A single night could change many things.
Just as He Yuxuan had become famous overnight in his past life, and how he became known throughout the school after one gala after transmigrating into the book, the winds of opinion about him shifted almost overnight.
This day should have come long ago; it was just that He Yuxuan, with his drastically changed appearance, hadn’t attracted people’s attention. The current Campus Hunk and the creepy guy who was beaten up at the start of the semester for harassing a female student were, in fact, the same person.
The fuse, naturally, was a post on the forum.
OP: Does the internet have no memory? People are actually still chasing after a creepy guy.
Attached were comparison photos of He Yuxuan now and when he first entered campus.
As soon as the post was published, with several people fanning the flames, it immediately blew up. The comparison photos were indeed just too shocking. Who could have imagined that the person in these two photos was the same individual?
Post 33: Holy crap, did he go get plastic surgery?! It’s way too successful…
Post 34: You kidding me? What procedure has a recovery period that short? He obviously just lost some weight and de-greased himself. Actually, his facial features are still similar.
Post 35: Handsome is true, but having a bad character is also true. Why didn’t he do it sooner? If he’d transformed earlier, he wouldn’t have needed to harass that girl.
Post 36: So now he’s the winner in life. Not only did he turn himself into a handsome guy, but he also won the heart of the Campus Belle, who’s even prettier than that previous girl.
Post 37: Cut the crap. The Campus Belle is just hyped up by people. They clearly have different styles.
Reply to Post 37: Don’t kid yourself. The students’ eyes are sharp. Don’t we all know in our hearts who’s prettier?
Dozens of replies scolding followed under this comment on the 37th floor, arguing non-stop.
Although the newly risen Campus Hunk, He Yuxuan, was stained with scandal, the Campus Belle, Bo Yuanyuan, was innocent, just deceived by a scumbag. The Campus Belle’s fans were still quite powerful, especially her male fans, who really knew how to attack people.
Post 68: Actually, He Yuxuan isn’t even that handsome. Just average up close. Don’t know who’s saying he’s handsome, they haven’t seen the world.
Reply to Post 68: Character aside, looks are undeniably top-notch, streets ahead of all the other male comrades in the school.
Reply to Post 68: If you ever saw him in person, you probably wouldn’t mind that he’s a scumbag.
…
The gossip about He Yuxuan from a few months ago was dug up, and those caught in the middle included the victim, Wei Jiameng from the Music Department, as well as the Belle-Hunk CP, He Yuxuan and Bo Yuanyuan.
He Yuxuan really wasn’t very perceptive. He hadn’t realized it at all until Bo Yuanyuan asked him about it.
YuanyuanEatsTangyuan: Yuxuan, do you know what the forum’s been discussing about your past recently? What’s the real situation?
She also sent a few screenshots to He Yuxuan.
It was only then that He Yuxuan recalled this matter.
LittleHeWakeUp: There was such a thing, but I wouldn’t call it harassment. We chatted for a few days, and I really was beaten up by her boyfriend.
He Yuxuan told the truth without any embellishment. After all, Bo Yuanyuan was someone he knew reasonably well; if she asked, he wouldn’t hide it.
If it were anyone else, He Yuxuan might not necessarily explain, because he didn’t even care about this bit of negative gossip.
YuanyuanEatsTangyuan: So that’s how it is. Then why are they saying such awful things…Do you still have the records of your chat from back then?
LittleHeWakeUp: No, I deleted her later.
YuanyuanEatsTangyuan: What if you went and asked her for it? Otherwise, won’t you keep being misunderstood?
Bo Yuanyuan quite believed He Yuxuan’s words. After all, they’d spent a lot of time together, and if the guy really was a scumbag, she would have fallen for it long ago. How could things still be so lukewarm now, still a considerable distance from even being just good friends?
Having stayed in the entertainment industry for so long, He Yuxuan wasn’t completely oblivious to such petty tricks. For it to ferment previously, the other party likely had a hand in it. And for it to suddenly be brought up again after so long, it was hard for He Yuxuan not to think about the time he rejected Wei Jiameng before.
