The autumn sun was warm, and the air was crisp.
Inside a café at Jing University, Su Wanyu sat in a corner by the window, waiting for someone.
Her fingers unconsciously stirred her coffee, and her gaze occasionally drifted toward the entrance.
It was already five minutes past the agreed time, and she was growing impatient, even uneasy.
She was afraid that Du Hao might have changed his mind overnight and decided not to help her.
Only when she saw a figure dressed in trendy streetwear, with an unruly hairstyle, walk through the door did Su Wanyu finally breathe a sigh of relief and raise her hand to signal.
“Senior, over here!”
“Have you been waiting long?”
Du Hao sat down across from her, snapped his fingers to call over a waiter, and ordered the most expensive coffee in the shop.
As soon as the waiter left, Su Wanyu eagerly pressed him for confirmation. “Senior, you said you had a way. What is it?”
Du Hao stroked his chin, his eyebrows raised.
“It’s simple. Ruin Lin Ran’s reputation so she won’t dare come to school. That’ll give you a chance to vent your anger and keep her from bullying you again.”
Su Wanyu’s eyes lit up briefly before dimming again. “But… how do we ruin her reputation? Her family is so wealthy. We can’t compete with her.”
“Of course we can’t fight her openly.” Du Hao leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “But we can play dirty.”
“Play dirty?”
“Specifically… how?” Su Wanyu leaned forward, her expression curious and expectant.
“Spread rumors.” Du Hao smiled smugly. “Say she has a chaotic private life, that the wealthy heiress plays around.”
“I know a hacker from overseas who’s really skilled. I’ll have him photoshop a few pictures of Lin Ran kissing different men and post them on the school forum.”
Su Wanyu’s heart raced wildly.
She looked at Du Hao, her lips trembling slightly. “Will… will that work? Could we get caught?”
“Don’t worry.” Du Hao was brimming with confidence. “That hacker is really good. The IP addresses are all overseas. Even if Lin Ran tries to investigate, she won’t be able to trace it back to us.”
“Once the rumors spread, who’ll be able to tell what’s true or false? People only believe what they want to believe.”
Su Wanyu’s fingers tightened around the hem of her skirt under the table.
This method was too dirty, she knew.
If she really went through with it, she’d be no different from someone as vicious as Lin Ran.
But…
The image of Lin Ran teasing Lu Feng at the movie theater flashed through her mind.
She had been so composed, so entitled, as if Lu Feng belonged to her.
Jealousy, like wild weeds, quickly took over her entire heart.
Why could she use underhanded tactics, but she couldn’t?
“Alright.” Su Wanyu heard her own voice, soft but firm. “Senior, I’ll follow your lead.”
Du Hao smiled. “Leave it to me.”
“Within three days, I guarantee Lin Ran’s name will be mud all over campus!”
＊
Two days later, at Lin Group headquarters, in the general manager’s office.
Lin Ran sat behind a spacious desk, a merger proposal document spread open before her.
She wore a tailored white suit, her long, curly hair pinned back behind her ears with a pearl clip.
Her makeup was delicate and elegant, her expression focused—a stark contrast to the sometimes lazy, sometimes arrogant heiress seen on campus.
Since her awakening a week ago, Lin Ran had actively joined the group, asking her father to teach her how to manage the company.
As she continued to advance her plundering plan, the original plot would inevitably be disrupted.
The plot force might target her family at any moment.
She needed to speed up and learn some skills, so she wouldn’t be helpless when difficulties arose.
After all, one must be strong oneself to forge iron.
Lin Ran tried to identify potential pitfalls from the dense data when her phone vibrated on the desk.
Glancing at it, she saw it was Chen Chao.
She swiped to answer. “Speak.”
“Something’s happened!” Chen Chao’s voice carried a rare urgency. “Quick, check the university forum! Someone posted slander about you, photoshopped some disgusting pictures claiming you have a chaotic private life and play around!”
Lin Ran frowned slightly, but her voice remained steady. “Got it.”
After hanging up, she didn’t immediately open the forum. Instead, she finished processing the current page of documents, made a mark with her pen, and then leisurely picked up her phone to log into Jing University’s forum.
