“What?” Xue Jiao froze, momentarily thinking she might have misheard.

Post? Li Wei?

Lin Zhihua knew about it?

And why was Li Wei with Lin Zhihua again?

“Jiaojiao, I know about what happened at school. This matter will be quite thorny if not handled properly. Rumors can drive people to their deaths. Some people don’t care about anything else—they believe that ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire.'” The voice on the phone was calm but filled with concern.

Xue Jiao wasn’t stupid. She knew Lin Zhihua was just worried about her.

She sighed softly, her voice becoming somewhat resigned: “I know. Those photos are indeed from my past when I was foolish. When you make mistakes, you should bear the consequences. I’ll clarify the false accusations, but as for the rest, let them say what they want.”

Lin Zhihua was slightly surprised. Girls this age rarely had such composure.

“Doesn’t it bother you?”

Xue Jiao shook her head, then realizing he couldn’t see her, said: “People’s mouths belong to them. I can’t control what they say. In this life, we live for ourselves. Even if I do everything perfectly, some people will still dislike me. Besides their words, they can’t do anything to me. The achievements are mine, the glory is mine, and every step upward is mine.”

Focusing on others won’t make oneself better, and those who constantly worry about others’ opinions rarely live freely.

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a light chuckle.

That’s just how life is, but living in society, few people can truly achieve this mindset.

Otherwise, why would those two at home pressure him to marry and have children?

Wasn’t it just fear of gossip?

His parents had lived most of their lives, yet they still hadn’t figured out what a young girl already understood.

Lin Zhihua didn’t care what people said behind his back either, but offending him to his face was unacceptable.

Those who reached for things in front of him would get their hands chopped off, and those who spoke unpleasantly in his presence would find no need to speak again.

Though Xue Jiao didn’t mind the gossip, he felt sorry for his girl and wouldn’t let her suffer for nothing.

“You’re right, but some people need to be eliminated. Even if Li Wei’s case is resolved, the venomous snake behind her is still watching eagerly. We need to dig out this snake and find a way to clear your name thoroughly, so others will no longer pay attention to you.”

Xue Jiao was stunned again. She had thought about it before—Li Wei’s deep hatred toward her likely meant someone else was behind it all.

Moreover, even if they found Li Wei to clarify things, some people would still cling to this issue. Once rumors spread, she would be affected regardless.

“But after Li Wei clarifies, my past…”

The voice on the phone chuckled lightly, then said: “Chinese people love to gather for gossip, regardless of age. The perfect solution to your situation is to create an even bigger spectacle to divert their attention.”

“What kind of spectacle?” Xue Jiao asked, confused.

“An illegitimate daughter paying someone to corrupt her sister, luring her sister into a nightclub to ruin her, then taking fake photos to slander her after failing.” Lin Zhihua’s voice was calm.

Xue Jiao: “…”

So Gu Shiyun was behind Li Wei!

She had never imagined a teenage girl could be so vicious!

Xue Jiao took a deep breath.

——

Early the next morning, Cheng Mingze’s face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes. On their way to school, he softly said—

“I’m sorry… that post hasn’t been deleted yet…”

He had spent the entire night trying, even asking industry experts for help, but couldn’t get it removed.

The person he asked messaged him after working until dawn, saying whoever controlled the post was a top industry expert.

What kind of person had Xue Jiao offended who was powerful enough to prevent the post from being deleted?

“It’s okay, Brother. Not deleting the post is good.”

“Huh?” Cheng Mingze was startled.

Xue Jiao recalled what Lin Zhihua had told her yesterday, leaning her head against the window, and repeated softly: “The post has been up for so long that everyone who should see it has seen it, and everyone who should know about it knows. If we delete it without explanation, even if we clarify later, some people won’t believe us. And those who haven’t seen it might hear fragments and make wild guesses. Instead, we should keep it up and let the situation escalate further. Let everyone who can know about it know, get everyone’s attention, so when we clarify, we can make an even bigger scene and completely clear my name.”

Cheng Mingze frowned: “Having fewer people know would be better.”

What he said was indeed a good method for dealing with false rumors, minimizing all impacts.

