him directly based on the online traffic and dissemination metrics. When everything is resolved, your university can release an official clarification statement to wrap it up. This is the more moderate approach.”
“Second option: we let the matter blow up further and feed it to the media. We release the audio recording with you in the position of the victim. Defaming a university professor, combined with public media pressure, carries massive weight. The social impact will be immense, which could double or even triple his sentencing. With the first option, he’d look at a maximum of seven days in administrative detention. But with the second option, criminal detention will definitely be longer, and I can demand a much higher payout for psychological damages. Plus, he’ll carry that infamy for the rest of his life, constantly judged by everyone around him.”
“It depends on how ruthless you want to be. Of course, there are milder routes, but since you came to me, I assume you aren’t looking for a peaceful resolution?”
When the message arrived, Xiao Shuqing was pouring milk for Saisa.
Yu Siyuan had been working overtime at the living room dining table, but the rapid clack-clack of his keyboard ceased the instant the audio message started playing.
Because the phone was on speaker, both of them heard everything perfectly clear.
Ignoring the large dog’s intensely longing stare directed at the milk bowl, Xiao Shuqing turned to Yu Siyuan. “What do you think? Which option do you prefer?”
The boy sitting in front of the laptop turned around, his expression torn with anxiety. “I, can I think about it for a bit?”
After a brief pause, he added, “Or Professor Xiao, you should be the one to decide. You’re the victim. Fu Bao mentioned before that Omegas are far more sensitive to these things. You must have been deeply hurt by this, so I feel it isn’t right for me to make the call for you.”
“Omegas are far more sensitive to these things.”
Xiao Shuqing hadn’t expected Yu Siyuan to keep a casual remark Ruan Fu had made back then so strictly close to his heart.
A sudden, faint pang of warmth bloomed in his chest.
Yu Siyuan could be this incredibly considerate to a mere partner in a marriage of convenience. If it were his actual boyfriend, how wonderful would that be?
That “Senior Zhou,” although he seemed to be the one taking care of Yu Siyuan, being loved by someone like Yu Siyuan must be an equally profound blessing.
Tsk. To be young and have someone you mutually love.
How nice.
Xiao Shuqing brushed back his long hair, subtly shifting his gaze as he placed the milk bowl down for the eagerly waiting dog.
“As for how to choose.”
Just as he began to speak, Yu Siyuan’s phone suddenly rang.
The boy turned back to grab it. “Um, it’s Ruan Fu. Let me take this first.”
“Go ahead, no rush,” Xiao Shuqing said, half-squatting beside the large dog to gently scratch its fur.
The Alpha’s phone volume had always been rather loud. The moment the call connected, the young man’s voice came bursting through the receiver at a frantic pace. “Yuanyuan, you’re there! Why haven’t you replied to my messages all morning. Don’t tell me you’re working overtime again? I have some massive gossip for you! But business first—what did Profressor Xiao say? How are we going to ruin him? I can’t wait!”
Xiao Shuqing turned his head to look at him.
His gaze happened to collide with the Alpha’s, who was also turning around to look at him.
“Ah, we’re still discussing it. The lawyer gave us two options, and Professor Xiao is hesitating.” As he spoke, Yu Siyuan walked over and switched the call to speakerphone.
Ruan Fu’s voice cut through even clearer now. “Hesitating? What is there to hesitate about?”
“The lawyer offered two paths. One is relatively mild, but it feels a bit too lenient. Lawyer Nie said it would only result in a maximum of seven days of detention. The other path, though, feels a bit too severe.” The younger man looked toward Xiao Shuqing uncertainly. “At least, that’s how I feel personally, ultimately, it’s up to Professor Xiao to decide.”
“Too severe? Can anything we do be more severe than what that trash and his clique have pulled? Just thinking about it makes my blood boil! Didn’t I tell you before? There was an Omega at our school who was targeted by their slut-shaming rumors. They ended up with severe depression, kept self-harming, and had to be hospitalized for a long time for treatment! It was entirely the work of that little group of theirs! Some Alpha from Class 5 couldn’t accept getting rejected, so he started telling everyone the Omega was loose, fooling around with multiple Alphas, and that their glands had been licked who knows how many times. Those people are absolutely disgusting! They are way filthier than you think.”
The young Alpha had evidently never heard of such horrors. The way he looked at Xiao Shuqing shifted entirely—filled with shock, intense worry, and a touch of bewilderment.
He couldn’t seem to comprehend how a mere rumor could drive someone to such ruin.
“That’s how it is. Rumors are always something onlookers view as trivial,” Xiao Shuqing naturally took over the conversation.
The phrases people used to comfort victims were always so easily said:
It’s just a rumor, right? It’s not true anyway, so why are you upset?
Let them talk, it’s not like it’ll kill you.
You need to grow stronger. Only when you’re strong will you deny them the satisfaction.
“But even a snowflake, which carries no weight on its own, becomes a crushing mountain when it lands squarely on the victim,” Xiao Shuqing said mildly.
Furthermore, the more others encouraged the victim, downplaying the severity of the situation, the more devastating it felt when the victim found themselves unable to cope.
Why am I so fragile?
Consequently, the victim would grow frustrated with their own perceived weakness, leading to intense self-loathing.
A person targeted by malicious rumors didn’t just have to fight the mountain of the rumor itself; they also had to survive the heavier, suffocating ocean of self-disgust they inadvertently piled onto themselves.
Once Xiao Shuqing finished speaking, all three of them fell into a heavy silence.
After a long while, Ruan Fu let out a deeply sighing lament over the line. “Professor Xiao, I truly admire you. Let alone an Omega, even as a Beta, I don’t think I could handle that. Yet it hasn’t affected you at all, and you can still launch such a calm counterattack. It’s truly admirable. If only every Omega could be as strong as you.”
“Anyway, I think whatever price that guy pays, it’s his karma. If this happened to someone with a weaker psychological constitution, their entire life could have been ruined.”
They didn’t chat with Ruan Fu much longer before hanging up.
Coincidentally, the large dog had finished its milk and was lying on the floor, tilting its head up to have its mouth wiped.
Understanding the routine, Yu Siyuan ran over to the table, grabbed a tissue, and handed it over. “Professor Xiao, what do you think?”
The older man took the tissue with ease, wiping Saisa’s snout.
His fingers were fair and elegant; the sharp curve of his knuckles resembled a meticulously crafted painting.
Only after he finished the task did he speak in a measured voice. “I believe people must always pay the price for their actions.”
With that, he tilted his head to look at the Alpha. “The consequences of being defamed vary in severity, but the person starting the rumor should have been prepared for the worst possible outcome from the very moment they chose to act.
By that same logic, the punishment they face can be light or heavy, and they should be equally prepared to face the heaviest consequences.”
“Let’s just say his luck ran out,” Xiao Shuqing said calmly. “He happened to cross me.”
And besides, why shouldn’t bad people have a run of bad luck?
For those who commit malice, running out of luck is exactly what they deserve, isn’t it?