Chapter 114: Rumors

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She didn't even need to see the name—Wen Jiu knew exactly who this "she" referred to.

Opening the screenshot, she read through the messages one by one. Wen Jiu could tell that this woman's level of sophistication had grown considerably since high school.

But so what? What was false could never become true.

—

Xu Weiwei had been a high school classmate of both Shen Mengxia and Wen Jiu. Not long after they were sorted into their respective tracks in the second semester of their first year, she had locked horns with Wen Jiu. The cause was the school-level piano competition Wen Jiu had entered: the students who stood out in the preliminary round would represent the school in the citywide competition, and Xu Weiwei had fallen half a point behind Wen Jiu.

When Wen Jiu returned from the city competition, she could clearly sense that her classmates were looking at her with a strange expression, but she had no idea why.

It wasn't until Shen Mengxia got into a shouting match with a few girls from neighboring classes in the bathroom during a break—and her parents were subsequently called in—that Wen Jiu learned the whole story.

It turned out that while Wen Jiu was away in the city for the competition after passing the selection round, rumors about her had suddenly started circulating in a few classes. Though the gossip didn't spread far, it eventually reached Shen Mengxia, who was still in her class at the time.

Shen Mengxia was so furious she wanted to confront them on the spot, but some of her closer friends held her back, telling her not to be impulsive.

The rumors whispered among those classes all claimed that Wen Jiu had used her family connections, bribing the judges through underhanded means to win the selection round.

Shen Mengxia didn't dare contact Wen Jiu during the two days of the competition, afraid she might slip up and affect Wen Jiu's performance. She only sent a few messages of encouragement.

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When Wen Jiu came back, Shen Mengxia had no idea how to broach the subject with her. But before she could even tell Wen Jiu about it, she happened to overhear another conversation in the bathroom.

"That Wen Jiu probably used some shady method to win the competition. It's all because of her that Weiwei lost such an important opportunity and has been so upset!"

"Exactly! Wen Jiu looks like the type who knows how to seduce people, and at such a young age, she's already pulling strings behind the scenes. What a black heart."

...

Shen Mengxia stepped out of the bathroom stall and shot back at them: "So Wen Jiu pulled strings, and you all know about it? How remarkably well-informed you are. Go on, then—tell me who started the rumor. I'd love to go ask them which eye they saw it with and which ear they heard it with."

One of the girls started to panic, stammering in rebuttal: "What does it matter who you ask? Anyway... anyway, we didn't say anything wrong!"

Shen Mengxia couldn't let it go and argued with them until the commotion in the bathroom drew the attention of the dean, and all of them had their parents called in.

When Wen Jiu found out about this, she was extremely angry as well, but she quickly calmed down and analyzed the whole situation.

She noticed that although those girls were in different classes, they all shared one thing in common: they were all friends of Xu Weiwei. Furthermore, the rumors had only spread among those few classes.

With a suspect in mind, Wen Jiu kept her guard up.

But oddly enough, Xu Weiwei showed not the slightest sign of resentment or hostility. On the contrary, she had made friendly overtures to Wen Jiu on multiple occasions and had even come right out and said she wanted to be friends.

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Wen Jiu wasn't that naive. She knew this person couldn't possibly be as innocent and harmless as she appeared on the surface.

Because the class had only recently been reorganized, her classmates were still unfamiliar with one another and didn't yet know Wen Jiu's temperament.

Several times, Wen Jiu brushed off Xu Weiwei's advances. Then one day, Xu Weiwei puckered her lips and burst into tears right there in class.

"Jiu Jiu, I really do want to be friends with you. Why do you have to be so cold to me?"

Xu Weiwei's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the surrounding students to hear clearly.

Seeing her crying, her face streaked with tears like a rain-soaked pear blossom, a few male students with an overflowing sense of justice stepped forward to defend her.

"Classmate Wen Jiu, we're all in the same class. Even if you don't want to be friends, there's no need to bully her, is there?"

Wen Jiu looked up, staring coldly at the boy who had stepped up to champion Xu Weiwei and condemn her, and cursed inwardly: "Idiot."

Used as a pawn without even knowing it.

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