Chapter 29
1878 Words
A WeChat ID—it was an important clue.
There weren’t many people at this school who had her WeChat.
Chu Yeyan, Feng Xiaozi, and... Xu Lang.
Xu Mei paused. She didn’t like Xu Lang, but this didn’t seem like something he would do.
It wasn’t his style.
What other way could someone get her contact?
Ah—her phone number.
It had been registered during enrollment. Her WeChat ID just happened to be the same as her phone number. Could someone have leaked it?
But who would go so far to frame her without a grudge?
If someone did have a grudge… who could it be?
Xu Mei barely slept that night. Her eyes felt glued shut when she woke the next morning.
Still, she’d gotten used to waking early over summer break. Her internal clock woke her right on time.
Dance majors had it rough. The first two periods every morning were basic training—no chance to sleep in.
Truthfully, most art majors were the same. Early mornings were the norm across the school.
After a lazy summer, the others weren’t used to it. Bleary-eyed, they washed up in silence, too dazed to remember last night’s drama, so no one brought it up.
Only when everyone was fully awake did the awkward tension begin to creep in.
Xu Mei had spent all night thinking and already decided how to handle the two of them.
“Want to grab breakfast together?” she offered casually.
Bei Qiyan and Mei Qing looked caught off guard.
Xu Mei continued, “I’m sure what happened last night has already spread throughout the whole academy—maybe even to the science and engineering departments. If people see we’re fighting, there’ll be endless rumors about us stabbing each other in the back. The best way to stop that? Show them we’re united. Of course, if you’re not willing, that’s fine too. I don’t care what people say behind my back. As for those bold enough to say it to my face…”
She didn’t finish her sentence. Just smiled slightly.
Both roommates shivered.
Mei Qing and Bei Qiyan exchanged a look, then quickly nodded. “Mei-mei’s right. We’re one dorm, one team. We should stay united. We can’t let those trying to sow discord succeed.”
Xu Mei smiled and pulled Feng Xiaozi along as the four of them headed to the cafeteria.
This wasn’t self-sabotage—it was strategy. If someone really was orchestrating all this behind the scenes, one of their goals could very well be to isolate Xu Mei.
She still remembered how that yellow-haired girl tried to stir the pot last night.
If her hunch was right, seeing the four of them eating together would definitely get under that person’s skin.
From the moment they left the dorm to the moment they reached the cafeteria, countless people stared and whispered. But if Xu Mei or Feng Xiaozi so much as looked their way, they immediately shut up.
Apparently, last night’s public shaming had worked to some degree.
After breakfast, as they changed for class, Feng Xiaozi finally found a chance to pull Xu Mei aside and whisper, “Don’t you feel gross pretending like that?”
Referring, of course, to Mei Qing and Bei Qiyan.
Feng Xiaozi was definitely disgusted.
Even if they weren’t the ones who leaked her WeChat, the fact that they slandered their roommate on the very first day spoke volumes about their character.
“They live in the same room with us,” Xu Mei replied calmly. “If they wanted to play dirty behind our backs, it’d be too easy. Let’s find out the truth first. Sorry you’re stuck with this.”
As the saying goes: better to offend a gentleman than a petty person. And living under the same roof?
Tearing things open now would be dangerous.
Feng Xiaozi understood, and sullenly shut her mouth.
Two minutes later, she suddenly leaned closer again. “Mei-mei, have you thought about renting a place off-campus?”
Xu Mei’s first reaction was that Feng Xiaozi wanted to move in with her boyfriend. She tensed instantly. “No way!”
Feng Xiaozi blinked in confusion. “Why not?”
“Aren’t freshmen required to live on campus?” Xu Mei realized she was being too defensive and softened her tone.
“Our Arts Academy is more flexible,” Feng Xiaozi explained. “It’s not strictly enforced. You can say you have performances, apply for off-campus housing, and they usually approve it.”
In fact, the dance department had produced many celebrities. It was common for students to perform, film ads, act, etc. So the rules were lenient.
Xu Mei stared at her. “Tell me honestly—are you trying to shack up with your boyfriend?”
“What the hell are you thinking?” Feng Xiaozi tugged her ear. “His school is super strict. He has to stay in the dorms. I was thinking we could live together.”
Xu Mei laughed and threw an arm around her. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
Honestly, if she could live off campus, she’d prefer it.
Investigating Fu Shuyang would be easier without prying eyes. Especially with two shady roommates around—if they caught wind of something, it could get messy.
But she didn’t want Feng Xiaozi to have to move out. So she had to think it through. Maybe there was a way to have both.
Like… switching dorms.
They got dressed and walked out to find most of the class already gathered.
As soon as they entered, the noisy chatter fell silent.
Now what?
Xu Mei frowned.
Why was there always so much drama?
Yesterday, people had looked at her with disdain and mockery. Then fear and curiosity. And now… sympathy?
