For a while, the term “white lotus” had been very popular at Jing University. It was not a compliment but a mocking insult. During that period, a similar thread had appeared in the gossip section. The difference was that the person exposed then had not been a campus beauty but a girl who loved acting coy and fragile while actually having a very dark heart.
Before people discovered the girl’s true nature, many had called her a white lotus. After the scandal, white lotus became a derogatory term for a girl who appeared weak and innocent on the surface while being calculating or malicious underneath.
If this post had not mentioned the campus beauties, most people would only have glanced at it out of curiosity to see which girl had been exposed this time. But once the campus beauties were involved, everything changed. At Jing University, campus beauties were practically the equivalent of public figures in the entertainment industry. People watched their every move. Seeing that the thread involved two of them, everyone’s desire for gossip immediately blazed to life as they excitedly clicked in.
The contents stunned them. Tang Xin had an excellent image and reputation at Jing University. Student-union officers were elected partly through student votes, and the fact that she had won a position showed she had considerable personal appeal. During her time as head of the Discipline Department, her performance had also been respectable. She rarely made serious mistakes. Male students liked her, and female students admired her.
Such a model student and model officer was actually being exposed? Many people could hardly believe it.
According to the original poster, she had happened to be present and had personally witnessed the entire process of Campus Beauty Tang transforming into a white lotus. Her description was vivid and detailed without mixing in personal grudges. Some readers believed her immediately, but plenty of others condemned the poster.
Tang Xin was a campus beauty, after all, and had her own group of fans at Jing University. None of them believed she could be this kind of person, and they fiercely accused the poster of spreading lies. Someone dug through the poster’s information and discovered she was actually a member of the student union who had posted several threads about prominent Jing University figures in the gossip section. Whenever she posted something, the contents generally had a certain degree of credibility.
The poster’s username was Dig-It-Up. She was very patient. After making the thread, she disappeared for two days and let everyone argue back and forth until the post rose all the way to the top, crushing every other thread. Only then did she leisurely return to answer those questioning whether the story was real.
Dig-It-Up: This poster has a video recorded at the scene. For those classmates who don’t believe me, do you want me to upload it? I didn’t post the video at first because I didn’t want to embarrass Campus Beauty Tang too badly. If you insist, I’ll upload it. But let me warn you first: if your image of Campus Beauty Tang is destroyed afterward, please manufacture your own regret medicine.
Would Tang Xin’s fans abandon their position because of those words?
Of course not. They firmly believed Dig-It-Up was deliberately building hype, so the thread filled with voices insisting she upload the video. Their meaning was basically: I don’t believe you. Real gold fears no fire. Unfortunately, that saying only worked when the gold was real.
The outcome hardly needed to be explained.
For the moment, news that Tang Xin was being exposed had not reached Wang Ziyu. The siblings flew back to Shanhai City. Papa Wang and Mama Wang were delighted to hear they were coming home. The house had not felt lively in a long time.
Mama Wang deliberately got up early, went out to buy plenty of ingredients, and prepared to make them a lavish dinner that evening. Papa Wang waited until the time was right and drove to the airport to pick them up. Otherwise, taking the bus would have meant several more hours of jolting along the road.
“Finally home.” The moment he entered, Wang Cheng dropped his luggage. He had not been gone for that long, yet it felt as though ages had passed.
Wang Ziyu was even happier. The capital’s air simply could not compare with the air back home. The difference was too great. “Home is still the most comfortable. I almost don’t want to go back to university.”
Wang Cheng leaned toward her ear and said wickedly, “Then don’t go.”
“Second Brother, you’re awful.” Wang Ziyu huffed. She was only expressing a feeling. Did he have to undermine her immediately?
Seeing the siblings talking and laughing exactly as they had before, without the slightest awkwardness between them, Papa Wang relaxed. He knew his son had already told his younger daughter the truth, and he and his wife had worried she might not be able to accept it.
Mama Wang came out of the kitchen. “Talk later. Dinner is almost ready. Go wash your hands and faces.”
