NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Around 3 PM, a light drizzle began to fall.
Dark clouds loomed, pressing the skyline low.
Everyone involved in the fake photo scandal at the western restaurant had posted apology statements and clarifications.
Some of the more articulate ones wrote with stirring words that moved people to tears.
They practically praised Jiang Zhou’s noble character to the skies.
And so, everyone now understood the truth.
The so-called scumbag… was actually a hardworking entrepreneurial rising star.
The so-called date… was nothing more than a casual gathering among friends.
—
“How could this be…? Was it really all a lie?!”
In the dorm room of the School of Economics, Ding Yue stared at the newest posts, her face full of disbelief.
She still remembered confronting Jiang Zhou.
How self-righteous she had been, how aggressive.
She had even shown the posts to Feng Siruo.
And Jiang Zhou had clearly said… he genuinely liked Feng Siruo.
Had she really gone and wrecked something that might’ve worked out between them?
“Siruo!” Ding Yue jumped off her bed and ran to the balcony.
Feng Siruo looked puzzled. “W-What’s wrong?”
“Everyone’s posting on the forum. They’re saying the thing with Jiang Zhou and those three girls was a misunderstanding!”
“Really?”
“Come look! A bunch of people wrote clarifications and even apologized!”
Feng Siruo’s bright eyes lit up. She leaned in to take a look.
[Misunderstanding Explained! Scumbag Turns Entrepreneurial Star!] [Don’t Spread or Believe Rumors — My Letter of Apology to Jiang Zhou] [Exposing the Real Villain Fang Youcai! The True Victims Were Jiang Zhou and the Three Girls!] [From Today On, I’ll Work Hard — Jiang Zhou Is My Role Model!]
Ding Yue nudged her with an elbow. “Help me tell him I’m sorry, okay?”
Feng Siruo absentmindedly nodded, then reached out curiously to swipe the screen.
Sure enough, the previous posts were all gone.
All that remained were ones praising him.
“Siruo?”
“Mm?”
Ding Yue stared at her. “Be honest. What did you really do that night?”
Feng Siruo panicked, nearly dropping her toothbrush. “J-Just walked around…”
“You went to see Jiang Zhou, didn’t you?”
“Um… no.”
“Really, now? You’re lying to me, Feng Siruo?”
Feng Siruo jumped in shock. “How’d you know?!”
Ding Yue opened one of the forum posts. “Come. Take a look at this.”
She tapped the screen.
It was a photo taken at noon, during the commotion on the field.
Back then, many had noticed Jiang Zhou fiddling with something in his hand.
Now zoomed in, it was a White Rabbit milk candy.
The post even analyzed the candy gesture in detail.
People speculated about what it meant. It couldn’t just be a meaningless motion.
Because to those who witnessed everything that day, Jiang Zhou was a master strategist, always five steps ahead, digging traps for everyone else.
So, if he had a candy in hand, it had to mean something.
But no one could figure it out.
Only Feng Siruo understood.
That candy was the one she gave him last night.
He had taken it from her hand but hadn’t eaten it.
“That candy’s from you, isn’t it? No way it’s a coincidence.”
“Mm…”
Ding Yue snorted. “No wonder you bought such a huge bag, even though you don’t like sweets. He does, huh?”
Feng Siruo thought for a moment, then looked confused. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, and you still bought a whole bag?”
“Last time… at the supermarket, I gave him one.”
Ding Yue remembered running into Jiang Zhou at the store.
Back then, she thought they didn’t even know each other. Turns out they’d already met at the dance studio.
“Aren’t you scared of him? He said he wanted to flirt with you, and you still gave him candy?”
Feng Siruo bit her lip. “He gave me a song.”
Ding Yue’s face was full of disbelief. “Pfft. What kind of song? One of those QQ shares? … Wait, a whole song?”
“Mm.”
“Which… which one?”
“The one.”
Ding Yue sucked in a breath. “You don’t mean the one you listen to every night before bed. That was his?”
Feng Siruo shook her head nervously. “He sang it. But it wasn’t for me.”
“He can sing like that? And you said the singer wrote the song himself?”
“Yeah. He did.”
“What kind of freak is this guy…?”
Feng Siruo ignored her, picked up her phone, and hesitated before typing a message to Jiang Zhou on QQ.
“Ding Yue says she was wrong.”
—
Meanwhile, at Qingbei University’s girls’ dorm…
Chu Yuwei’s eyes were red and swollen, like a little rabbit.
Jiang Zhou had already blocked her. No matter how many messages she tried to send, they wouldn’t go through.
Yes, she admitted her tone hadn’t been great.
But she had only been worried about Jiang Zhou.
Even though that guy had joked on his way to school that he had to play the scumbag role, she never expected him to go that far.
Three dates in one night? How could he do that?
Chu Yuwei wasn’t jealous, she had no right to be.
She was just worried, seeing the entire internet bashing him.
She was scared he’d break under the pressure and do something drastic.
She even secretly joined a group chat dedicated to cursing out Jiang Zhou.
“Hmm? Where did that group go? That’s weird. It suddenly disbanded?” Chu Yuwei felt confused, but her heart began to pound.
