The Fake Girlfriend is Online - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Forum Turmoil

When Mu Jinxuan walked out of the office and saw several boys and girls pushing and shoving while looking at her for the Nth time, she completely lost her temper.

“What exactly do you all want?” Mu Jinxuan stopped, turned around, and looked at the cluster of heads crowded at the classroom door.

This was a classroom on the same floor as Class 1. There were three classes on this floor, and the office was at the very end of the hallway. Since leaving the office, Mu Jinxuan had already received “salutes” of attention from the other two classes. Now that it was break time, people from both the floors above and below were flocking to this level.

Seeing the School Bully suddenly turn around and glare at them with a dark face, the crowd instinctively shrank back. However, a few boys remained standing at the door, clutching pens and staring at her.

“Xuan-ge.” Luo Qi, who had just fetched water from the boiler room, grabbed Mu Jinxuan’s shoulder and pulled her away from that classroom. As they left, he didn’t forget to turn back and glare at those still gazing from the doorway.

The moment Mu Jinxuan entered her own classroom, many boys from Class 1 also looked at her with starry eyes.

“Yo, what’s wrong with you all? I’ve only been away for a few days, right? Why does it feel like you’ve been starving for days and are looking at me like I’m a prime piece of meat?” Mu Jinxuan sensed that things weren’t simple. Aside from the last basketball game, the people in Class 1 usually acted perfectly normal.

“Xuan-ge, I knew you weren’t that kind of person,” a boy in the class shouted to her.

“What the heck? What kind of person am I supposed to be?” Mu Jinxuan was now completely at a loss.

“Xuan-ge, you still don’t know?” Luo Qi, walking beside her while blowing on his thermos, asked.

“No! What am I supposed to know? Did another School Bully show up while I was gone?” After saying this, Mu Jinxuan subconsciously looked in Qing Moran’s direction.

A boy sitting in front thought Mu Jinxuan was admiring her own seat and said disdainfully, “Xuan-ge, as the School Bully of No. 1 High, can you not be so narcissistic?”

“Exactly, Xuan-ge, you need to be even more awesome and lead us toward a more prosperous future,” someone added, making an exaggerated “fighting” gesture.

“Yeah, Xuan-ge, you don’t know—we were so pissed when we saw that post on the forum. Daring to slander our Xuan-ge was like a provocation to Class 1. Then Luo Qi led us to bombard that thread. Haha, thinking back on it now, it was magnificent! We scolded that dog of an OP for days, but he found some connections and got our accounts banned. To our surprise, that dog OP apologized and locked the thread last night. I have to say, Xuan-ge, you’re awesome.” The boy gave Mu Jinxuan a thumbs-up.

It must be said that Class 1’s combat power was formidable. Although there were only forty students, at least thirty had mobilized upon hearing the news. It wasn’t for anything else; they simply felt that provoking School Bully Mu was provoking Class 1. Having been together for over three months, the class was small but exceptionally united as the top honors class. Their mindset was: “We can roast School Bully Mu, but you outsiders certainly can’t.”

Mu Jinxuan remained in a state of confusion: “Dammit, what are you all talking about? Can you speak human?”

“Eh? You really don’t know?” It was the classmates’ turn to be bewildered. Such a huge event and Mu Jinxuan hadn’t even noticed?

“……”

After a moment of silence, the room erupted in laughter.

“Pfft, hahaha! As expected, our Xuan-ge is the calmest. She didn’t pay those people any mind at all.”

“What are you laughing at? Class is about to start. Don’t you know to get your books out? You have no sense of urgency.” Li Yulan’s sudden appearance at the door silenced everyone. Just as she finished speaking, the bell rang, and students scrambled back to their seats.

“Hey, Qingqing, what exactly are they talking about?” Once seated, Mu Jinxuan nudged her deskie.

“Ignorance is bliss.” Though she said this, Qing Moran was complaining inwardly. To think I was so worried about her back then; what a waste of emotion.

Hearing their conversation, the two students sitting in front of them covered their mouths and giggled. Every time they heard these two talk, they felt like there was “something” between them.

“Qingqing, Qingqing, tell me.”

Ultimately, Qing Moran couldn’t withstand the School Bully’s soft pestering. she opened the forum on her phone, found the post from last week, and showed it to her.

At that moment, Li Fei rushed in carrying his books.

