Gu Qili didn't heed Mickey's words and didn't get off midway; she went straight to the university. Many students who hadn't returned to the dormitory got off with her, most were seniors about to graduate, many had started internships so the school naturally had less control over them.
Some of them were acquaintances, living in the same floor dormitories, seeing each other in passing made it easy to become familiar faces.
After greeting them, Gu Qili headed to her dormitory.
She returned early, before the first class had started and people were coming in and out of the cafeteria.
She had thought about buying some breakfast for Mickey, who was a devoted fan of sleeping in, vowing never to leave the bed until the very last moment, so surely she hadn't had breakfast yet.
On the way to the cafeteria, she had to pass a series of bulletin boards. Due to the student's waning interest in such forms of communication, they were strategically placed on the way to the cafeteria where people, idle after eating, would gather around to pass the time.
At that moment, the front of the bulletin board was unusually bustling, surrounded by onlookers, three layers deep.
Some even held their newly bought breakfasts in hand, too engrossed to eat, squeezing forward, with even some spilled rice porridge on the ground.
"It's her, I know her, she's in the class next to ours."
"Isn't that the beauty queen of the French Institute? What's her name, Gu something... She seems so aloof usually, but turns out..."
"Nowadays, which pretty girl is innocent? I heard her family used to be rich, then went bankrupt."
"Used to the rich life, naturally she can't live like us ordinary folks, so it's normal for her to resort to selling herself."
"Stop making those cold remarks, you guys aren't even capable of selling like she supposedly does, even if you had the looks you wouldn't have the audacity."
The crowd buzzed with discussions and finger-pointing, as if they had discovered a new continent, clinging unwilling to leave.
As Gu Qili headed to the cafeteria, she accidentally overheard some conversations and her own name, she took a deep breath and retraced her steps back.
The crowd at the bulletin board was already packed, but somehow when someone noticed her, they weirdly made way automatically, and then everyone consciously made way for her, their gazes varying.
Through the glass, Gu Qili saw on the white background wall few photos were posted.
In the photos, the faces of all the males were mosaiced, leaving only the female protagonist's face distinctly visible. She was interwoven with these men in sits, hugs, and embraces, her demeanor uninhibited. One of the pictures even showed her entering a hotel with a man, his hand resting ardently on her buttocks. What happened inside, nobody knew. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⦿fire.net
Fists at her skirt's side involuntarily clenched, she looked at these photos, and couldn't help her eyes from turning red.
She knew this day would eventually come; it was previously circulated only within the upper social circles, but now someone had placed it out in the public view.
Who was it, who posted these photos here, and what was their motive? She couldn't recall offending anyone who would go through such expense and effort to obtain and post these photos - was this an attempt to destroy her, what grudge did they hold?
Gu Qili was violently pulled back to reality by this loud noise, only to see a tall silhouette emerge suddenly, his arm raised, the rock in his hand smashing again towards the glass, which shattered into pieces and fell onto the grass below.
Without saying a word, he quickly tore off the photos, turned around, grabbed Gu Qili's hand, and strode outside with her.
Perhaps intimidated by his actions, the encircling onlookers immediately stepped aside.
Only when they had walked far, did the background murmurs start up again, even more fervently than before.