Mei Mengzhen’s direct questioning also turned Jiang Cheng into an ant on a hot pan, and at this moment, everyone realized that indeed, Liang Xiao had already announced Mei Mengzhen’s background. It just hadn’t been confirmed by the person herself, and after confirming that Mei Mengzhen was an orphan, what then? There must have been a motive behind it, right? Could it really be just to announce that she was an orphan?
The crowd was baffled by this move and now believed that the person who had anonymously posted was Jiang Cheng, and they were more convinced that Jiang Cheng indeed had a purpose. But what exactly was that purpose?
Without realizing it, people started to think about one possibility: revenge.
Revenge because Mei Mengzhen didn’t stay with him. If he couldn’t have her, he would destroy her.
No matter how you looked at it, such a man seemed very scary.
Female students on campus felt a chill running down their spines, fearing they might encounter such a man.
...
The truth was, the person who posted wasn’t Jiang Cheng, but he wasn’t entirely uninvolved either. The poster was none other than Liu Bochao, and the content had been supplied by Jiang Cheng. The two were in cahoots, but while Liu Bochao remained well-concealed, Jiang Cheng was exposed, which left him feeling somewhat annoyed.
Regarding everyone on the Forum believing he was the poster, Jiang Cheng naturally denied it, but denial was useless. Once people were convinced it was you, then it could only be you, unless you could get the person involved to come forward and clarify, otherwise, people wouldn’t believe it.
And since the person involved was Liu Bochao, Jiang Cheng really had no way to defend himself.
As a result, everyone’s trust in Jiang Cheng’s character was further diminished.
A man who’s a jerk is one thing, but a despicable jerk is completely unacceptable.
Jiang Cheng didn’t understand why everything somehow ended up involving him. He felt helpless, but it was exactly because of this that he caught the attention of a certain woman.
This woman was none other than Pei Ziyu’s admirer Zhao Qingyi.
Zhao Qingyi, unrequited in her love for Pei Ziyu, had never given up hope. She had heard from others that Pei Ziyu was involved with someone, but no matter how much she inquired, she could never find out who his partner was.
When she had run out of options, the girl mentioned had miraculously appeared at their school.
When Zhao Qingyi learned of this, she didn’t believe it. Considering their different majors, one a current student, the other a graduate, it seemed impossible for the two to be together.
However, the photos on the Forum were conclusive evidence, and Zhao Qingyi had no choice but to accept that Mei Mengzhen was indeed Pei Ziyu’s girlfriend.
Afterwards, Zhao Qingyi kept a close eye on the Forum, reading all of Mengzhen’s posts from start to finish. Perhaps due to the jealousy in her heart, she didn’t echo everyone else’s sympathetic words towards Mengzhen. Instead, she felt that Mengzhen was fake, believing it impossible for all favorable things to lean towards one person. If everyone seemed to think so, there had to be something fishy.
After reading all the Forum posts, Zhao Qingyi went to Pei Ziyu and informed him about everything happening at school. However, Pei Ziyu was as calm as ever upon hearing the news, and he even said, "I’m well aware of my girlfriend’s affairs. There’s no need to learn anything from you."
Zhao Qingyi was completely infuriated by his response, "Do you really understand what kind of person your girlfriend is? Ziyu, don’t you think this girl is too fake? Trust me, Ziyu, she’s not right for you."
"Then what kind of girl is right for me? Someone like you? I actually think not." Pei Ziyu said before turning around and walking away, leaving no room for Zhao Qingyi’s fantasies.
The more Zhao Qingyi thought about it, the more it consumed her. Accidentally, she thought of Jiang Cheng on the Forum. Like Mengzhen, she also believed the texts were posted by Jiang Cheng. After she approached Jiang Cheng and revealed her intentions, a woman for a man, a man for a woman, the two of them disgracefully became partners in crime and hit it off right away.
...
Honestly, Mengzhen’s most damning ’dirt’ was her own background, and no matter how much they ’dug,’ they couldn’t find anything worse.
If they couldn’t tarnish Mengzhen’s reputation through ’dirt,’ they would have to approach it from another angle.
For Zhao Qingyi, who was already working, checking someone’s assets was quite simple.
Soon, Zhao Qingyi found an issue: Mengzhen’s account received a large sum of unexplained funds every month. As an orphan, how could she possibly have so much money? There must have been some illicit dealings behind it.
Taking the evidence with her, Zhao Qingyi went to Pei Ziyu’s law firm. Yet, despite the evidence before him, Pei Ziyu remained calm, instead showing annoyance at Zhao Qingyi’s actions, "What exactly are you trying to do? Who gave you permission to investigate my girlfriend?"
Pei Ziyu’s protective tone pushed Zhao Qingyi over the edge, "Ziyu, there are clearly issues with Mengzhen. How can an orphan come by so much money? Don’t be fooled by her anymore."
"I’m aware of these matters, and I know the source of this money. What I don’t know is, who gave you the authority to privately investigate my girlfriend? Zhao Qingyi, for the sake of our teacher, if there is a next time, I will not let you off so easily."
Disbelieving, Zhao Qingyi looked at Pei Ziyu, "You know? How could you possibly know? And if you know, haven’t you ever doubted it? Or are you covering for her? Ziyu, I never knew you were this kind of person. Do your parents know?" Zhao Qingyi’s words grew harsher, even dragging Pei Ziyu’s parents into it.
Pei Ziyu frowned and asked, "What, you want to tell my parents? There���s no need; they are aware."
Zhao Qingyi was in disbelief, "How is that possible? If Uncle Pei knew, how could he possibly tolerate Mengzhen... No, you two haven’t been together that long, and already..."
Zhao Qingyi shook her head, her tone firm, "I will prove to you that Mengzhen really has issues."
Pei Ziyu retorted, "Can you stop being crazy? Whether she has problems or not is none of your business."
"Ziyu, I don’t understand, why her? Why not me?" Zhao Qingyi’s tears revealed a vulnerability she had never shown before.
She, Zhao Qingyi, had always been outstanding from childhood, her life going smoothly. The only setback in her life was Pei Ziyu.
Pei Ziyu was like a knot in her heart. Not knowing anything about him was one thing, but once she knew, she couldn’t help but ask and inquire. Let alone someone else being his partner—she couldn’t tolerate that in the slightest.
No matter if Mengzhen was the partner or not, whether Mengzhen had issues or not, Zhao Qingyi would sabotage it, considering it a fight for herself.
However, such behavior only made Pei Ziyu even more averse to her.