The father and two children immediately scattered to their tasks, while Papa Wang went into the kitchen to help carry dishes out. During the meal, he placed a rib in each of his son’s and daughter’s bowls. Looking at Wang Ziyu’s noticeably rounder face, he found the phrase you’ve gotten thinner stuck in his throat. Before she came home, he had imagined that his daughter might not eat well in such a distant, unfamiliar place and had prepared countless worried remarks. Not a single one turned out to be useful.
After eating, Wang Ziyu mixed some of the leftover rice with vegetables and carried it outside for the fragrant pig. Mama Wang had spent the entire day busy preparing for her son and daughter’s return and had forgotten about the pig.
Wang Cheng went back to his room, sent Chu Yifeng a message first, then began unpacking. He had not brought many clothes back. He owned more and more now and no longer needed to carry two or three outfits every time he traveled. Most of what he had brought consisted of other things, such as local specialties. Before he even finished organizing them, Chu Yifeng’s call came in.
“I have good news for you.”
“What good news?” Wang Cheng stood and closed his bedroom door.
“What happened at Jing University this morning was exposed on the university forum.”
“How did that happen?” Wang Cheng asked in surprise.
Chu Yifeng laughed softly. “Probably someone who couldn’t stand the way that woman behaved.” A person who showed one face in public and another behind people’s backs easily attracted criticism.
“Excellent. A lot of students have probably only just gotten home or haven’t left yet. Do you have a way to push that thread higher?” Wang Cheng was very willing to help eliminate danger around his little sister before it had a chance to grow. Tang Xin had targeted Xiaoyu twice. If they let her off this easily, who knew what kind of trick she might try next?
“Hire a group of paid commenters.”
They could not make the manipulation too obvious, or people might start sympathizing with Tang Xin. So the paid commenters would not all attack her. Some would speak in Tang Xin’s defense as well. The group Chu Yifeng hired was high quality, unlike the repetitive, shallow paid accounts common online. Their comments sometimes even struck directly at the heart of the issue. Wang Cheng did not tell Wang Ziyu about any of this.
That evening, the family sat in the living room watching television. Wang Cheng went upstairs and brought down several things he had carried back from the capital. He had already given Mama Wang the local specialties, and she had told him not to waste money buying random things. Seeing him bring out more items, she assumed he had gone spending recklessly again.
“Dad, someone gave me this wine for my birthday. I heard it’s a limited vintage. Haven’t you always been thinking about good wine? I brought this bottle back especially for you…” Wang Cheng noticed Mama Wang’s disapproving expression and added, “For your collection.” Wang Ziyu covered her mouth and snickered.
The moment Papa Wang received the wine, he no longer cared about the last part. He looked at the bottle and discovered it was a 1982 vintage. His excitement immediately rose. He stroked the bottle lovingly. “Good, good, good.” He was not obsessed with drinking, but he did enjoy collecting fine wine.
Wang Cheng took out a box about twice the size of his palm. Inside were two exquisite jade bracelets. He said to Mama Wang, “Mom, these were gifts from guests too. I can’t use them, so I brought them back. One for you and one for Little Sister.”
“No. These are too valuable. Keep them for your biological mother. Mom is just a rough country woman. I can’t wear something this expensive.” Mama Wang shook her head. At a glance, the bracelets were clearly high-grade. She did not know much about jade, but even she could tell they were probably worth a great deal.
Wang Cheng had already guessed she would refuse. “What do you mean, valuable? I’m your son and you’re my mom. What’s wrong with a son giving his mother the best things? Besides, Mom isn’t some rough woman. When you were young, you were the prettiest flower in Guanjia Village.”
“You said it yourself: when I was young. Now your mom is just a yellow-faced old woman.” Mama Wang said it with her mouth, but her face was already blooming with smiles.
Papa Wang immediately declared, “Lanfang, in my heart you’ve always been the prettiest. You’re absolutely not some yellow-faced old woman. Even if you were, you’d still be the prettiest yellow-faced old woman.”
