Chapter 267 | Chapter 268 | Chapter 269
Chapter 267: Underwhelming Results
Yu Yuan, living with Yu Wenxiu, was showing improvement day by day.
If nothing else, she was leaps and bounds ahead when it came to food.
Although the weight gain had initially made her feel a little uneasy, the classmates around her couldn’t help but ask what skincare products she had switched to lately, as she looked so radiant.
It wasn’t that; she was simply eating all the delicious things her mother made every day, three meals a day, with a balanced mix of meat and vegetables for optimal nutrition.
Yu Wenxiu didn’t just stuff her with food blindly. She held a registered dietitian certificate and, after thoroughly understanding Yu Yuan’s physical condition, prepared meals according to her specific needs.
Her weight had indeed increased, but in terms of health, she was far better off than she had been before.
Yu Yuan herself could feel that her physical condition had improved significantly. For one thing, when her period came last month, it hadn’t been nearly as painful as it used to be.
She was full of energy every day now; she was alert in class and felt vibrant and full of life during her free time.
To burn off her excess energy, Yu Yuan rolled up her sleeves and decided to take revenge on Wei Xiao.
With old scores and new grudges to settle together, Yu Yuan had originally planned to make the submission during Monday’s lunch break, but she heard about the confrontation between Gu Qinghuan and Wei Xiao in the corridor, so she waited until Tuesday to post it, just to add that part into the content.
After Yu Xin finished reading the submission, she found the basic framework somewhat familiar, carrying a very distinct “Class Three” style.
But if the marmots were going to post it, they surely wouldn’t have kept it a secret from everyone else. After thinking it over, the only person left was Yu Yuan, who had seen her past trouble-making proposals a few times.
Thus, Yu Xin also chose to remain silent.
The confession wall was bustling with activity.
[Whoa, spectacular!]
[This guy again?]
[Who could have guessed he’d only been here for half a semester?]
[The words “shameful disgrace” are practically written all over it.]
[I went to that exhibition the Wei family held back then, and he looked perfectly normal at the time…]
[That just goes to show he’s good at faking it on the surface.]
[A pity there’s nothing behind the mask; he got exposed in a heartbeat~]
The comments section was getting more vicious by the second.
The students of Class Three found it quite satisfying, although it did disrupt Yu Xin’s plan slightly.
She had originally intended to wait until the verdict came out tomorrow and link it with the exposure of Wei Xiao. But it wasn’t a major issue; after an emergency discussion, everyone decided to split the spreading of information regarding Zhu Yuanyuan and Wei Xiao.
It would last longer this way, maintaining the heat and exchanging it for a greater impact.
Led by Bao Qingsong, everyone used side accounts, circling around several key points to gossip about Wei Xiao in the comments section.
It was half-truth, half-falsehood, ambiguous—in any case, it was enough for others to know that Wei Xiao was not a good person.
Of course, a few people spoke up directly using their main accounts, such as Qin Yue, whose head had been smashed open, and he unleashed quite a fierce barrage of insults.
Bao Qingsong even had to delete a few posts, reminding them under the guise of the confession wall’s identity: [Please do not lead malicious conflicts in the comments.]
Back in class, Qin Yue felt deeply aggrieved. “The confession wall deleted my comment.”
Jiang Chuchu cast a sidelong glance at him. “You deserve it. You actually wanted to challenge him to a straight-up fight? Just wait for the teachers to catch you and you can look forward to a lecture.”
Bao Qingsong really wanted to give Jiang Chuchu a round of applause: Well said, keep it up!
Compared to the orderly and systematic actions of Class Three, the air pressure in Class Two was incredibly low right now.
The capybaras didn’t dare pull out their phones in the classroom for fear that Wei Xiao would catch them looking at the confession wall.
After all, the low-pressure zone radiating from Wei Xiao right now had reached a point where the capybaras felt immense strain.
The more timid capybaras were already contemplating whether to ask their parents if they could take a few days off from school.
Thanks to the “lesson” from last time, Wei Xiao didn’t smash his phone this time. In fact, after scrolling through a few comments, he decisively chose to block the confession wall.
