Chapter 192

Chapter 192

◎Rumors◎

It's normal for classmates to form small cliques, and those who get along well naturally stick together. Gu Mingxi used to have her own small group, but they never bullied anyone, nor were they ever bullied. They were just close friends who got along well.

Because she had been beautiful since childhood, her good looks had always given her certain advantages. Of course, there were also some jealous remarks and occasional teasing from boys, like pulling her braids or tugging at her dresses.

Every time a boy teased her like that, her brother would come to school and teach them a lesson. After that, no boy dared to mess with her.

But the situation in this class was unlike anything she had ever encountered. Apart from being drenched by someone's prank last night, no one had done anything to her today. However, everyone seemed to be avoiding her, and no one wanted to talk to her.

Gu Mingxi couldn't understand what was going on. Who had she offended?

She even wondered if there was some kind of "alpha female" in the school who liked Xiao Ye, and that's why her confession to Xiao Ye had made her a target.

But who was this person? No one had come forward to warn her.

Unable to figure it out, Gu Mingxi tried several times to talk to her deskmate, hoping to at least find out what was happening. But every time she tried to nudge her deskmate, the girl would either turn away or pull her arm back, clearly signaling that she didn't want to be approached.

After a few attempts, Gu Mingxi stopped trying to force the conversation. But being treated like air was really hard to bear.

The ordeal continued until noon. On her way to the cafeteria, Gu Mingxi encountered several people who looked at her with strange expressions, whispering to each other while glancing at her. It made her furious.

She walked straight over and grabbed one of the girls. "What are you all talking about me? What have I done to make you gossip like this?"

The girl was startled when Gu Mingxi grabbed her, probably not expecting her to confront them directly. But she quickly regained her composure and pushed Gu Mingxi's hand away. "You did something worth talking about, and now you can't handle people discussing it?"

Gu Mingxi: "What did I do?"

Was it some kind of crime to confess to a boy and get rejected? She hadn't even bothered Xiao Ye after being rejected, nor had she said anything bad about him. Why was she now the school's public enemy?

The girl's companion looked at Gu Mingxi with disdain. "Just because you're somewhat good-looking, you think you're some kind of goddess? You're not even close to being the school belle, but you're the first to flaunt your body like that. Do you feel uncomfortable if you're not pandering to men? I heard that in your previous school, boys lined up to do things for you and give you gifts. Now that you're in high school and no one's lining up to give you gifts, you're feeling the difference, aren't you? Flirting with everyone and then acting like you're the victim?"

Gu Mingxi was furious. "Who am I pandering to? Who am I flirting with?"

The girls pushed her away. "You know what you did. It's quite amusing to stage your own drama, isn't it? Getting drenched and playing the victim, so pitiful, so deserving of sympathy, huh?"

They even rolled their eyes at her.

This kind of thing definitely wouldn't be discussed on the school forum. If there were any inappropriate posts, the school could track the accounts through the backend. So, the events of yesterday were circulating in small private groups among the students.

Among the circulated content were several photos of Gu Mingxi soaked to the skin.

Her figure was indeed impressive—curves in all the right places. The wet clothes clinging to her body, her hair still dripping with water—even the girls couldn't help but stare.

If it were just the photos, the situation might not have escalated like this. But somehow, a rumor started spreading that all of this was staged by Gu Mingxi herself. It was said that after her confession to Xiao Ye failed, she orchestrated this whole scene to attract attention from the boys and position herself as the victim.

Some even speculated that Gu Mingxi's ultimate goal was still Xiao Ye. By doing this, she wanted people to think that Xiao Ye's admirers were bullying her.

Poor thing, the school beauty, being bullied, and the cause of this bullying might very well be herself. If Xiao Ye felt guilty or sympathetic, wouldn't that lead to something more?

Even if Xiao Ye remained unmoved, after yesterday's incident, Gu Mingxi's name had become famous. Many boys specifically sought out the photos to see for themselves. Men, after all, are visual creatures. They might be able to spot a manipulative girl, but when they're the ones being pandered to, their judgment becomes clouded.

This theory wasn't just some wild conspiracy. It was said that in the groups where the photos were circulating, several classmates confirmed that when Gu Mingxi was drenched, their class was full, and no one had left to use the restroom.

As for the upperclassmen, there was no news of any crazy admirers of Xiao Ye. Since Xiao Ye started high school, he hadn't had any admirers. Last year on Christmas Eve, Valentine's Day, and even 520, a day similar to Valentine's Day in Chinese culture, his deskmate Ji Nanxing's desk was filled with gifts, while Xiao Ye didn't even get a lollipop.