What the hell?
Irritated, Xu Mei was about to ask directly when a girl with a messy bun rushed over.
Xu Mei vaguely remembered her—she’d sat in front of her during last night’s class meeting.
She’d also passed Lin Yuyi’s note to her. And clearly witnessed everything that followed.
“I’m sorry,” the girl blurted out. “I didn’t know the truth yesterday. I helped the wrong side without realizing it. I hurt you, and I’m truly sorry.”
Xu Mei: “...Can you tell me what exactly happened?”
The bun-haired girl blinked in surprise. “You don’t know? It wasn’t you?”
“What did I do?” Xu Mei was baffled.
“Check the school forum!” someone shouted from the back.
Xu Mei hadn’t visited the forum before. She pulled out her phone and opened it. Sure enough, a post was pinned to the top.
The title was innocuous: Ranking the Top 10 Most Stunning Freshmen This Year.
The first photo was Xu Lang stepping out of a sports car. Elegant, ethereal. The poster gushed with praise.
As she scrolled, the following photos were of lesser quality—poor lighting, bad angles, average looks—making Xu Lang appear even more like a goddess in comparison.
Then came the last image.
It was a candid shot of Xu Mei running out of the dorm building. She was in a bright orange tee and shorts, legs long and pale, head turning back as if startled. Her features were vivid, her eyes seemed to glow.
Xu Mei immediately spotted that the photo had been edited—her chest had been enhanced.
The post’s praise for Xu Mei was over-the-top compared to Xu Lang’s.
For Xu Lang, it was all positive adjectives.
For Xu Mei, it was borderline inappropriate: “Sweetest girl on campus,” “Best figure,” “Hotter than [insert celebrity]”—all designed to pit her against Xu Lang. It felt deliberately antagonistic.
Comments flooded in.
Most guys focused on looks.
Girls mostly mocked her.
Still, things remained relatively civil.
Until comment #100:
“I have Girl #10’s WeChat.”
Chaos broke out below. Everyone begged for the ID.
Dozens of replies later, the same commenter returned:
“Leave a burner account if you want it. I’ll add you. 500 yuan.”
People exploded, cursing him for being money-hungry.
The thread veered off-topic. Another 100 comments of arguing later, the commenter posted again:
“500 is a steal. You won’t regret it. Just ask those guys from Engineering how satisfied they were yesterday.”
[Image] [Image]
The first image showed Xu Mei talking with Chu Yeyan and Meng Tao—standing close.
The second showed them seeing her off.
There was no follow-up photo, making it easy to assume they left together.
Later replies claimed to be her classmates, insisting she hadn’t returned to the dorm that night.
Insults came flooding in.
Some even left their burner accounts.
At last, Xu Mei understood what had happened.
The original poster and the guy “selling” her WeChat were likely the same person—or working together.
This was a targeted smear campaign.
Further down, someone had streamed her classroom outburst and posted it in the thread. That helped shift some opinions—people began believing she was innocent.
Others who had paid for her WeChat but didn’t receive it were demanding refunds.
But skeptics remained. They argued her outrage was performative—just a cover-up.
And just because she went home didn’t mean she went alone.
Someone countered that she was rich enough to buy a villa—she wouldn’t need to stoop so low.
Another fired back: maybe she earned that villa through unsavory means.
How else could a teenage girl afford one? And wasn’t that neighborhood supposedly haunted? No real rich people would live there.
Then, around midnight, someone posted screenshots.
They showed the IP addresses of the original poster, the WeChat seller, and several haters in the thread—they were identical.
The same person.
The whistleblower even wrote:
“Dear student from Yuyin Building Room 7408—you addicted to visiting the police station or what? Fine. All the evidence of your false accusations has been sent to Vice Dean Tong. See you in his office tomorrow.”
The comment blew up.
People flooded in, praising the whistleblower and cursing the original poster.
One particular comment stood out:
“Yuyin 7408? Isn’t that the dorm of the ‘goddess’ in Photo #1?”
That was a bombshell.
Replies exploded.
Neither the original poster nor the IP-tracing hero commented again, but the gossipers had a field day.
Xu Mei exited the forum.
She had her answers.
The posters had to be Wang Xue or Zhu Rui—or both.
They hadn’t made a peep over summer, and she’d thought they’d backed down. Turns out they were saving a nuke.
But… who had traced the IP?
Fu Shuyang?
Or maybe Chu Yeyan?
“Xu Mei, I’m sorry. We were misled too…”
“Yeah, we didn’t mean any harm…”
“We shouldn’t have judged without knowing the truth…”
One after another, classmates began apologizing after the bun-haired girl.
Xu Mei stayed silent.
She was still thinking about the person who traced the IP.
Suddenly, the classroom door opened.
“Xu Mei,” the teacher called from the doorway. “Vice Dean Tong wants to see you.”
- Writer
