Chapter 43
The young man’s eyes were red, his lips bitten tight, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
His hands were clenched into fists, so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, leaving red marks.
Jiang Zhiyi quickly patted his friend’s shoulder and comforted him softly, “Bai Bai, don’t worry. We’ll go to the police now.”
“Mm.”
The two of them were just about to leave the classroom when an unexpected guest suddenly appeared before them.
“Senior.” Shen Lin stopped in a panic, blocking the two of them. The Alpha’s face was filled with alarm. “Believe me, I didn’t post that on the forum!”
“I deleted that social media post a long time ago. I really don’t know who deliberately posted it on the forum!”
He had many contacts on his WeChat, and his social media feed wasn’t open to everyone.
Shen Lin didn’t use the school forum often. If a friend hadn’t sent him a message, he would have had no idea that someone had secretly taken a screenshot and deliberately twisted and fabricated these rumors.
Afraid that the Omega would be affected by the rumors, he had specifically checked Bai Yan’s class schedule and had run to his classroom as soon as class was over.
Hearing Shen Lin’s defense, Jiang Zhiyi was furious, almost unable to resist the urge to hit him. “Even if this post has nothing to do with you, the fact that you secretly took a photo of an Omega and pestered a senior is an undeniable fact!”
“If you had just controlled your hands back then, none of this would have happened.”
“Senior Zhiyi, don’t be impulsive.” Bai Yan pulled on his friend’s arm, not wanting to say more.
Shen Lin had originally been prepared to take Jiang Zhiyi’s punch. Seeing the Omega reach out to stop him, a glimmer of hope rose in his heart, and he looked at Bai Yan with anticipation.
But after seeing the disappointment and dimness in his eyes, he lowered his head in dejection.
He had never seen the Omega with such a fragile expression. The corners of his eyes were red, his face as pale as paper, his pale lips colorless, his whole person as if on the verge of collapsing.
And all of this was because of him.
Bai Yan ignored the Alpha’s shame. After a calm analysis, he said in a hoarse voice, “Since this person was able to take a screenshot of your social media feed, he must know both of us.”
“Shen Lin, can you think back? After we met, did anyone specifically come to see you?”
Shen Lin lowered his head and thought hard. Suddenly, he remembered something. “There was someone, in our teaching building… that time we ‘ran into each other,’ he came to see me.”
“He said he was a friend of the senior’s and knew a lot about him, but his words were all derogatory, and he deliberately pried into our relationship.”
Shen Lin quickly tried to remedy the situation. “But I didn’t believe a word he said. I didn’t pay any attention to him, and I didn’t add him as a friend. How could he have seen my social media feed?”
Jiang Zhiyi: “Who was it? Hurry up and say it!”
Bai Yan pressed his lips together tightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. “Cen Yang.”
F City
The just-concluded economic and trade forum was a great success. As the representative of Haicheng’s business community, the Pei Corporation was naturally the focus of the reporters at the venue.
The moment Pei Tingyu stepped out of the conference room, he was surrounded by a large group of reporters.
“Mr. Pei, can you give us a sneak peek of the group’s development plan for the next quarter?”
“Mr. Pei, I hear your company plans to expand into the Australian market this year. How do you plan to proceed?”
In front of the camera, the Alpha was dressed in a suit, his handsome face indifferent. He gave a polite nod to the camera, his cool gaze sweeping over the reporters, and spoke calmly.
“Thank you all for your attention to the Pei Corporation. The Pei Corporation’s development this year will proceed steadily according to plan.”
A young reporter with sharp eyes noticed that the man had his hands clasped, his fingertips unconsciously touching the wedding ring on his ring finger.
He immediately pushed the microphone closer to the Alpha and asked eagerly, “I hear Mr. Pei got married quietly at the beginning of the year. Can you tell us something about Mrs. Pei?”
The moment he finished speaking, the other, more experienced reporters all looked at him with surprise.
You had to know that Mr. Pei, who had been the industry’s top diamond bachelor for many years, hated it when reporters asked him personal questions, especially about his love life.
The last reporter who had been so bold had long since changed careers and was now selling sesame seed cakes back home.
They were silently mourning for this young reporter when they saw the usually indifferent and cold Mr. Pei suddenly let out a low chuckle, lower his gaze to his wedding ring, his eyes filled with an unprecedented gentleness.
“I did get married this year. My lover doesn’t like to be exposed to the media. Regarding him, I would ask you all to keep it a secret for me.”