At the top of the homepage, a bold red title stood out prominently—
“Shocking! Solid Evidence of Chaotic Private Life of the Art School Belle! High Alert Ahead!”
The poster was anonymous.
Clicking in, the main post had no text, only nine spliced images.
In the pictures, “she” was dressed provocatively, acting intimately with different men in bar corners, hotel corridors, and even inside cars.
Kissing, touching, some angles were extremely suggestive.
The men’s faces were blurred, but “her” face was clearly recognizable. It was indeed her photo, just grafted onto completely different bodies and scenes.
The photoshopping was quite skillful; a non-professional might not spot the flaws at first glance.
The post was highly popular, with replies already stacking over a thousand comments.
[Holy crap! Is this Lin Ran?! That Art Department belle? The Lin family heiress?]
[Looks photoshopped, but the angles… terrifying to think about]
[I’ve heard the wealthy circle is messy, but not this messy! Usually acts so aloof, turns out she plays this wild in private?]
[Hey, upstairs, don’t talk nonsense without evidence! The pictures are clearly problematic, even the lighting is off!]
[Hah, the white knights are here. The Lin family’s PR moves fast~]
[Those saying it’s photoshopped, are you hired by Lin Ran?]
[Isn’t it normal for wealthy heiresses to play around? It’s just that Lin Ran likes to act aloof, and now she’s been exposed]
[Am I the only one feeling sorry for Campus Heartthrob Lu? He was forced by Lin Ran to be her servant for a month, poor guy!]
[Lu Feng is really unlucky, a top student getting tangled up with this kind of woman]
[Can’t say that, though. Lin Ran is rich and beautiful. Even if she plays around, maybe Lu Feng enjoys it? After all, climbing up with the Lin family means unlimited prospects]
[Damn! That’s a dirty thought! Campus Heartthrob Lu isn’t that kind of person! With his talent, his future is already bright! Why would he need to cling to Lin Ran?]
[Exactly! I think the earlier commenter is just sour grapes, probably ugly and wishing they could latch onto a rich woman]
[You guys argue all you want, I’m just waiting to see how Lin Ran handles this~]
Among the comments, a few questioned the authenticity of the images, but most were driven by morbid curiosity, malicious speculation, and discussions either sympathizing with or mocking Lu Feng.
Public opinion was fermenting exactly as the poster had hoped.
Lin Ran scrolled through the screen expressionlessly, reading the comments with terrifying calmness in her eyes.
Even a faint trace of mockery appeared at the corner of her lips.
Using this method to target her was indeed the most cost-effective.
After all, spreading rumors takes only a mouth, but refuting them requires running yourself ragged.
Lin Ran did not reply to the post or immediately contact the forum administrator to have it deleted.
She simply closed the page and dialed a number.
“Uncle Li, it’s me.”
Her voice was exceptionally calm. “False rumors and doctored photos about me have appeared on Jing University’s forum, involving defamation and infringement of portrait rights.”
“I want to report this to the police and formally sue the poster. Yes, I’ve already taken screenshots as evidence.”
“Please contact the legal team and the PR team. I need to obtain official verification results as quickly as possible and pursue this matter to the end.”
After hanging up, she sent a message to Chen Chao:
[Don’t waste time arguing with people online—it’s beneath you. Wait for my update.]
Having done all this, she reopened the forum and logged into her account using her real name.
A minute later, a new post appeared on the homepage.
Poster: Lin Ran
Meanwhile, in a Jing University boys’ dormitory.
Lu Feng sat at his desk, reading.
With no classes in the afternoon, he planned to finish the paper due next week.
“Holy shit!”
Zheng Zhijie suddenly exclaimed from behind him, leaping up from his chair.
Pointing at his laptop screen, he shouted, “Feng-ge! Feng-ge, come quick! Huge gossip!”
“Not interested.” Lu Feng didn’t even look up, his voice indifferent.
He had never been interested in such gossip.
“It’s about Lin Ran!”
Zheng Zhijie rushed over to his desk with the laptop. “Scandalous rumors about Lin Ran—the campus network is blowing up!”
Lu Feng paused in turning the page.
He looked up at the screen Zheng Zhijie held out to him.