YABE - 38

Wen Siyu didn’t rush to check her phone.

In fact, as a female streamer, she had seen and encountered plenty of baseless rumors, mudslinging, and backstabbing—where one person points the finger and a swarm of idle onlookers piles on like locusts.

First, she calmed Qu Xiawan, whose emotions were still unsettled, and led her upstairs amidst the curious gazes of others. Back in the dormitory, she stood by her desk and opened her phone.

Oh, this post had been pushed to the top and had accumulated many layers of replies.

Wen Siyu raised an eyebrow and clicked into it.

The post was made in the morning by someone claiming to be an “onlooker.” The opening featured two photos of Wen Siyu getting out of two different luxury cars.

Wen Siyu glanced at them—one was Weny Siyuan’s car, and the other was when Weny Siyuan had driven her back to school in Weny Jingyao’s car.

Below, the “onlooker” briefly explained that she had “accidentally” seen something she shouldn’t have and casually stirred the pot.

Wen Siyu thought this “onlooker” really cared about her.

Wen Siyu herself had a bit of minor fame in the directing department, and with her previous collaboration with the campus prince and princess, it wasn’t long before someone posted her earlier photos with Yuan Zhen. People began questioning: Isn’t this the girl from the directing department who’s dating our campus prince?

Soon after, amidst the layers of replies filled with insults, gossip, or sarcastic accusations of her being a slut, a secretly taken photo of Wen Siyu and Gu Hengan surfaced.

Clearly a candid shot, it showed a man in a white suit walking beside her in a little black dress on a nighttime street. Though the image quality wasn’t great, it was clear enough to identify their faces.

Gu Hengan, as a newly rising young actor and a senior alumnus of the same film academy, had gained some fame during his school years.

Thus, the atmosphere exploded. The topic of “Yuan Zhen’s current girlfriend hooking up with two rich men and seducing a rising star alumni, Gu Hengan,” ignited discussions across forums, tiebas, and even Weibo, generating hype worthy of the scandal.

At this point, Wen Siyu’s mood remained calm, even slightly relieved.

Thankfully, her biggest fears hadn’t materialized.

Skipping past the insults, she scrolled through rows of comments like 【Poor Prince Yuan】【Our Senior Yuan, Sob Sob Sob】【Yuan Zhen: Of Course, I Choose to Forgive Her】and suddenly felt a pang of pity for Yuan Zhen.

She wondered how it must feel to be inexplicably cheated on.

Calmly scrolling, Qu Xiawan beside her was indignant, incessantly ranting in her ear. After a long tirade, the girl concluded: “Why would Tang Yier do such an outrageous thing? We’ve lived together for almost three years, attending classes, eating, and sleeping together. We used to be so close. What did you ever do to wrong her?”

Wen Siyu paused her scrolling and looked up at her: “How do you know it was her?”

Qu Xiawan froze, her lips slowly curving downward. She hesitated for a moment, then sighed: “Ay Yu, I didn’t tell you yesterday. During class, I had already called roll for you, but Tang Yier later—” She paused, sighing again. “She told the counselor that you hadn’t been around these past few days and that I’d been calling roll for you. Then I got scolded.”

After finishing, Qu Xiawan lowered her head, her voice quieter: “Ay Yu, do you think all those feelings we shared were fake?”

Wen Siyu smiled faintly, her voice soft and drawn out: “Were they all fake?”

After she said this, Qu Xiawan looked wistful. Both fell silent, and the dormitory was quiet.

A moment later, the door clicked open. A girl entered holding a water bottle, her expression calm as she closed the door behind her.

She glanced at the two huddled together, her gaze finally landing on Wen Siyu, and smiled faintly: “Back already?”

Wen Siyu also smiled: “Yeah, got scolded.”

Tang Yier snorted, casting her a sideways glance: “You should keep skipping classes if you want.”

Wen Siyu rubbed her nose and stayed silent.

Beside her, Qu Xiawan couldn’t take it anymore and rushed over: “Tang Yier, what do you mean? Why did you take those photos? Why did you post them on the forum?”

The studious girl opened a book and glanced at her: “It wasn’t me.”

“Not you?” Qu Xiawan sneered. “Didn’t you always look down on Ay Yu? Yesterday, you even told the counselor she hadn’t been around, and that I’d been calling roll for her. How could you do this? What did Ay Yu ever do to wrong you?”

“Yesterday, I did tell the counselor, but only because they asked me. I can’t lie,” Tang Yier replied coldly, her tone slow and measured. “But today’s post wasn’t mine.”

Qu Xiawan was almost laughing in anger: “Tang Yier, how dare you deny it? Don’t you always say you don’t browse forums? How do you know what I’m talking about?”