The reporters who had captured this smile all screamed internally. The next moment, the sea of flashing lights almost drowned the Alpha.
I’ve struck gold today! This will blow up the hot search in minutes!
I’ve even thought of the headline: “Former Cold CEO Discreetly Shows Off Wedding Ring at Conference, Sweet Pet Name Envied by All.”
“Mr. Pei, can you tell us a little more? Is your lover an Omega or a Beta? Or could it be an Alpha?”
“Mr. Pei, how did you and your spouse meet?”
“Mr. Pei, Mr. Pei…”
The excited reporters pressed their advantage, all raising their microphones to surround the man, wanting to ask more.
But the Alpha gave a polite nod and, surrounded by his bodyguards, strode away.
The man had just returned to the VIP lounge and hadn’t even sat down when Song Jian rushed in, pushing the door open.
Assistant Song’s hair was a mess, and fine beads of sweat covered his forehead. His suit and tie were askew, and even his crisp suit trousers were wrinkled.
This elite assistant was always proper in front of his boss. Unless something major had happened, he wouldn’t have neglected his appearance.
Pei Tingyu’s heart sank.
“Mr. Pei, it’s not good. Something has happened to Young Master Bai Yan.” Song Jian stood there, panting, and blurted out without even wiping away his sweat.
“Someone is spreading rumors on Young Master Bai Yan’s school forum, saying that Young Master Bai Yan is occupying a poor student’s quota, that his emotional relationships are chaotic, and that you and he… you and he…”
He steeled himself and gritted his teeth. “That you and he are in an improper relationship!”
The Alpha’s face instantly turned cold. He ordered in a deep voice to cancel the subsequent celebration banquet.
“Prepare to return immediately!”
Tap, tap, tap. Light leather shoes tapped on the floor of the administrative office.
Cen Yang walked out of the administrative teacher’s office with a file, the smile on his face no longer sustainable.
The Beta’s face was extremely gloomy, with dark circles under his eyes. His two dark, hollow eyes were sunken in their sockets, making him look particularly sinister.
The events of the past two days had completely exceeded his imagination.
He had originally just wanted to post some baseless rumors, as he had before, to draw everyone’s attention to the issue of Bai Yan being a kept man. But he hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly this time.
The argument had deviated to the ABO gender debate. Even though he had promptly deleted the post and his account, it had still spread like wildfire, and even posts questioning the school’s fairness had been pushed to the top.
He hadn’t dared to sleep these past two days, staying up all night on the forum, afraid that someone would trace his account.
It’ll be fine, Cen Yang unconsciously bit his fingernails, his eyes darting around in a panic. He is a forum administrator. Unless his own privileges are used, it’s impossible to trace it back to him.
Cen Yang’s uneasy heart had just settled down. He was about to leave when an unexpected voice sounded from behind him.
“Cen Yang, what a coincidence. We meet again. We were just looking for you.”
The Omega’s voice was calm, with a slight, unnoticeable hoarseness. It sounded the same as usual, indifferent, as if completely unaffected by the public opinion.
That same indifference again. He hated it when Bai Yan acted as if nothing had happened.
They were both orphans. Why was he a noble white swan, and he a rat in the gutter that couldn’t see the light of day!
The Beta’s nerves trembled. He stiffly turned around, a slow smile forming on his lips. “Bai Yan, what are you doing here?”
The young man’s expression was calm, but the Omega behind him had his feelings written all over his face.
Jiang Zhiyi’s face was ashen. He said without ceremony, “These past two days, a lot of false rumors about Bai Bai have appeared on the school forum. We came to see the counselor to deal with this matter.”
Cen Yang’s mouth twitched, and he forced a smile. “Is that so? I never pay attention to the forum. But unfortunately, the counselor is in a meeting right now and can’t solve your problem.”
“Who’s looking for me?”
The moment he finished speaking, a stern-faced Beta appeared outside the conference room in the corridor. Beside him was a pale-faced Alpha, Shen Lin.
The counselor nodded to the three of them. “You’re here.”
“Cen Yang, I remember you’re in charge of the forum. Come in with us.”
The smile on Cen Yang’s face froze, and the blood in his veins seemed to solidify. Before he could make an excuse, the counselor had already entered the conference room.
Bai Yan walked past him, paused, and said coolly, “Cen Yang, sorry to trouble you.”
Cen Yang smiled. “Of course. When something happens on the forum, the administrator naturally has a duty to help.”
