Chapter Fourteen: Summoned for a Conversation

Very few people knew about her account, so the moment she posted her comment, it was instantly submerged. She simply laughed it off; it was nothing more than a spontaneous reaction.

But then she saw a pinned post at the top, the username bearing her name, and the title detailing her entanglement with the two male idols of Seventh High.

The content was exaggerated and false, written as if in her own voice, painting a vivid picture of the love and hate between the three of them—how she fell for Ye Xingchen, then succumbed to the irresistible charm of Lu Chengze, abandoning the campus bad boy for the school heartthrob in a tangled web of romance.

The post concluded: No woman is without fault, especially when faced with the two most handsome guys in the entire school.

Within seconds, replies flooded in: "Ye Mengxia? Did I see that right, the rumored girlfriend of the campus bad boy?"

"Didn't they break up? Isn't she entangled with Lu Chengze now?"

"Share the details, please."

"+1 for info."

...

In just a few minutes, the thread exploded with popularity. Comments poured in, even sparking debates over whom she had better chemistry with.

By the end, she couldn't help but laugh. The writing was impressive; if there were a sequel, she would gladly buy it just to see who was so talented.

As she put down her phone, she felt numerous gazes upon her, realizing the entire class was staring at her with curious eyes.

They probably thought she was out of her mind.

Who would post such flamboyant stories on the campus network?

Lin Manting, who sat beside her, noticed her expression remained normal and leaned in to whisper, "Mengxia, someone must have impersonated you for that post."

"Don't worry, I just messaged Ye Xingchen. He'll definitely help you figure out who did it."

Ye Mengxia turned her head to look at Lin Manting, who was whispering right in front of her. Their relationship seemed to have improved. Seeing the confusion in those big eyes, Ye Mengxia suddenly felt a spark of interest and asked, "Hmm, then who do you think is pretending to be me?"

"It must be Lu Chengze. I think he's highly suspicious. You should investigate him; maybe he's the creepy one," Lin Manting replied with absolute certainty.

One couldn't deny Lin Manting had an imaginative mind.

But it couldn't be Lu Chengze; he would never do anything to tarnish his own image, nor could he write such ‘emotionally charged’ prose.

Most likely, someone wanted to ride the wave of the basketball tournament's hype and smear them.

A few minutes later, several accounts simultaneously posted her photos, each edited to make her look hideous.

Just like that, she was voted the ugliest academic star at Seventh High.

There were even threads questioning whether she had undergone plastic surgery, complete with supposed evidence.

All nonsense. Not being fond of the internet, she simply turned off her phone. Such things would disappear soon enough.

The key point was, she didn’t care about those rumors.

But this time, she misjudged—the class was abuzz, eager to know Ye Mengxia’s situation.

Ye Mengxia paid no attention.

After a few minutes, a male student approached. She recognized him as their class monitor, who sometimes came to her for academic questions.

She looked up and met his gaze.

He bent slightly and spoke in a normal tone, "Mengxia, could you step outside for a moment?"

Surrounded by so many eyes, she didn’t mind, but given his role as class monitor, she followed him to the stairwell.

"Mengxia, I don't think you should post about your private life. It affects everyone’s studies, and it will affect yours too. High school isn't the time for romance."

"Your grades are excellent. I hope you can always stay focused on your studies, so you can become the best version of yourself."

He said a lot, his serious expression almost comical.

Ye Mengxia smiled, turned to leave.

He suddenly blocked her way. "I'm only doing this for your own good. We should all study hard."

Ye Mengxia met his gaze, her tone cold: "This has nothing to do with you, so please move aside."

"Mengxia, do you truly have so little self-respect?"

Looking at him, head raised in accusation, she felt a sudden urge to teach him a lesson, but considering it was school, she refrained and turned to walk away.

But he still blocked her path.

Just as she was about to twist his arm, a hand shoved him to the ground, then pulled him up. Without hesitation, Ye Xingchen swung a punch.

Ye Xingchen, who had just been heading to the restroom, spotted Ye Mengxia standing there and had seen the campus posts, assuming she was angry.

Upon reaching the stairs, he overheard such an outrageous comment.

Self-respect? Today he’d teach that guy the meaning of it.

Ye Mengxia grabbed his arm. "Don’t hit him."

"Step aside. Today I’ll teach him a lesson."

"Enough, Ye Xingchen," she said, pulling him up. He checked her expression—she didn’t seem injured—so he got to his feet.

"Get lost. If I see you again, you’re finished."

Ye Xingchen watched Ye Mengxia turn to leave and grabbed her. "Helping you, and you don’t even say thanks."

"I did, did you hear it?"

"Forget it, you’re my sister after all."

Ye Mengxia glanced at him and walked away.

"Hey, wait," Ye Xingchen stopped her. "You—are you planning to study abroad?"

Seeing her calm expression, he assumed she had agreed, his face darkening as he began to list all the hardships—no one to take care of her, language barriers, bad food.

"Don’t go. There’s nothing good about abroad."

Ye Xingchen grew more irritable at her silence. "If you go, I’ll cut ties with you!"

Ye Mengxia frowned at his melodramatic display. "When did I ever say I was going?"

"Really? You're not lying?" He broke into a smile, still needing reassurance.

Ye Mengxia shook off his hand, a bit impatient, and nodded.

"Oh, then tonight, can I stay at your place? I’ll bring Lucky, okay?" Ye Xingchen’s eyes widened in anticipation.

"Do as you like."

"Alright," Ye Xingchen snapped his fingers. "I’ll wait for you tonight, we’ll go home together."

In the end, they didn’t go home. They were kept at school—the class monitor had reported them, and now they were in the homeroom teacher’s office.

The homeroom teacher frowned, clearly reluctant to deal with the campus bad boy, but couldn’t let a good student be dragged down.

Thus, they endured a painstaking hour-long lecture.

"Alright, Mengxia, remember the teacher’s words. It’s all for your future. It’s late, you may go." The teacher spoke kindly, eyes smiling.

"You, stay a bit longer," the teacher pointed at him.

"Why, teacher? She gets to leave."

"Now we need to discuss why you assaulted another student. You can leave after you explain and apologize."

He scoffed—he wasn’t about to apologize.

Half an hour later, Ye Xingchen couldn’t hold back. "Teacher... If we wait much longer, it’ll be dark and I won’t be able to see my way home."

"Ye Xingchen, your grades are quite good. Even though you’re not in our class, that doesn’t mean you can ignore school rules. I hope you won’t disturb others, and focus on your studies."

"Yes, teacher. I’ll study hard, strive for excellence, work hard every day..."

Startled by his sudden loud reply, the teacher waved him off. "Alright, go now. Remember this lesson."

"Yes, teacher!"

Ye Xingchen walked out of the office and took a deep breath of fresh air. He headed straight to Class 6 of the second year and peeked inside—sure enough, Ye Mengxia was still there.

He flashed a wide smile.

"Ye Mengxia, let’s go. I’ll take you home."

"Here, let me carry your backpack. What do you want for dinner tonight? My treat."

Ye Mengxia glanced at him, "Let’s just order takeout."

"No way, I really learned how to cook this time. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied..."