But… Cheng Mingze didn’t know they still had a trump card to play.

Naturally, the more people who knew, the greater the impact would be.

“Brother, don’t worry. I already have a solution. You mentioned helping me borrow the broadcasting station—can you get it for me after school today?” Xue Jiao looked at Cheng Mingze.

He frowned, but seeing Xue Jiao’s determination, he nodded.

“Be careful. Don’t let yourself get hurt.”

Xue Jiao nodded with a smile, her resolve unwavering as always.

She only feared trouble, but she wasn’t weak. With a method to completely resolve the issue, she wouldn’t let this opportunity pass.

Didn’t Gu Shiyun want to make a big scene? Didn’t she want to put it on the forum for everyone to see?

She would get her wish.

——

When Xue Jiao arrived at the classroom, Yi Tianyu was already there, looking haggard from a sleepless night.

As soon as he saw her, Yi Tianyu anxiously said: “What do we do? I really can’t find Li Wei. Her parents seem to know something but won’t say a word! I’ll leave early this afternoon. I refuse to believe I can’t get answers from them!”

Xue Jiao shook her head: “Li Wei is with my friend. Don’t worry about this. We already have a solution. You should focus on your basketball practice so you can play well in the competition after the break.”

Yi Tianyu looked shocked—

“You already have a solution?”

Xue Jiao nodded, looking completely relaxed, not at all like she was faking it.

Was there a solution?

Soon, Yi Tianyu had a thought: “With your friend? Which friend? I don’t know about this.”

“A friend who’s like a mentor to me,” Xue Jiao thought of Lin Zhihua, a smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. “The one who prepared that final exam study outline for you earlier.”

Lin Zhihua… he had truly helped her so much.

A mentor!

Yi Tianyu breathed a sigh of relief, naturally assuming it was an older teacher-type person.

“We should thank them properly!”

“Yes!”

Friday morning, although the classmates’ impression of Xue Jiao was positive, she was still at the center of controversy.

The girls feared being ostracized if they talked to her, while the boys worried they would be rumored to have a relationship with her.

As a result, no one in the class dared to speak to her.

Students from other classes were even more extreme. Some girls from regular classes with poor grades would gather and gossip about her.

Most students, however, didn’t openly gossip, but they continuously discussed the matter.

They weren’t biased; they simply discussed the truth…

But just by talking about it, they were hurting her.

Nobody likes having slanderous “dirt” discussed about them wherever they go.

Yi Tianyu was furious. Just a few days ago, he was annoyed about Xue Jiao receiving too many love letters to clear out, and now, not even one came!

What was most infuriating was that there was a letter insulting Xue Jiao!

Yi Tianyu was so angry. If the letter had insulted him, he would have turned the world upside down to find the sender.

But it insulted Xue Jiao!

Fearing it would hurt her, he secretly destroyed the letter.

In his heart, though, he thoroughly cursed the letter sender’s ancestors.

——

“How does she still have the courage to come to school for classes?”

“Damn, if I were her, I’d transfer schools immediately!”

“This is too embarrassing.”

“Someone like her is actually on our school’s honor board. It’s humiliating just thinking about it!”

“When will she leave?”

“Could it be just a rumor?”

“Nonsense. If it were a rumor, how could she not have come out to defend herself for so long?”

“Right, if someone slandered me, I would have clarified it long ago!”

…

Several girls whispered nearby, one of them looking toward the silent Gu Shiyun—

“Shiyun, you never used to speak ill of Gu Xue Jiao but look now. She’s bringing shame to the Gu family name!”

Gu Shiyun didn’t respond. After a moment, she sighed: “We’re all young girls. How could someone do such a thing…”

“See? Even our kind-hearted Shiyun can’t stand her anymore!”

Gu Shiyun lowered her head slightly, hiding her smile.

Gu Xue Jiao, you thought becoming better-meant people would stop despising you?

As long as I’m around, you’ll only live despised by others!

——

At noon, Xue Jiao took her meal card to the cafeteria.

Just as she received her food, two girls came over with their trays and deliberately spilled soup on her.

“Oh my! Seeing something so dirty made my bowl react on its own!”