Entering the conference room, Cen Yang realized that the room was almost full of school leaders.
The Beta unconsciously clenched his fists, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down several times as he sat down on an empty stool to the side.
Bai Yan let go of Jiang Zhiyi’s tightly held hand and, under the latter’s encouraging gaze, walked steadily to the front of the conference table and bowed.
“Good morning, leaders and teachers. I’m sorry to take up your precious time.”
“Recently, a series of false rumors have appeared on the school forum, which have greatly affected my life.”
“I am not in an improper relationship with any Alpha. My living conditions have improved this semester, and I have already submitted an application to voluntarily withdraw from the poor student selection.”
Jiang Zhiyi distributed the prepared materials to the leaders.
The young man’s gaze was steady, his tone unhurried. “After investigation, I found that I am not the only victim. This anonymous account, X, has been spreading rumors on the forum for a year.”
“Not only that, but the poster has even openly questioned the school’s fairness, seriously damaging the reputation of Haicheng University.”
Shen Lin added in a deep voice, “This person has used different identities each time to make malicious speculations and guide the comments section to verbal abuse. After being reported, he promptly deletes the post. We have reason to believe that he is clearly experienced.”
The leaders and teachers in the conference room reviewed the materials in their hands, occasionally casting appraising glances at him.
Bai Yan’s face was tense as he forced himself to look calm, but the hands behind his back were clenched into fists, trembling slightly.
Calm down, calm down, Bai Yan. Think about what Mr. Pei would do.
The non-existent scent of orange blossom emerged from his memory. The warm scent seemed to fill his heart, quietly enveloping his pounding heart.
The image of Mr. Pei’s calm and composed gaze unconsciously appeared in his mind.
The Omega seemed to draw strength from it. When he looked up again, the feigned calmness in his eyes had slowly turned into real composure.
Cen Yang looked at the materials in his hands in disbelief, a chill running down his spine.
He had already deleted yesterday’s post, but here, all the content he had posted was displayed in detail.
Even the posts he had made a few weeks ago, even a few months ago, were there!
How could this be?! What on earth is going on!
The counselor scanned the materials in her hands, ten lines at a time, pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, and nodded to the leader beside her.
She said seriously, “Vice-principal, Dean Jiang, this matter has had a great impact. I think it is necessary to continue the investigation.”
“If we simply handle it coldly, not only will it likely cause a stir online, but we also won’t be able to give an explanation to the students and teachers.”
“If this anonymous poster is confirmed to be from our school, I think it is necessary to deal with him according to the school regulations.”
The leaders in the conference room whispered among themselves for a while and gave Director Lin an affirmative answer.
“There is just one thing I must confirm, forgive me,” the counselor deliberately paused for a moment, her gaze behind her glasses cold as she looked at the two of them. “Are you sure that every word you have said is true?”
Shen Lin: “I’m sure.”
The young man stood as straight as a pine tree, his gaze fixed on the Beta’s eyes, and said with a resounding voice, “I’m sure. The statements on here are all slander and rumors.”
Cen Yang’s throat suddenly tightened. He pretended to be thinking and said slowly, “This matter is indeed very serious. But the poster has already deleted the post, and the account has also been completely deleted. The police probably won’t be able to find anything.”
The Beta spoke very slowly and sincerely, his brow furrowed in worry, as if he were truly considering Bai Yan’s situation.
“But Director Lin, if the school makes a big fuss and ultimately can’t find anything, won’t the students and teachers suspect that Haicheng University staged this whole thing to deliberately protect the culprit?”
“It’s even possible that everyone will be convinced that there is a problem with Bai Yan and Shen Lin, and that the school is just pretending to investigate to give everyone an explanation?”
What a thick-skinned person! Jiang Zhiyi gritted his teeth, his knuckles cracking. He almost couldn’t resist the urge to rush up and punch him.
Hearing the Beta’s sincere suggestion, Bai Yan, without panicking, pretended to be surprised and said, “How could that be…”
“Everything leaves a trace. Classmate Cen, have you forgotten? The school’s forum accounts are all linked to student IDs.”
“The forum also has the specific posting time,” Bai Yan said, opening his phone and displaying the school forum’s page, showing the anonymous account X’s homepage to everyone.
“The forum administrator only needs to check the account that posted at that time and compare it with the student ID. It’s very easy to find.”
The Omega turned to the pale-faced Beta and raised the end of his voice, asking, “Don’t you think so, X?”