“Students, I’m so sorry, I’m late.” Li Fei smiled apologetically.

“Teacher Li, even though we wanted to see you sooner, we’re willing to wait forever,” Luo Qi chimed in.

“Haha, well, that’s embarrassing. How about you help me carry my books before every class? That way you can see me sooner.”

“Teacher Li, I was just kidding.” Li Fei’s words scared the smile right off Luo Qi’s face.

“No, no, I’m not kidding. Do you dislike me?” Li Fei smiled even more warmly.

“Luo Qi, just give in to Teacher Li. He’s giving you such a great job; you should be laughing in secret, haha!”

“Then you do it!”

After a few exchanges, the class was full of laughter. It was only in Li Fei’s class that they could relax like this.

“Alright, alright, get ready for class. Take out your Chinese textbooks.”

Amidst the sound of rustling pages, Li Fei began his lecture.

“Are you done yet?” Qing Moran nudged Mu Jinxuan, signaling for her to return the phone if she was finished.

“Wait a sec.”

Qing Moran looked up at where Li Fei was standing. After making sure he wouldn’t suddenly walk over, she leaned toward Mu Jinxuan and helped her scroll through the phone.

“Can you read faster, old lady? Go straight to the end, here.” Qing Moran scrolled directly to the floor with the level-1 alt account. Mu Jinxuan looked regretfully at the flame war scenes that had been scrolled past.

As Mu Jinxuan read, her brow furrowed. Under Qing Moran’s gaze, she pulled out her own phone and returned Moran’s.

Mu Jinxuan handed the phone back under the table. Seeing that Moran wasn’t taking it immediately, she looked at her in confusion.

“You brought a phone?” Qing Moran smiled.

Mu Jinxuan saw the threat in that smile. She gave an awkward laugh in return and quickly stuffed the phone back into Moran’s hand.

Qing Moran took it without another word, pulled a homework assignment from her drawer, tucked it under her Chinese book, and started working.

Meanwhile, Gu Qing received a message from Mu Jinxuan.

[Spinning in Circles]: Did my brother do this?

[Spinning in Circles]: /Link/

[Five Grains & Miscellaneous]: Don’t ask. If you ask, the answer is “I don’t know.”

[Spinning in Circles]: ……

She had wanted to scout for info from Gu Qing, but seeing his reaction, she had to ask the person involved.

[Spinning in Circles]: Bro, you there?

[Don’t Eat Fish]: Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?

[Spinning in Circles]: ……

Just as she was about to dodge the question with a link, Qing Moran gave her a sharp jab with her elbow.

Mu Jinxuan hid her phone under her book and turned her head, just in time to see Li Fei walking toward them with his textbook. He said, “Read it through once yourself, mark the paragraphs, and think about the main theme of each section.”

“What page?” Mu Jinxuan whispered.

Qing Moran tilted her book to show the page number in the bottom left. Mu Jinxuan quickly flipped to the page; she didn’t want to spend one period in Li Fei’s office and then the very next one there again.

Once Li Fei turned to another group, Mu Jinxuan stealthily took out her phone again.

[Don’t Eat Fish]: What’s with you, playing with your phone in class?

[Don’t Eat Fish]: Have I been too lax with you since you grew up? You’ve become quite bold. Explain yourself when you get back.

Mu Jinxuan looked at the message with a pained expression. Now who’s questioning whom? Mu Jinyu’s sarcasm had reached a master level; if she argued now, he’d likely turn it back on her. Helplessly, she scrolled through her phone and went back to the forum to see exactly what happened.

After looking through her phone, she couldn’t find the forum app. Only then did she remember she never used the forum, so she quickly downloaded it. As soon as she found the No. 1 High section, her attention was grabbed by the most recently bumped thread.

“SHOCKING! It’s actually HER on School Bully Mu’s back! Let’s dig into the untold secrets of School Bully Mu”

The picture below was the one of her carrying her deskie at the bus station this morning.

Mu Jinxuan opened the photo and used two fingers to zoom in. Honestly, despite being a candid shot, the technique and the phone’s pixels made the photo look like a professional photoshoot. Qing Moran had one arm around her neck, her other hand hanging down, her head tilted slightly as she spoke. The photo only captured her profile, making her expression unclear. In the photo, Mu Jinxuan herself was turning her head to talk back, a faint smile on her lips. It looked like two best friends sharing secrets; only the participants knew they were bickering.

