Chapter 26
1989 Words
Xu Mei was suddenly full of fighting spirit. She couldn’t bear to waste even a second in the car, immediately pulling out her phone to search everything she could find online about Jin Mu—including all the rumors, gossip, and scraps of information. She saved it all into a password-protected folder.
Once she arrived at school, Xu Mei met up with Chu Yoran and Meng Tao to grab lunch together.
As soon as they sat down, the two couldn’t wait to ask about Fu Shuyang. Xu Mei skipped the awkward parts of their interaction and answered their questions one by one.
“Junior, you’re incredible,” Meng Tao said, full of admiration. “When the Jin Mu incident broke out, it was the first time I saw God Yang cry. He was so worried. If it weren’t for something urgent, I wouldn’t have gone home this summer. Even after I got home, I was still anxious as hell, couldn’t think of a way to help. I was this close to going insane—thank god you’re smart…”
Out of everything he said, Xu Mei only caught one detail: “He cried?”
“Well… maybe not exactly crying, more like tearing up?” Meng Tao scratched his head, trying to rephrase. “God, that guy’s on another level compared to us mere mortals. Even his silent tears looked beautiful. So gloomy, so fragile… it made your heart ache. Thank god no girls were around, or Jin Mu would’ve been assassinated by now. Damn it, even I couldn’t take it, and I’m a guy!”
Xu Mei: “…”
Now she finally understood why, in the original novel, no matter what Han Shu did, Meng Tao never betrayed Fu Shuyang.
This wasn’t just a friend or roommate—this was a hardcore fanboy, a hopeless stan.
Still, Xu Mei couldn’t quite picture Fu Shuyang crying.
In the original book, he was ruthless, volatile, cold… but never once did he shed a tear—not even when he died.
The Fu Shuyang she knew now was calm, aloof, forever composed—not someone who’d cry either.
Strangely, Xu Mei started to feel like the three versions of Fu Shuyang she’d seen were completely different people.
“Alright, quit your rainbow farts before our junior thinks you're pathetic,” Chu Yoran pushed Meng Tao with a look of disdain. “Have some self-respect.”
Xu Mei lowered her head to hide her smile.
In their dynamic with Fu Shuyang, Chu Yoran was clearly the one being scorned. Yet Chu Yoran could still look down on Meng Tao.
So the food chain in that dorm room was crystal clear.
Poor chubby guy.
His current image was miles away from the “ruthless henchman” he was in the original story.
Seeing Meng Tao’s blind worship of Fu Shuyang, could it be that his transformation was also influenced by Fu Shuyang?
If so, changing Fu Shuyang truly was a game-changer.
“Do you guys have any ideas?” Xu Mei asked, getting back to business. “You should know something about Jin Mu, right?”
Meng Tao replied, “Jin Mu’s lab had more than just God Yang as an assistant. Some of the other students probably know a thing or two. I’ve already drafted a list—planning to ask them one by one.”
He pulled out a handwritten list, and Xu Mei quickly snapped a photo and saved it.
“Jin Mu has a daughter,” Chu Yoran added. “She’s in our grade. Maybe we can try approaching her. He dotes on her—maybe he’ll listen to her.”
Xu Mei became alert and blurted out, “What do you plan to do?”
Chu Yoran looked confused. “Just subtly let her know what her dad’s been up to. See if she can talk some sense into him.”
Xu Mei rubbed her forehead, silently cursing herself, then said, “I’ll handle reaching out to his daughter. If you two go, it might stir up gossip.”
Chu Yoran nodded in realization. “Junior, you really think ahead.”
Xu Mei continued, “I found something online. Jin Mu had a mentor named Chen Li—he’s the honorary dean of the engineering college. Supposedly, Chen is highly respected, and Jin Mu is a bit afraid of him. If either of you have a connection, maybe we could talk to him?”
Chu Yoran and Meng Tao exchanged a glance and shook their heads. “That’s too hard. Old Chen’s health isn’t great—he rarely even leaves his house. Seeing him would be close to impossible.”
“He’s in poor health? Then forget it—I didn’t know that.” Xu Mei had already anticipated obstacles, so she kept her cool. “Let’s focus on the people around Jin Mu first. You two ask around the lab—I’ll try contacting his daughter.”
The plan was set, and they split up to return to their dorms.
Xu Mei hadn’t brought her key, so she had to knock.
The door opened to reveal Feng Xiao-zhi’s surprised face.
“Xu Mei? What are the odds?”
“Yeah, what a coincidence,” Xu Mei smiled. Seeing her cheered her up instantly, washing away some of the stress from dealing with Fu Shuyang. “Where’d you run off to this summer? You didn’t even come hang out with me.”
“I was traveling.” Feng Xiao-zhi gave her a big hug, still thrilled by the fact that they ended up in the same school, same major, and even the same dorm. “This is such divine fate!”
Xu Mei had seen her WeChat posts and knew she’d been traveling with her boyfriend. That soured her mood a little.
She already knew Feng Xiao-zhi would be her roommate, so she wasn’t all that surprised. Still, she smiled and said, “Guess we were destined to meet again.”
“You two know each other?” a crisp voice suddenly chimed in.