Wei Xiao knew all too well what kind of impact this submission would have; his reputation at Mingde was already circling the drain.
If it had been restricted to students before, his impression among the teachers had also taken a sharp turn for the worse after he smashed Qin Yue’s head open.
But it didn’t matter. Wei Yan had already told him that once this semester ended, he would transfer to a private high school in the neighboring city.
Although the conditions there weren’t as good as Mingde, at least in a new environment, he could make a fresh start.
As for who was behind this submission, Wei Xiao had already given up on thinking about it.
What was the point of finding the person? To cause more trouble?
He wasn’t Wei Yan’s biological son, and his relationship with Wei Yan rested solely on that biological daughter who hadn’t been found yet.
Wei Xiao even suspected that the moment that biological daughter produced Wei Yan’s biological grandson, he would be discarded in an instant.
He only prayed to extract as much benefit from Wei Yan as possible before he was kicked out, to safeguard his life in the future.
If Gu Qinghuan knew Wei Xiao’s thoughts, she would definitely be surprised: So Wei Xiao and Zhu Yuanyuan are quite alike after all! They actually think the same way at a time like this.
At this thought, Wei Xiao felt a rare sense of crisis.
Without the backing of the Wei family’s wealth and power, what would his future look like? He couldn’t imagine it at all.
He had to get his hands on money. No matter what kind of life he would lead, only the money in his own hands was real and useful!
On Tuesday, as Wei Xiao walked through the school, he could constantly feel people pointing and whispering, but since he could leave in a few months if he just endured it, he didn’t bother paying attention.
This sight left the marmots of Class Three feeling truly disappointed.
Qin Yue was puzzled. “Wasn’t he like a firecracker before, ready to blow at the slightest touch? Why is he so calm today?”
Jiang Chuchu crossed her arms and pondered. “Maybe Wei Yan warned him to behave?”
“The media offensive today had underwhelming results. Will it affect tomorrow’s situation?” Yu Xin asked, frowning.
Xu Xinghe thought for a moment and said, “I suggest not letting it go beyond three days. If it continues, people might start developing rebellious thoughts.”
The average student didn’t know about the evil deeds Wei Xiao did when he was younger, and out of respect for those victims, they didn’t intend to make them public.
While they could use Zhu Yuanyuan’s verdict tomorrow to continue influencing the public’s perception of Wei Xiao, there were limits to it.
As long as Wei Xiao claimed ignorance and cited the already-decided divorce, some people would inevitably think that, at the very least, the Wei family was innocent regarding Zhu Yuanyuan’s matters, and that Wei Xiao was just being implicated by his mother.
This easily invited a certain level of sympathy; if it dragged on, people who didn’t know the full story would really start to think that targeting Wei Xiao was going too far.
Yu Xin thought for a moment and said decisively, “Then we’ll only keep up the public opinion offensive until tomorrow’s verdict. Afterward, we won’t use public opinion to trigger Wei Xiao.”
Everyone nodded in succession, indicating they understood.
Gu Qinghuan received a message from Xia He. Just as she was about to send the “evidence” Xia He had prepared to Yu Xin, she took a closer look and realized the content was a bit different from what she had expected.
Xia He: [Found something interesting. Before Zhu Yuanyuan divorced Wei Yan, she really did secretly transfer a large sum of money.]
Gu Qinghuan was stunned. She had indeed thought that Xia He might truly be able to dig it up, but she never expected it to happen so fast!
Xia He: [So, I have a suggestion.]
Xia He: [I have someone on my end who can pass the information to Wei Xiao. How about we give the fake evidence to Wei Yan, and the real evidence to Wei Xiao?]
Gu Qinghuan gave him a mental thumbs-up. Speaking with Xia He was just so effortless!
In reality, however, Zhu Yuanyuan did indeed have a large sum of money hidden away, and she was still counting on Xia He to actually unearth it. That would turn the play-acting into reality; Wei Yan aside, Wei Xiao would surely be driven to the brink of insanity.
Gu Qinghuan: [Yes. It doesn’t need to be incredibly authentic—it just needs to fool Wei Xiao next week so he successfully provokes Zhu Yuanyuan.]
