Xu Ming had originally thought that the matter between Lin An and Zhang Long was already over.
However, to his surprise, some rumors suddenly began spreading around the school on Wednesday.
That morning, Xu Ming arrived at school as usual.
“Hey, guys, have you seen it? There’s some huge gossip on our campus confession page!”
“What? What happened?”
“Hey, I know about this one. The female lead is even from our class.”
Just as Xu Ming reached his seat, he saw three boys nearby gathered together and discussing something.
Although he was somewhat curious, the socially anxious Xu Ming did not immediately go over to ask.
Same familiar routine. Homework first.
“Hey, Group Leader, let me borrow your homework.”
“Okay.”
After Zhao Xiaomin handed her workbook to Xu Ming, she did not immediately turn around as she usually did.
Instead, she suddenly asked, “Mm… Xu Ming, do you know about what’s happening on the campus confession page?”
“Hm? What?”
“What happened?”
Zhao Xiaomin suddenly bringing it up immediately made Xu Ming feel that something was wrong.
His pen stopped moving, and he raised his head in confusion.
“What’s going on? Did something happen on the campus confession page?”
“Here, look.”
Zhao Xiaomin handed Xu Ming her phone, showing him the campus exposé posted on WeChat.
Holy crap!
Is the second female lead really this unlucky…?
Zhang Long… Is he trying to destroy her just because he can’t have her?!
The images posted on the campus confession page came from Zhang Long’s submission through WeChat.
The main accusation was that Lin An from Class 3, Grade 11 was a scheming gold digger.
According to Zhang Long, while Lin An was dating him, she had been bleeding him dry and stringing him along. In the end, she had even cheated on him and behaved ambiguously with other men.
Therefore, Zhang Long warned all the male students in the school to be careful so they would not be deceived by her.
“Pfft, haha…”
After reading all the images, Xu Ming could not help laughing.
There was a simple reason for that.
In the original novel, the author had explicitly stated that before the second female lead met Brother Zhou Cheng, she had never had any definite romantic relationship with another boy.
So wasn’t Zhang Long just making shit up?
Besides, when had the second female lead ever agreed to date him?
How come Xu Ming had never heard about that?
Hadn’t everything been nothing more than Zhang Long’s one-sided infatuation?
Every image in the exposé contained nothing but Zhang Long’s one-sided claims and his own chat records. There was not even a single photo or any other substantial evidence.
The more Xu Ming looked at it, the funnier he found it.
This campus confession page is freaking incredible too. There’s not even any evidence, yet they still approved his submission?!
Isn’t this just blatant slander?!
“Hm?! What are you laughing at?”
Seeing Xu Ming suddenly laugh, Zhao Xiaomin became confused.
She frowned and looked at him with a complicated expression.
“Something happened to An’an, and you’re still laughing…”
“He doesn’t even have any evidence…”
“But our school’s campus confession page is pretty stupid too. They actually approved a submission like this.”
Xu Ming explained to Zhao Xiaomin, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Still, laughing was one thing. He had homework to finish.
“Mm, that’s what I think too, but most of the students seem more interested in enjoying the drama…”
“They started spreading it everywhere without even thinking about whether it’s true…”
Zhao Xiaomin cautiously glanced at the three boys gathered behind them.
Without raising his head, Xu Ming rapidly moved his black pen across the page and said while writing, “Judging by the situation, your deskmate probably doesn’t know yet…”
“When she gets here, remember to tell her immediately. Also, have her respond and clarify things as soon as possible.”
“Mm, I will. I know.”
After nodding seriously in response, Zhao Xiaomin stopped talking and naturally turned around again.
A few minutes later, Xu Ming finished his homework.
Just as he was about to go to the restroom, the warning bell rang.
Ring!
Almost at the same moment the bell sounded, Lin An, the person at the center of the incident, arrived in the classroom right on time.
“An’an, something happened…”
Lin An had barely put down her schoolbag when her deskmate, Zhao Xiaomin, immediately leaned closer to warn her.
Tap!
After placing the workbooks on Zhao Xiaomin’s desk, Xu Ming stood up without hesitation and left the classroom.
What does that mean?!