“Yueyue, are you okay? Staying away from this kind of person, who knows…”

“What are you doing?!” Someone interrupted her words and rushed over.

With the weather warming up near May Day, Xue Jiao wasn’t dressed heavily. The bowl of hot soup had completely soaked her.

Yi Tianyu put his jacket around her, while Xi Junyang looked anxious: “What happened? Jiaojiao, are you alright?”

Xue Jiao shook her head.

Yi Tianyu gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, his fingers clenched into fists, making cracking sounds.

“Looking for death!”

He looked so frightening that the two girls felt their legs weaken.

Suddenly, Xue Jiao reached out and grabbed his hand. Yi Tianyu was startled and looked back.

Xue Jiao just shook her head, saying softly: “The clarification is coming. Let’s not create more trouble now.”

She was worried that if Yi Tianyu hit someone, it would affect him. School rules were strict at this time. No matter what they said, if he hurt someone and his parents came to make a scene, it wouldn’t be a simple matter.

Besides, hitting two girls…

Yi Tianyu had a competition coming up. She couldn’t let him ruin his future for her.

When his fingers loosened slightly, Xue Jiao walked to the two girls, staring directly at their school badges.

“Grade 10, Class 20, Liu Yueyue. Grade 10, Class 20, Shen Tong.”

She repeated it once, then said nothing more, as if just carefully memorizing their names.

Then, holding her tray, she said to Yi Tianyu and Xi Junyang: “Let’s get food and eat.”

Yi Tianyu gave the two girls a cold look before forcing a smile at Xue Jiao—

“Okay, let’s eat together.”

He should have been guarding Xue Jiao all along!

With him around, how could she encounter such things?

“Yi Tianyu! Keep protecting her! Everyone knows you two have something going on!”

“Splash—” A bowl of soup hit a face.

It was Xue Jiao who threw it, returning Liu Yueyue’s soup.

“Ahh!!!” Liu Yueyue screamed.

Xue Jiao said coldly: “If you don’t know how to speak, don’t keep your mouth.”

For some reason, Liu Yueyue felt Xue Jiao’s gaze… was even more frightening than Yi Tianyu’s fists…

Xue Jiao turned to Yi Tianyu and Xi Junyang, managing to smile: “Let’s go. We can get another serving together.”

The three sat down at a table with their trays.

Xi Junyang couldn’t help saying: “Jiaojiao, you were so cool just now!!”

Yi Tianyu thought of something that made his ears turn red. Since he was sitting across from Xue Jiao, he quickly raised his hands to cover his ears.

His heart was pounding.

This bookworm…

How could she be so captivating!!!

After finishing her meal, Xue Jiao’s phone, which she had specially brought today, vibrated slightly.

She quickly took it out. Sure enough, it was from Lin Zhihua—

[Sorry for posting the thread just now. When I was about to post it, I felt I was being too polite, so I revised it.]

For some reason, Xue Jiao felt… Lin Zhihua’s tone seemed very angry.

——

Ten minutes after the post went up, Xue Jiao had just arrived at the classroom.

A boy suddenly stood up, cursed, and said: “Fuck! This is too shameless!!”

“What happened? What happened?” People nearby were curious.

The person turned to look at Xue Jiao, his eyes showing… sympathy, then waved others over to look at his phone under the desk.

Yi Tianyu also took out his phone and pulled Xue Jiao—

“Come, let’s see what the clarification post looks like!”

Xue Jiao hadn’t seen it yet either, so she obediently looked over.

The title was eye-catching and attention-grabbing.

Shocking! The truth about Gu Xue Jiao—How malicious can a mistress’s daughter be?

Seeing the title, many people clicked in with surprise. What did Gu Xue Jiao’s incident have to do with a mistress?

Whoever wrote this post was talented. Upon entering, the first thing people saw was—

Shocked? Gu Xue Jiao and Gu Shiyun are sisters!

Immediately, those who saw it exclaimed: Holy shit! Sisters?!

These two were both prominent figures at school, and they were sisters.

So, everyone excitedly scrolled down.

The post contained plenty of evidence. First, there were photos of Xue Jiao with Gu Jingxu and Li Sitong, obviously showing a family of three.