LittleHeWakeUp: It’s fine, no need. She won’t give them to me.
What the people on the forum said, what others thought of him — he didn’t care. They weren’t people he cared about.
He wasn’t a male celebrity anymore, didn’t he even have this bit of freedom?
He Yuxuan continued his usual classes and life. Quite a few acquaintances asked him about this matter several times; it seemed it had spread quite widely. He paid it no mind.
Except that there were fewer people confessing to him, and occasionally the gazes on him carried a hint of scrutiny, there was no other impact.
Chu Ci knew about it too, of course. He was the person who paid the most attention to He Yuxuan.
After all, with so many things, if the other wouldn’t tell him personally, he could only go investigate himself, even if the two of them still weren’t speaking to each other.
Actually, not long after the public opinion storm began, Chu Ci had already traced the OP’s IP address and real identity. Digging deeper, he naturally also uncovered the sequence of events from months ago, instantly grasping the truth.
From the very beginning, he didn’t care whether He Yuxuan had really done such a thing or not. But the moment he learned the truth, Chu Ci still felt that he indeed shouldn’t have overestimated the guy. He was clearly just a naive fool.
Just had bad taste.
Young Master Chu had wanted to wait for He Yuxuan to come to him to discuss it. After all, for a student, this sort of thing wasn’t a minor, easily resolved issue. And it concerned his reputation. Among the people He Yuxuan knew, those who could help were probably few.
He kept hovering in front of He Yuxuan every day, watching the public opinion grow more and more raucous, but He Yuxuan himself barely showed any emotional fluctuation. Chu Ci was starting to get a little restless.
In fact, with his explosive temper, Chu Ci got even angrier seeing many comments than He Yuxuan, the person involved, did.
Sleepyhead: To think I actually had a good impression of him once. Now thinking about it makes me want to puke. Creepy, ugly man.
6394719: And who do you think you are?
QuietFlower: Morally bankrupt scumbag, still has the nerve to flirt with the Campus Belle.
6394719: Did you crawl under their bed to eavesdrop?
…
Chu Ci created a throwaway account and fought for an entire afternoon, while that guy was peacefully taking his afternoon nap.
In the end, it was Chu Ci who couldn’t hold it in any longer.
And then, suddenly, regarding the incident from a few months ago, the person involved came forward to clarify.
A very comprehensive, logically flawless long post, narrating the whole process from beginning to end.
The poster used Wei Jiameng’s full name; it was the person herself.
The post not only included screenshots of their chat logs and evidence of her hiring online trolls, but also screenshots of her chats with her ex-boyfriend, as well as evidence that her ex-boyfriend had sent his lackeys to beat someone up.
The reversal came so suddenly that the spectators eating popcorn were dumbfounded. This made them look so stupid and humiliating.
“Damn, if it was really like this, why didn’t you say so earlier? We all thought you were the victim. So you hid your boyfriend while stringing another guy along. And on top of that, you got him laid up in the hospital for a month, and the guy ended up good-looking from it…”
“Ugh, the most tragic one is actually the Campus Hunk. I said it before — he looks like a naive, sweet fool. Turns out he really is a naive, sweet fool.”
“It was completely an undeserved calamity. He suffered such a huge grievance and didn’t even come after you to settle accounts. That’s already good character.”
“LOL, seeing him now perfectly fine with the Campus Belle, and you still hire trolls to smear him again. No one’s more awesome than you!”
Chu Ci read all the way through, fairly satisfied. Until he saw that last line, snorted coldly, and exited the page.
Having done the deed, the Young Master didn’t claim credit, acting as if he didn’t know anything about it.
He Yuxuan also didn’t know so many things could happen in the span of a nap.
Meng Jingshu also asked him: “What kind soul is helping you? Or did she have a change of heart?”
He Yuxuan thought about it and felt the latter was not very likely. After all, clearing his name damaged her own reputation. It was impossible.
Just, if it really was a case of someone doing something… He Yuxuan’s heart stirred, and he sat up, looking in a certain direction.