Why did he leave the moment I arrived???
Lin An glanced at Xu Ming’s departing figure from the corner of her eye.
A sudden sense of foreboding rose within her, followed by an inexplicable wave of irritation.
Suppressing the discomfort in her heart, she frowned and asked Zhao Xiaomin, “Hm? What’s wrong, Xiaomin?”
“It’s pretty serious, An’an. Someone started spreading false rumors about you…”
“There’s this guy named Zhang Long who posted something on the campus confession page…”
…
In truth, Xu Ming was not particularly concerned about Zhang Long spreading rumors.
After all, Brother Zhou Cheng had already taken action.
“Awesome. I was wondering why he reposted an apology so quickly…”
“So you had Zhou Kai handle it.”
“Nice!”
It was lunchtime, and Xu Ming was eating with Zhou Cheng in the cafeteria.
Zhou Cheng clearly enjoyed Xu Ming’s praise.
“Fuck, if that idiot weren’t at the vocational high school next door, I would’ve personally settled the score with him!”
“Fortunately, that clown had enough sense to apologize quickly.”
“Mm… I guess I’ll let him off for now.”
Just like Zhang Long’s post, Lin An’s response contained no concrete evidence either.
Xu Ming had originally assumed that without evidence, Lin An’s attempt to clear her name would progress very slowly.
Unexpectedly, the moment Zhou Cheng made a move, Zhang Long immediately folded.
Heh… Zhang Long really is hilarious…
He got crushed before his slander could even succeed!
A true cannon fodder character.
[Ding! Side Mission issued.]
[Side Mission: Help the protagonist conceal his contribution to this incident and prevent the second female lead from finding out.]
[Success Reward: 300 Points.]
[Failure Penalty: Deduct 600 Points.]
Huh???
You want me to steal the protagonist’s credit?!
What’s going on?!
I can understand making me clean up his mess, but stealing his credit…
Looking at the new Side Mission issued by the System, Xu Ming was suddenly bewildered.
While he was still distracted, Zhou Cheng spoke again.
“Hey, by the way, Xu Ming…”
“If Lin An asks you about this, don’t tell her I did it…”
“Just tell her you handled it, okay?”
“You’re good at fighting, so she’ll definitely believe you if you say it.”
“This… What’s going on, Brother Zhou Cheng? Why?”
“If you want me to hide it for you, then why did you go through all this trouble in the first place?”
Xu Ming narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhou Cheng in confusion.
His eyes shifted thoughtfully before he suddenly blurted out something shocking.
“Wait… Hiss… Don’t tell me you like her?”
“You’re planning to silently do things for her, then once she eventually finds out, she’ll be so moved that she falls head over heels for you or something…”
“Holy shit! What the hell are you thinking, brat?!”
“Like her, my ass!”
“I admit she’s pretty good-looking, but school hasn’t even been in session for a month. I still haven’t even memorized everyone in our class…”
“Besides, I don’t want a relationship yet.”
“Giving up the entire forest for a single tree… Tsk, that’s not worth it.”
Zhou Cheng shook his head and curled his lips into a cocky smile.
“Mm… I just want to keep a low profile. Help me keep it secret.”
“All right, all right. So that’s what this is about…”
“Fine, you’re playing dumb while hiding your strength, huh, you brat?”
“But what era are we living in? Who still plays that game, Brother Zhou Cheng?”
Xu Ming raised the corners of his lips, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
He had never expected Zhou Cheng to personally ask him to conceal the credit.
That made things much easier.
With no psychological burden whatsoever, Xu Ming could carry out the mission directly.
Still, if he really did take the credit, he wondered what the second female lead would think…
While Xu Ming was pondering this, Zhou Cheng continued, “Heh… You don’t understand. That’s exactly what makes it fun…”
“Just remember to keep it secret for me…”
“All right, let’s eat. Once we’re done, we still have some time, so let’s hurry outside and have some fun.”
Returning to his senses, Xu Ming nodded thoughtfully.
“All right.”
Since Brother Zhou Cheng himself had asked for this, what was there for Xu Ming to hesitate about?
He might as well get it done immediately…
Two birds with one stone. A win-win situation!
…