Xia He: [Understood. I’ll send it to you once it’s ready.]
Gu Qinghuan contentedly tucked away her phone. Although several infuriating things had happened today, looking at the outcome, everything remained firmly under her control.
Tomorrow was Tuesday; Wei Xiao could have one last easy day. But once everyone took action on Wednesday, he was in for a miserable time.
Chapter 268: Outdone by the Protégé
Gu Qinghuan confirmed it—Xia He’s heart was just as dark as hers today.
Handing over the forged evidence to Wei Yan would simply be a total waste of his time and energy; he would find absolutely nothing no matter how much he dug.
Handing the genuine evidence to Wei Xiao, however, would force him to discover that Zhu Yuanyuan really had stashed away a fortune—an amount that would allow her to live far better than him after getting out of prison—shattering his psyche completely.
Not to mention the escalating conflict between Wei Xiao and Zhu Yuanyuan, it would also serve as a perfect wedge to drive between father and son.
Given Wei Xiao’s current predicament, Gu Qinghuan had no doubt that once he discovered Wei Yan had failed to uncover this, Wei Xiao would keep it to himself.
As for whether Wei Xiao would then go on to blackmail Zhu Yuanyuan and trigger an explosive confrontation… it was quite a sight to look forward to.
Furthermore, Zhu Yuanyuan might even suspect that Wei Xiao lacked the intellect to dig up the truth on his own and assume it was Wei Yan who found it, using Wei Xiao to send her a warning…
Oh my, the more I think about it, the more fun there is to watch.
The “gossip-mongering souls” of the Class Three students inside Gu Qinghuan were restless.
However, she knew full well she wouldn’t get to witness any of this live; at most, she’d catch a glimpse through Wei Xiao’s daily behavior at school.
Gu Qinghuan: [Hold on a moment, I need to discuss this with my classmates.]
She set her phone aside, enthusiastically announcing the discovery of the evidence to everyone, followed by Xia He’s suggestion.
Yu Xin and Jiang Chuchu realized immediately that this was Xia He’s handiwork, and they secretly gritted their teeth. Their plan had just hit a minor setback, and Xia He had already come through with good news—it felt a bit like getting slapped in the face.
That said, Xia He’s suggestion really was “stirring up trouble” taken to the absolute extreme.
Tao Shenxing was completely taken aback. “I was just making a casual comment. She really did hide money?”
Ji Tianxiao couldn’t help but applaud. “Too brilliant. This person truly understands the inner workings of Wei Yan’s mind.”
Yao Shali pondered, “Given the Wei family’s fortune, a million US dollars isn’t much. I have a feeling that even if Wei Yan discovers it, he won’t bother trying to recover it.”
“He doesn’t want anything to do with Zhu Yuanyuan right now, does he? To him, a million US dollars is just the price of buying a little peace and quiet,” Song Yi said.
“Zhu Yuanyuan has always had a very clear head. She shouldn’t be the type to fail at changing her consumption habits after losing her wealth. With that million dollars, it’s enough for her to live quite comfortably,” Ji Tianxiao shook his head.
“If she goes abroad, with that kind of money and her own capabilities, plus the fact that no one will know about the crimes she committed, I don’t even dare to imagine how well she’ll live,” Xie Xiangxue said, becoming increasingly angry. “Why does she get to have it so good!”
Everyone nodded in unison. Exactly! Why does a human trafficker who managed to hide away for so many years get to live such a good life!
Gu Qinghuan clapped her hands, pulling everyone’s thoughts back. “Now, calling for votes: do you agree with the plan to give the fake evidence to Wei Yan and the real evidence to Wei Xiao?”
An entire forest of arms shot up across the classroom.
Do it! Let Wei Xiao and Zhu Yuanyuan fight it out!
Jiang Chuchu pondered for a moment before speaking. “I think we could wait until they’ve fought enough, and then give the real evidence to Wei Yan. Ideally, we could also give him evidence that proves this mother and son have reached some sort of deal.”
As soon as these words left her lips, everyone glanced at her: Good lord, this suggestion was already pretty black-hearted, I never expected you, our Discipline Committee Member, to actually outdo the master!
