Volume 1 Chapter 49: Gossip
The weekend passed very quickly, and before she knew it, it was Monday again.
Lin Lin woke up early and made a plan for the week.
Even though the tutoring had already ended, she still planned to use this week to review and fill in any gaps, to see if there were still math problems she couldn’t solve.
After all, the system task was very important. She really didn’t want to mess it up.
Besides… well, thinking about it now, she could almost be called a top student in math.
But would better grades really make her more popular?
Lin Lin wasn’t sure.
Anyway, she put on her backpack and went to school.
She opened the door and held up an umbrella.
Hmm… it was a rainy day.
“…”
For some reason, her mood also dropped with the sudden rain.
While complaining in her head about why it didn’t rain earlier and had to rain on a Monday morning, she also felt strangely uneasy, as if something bad was about to happen.
She walked all the way to the classroom like that. When she pushed the door open, the chatter she could hear from outside stopped almost at once.
Dozens of eyes turned to look at her. The air became awkward. Lin Lin froze. She thought maybe she was late because of the rain, which is why everyone was staring at her. But when she looked again, there was no teacher at the podium.
She turned her head and looked at her classmates in confusion. From their eyes, she sensed something strange.
Amusement. Mockery. Disbelief.
Being watched like this, with bad intentions, felt very uncomfortable. Lin Lin quickly lowered her head and hurried back to her seat.
Gao Liang wasn’t here yet…
She felt even more uneasy. She sat down and curled up slightly.
The classroom was still very quiet, too quiet for morning reading time. After a long silence, someone finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and started whispering.
“Oh… the female lead has arrived!”
“Wow… she’s really weird. Look, even the way she walks today feels strange.”
“Hey, don’t talk nonsense. Doesn’t she always walk like that?”
A few students joked around. Lin Lin shrank back a little, confused, keeping her head down while listening to their words.
F-female lead? What does that mean?
Do I… really walk that strangely?
“Someone like her actually got together with Gao Liang? My god. I didn’t expect Gao Liang to like this type.”
“Who knows what she’s like in private. Tsk tsk. Doing something like that at such a young age, maybe she’s just too flirtatious and that’s how she hooked Gao Liang.”
Two of the most foul-mouthed boys in the class laughed as they said this. Lin Lin’s body couldn’t help but tremble.
What… what is going on?
Why are they suddenly saying these things about her and Gao Liang?
Could it be… could it be because of what happened on Friday?
Was it because Gao Liang took her away that day, and that’s why people in the class started talking?
But… that shouldn’t be enough. It really shouldn’t, right?
She nervously lifted her head and gently pulled the sleeve of a girl sitting nearby. The girl turned around awkwardly and clearly didn’t want to talk to Lin Lin.
But Lin Lin still asked. Maybe because Gao Liang wasn’t by her side, she really had no other choice. She couldn’t understand why the class suddenly started gossiping about her, especially when she wasn’t even close to anyone.
Outside the window, the rain was still falling softly. Everything felt unreal, like a bad dream. Lin Lin felt like she couldn’t breathe, but she still lowered herself and asked the girl in front of her:
“Um… classmate, can you tell me what’s going on? Why is everyone… talking about me?”
“Uh…” The girl froze for a moment. The students who realized Lin Lin had already heard them quickly shut up, and the classroom became quiet again. The girl hesitated, glanced at the others, then awkwardly pointed at Lin Lin’s phone.
“Lin Lin, you should check the school forum… there’s a post on the main page…”
Lin Lin froze, then nodded. A bad feeling had already formed in her heart. She picked up her phone, opened the forum, and then—
A shocking title jumped straight into her eyes.
【Top student Gao Liang suspected of staying at a hotel with his girlfriend, video included.】
Her hands started to shake. She tapped into the post and saw the short video inside.
The video quality was very low. It showed Lin Lin and Gao Liang getting out of a car and walking into a hotel. The clip was only about ten seconds long. It was filmed from far away, but their faces were still clear.
In short, the video clearly showed Lin Lin and Gao Liang entering a hotel together.
As for what happened after that, the viewers were given more than enough space to imagine.
The person who posted it left no other information. Lin Lin didn’t even know how this person managed to film it.
Her heart became more and more uneasy. She could only scroll down mechanically. Since it was an anonymous forum, the comments below were naturally very rude.
【1L：Holy shit, big gossip! Time to watch!】
【6L：I’m their classmate. That girl is Gao Liang’s desk mate. On Friday they were acting close in class. They’re probably dating, right?】
【11L：Yeah yeah, Gao Liang even defended his girlfriend!】
【15L：I’m heartbroken… they’re still high school students!】
【16L：This is so messed up, LOL. My female desk mate is totally crushed. Her dream prince, first in the grade, hahaha.】
【18L：Feels good. Really feels good. I’ve disliked Gao Liang for a long time!】
【23L：More gossip, the girl is one of the weird ones in our class. She has no friends at all. No idea how she hooked Gao Liang and went straight to a hotel. Tsk tsk, impressive skills.】
…
Lin Lin put down her phone, her eyes empty. She turned her head and looked at the strange looks from her classmates.
Now she understood everything.
The post already had over a thousand views, and it was spreading fast on confession walls and several group chats. Lin Lin shook her head in a daze.
This has to be a nightmare… please… it must be a nightmare…
Just as she was about to break down, footsteps suddenly sounded at the classroom door.
Gao Liang suddenly pushed the door open with a loud bang. The noise startled everyone in the room. His face was cold as he looked at the classmates full of bias, then silently walked to his seat.
Lin Lin lifted her head, tears in the corners of her eyes, and looked at him pitifully.
Gao Liang, who was already in a bad mood, softened the moment he saw her like this. In front of everyone, he gently patted her head and sat down.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here, Lin Lin. Have you seen what’s on the school forum?”
Gao Liang asked softly. Lin Lin nodded sadly and whispered through sobs.
“Should we… go talk to the teacher?”
“Don’t rush. Look at this first.”
As he spoke, Gao Liang handed her a document he was holding. Lin Lin froze and took it.
This is…?