Xu Mei turned to see a short-haired girl with a round, cute face.
“Yeah, we met over the summer,” Feng Xiao-zhi said happily. “This is Xu Mei, and she’s Mei Qing. That’s Bei Qiyan—you two have met already, right?”
“Hi.” Xu Mei nodded politely at Mei Qing, though she couldn’t bring herself to act too friendly.
In the original novel, after the original Xu Mei entered college, she constantly stirred up drama—and a third of the blame belonged to this very Mei Qing.
She looked harmless, but was a textbook two-faced schemer. She claimed to be Xu Mei’s best friend while calling Xu Liang her “sister” behind her back, bouncing between the two and stirring the pot. Many of the dumb and toxic moves Xu Mei made had Mei Qing’s fingerprints all over them.
“So you’re Xu Mei? Bei Bei told me about you yesterday,” Mei Qing said enthusiastically. “You’re so pretty—way better than that so-called ‘rich girl’ everyone talks about.”
“Why compare me to her?” Xu Mei didn’t like this kind of backhanded compliment. It reeked of manipulation.
“Because you both have the same surname,” Mei Qing said, still oblivious to Xu Mei’s displeasure. “If you were born into her family, she wouldn’t even have a chance to show off.”
Seriously? This was their first meeting—was she trying to fast-forward the drama?
Xu Mei smiled faintly. “Xu is such a common surname. I bet there are hundreds of us at this school. I don’t envy her background, and I’m not looking to stand out. So don’t compare me to her again, okay?”
She didn’t like Mei Qing, but since they’d just met, there was no reason to start a fight, so her tone was still civil.
Mei Qing’s smile froze slightly, and her expression turned a bit awkward.
But she didn’t push it further.
Xu Mei said nothing more and began unpacking her luggage.
By the time she was done, it was time for the class meeting.
Their counselor was a stern-looking older woman who rarely smiled. She kept it brief, just going over class rules and military training arrangements. Even the student handbook was handed out without much comment.
The meeting was mind-numbingly boring and instantly killed the excitement of being a freshman.
Xu Mei sat next to Feng Xiao-zhi and couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching them.
Dance majors were generally attractive, but Feng Xiao-zhi’s looks still made her stand out.
While the counselor droned on, a guy up front kept pretending to drop his pen—stealing glances at them each time.
Xu Mei elbowed Feng Xiao-zhi. “Hey, beauty, that guy’s kinda cute. Want to upgrade?”
Feng Xiao-zhi scribbled on her notebook: Are you dumb? He’s looking at you.
Xu Mei blinked. No way.
She knew the original Xu Mei had great looks. But in the book, she was always overshadowed by her golden-haloed sister, so Xu Mei never thought of herself as especially eye-catching.
Then she saw a guy in the second row drop his book—clearly on purpose.
Feeling bored, Xu Mei decided to see who he was looking at.
Sure enough, as he bent down to pick it up, he glanced back and locked eyes with her.
He froze for a moment, then gave her a suggestive smirk.
So it really was her?
Xu Mei looked down at her outfit—nothing flashy at all.
Something felt off.
More and more guys were looking her way. Once might’ve been coincidence. Twice, three times—it was definitely not.
She made eye contact with several of them, and they all gave her flirtatious smiles. Some were downright sleazy.
Even Feng Xiao-zhi noticed. “Why do I feel like they’re not looking at the goddess?”
Of course not—those looks were full of impure intent.
There weren’t many guys in the dance class. That same guy from earlier turned again, not even bothering to hide it now—only to meet Xu Mei’s icy gaze.
Xu Mei mimicked Fu Shuyang’s signature stare and locked eyes with him.
The boy flinched and quickly turned away.
With that, the number of staring eyes dropped significantly.
But her phone in her pocket kept buzzing nonstop.
Xu Mei checked—and her expression turned dark.
A flood of friend requests.
[Hey beauty, mind adding me?]
[Third row, white tee—wanna hang out?]
[Xu babe, how much for one night?]
[Hey gorgeous, one Coach bag—deal?]
…And they weren’t all from classmates.
Finally, the counselor finished and dismissed them.
Just as Xu Mei stood up, a girl in front handed her a folded note.
She hesitated, but still opened it.
[Hey beautiful, want to hang out tonight? I’ve got great skills, if you know what I mean.]
A phone number was scribbled below.
Xu Mei’s lips tightened. She dialed the number.
A phone rang—belonging to the same guy who’d dropped his book earlier. He’d been watching for her reaction and now turned with a knowing, sleazy grin.
Xu Mei walked straight up to him. “What’s your name?”
The room wasn’t empty yet, and a few students turned to watch the commotion.
“Babe, we can talk privately—”
“Name,” Xu Mei said coldly.
“I’m Lin Yuyi,” the guy replied, glancing at Feng Xiao-zhi. “Your friend—”
“Who told you to hit on me?” Xu Mei interrupted.
Lin Yuyi chuckled. “Everyone’s saying—”
The classroom chairs weren’t bolted down. Xu Mei grabbed one and slammed it onto his desk with a loud bang.
“I asked, who sent you?”
- Writer