After analyzing all these factors, the conspiracy theory seemed to be the most plausible explanation.

Gu Mingxi wasn't part of any group chats except for the class group that included the teacher, where such matters definitely wouldn't be discussed. Such matters definitely wouldn't be discussed in the class group, but even people from neighboring classes whom she didn't know were aware of it. Many people gave her strange looks when she entered the school this morning, and it was likely that the photos taken of her yesterday had already spread throughout the entire school.

Gu Mingxi couldn't bear it any longer and bolted straight home.

Gu Mingxi has an older brother named Gu Mingyu, who is nearly ten years older than her. He is a protective older brother, especially of his only sister. A few years ago, their father passed away, leaving only their mother and sister. As the only man in the family, Gu Mingyu feels a strong responsibility for his mother and sister.

On top of that, his sister is very beautiful. Gu Mingyu has always been very strict with her, fearing that she might be taken advantage of by troublemakers.

While at work, he got a tearful call from his sister. Without hesitation, Gu Mingyu rushed home.

Gu Mingxi threw herself into her brother's arms and cried bitterly in distress: "It's not what they're saying at all. Someone bullied me, and they're accusing me of leading people on. How could I possibly do such a thing? Brother, what should I do? Wuwuwu."

Gu Mingyu's face darkened with concern: "What photos? Stop crying and explain it clearly."

Gu Mingxi sobbed while recounting the entire incident: "I don't even know who poured water on me. I chased after them but didn't catch anyone."

Gu Mingyu was so angry that he wanted to scold her, but he couldn't. He felt heartbroken: "Why didn't you tell me what happened yesterday? If it weren't for today, were you planning to keep it a secret?!"

Gu Mingxi felt a bit guilty herself. Confessing to a boy was something her open-minded family might not easily accept, so she hadn't dared to tell them.

Gu Mingyu immediately took her by the hand and led her downstairs: "Let's go back to school. I'll get to the bottom of this."

Gu Mingxi trailed behind her brother as they returned to school. It was only then that the school became aware of the situation.

In the surveillance room, the teacher repeatedly reviewed the hallway footage, searching for clues: "Except for the restroom, which isn't under surveillance, the school is mostly covered by cameras. Here, we can see Gu Mingxi leaving the classroom and entering the restroom, but no one else went in after her until she ran out with her clothes wet."

Gu Mingxi, who had never seen the surveillance footage before, stared at the screen in disbelief: "That's impossible! Brother, someone really locked me in and poured water on me!"

Gu Mingyu believed his sister, but the surveillance footage was also very clear. The restroom wasn't like a classroom with front and back doors. He even went to inspect the restroom himself. Although there was a window, the surveillance footage from that time showed no one passing by the restroom window.

Moreover, the restroom was on the second floor, and there were no water pipes nearby, nor any footholds for climbing.

Gu Mingyu refused to give up and returned to the surveillance room to review the footage again, even checking for any signs of editing by comparing the timestamps. But there was nothing. The surveillance clearly showed Gu Mingxi entering alone and exiting alone. During that entire period, because it was class time, no one else had entered.

Gu Mingxi's homeroom teacher glanced at Gu Mingyu and signaled for him to step outside to talk. The two walked out of the surveillance room, and the teacher said: "After the incident yesterday, their subject teacher informed me, and I immediately went to inspect the restroom and reviewed the surveillance footage. There really was no one else."

Gu Mingyu frowned: "Are you suggesting my sister is lying?"

Gu Mingxi's homeroom teacher replied: "What I mean is that while it's possible someone could have hidden in the restroom beforehand, they wouldn't have been able to predict when Gu Mingxi would go to the restroom. The timing is uncertain. It's hard to investigate whether someone was hiding there earlier, but from the time Gu Mingxi ran out until I went to inspect the restroom, I can confirm that there was no one inside at that time. The surveillance also shows that the entries and exits match up. If Gu Mingxi isn't lying, then this matter might be even more serious than lying."

Gu Mingyu glanced at his sister, who was still repeatedly reviewing the surveillance footage. He knew his sister well—she wouldn't lie to him over something like this.

The teacher continued: "The school will definitely address the issue of the private photo circulation. I will also keep a closer eye on your sister. However, I suggest you take her to see a doctor. Mental illness is not the same as being crazy, and I hope you as parents understand and take this seriously. If she truly exhibited unconscious behavior and later forgot about it, the situation could be quite serious."

Gu Mingyu understood the teacher's meaning. Forgetting what one has done isn't scary; what's scary is forgetting that one has done something abnormal, especially in such a short period of time.