Mama Wang’s face reddened, and she glared at him. “What are you saying? Aren’t you embarrassed acting like this at your age?”
“Mom, since Second Brother brought them back for you, just accept them. One for each of us. Wouldn’t that be nice? People will know at a glance that we’re mother and daughter.” Wang Ziyu knew her second brother must have thought it through before deciding to give them the bracelets. There was no reason to reject his goodwill.
Wang Cheng pressed his advantage. “Mom, if you don’t take it, I don’t know who else to give it to. My biological mom and sister already have a necklace. I’d have no choice but to sell the bracelet.”
Even with something like jade, the buying and selling prices could differ greatly, so selling it would not be worth it. Mama Wang finally gave in. Mother and daughter each took one. Neither naturally had dark skin, and the bracelets looked beautiful on their wrists. Mama Wang grew very fond of hers and often wore it when she went out later. Once the villagers learned her son had given it to her, they were all envious.
The next day, Papa Wang went to the jam shop. Mama Wang and Wang Ziyu went out together and took the fragrant pig from the chicken coop with them.
Wang Cheng ate the breakfast Mama Wang had left for him, carried his laptop into the living room, and logged onto Jing University’s forum. The gossip section caught his eye immediately.
Chu Yifeng had not disappointed him. The thread he mentioned was hanging high at the very top of the gossip section and had even been pinned by a moderator. The paid commenters had flashed through the forum briefly the night before and then disappeared. Most of the people still participating were genuine Jing University students, and the amount of attention was impressive.
Someone had opened another thread claiming to be an insider and promising to dig into several things involving Tang Xin.
Tang Xin had done an excellent job maintaining appearances at Jing University, but no one could make everyone happy. There would always be people who disliked her. Now that someone had started attacking her image, those people came forward too. Naturally, there were also threads attacking Wang Ziyu and calling her fake, but they failed to make much of a splash. Most people were still focused on Dig-It-Up’s thread. In a single night, the thread had already piled up five or six thousand replies.
Wang Cheng followed the situation roughly. Public opinion currently favored Xiaoyu, and he had a feeling this was only the first wave. There would probably be even more explosive information later.
Most students who had already gone home heard about the matter somewhat late, but those who were still at Jing University knew immediately, including Tang Xin herself. As one informant after another brought up pieces of her past, she became so furious she felt her lungs might explode.
People who did not know the truth were stirred up by her and went onto the forum to argue with everyone else, but they still could not win. Some things did not arise from absolutely nothing. If there were not at least traces of truth, why would people specifically target her? Then came a turning point. Whether it was Tang Xin herself or one of her friends, once her reputation was nearly ruined, someone created a thread attacking Wang Ziyu.
The post cast Tang Xin as the victim and Wang Ziyu as an aggressive, unforgivable villain. It insinuated that Wang Ziyu had ordered Dig-It-Up to smear Tang Xin. Brain-dead fans immediately began cursing Wang Ziyu and claiming she was the true white lotus. Plenty of reasonable people remained, however.
Dig-It-Up was a veteran forum account. According to rumor, the senior behind it was preparing for postgraduate entrance exams and had never had any interaction with Wang Ziyu. Her presence at the incident had also been coincidence. She had a younger cousin in the freshman class who happened to live in the same dormitory building as Wang Ziyu.
Wang Cheng closed the webpage and put away the computer. At this point, there was no need for him to get involved personally. That afternoon, he went for a walk around North Mountain. Papa Wang had taken excellent care of the medicinal herbs there. They would be ready for harvest before long, after which they could plant more profitable varieties. On his way home, Wang Cheng passed Eldest Uncle’s house and unexpectedly saw several figures who should not have been there.
That afternoon, Papa Wang closed the shop and came home early. Mama Wang and Wang Ziyu had returned earlier, then gone to the small jam factory in the village, so only Wang Cheng was at home.
Wang Cheng noticed that Papa Wang was not wearing his usual cheerful smile. His expression seemed rather heavy. That surprised him. His father rarely had things weighing on him. He was optimistic by nature. If something was troubling him, it was probably no small matter.