Seeing Gu Chenshi momentarily stunned, Lin’s mother thought he was feeling guilty and pointed at his nose, shouting angrily, “You little bastard, how dare you bully my daughter? Do you believe I’ll have you expelled from school today?”
Her loud yelling startled the neighbors upstairs and downstairs.
Gu Chenshi was bewildered.
He couldn’t believe that Lin Ranran would go home and tell her family that he had bullied her?
This wasn’t just low emotional intelligence—it was slander and defamation!
Gu Chenshi calmly replied, “I didn’t bully her. If you don’t believe me, you can ask other classmates. Investigate properly before jumping to conclusions.”
Lin’s mother glared wide-eyed. “I’ve already investigated thoroughly! I would never wrong you!”
A neighbor who rushed over spoke up for Gu Chenshi. “Ma’am, please calm down. I’m sure there’s some misunderstanding. We’ve watched Chenshi grow up, and his character is beyond reproach. He would never bully a female classmate.”
Lin’s mother grew even angrier. “What do you mean by that? Are you saying I, as an adult, am bullying a child? What misunderstanding? I’ve already looked into this—how can you call it a misunderstanding?”
She then turned back to Gu Chenshi. “And you, Gu Chenshi, don’t think that by pretending to be innocent, you actually are. Let me tell you, this isn’t over! I’ll make sure the school expels you. If scum like you can get into college, who knows what you’ll do in the future!”
Lin’s mother spoke loudly and rapidly, like a machine gun firing nonstop, making it impossible for anyone else to get a word in.
Since Gu Chenshi couldn’t interject, he simply stayed silent.
With a clear conscience, he had nothing to fear, even if she really went to the school administration.
“What’s going on here?”
Jing Lan was at work when she suddenly received a call from an upstairs neighbor, urging her to come home immediately because something had happened to Gu Chenshi.
Too frightened to ask for details, Jing Lan asked a colleague to cover for her, hurriedly got on her electric bike, and rushed home.
As soon as she arrived, she found a crowd gathered outside her door, with a woman shouting insults—words like “disgusting creep,” “social scum,” and “expulsion”—making it clear the situation was serious.
Jing Lan pushed through the crowd and immediately pulled her son behind her, shielding him protectively.
Seeing Jing Lan, Lin’s mother guessed her identity and immediately redirected her anger toward her. “How did you raise your child? You—”
“Have you finished shouting yet?!”
Gu Chenshi, who had been silent until now, suddenly roared.
She could insult him, but she couldn’t insult his family!
Lin’s mother met his icy glare and shrank back, actually falling silent.
Jing Lan was about to speak, but Gu Chenshi signaled her to wait. He then fixed his gaze on Lin’s mother and demanded, “Was it Lin Ranran who told you that I pursued her, failed, and then harassed her, making her cry?”
The question caught Lin’s mother off guard.
It actually wasn’t…
Gu Chenshi noticed her hesitation and was surprised.
So it wasn’t Lin Ranran irresponsibly spreading lies to her mother?
Then where did Lin’s mother hear these accusations?
A thought crossed Gu Chenshi’s mind, and he guessed the answer. “Was it Kong Xiao?”
Lin’s mother stammered, “What you did was witnessed by others. Don’t try to deny it!”
Gu Chenshi replied firmly, “A real man owns up to what he’s done, but I won’t accept blame for things I haven’t done. Whether or not I bullied Lin Ranran—go ask her yourself first.”
Lin’s mother hesitated.
Seeing Gu Chenshi looking so forthright and unruffled, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had indeed made a mistake?
But Kong Xiao was a child she had watched grow up, usually very well-behaved, and had no reason to fabricate baseless things to deceive her.
Moreover, her daughter’s condition was indeed very off…
Jing Lan said sternly, “Parent, you only listened to one side of the story and came here to insult my son, seriously harming his physical and mental health! I demand that you apologize to my son in front of everyone!”
Lin’s mother had come to seek justice for her daughter, but now she was being asked to apologize instead. Naturally, she was unwilling.
“If he is truly innocent, why would someone accuse him and not others?” Lin’s mother retorted defiantly.
Gu Chenshi turned and went inside.
When he returned, he had a phone in his hand.
In front of Lin’s mother and the others, he dialed Lin Ranran’s number.
Before the call connected, Gu Chenshi was extremely irritated.
If Lin Ranran acted willfully as usual and deliberately didn’t answer his call, this situation would drag on unresolved.
If it really came to that, he would have to call the police.
At the Lin household.
Lin Ranran was lying on her bed feeling upset when her phone rang.
She didn’t want to answer it at first, but when she saw that the caller ID showed Gu Chenshi, she suddenly sat up in bed, her breathing becoming somewhat erratic.
Soon after, joy surged in her heart, and she thought somewhat smugly, Hmph, so you finally realize you were wrong?
