Early the next morning, the group of friends arrived as promised.
They chattered away, expressing their concern for Ye Qianying’s condition. The more sensitive among them chose their words carefully, their speech full of consideration for her.
Ye Qianying reassured them that the state of her face and legs was only temporary—she would recover in time.
Hearing this, everyone immediately relaxed, chiming in with remarks like, "Of course! Our Qianying has heaven’s favor!" or "Haha, Qianying, you’ve got lucky timing—no need to take the finals!" and even, "Hey, Qianying, let me tell you, your current getup is seriously cool, like something out of a movie."
At one point, a friend named Lian Deng couldn’t resist reaching out to touch Ye Qianying’s veil, only to be caught mid-motion and promptly tackled by the others, who gave him a thorough beating.
"What’s wrong with you? Trying to lose that hand of yours, huh?" Mu Pan pinned him from behind, flashing a row of sharp teeth in a menacing grin.
Amid Lian Deng’s yelps of protest, Mu Pan glanced up at Ye Qianying and playfully winked.
A bunch of fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds together were bound to be rowdy. After plenty of laughter and a couple plates of snacks, they finally remembered the real reason for their visit.
"By the way, Qianying, have you checked the forum? Some jerk is badmouthing you!"
The moment the topic came up, Lian Deng got worked up, even forgetting the half-eaten coconut milk dumpling in his hand.
"They claimed to have some ‘shocking expose’ about you, but when you click in, it’s all nonsense. Stuff like how your legs don’t work, your face is ruined, your family’s given up on you and left you to rot in the sanatorium—mmph!"
He didn’t get to finish before Mu Pan lunged from across the room and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Eat," Mu Pan ordered, shoving three handfuls of butter cookies into Lian Deng’s mouth while grinding his teeth. "Don’t hold back. Weren’t you just saying you skipped breakfast and were starving?"
Only when Lian Deng was nearly choking did Mu Pan shove him aside and turn back to Ye Qianying with a serious expression.
"Don’t listen to those rumors. Everyone knows it’s just that class next door stirring trouble. Ever since that thing with Qi—what’s-his-name, Xing Yuwei’s had it out for you, right?"
At the mention of Qi Yuanwen’s name, Mu Pan’s brow furrowed instinctively, his tone dripping with disdain as he substituted it with "what’s-his-name."
Ye Qianying smiled faintly. "Yeah, I know." It came back to her now.
Rumors about her condition had circulated in school even in her past life. Back then, she’d been too numb to explain, let alone track down the source.
But now… she didn’t even need to investigate.
These days, she hadn’t wanted to see even her closest friends. Who else besides Qi Yuanwen could have such precise details about her situation?
Through the veil, Mu Pan could only vaguely make out the outline of Ye Qianying’s face. Seeing her calm demeanor, he ventured,
"Did you check the forum yesterday? Ah, never mind—I figured not. Just… brace yourself before you look. We already tore into them yesterday, but the mods deleted all our replies."
He pulled out his phone, opened the forum, and handed it to Ye Qianying.
The first post at the top was a gossip thread marked with a "HOT" tag.
"What’s up with our former high school beauty queen? Heard her family’s got problems—why hasn’t she been around lately?"
Anyone familiar with forums could tell from the title alone that this thread was packed with juicy claims.
Sure enough, by the tenth comment, the "exposes" started rolling in. By the fiftieth, a mix of truths and wild speculation had painted Ye Qianying as some tragic figure.
Claims like "completely disfigured," "permanently disabled," "her family abandoned her at a sanatorium," and "the reason behind her ‘accident’ is pretty shady, if you catch my drift" littered the thread.
One comment even leaked Ye Qianying’s current address. A quick search confirmed it was a well-known rehabilitation center with specialized trauma care, lending the rumor an air of credibility.
Ye Qianying scrolled steadily, her fingers never pausing at any particular message. She hadn’t seen this post in her past life, but she’d lived through similar slander before—it couldn’t touch her now.
Mu Pan watched her veil intently, barely daring to breathe.
"Maybe stop scrolling, Qianying… You okay?"
"I’m fine," Ye Qianying tapped the screen lightly. "Who’s this?"
Beneath every gossip comment were traces of Mu Pan and the others’ retaliatory replies—though, as he’d mentioned, most had been deleted for being too aggressive.
Amid the sea of deletions, one reply stood out.
While Mu Pan’s group only had their comments removed (with a standard "[This reply violates guidelines and has been hidden]" notice), this particular one was marked in bold red: "[This account has been banned for violating forum rules.]" No trace of the username or content remained.