Their eyes met. Although no words were spoken, He Yuxuan pretty much understood.
Even if it was something he didn’t care about, caring about it on his behalf — others couldn’t do that.
He Yuxuan stayed on his bed without climbing down, but the corner of his lips curled into a smile.
No need to say it: knowing the Young Master’s temper, this was definitely the other man taking the initiative to make peace.
So He Yuxuan sent a “Grinning Teeth.jpg” in their chat window.
Very quickly, the other man replied with a completely unrelated sentence: “Are you and that so-called Campus Belle really a couple?”
He Yuxuan frowned slightly and shook his head. “No, just colleagues.”
The stone weighing on Chu Ci’s heart for so many days finally dropped.
“Then you don’t like her?”
He Yuxuan continued shaking his head. “Don’t like her. Actually, I still don’t know what liking someone feels like.”
Chu Ci crossed his arms, and even his fingers typing felt lighter. “Good. What’s so fun about dating anyway.”
“Then aren’t you going to tell me about how you can play the piano, and all that stuff that happened before? I hear about every single thing from other people’s mouths.”
It was only then that He Yuxuan suddenly understood.
So Chu Ci was angry because he hadn’t told the other about all his plans and his life. He’d originally just thought there was nothing worth telling, that it wasn’t anything novel. Was he supposed to go find Chu Ci and say, ‘Wow, someone complimented him,’ every time he got praised?
How strange.
Or happily report, “Made over a hundred today, so happy!” from his part-time job earning thirty an hour?
“It’s all just trivial little things…”
“They’re not trivial. I want to know everything about you. You tell me yourself.”
He Yuxuan thought, well, that wasn’t too difficult.
“Alright, from now on, I’ll definitely tell you everything I know, holding nothing back!”
“But next time you feel uncomfortable about something, you have to tell me. Otherwise, I won’t be able to guess,” He Yuxuan also made a request.
“Mm.”
Chu Ci nodded in agreement. After all, after going through this, he understood that the only one who suffered would be him.
The guy just quietly and peacefully waited for him.
But not understanding what ‘liking’ was… that was excellent. Chu Ci also felt that dating was meaningless. He didn’t really want another person to insert themselves between them, to have a private space with He Yuxuan.
He didn’t want the other to have secrets kept from him, here with him.
“Young Master, isn’t that bed of yours hard?” He Yuxuan suddenly spoke up in the dorm, talking to Chu Ci.
Luckily, it was just the two of them. Otherwise, Chu Ci’s old face would have been mortified into the ground.
“Hard.”
He Yuxuan mocked him for a bit.
He just knew it. After Chu Ci moved in, he hadn’t swapped for better bedding. He’d just been sleeping on it hard for over a week and hadn’t complained a single word. Impressive, really.
“Making the bed just looks too awkward. I didn’t want you to see,” Chu Ci also demanded of himself to hold nothing back, speaking his innermost thoughts.
Except for the very deep, very secret feelings that couldn’t be spoken, and that he himself still didn’t understand.
He Yuxuan suddenly remembered that joke.
When friends had a fight, if he went to Chu Ci to ask for money, pretending the other owed him, Chu Ci probably wouldn’t even ask why before handing it over.
“It’s fine. Come lie down on mine. Perfect since it’s getting cold.” He Yuxuan patted the bed, thinking that Chu Ci, who could get angry and then heal himself, was quite cute.
“Oh.” The Young Master was still a cool guy, but his hands and feet were incredibly honest.
“Thanks for today, Young Master.” He Yuxuan sincerely thanked him again.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Eat dinner together tonight?” He had to eat back all the meals eaten with other people, Chu Ci thought.
“No can do. I have to go to my part-time job at the milk tea shop today. I already flaked once before because of you.” He Yuxuan shook his head. He couldn’t be so unprofessional.
“Hm?” What despicable thing now?
“Fine. I’ll go with you.” With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, Chu Ci burrowed into his roommate’s clear, fragrant blankets.
