novelbin Chapter 173: Slander
Chapter 173: Slander
Ling Zhiwei let out a yelp and jumped up, shaking his hand and begging for mercy. "Okay, okay! You win! I surrender!"
A tingling numbness shot up the nerves in his arm.
He instinctively pulled his arm back and retreated a couple of steps.
He knew she had hit that pressure point on purpose.
But the move was truly vicious; his entire right arm went so numb it nearly lost all feeling.
The two of them were so engrossed in their playful fight that they failed to notice a shadow flit past the doorway.
The person paused for only a few seconds, glanced down at their phone screen, and the corner of their mouth curled up in a nearly imperceptible smirk.
Inside the classroom, the pair remained immersed in their roughhousing, completely oblivious.
But over the course of a single lunch break, a few candid photos seemed to sprout legs.
They appeared on the bulletin board outside the cafeteria, beneath the large screen on the first floor of the academic building...
Each photo was taken from a different angle, but they all featured the same two figures.
The image quality wasn’t sharp, but the people’s silhouettes were clear enough to be recognized.
"Freshman Star and Junior Hotshot More Than Friends? Intimate Interaction Exposed!"
As soon as the headline went up, the entire campus erupted.
The news spread through every grade and every class in a matter of minutes.
In the hallways, students stopped in twos and threes to discuss it.
Everyone was trying to guess the identity of the girl who had suddenly been thrust into the eye of the storm.
Of course, quite a few people knew the inside story.
Most of them came from the same social circle as the Ling family, or their own families had dealings with the Ling Group.
Although these people didn’t say anything publicly, they had long been well aware of the situation in private.
It was just that the topic was too sensitive, and no one was willing to bring it up lightly.
Only a few of the bolder ones would whisper about it during their breaks.
Aside from Shanshan’s roommates, everyone else was just waiting for the drama to unfold, hoping the situation would escalate.
The afternoon sun was intense, casting dappled shadows across the steps of the academic building.
The ten-minute break between classes became the golden hour for exchanging information.
But the news spread too fast. By mid-afternoon,
Ling Zhiwei was getting creeped out by the way his dorm buddies kept giving him winks and knowing looks.
At first, he thought he had something on his face.
But no one answered him. Instead, they all just grinned strangely.
One of them even deliberately flashed a phone screen at him.
On it was a screenshot from a group chat saying that Young Master Ling’s newly acknowledged sister was a suspected candidate for campus belle.
An ominous feeling immediately welled up inside him.
After asking around, he found out what was happening and instantly flew into a rage.
The guys around him were startled by his reaction. Before they could even process what was happening, they heard him roar.
"If anyone spreads this crap again, I’ll make them pay! A bunch of idle gossips with nothing better to do!"
"Whoa there, Zhiwei, what are you so worked up about? This sister of yours is a real looker. If you’re not interested, why not let a brother have a chance?"
The roommate was trying to ease the tension and casually cracked a joke.
He didn’t think it was a big deal; after all, similar gossip circulated on campus every day.
It was a mix of truth and lies, and it would all blow over once the hype died down.
After speaking, he even smiled and raised his phone, as if he wanted Ling Zhiwei to see the photo.
But before the words were even out of his mouth, Ling Zhiwei whipped around, charged back in a few long strides, and grabbed him by the collar.
The air instantly froze. The other roommates were all rooted to the spot.
Ling Zhiwei’s eyes were bloodshot. He growled through clenched teeth, word by word, "Say that again, and I’ll throw you out the window! That’s my real sister! My blood sister! Do you understand?"
Practically fuming, Ling Zhiwei stormed out of the dorm and headed straight for the broadcasting station. Without a second thought, he grabbed the microphone and started yelling.
After a brief crackle of static, his voice blasted out from the speaker system all over campus.
He had no idea that his most dreaded younger uncle, Ling Anxun, had already heard about the incident and was on his way to the school with a grim expression.
Ling Anxun sat in the car, listening to his assistant’s report the entire time.
The driver sped through the city, but he didn’t say a single word.
He knew that at this critical juncture, even the slightest disturbance could affect the family’s internal balance.
"Hey! Everyone listen up! Who’s been running their mouth? The freshman, Ling Xueshan, is my biological sister! Which one of you assholes has been spreading rumors and ruining my sister’s reputation? Are you all blind? We both have the surname Ling. You can’t see something so obvious, huh? I’m on this now. If the person who started these rumors doesn’t come forward, just wait until I dig them out. Don’t blame me for being merciless then!"
Students jogging on the athletic field stopped in their tracks and looked up at the sky.
This broadcast wasn’t recorded or approved.
It was purely a direct venting of raw fury.
The voice crackled and echoed throughout the entire campus.
Shanshan leaned against her bed and forced a smile, but her heart felt heavy.
"Oh man, it’s over, it’s over. Her big brother personally stepped in to defend his sister. Our ’sister squad’ doesn’t even need to make an appearance now."
The moment she finished speaking, the room erupted in laughter.
The tense atmosphere was instantly broken.
"Oh my god, Shanshan, you’re so lucky! How did you end up with such a protective big brother?"
The speaker was the girl in the bed by the window, hugging a pillow with a look of longing on her face.
After speaking, she couldn’t resist adding another comment.
"I couldn’t stand that kind of treatment... it’s just too reassuring."
The others all nodded in agreement, unanimously deciding this was the most heartwarming ’brother-sister moment’ of the year.
Xiao Xiaojun threw an arm over Shanshan’s shoulder, her expression serious.
She sat up straight, faced Shanshan directly, and spoke in a solemn tone.
"Listen up, Shanshan. The day your brother starts looking for a girlfriend, you tell me first! If I can’t be your sister-in-law, I’ll settle for being the one to chase him!"
"Count me in!"
Yang Yuying raised her hand as if to answer a question.
"Xiaojun, don’t you dare try to be sneaky! We’ll compete fairly! We agreed that whoever raises their hand first gets to participate, no backing out!"
The room immediately filled with laughter.
With Ling Zhiwei taking the lead and causing such a scene, the investigation proceeded swiftly.
The school administration also recognized the negative impact and immediately launched an investigation.
By reviewing surveillance footage, checking device information,
and combining that with tips from those in the know, it only took two days to unmask the person who took the photos: a cub reporter from the school newspaper’s second-string team.
When Yu Xinxin brought the person to Shanshan, Shanshan was completely baffled.
She had just come from the lab, still carrying her lab report.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw a girl standing in the middle, head lowered, fingers tightly picking at the hem of her clothes.
This scrawny little girl in front of her didn’t look like a troublemaker at all.
She wore a faded, washed-out school uniform, her hair was tied back loosely, and her face was pale.
She seemed to be shrinking into herself, looking as if a gust of wind could blow her over.
Shanshan frowned and asked, "Why would you do this to me? I’ve never done anything to you. Do we have some kind of grudge between us? Or did I offend you somehow?"
"I just can’t stand you!"
The girl suddenly raised her voice, her jaw clenched tight.
Although she still didn’t dare to look up, the sheer hatred was palpable in her voice.
"What gives you the right to have everything? A rich family, a doting father, and a brother who treats you like you’re a treasure! You’re good-looking and smart, too. Did God give you some special treatment? Ling Xueshan, don’t you feel guilty when you sleep at night? How can you so brazenly hog all the good things?"
She said she wakes up at five every morning for early self-study, gnaws on cold steamed buns for lunch, and grinds through practice problems until midnight.
But her grades were always leagues behind Shanshan’s.