Of course, this was exactly the style of their trouble-making squad! Everyone gave her a decisive thumbs-up.
Gu Qinghuan gave Jiang Chuchu a thumbs-up as well, then relayed the suggestion to Xia He.
Xia He: [Jiang Chuchu suggested this? She’s had quite a bit of growth lately.]
Xia He: [If things continue at this trend, this could indeed serve as a contingency plan.]
Xia He: [Alright, I’ll have my people pass on the message. Let’s move out.]
Gu Qinghuan: [Good luck!]
Although the person executing it wasn’t him, seeing those two simple words put Xia He in a decent mood.
He called Liang Zhuo. “Your friend—is he interested in doing me a favor?”
Liang Zhuo replied immediately, “He told me just last week how grateful he was for your intervention, saving his family from the brink of disaster. He’s been looking for a way to repay you!”
“Whatever you need, just say it. If he knew it was for you, he’d definitely agree without a second thought!”
Xia He curled his lips. Of course, Liang Zhuo was brown-nosing, but he had also implicitly put in a good word for his friend; he was a capable person indeed.
He arranged the task for Liang Zhuo, who listened with utmost focus, even confirming several key points in detail.
Through the phone, Xia He could hear the thumping sound of Liang Zhuo patting his chest. “I understand. I guarantee I’ll get your instructions carried out. I’m heading to my friend right now.”
He didn’t mention a word about compensation—as he’d said before, it was about repaying a debt—but how could Xia He let his subordinates work for free?
“If your friend has any requirements, just have him contact my assistant,” Xia He said casually. “I trust you have the judgment to handle this.”
This is the beauty of following the right person! Liang Zhuo thought to himself. His friend would be over the moon when he heard this.
Moreover, look past the fact that Xia He hadn’t directly promised him anything; this single act of trust was proof enough that Xia He recognized his worth, meaning he could continue to climb the ladder.
Liang Zhuo said loudly, “Thank you, President Xia! Mission guaranteed!”
Only after Xia He hung up did Liang Zhuo follow suit, letting out a long breath before swiftly getting to work.
Wei Xiao had no idea what was waiting for him. He spent Wednesday morning feeling completely distracted.
Zhu Yuanyuan’s sentencing was scheduled for the morning; he hadn’t asked for the specific time and didn’t want to—primarily because he couldn’t bring himself to face the fact that his “biological mother” was about to be imprisoned.
At the mere thought of it, the resentment in his heart swelled like an inflated balloon.
She disgraced me, and besides that, she’s just a useless piece of trash.
If she had the capability, she should have stayed hidden forever. She had already managed to hide for all these years, why couldn’t she just keep going?
Unfortunately, the person who had truly caused Zhu Yuanyuan’s identity to be exposed was Wei Xiao himself.
After a rushed lunch in the cafeteria, Wei Xiao was just about to head back to his classroom when he collided head-on with a tenth-grade student who was walking with his head buried in his phone.
The other student reflexively muttered “sorry.” When he looked up and saw it was Wei Xiao, his expression shifted immediately, and he whispered, “Bad luck.”
Wei Xiao froze, and then rage surged through him. “What did you say?”
Hiding in the corners and pointing fingers behind his back was one thing, but to say it right to his face? Did they really treat him as someone anyone could walk all over?
His shout made the other student turn defiant. “I said it’s bad luck, so what?”
The other student took a step back and swiped at his chest twice, as if trying to brush off the “filth” from the collision.
He was doing it on purpose, and Wei Xiao was genuinely provoked. “Are you in the right just because you weren’t looking where you were going?”
“I already apologized,” the other student, whose temper was just as fiery, said defiantly. “Besides, bumping into you is bad luck.”
“A child of a human trafficker—if it were me, I wouldn’t have the face to stay here.” He let out a scoff through his nose.
The crowd of onlookers nearby froze. A human trafficker’s child?
The marmots of Class Three sitting in the cafeteria: Huh? How did we get “spoiled” again?
Wei Xiao’s face went pale, then gradually flushed with heat. “Who told you that!”
