CM - 8

Zhou Shuirong knew she was being slandered as soon as she left the gym; the internet was flooded with accusations against her. She looked at them and found it a bit laughable. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t pay attention, but her identity was special. Her parents were supposedly ‘deceased,’ and besides Zhou Siyuan, only a few leaders knew they were still alive. Her parents sent her back to China to make her happy, and she couldn’t put them in danger.

She knew Chen Fuyu was spreading rumors about her, ultimately because of Liang Jifan, as they used to be boyfriend and girlfriend. So, finding Liang Jifan and having him admit he was spreading rumors would be more effective.

She found Liang Jifan. Liang Jifan, thinking she hadn’t escaped his charm, immediately reached out to touch her: “Are you still playing hard to get during the day?”

Zhou Shuirong twisted his arm and went straight to the point: “Two months ago, you narrowly won first place against Shen Tingwen in a physics competition organized by several middle schools. Physics is your best subject, so no one doubted the authenticity of that competition.”

Liang Jifan fell silent when she brought up the topic, surprised that she knew about it and feeling a bit guilty.

“The day before the competition, your girlfriend Chen Fuyu fainted during PE class and was sent to the infirmary. Next to the infirmary is the physics office. At that time, Teacher Zhang, who set the physics competition questions, was in the office, and the competition papers were on her desk,” Zhou Shuirong said.

Liang Jifan’s smile grew more unnatural: “No, what do you mean by this? I don’t understand.”

Zhou Shuirong said bluntly: “Chen Fuyu helped you steal the physics competition questions, so you got first place and a prize of six thousand yuan. You used that six thousand yuan to buy her a phone. She posted many statuses showing it off. You found it annoying, so you broke up with her.”

Liang Jifan knew that Chen Fuyu, who would post about every little thing on social media, would cause trouble.

“After you broke up, you were at peace because this matter was enough to keep you both in check. She’s restless now because you came near me. She can’t use the stolen papers to threaten you into getting back together, since she was the one who stole the papers and got the phone bought with the prize money. Threatening you is like threatening herself. So she’s spreading rumors about me, saying I was cheap and shameless in the past, to get you to change your mind.”

Liang Jifan denied it: “Where did you hear all this?”

Zhou Shuirong threw her phone on the table. The screen showed the questions from that physics competition: “Teacher Zhang made a mistake on the last question, so there was no answer to it, which is why Shen Tingwen left that question blank. You answered it, and your answer was the same as the one Teacher Zhang had written down beforehand.”

Liang Jifan had nothing more to say; he wilted.

Zhou Shuirong said: “The school didn’t expose this matter to protect Teacher Zhang’s dignity as a veteran teacher. This kind of question, whether right or wrong, wasn’t about general physics knowledge, ordinary people couldn’t tell, and professionals wouldn’t look at middle school physics competition questions. Plus, Shen Tingwen didn’t make a fuss, so no one has found out until now. Teacher Zhang’s dignity has nothing to do with me. Since your ex-girlfriend is spreading such rumors about me, I want to expose this.”

Liang Jifan wasn’t afraid of trouble, but stealing the test papers to get first place was too shameful, especially since physics was a subject he was quite proud of. He didn’t want his past honor to be revoked, nor did he want to be told he was inferior to Shen Tingwen.

He conceded, his voice very low, no longer looking at Zhou Shuirong; her beauty no longer attracted him: “What do you want to do?”

“I want Chen Fuyu to delete all the rumors about me and issue a public apology, an apology to me, Zhou Shuirong,” Zhou Shuirong said.

Liang Jifan said: “I’ll talk to her.”

“Before school tomorrow, if I don’t see it, the fact that you weren’t as good as Shen Tingwen in the physics competition and had to cheat to get first place won’t be a secret anymore,” Zhou Shuirong finished, stood up, put on her black baseball cap, and walked out.

Liang Jifan had underestimated this woman. Not only was her tongue sharp, but her mind worked incredibly fast.

Forget about Shen Tingwen telling him to stay away from her; with a woman this venomous, he would keep his distance himself in the future.

________________________________________

The rain was getting heavier. As Shen Tingwen waited for a car by the roadside, Chen Ziqian, who was already aware of the situation, chased after him. He was a bit desperate, forgetting Shen Tingwen’s background, and lunged with a punch, but missed, as Shen Tingwen dodged.