I knew you would take the initiative to apologize to me.
Lin Ranran deliberately waited a moment before answering the call.
However, before she could haughtily question Gu Chenshi about why he was calling, his voice came through: “Lin Ranran, your mother is outside my house right now. She has some misunderstanding about me. Could you please help clarify things?”
Lin Ranran was stunned.
What? Mother is outside Gu Chenshi’s house?
But that can’t be—wasn’t Mother at home? When she came back, Mother was clearly sitting in the living room braiding the cat’s hair.
As if to confirm Gu Chenshi’s words, Lin’s mother’s voice soon came through the speaker: “Ranran, if you have any grievances, tell Mother! I’ll stand up for you!”
After understanding the whole story, Lin Ranran grew anxious: “Mom, how could you believe Kong Xiao’s words? How could you… Oh, Mom, Gu Chenshi didn’t bully me!”
Gu Chenshi had put the call on speaker, and the words “didn’t bully me” came clearly through the phone, audible to everyone present.
With the person involved clarifying it herself, wasn’t the truth now clear?
Gu Chenshi had not bullied a female classmate.
Jing Lan looked at Lin’s mother with displeasure.
She felt heartbroken that her son had been unjustly scolded for so long.
Lin’s mother was extremely embarrassed.
After all that fuss, it really was just a misunderstanding…
Lin’s mother looked at Gu Chenshi sheepishly and apologetically: “I’m sorry, child. You see, I was just so anxious that I—”
Gu Chenshi said calmly, “As long as the misunderstanding is cleared up, it’s fine. Auntie, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go back inside now.”
He hadn’t finished chopping the vegetables yet and needed to get back to it.
Although Jing Lan was angry that Lin’s mother had wronged her son, the children still saw each other at school every day. If the parents made things awkward, it would be difficult for the children too.
So she exchanged a few pleasantries, saying things like all parents worry about their children being wronged, and the matter was left at that.
After seeing off the thoroughly embarrassed Lin’s mother, Jing Lan went back and asked Gu Chenshi, “Chenshi, is Lin Ranran the school belle at your school?”
Gu Chenshi had mentioned it to Jing Lan before, and Jing Lan remembered.
Gu Chenshi nodded.
Jing Lan asked again, “Do you like her?”
Gu Chenshi thought for a moment and said honestly, “I used to like her a little, but not anymore. I’m still young and shouldn’t be thinking about romance so early.”
Jing Lan let out a long sigh of relief. “That’s good! I think her mother is the type who never backs down when she thinks she’s right. In my opinion, that Lin Ranran isn’t easy to get along with either. Since you don’t like her, I’m relieved. Otherwise, you’d have a hard time in the future.”
Gu Chenshi paused his chopping.
He had to admit, Mother was remarkably perceptive.
Jing Lan shooed him aside. “Go take a break. I’ve already taken leave and won’t be going in today. Every day is just so worrying… Wait, come back. Is there a girl you like now? Mom isn’t old-fashioned. You’re not too young to date, but it shouldn’t affect your studies. And it can’t be that Lin Ranran. Her parents are too unreasonable and arrogant. What kind of people are they?”
Gu Chenshi: “…”
Not long after, Gu Chenshi’s phone rang.
The caller was Lin Ranran.
In the past, Lin Ranran rarely contacted him first. On the rare occasions she did, Gu Chenshi would be happy for a long time.
But now, knowing it was Lin Ranran calling, he couldn’t even be bothered to answer.
So he really didn’t pick up.
Jing Lan asked, “Chenshi, why aren’t you answering your phone?”
Gu Chenshi replied, “It’s a spam call.”
Meanwhile, after Lin’s mother returned home feeling utterly embarrassed, Lin Ranran complained angrily, “Mom, what’s wrong with you? How could you just go confront Gu Chenshi based solely on that jerk Kong Xiao’s one-sided story?”
Lin’s mother was already humiliated enough. Hearing her daughter’s reproach, she felt very wronged. “I asked you what happened, but you wouldn’t tell me. I had no choice but to ask someone else… What’s wrong with that Kong Xiao kid? How could he lie like that? I’m so mad!”
The more Lin’s mother thought about it, the angrier she became. She wanted to give Kong Xiao a good scolding right away, but after picking up her phone, she put it down again.
Forget it. The two families usually got along well. If she made a big deal out of this, it wouldn’t look good. She could only reluctantly let it go.
Lin Ranran anxiously pressed, “Mom, did you yell at Gu Chenshi?”
Lin’s mother: “…”
Lin Ranran’s heart sank. “Gu Chenshi must be really angry.”
When Gu Chenshi was being scolded, his silent demeanor had made Lin’s mother think he was guilty. But now, looking back, the boy had shown a remarkable ability to endure humiliation without losing his composure, which was quite impressive.
After all, he was at an age where face mattered most. To handle it like that was no easy feat.