As soon as Gu Yao’s clarification statement was released, followed by the official handling decision from the Rongcheng Public Security Bureau and the school’s own indirect notice, the last traces of gossip on the campus forum vanished completely.
Everyone now understood the truth. Those who had once misunderstood or condemned Zhang Yanyan quietly deleted their comments, and no one said another word.
The matter should have come to a happy conclusion, but just when one wave had subsided, another rose.
Many daughters of second- and third-rate companies in Rongcheng happened to attend Tengyuan University. The leader among them was Li Man, daughter of the Li family patriarch.
She and her companions had always worshipped Gu Yao as their idol. They went to extraordinary lengths to get close to him, yet he had never once given them a second glance.
After seeing Gu Yao’s clarification statement, they refused to believe that Zhang Yanyan was merely his ordinary friend. Instead, they assumed Zhang Yanyan was pretending to be aloof in order to lure him in. How could an utterly ordinary girl make the man they all adored personally step forward to clarify things for her?
To curry favor with Gu Yao—and to vent the resentment they had been harboring—the girls immediately decided to give Zhang Yanyan trouble and force her to stay away from him.
That afternoon, Zhang Yanyan, Lin Yue, and Zhou Yutong had just found a table and sat down in the university’s No. 2 cafeteria when Li Man stormed over with several girls in tow. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her chin held high, and her expression was overbearing. The contempt in her eyes practically spilled over.
“You’re Zhang Yanyan?” Li Man looked her up and down. Her tone was cutting, and she deliberately raised her voice so that everyone nearby could hear clearly.
“You’ve got some nerve, getting Young Master Gu to personally issue a clarification statement for you. Don’t you know your place? Do you really think you’re worthy?”
“Exactly!” one of the girls behind her immediately chimed in, her voice dripping with malice. “Young Master Gu is a member of the Gu family of Rongcheng. How could a girl like you, who’s only trying to climb the social ladder, possibly get close to him? Stay away from Young Master Gu, or you’ll regret it!”
“I knew what people were saying on the forum was true. You’re nothing but a gold digger. You dumped Song Ze, and now you’re trying to climb into Young Master Gu’s circle. You’re far more vicious than you look!”
Their words were like needles. The surrounding whispers gradually grew louder, and quite a few students pulled out their phones to secretly record what was happening.
Zhou Yutong slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet. “Stop spouting nonsense! The police have already announced the truth. Song Ze made everything up. Yanyan and Gu Yao are just ordinary friends—nothing like what you’re implying!”
“Ordinary friends? Who would believe that?” Li Man sneered and rolled her eyes. She stepped closer and reached out to shove Zhang Yanyan’s shoulder. “I’m warning you, Zhang Yanyan. If you know what’s good for you, stay away from Young Master Gu. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you can’t remain at Tengyuan University!”
Just as Li Man’s hand was about to touch her, Zhang Yanyan set down her chopsticks and raised her hand, seizing Li Man’s wrist with swift precision. She did not use much force, yet her grip was like an iron vise, leaving Li Man unable to move.
Zhang Yanyan looked up at her, her gaze cold and sharp. Her voice was filled with impatience.
“First, none of you have any right to comment on my relationship with Gu Yao.
“Second, the person who spread the rumors has already been dealt with by the police. It’s not your place to put me on trial.
“Third, what does my background have to do with you? Stop sticking your nose into matters that don’t concern you.”
With that, she tightened her grip slightly.
“Ah! It hurts!” Li Man cried out, baring her teeth in pain. Her face went deathly pale, and tears instantly welled in her eyes. “Let go of me! My father is Li Jianming of the Li Group! If you dare touch me, I’ll have my father destroy you!”
“No matter who your father is, if you lay your hands on someone, you have to pay the price.”
Zhang Yanyan released her. Li Man staggered backward several steps and only managed to stay on her feet because her companions caught her.
Zhang Yanyan swept her cold gaze over the other girls, who had been thinking of stepping forward. The chill in her eyes made them instinctively stop, none of them daring to move.