Mu Pan glanced down and groaned. "Oh, that’s Lian Deng. Hey, ‘Sickle,’ come explain your ‘brilliant’ move to Qianying!"
Lian Deng, who’d just choked down the last of his cookies, paled. "Don’t you dare!"
Mu Pan ducked and weaved, laughing as he recounted the story.
"You won’t believe this—Lian Deng here is a genius. Yesterday, we were all furious and went off on those rumor-spreaders. But Lian Deng? He said he’d make the whole thread vanish within two hours. Know what he did? Went on the adult side of the internet, grabbed some… illustrations, then reported himself…"
Ye Qianying: "…"
"Result? The thread’s still here, but his account got nuked—serves him right. Posting that stuff on the school forum? Whose account wouldn’t get banned?"
As he spoke, Mu Pan reached back and smacked Lian Deng on the head.
Ye Qianying kept scrolling, finding plenty of replies to Lian Deng’s now-defunct account—most outraged, hurling insults.
Lian Deng grumbled, "That class next door only got away with it because one of them’s a mod. They deleted all our replies but left the ones attacking me. Double standards much? Like we can’t tell."
While he complained, Ye Qianying flipped to the next page, where one reply stood out, its nested comments towering like a skyscraper.
"Did Ye Qianying’s face get ruined? I heard Young Master Qi is dating her. If her face were ruined, would he even look at her?"
The first reply in the thread was from…
Xing Yuwei: "Thanks for your concern, but the grass is already taken =w="
Posted this morning.
The following comments were all along the lines of "Official announcement!" "Group photo!" "The school belle and heartthrob are a match made in heaven!" and "A moment for the history books."
Mu Pan lowered his head and followed Ye Qianying’s gaze to this post, his expression instantly darkening. "Wait, I didn’t see this earlier… Damn it, if that bastard Qi has something to say, he should log into his main account and say it himself."
"We broke up," Ye Qianying said casually.
"Yeah, yeah, those two were bound to split eventually."
"I mean, I broke up with him," Ye Qianying corrected Mu Pan.
Hearing this, Mu Pan exhaled sharply. "Oh, so it was you and him… Wait, when were you even together?!"
His face twisted in shock.
In an instant, a row of eager faces crowded around Ye Qianying, every pair of eyes sparkling with gossip-fueled curiosity.
Ye Qianying thought for a moment. "I forgot."
"That’s fine, no big deal if you forgot," Lian Deng chimed in. "The important thing is… Sis Qianying, you dumped him, right?"
The row of heads nodded in unison.
Amused by their intense expressions, Ye Qianying confirmed, "Yes."
"When?" they all asked at once.
"A week ago."
"Perfect!" Her friends erupted in glee. "Hahaha, that pretentious little show-off Qi Yuanwen actually got dumped! Serves him right!"
They immediately flooded the forum—not to stir trouble, of course, but to spread the good news. They congratulated Qi Yuanwen on his recent breakup and his swift rebound.
A celebration wrapped in sarcasm, dripping with mockery.
Ye Qianying hadn’t expected this reaction but maintained a polite smile throughout.
Soon, classmates from the neighboring class caught wind of the news and started arguing with Mu Pan and the others.
-"So what if they broke up? Of course Young Master Qi would dump Ye Qianying. A cripple like her should look in the mirror and ask if she’s even worthy of him."
-"Haha, what’s so great about the former school belle? Dare to post a recent photo? She wouldn’t—even I’m prettier than her now."
-"This is hilarious. The only thing Ye Qianying ever had going for her was her face, and even her ‘school belle’ title was just hype. I’ve always said Xing Yuwei is prettier, more graceful, and smarter—she’s the real school belle now."
"Total nonsense," Lian Deng growled through gritted teeth. "If anyone’s title is hyped, it’s Xing Yuwei’s. Does she even have friends? Just admirers and lackeys!"
"Lend me an account!" Lian Deng demanded. "I’m going to tear them apart online."
Mu Pan immediately vetoed the idea. "No way, Sickle. If you post any more screenshots, our accounts will get banned too."
"Enough," Ye Qianying said, resting a hand on Lian Deng’s shoulder. "Give me your phone."
"Yes! Sis Qianying, you handle this." Lian Deng pointed out a few comments. "This one, this one, and this one—all Xing Yuwei’s lackeys. Since they’re online, she’s definitely watching the forum right now. Make her log into her main account and face you directly."