He had heard of similar cases before—someone who would make soup for themselves every day but had no memory of doing so, thinking it was made by their family. However, the family insisted it wasn't them. Only after installing surveillance did they discover that the person had been making the soup themselves but had no recollection of it. They were later diagnosed with schizophrenia.

If the surveillance footage hadn't been tampered with, then his sister's situation was clearly not good.

This matter required a medical examination. Gu Mingyu himself didn't dare to make any assumptions and decided to set it aside for now. He then asked: "That boy named Xiao Ye, I heard he's a school bully?"

The teacher replied: "That's a misconception. Xiao Ye has excellent grades, consistently ranking in the top 30 of his grade. He couldn't possibly be a school bully. He comes from a military family with strict discipline. Since the start of the school year, he has never been close to any girl and has never bullied anyone. When your sister confessed to him, he directly rejected her. In this matter, Xiao Ye did nothing wrong."

Being confessed to wasn't something he could control. If Gu Mingxi's parents didn't discipline their daughter but instead went after Xiao Ye, that would be completely unreasonable.

Gu Mingyu naturally understood the teacher's implication. Even though he was biased toward his sister and believed the fault couldn't lie with her, he couldn't twist the truth. As for Xiao Ye, while he appeared to be a good student on the surface, who knew what he was like in private.

Gu Mingyu didn't say much more to the teacher. He immediately requested leave for Gu Mingxi and took her to see a doctor. When she realized it was a psychiatrist, Gu Mingxi widened her eyes and looked at her brother: "What do you mean? Do you think I'm sick?"

Gu Mingyu: "It doesn't hurt to get checked. I've shown you some cases before. First, we need to rule out this possibility scientifically, right? With a medical diagnosis, we can be more at ease."

Listening to her brother's words and recalling the previous events, Gu Mingxi, who had been so sure, suddenly wasn't so sure anymore. Could it be that she herself had wet her clothes?

But that couldn't be right. The incident felt so real; she could clearly hear someone walking over, locking the door, and turning on the faucet to splash water at her.

For a moment, Gu Mingxi fell into self-doubt and obediently entered the doctor's office.

After a series of tests, the good news was that there were no signs of illness on her, but the bad news was that the doctor advised her brother not to put too much academic pressure on her, as if she really had a problem.

After leaving the hospital, Gu Mingxi looked at her brother: "So, do I have a problem or not?"

Gu Mingyu smiled and ruffled his sister's hair: "No problem, you're perfectly fine!"

Gu Mingxi: "Then what about the surveillance?"

Gu Mingyu also couldn't figure it out and just said: "Just be careful at school. If you notice anything suspicious, let me know. Always keep your phone with you, and call me directly if anything happens."

Gu Mingxi didn't really want to go to school anymore; being isolated by everyone was just too much. But every time she thought about transferring, she held back.

If her grades were better, transferring would be easier, but her grades weren't great. She'd been drawing since elementary school and was known as the art student, but she wasn't particularly talented, just decent.

Plus, transferring might cost money. Her family wasn't poor, but they weren't well-off either. Her mother had a pension, but most of the family's expenses were covered by her brother. If she suggested transferring, her brother would agree, but it would just add more problems.

Gu Mingxi didn't want to burden the family any further and decided to endure it a bit longer. If they treated her like she was invisible, she'd ignore them too.

But thinking about it is one thing; actually experiencing it is another. The suffocating feeling of being purposely ignored, unable to form groups for lab work, people deliberately talking and laughing loudly around her, then giving her dirty looks.

Some boys even came over to make vulgar jokes, glancing at her chest, and when she told them off, they snapped back angrily: "Stop pretending, who knows how many have played with you."

Gu Mingxi slammed the table and stood up: "What are you talking about! Do you think you can say anything without responsibility? Believe it or not, I'll sue you for slander!"

The boy sneered: "You said it yourself, I'm not short of men."

The last few words were mimicked in a mocking tone. Gu Mingxi was stunned; she had said that, but it was out of anger, a slip of the tongue. What she meant was that she never lacked suitors, so she didn't need to cling to Xiao Ye, not the dirty meaning they thought.

But this left Gu Mingxi at a loss for words, not knowing how to explain. The class bell rang, and everyone returned to their seats. Gu Mingxi forced herself to calm down but still couldn't control her emotions, staring at her book with tears falling.

Finally, after school, she called a former friend to cry about it. The friend firmly said: "You must have been set up! Either by another suitor of that guy or by someone you blocked, like the former school beauty."

Gu Mingxi wiped her tears with a tissue: "I've never even seen the school beauty. It's so bizarre. No one has come to confront me. If someone came to trouble me, it would be easier to deal with, but no one has. I regret it so much; I shouldn't have confessed to Xiao Ye."

