Chapter 37: Rumors and a Heart-to-Heart
Xiang Yang never expected that two days later, Fan Xiaoyu would show photos of herself and Xing Zhaoyan.
As soon as she enters the classroom, Fan Xiaoyu mysteriously hands her the phone, “You were walking with Xing Zhaoyan the other day, and someone took a picture of you. I don't know who.”
Xiang Yang hears this and looks down. Sure enough, the photo on her phone is of her and Xing Zhaoyan. They are walking side by side, the setting sun casting a glow on the corridor behind them. Although the photo is a little blurry, it's the unclear feeling that creates a hazy sense that can't be described.
Both of them are handsome and beautiful, and they are both very tall. So even if their features are not very clear, those who know them can tell at a glance that it's Xiang Yang and Xing Zhaoyan.
In the empty corridor, they stand close to each other. The atmosphere looks harmonious no matter how you look at it.
Xiang Yang is surprised, “Where did this photo come from?”
“I don't know either. It's all over Weibo and in all kinds of Moments and spaces. The caption is something like 'Memories of Qinglin High School.' I saw it on Weibo, not only students at school but also many graduates reposted it.”
Xiang Yang is speechless and sits in her seat, worried, “I hope there's no more gossip.”
Fan Xiaoyu looks at her knowingly.
Xiang Yang is surprised, “Are classmates gossiping?”
“Yeah, they are. But the most popular version is that Fu Guanxian got into a fight because of you and Xing Zhaoyan. Anyway, with the three of you, people just love to speculate. You know how it is.”
Xiang Yang has heard plenty of gossip, so she nods, “I know.”
Fu Guanxian is not at school, so she's not worried about him. But Xing Zhaoyan is at school, so should she avoid him?
Xiang Yang doesn't leave the classroom much during the day. But she also feels self-conscious because everyone is looking at her strangely.
Xing Zhaoyan wants to talk to her several times, but every time he looks at her, his eyes are full of unspoken words.
Xiang Yang naturally doesn't dare to talk to him at this time.
After school, Xiang Yang goes to the bathroom. She hears the girls in the bathroom constantly badmouthing her and Xing Zhaoyan, and constantly defending Fu Guanxian.
Some girls have even imagined a play where Xiang Yang and Xing Zhaoyan conspired to drive Fu Guanxian away.
Xiang Yang listens and is simply amazed by their imagination.
After enduring twenty minutes, they finally disperse and Xiang Yang comes out. She lowers her head, turns on the faucet, and washes her hands. She's lost in thought, thinking: As long as I endure this torturous high school life, I'll see the light. I will definitely not be stupid enough to go to the same university as Fu Guanxian in college!
It's definitely true that when you're famous, you're a target for gossip!
Rumors have been spreading for days. Xiang Yang tries to ignore them. But the teachers must have heard about it. One day at noon, the homeroom teacher specifically asks her to go to the office and asks her how old she is this year.
Xiang Yang truthfully replies, “Seventeen.”
The homeroom teacher says thoughtfully, “Seventeen, you are very young indeed. When I was seventeen...” she deliberately stops mid-sentence.
Xiang Yang looks at her homeroom teacher's youthful face and asks, “Teacher, you don't seem that old!”
“I'm twenty-seven, I'm old.”
Xiang Yang smiles and says, “No, you're still young.”
The homeroom teacher smiles and says, “Let's talk about our hearts.”
Xiang Yang's heart skips a beat. She intuits that the teacher wants to talk to her about that sensitive topic.
Xiang Yang tries to buy time and make a mental draft. She politely says, “Teacher, you go ahead.”
The homeroom teacher leisurely says, “When I was seventeen, I was also in Year 2 of high school, but the last two years of high school weren't happy. Actually, for me back then, and for me now, what's called happiness is being able to fully immerse myself in something. Of course, the most important thing at that time was studying. But I couldn't focus because I felt that I cared about a boy in the same class in Year 1. After they divided us into different classes in Year 2, this feeling became even more obvious.”
Xiang Yang is a little surprised. She didn't expect her homeroom teacher to tell her this. She's curious, “Teacher, what happened then?”
