17 – A Bigger Picture
At that moment, the dazzling light sign in the spectator stands began shaking wildly again, accompanied by even more enthusiastic shouts.
“Xin Jushang, you’ve got vision!”
Following Zhou Yuchuan’s instructions, Jiang Mi and his buddies raised their megaphones and chanted the new slogan.
This burst of passion also inspired the other students from Class Three. Only a few individuals refused to join in, while the rest enthusiastically cheered for Xin Jushang.
Xin Jushang stood at the finish line, waving to her classmates from Class Three. Beneath her mask, she smiled brightly.
This was her happiest day since transferring to Hengmu, even happier than when she ranked first in her grade.
Meanwhile, the girl who had secured first place through underhanded means stood awkwardly to the side, her face looking worse than if she had eaten dog poop.
When Xin Jushang returned to the spectator stands, Xu Zhiyan immediately rushed over excitedly, looking like an adoring fan.
“Jushang, you were so cool just now! Even cooler than winning first place!”
As she spoke, she gave Xin Jushang a thumbs-up.
Xin Jushang had no more events after this, so she prepared to pack up and head home early. But then she heard a deliberate cough behind her.
She didn’t need to guess who it was.
Xin Jushang lifted her eyes and met Zhou Yuchuan’s face, which wore a mischievous grin.
“Deskmate, how awesome was the support I prepared for you?”
Zhou Yuchuan tilted his chin toward the huge light sign nearby, extremely pleased with his masterpiece.
Jiang Mi, as if sensing gossip, hurried over to join the fun, bouncing around Xin Jushang excitedly.
“Bro Yuchuan, is this our new sister-in-law?”
Jiang Mi joked around playfully, grinning as he asked Zhou Yuchuan.
“Nonsense.” Zhou Yuchuan kicked Jiang Mi’s butt and coughed. “This is my deskmate. We have a purely platonic, socialist comrade relationship.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Mi and the others exchanged knowing smiles—
“Ooh—”
They looked like they were enjoying the drama.
Xin Jushang walked past them expressionlessly, thinking to herself: She wanted nothing to do with a narcissist like Zhou Yuchuan.
The three-day sports meet ended quickly, and Hengmu returned to its normal class schedule. However, most students hadn’t adjusted back yet. So, on the first day back in class, the atmosphere was lifeless again.
As soon as Xin Jushang sat down, before she could even take out her morning reading book, Xu Zhiyan excitedly tugged on her sleeve. “Jushang, Jushang! Someone posted about you on our school’s confession wall!”
Xu Zhiyan held her phone up to Xin Jushang, who glanced up and saw that someone had posted a photo of her running the three-thousand-meter race that day.
Even with her mask on, her almond-shaped eyes were so beautiful they were impossible to look away from.
“There are so many people in the comments asking for your contact info,” Xu Zhiyan said with a grin, looking at Xin Jushang. “My treasure girl is finally being discovered!”
As if afraid Xin Jushang might misunderstand, Xu Zhiyan quickly added, “Don’t worry, I’d never share your contact info with anyone, even if they beat me to death!”
She even patted her chest, trying to convey her loyalty to Xin Jushang.
Seeing Xu Zhiyan’s righteous and solemn expression, Xin Jushang’s eyes curved into a smile.
“Right, right,” Xu Zhiyan leaned in closer to Xin Jushang again, lowering her voice. “Someone posted a poll on the school forum for the most beautiful girl and most handsome boy. Right now, you and Zhao Jianing are neck and neck in votes, but…”
Halfway through, Xu Zhiyan paused.
“Some idiot insisted that you look really ugly without your mask. That anonymous comment is still pinned at the top.”
Xin Jushang fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “They’re not wrong.”
Seeing Xin Jushang’s indifferent reaction, Xu Zhiyan grew anxious. She stood up, leaning her hands on the table. “But I think your features aren’t ugly at all!”
Xin Jushang chuckled at Xu Zhiyan’s reaction.
Truthfully, her face had mostly healed recently, but the doctor still recommended wearing a mask for a while longer to minimize skin exposure to sunlight and bacteria.
That night, just before going to bed, Xin Jushang suddenly remembered what Xu Zhiyan had mentioned during the day. She picked up her phone, opened the Hengmu forum, and went to check out that post.
Sure enough, she found the post right away among the trending topics. To her surprise, she discovered that with just a candid photo of her wearing a mask at the sports meet, her support votes were nearly tied with Zhao Jianing’s.
Most of her supporters admired her strength, praising her academic excellence and sportsmanship.
Xin Jushang also noticed the comment claiming she’d be “exposed” without her mask. That comment had received many replies, with students from other classes angrily calling out the poster for spreading rumors.
But the anonymous commenter insisted they were in the same class as Xin Jushang and had personally witnessed how “ugly” she looked without her mask.
Still, many people remained skeptical. To prove their point, the commenter had posted a photo just five minutes earlier.
It was a blurry, sneakily taken picture, but it was unmistakably Xin Jushang.
It seemed to have been taken on the day she transferred to Hengmu. In the photo, Xin Jushang stood by the classroom water dispenser, her mask removed, with water splashed on her face, looking quite disheveled.
Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes contrasted sharply with the lower half of her face, which was red, swollen, and covered in acne.
Soon, the comment was pushed back to the top.
Once again, Xin Jushang found herself at the center of controversy.
The next couple of days at school were anything but peaceful for Xin Jushang.
Wherever she went, she faced inexplicable pointing and whispering.
Even students she didn’t know would murmur as they passed by—
“Have you seen the photo of the top student Xin Jushang without her mask?”
“Yeah, it’s an eyesore! I’d pay good money to unsee it!”
“I used to wonder how a girl could be so outstanding, but now I see her looks are… well, let’s just say they leave much to be desired.”
“I used to complain about my parents not giving me a brain like hers, but now I’m grateful they didn’t make me look like that!”
…
All sorts of unkind words found their way into Xin Jushang’s ears.
During a break, just as Xin Jushang stepped out of the restroom after washing her hands, she was stopped by an unfamiliar male student.
The boy in front of her wore thick black-rimmed glasses and looked shy. He held out a love letter with both hands, too embarrassed to look up at her.
“Xin… Xin Jushang, please accept this.”
People coming and going all around stopped in their tracks, their gazes uniformly drawn to this scene.
Thus, Xin Jushang found herself surrounded by a crowd of onlookers who were eager for drama and didn’t mind things getting messy.
At that moment, someone nearby spoke up, offering the shy young man a “well-meaning” reminder: “Buddy, open your eyes—do you even know what this girl in front of you looks like without her mask on?”
The tone was unmistakably laced with mockery and scorn.