The Beauty Said She Has A Secret Crush On Me - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Zhuang Lu was deeply engrossed in reading The Da Vinci Code on her Kindle and didn’t react even when Wu Nianxi poked her. The teacher then moved on to a different topic, so Wu Nianxi handed the phone back to Sun Rui and started taking notes. Sun Rui tried to discuss something with her, but Wu Nianxi gently dismissed her.

Sitting in Zhuang Lu’s dorm chair at noon, Wu Nianxi remembered the matter and felt a touch of worry. She opened the forum app on her iPad and found that the post hadn’t been removed, nor had the original poster been banned, and the comment thread was already nearing ten thousand replies.

Wu Nianxi’s mind felt momentarily jammed. Once she recovered, she knew Cai Jing would not be able to stay in this school.

The reality was exactly that, and even worse. The post had drawn the attention of social media. Since the school leadership hadn’t “cleaned up the mess” in time, a new media outlet with a massive user base was the first to report the incident. Two or three hours later, when Wu Nianxi searched on Baidu again, she found the incident appearing on several major mainstream online media sites. Wu Nianxi froze for a few seconds, then handed her phone to Zhuang Lu, who had been reading e-books on her Kindle all afternoon.

Zhuang Lu was curled up in a corner on a small stool, reading enthusiastically, when an iPad appeared in front of her. She took it and immediately saw the pixelated nude photos, her eyes instantly feeling assaulted.

“The comments below are terribly nasty,” Wu Nianxi said. “They’re even insulting our school.”

Zhuang Lu quickly read through the entire content and comments, her expression unchanged. “This is normal. Keyboard warriors are powerful; they are best at cursing from behind a screen.”

“What should we do then?” In fact, Wu Nianxi knew exactly who she was—she had a hard heart and didn’t feel much about the situation, at most a detached sigh. But she remembered Zhuang Lu’s anger that morning, and she looked at Zhuang Lu, clearly caring about her opinion.

Zhuang Lu thought for a moment. “This matter has blown up. Online public opinion can destroy a person. Does Cai Jing have any female friends? Get someone to keep an eye on Cai Jing first.”

“How would we know that? But I know a senior on the school newspaper. Why don’t I talk to him and see if he can get the forum post deleted?”

Zhuang Lu nodded, then shook her head. “If you tell him about it directly, he will definitely inform the faculty supervisor. It would be simpler for the school to suppress this matter.”

“But this is a personal matter after all.”

“It’s not anymore. But Cai Jing being criticized is certain. I just don’t know if she will receive disciplinary action.”

“Okay, then I’ll contact that senior.”

Zhuang Lu thought for a moment and added, “Fine, I’ll contact Wen Zhuo. He might know about Cai Jing’s situation.”

Zhuang Lu’s greatest concern was Cai Jing. A young girl in the prime of her youth—it would be terrible if she did something drastic because of this! More terrifying than physical violence is verbal abuse, gossip, and prejudice. The reckless impulsiveness of youth might bring temporary darkness, so people must learn to be strong. If you hold on a little longer when things feel hopeless, you might just get through life.

Zhuang Lu dialed Wen Zhuo’s number. The phone rang several times, and when it connected, the opposite end was noisy. “Don’t be rash!” Wen Zhuo’s voice shouted loudly. After a few seconds, his speaking rate was still fast, but his voice was quieter. “Is something wrong? I can’t really talk now.”

“Where are you?” Zhuang Lu quickly analyzed Wen Zhuo’s situation based on the noisy background. “How many people are there?”

Wen Zhuo, holding Yu Hu with one hand and his phone with the other, felt his heart suddenly calm down amidst the chaotic and urgent environment. “North Gate basketball court. You don’t need to come over. It won’t escalate to a fight.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Kunrong’s fist flew toward Yu Hu. Wen Zhuo was holding Yu Hu and instinctively stepped back. The punch landed on Wen Zhuo’s arm.

Wen Zhuo’s pained grunt made Zhuang Lu frown. She got up and rushed downstairs without saying a word to Wu Nianxi, who was looking at her after ending her own call. Wu Nianxi was left standing there, a surge of unidentifiable anger raging in her chest. She gripped her phone tightly, with such force that it felt like the phone would shatter in the next second.

Tao Ru returned from outside, her expression unusual. She hid in the corridor, rubbing her slightly red eyes, not wanting her dorm nemesis to see her like this.

