Chapter 19 The Truth Comes Out

Chapter 19: The Truth Comes to Light

Over the weekend, Lin Xishan didn't go to school.

He holed up in Pei Zhi's new apartment, processing project data while keeping a close eye on the forum developments.

And of course, he still helped Pei Zhi with his... physiological needs.

Lin Xishan discovered that making the usually cold Pei Zhi gasp under his touch, with the corners of his eyes flushed red from the physical strain, was something that could become addictive.

Ahem, but I digress.

The online posts continued to gain traction over the two days.

More and more people joined in—some stoked the flames, some claimed to have firsthand knowledge, some said "I have a friend who knows him." Various versions of the story spread like wildfire across the internet.

The most absurd version was: Lin Xishan wasn't just being kept by one person—he was involved with several people at once, including a "mysterious rich second generation" and a "young master of some conglomerate."

When Lin Xishan saw that version, he almost dropped his phone from laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Pei Zhi walked out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee—one black for himself, one with milk and sugar set in front of Lin Xishan.

"They're calling you the 'young master of some conglomerate.'" Lin Xishan turned his phone screen toward him.

Pei Zhi glanced down, his expression unchanged. He took a sip of his coffee and said flatly, "Who cares what they say."

Lin Xishan put down his phone and picked up the coffee with milk and sugar—he didn't really like coffee, but Pei Zhi always made it for him, so he always drank it.

"You're not angry?" Lin Xishan asked. "They're describing you as 'a shady character who rides a black motorcycle.'"

Pei Zhi thought for a moment. "Guilty as charged."

"..."

Okay, fair.

Monday morning, Lin Xishan walked into the academic building just as the bell rang.

More eyes were on him in the hallway, and the whispers were louder.

He even overheard people saying things like "that's him," "he still has the nerve to show up," "shameless."

Lin Xishan walked into the classroom without flinching, took a seat in the front row, and pulled out his notebook.

The bell rang, the professor walked in, and started the lecture.

While listening to the lecture, Lin Xishan sent a message to Ji Huaixu on his phone.

"Lin Xishan: Huaixu, your roommate who's a forum moderator—can you ask them to help me out?"

Ji Huaixu saw the message, turned around in his seat to glance at Lin Xishan in the back, and typed back: "What favor?"

"Lin Xishan: Keep tabs on that post for me. If someone tries to get it taken down, let me know right away."

Ji Huaixu paused for a moment. "You think someone's going to try to delete it?"

"Lin Xishan: They will. Just not yet. Once that post simmers for another two days, someone will definitely crack."

Ji Huaixu set his phone face-down on the desk, as if thinking. After a moment, he picked it up again and typed back two words: "Okay. I'll keep watch."

Lin Xishan put down his phone, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He wasn't waiting for the original poster to delete the post on their own.

He was waiting for the poster to expose more of their trail before taking it down.

What happened next unfolded faster than Lin Xishan had expected.

Tuesday afternoon, a new post appeared on the forum.

The poster's ID was a random string of numbers, and the title was short and to the point: 【About that "low-income special admit" post, I have a few things I want to say】

"I'm on Professor Chen's project team. Regarding the student named Lin who's been hotly discussed on the forum recently, I'd like to clear a few things up:

Student Lin is indeed a sophomore undergraduate, and he is indeed a low-income special admit, but he got into the project team through Professor Chen's personal interview and selection process. The whole process was completely above board.

He's extremely capable—his data analysis and modeling skills are on par with the grad students in our group. The project is moving along smoothly, and he deserves a lot of the credit.

As for the rumors about him being kept, there is no evidence to support them. The 'firsthand accounts' floating around the forum are all one-sided claims from anonymous accounts.

I hope everyone will stop spreading misinformation."

Lin Xishan was a bit surprised when he saw this post, but not entirely.

After all, he had been quite enthusiastic in the project group, volunteering to do extra work. At the time, it was to build connections, but it had inadvertently paid off now.

It looked like he'd owe Senior Shen Zhiyi a favor.

After this post was published, the tide started to quietly shift.

Some people started questioning the original post's credibility:

"So he got in on his own merit—what's there to be jealous of?"

"People saying he's being kept—where's the proof? Not a single photo, just a bunch of talk?"

"I know Lin Xishan. He's a low-key person with good grades. Doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do something like that."

But some were still stubborn:

"An anonymous post is one-sided, but this real-name one is supposed to be true? Who knows if they hired someone to back them up?"

"A low-income special admit getting into a big project—isn't it normal to be questioned?"

The two sides argued endlessly in the thread.

Lin Xishan scrolled through the replies, his expression unchanged.

He knew the timing wasn't right yet.

Wednesday evening, Ji Huaixu sent a message:

"Ji Huaixu: Someone contacted the admin. They're requesting the post be deleted."

Lin Xishan was processing data at Pei Zhi's apartment when he saw the message. His fingers paused.

He typed: "Who?"

"Ji Huaixu: Ye Jiaonan."

Lin Xishan put down his phone, leaned back on the sofa, and stared at the ceiling for a while.

Ye Jiaonan finally couldn't sit still anymore.

He picked up his phone and replied to Ji Huaixu: "Tell him to delete it."

Ji Huaixu: "Are you sure? Once the post is deleted, the evidence is gone."

"Lin Xishan: 'I have a backup. Let him delete it.'"

