Chapter 12 Flashback Kill Two

But the matter did not end there. On the contrary, it became more and more intense, and the rumors about him on the confession wall became more and more outrageous.

Someone revealed that although Rong Xiu pretended to be a high and mighty flower untouchable in school, he had actually been kept by a rich merchant as a third son. The luxury cars that came to pick him up outside the school every weekend, and every piece of clothing he wore being a luxury brand, were the evidence.

This revelation post brought up his previous rejection of Chen Jing again. Those who originally felt indignant for Chen Jing now slandered him wantonly under this unverified rumor.

Unable to bear it any longer, he finally clarified on the confession wall. The reckless slander finally stopped, and Rong Xiu thought the matter had ended there.

But it was far from over. Whether in class or walking on campus, there were people pointing and whispering behind his back. But as soon as he turned his head, these people scattered like cockroaches exposed to light, not daring to look him in the eye.

At this moment, Rong Xiu had already been equated with ‘fickle’ and ‘indecent’. His clarification seemed like anger from embarrassment, further confirming the content of the previous revelation post.

The real outbreak happened a month later when he was alone by the school lake to clear his mind.

His domineering father had cut off all his living expenses because he chose Imperial Capital University. His elder sister was not close to him, and his mother was too busy with her career. Rong Xiu’s impression of her was not as deep as that of the servants at home.

The sudden occurrence of such an event, the overwhelming slander and ostracism left him at a loss.

It was April, and twilight was falling. Pear blossom petals from the trees on both sides of the lake were falling gently. He reached out to pick up a fallen pear blossom from the ground. The pure white petals were tinged with the hazy twilight. Rong Xiu’s eyes darkened slightly as he looked at the pear blossom on his fingertips, remembering Fan Xia, the only one who had spoken up for him that day.

There was a rustle of vegetation behind him, and Rong Xiu turned to look.

It was a young man with delicate features that still held some childish innocence. He was a junior from the calligraphy club, and also one of the people who had slandered him most fiercely before.

“What are you doing here?” Rong Xiu stood up, his cold demeanor unmistakable even in the dim silhouette of the night.

“You have the nerve to ask me!” The other gritted his teeth, his beautiful eyes filled with hatred and disgust. “It’s all because of you that Mirror senior sister is being ridiculed. Rong Xiu, you’re disgusting. Men like you don’t deserve to be at Imperial Capital University. Do your parents know about the kind of business you’re doing outside? They definitely don’t, right? Otherwise, they would surely beat you to death—”

“Slap—” A resounding slap rang out.

The other widened his eyes, disbelievingly holding his stinging cheek. “You dare to hit me? You, a prostitute, dare to hit me!”

Rong Xiu casually unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and rolled them up to his elbows. In the hazy night, his fair wrists were whiter than pear blossoms, yet the lines were firm. Before the other could say more, Rong Xiu directly grabbed his hair and dragged him towards the water.

Considering the many students in the school, the water level of this lake was at most waist-deep and couldn’t drown anyone.

Precisely because he knew this, Rong Xiu recklessly grabbed the other’s hair, ignoring his screams, and pressed his head into the lake water. The sharp and unpleasant insults instantly turned into comical bubbling sounds. His hands kept slapping the water surface, stirring up waves of splashes, wetting Rong Xiu’s clothes. Water droplets fell one by one from Rong Xiu’s messy hair strands.

His lips curved into a smile, cold and alluring in the night. The nature that had been constrained by family etiquette for many years was finally released.

Finally, when the other’s struggles gradually weakened, Rong Xiu let go. The other helplessly and pathetically sprawled on the rocks by the lake. Even though his eyes were unwilling, he dared not insult again out of fear of this Rong Xiu.

“You like Chen Jing.” Rong Xiu waded through the water, walking up to him, his tone a statement rather than a question.

“……” The other didn’t speak, his silence the best answer.

The night breeze fluttered, lifting his wet bangs. Rong Xiu casually brushed them back, his thin lips curling, no longer concealing the contempt in his heart. “Go back and tell Chen Jing to stop harassing me. She’s not worthy.”

“You—” The other gritted his teeth, struggling to say, “You’d better be as you say, don’t string Mirror senior sister along later.”

As he spoke, the other took advantage of the night to quickly climb ashore, suddenly exclaiming, “Fan Xia, you—”

Rong Xiu turned around in panic, seeing Fan Xia walk out from under the pear blossom tree. Her long hair hung softly on her chest, her gentle eyebrows and eyes clear as water, gleaming with moist luster.

“You… saw everything?” Rong Xiu clenched his fingers tightly, coldness creeping up from his fingertips.

Fan Xia walked closer, the corners of her eyes slightly filled with a smile. “Don’t be afraid, senior. I won’t report to the school.”

Rong Xiu lowered his head. What he was worried about wasn’t this, but rather that Fan Xia had seen him violently dragging that junior into the lake. Would she think he was a violent husband?

“Come up, it’s cold in the water.” Fan Xia stood on the shore, reaching out her hand to him.

Rong Xiu’s eyes were surprised. He hurriedly pulled down his sleeves that were rolled up to his elbows, covering the exposed skin of his forearms. His eyelashes trembled slightly as he placed his hand in her palm.

Her palm was very warm and soft, like soaking in a warm hot spring. The warmth spread from his fingertips to his whole body. Rong Xiu’s face inexplicably reddened, his ears turning even redder.

