Chapter 7

Throughout Shen Zhuo’s hospital stay, I was endlessly gentle, caring for his every need.

I spent nearly all my money, including my university tuition, on his treatment.

He used to pour out sweet words. Now he grew quieter by the day.

A week before the entrance exam, he produced a new cancer report. “Mianmian, I’m sorry. I’m dragging you down. Stop spending money on my treatment.”

The doctor said the medical bills would be three hundred thousand yuan. Avoiding my eyes, Shen Zhuo urged me to give up on him.

I shook my head and kissed his lips. “Get better soon. I’ll be waiting for you at the exam.”

The anonymous sender continued messaging me tirelessly.

I saw the towel photo Shen Zhuo had posted after I washed, proudly showing me off as his conquest.

I also saw him boasting that he’d dump me after the exam.

But those messages were all from two weeks ago.

Now he was very quiet.

He said nothing in the group chat either.

The anonymous sender had run out of options. He only kept bombarding me with messages, using the same old evidence to show me what Shen Zhuo was really like, over and over.

[Song Mian! Are you really going to do this to yourself for that scumbag? You used to be first in your year!]

[He isn’t even sick! Three hundred thousand, just like that? Are you insane?]

I twirled a pen in my hand. As the questions kept coming in a frenzy, I finally replied.

[I don’t use this account much. I’ve only just seen your messages.]

[If he’s been lying, his illness must be fake too. That’s wonderful news.]

After a pause, he asked, [Song Mian, where did you get the three hundred thousand?]

I answered, [I sold my apartment. The only thing my mother left me. I hope I can buy it back someday. Thank you for telling me the truth.]

I stopped going to the hospital and returned to school.

Zhao Mingzhu mocked me spitefully. “The star student’s back? You’re below two hundredth place and still skipping class? Don’t tell me you still think you’re a genius.”

Someone nosy asked if I really had a boyfriend.

My eyes were red. I didn’t answer.

Zhao Mingzhu sneered. “Fake bitch. You’ve already been fucked rotten. Why keep playing the ice queen?”

“Zhao Mingzhu! Shut up!”

Li Changqing’s voice came from the doorway.

Before returning to school, I’d told the anonymous sender I’d given up on Shen Zhuo.

Li Changqing had rushed straight to our classroom. The first thing he heard was Zhao Mingzhu’s remark. His eyes turned red with anger.

Zhao Mingzhu cursed without thinking. “So you’ve fallen in love with that bitch too?”

She’d long been furious that he liked me. Our classmates gasped at this juicy revelation.

I shed a few tears and looked at Li Changqing with a strained smile. “You were the one texting me, weren’t you? Thank you. I know the truth now. I’ll do my best in the exam tomorrow.”

Zhao Mingzhu’s face hardened. “What have you done?”

My grades mattered to her more than anything. Having finally beaten me once, she couldn’t bear to let me make a comeback in the entrance exam.

But he didn’t oblige. Under her furious stare, he exposed everything Shen Zhuo had done.

When dogs bite each other, neither escapes unscathed. The real culprit, Zhao Mingzhu, fared no better. A post naming her drew thousands of angry comments online.

No one wanted to watch someone fall from grace.

I’d always had a good reputation at school. My fall from first place to below two hundredth, all for a lying rich boy, caused an uproar.

When I walked out of the examination hall, my classmates looked at me with pity.

I gave a wan smile and left.

Shen Zhuo was too ashamed to show up for the exam.

From beginning to end, I’d been the perfect, utterly innocent victim.

Even his parents had nothing to reproach me for when they came to see me.

“Our son is certainly unruly. He’s caused the school a great deal of trouble. We intend to send him abroad.”

These lofty, wealthy parents sat before me. Even their apology held little sincerity.

“There’s ten million yuan on this card. Compensation for the past few months. If you ever wish to study abroad, we can help arrange a letter of recommendation.”

I looked at the card and, to their surprise, declined.

“As long as he isn’t sick, that’s the best outcome I could ask for.”

When I played that emotional card, his mother’s expression softened a little. “Shen Zhuo has disliked girls since he was little. I assumed his earlier behavior was just ordinary fooling around, so I didn’t pay much attention. That’s how he came to make a few mistakes. When he became friends with you, he settled down considerably. Even his grades improved for once. I sent you a grant then. This sum means very little to us. Think of it as compensation.”

Shen Zhuo was immature. His family, however, knew exactly how to handle people. With apparent warmth and a tone that allowed no refusal, they made me accept the money.

Only at the end did his mother look at me appraisingly and ask, “Do you like my son very much?”

I smiled. “I did, then.”

Understanding what I meant, she stopped asking. She left me with one last remark. “In that case, I hope you won’t contact Shen Zhuo again.”

Zhao Mingzhu was waiting outside. She linked arms with Shen Zhuo’s mother and greeted her sweetly. “Auntie.”

After his mother left, she looked down her nose at me. “You didn’t think Ah Zhuo really fell in love with you, did you? Your families aren’t even in the same league. It was never going anywhere. Such a shame, star student. You don’t even have the chance to study your way out anymore.”

I looked at her face, twisted with malice, and smiled lightly. “Is that so?”