After leaving Zhao Mengqi's office, which was filled with an aura of humiliation and submission, Lu Xuan took a deep breath of the slightly grassy air on campus, and the suppressed feelings in his chest eased a little.
Jinchuan City...
The ruin of his family and the early death of his parents in his previous life—could the source of all this truly be hidden in the place where he grew up?
He shook his head, temporarily suppressing his chaotic thoughts.
He still had a professional class in the afternoon: Chinese Classical Literature.
Lu Xuan's lips curled into a cold arc. He felt that in this Yan University campus, the people who had backstabbed him when he was down and out in his previous life could practically form an reinforced company.
Those so-called teachers and Students had made him thoroughly experience the fickleness of human relationships and the sinister nature of people's hearts during his darkest moments.
In his previous life, his incident was infinitely magnified, eventually escalating into a scandal known nationwide.
Headlines, top search rankings, overwhelming discussions on various self-media platforms—countless internet celebrities and big Vs, for the sake of traffic, even added fuel to the fire, doing their utmost to smear him.
That torrent of public opinion, which almost completely engulfed him, lasted for a full half-year.
It was precisely because of that damned popularity that he was 'doxxed' by unscrupulous media and busybodies. His home address was exposed, and his parents were harassed day in and day out by those fly-like internet celebrities and reporters, unable to find peace.
Consequently, acquaintances and strangers alike eagerly jumped out to viciously trample on him, as if not doing so would mean falling behind the times and missing out on that immense wave of traffic.
The betrayal of his three roommates and his ex-girlfriend's kicking him when he was down were just the tip of the iceberg.
What disgusted him most were those so-called 'teachers' who had taught him, or even hadn't. They each made their grand entrance, under the guise of 'heartache' and 'educational reflection,' but in reality, they used him as a traffic goldmine.
As long as the title included the words 'Lu Xuan,' and they fabricated some ambiguous 'inside stories,' adding fuel to the fire with a few smears, video views could easily break a million.
For example: 【Lu Xuan's Mentor - XXX】, 【Lu Xuan's Teacher - XXX】, 【Lu Xuan's Friend - XXX】.
Countless!
Now that he thought about it, behind all this, there was clearly an invisible hand pushing it!
Otherwise, how could an ordinary campus incident escalate to that extent?
And the lecturer for this Chinese Classical Literature class, Jiang Shuyi, was one of the first teachers to 'build their brand' by jumping out back then.
Lu Xuan remembered clearly how Teacher Jiang, who usually appeared gentle, intellectual, and detached from worldly affairs, 'recalled' him, this 'problem Student,' with such heartache in front of the camera.
And how she cleverly portrayed herself as a benevolent teacher who 'tried her best to guide but was powerless to reverse the situation,' while subtly hinting at some 'oversights' in school management, earning her great praise from netizens and a surge in followers overnight.
It was remarkably similar to Gu Yunxi's operation.
Heh, a role model for teachers? Today, it's her turn to experience what 'karma' feels like!
Lu Xuan parked the car steadily below the teaching building where his class was, and just as he pulled open the car door, he saw Liu Ming's familiar face approaching. Following closely behind him was another figure, and though there was some distance, Lu Xuan recognized her at a glance: it was Shen Yahui.
Liu Ming's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Xuan, and he rushed to Lu Xuan in three strides, his face plastered with a self-satisfied smile: "Brother Xuan! You're finally here! Your girlfriend was looking for you, and I figured you'd definitely be taking a class here, so I brought her along!" His expression was like a pug wagging its tail, waiting for its master to reward it with a bone, practically screaming "Praise me!" on his face.
Lu Xuan's eyelid twitched, and he inwardly thought "What the f***," almost unable to resist kicking him.
Was this Liu Ming brain-dead or something? He didn't bring her earlier or later, but precisely at this moment, he brought this b****!
"You f***ing..." Lu Xuan was about to curse, but Liu Ming was already looking at him with a bewildered expression, seemingly not understanding why helping out in good faith would earn him a scolding.
Before Lu Xuan could finish speaking, Shen Yahui, behind him, charged up like a cannonball, her sharp voice piercing the surrounding quiet: "Lu Xuan! You bastard! You yourself are fooling around with other sluts in a hotel, and you still have the nerve to call me a b****? Are you even a man?!"
As she spoke, Shen Yahui lunged forward, baring her claws, her hands with their bright red nail polish glinting dangerously, heading straight for Lu Xuan's face, like a shrew fighting in a wet market.
Lu Xuan frowned, and instead of retreating, he advanced. With a casual lift of his left hand, he precisely blocked Shen Yahui's wrist and pushed her, causing Shen Yahui to stumble back a few steps, nearly falling.
Bystanding Students had already been attracted by the commotion and were casting curious glances.
Lu Xuan didn't want to expose Shen Yahui's unsavory scandals in such a public setting.
Wouldn't that be tantamount to indirectly admitting he'd been cuckolded? Lu Xuan couldn't afford to lose face like that!
Although this cuckolding wasn't Lu Xuan's fault, it was disgusting!
At that time, while Shen Yahui would be utterly disgraced, he himself would also be tainted and become the laughingstock of the entire school.
This matter was truly f***ing difficult to handle!
He had originally planned to handle it coldly, find an opportunity to clearly explain the breakup to her, and when the time was right, package her 'glorious deeds' and post them online, letting her experience the taste of social death.
Who knew this woman would be so impatient and directly come to the school!
Lu Xuan took a deep breath, feeling this was the most troublesome situation he had faced since his rebirth, apart from dealing with that crazy woman Zhao Mengqi.
If he didn't handle it well, he could really drag himself down and be covered in mud that couldn't be washed clean!
His mind raced, various thoughts flashing through.
Directly act? No, the impact would be too bad, playing right into certain people's hands.
Expose her publicly? No, it would be a Pyrrhic victory.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
It wasn't a perfect plan, but for now, it seemed like the only way to barely muddle through!
He cleared his throat, his face instantly switching to an expression of both shock and a hint of hurt. Looking at Shen Yahui, his tone also became somewhat complex, as if disbelieving, yet also carrying a trace of wronged grievance.