Taking out her key and preparing to open the door, she found the door ajar, and Wu Nianxi’s voice was coming from inside the dorm.

She moved closer to the crack in the door and heard Wu Nianxi say, “Yes, North Gate basketball court. Students are gathering to fight. Please send someone to handle it as soon as possible.”

Tao Ru couldn’t hear the answer on the other end, but after a few seconds, she heard Wu Nianxi softly chuckle. “Senior, your job is really important. Some people just add to your workload, especially group fights that have a bad influence. You must make an example of them. Right?”

She didn’t know what the other party said, but Wu Nianxi still smiled charmingly. “That’s best. Then Senior, please quickly take people to deal with it.”

Seeing her hang up, Tao Ru considered pushing the door open, but then heard Wu Nianxi make another call, her voice sounding urgent. “Zhuāng Zhuāng, I just got news that Cai Jing committed suicide. She’s been taken to the school clinic by her roommates and student union members. Don’t go to the basketball court first. Let’s go to the school clinic!”

The contrast in these two consecutive phone calls filled Tao Ru with a strange feeling. She couldn’t help but peek cautiously through the crack in the door and saw that Wu Nianxi, whose tone sounded so urgent, held the phone with a face that looked incredibly calm. Her beautiful lips were slightly pursed, conveying a hint of cold indifference at this moment. Her eyes were cast down, and Tao Ru, with her good eyesight, could see her thick, curled eyelashes, trembling slightly like the wings of a butterfly resting on a flower.

She was looking at Zhuang Lu’s desk, piled high with various books—serious literature and picture books randomly mixed together.

Seeing such a different Wu Nianxi all at once, Tao Ru couldn’t help but gasp. Wu Nianxi had always been popular, beautiful, and very gentle. Who would have expected such a clear and beautiful girl to have such a huge contrast when no one was around? The first call had just “reported” the people fighting, and the second call spoke of suicide, yet her expression was calm without the slightest ripple.

In her surprise, Tao Ru’s hand, resting lightly on the door, trembled slightly, causing the aged door to emit a very clear “creak.”

Wu Nianxi turned her head. Their eyes met in mid-air, and the atmosphere was slightly frozen.

Then, Wu Nianxi slightly curled her lips, being the first to break the silence. “You heard?”

Tao Ru instinctively shook her head.

“Do you know Cai Jing? She committed suicide because of a nude photo. Online public opinion is truly frightening. Doesn’t it resemble the ancient practice of soaking people in a pig cage?”

Wu Nianxi’s voice was still gentle and soft, but the hairs on Tao Ru’s arms stood up, keenly warning her—danger!

“Do you know about social death? The masses’ voices melt metal, and accumulated slander destroys bone. This is the pig cage of the new era. It looks much more civilized, but it’s still terrifying.” Wu Nianxi let out a soft laugh and gently patted Tao Ru’s shoulder as she walked past her. “You are a smart person.”

It wasn’t until Wu Nianxi had just left that Tao Ru felt somewhat relieved. Wu Nianxi’s words, though gentle, were like a knife, making her feel slightly nauseous. She rushed to the restroom to vomit, feeling a little better only after a few dry retches.

She was by no means a smart person, only not stupid. But she dared not say a word about what happened today.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Lu, who received the beauty Wu’s call, was already close to the North Gate basketball court. Thinking it was only a short distance, she ran toward the court. After running for about ten minutes, she saw the student union members had already rushed into the fight scene, forcefully separating the two sides. She couldn’t see Wen Zhuo among the mixed crowd, but seeing that the student union members were already maintaining order, she turned around without a second thought and ran toward the school clinic.

On the way, she was thinking, The student union is so efficient! I misunderstood them before. I always thought this group of people did nothing but organize various evening parties and forced the whole class to attend to ensure attendance.

But by the time she reached the school clinic, she had no energy to think about these random things.

The school doctor looked hurried. While writing a diagnosis, he spoke sternly to Cai Jing, who looked normal and even slightly rosy. “Go to the city hospital immediately. You must get your stomach pumped right away.”

Accompanying Cai Jing were her roommates and a student union vice-president. The vice-president, a senior, looked at Cai Jing, who showed no symptoms, and couldn’t help but ask, “She seems fine now. She didn’t drink much pesticide. Does she really need to go to the city hospital?”

The school doctor looked at the three naive university students and couldn’t help but raise his voice, “That’s not ordinary pesticide. That’s Paraquat!”

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