…
…
[Ding! Host has successfully committed evil. By secretly instructing others to create loud and prolonged disturbances late at night, causing Xu Qingrou mental distress, reward: 50 Villain Points.]
[Ding! Xu Qingrou’s favorability toward the host +2, current favorability: 63 (Heart Moved).]
Hearing the system notifications, Cao Cheng smiled in satisfaction.
It hadn’t been a waste buying the floor upstairs and having Wang Long arrange for people to make noise there.
However, his attention was now focused on another female lead, Ye Yao.
Not long after, Cao Cheng sent Wang Long a message to begin the next step.
…
…
Early dawn.
A faint light spread across the horizon as Ye Yao woke from her sleep.
She picked up her phone by the bedside, checked the time, then quietly got dressed and got out of bed.
It was only a little past five.
The sky had just begun to brighten.
Ye Yao yawned repeatedly, clearly not having slept enough. But because Honglangman was far from her school, and she usually worked until around 2 a.m., she lived in the staff dormitory.
To avoid being late and to save money, she got up before sunrise every day and rushed back to school for her 8 a.m. class.
After more than an hour of walking, she finally made it into the classroom before eight.
However, the moment she stepped inside, she noticed something strange.
Everyone was looking at her.
Although it was normal for people to glance at her when she entered, today felt different. The way they looked at her had changed.
Their gazes were… strange.
Uncomfortable.
A faint sense of unease rose in her heart.
Fortunately, most people quickly looked away, returning to their own activities or whispering quietly with those around them. Only a few continued staring at her.
Suppressing her anxiety, Ye Yao walked over to her roommate, who had helped bring her textbooks, and sat down.
Taking her books, she smiled as usual and said, “Thanks for helping me, Tingting.”
Jiang Tingting hesitated, then shook her head, her expression conflicted, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.
Ye Yao felt puzzled and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong, Tingting? Is something the matter?”
Jiang Tingting pressed her lips together, “Yaoyao, they’re all saying that you…” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Saying what?” Ye Yao’s heart tightened. Seeing her hesitate, she grew anxious.
“They’re saying… saying you go out every night to sell…” Jiang Tingting finally blurted it out hesitantly.
Ye Yao looked at her deeply, then silently listened.
Sure enough.
Though the classroom seemed noisy, almost everyone was actually discussing one thing… whether she was really selling herself.
The rumors reached her ears one after another, and her face instantly turned pale.
Her expression became extremely ugly.
“Who said that?” Ye Yao forced herself to calm down.
“I saw it in our class group chat,” Jiang Tingting said cautiously.
Frowning, Ye Yao quickly took out her phone and checked.
As expected.
There was a photo of her working at Honglangman.
In the photo, she was only dressed slightly revealing and looked more mature than usual. There was nothing improper.
Moreover, no one in the group had said anything explicit.
“It’s just a photo. What does that prove?” Ye Yao felt anger rising in her chest. She had only been working there as a waitress.
“I think so too, but they’re saying you work at Honglangman, and that place is… so…” Jiang Tingting trailed off.
“Who said that?!” Ye Yao’s brows furrowed, her expression turning cold.
“It’s on the school forum. Someone posted it there.”
Hearing this, Ye Yao immediately opened the school forum.
Sure enough.
The most popular post was about her, the campus beauty, working at Honglangman.
She clicked into it.
The same photo appeared at the top, followed by the caption:
“Damn, am I seeing things?! Our school’s cold and elegant ‘poor campus beauty’ actually works at Honglangman!”
Below it were countless comments.
At first, some people said:
“She’s a poor campus beauty, working at night to earn money is normal.”
“Exactly, she’s earning her own money. What’s wrong with that? Why post it and make a fuss?”
There were many comments like this.
“Do you even know what kind of place Honglangman is? Think before you speak!”
After that, the tone shifted drastically.
The comments turned sharply against her.
The more Ye Yao read, the worse her expression became.
Most people were shocked, saying she must be selling herself. Even if she wasn’t, they claimed her body must have already been groped countless times… especially those long legs of hers, probably already “polished smooth.”
In the end, the discussion devolved into vulgar and obscene remarks. Some even asked about the minimum spending at Honglangman and whether anyone wanted to go together.
After seeing the high cost, many backed off, but a few wealthy students declared that money was no issue… they would go there tonight to see for themselves.
After reading everything, Ye Yao’s mind went blank.
She didn’t know what to do.
She wanted to quit her job and clarify everything. After all, she hadn’t worked there long, so she could probably explain it.
But then she thought of her bedridden mother, who desperately needed medical expenses… and her younger sister still in elementary school…
A wave of helplessness washed over her.
“I’m just working there as a waitress… why are they saying such things about me?”
The thought struck her deeply.
Her eyes reddened instantly. Unable to hold back any longer, she collapsed onto her desk and began to cry softly.
Beside her, Jiang Tingting sighed.
She didn’t know how to comfort her.
Although she believed that Ye Yao would never do such things, there was still that lingering thought…
As some people had said, if she were truly decent, why would she work in such a place?
Deep down, Jiang Tingting also hoped Ye Yao would learn from this and quit that job as soon as possible.
…
[Ding! Evil act successful. The host instructed subordinates to deliberately spread rumors about Ye Yao and manipulate public opinion, destroying her reputation and subjecting her to unbearable mental pressure. Reward: 100 Villain Points.]
[Ding! Host has influenced the plotline. Reward: 100 Villain Points.]
The system’s electronic voice sounded again.
Meanwhile, Cao Cheng, still asleep, merely turned over and continued sleeping like a dead fish.
Soon, night fell.
Xu Qingrou called Cao Cheng, asking what time he would arrive so she could prepare in advance.
Cao Cheng glanced at the time.
It was 5 p.m.
He then told her he would arrive around 6 p.m.