The other student held up his phone, sticking the screen right in front of Wei Xiao’s eyes: “Don’t tell me you thought nobody knew? Your mother’s case—the verdict came down today, and the marketing accounts are already reposting it like crazy!”
Chapter 269: A Worthless Lot
For clickbait news outlets, wherever there was traffic, there were their articles.
As an entrepreneur who had returned to the country with significant capital and actively invested in the tertiary sector in line with government policy, Wei Yan was frequently mentioned by finance-focused news outlets.
In truth, the divorce between Wei Yan and Zhu Yuanyuan had garnered a certain level of attention, but gossip outlets had dug around and found no scandalous details to publish, so they had eventually let it drop.
However, the arrest of Zhu Yuanyuan was a different story entirely.
A human trafficker! How could the clickbait outlets possibly pass up on this massive influx of traffic?
Thus, after the verdict from the court session that morning was handed down, it was posted online almost instantly.
Major news outlets forwarded the story one after another, incidentally exposing Zhu Yuanyuan’s past in meticulous detail.
Netizens had started out just looking for some casual gossip, never imagining that a wealthy titan would also get played, but as they read on, they realized this piece of gossip was actually quite massive.
A club cleaner who accumulated capital by becoming a human trafficker, lost weight, became a mistress to a rich man, relied on giving birth to a son to successfully climb the social ladder, moved abroad with her husband, and then, after returning to the country, somehow got exposed and arrested while going through a divorce.
Netizens: Spectacular! We need more of this kind of karma in our lives!
Forget about how well she used to live; now that she had been caught, netizens ensured her “deeds” were spread to the corners of the earth. Everyone knew, and no one would forget, ensuring she’d never have an easy life for the rest of her days!
The student who had collided with Wei Xiao at the entrance of the cafeteria was precisely one of those people enjoying the drama.
His reason for following this matter was a bit subtle—his family had participated in an exhibition hosted by the Wei family, after which he and his mother were compared by his father to Wei Xiao and Zhu Yuanyuan.
“Look at others, and then look at you!”
“Just like your mother! A worthless lot!”
He was so furious he could gnash his teeth. Scolding him was one thing; he knew he wasn’t gifted at studying and probably wouldn’t achieve much in the future—as long as he didn’t bankrupt the family, that was fine.
But how dare he insult his mother! Was it not his mother who, in the early years, had put on a forced smile and accompanied clients at drinking tables just to help the family sign contracts?
Now that their days were finally easier, his mother had started focusing on her health and taking it easy at home, and that made her “worthless”?
Because of this, he had been secretly monitoring all the jokes Wei Xiao made of himself.
He had even been sitting on the sofa yesterday, loudly discussing Yu Yuan’s submission with his mother and reading it aloud to his father, whose face had turned ash-gray.
He had added a layer of snark for good measure: “Wow～ how～ truly～ worth～ less～!”
He had been following the divorce progress between Zhu Yuanyuan and Wei Yan from start to finish. Just as he was thinking about reading Zhu Yuanyuan’s sentencing to his father tonight, he had run right into the man himself at the cafeteria entrance.
Wasn’t this walking straight into the gun barrel? He had to call him out!
Wei Xiao looked at the text on the phone screen; those black lines twisted into strange arcs before his eyes, making him dizzy.
He swiped his hand to knock the student’s phone away, stumbled back a step, and stiffened his neck. “What does it have to do with you!”
The student’s phone was nearly knocked to the floor. After managing to catch it, seeing Wei Xiao’s utterly devastated appearance, he surprisingly lost his anger.
He shoved his phone back into his pocket, his tone a mix of mockery and triumph. “Yeah, it has nothing to do with me. I’m just a bystander enjoying the drama.”
“It’s just that, when it comes to people I hate, I love nothing more than hitting them when they’re down.”
He didn’t wait for Wei Xiao to say anything else, continuing toward the cafeteria with a carefree, swaggering gait.
Nothing was more important than lunch; a mere Wei Xiao wasn’t worth delaying his meal for.
The commotion at the cafeteria entrance was quite loud, and everyone’s gaze was focused on Wei Xiao.