After a moment of silence on the other end: "Alright."

Three minutes later, the pinned post disappeared.

The forum went quiet for a moment, then blew up again.

"Why is the post gone?"

"Deleted?"

"Did the OP request deletion? Is that a guilty conscience?"

"Or did the OP get scared?"

All sorts of theories started flying around.

The next morning, Lin Xishan took the USB drive and went to the Student Affairs Office.

He was greeted by a middle-aged female teacher with glasses, whose surname was Wang, in charge of student discipline and known for her strictness and sharp tongue.

"What did you just say?" Teacher Wang pushed up her glasses, thinking she had misheard.

"I'm here to file a formal complaint." Lin Xishan placed an envelope on the desk, then pulled the USB drive out of his backpack and pushed it forward as well. "Ye Jiaonan from the School of Art used the forum's anonymous mechanism to maliciously fabricate false information and defame me. This is the relevant evidence."

Teacher Wang opened the envelope. Inside were printouts of the forum post screenshots and the backend activity logs provided by Ji Huaixu's roommate.

She plugged the USB drive into her computer. On it were the original post, the replies, the click statistics, and the most crucial piece of backend data: the poster's student ID and name.

Ye Jiaonan.

Teacher Wang was silent for a long moment before looking up at him. "Do you know what filing a formal complaint entails?"

"Yes."

"If the investigation proves the complaint is false, you'll be held accountable."

"I know," Lin Xishan said. "But the investigation will prove that I'm right."

Teacher Wang looked at him, as if trying to gauge whether he was bluffing.

Finally, she unplugged the USB drive and locked it in the drawer with the envelope.

"We'll initiate an investigation," she said.

"Thank you, Teacher." Lin Xishan stood up, bowed, and walked out of the office.

The sunlight outside was nice.

He stood on the steps outside the Student Affairs Office, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

All that was left to do was wait.

That afternoon, the investigation team went to see Ye Jiaonan.

Word spread fast. Lin Xishan didn't even know who'd leaked it, but by the time his afternoon classes ended, the whole college was buzzing about it.

"Did you hear? That post was by Ye Jiaonan from the School of Art!"

"Ye Jiaonan? The one who publicly confessed to Lin Jichuan last time?"

"Yeah, that's him. I heard he and Lin Xishan used to be tight, but for some reason they had a falling out."

"Love turned into hate?"

"Maybe. I heard he likes Lin Jichuan, and since Lin Xishan is Lin Jichuan's roommate, maybe he's jealous?"

All sorts of rumors started circulating again.

But this time, the tide had clearly shifted.

Public opinion was starting to swing in Lin Xishan's favor.

Friday afternoon, the investigation results came in.

Teacher Wang called Lin Xishan to the Student Affairs Office and handed him an official document stamped with the school seal.

"The conclusion is that Student Ye Jiaonan used the forum's anonymous feature to fabricate false information and defame Student Lin Xishan. The facts are clear, and the evidence is conclusive." Teacher Wang read aloud. "According to university regulations, Student Ye Jiaonan is hereby given a disciplinary demerit and required to post a public apology on the forum."

Lin Xishan took the document and skimmed it. "Thank you, Teacher Wang."

"No need to thank me." Teacher Wang looked at him. "You prepared the evidence thoroughly enough on your own. But I do have one question: when did you figure out it was Ye Jiaonan?"

Lin Xishan thought for a moment. "Probably from the start."

"Then why'd you wait a whole week to file the complaint?"

Lin Xishan smiled. "Because I was waiting for him to show more of his cards."

Teacher Wang shot him a look and didn't press further.

That evening, Ye Jiaonan's public apology went up on the forum.

The post was short, the tone formal, the wording stiff—clearly written under pressure:

"I, Ye Jiaonan, posted false information on the forum on December 20, causing negative effects on Student Lin Xishan. After investigation by the university, I admit that the above actions were inappropriate. I apologize publicly to Student Lin Xishan. I will learn from this lesson and won't repeat such mistakes."

No explanation for why he did it, no genuine remorse, not even the words "I'm sorry."

The comment section blew up.

"That's it? That's supposed to be an apology?"

"Doesn't even have an 'I'm sorry'—zero sincerity."

"A demerit? Just a demerit? The cost of spreading rumors is way too low?"

But some people defended Ye Jiaonan: "He already apologized publicly. What more do you want? Let's not be too harsh."

Lin Xishan looked at that reply, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly.

"You've got to let things slide when you can."

But when Ye Jiaonan was spreading rumors, did he ever think about cutting Lin Xishan some slack?

He closed the post without replying.

Pei Zhi's message came in right then.

"Pei Zhi: I saw the post."

"Lin Xishan: Saw what?"

"Pei Zhi: The apology post. That's it?"

"Lin Xishan: Yeah."

"Pei Zhi: You're not mad? He didn't even apologize."

Lin Xishan leaned back on the sofa, thought for a moment, and typed: "I am. But I already beat him, no point in dwelling on it."

Pei Zhi went quiet for a moment: "You're way too nice."

Lin Xishan read the message and smiled.

He wasn't nice. He just didn't see any point in getting tangled up with Ye Jiaonan.

He had already gotten what he wanted—a public apology, a disciplinary record for Ye Jiaonan, and public opinion turning in his favor.

Anything more would just be a waste of time.

He didn't have time for these pointless games with Ye Jiaonan.