“Then, I wanted to pay attention to him all the time. I would unconsciously look for him in the crowd. But he was in the science stream and his classroom was very far from mine. If we could meet at school twice a month, I'd be ecstatic. That kind of feeling brought me anxiety, made me overthink things. I'd be upset whenever he ignored me or didn't greet me when we met, and then I would develop all sorts of childish and inexplicable thoughts. I didn't dare tell anyone, even my closest female classmate. I was afraid of being laughed at.”
Xiang Yang is surprised and looks at her homeroom teacher.
The homeroom teacher smiles. “Starting in the second half of Year 2, I started to suffer from insomnia night after night. I couldn't get up in the morning, I didn't have energy in the afternoon, my grades plummeted, and I almost got called in for a meeting with my parents. In Year 3, I tried to stop my grades from falling further, but only I knew that I was struggling, and I couldn't focus on my studies at all. Even if I looked like I was studying hard on the surface, filling in exercises, taking tests, doing homework late into the night, My parents worried that I was working too hard and told me not to push myself so hard. But I knew that my efficiency was terrible, so I needed to spend so much time.”
“Then Teacher, you…”
“I, I had an epiphany at the end of the first semester of Year 3. The reason for the epiphany is quite simple. I heard from classmates from Year 1 that he had a girlfriend. She was a girl in his class, I think she sat in front of him. I didn't believe it at first. Until one day after school, I saw him at the school gate, with that girl on his bike. She had her arms around his waist. I watched them both laughing happily, and my heart ached. Then one day, I saw them walk towards me hand in hand. They only reluctantly let go when they got to the school gate. At that time, I told myself not to think too much, it was wise to focus on studying.”
Xiang Yang sighs a little and doesn't know what to say.
The homeroom teacher continues, “From then on, I started to forget about him and put all my heart into studying. Miraculously, forgetting about him was easier than I had expected. A week later, I almost forgot what he looked like. The feeling of studying hard made me enjoy it. Soon, I caught up with my grades and was back in the top ten in my grade. After the college entrance exam, I was indifferent to the results. The only thing I vividly remember was my feeling at that time. It turns out that many times, people can only wholeheartedly do one thing at a time. You have to work hard to gain something new.”
Xiang Yang seems to understand the teacher's intention in telling her all this, but she doesn't seem to have grasped it.
The homeroom teacher says directly, “You are a very good girl, Teacher always feels that you deserve better. I've also heard a little bit about those things with Fu Guanxian and Xing Zhaoyan, but I don't want to pry. I believe you can figure it out. If it's just groundless rumors, then Teacher is relieved, but…”
Xiang Yang knows what she's going to say. She quickly says, “Teacher, I'm being wronged. I don't have any thoughts.”
“That's good. You can focus on your studies.” After saying this, the homeroom teacher says, “Can we consider everything we've just talked about a secret between us?”
Xiang Yang is stunned, then realizes and assures her, “Teacher, don't worry, I won't tell anyone your love story.”
“Actually, it's nothing to tell. I just feel a little embarrassed.”
Xiang Yang smiles and says, “Teacher, I don't think so. You're great, Thank you for telling me so much!”
“Hm, go back now. Study hard!”
“Thank you, Teacher. I will.”
After Xiang Yang returns, she inexplicably feels much lighter. Right, she just needs to focus on her studies. What's the point of worrying about so much!
~~~~~
Although he had never thought of investigating the source of the photos and rumors, Xing Zhaoyan is furious at the person who ruined his plan.
He uses the computer hacking skills he learned in his previous life to track the time and IP and finds the person who first posted that photo. It is indeed someone in the same school and grade. He checks the information and learns that it is a girl in Year 2, Class 22.
Xing Zhaoyan adds her on WeChat, and she agrees.
Xing Zhaoyan directly asks, “Did you take the photo?”
The girl is a little scared and repeatedly asks who he is.
“Do I need to sue you for infringement of portrait rights?”
The girl is probably afraid of getting into trouble and immediately confesses.
“I didn't expect it to be like this. I was surprised that the photos were released. I just wanted to post them for fun. No, no, I didn't want to post them at all. It was her who encouraged me to post them.”
Xing Zhaoyan replies with a few words: “Playing with fire!” After saying that, he still can't get rid of the anger in his heart, so he directly hacks her computer.
The next morning, in the parking lot, many people think something is wrong. Why is the class monitor of Class 2 standing in the parking lot of Class 22 for so long?