Tang Yier glanced at her and smiled faintly: “Didn’t you loudly proclaim that Siyu got into trouble again? Naturally, I had to go see what it was about.”

“You’re deflecting blame quite skillfully,” Qu Xiawan’s eyes reddened with anger. “Claiming not to browse forums yet knowing everything, then saying you only saw it because I mentioned it. You’ve really covered all your bases, haven’t you? Aren’t you just jealous that Siyu took your scholarship? You’re a top student, sure, but isn’t it your own lack of talent to blame?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Yier slammed her book shut, her expression changing.

Wen Siyu’s head throbbed.

Wait, wasn’t she the one being insulted here? Hello?!

She stepped forward, awkwardly smiling as she separated the two. Now, both Tang Yier and Qu Xiawan turned to look at her.

Wen Siyu laughed awkwardly twice and asked: “Are you guys hungry?”

“…”

Silence. Wen Siyu persisted, waving her phone: “Shall we order takeout?”

Tang Yier: “….”

Qu Xiawan: “….”

The next day, Yuan Zhen officially responded, clarifying that the two had always been friends and had never dated. He vouched for her character.

He handled it very formally. Wen Siyu wanted to laugh but decided to send him a text thanking him instead.

Yuan Zhen received it. He stared at his phone, lost in thought. His fingers hovered over the screen for a long time. He smiled faintly but ultimately didn’t reply.

But in his heart, he had already answered her.

Initially, Wen Siyu thought this matter was relatively easy to resolve—it was just a few photos. Since Yuan Zhen had clarified things, and with New Year’s approaching, people probably wouldn’t dwell on it much longer.

Besides, the accusation of being kept by rich men didn’t bother her too much.

After all, from certain angles, the accusation itself seemed somewhat valid.

However, the issue involved Gu Hengan.

Though Gu Hengan had only recently debuted and had only one TV drama or movie aired so far, he was still considered a rising star. But since celebrities were involved, the situation became complicated.

Fortunately, the photo was currently confined to the forum. After some consideration, Wen Siyu immediately contacted Xiang Ge, asking if she could help lock the thread temporarily.

Xiang Ge was surprised: “No need to delete it?”

“No, just to prevent the photo from spreading for now.”

Xiang Ge laughed, lounging in the back row of the classroom with her legs crossed, watching her: “Honestly, though, who did you piss off? This is clearly targeting you.”

Wen Siyu shrugged, feigning helplessness: “I’m a good citizen. I never provoke hatred.”

—Except for secretly snagging a national boyfriend.

Wen Siyu’s thoughts came true. On the eve of the New Year’s holiday, as she exited the library, she felt a pair of eyes staring at her.

Turning around, Xia Yuan was leaning against the marble pillar at the library entrance, looking in her direction.

The woman wore a navy woolen skirt, a light-colored coat, and another pair of sunglasses. Her nails, now a deep blue, tapped rhythmically against her arm.

Wen Siyu was a bit surprised but still walked over, stopping in front of her.

Xia Yuan spoke first: “I’ve wrapped filming.”

Wen Siyu thought to herself, I know; otherwise, you wouldn’t be standing here.

That bastard Jiang Xu had said it would take another week.

Wen Siyu didn’t speak, and Xia Yuan didn’t seem to care, smiling: “Happy? Finally, no one will cling to your Jiang Gege.”

This time, the little girl smiled sweetly: “Sister, feel free to film for a few more months. I’m completely at ease.”

Xia Yuan choked, wanting to curse again.

After enough fake smiles, Wen Siyu remembered the main issue: “How did you know I was here?”

The woman raised an eyebrow: “I didn’t come looking for you.”

“Oh.”

“Meeting you here was purely coincidental.”

“Oh.”

“…” Xia Yuan was momentarily speechless. “Can’t you say something else?”

Wen Siyu looked at her strangely: “If you didn’t come looking for me, then do you have other business here?”

Xia Yuan: “….”

The proud woman glared at her, huffed lightly, and said nothing more, walking away with clicking heels.

Wen Siyu sighed, turning around just in time to see Qu Xiawan coming out.

The girl saw her and waved cheerfully.

Wen Siyu let out an “Ah,” watching her approach with a big smile.

Qu Xiawan was taller than Wen Siyu, with long limbs. In just two strides, she reached her, holding a book and clutching a phone.

“Ay Yu, you came to the library too? I didn’t see you earlier,” she said with a smile.

Wen Siyu’s gaze slid from the book in her hand to the phone she tightly gripped, and she smiled.

“It’s you, right?”

Qu Xiawan heard her say it.