Shen Tingwen took two steps to the side, looking at the opposite side of the road, unafraid of Chen Ziqian beside him: “Don’t be foolish and add to your sentence.”

Chen Ziqian ignored him, extending both hands. Just as he was about to grab Shen Tingwen’s collar, Shen Tingwen used his umbrella to block Chen Ziqian’s clumsy body, followed by a kick directly to his abdomen.

Chen Ziqian’s weight was mostly on his hands, giving little power to his body, so Shen Tingwen’s kick sent him tumbling into a puddle below the steps.

Some of Chen Ziqian’s friends were afraid of Shen Tingwen, others weren’t. The fearless ones all came out. Anyway, it was a rainy night and no one was around, so beating up Shen Tingwen wouldn’t leave any evidence. They were either from slightly well-off families or had no money at all. The rich ones weren’t afraid of trouble, and the penniless ones had nothing to lose, so they were even less afraid. Plus, having drunk some alcohol, they just wanted to fight for their brotherly loyalty, without considering any consequences.

________________________________________

Liang Jifan called Chen Fuyu. Hearing her say that Chen Ziqian and Shen Tingwen were about to fight, he dashed towards the location.

Zhou Shuirong hadn’t gone far. Seeing Liang Jifan’s reaction, she knew something was up and took a taxi to follow him.

________________________________________

Shen Cheng hadn’t taught Shen Tingwen how to fight, but Shen Tingwen matured early. He had his eye on a certain girl from a young age. That girl reacted so quickly, was so skilled, and knew so many weapons. If he didn’t have some ability, how could he be worthy of her?

So, from a very young age, Shen Tingwen actively requested training in karate, combat, ancient boxing, and other disciplines to enhance his combat skills.

He wasn’t sure if he could beat Zhou Shuirong, but he could hold his own against these few people for a few rounds. Only a few rounds, though. They were outnumbered, and he would be overwhelmed if he tried to fight head-on.

But he was cunning; how could he come alone? Just as Chen Ziqian’s friends came out, car headlights lit up in the distance.

The few friends dared not advance, pulling up Chen Ziqian, who had a mouth full of mud, wanting to hear what he had to say first.

Shen Tingwen stood to the side the whole time, holding his umbrella. Despite the fierce fighting just now, his umbrella hadn’t dropped or warped; it remained steady in his hand.

Liang Jifan arrived just then and saw this scene: Chen Ziqian’s group and Shen Tingwen alone. He walked to the middle, speaking to Chen Ziqian first: “Are you drunk? Looking for death in the middle of the night? If this escalates, aren’t you just digging your own graves?”

Chen Ziqian was furious, but not to the point of losing his mind. After all, he had some years of education. He calmed down, saw the situation had blown up, and left.

Zhou Shuirong arrived behind Liang Jifan, saw a group of people leave, and at first didn’t think it had anything to do with Shen Tingwen. She just thought something had happened to Liang Jifan and Chen Fuyu. Who knew that after turning off the main road, she would see Shen Tingwen.

Shen Tingwen also saw her, was surprised for three seconds, then put his hand behind his back. His arm had gotten a cut during the fight.

Zhou Shuirong saw his action. She walked over, getting drenched in the rain, pulled his arm forward. The cut was still bleeding, and the rain couldn’t wash it clean. She took off her hat, pressed it on the bleeding spot, and asked him: “Who are they?”

Shen Tingwen held the umbrella for her, not saying: “It’s nothing.”

“This is nothing?” Zhou Shuirong’s tone was already very displeased.

Liang Jifan also said: “I think Chen Ziqian’s matter is more serious. I just saw his leg...”

Zhou Shuirong didn’t listen to him, still asking Shen Tingwen: “I asked you, who are they?”

Shen Tingwen looked into her eyes, still shaking his head: “It’s nothing.”

Zhou Shuirong was a little angered by his kindness: “Your leniency will only make them worse!”

Although Liang Jifan didn’t catch their fight, he knew that if it really came down to it, those guys and Shen Tingwen were pretty evenly matched. So why did Zhou Shuirong think they were bullying Shen Tingwen...?

Who the hell would dare to bully him? He reminded her: “If those guys went one by one, it’s not even Shen...”

Zhou Shuirong temporarily couldn’t listen to others, especially someone like Liang Jifan who had no credibility with her. She wanted Shen Tingwen to tell her who they were right now, but treating his wound was more urgent, so she called a taxi first, planning to ask him slowly at the hospital.