She opened the college town forum again in a daze.
The posts had been completely replaced.
Words like “entrepreneurial star” and “sharp-minded realist” filled the headlines.
Every kind of compliment imaginable wasn’t enough to describe how amazing Jiang Zhou was.
She blinked wide-eyed and quickly tapped open a few posts.
After reading through the developments, her face turned ghostly pale.
He… hadn’t done any of those things.
He didn’t block her out of embarrassment or anger.
He blocked her because — when he needed trust the most — she chose to doubt him.
No…
It wasn’t supposed to be like this!
Tears welled up in Chu Yuwei’s eyes.
In a panic, she picked up her phone and tried calling Jiang Zhou.
As expected, the system response said the number was turned off.
She wasn’t sure if it was truly turned off… or just the standard notification when someone’s blocked.
Either way, not being able to reach him filled her with dread.
She quickly dialed her father, Chu Xiong.
“Hey, my baby girl! Why are you calling at this hour? Are you short on allowance? Or homesick?”
Hearing his voice, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
At first she just sniffled, but within three seconds, she burst into sobs.
“Jiang Zhou… Jiang Zhou…”
Chu Xiong’s heart tightened. “What about him? Did that brat bully you?”
Chu Yuwei shook her head desperately. “No… I’m the one who bullied him. He won’t talk to me anymore…”
“What? You bullied him? Then why are you the one crying so hard?”
“I… I don’t know… Waaa…”
Chu Xiong hesitated a moment. “Yuwei… do you like Jiang Zhou?”
She didn’t answer, just kept sobbing into the phone.
That crying sound pierced his heart.
This was the first time his daughter had ever cried over a boy.
No matter the situation, his little girl was growing up.
Eventually, Chu Yuwei calmed down a bit.
“Dad… am I really that bad of a girl?”
Chu Xiong sighed with emotion. “Yuwei, I can’t lie to you. You really weren’t that good this time…”
—
Thirteen hours after the western restaurant photo scandal had been cleared up…
Fang Youcai’s parents, Fang Hongguo and Sun Yumei, had driven straight to the university.
At that moment, Fang Youcai was hiding in his dorm bathroom, crying.
500 thousand yuan.
That number alone had nearly scared him into a breakdown.
He had no idea how to face his parents.
Not until his dad dragged him out of the dorm did he finally regain some clarity.
“Dad, Mom… I’m sorry. I messed up.”
Fang Hongguo’s face was black with fury. “What did you even do? Why does that guy want 500 thousand from us?!”
Fang Youcai was almost sobbing into unconsciousness. “I spread rumors online and got caught. He said if we don’t pay, he’ll call the police…”
“What kind of student is this? This is supposed to be a university? What do you mean ‘spread rumors’? He was just joking around!” Sun Yumei, seeing her son sobbing so miserably, exploded with rage.
She wasn’t well-educated. She only finished primary school.
To her, her son was sweet and innocent. No way he’d do anything wrong.
It must be that Jiang Zhou kid being petty.
Her son made a joke, and that guy really took it seriously?
“Come, we’re going to talk to the school! I don’t believe this place doesn’t have rules!”
Fang Youcai looked terrified, unable to shake off the trauma.
Seeing this, his parents’ hearts ached even more.
What kind of bastard scared their son like this?
“Don’t be afraid, son. Today, your parents will stand up for you!”
“That kid better apologize or I’ll tear this school down myself!”
With that, the two stormed off to the administration office, dragging Fang Youcai with them.
—
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhou had just finished lunch with Han Rou and the others.
On the way back to campus, he stopped by the delivery station to pick up some clothes.
Three custom-made Lolita outfits.
One pink, one beige, one sky blue.
They were all ridiculously adorable, almost painfully cute.
Each had a logo on the chest that read: Ganfanren.
And he’d thoughtfully bought accessories: cat ears, wrist bells — each in matching colors.
“Perfect. More perfect than I imagined,” Jiang Zhou praised, eyes full of anticipation.
After all, clothes look best when worn.
He couldn’t wait to see what the girls looked like on stage.
“Alright, the outfits are here. Ladies, what do you think?”
Su Nan eyed him warily. “What are you thinking?”
Jiang Zhou cleared his throat. “Try them on. We can do a rehearsal.”
Su Nan sneered. “Can’t wait to see us wear them, huh? Dream on.”
She had hit the nail right on the head.
Han Rou and Huang Qi nodded in agreement.
Right now? No chance.
These costumes were for the performance, not his private viewing.
“I’m just worried the sizes might not fit! There’s still time to adjust them.”
Huang Qi interjected, “Who cares about the fit? Most people just grab whatever from the prop room.”
“Yeah, but we’re different! We’re perfectionists!”
“Jiang Zhou, we’re promoting ganfanren.com, not Lolita culture!”
“True, but… I can’t help myself.”
Before he could finish, Han Rou held up a finger.
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“We agreed. We wear it once. If we wear them now, we’re not putting them on for the welcome gala.”
Huang Qi and Su Nan nodded.
“We follow President Han’s orders.”
“She’s my sister, though!”
“Doesn’t matter. No special treatment at work!”