When Ding Wanjun rides her bicycle into the parking lot, she sees his tall figure from afar. She intuitively knows that Xing Zhaoyan is up to no good. As expected, he's waiting for her.
Xing Zhaoyan folds his arms and says, “I've been waiting for you for a long time.”
Ding Wanjun steps on the brakes, puts her foot down, and doesn't say anything, just purses her lips.
As for this matter, Fu Guanxian still knows about it thanks to Zheng Jie's repeated phone calls. He finally picks up after several calls.
Zheng Jie briefly tells him what happened. Fu Guanxian says hoarsely, “I know.”
Zheng Jie hears something wrong. “What's wrong with your voice?”
Fu Guanxian simply replies, “I have a cold.”
The temperature difference between day and night is big, and it's getting colder and colder.
Fu Guanxian has had this cold for several days now. It hasn't gotten better, but is getting worse.
Zheng Jie thinks that he's alone in a foreign country and must be feeling bad, so he says, “Take care of yourself.”
“Hm, I'll hang up first.” Fu Guanxian hangs up the phone, thinks for a few seconds, turns on his computer, endures the dizziness, and blacks out all the photos that annoy him. He then happily curls up in his blanket and goes to sleep. He buries his head in the pillow and mumbles, “There's never a peaceful day! I'll deal with you when I get back!”
In the evening, Xiang Yang is halfway through her homework when Fan Xiaoyu calls her. She thinks Fan Xiaoyu is calling to ask about the homework, but Fan Xiaoyu excitedly says, “Xiang Yang, guess what!”
“What?” Xiang Yang hears her tone and intuits that it's good news.
Fan Xiaoyu excitedly says, “All the photos of you and Xing Zhaoyan online are gone! It's so cool! It must be a hacker!”
Xiang Yang is startled, then realizes and points out her doubt, “Why would the hacker only black out my photos?”
“That's definitely…,” Fan Xiaoyu can't figure it out. “But it's a fact!”
Xiang Yang hangs up the phone and goes online to check. Sure enough, all the photos disappear when she enters the relevant words.
That's so strange? Who's that kind person?
The next day, many students in the class are also discussing this. Some people specifically go up to Xing Zhaoyan and ask, “Class Monitor, do you know what's going on?”
Xing Zhaoyan hesitates for a moment, then replies, “I know.” As soon as he finishes speaking, he looks at Xiang Yang's seat. She's indeed looking at him with shining eyes.
“How do you know? Class Monitor!” The students who hear this come over and ask one after another.
Xing Zhaoyan smiles slightly and says, “I felt that it was a bad influence, so I blacked out the photos.”
“Wow!”
“No way!”
“Is it true?”
Xing Zhaoyan faces the surprised students and smiles. “If you don't believe it, we can go somewhere on the weekend, and I'll show you my skills.”
The boys immediately shout, “Okay, okay!”
Xiang Yang looks at him, half-believing.
But soon, the rumor that Xing Zhaoyan is a skilled computer programmer spreads. Before the mid-term exam, he represents the school to participate in the city's computer technology competition and wins first place. The judges were impressed.
Fu Guanxian doesn't come back for the mid-term exam.
Xiang Yang continues her life of only going to and from school. She occasionally goes to the bookstore or Jiang Manxin's music shop on the weekends. But gradually, she goes out less and less.
Soon, the end-of-semester exams are approaching.
In the boring life of studying, it seems like it's been a long time since there has been anything new and interesting.
This winter is particularly cold. Xiang Yang has been afraid of the cold since she was little, so every day when she goes to school, she bundles herself up in layers. She even wears gloves and a scarf, not leaving a single one out.
One morning, as she walks along the school corridor, she feels the piercing cold wind. She lowers her head and rubs her hands together, which are covered in pink gloves. Then she hears two or three girls not far from her discussing, “I wonder if Fu Guanxian will come back for the end-of-semester exam the day after tomorrow.”
Another girl replies, “I asked the homeroom teacher yesterday and she said she doesn't know.”
“Fu Guanxian has been gone for so long. We haven't heard anything from him. I also asked Zheng Jie, and he said he hasn't been in touch with him for a long time.”
“I think he should come back for the exams.”
“...”
Xiang Yang listens and suddenly becomes distracted. Right, it seems like she hasn't heard from him in a long time.
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