Ye Qianying took the phone but didn’t engage as Lian Deng suggested. Instead, she clicked on Xing Yuwei’s profile and scrolled through her past posts. After three or four minutes of browsing, she had a clear picture.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ye Qianying returned to the thread and replied to the most vicious comments.
[Ye Qianying] replied to "Former school belle dare to post a photo…":
—"A face too handsome is either a blessing or a curse. Lucky for you, yours is especially cursed."
[Ye Qianying] replied to "A cripple should look in the mirror…":
—"The brain is like the body—use it or lose it. Seems yours is still intact."
[Ye Qianying] replied to "What did Ye Qianying ever have besides her face…":
—"Study hard, aim high. No matter how many posts you make, Qi Yuanwen won’t end up in your bed."
After swiftly replying to all three, Ye Qianying locked the screen and handed the phone back.
Mu Pan refreshed the page and burst out laughing at her responses. "Brutal! Qianying, you’re savage—Oh, Xing Yuwei finally showed up. Guess she saw you online."
[Xing Yuwei]: "I never pay attention to baseless remarks. Those who envy me unknowingly praise me."
"Ugh…" Mu Pan scowled. "Does she have to take a dig at you every time? So petty."
[Mu Pan] replied to [Xing Yuwei]: "Delusional much?"
[Xing Yuwei] replied to [Mu Pan]: "Oh? That quote was by Kahlil Gibran."
"Damn it," Mu Pan muttered, chugging his Coke in frustration. "She got me again. She loves pulling this crap, flaunting how ‘cultured’ she is."
Ye Qianying glanced at the screen and advised, "Take a screenshot."
Mu Pan paused but obeyed, snapping a screenshot without understanding why. "Done. Now what?"
He refreshed the page and saw someone else had already replied to Xing Yuwei.
—"Uh, am I the only one who noticed Ye Qianying’s comebacks weren’t random either? First line was Dumas, second was Mao Yisheng, and the third… well, you all know who that was."
The group, still glued to the thread, immediately caught on.
"Turning her own tactics against her—genius!"
"Hahaha, this is a slap in the face!"
"Does Xing Yuwei think quoting classics is her exclusive trademark?"
Everyone waited to see Xing Yuwei’s next move. But when the page refreshed again, her reply was gone—she’d deleted it.
"Boring," someone muttered.
Mu Pan grinned wickedly, digging up his screenshot.
"Unbelievable, Qianying. You called it. Thank goodness you told me to screenshot. Even if she deletes it now, it’s too late—I’ve got the receipts! Hold on, I’m making a post to expose her."
Titled The Downfall of the ‘Literary Goddess’—A Tale of Hypocrisy and Humiliation, the post quickly went viral.
—"Wow, a public image collapse."
—"Hahaha, so satisfying. I’ve always hated how this so-called school belle constantly name-drops classics to sound smart, then shuts down critics with pretentious quotes. Exhausting."
—"Deleting the comment was the cherry on top. Pretending is one thing, but scrambling to cover your tracks? That’s embarrassing."
When the new forum post reached its fiftieth reply, Xing Yuwei probably couldn’t sit still any longer, so she posted another comment in the thread titled Former Campus Belle.
"Sorry, everyone. Ye Qianying is right. Outer appearance really doesn’t matter. A beautiful soul, a sharp mind, and outstanding grades are what truly matter. I’ve learned my lesson—thank you, Ye Qianying, for teaching me this."
This time, even Zhan Lulu, who was sitting beside Ye Qianying eating jelly, couldn’t hold back.
"I can’t take it anymore—the stench of fake innocence is suffocating. Who would believe she’s actually thanking anyone? She’s just flaunting her academic achievements."
A group of underachievers exchanged glances, feeling thoroughly mocked.
"Damn it."
"So frustrating."
"She never answers directly—she just drags everything back to academics. It’s not like I forced her into a skateboarding competition or something."
But someone who had just refreshed the thread suddenly looked at Ye Qianying in alarm. "Wait, Qianying, what did you just reply? Delete it, delete it now!"
[Ye Qianying] replied to [Xing Yuwei]: Well said. Then let’s compare grades.
"If you already know where they’ll hit you, then cut them off before they get the chance," Ye Qianying said, tilting her chin up slightly. "Aren’t you tired of being mocked for the same thing over and over?"
"Of course we’re tired of it."
"It makes me want to punch someone."
"Others might not understand this pain, but Qianying, you should."
The last speaker was immediately ganged up on and playfully roughed up by the group, but Ye Qianying remained unfazed.
"I used to understand, but soon I won’t anymore—it’s just studying. How long can they keep laughing at me for it?"
"So, do you all want to study with me?"