Feeling her hand grip tightly, enveloping his hand in hers, pulling him ashore, his heart inexplicably sped up. He hurriedly let go of her hand and lowered his head, seeing only her simple and elegant white skirt hem, with a circle of black patterns like the swaying night at the edge.

“One should have sharp edges. You taught me that.” Rong Xiu said, head lowered.

Fan Xia was slightly stunned, then the corners of her lips curved up, carrying a faint smile. “So senior heard me that day.”

“Mm.” Rong Xiu quickly glanced at her, that faint smile at the corner of her lips seemed like a catalyst poured into his heart. His heartbeat violently accelerated, pounding his chest painfully.

“I happened to pass by the lake just now and heard the conversation between you two. What he said was indeed too much. It’s understandable that senior couldn’t help but hit him. After all, some words hurt more than knives.” Fan Xia said.

Little did she know, her seemingly casual words had rescued the mentally tense Rong Xiu from torment.

It was good that she didn’t blame him.

A joy that even he couldn’t clearly explain sprouted densely in his heart. A ray of light appeared in the miles of dark clouds, rescuing him from the sea of suffering.

“However—” Fan Xia suddenly changed her tone, and Rong Xiu’s heart, which had just settled, stopped instantly.

Fan Xia continued, “However, senior treating the symptoms but not the root cause like this, if he spreads what happened tonight, it will only confirm those rumors. They will only intensify their actions against you.”

“Then what should I do? I clearly haven’t offended any of them, but now anyone can insult me, trample on me, all because of a rumor.”

Although the Rong family’s strict upbringing had cultivated his aloof personality, making him look down on everyone, due to the Rong family’s status, no one dared to spread rumors about him behind his back. He had never suffered such humiliation before.

“I’ve also reported to the school before, but the counselor just told me not to take it too seriously, that it would pass with time. In a word, they wanted me to endure it.” Rong Xiu clenched his fists tightly. The early spring night breeze was chilly, sweeping over his water-soaked body, freezing cold. “But I don’t want to endure. It’s clearly not my fault, why should everyone step on me?”

“Call the police.” Fan Xia’s calm voice gave Rong Xiu an unexpected idea.

“Call the police? It’s just spreading rumors on the confession wall. Can the police handle such a small matter?” Rong Xiu had thought of many methods, but had never considered this one.

Everyone, including the teachers, was advising him to let it go.

“This is not a small matter. Perhaps for them, it’s just a small thing of moving their fingers on the keyboard, but for you, it’s a huge issue. Those who spread rumors should pay the price.” The hazy moonlight enveloped Fan Xia, her whole body radiating an untouchable aura. She looked at him gently, soft yet with an unshakable strength, inspiring awe and making one sink into her.

Rong Xiu chose to call the police. This quickly alarmed the school.

With their usual attitude of smoothing things over, they all tried to persuade him not to cause trouble.

But whenever Rong Xiu thought of Fan Xia that day, when everyone was against him, only Fan Xia stood in his position and shared his worries, he was unwilling to give in even a bit.

He showed his sharp edges, determined to find out who had spread the rumors.

The police quickly found the rumor-monger. It was none other than Chen Jing, whom he had rejected before.

Because of being publicly rejected, she started fabricating his black materials with the mentality of destroying what she couldn’t have. The whole school was in an uproar.

But those who had once persuaded him to let it go, including the school counselor, not only didn’t speak up for him, but instead all tried to persuade him not to be too aggressive, not to ruin Chen Jing’s bright future.

The more Rong Xiu thought about it, the more absurd he felt. He exposed Chen Jing’s behavior and demanded a public apology from her.

To keep her student status, Chen Jing had to apologize sarcastically on the confession wall. The junior from the calligraphy club who had targeted him before also withdrew from the club out of shame.

Everything seemed to have finally settled, but only Rong Xiu himself knew that something had quietly changed.

He began to secretly pay attention to Fan Xia, whom he had never cared about before. He would steal glances at her practicing calligraphy in the corner, look at her posture when holding the brush, look at her smooth and transparent skin in the sunlight, watch her politely reject letter after letter of confession handed to her. It seemed that only Fan Xia was left in his world. Her every move, every smile, seemed to be engraved into his bones.

Until Wen Lan Sheng’s arrival. He seemed to appear out of thin air, yet suddenly occupied the position of Fan Xia’s boyfriend.

Rong Xiu watched gloomily as Wen Lan Sheng intimately hugged Fan Xia. His feverish heart suddenly plunged into an icy pit, cold as death.

“You must be Senior Rong Xiu, right? I’ve heard Xia Xia mention you before.” Wen Lan Sheng deliberately avoided Fan Xia and found him. His extremely uncomfortable gaze looked him up and down, his face wearing a sunny and harmless smile, but without any warmth, instead appearing sarcastic.

“Do you need something?” Rong Xiu’s eyes were slightly cold, containing invisible jealousy.

“Nothing much. Today is the third anniversary of my relationship with Xia Xia. I wanted to invite you to join us.” Wen Lan Sheng enthusiastically grabbed his hand.

“No need.” Rong Xiu quickly shook off his hand. The jealousy that stabbed his heart and the instinctive guilt in front of the official boyfriend prevented him from staying any longer. He left directly.