Dating Myself - Chapter 15

Qin Yige strung together An Mu’s actions since she entered the school: her quick friendship with Jian Yixi, her reporting of the photo incident to the local TV station, her blatant targeting of Jian Yihu in the cafeteria, and finally, the strange forum glitch last night followed by An Mu’s timely Weibo post.

Instead of analyzing, Qin Yige posed a series of rhetorical questions:

Why did An Mu and Jian Yixi become so close less than half an hour after An Mu entered the school?

Why did she call a reporter instead of the police to report the photo incident?

Why, after knowing Jian Yixi for only one morning, was she so confident about her test scores, more so than her biological sister?

Why did Jian Yixi, who only had a total score of 400+ in a small town, get 120+ on such a difficult B-version exam?

Why did the forum, which had never glitched before, glitch last night?

Why was An Mu, a student who had only been at the school for one day, so familiar with the forum and able to expose people so quickly, even before her older classmates could react?

He ended his post with a final sentence: “I can’t provide evidence for the 400+ total score right now, but I welcome Jian Yihu’s sister to show her last semester’s report card to prove her innocence. It would be even better if she could show her test paper.”

As soon as this Weibo post went live, many netizens, including fans and random people, became self-proclaimed “logic experts.” They came to a similar conclusion: An Mu had ulterior motives, and Jian Yixi might have, too. By extension, An Mu either had a feud with Jian Yihu or was desperate for fame. The same applied to Jian Yixi.

Although it was all speculation, the gossip was confined to a small circle. With Jian Yihu managing the comments and leading the narrative, the public opinion quickly shifted. A large wave of posts accusing An Mu and Jian Yixi of teaming up for fame dominated the comment section.

Qin Yige took the opportunity to state his position: I admit I used a fake persona, and my methods were low, but I cannot stand by and watch two terrible people ruin my classmate.

A while later, he wrote another post, this time in a more innocent tone: Jian Yihu and I are just friends. High school students shouldn’t be in relationships. Please don’t post comments about us being a couple, as it could cause misunderstandings with the school and our parents. It could also cause unnecessary trouble for Jian Yihu. Thank you! He even attached a photo of himself with his hands clasped in a gesture of gratitude. The photo, taken by a bright window with sunlight streaming in, made him look charming and warm.

In this world that values appearance, people’s opinions often follow the face. Those who were previously criticizing him now saw his actions through a filter of admiration, believing it was an act of “crazy love.” Qin Yige’s Weibo was filled with positive comments, while An Mu’s was now filled with insults.

“She’s only been in school for a day and has already caused so much trouble! She must be crazy for fame!”

“I’ve always thought her sister wasn’t a good person!”

“The test paper must have been leaked. It was from last semester’s B-version exam, not a confidential document.”

These were the calmer comments. Other insults were so vile that it made people wonder if they were written by someone who had just emerged from a public restroom.

During lunchtime, the school cafeteria was bustling. Xie Maomao, a student who relied on a tuition waiver, wanted to show her sincerity by treating Jian Yixi to lunch on the second floor. She also insisted that An Mu join them.

When Xie Maomao saw how quickly the public opinion had shifted, she was furious. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight with her phone. “The blogger isn’t like that! And neither is Jian Yixi! You don’t know anything, so you have no right to comment. At best, you’re ignorant; at worst, you’re a brainless idiot!”

Jian Yixi had always lived a simple life, going from home to school and back. Although she used the internet on her old computer, she was as pure as a blank sheet of paper and had no idea how the online world worked. She never expected such vile insults to be directed at her and An Mu. She tried to respond to the comments, but An Mu placed her phone on the table.

“Don’t bother with them. Eat,” An Mu said. “Just eat, trust me.”

Before Jian Yixi could pick up her chopsticks, Xie Maomao exclaimed, “Look! What’s this? An angel sent this!”

Jian Yixi leaned in to see. “I respect you for taking the blame. You’re a hero, so here’s a cup of green tea for you. [Image link] @JianYihuErin; @lLinjiangBiel; @ShaonianQinLake”

When Jian Yixi and Xie Maomao opened the link, their eyes widened in disbelief. It was a de-anonymized IP address from the forum. While it wasn’t explicitly labeled, it was easy to see that the IP address for Qin Yige’s comments was completely different from Jian Yihu’s.

Xie Maomao froze for a few seconds before liking and replying to the post. She continued to eat as An Mu calmly picked out food for her. Jian Yixi had ordered the food, so some of it wasn’t what Xie Maomao liked, but An Mu only picked out dishes that she knew Xie Maomao would enjoy, like shredded pork with garlic sauce and bamboo shoots.

Xie Maomao was so engrossed in the comments that she didn’t even notice. She was surprised when she realized what An Mu was doing. “Your accuracy is too good! I swear you must be my long-lost sister!” she said, touched.

An Mu took Xie Maomao’s phone and put it face down on the table. “Stop replying. Eat.”

“But this is a great opportunity! We have to expose him!” Xie Maomao pleaded.

“There’s no rush. Let’s finish eating first.” An Mu was calm while Xie Maomao was ready to burst.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, An Mu took out her phone, slowly wrote a new Weibo post, and slowly added some pictures. Xie Maomao couldn’t wait any longer. She pulled up a chair next to her and leaned over to watch.

“#B*tch-Exposing# I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. @JianYihuErin; @ShaonianQinLake; @lLinjiangBiel; #JianYihu#; #InspirationalTeenGirl#”

There were a few pictures below the text.

The first was a ticket for a flight from Paris to Beijing two days before school started. The second was her school enrollment form and tuition payment record, also from two days ago. The third was a certificate and trophy for a clothing design competition she won three years ago. The fourth was a non-confidential page from a copyright transfer contract for her winning design to a famous clothing brand. The fifth was various documents proving she had lived in Paris her entire life. The sixth was a screenshot of her private messages with a famous blogger who had over ten million followers. All the personal information had been blurred out, but the message was clear.

An Mu had lived in France and had only returned to the country recently! She had just registered for school the day before it started! How could she have known Jian Yixi beforehand? How could they have teamed up to frame Jian Yihu?!

Qin Yige had claimed that An Mu and Jian Yixi had known each other for a long time, but An Mu had just proven him wrong. Furthermore, her awards and the copyright transfer contract proved she was a genius designer. If she wanted to be famous, she could have used her own accomplishments. She didn’t need to use a small influencer like Jian Yihu.

In less than two hours, Qin Yige’s Weibo post became a joke.

Jian Yihu, on the other hand, was on the verge of a breakdown. She was too young to handle all the stress. She had worked so hard to get to where she was today with her mother’s guidance. She was talented, beautiful, and she wanted to go to film school to become a famous actress. She even dreamed of collaborating with her idol, Mo Huihao.

Was An Mu going to ruin everything? No! She wouldn’t give up!

She would just get Jian Yixi’s test scores to prove that she wasn’t lying about her sister’s poor grades. She would blame the stolen forum account on Jian Yixi and say that Jian Yixi had used An Mu since she knew how powerful she was. Yes, that’s what she would do! She would also say that Qin Yige had misunderstood and had taken the blame for her, which was why she hadn’t come forward sooner.

“Ha… ha…” Jian Yihu sat in her room, her face pale, laughing a dry, bitter laugh.