You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

"Pfft—"

Liu Mengyao couldn't help but burst out laughing.

That smile dispelled much of the awkward and distant atmosphere from before.

She's usually so serious and focused in class, like a model student, but now that she's smiling, her eyes crinkle, and she looks like the adorable girl next door.

"Actually, my brother is a good person, but he's been in the army for a long time and has developed some occupational diseases."

Liu Mengyao smiled and defended her brother.

"Is that a little bit? That's quite serious." Jiang Che curled his lip in disapproval. "I'm starting to wonder if he's treating us like his greenhorn recruits."

The two chatted casually for a while, and the elevator quickly arrived at the first floor.

After exiting the building, the two maintained a certain distance from each other and then walked out of the community.

Along the way, Jiang Che discovered that this girl wasn't actually as aloof as she usually appeared in class.

They actually have quite a few witty remarks when they chat, so I guess they spend a lot of time surfing the internet.

He is indeed a bit timid; if he speaks to her even slightly louder, it's as if he's trying to scare her.

When we arrived at the school gate, it was peak time for students to go to school, and the area was full of students in school uniforms.

The moment Jiang Che and Liu Mengyao appeared, they immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Even though the two had deliberately maintained a completely safe distance from each other, Jiang Che was, after all, a prominent figure at No. 1 High School. He was handsome and rich, and he was the center of attention wherever he went.

Although Liu Mengyao is usually low-key and not very famous, she is still a class beauty, and people always pay more attention to beautiful women.

When everyone saw the two of them together, coming to school together, the gossip started flowing freely in the crowd.

"Hey, hey, look, isn't that Jiang Che?"

"Holy crap, isn't that our class's study committee member, Liu Mengyao?"

"Why are they walking together? What's going on?"

"Could they be in talks? My God, this is huge news!"

Although the surrounding whispers were kept low, quite a few still reached their ears.

Liu Mengyao is shy and has always been very low-key, so she has never been used as a topic of conversation or pushed into the limelight.

She frowned slightly, then moved her body to the side, creating distance between herself and Jiang Che once again, trying to prove her innocence.

At the same time, Jiang Che consciously slowed down his pace, and the distance between the two quickly widened.

The classmates who were gossiping nearby saw this scene and thought it was a misunderstanding between the two, so the discussion gradually subsided.

However, some students still started a gossip thread about this and posted it on the campus forum.

Jiang Che had just entered the classroom when he walked to his seat as usual and stuffed his schoolbag into the desk.

Before he could even take out the notebook of questions he had reviewed last night, a chubby hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

The force was so great that it seemed as if it would crush his bones.

"hiss--"

Jiang Che gasped, turning to look at the owner of the pig's trotter. His eyebrows furrowed instantly. "Wang Kai, what the hell are you doing so crazy so early in the morning?"

The moment he met Wang Kai's gaze, he keenly sensed that something was amiss.

Wang Kai had huge dark circles under his eyes, and his gaze was full of resentment, just like a resentful woman confined to her boudoir.

Jiang Che asked him what was wrong, but he didn't say anything for a long time, just staring intently at Jiang Che.

Jiang Che almost thought that he had dug up Jiang Che's ancestral grave.

"Brother Che, you've changed."

After a long while, Wang Kai finally spoke in a hoarse voice, his tone filled with sorrow.

Jiang Che got goosebumps from his tone. He shook off his hand with a hint of disgust, moved his chair to the side, and said, "Spit it out if you have something to say, or get lost. Stop acting like you're in a melodramatic soap opera."

"You're still pretending!"

Wang Kai angrily pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapping the screen repeatedly with his fingers, then shoved it right under Jiang Che's nose. "Look for yourself! The evidence is irrefutable, what else do you have to deny!"

Jiang Che was completely confused by Wang Kai. He pushed the phone that was shoved in front of him away a little and then looked at the content on the screen.

Another campus forum?

Jiang Che frowned slightly as he noticed that nothing good ever came up with anything related to the campus forum. He clicked on a pinned post.

This post was highlighted in red, followed by a bright red "Explosive" tag, and the title was even more sensational: "Breaking News! Cold and aloof heartthrob Jiang Che and top student Liu Mengyao were spotted taking a sweet morning stroll, sparking rumors of a relationship?"

A picture is attached below.

The photo was probably taken on a tree-lined path near the school gate. Although the resolution is a bit low, it is clear enough to identify the male and female protagonists in the photo as Jiang Che and Liu Mengyao.

The shooting angle was also extremely tricky.

Jiang Che had clearly kept at least two meters away from Liu Mengyao to avoid suspicion.

It's no exaggeration to say that the distance between the two was wide enough for a three-wheeled motorcycle to drive through.

However, in this photo, through some kind of magical visual illusion, the two people actually look like they are walking side by side.

Even Liu Mengyao's shy look as she looked down at the road was deliberately interpreted as "a little bird clinging to someone".

Jiang Che almost laughed in anger after reading it; he was truly speechless.

I originally thought only Zhang Yang would be so bored as to keep spreading rumors about him.

Zhang Yang is gone now, but I never expected anyone to take his place.

Jiang Che tossed the phone back to Wang Kai. "So what? You also think I have some kind of shady relationship with Liu Mengyao? Are you out of your mind?"

He rolled his eyes at Wang Kai, then pointed to the corner of the photo on the screen.

"Look closely for yourself, there's enough space between us for a three-wheeled vehicle to drive through, and you call that a sweet stroll?"

"It's obvious that the person who took the photos chose a tricky angle and used a visual illusion."

Wang Kai took his phone back, squinted at the screen for a long time, and looked at it as if he wanted to stick his eyeballs on it.

"It seems...it really is?"

Wang Kai scratched his head, his resentment fading slightly, but then he frowned again.

"Wait a minute, what are you two doing together so early in the morning?"

"That's the important thing, okay!"

"A lone man and a lone woman wandering around outside the school so early in the morning, who wouldn't have some thoughts?"

Wang Kai found Jiang Che's words increasingly reasonable, and his heart, which had just been at ease, became anxious again. He stared at Jiang Che warily.

"Brother Che, tell me the truth."

"Did you really sneak around to Liu Mengyao behind my back?"

"If you really manage to win me over, brother, I'll... I'll..."

Wang Kai struggled for a long time, his chubby face turning a deep liver color, but he couldn't come up with a coherent answer.

On one side is his best friend of many years, and on the other is the goddess he has secretly loved for a long time.

Both hands are flesh and blood; cutting either one hurts.