His face was deathly pale. He never expected the news to reach the school this fast.
As for public opinion online, it wasn’t that Wei Yan didn’t want to suppress it, but the Wei family’s foundations were still not firmly established, and they lacked the necessary connections in that area.
Besides, whether or not he suppressed it didn’t hold much meaning for Wei Yan.
Because he truly had been ignorant of Zhu Yuanyuan’s background, at worst, people would just nag him about “not doing a thorough background check,” which wouldn’t have much of a negative impact on him.
Wei Yan had even made a plan: if any reporters came to interview him, he would recount his misery with genuine sincerity to show his innocence. If he also promised to cooperate fully with the police and the courts, he might even win some sympathy and support.
As for Wei Xiao, he had no intention of managing him. For one, Wei Xiao wasn’t his son, and for another, if he couldn’t even handle this trivial matter, Wei Xiao didn’t deserve to stay in the Wei family.
Wei Yan ignored Wei Xiao’s emotional state—he felt it was unimportant.
Yet, he had never considered how much of an impact the days of psychological pressure and setbacks would have on Wei Xiao, who had lived a smooth, unimpeded life since childhood.
Wei Xiao sprinted away, his figure gradually disappearing from everyone’s sight.
The marmots of Class Three exchanged looks, feeling that their plan for trouble-making this month had twice been carried out unsuccessfully.
It wasn’t that the plans weren’t successful, it was just that things hadn’t unfolded according to their expected steps. It felt like… their work had been snatched away by someone else?
Ai Ning chewed and swallowed the food in her mouth before sighing. “Sniped by someone else again.”
“Nothing to be done about that,” Ji Tianxiao shrugged. “It was illegal activity to begin with, and Zhu Yuanyuan’s identity isn’t simple. Social-level attention was inevitable.”
“But I never thought it would get leaked by someone else inside the school first,” Lian Fenghe couldn’t help but shake her head.
“At times like this, you have to think—the face he lost is even greater than we imagined!” By comparison, Qin Yue was in high spirits.
When everyone pondered it, that was true. If the incident hadn’t been so massive and widely spread, it wouldn’t have been uncovered so quickly.
So, they stopped bothering with Wei Xiao and, following their original plan, began assessing the situation with public opinion within the school.
After Wei Xiao ran out of the cafeteria, he didn’t head to his classroom.
The fact that Zhu Yuanyuan’s sentencing was known to everyone was a blow Wei Xiao couldn’t digest for the time being.
He had always prided himself on being extraordinary. Even if Wei Yan knew his identity, he had at least tacitly allowed him to keep carrying the title of “Wei Yan’s son.”
But now, his title had changed to “the son of a human trafficker.”
Wei Xiao pressed his hands against his throat, nearly gagging.
He leaned against the wall for a long time before his expression slowly calmed down. He didn’t want to return to the classroom.
Whatever happened today would definitely be posted on the confession wall, and when he returned, he would only be met with more strange looks from everyone.
He went to his homeroom teacher’s office, wearing a cold face, and asked for leave.
Although his homeroom teacher hadn’t heard about the verdict yet, every subject teacher had reported to her just how terrible Wei Xiao’s recent state had been.
Now that Wei Xiao was willing to take leave on his own, she was more than happy to oblige.
But after writing the leave request, a sense of duty compelled her to hesitate. “Wei Xiao, regarding your current situation, you can ask your parents to contact a professional for psychological counseling and guidance to adjust your…”
Before she could finish, Wei Xiao cut her off: “How much is your monthly salary? Tens of thousands?”
The homeroom teacher froze. “What did you say?”
Wei Xiao sneered. “Just mind your own business with that pittance of a wage. Don’t think you’re anything special just because you’re a teacher.”
With that, he snatched the leave slip from the teacher’s hand and stormed out.
The homeroom teacher pounded her desk in fury. A teacher nearby quickly comforted her: “Don’t bother with him. Some students are beyond saving.”
“I heard he’s transferring out next semester anyway. Don’t waste your energy on him.”
“He’s a high schooler, not a primary schooler. The root is already rotten; it can’t be bent back.”
