Gossip Forum

When I got back to my room, I turned on the computer and logged onto the school forum. Truth be told, my laptop was awarded to me by my high school. And though it sometimes froze or shut off, for the most part, it was quite trustworthy.

There was indeed a highly-viewed post on the front page. It was titled, “This is Zhong Yuan’s girlfriend? This is Zhong Yuan’s girlfriend? This is Zhong Yuan’s girlfriend?!”

An ominous feeling rose up inside of me as I trembled, trying to click open the post.

The photos were secretly taken. The photography skills were nothing to brag about, and the photos were a bit blurry. The subject of the photos were myself and Zhong Yuan. Some were in the cafeteria, while others were outside my dorm. There were even some from when we were on my bike. The original poster didn’t write much. They simply said they’d followed us around for a few days and this is what they saw, so they posted the pictures. They asked if it was possible that I was Zhong Yuan’s girlfriend.

The original poster may have been a bit gossipy, but at least they were collected. The same couldn’t be said for the replies that followed. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry.

User A: OP, quit joking. Is that a girl? Is that a girl? Is that a girl?

User B: What a gorgeous bald head. It’s blinding my lowly eyes!

User C: Zhong Yuan has interesting taste. It’s true that amazing people are a bit unconventional.

User D: Wow, wow, wow! A perfectly fine medicinal herb stuck in dog shit! *angrily leaves thread*

User E: She’s not Zhong Yuan’s girlfriend. I’m guessing she’s, I’m guessing she’s, I’m guessing she’s…

User F: Let’s be honest. If she put on some hair, she’d look pretty good.

User G: Zhong Yuan ah, why must men make things difficult for themselves…

The rest of the replies got a bit repetitive, regurgitating what the earlier commenters said. They made fun of my bald head and said I wasn’t good enough for Zhong Yuan. The more I read, the angrier I got. What kind of national joke is this, Zhong Yuan? That pretty boy who was possessed and also rotten and sinister? I would never accept someone like that. My idol is Lu Zijian, OK?!

Further down in the replies, people started discussing ‘whether or not the girl was pretty’. Both sides had all sorts of ridiculous reasons; it made me dizzy. Although, I was rather pleased when someone called me pretty. After all, the fact that some people could accept this kind of hairstyle wasn’t bad.

Even further down, though, was something that made me shiver. These crazy people had dug out my information…

Of course, it was simply a matter of skill, and looking up information about another student at B University wasn’t really that hard. But those people were really efficient, they were. By the second day the post was up, someone had already posted my information. Fuck… They even knew that I didn’t eat spicy food.

The more I read, the worse my mood got. I called over my girls so that they would comfort me. But who knew? They ran over, took a look, and then scoffed before dispersing.

Boss was a bit more generous in her response, at least. She gave me a pat on the shoulder and smiled. “Blockhead, you just found out about this? You really are a blockhead.”

I cried, “You knew too? I don’t check the forum much… But since all of you knew, why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Miss Fourth replied, “What’s the point in you knowing? It would just cause you to worry.”

Indignant, I slammed my hand down on my desk. “Well, now I know! What do I do?!”

Miss Fourth answered, “Clarify it or just ignore it. What else can you do?”

Miss Fourth never bullshitted you.

I rested my chin in my hands and wondered which of the two options I should take.

If the post had been about Lu Zijian, I definitely wouldn’t make a clarification. If those people hadn’t called me ugly, I probably wouldn’t make a clarification. If they hadn’t said I wasn’t good enough for Zhong Yuan, I probably wouldn’t make a clarification either…

To sum it up, I should probably make a clarification.

When I thought about the difference in Zhong Yuan’s and my name value and influence, I decided it would be better for him to make the clarification.

Phone in hand, I still hesitated awhile. Finally, I dialed Zhong Yuan’s number. I did my best to explain the situation and stressed that if things weren’t resolved now, it could cause much harm in the future. I added seriously, “Make sure you clarify things. With proper words and expressions!”

Zhong Yuan quickly and readily agreed, and in that moment, I saw him in a different light.

Zhong Yuan was quick to act, so it wasn’t long before I saw a new post by ‘I’m Zhong Yuan’.

The contents of the post were simple: I’m Zhong Yuan. Mu Er and I aren’t in a relationship. This is now clarified. However, if you all wanted to gossip, shouldn’t you have at least waited for her hair to grow back before doing so?

When I read that post, I started shaking from anger. I immediately sent a text to Zhong Yuan. “You’re just mocking me!”

A short while later, he replied, “Yes.”

I text back, “Go to hell, bottom!”

Zhong Yuan replied, “I’d better not see that last word again. Otherwise I can’t guarantee what might happen.”

This was a threat, plain and undisguised… That bottom!