Chapter 36: You’ve Gone Viral, Boss
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Lin Bai chuckled softly. “If you really want to thank me, then give me your contact information.”
Xu Youmeng turned her head and cast Lin Bai a meaningful glance before continuing to walk slowly forward.
“Yuan Fengcai was right about one thing. Being too close to me will only bring trouble. You’re a good person, Lin Bai. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Lin Bai froze, his expression caught somewhere between laughter and tears.
What was this supposed to mean?
Was she giving him the “good guy” rejection?
He hadn’t even had a chance to make his move, and he had already been handed a good-guy card?
That was ridiculous.
“You think too highly of yourself,” Lin Bai retorted without mercy.
Xu Youmeng stopped and turned to look at him. “Every new class of freshmen is like this—fearless and reckless. It’s a good thing.”
With that, Xu Youmeng continued walking.
Lin Bai frowned. Xu Youmeng always gave him the feeling that she had seen through the mortal world, as though she were utterly weary of life. It made him deeply uncomfortable.
“You really are beautiful. You must have a lot of admirers, right?”
Lin Bai caught up with her and began walking beside her.
Xu Youmeng nodded simply. “Yes. If I had a choice, I’d rather be more ordinary.”
Lin Bai inwardly grumbled. “Then do you have a boyfriend?”
“I wouldn’t dare. All right, little junior, I’ve arrived. Thanks for today. I’ll treat you to milk tea if I get the chance. Bye.”
Before they knew it, they had reached the entrance to Xu Youmeng’s dormitory. She waved, pressed her lips into a smile, and, without waiting for Lin Bai to respond, turned and walked inside.
Since Xu Youmeng had refused to give him her contact information, Lin Bai naturally wasn’t shameless enough to ask again. He waved and left.
…
Lin Bai returned to the dining hall in the East District, where he met up with Qin Ruowei for a meal.
When they met again, Qin Ruowei couldn’t help recalling those embarrassing scenes, and her face flushed bright red.
Now that their relationship had broken through that final barrier, the two no longer tried to hide it. They ate together openly and flaunted their affection without restraint.
“Oh my God, Lin Bai, look!”
While they were eating, Qin Ruowei came across something on her phone. Her face filled with shock as she held it out in front of him.
Lin Bai looked up. The moment he saw what was on the screen, he felt as though everything had gone terribly wrong.
It was a post on the campus forum titled:
**Scumbag Lin Bai, Give Me Back Three Years of My Youth!**
The sensational title attracted a huge crowd of curious onlookers. The post itself was extremely long—perhaps one or two thousand words—and contained numerous screenshots of conversations between Lin Bai and Chen Shuya.
Those messages had been exchanged back when the two were still in high school. At the time, Lin Bai had been young and inexperienced, and his pursuit of Chen Shuya had been passionate and dramatic.
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Now that those nauseatingly sweet conversations had been exposed to the public, even Lin Bai, with his usual composure, couldn’t help feeling a massive headache coming on.
“Damn it! Chen Shuya’s gone insane!”
Lin Bai took Qin Ruowei’s phone and skimmed through the post. There were already hundreds of comments beneath it, all attacking him.
Some people had even dug up information about Lin Bai’s class and dormitory.
“This is too much! Are these people’s brains made of garbage? They actually believe Chen Shuya’s one-sided story?”
Qin Ruowei was furious and began replying to those insulting Lin Bai beneath the post.
Lin Bai stopped her and shook his head. “It’s useless. People only want to see what they want to see. Sometimes, the truth doesn’t matter.”
“But we can’t just let this keep spreading! It’ll affect you too much. No, I’m calling Chen Shuya and making her delete the post!”
With that, Qin Ruowei found Chen Shuya’s number and dialed it.
The call was answered quickly. Qin Ruowei’s tone was harsh. “Chen Shuya, have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea how much that post is affecting Lin Bai? Delete it immediately!”
On the other end, Chen Shuya sat with one leg crossed over the other, sipping milk tea with a mocking smile.
“Qin Ruowei, who do you think you are? You tell me to delete it, so I’m supposed to delete it?”
“Chen Shuya! This is defamation! We can report you to the police!”
“Defamation? The chat records are genuine. Where exactly did I defame him? Lin Bai is beside you, isn’t he? If you want the post deleted, that’s easy. Let Lin Bai beg me. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be in a good enough mood to delete it.”
“You…”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Staring at the disconnected call, Chen Shuya looked completely unconcerned, though her eyes were filled with viciousness.
“Lin Bai, Qin Ruowei, I told you that you’d regret this!”
At the dining hall, Lin Bai forcibly ended the call and handed the phone back to Qin Ruowei.
“It’s useless. Calling her now would only be humiliating yourself.”
“Then what are we going to do, Lin Bai?”
At that moment, Qin Ruowei was even more anxious than Lin Bai, the person directly involved.
In truth, Lin Bai didn’t know what to do either. But—
He had the system!
**Beep! A side mission has been triggered!**
**Side Mission: Fortune is born from misfortune, and misfortune is born from fortune.**
**Method One: Persuade Li Yu to lend you evidence of Chen Shuya’s infidelity, then use her own methods against her.**
**Method Two: Bravely face the challenge, demonstrate your excellence, and make others shut up through your own ability.**
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**Method Three: Choose silence. Every trending topic will eventually pass. Leave it to time; the innocent will ultimately be vindicated.**
**Choose one of the three methods to resolve the reputation crisis. Mission reward: one week of a bull market!**
As expected of the system, while Lin Bai and Qin Ruowei were still at a loss, it had instantly provided three solutions.
After comparing the three methods for resolving the crisis, Lin Bai ruled out the third first.
He truly didn’t want to remain entangled with Chen Shuya. But his tolerance had only encouraged her to become even more aggressive. He had to make her understand that he had limits too.
As for the first method, Lin Bai felt it was somewhat too extreme. That sort of approach was inconsistent with his usual way of handling things.
By comparison, Lin Bai soon made his decision. He declared inwardly, “I choose method two!”
**Beep! The host has chosen method two: bravely face the challenge, demonstrate your excellence, and make others shut up through your own ability. Selection recorded.**
“What are we going to do, Lin Bai? You’ll be finished if this keeps going!”
Qin Ruowei was extremely anxious.
Now that the system had given him a plan, Lin Bai felt completely confident. He took Qin Ruowei’s cold little hand and said firmly:
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll handle it.”
The determination in Lin Bai’s voice and eyes eased Qin Ruowei’s worries somewhat. She bit her lip tightly.
“Mm!”
Lin Bai’s phone rang. It was Chen Zhe calling. He could more or less guess what the call was about, so he answered.
“What is it?”
“Have you seen the forum, boss? You’re famous!”
Lin Bai thought, So it really is about this.
He rolled his eyes. “Get lost!”
He hung up, but before he could even lower the phone, it rang again.
Lin Bai was speechless. He assumed it was Chen Zhe calling back, but unexpectedly, the caller was the captain of the National Flag Guard. Lin Bai frowned and answered.
“Captain.”
“Lin Bai, that post on the school forum is about you, isn’t it?”
Faced with the captain’s question, Lin Bai did not try to hide anything.
“Yes, Captain. It’s about me.”
The captain fell silent for a moment.
“Lin Bai, the National Flag Guard is different from other clubs and organizations. We’re responsible for the national flag and for the school. That post has had a considerable impact.”
“I discussed it with several vice captains, and we’ve decided to temporarily revoke your status as a probationary member of the National Flag Guard. I hope you can understand.”
After hearing what the captain said, Lin Bai’s feelings were complicated.
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