The more Mu Jinxuan looked at it, the wider her smile became. Finally, she couldn’t resist long-pressing to save the image.

Clicking into the thread, there were many more photos. Most were blurry and taken from angles that were clearly candid. Mu Jinxuan saved several that she was satisfied with. Initially, she justified it as needing to save photos of her deskie in such a “fragile” moment, but after reading the replies, she felt her actions were a bit hard to describe.

Ignoring the floors discussing the “kept woman” incident, Mu Jinxuan became a bit unsettled when she reached floor 50.

Floor 50: Sisters, I think I’m shipping this CP (couple)…

Floor 52: I am definitely shipping them! Look at School Bully Mu in these photos—she’s not a “bully” at all. Look how gently she’s smiling. Is this really the same School Bully Mu who massacred a bunch of boys at basketball?

Floor 53: I want to know who the girl on her back is…

Floor 54: @Floor 53, let me give you a lead. Just go look in School Bully Mu’s class and you’ll know.

Floor 56: I feel like Mu Jinxuan is so handsome. They look so good together.

Floor 57: So handsome +1, good match +1.

Floor 58: So handsome +1, good match +1.

The thread continued with “So handsome +1, good match +1” for over a dozen floors until someone broke the chain.

Floor 72: By the way, I just remembered Class 1 is on the fourth floor, right? Did she really carry her all the way to the fourth floor? That’s too badass. Who is this girl?

As soon as this was posted, the floor below erupted.

Floor 81: Even as a guy, I think carrying someone to the fourth floor is painful. What kind of freak is Mu Jinxuan?

Floor 83: Maybe the girl on her back only weighs 80 lbs? I really want to know who she is. Does the OP have a clear photo of her face?

Floor 84: 10,000 people signing a blood petition for a face reveal.

Floor 85: Blood petition +1.

As Mu Jinxuan read on, her brow gradually furrowed. It was fine for her—she was already a well-known figure at school. But Qing Moran’s reputation at school was that of a “good girl.” If a clear photo was posted and drew the entire school’s attention, she couldn’t guarantee that Moran’s life wouldn’t be affected. Worst case, she might even face cyberbullying. After all, there were plenty of people who disliked Mu Jinxuan, and she didn’t want Moran to get caught in the crossfire.

Mu Jinxuan retreated to the homepage, intending to find an admin to complain about privacy infringement and have the post deleted. However, when she clicked back in to copy the link, she found the post had already been deleted.

She had just found the admin and hadn’t even provided the link or the OP’s ID before the post vanished. This made Mu Jinxuan suspect if Qing Moran had some powerful background, but she also felt a sense of relief.

“Hey, deskie, did you see that other post from this morning?” Mu Jinxuan interrupted Qing Moran, who was working on math.

Moran didn’t even turn her head, continuing her work.

“Qingqing? Qingqing?” Getting no response, Mu Jinxuan pushed her luck, sliding her chair toward Moran until their clothes were touching.

“Why are you so close? Get away.” Qing Moran finally looked up, but only to shift away in annoyance. In truth, she had heard the question, and her brain had automatically recalled the photo of Mu Jinxuan carrying her. She didn’t know how to face her, especially since the comments below had such a “yuri” vibe.

“Does your family have some kind of powerful background?” Mu Jinxuan shifted toward her again, her chair now crossing the gap between their two desks. She spoke half-jokingly.

“Are you insane? Your family has the background.”

“Mu Jinxuan, what are you doing?” Li Fei’s sudden voice startled both of them. Qing Moran quickly hid her math exercise book. Mu Jinxuan, called by name, stood up immediately.

Li Fei walked over slowly, only to see that Mu Jinxuan’s chair had moved into the middle of the space between their desks.

“What’s with your chair? Look at you—you’re practically sitting on Qing Moran’s lap,” Li Fei said.

It was a simple sentence, but to the ears of the two girls who had just seen the forum posts, it took on a different flavor. It also made the girls in the class who had seen the post that morning wide-eyed with excitement, crane their necks, and wish they could move closer to the pair.

For a rare moment, the tips of Qing Moran’s ears turned red. Luckily, her shoulder-length hair covered them. But Mu Jinxuan was in trouble—her ear-length hair couldn’t hide her ears as they slowly turned crimson.

“I… it’s warmer when we sit together.”