She had been too confident, always being admired, thinking that if she wanted, no one was out of reach. Isn't it said that it's easy for a girl to chase a boy? Who knew that day's actions would push her to this state.

The friend comforted her over the phone: "Why not transfer schools? Come to my school; at least I'll be with you. Don't endure it anymore; don't think it will get better over time. Bullying doesn't get better; if they bully you now, they'll only bully you more later."

Gu Mingxi also couldn't bear it anymore. Since it was only the first year of high school, maybe transferring would be better. But before she could bring it up, she saw her brother, who usually worked late, coming home early, looking somewhat surprised: "Brother, aren't you working today?"

Gu Mingyu smiled at her, but it seemed forced: "Taking a break. Let's not eat at home tonight; let's go out."

Gu Mingxi nodded but felt something was off. After seeing her brother, who usually worked overtime and was rarely home, for several days in a row, she pressed him for answers and found out that his company had received a complaint letter questioning him for taking kickbacks, so he was temporarily suspended for investigation.

Gu Mingxi worriedly asked: "Brother, did you really take kickbacks?"

Gu Mingyu: "Of course not, how could I do such a thing? Someone above is leaving, and people below are trying to move up. Probably blocked someone's way. It's okay; once it's investigated, it'll be clear. I'll just treat it as a vacation. You focus on your studies; don't worry about me."

The thought of transferring was extinguished again. Most of their family's expenses were covered by her brother. Her mother's pension could barely support herself. Bringing up transferring now would only worsen the family's situation.

Gu Mingxi decided to endure a bit longer, at least until her brother's work situation stabilized.

Another dreaded physical education class. Their PE class typically begins with warm-up exercises, a few laps around the track, and then free time for activities—some play ball, some chat, or do physical tests in pairs. For Gu Mingxi, this kind of class was even more unbearable than sitting in a classroom.

So while others rushed downstairs for PE, she dragged her feet as she made her way downstairs. A classmate behind her bumped into her, whether on purpose or by accident, and she nearly lost her footing, almost tumbling down the stairs.

At that moment, a slightly cold hand caught her. The hand wasn’t particularly large, but the grip was steady. It held her steady until she regained her balance, then let go.

Gu Mingxi was taken aback. Once she recovered, she turned around quickly to thank them: "Thank you."

When she turned around and saw who it was, she froze for a moment.

Ji Nanxing looked at her, his expression blank. "You're welcome."

Gu Mingxi slightly opened her mouth. She knew who he was, but had only seen pictures of him. She had heard that Ji Nanxing wasn’t in great health, so he didn’t move around much. When he wasn’t doing anything, he usually stayed in the classroom, unlike Xiao Ye, who was often seen playing ball on the field. She had never seen Ji Nanxing in person before.

However, those photos had clearly been heavily edited. It seemed like he had been given a separate filter, making him look unrealistically handsome—thin and pale, not her type at all. So no matter how much people hyped him up, she had never been swayed.

But now, seeing him in person, she realized how much the photos didn’t do him justice. No wonder so many people praised his looks—it wasn’t just empty praise. Some people are so good-looking that they transcend dimensions and even gender.

Ji Nanxing noticed her standing still and reminded her, "Class is starting soon."

Gu Mingxi snapped out of it, almost forgetting she had PE. She initially took a few steps toward the classroom, then realized the next class was PE and hurriedly turned back to go downstairs, appearing flustered and disoriented.

Ji Nanxing waited until she had descended the stairs before continuing down himself. They were both heading to PE class, so they were going in the same direction.

As he watched the young girl ahead, Ji Nanxing’s gaze lingered on her for a moment longer. It had only been a little over a week, but Gu Mingxi’s presence seemed to have shifted.

Xiao Ye had gone ahead to help the teacher with the equipment and had been waiting on the field for a while when he finally saw Ji Nanxing. "Naonao! Over here!"

Ji Nanxing walked over to him. "Why are you carrying so many mats?"

Xiao Ye: "We’re practicing pole vaulting today. Next week is the sports meet, so we need to familiarize ourselves with all the events."

The sports meet didn’t have much to do with Ji Nanxing. Even events like shot put wouldn’t involve him—he’d at most be handing out water. So he took Xiao Ye’s clothes and found a comfortable spot to sit.

As he watched them practice pole vaulting, Ji Nanxing took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Chen Shiyi: "Has anything happened at school recently?"

Chen Shiyi, who had been dozing off in history class, immediately perked up. "Oh, there’s been a lot! About that freshman campus beauty, let me tell you..."