Original Poster: Shocked? Surprised? There’s more!

Instantly, photos of Gu Shiyun and her family appeared.

Original Poster: That’s right, Gu Xue Jiao is the daughter of a legitimate wife, while Gu Shiyun is the daughter of… you know who. They’re both his biological daughters. Gu Xue Jiao’s parents divorced when she was ten, and Gu Shiyun is only a few months younger than her. Haha, let me be direct—a nouveau riche man married a rich man’s daughter, a mistress crept in, gave birth to Gu Shiyun, and finally, when Xue Jiao was ten, the mistress officially entered the house!

The gossip followers were stunned.

Gu Shiyun was the daughter of a mistress, an illegitimate child?

How come there was never any news about this!!

Original Poster: Shocked? Surprised? There’s something even more shocking!

Next came screenshots of messages between Gu Shiyun and Li Wei. Years ago, Gu Shiyun constantly talked about how rich her “sister” was, and how generous she was. Li Wei had a bright idea and gathered information about Xue Jiao’s preferences, then approached her.

Later, as they grew older, one day, Gu Shiyun asked Li Wei to “corrupt” Xue Jiao, saying she would pay for it.

The subsequent chat records showed Li Wei reporting how she “corrupted” Xue Jiao—getting ear piercings, skipping classes—and with each incident, Gu Shiyun praised her and paid her.

For example, one conversation went like this—

Li Wei: Gu Xue Jiao looks outgoing, but she’s a coward. When her mom scolded her, she hugged me and cried, asking if what she did was wrong.

Gu Shiyun: What did you say?

Li Wei: Of course, I told her she was fine, that her mom didn’t want her anymore because she had a new family. That idiot believes whatever others tell her. I originally wanted to take her to a nightclub, but she wouldn’t go. She said going to nightclubs wasn’t good.

Gu Shiyun: If you can trick her into a nightclub and find someone to… I’ll give you 100,000 yuan!

Li Wei: Really?! Don’t worry, she’s pretty good-looking. I’ll give her to one of my “brothers” for a free night!

Another image was time-stamped a week later.

Li Wei: Damn! I put in so much effort to trick her into the hotel, and even when she was drunk, she still ran away!

Gu Shiyun: What? It didn’t work? Forget it… next time we must succeed!

Li Wei: It’s hopeless. She called me yesterday and cursed me out. It took me a long time to coax her, but she said she’ll never go to a nightclub again, and she doesn’t trust me as much now…

Li Wei: ??? Where are you? Even though it didn’t work, I got photos that look convincing.

Gu Shiyun: What photos?

The post enlarged that photo, which was the one from yesterday’s thread.

Original Poster: Hehe, surprised? The photo from yesterday’s post came from this.

Original Poster: Don’t panic, we have more surprises.

Original Poster: As they say, like mother, like daughter. With a daughter like this, imagine what her mother is like.

Original Poster: Gu Shiyun’s mother, Wu Wanjun, has been keen on playing the role of a kind stepmother these years, constantly giving gifts to her husband’s legitimate daughter. Hmm… I was quite moved, but when I found out what gifts…

Original Poster: The latest model phones with all kinds of shopping, video, and gaming apps; extravagant clothes; taking her out shopping during class time; and even bringing her to casinos. Well, great! China’s Best Stepmother award must go to her!

Original Poster: Shocked? Wait, there’s more!

Then, the original poster shared a few more screenshots.

Gu Shiyun: This is the last time. Post these on the Seventh Middle School forum, and I’ll give you 50,000 yuan. After that, I won’t look for you again.

Li Wei: Okay.

Original Poster: Alright, I know you’ll question this, so I have early videos of Gu Shiyun and Li Wei. At that time, Gu Shiyun was still young—though her heart was naturally dark, her scheming wasn’t sophisticated enough, and she met with Li Wei privately. Over the years, she’s only stabbed people in the back, never appearing in person.

The video resources were uploaded. As they were from some time ago, the sound wasn’t clear, but technicians had processed the audio separately and placed it below.

This evidence was comprehensive!