“I’m advising you not to provoke me again.” Zhang Yanyan picked up her chopsticks and continued eating, her tone cool. “Otherwise, the consequences won’t be something you or your families can bear.”
Li Man was furious and frightened. She pointed at Zhang Yanyan, but for a long moment she could not form a complete sentence. In the end, all she could do was spit out a threat.
“You… What can you possibly do? You’re only safe because you’re relying on Young Master Gu. Just wait! This isn’t over!”
With that, she hurried away with her companions, leaving in disgrace.
“Yanyan, that was incredible!” Lin Yue said, finally letting out a breath as she patted her chest. “But they definitely won’t let this go. Li Man’s father has some influence in Rongcheng.”
“If soldiers come, I’ll meet them with generals; if water comes, I’ll hold it back with earth.” Zhang Yanyan calmly picked up a bite of food. “If they want trouble, I’ll give them all they can handle.”
Sure enough, that very afternoon, Li Man returned home in tears and exaggerated the incident as she reported it to her father, Li Jianming.
“Dad, you have to stand up for me! Zhang Yanyan bullied me in front of everyone at school. She even said that the Li family was nothing and that we should wait to be destroyed!”
Li Man sat on the sofa, sobbing hysterically. “All I did was tell her to stay away from Young Master Gu, and she attacked me! She’s completely out of control!”
The moment Li Jianming heard that his daughter had been mistreated and that someone had insulted the Li family, he was consumed by rage. He slammed his hand on the table.
“This is outrageous! How dare some young girl act so recklessly!”
He immediately called the principal of Tengyuan University. His tone was forceful.
“Principal Wang, this is Li Jianming! Your student Zhang Yanyan publicly bullied my daughter and insulted the Li family. I demand that you expel her immediately. Otherwise, the Li Group and all my associates will withdraw their sponsorship from Tengyuan!”
After hanging up, Li Jianming reassured Li Man, “Don’t worry, Manman. Your father will make her pay.”
The parents of the other girls involved also called the university’s Academic Affairs Office to apply pressure, threatening to withdraw their sponsorships as well.
What they did not expect was that the school’s response would be extremely perfunctory. They merely said they would “investigate the matter thoroughly,” and then nothing more came of it.
The next day, when Li Man and the others saw Zhang Yanyan on campus, they realized that the school had not punished her at all. Their resentment nearly boiled over.
They gathered together and became more and more convinced that Gu Yao had intervened behind the scenes. He must have spoken to the principal, they thought, which was why the school was showing Zhang Yanyan such blatant favoritism.
Gu Yao had always treated them with distant indifference, while Zhang Yanyan remained completely unharmed under his protection. Their anger and jealousy twisted together, burning more fiercely by the moment.
The looks they directed at Zhang Yanyan grew increasingly sinister as they secretly decided to teach her a lesson in private.
When the final bell rang, Zhang Yanyan said goodbye to Lin Yue and Zhou Yutong before walking alone toward the quiet path on the western side of campus. It was a shortcut, and there were usually very few people around.
But just as she turned the corner, several familiar figures blocked the road ahead.
It was Li Man and the others.
Each of them was carrying a baseball bat. The metal shafts glinted coldly in the setting sun, and their faces were filled with malice.
“Zhang Yanyan, you certainly know how to choose your routes.”
Li Man took a step forward, a mocking smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She lightly tapped the baseball bat in her hand against her palm.
“Do you really think that just because Young Master Gu has your back, you can do whatever you want? You clearly don’t know your own limits—you can’t even tell how much you’re worth. You’re some nobody from God knows where, relying on a pretty face, and you actually think you can latch on to Young Master Gu? Do you really think you’re worthy?”
“Exactly!” the girl beside her chimed in viciously. “Young Master Gu was only fooled by you for the moment. Don’t tell me you really think you can become a phoenix just by climbing a branch.
“Take my advice and get out of Tengyuan. Stay away from Young Master Gu. Otherwise, you’ll find out the hard way today!”
