Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Cost-Free Slander
It had to be said, without any prior context, the scene truly did look like a chaotic showdown.
Xiahou Yu and Zhou Huaijin’s good looks went without saying, but even the gloomy-faced He Lingfeng wasn’t bad-looking either.
And Chi Wan, surrounded by the three men, naturally became the focus of everyone’s attention, even though there was no physical contact between her and any of them.
The original poster wrote: "I know Chi Wan is pretty and comes from a good family. But you already have two high-quality guys on the back burner, so isn’t it a bit much to try and steal my boyfriend?!"
Her choice of words wasn’t actually that inflammatory, but everyone loved a bit of drama. With the semester yet to start, the students already on campus were bored and had nothing better to do, so they all dove into the discussion.
"For real? Accusing this girl of stealing a boyfriend based on a single photo seems like a weak claim."
"But you gotta admit, they’re all pretty good-looking. Especially the one on the far left. He has such a refined air about him. Is he from our school? Anyone have his contact info?"
"Can’t even browse gossip without seeing someone I know. The guy on the far right is one of Professor Zhang’s graduate students from my department. He’s the professor’s prized protégé—joined his lab as an undergrad and was the first author on an SCI paper in his first year of grad school. Do you have any idea how prestigious that is? He’s a true heavyweight, okay? He wouldn’t stoop to fighting over a woman with some playboy."
"That’s ZHJ, right? I took his elective. Given how popular he is in our department, if he really wanted to pursue Chi Wan, the OP’s boyfriend wouldn’t even be in the picture. I’m skeptical, okay?"
"If I managed to date ZHJ, could I join his lab and get my name on a paper?"
"You need to learn the difference between a dream and a delusion."
"Wait, are you guys really letting your morals be swayed by a pretty face? Is being good-looking the main point here? Even if she’s attractive, she can’t just steal someone’s boyfriend. To be honest, that’s pretty low."
"Is it possible this is just the OP’s side of the story? You can’t tell she’s stealing a boyfriend from this photo. It just looks like they’re talking normally. Besides, the girl’s expression doesn’t look like she’s that into the guy across from her."
"If she doesn’t like him but still tries to steal him, doesn’t that make her even more of a bitch?"
"Got any more proof? Video, audio, chat logs? Or is this just another ’one picture, and the rest is fabricated’ deal?"
...
Unexpectedly, although few people on the forum knew Chi Wan, the response wasn’t a one-sided dogpile.
Most people were still thinking for themselves and hadn’t been swayed by the original poster.
The original poster then replied again: "My boyfriend told me himself that Chi Wan seduced him. The moment he saw her, he made me get out of the car. Isn’t that enough?"
"Uh, well..."
"Girl, has it occurred to you that maybe your boyfriend is just a piece of shit...?"
"I’ve seen it all. In this day and age, there are still so many people defending the homewrecker?"
"To be fair, the two guys next to the girl in the photo are way better looking than the OP’s boyfriend. If it were me, I wouldn’t pass up what’s right in front of me for something worse."
"Or maybe she’s just after the OP’s boyfriend’s sports car? Hey, making money is making money. Nothing shameful about it."
...
Chi Wan read through the comments one by one. She had been a little angry at first, but now she couldn’t help but laugh.
’If He Lingfeng really is behind this,’ she thought, ’I wonder if he’d cough up blood from rage seeing these replies?’
’Still, I really don’t get what’s the point of this stunt. Is it just to ruin my reputation and pressure me?’
Just as she’d expected, these unforeseen replies seemed to have angered the original poster.
"From what I know, Chi Wan’s family went bankrupt recently. The high-and-mighty princess now has to rely on men to get by. I bet she can’t stand it, right? That’s why she’s hooking up all over the place. If you don’t believe me, look. She moved directly into Qi Garden this semester. With her family bankrupt, where would she get the money if she isn’t being kept by someone?"
The accompanying photo was of Chi Wan and Xiahou Yu’s backs as they walked into the residential complex. They seemed to be talking about something and were standing quite close.
Chi Wan rested her chin on her hand, watching the chaotic arguments in the comments below, and felt a little bored.
’So, was all that build-up just for this?’
Regardless of whether the poster was He Lingfeng or the girl who had gotten out of his car earlier, Chi Wan’s mood remained largely unruffled.
’We’re in college now. Aside from large lectures, we barely interact with other classes. And they still want to pull this high-school-style group bullying and slut-shaming...?’
’Don’t they have anything better to do?’
She began to type unhurriedly: "Sister, take my advice: He Lingfeng is not a good person. He enjoys being someone’s dog more than being a boyfriend. With a guy like that, I’d be afraid slapping him would just get him off. You should be celebrating your escape from misery after breaking up with him."
Chi Wan’s comment immediately caught everyone’s attention because she hadn’t posted it anonymously.
"The real deal? Whoa, there’s a lot to unpack in that comment!"
"Honestly, I don’t really believe that Chi Wan is being kept. She’s in my department. I met her during orientation, and she’s a really nice girl."
"You said ’met her,’ as in, in the past. Didn’t the OP say her family went bankrupt? What if she couldn’t handle the fall from grace? Qi Garden isn’t a place someone who’s gone bankrupt can just move into."
"I’m more curious about what Chi Wan meant by ’being a dog.’ OP, are you sure Chi Wan wants to steal your boyfriend?"
"+1."
...
Before the original poster could reply, Chi Wan posted again.
"He Lingfeng acts so tough to my face, but in private, he only dares to hide behind an anonymous account and his own girlfriend? Why don’t you do me a favor, sis, and ask him for me: was the slap I gave him today not satisfying enough? I only just discovered today how much of a masochist he is. If you don’t want to break up with him, maybe you could try treating him like a dog instead of a boyfriend. Who knows, he might never leave your side."
As soon as she posted that, a flood of shocked replies appeared below.
"HOLY SHIT, this girl’s comebacks are lethal."
"Now I really believe Chi Wan wasn’t trying to steal her boyfriend..."
"Damn, pretty sis is so fierce. I’ll be your dog. Will you slap me?"
"To the person above, you’re down bad."
But the original poster never replied again.
A short while later, the thread was deleted.
Unfortunately for the poster, the terminally bored college students on the front lines of internet drama had already screenshotted everything. So, even though the original thread was gone, countless screenshots continued to circulate in every corner of the school forum.
By the time Zhou Huaijin came out of the lab, the battlefield had already been mostly cleared.
But since he was in the original photo, some people he knew sent him screenshots, asking what was going on.
Zhou Huaijin hadn’t expected He Lingfeng to act so quickly, and he had also underestimated his shamelessness. But when he saw Chi Wan’s replies, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
Although Chi Wan’s move to fight back head-on had convinced most people that there was really nothing between her and He Lingfeng, Zhou Huaijin knew how easy it was to start rumors about a woman. It cost almost nothing, especially when the rumors involved sex and money.
Just like this time, even though Chi Wan’s stance was crystal clear, some people would still harbor a prejudice against her in their hearts.
Even if Chi Wan herself didn’t seem to care that much, Zhou Huaijin still didn’t want He Lingfeng to tarnish her reputation.