Original Poster: Well, I’ve summarized everything. I originally wanted to dig into how a “female troublemaker” transformed into a “goddess,” but I discovered something much more interesting! All I can say is—the power of genetics!

Original Poster: The goddess was harmed like this early on, yet she awoke to become such an impressive figure now—truly legendary. But I’m still curious: what is Gu Shiyun like at school? With such calculation… she must be adored by everyone at school, with no one speaking ill of her, right? After all, who would offend someone with such a black heart? The grass on their graves would be meters high!

Original Poster: Finally, if Gu Xue Jiao hadn’t risen, she’d probably still be cursed as a “troublemaker,” while Gu Shiyun would remain glamorous. I’m also shocked—after digging through everything, I kept wondering what Gu Xue Jiao did wrong. In the end, I realized her only “fault” was being the legitimate wife’s daughter. But is that a fault? You insult her and pour soup on her, but for what? What did she do wrong?

Original Poster: And the very, very, very, very last thing—here are the real names from the previous post. Come see what these forum keyboard warriors who don’t speak like humans look like at school! No need to thank me, call me Lei Feng.

“Bang—” Yi Tianyu slammed his fist on the desk, making it shake as if about to fall apart.

His eyes were red, staring at the post, finally spitting out one sentence—

“Fuck his grandfather!”

It wasn’t just Yi Tianyu; most of the boys reading the post were red-eyed with anger, and some girls even started crying.

What had she done wrong?

She had done nothing wrong. She was naive, but had she ever harmed anyone? Even her “badness” was caused by others leading her astray!

Even though it was Friday noon before phones were allowed, comments were flooding in rapidly.

“Holy crap!”

“…Mind-blowing.”

“I’m fucking crying. What kind of monster is this!”

“Damn! If the evidence wasn’t so clear, I would never believe such people exist in this world!”

“I used to think Gu Shiyun was nice. She’s too disgusting!”

…

Gu Shiyun’s situation was different from Xue Jiao’s earlier. That post exposing Xue Jiao’s “dirt” was about behavior issues, which people could discuss privately.

Gu Shiyun’s case was shocking—a complete moral and ethical problem!

In Class 2.

Gu Shiyun was trembling, her face deathly pale.

At that moment, her deskmate, a boy who had always admired her, moved his desk to the back.

“I dare not sit with such a person.”

No one dared to speak. They all looked at Gu Shiyun with horrified eyes.

Years ago, she already had the scheming mind to harm the legitimate wife’s daughter!

Her heart must have been completely black for a long time!

Yet they interacted daily and never noticed anything?!

Before they could recover from their shock, the class began.

Coincidentally, this class was Teacher Li Ping’s.

As soon as he walked in, Chu Sheng stood up: “Teacher Li, I refuse to sit in the same classroom as someone so morally corrupt. It feels like an insult to the school.”

After speaking, Chu Sheng took his books and walked out, standing in the corridor.

Then, another person stood up, followed by another, until many had stood up and walked out.

“This class… will be self-study…” Li Ping said, quickly walking toward the office.

He couldn’t teach now. Anyone who had seen that post wouldn’t know how to face Gu Shiyun.

Li Ping knew the afternoon classes wouldn’t happen today.

Over the years, he had seen morally corrupt people, but someone so young already like this was indeed shocking.

He used to think Gu Shiyun was perfect in every way.

The teachers’ office was also in chaos. The post was right there, and after yesterday’s post had fermented, today’s post instantly made everyone aware.

Lin Zhihua was right—destruction before construction. Didn’t Gu Shiyun want to make a big scene?

She would surely reap what she had sown.

Class 1 also had no lesson, just self-study.

Xue Jiao remained amid the worried, concerned, and remorseful gazes until the two classes ended.

Almost as soon as they ended, she and Yi Tianyu ran to the broadcasting room.

With all the students still at school, what needed to be said must be said now, without delay!

Cheng Mingze stood at the broadcasting room door, eyes slightly red, his palms bleeding from his tight grip.

He couldn’t speak, only trembling as he handed the key to Xue Jiao.

Soon, a voice came through Seventh Middle School’s broadcast system.

“Hello everyone, I am Gu Xue Jiao.”