chapter 8

I quickly turned on my computer and rushed into the game forum of "Ao Shi Fei Xian", and I saw the eye-catching post that was pinned to the top at a glance.
——[Industry cancer! Digging into the stories of “Junzi Studio”]
My heart suddenly sank, and I immediately looked at the poster, a person with the ID "Tang Xin". I didn't know her, but the level of this account was very high, not like a pseudonym, but like an old user of the forum. Clicking on the post, the first line was a striking red word -
I am not someone who seeks trouble, but I am posting this thread because I have been fed up with it. I am just a student, and it is not easy for me to save some pocket money. A few days ago, I found a "Junzi Studio" to help me level up, but the other party's service attitude was very bad, and my precious equipment was accidentally exploded during the leveling, and they refused to compensate me...
Leveling? And the equipment is dropped? How is that possible! This kind of thing has never happened when I took orders!
I continued to browse, and the whole article was about this player named "Tang Xin" complaining about how the "Junzi Studio" rudely shirked responsibility when he was seeking compensation for his losses. After the "personal experience" was finished, the other party changed the subject and said, "I was very angry. When I complained to my friends, I found out that this studio had also harmed many innocent players. In order to prevent more victims, I decided to post here to warn all players! People who have been deceived by this studio are also welcome to leave a message here and expose it together! Let everyone see what kind of crap this company is!"
The content of the post ends here, and what really frightens me are the large number of messages below - as "Tang Xin" said, many "victims" have appeared, and they have been complaining passionately about their experiences of being cheated by the "Gentleman Studio" in the past. Some people have even posted the chat records at that time to verify the authenticity of the matter.
But as a person involved, how could I not see that those chat records were clearly fabricated!
I suddenly remembered that Yao Feifei had reminded me a while ago - "Junjun, have you offended anyone in the game recently? Someone is offering a large sum of money to investigate 'Zui Mengchi', and it seems that they want to find something to hold against you!"
It was like someone poured a bucket of cold water on my head, and I felt cold from head to toe - who on earth could possibly want to slander and attack me like this?
I couldn’t tell whether I was angry or sad, I just knew that my hands were shaking when I moved the mouse.
This post was extremely popular, with a large number of comments, and at least six or seven out of ten people were accusing the "Gentleman Studio" of crimes.
Obviously, this was an organized and premeditated smear campaign. The other party actually hired so many water armies, and they came with such a fierce momentum! At first, some people questioned the authenticity of what "Tang Xin" said, and even said something good for "Junzi Studio", but they were immediately rebuked by the "water army" and bit back, saying that the other party was the water army of "Junzi Studio". After a while, many people dared not interrupt, and the onlookers' comments like "I went to his house and felt that it was okay, not as bad as the original poster said" gradually changed to "I didn't expect his house to be like this, it's really eye-opening, I will never go to his house again."
I know the game is over.
If it was just "Tang Xin" who was slandering me, I could still stand up and confront him, but now he has created a momentum of "national indignation". I can't defend myself, and I can't clear myself even if I jump into the Yellow River. I took on various mercenary missions in the name of "Gentleman Studio", and the good reputation I worked hard to build was destroyed in a few hours.
However, even worse news is yet to come.
When I was browsing the comments, I suddenly saw a prompt saying that the main post had been edited. After refreshing, the content displayed made me dizzy - it turned out to be the ID list of the game account of "Gentleman Studio"!
I have many accounts, and only five or six names are included in this list, but one of them is very important.
——The drunken dream is late!
As a well-known expert account, the release of this ID immediately triggered a wave of comments. I didn't care to read people's comments, and quickly logged into the game with the account "Zuimengchi". Sure enough, the gang channel of "Hanyan Pavilion" was already in an uproar.
[Gang] Zi Buyu: It's already obvious, Zui Mengchi is from the studio, he must have a conspiracy to get into our gang! I agree with what Sister Momo said, put him on the blacklist!
[Gang]: Meng Meng Da Xiao Bao: But he was brought in by the boss... Isn’t it too arbitrary for us to draw such a conclusion before the boss has said anything?
[Gang] Hanqing Momo: Hantian let him in because he didn't know his background. Hantian has something to do and can't go online these few days, so I have the final say on everything.
[Gang] Chui Chui Chui: But the boss has already appointed Zui Mengchi as the deputy gang leader, we don’t have the authority to kick him out...
[Gang] Sister Shenxian: Ah! Zuimengchi is online!
[Gang] Hanqing Momo: Humph, you’ve come just in time, Zuimengchi, now can you explain your identity?
The same questions came one after another, and the entire channel was filled with messages from fellow helpers. My hands were on the keyboard, but I didn't type for a long time.
How to say it?
Judging from the direction of public opinion on the forum, the other party was well prepared. He dared to expose Zui Mengchi's identity, so he must have had enough evidence. My denial and cover-up are meaningless.
And I don’t want to hide it.
What's the point of trying to dodge now that you've been exposed? You might as well face the reality head on.
[Gang] Zui Mengchi: Yes, I am from the studio.
A single stone caused a thousand waves, shock, anger, scolding, all kinds of comments came out. In the end, the topic was directed directly to——
[Gang] Luo Lang: You must have bad intentions in sneaking into our gang, so if you know what’s good for you, quit the gang immediately!
【Gang】Zi Buyu: Quit the gang! Quit the gang!
[Gang] Rabbit-chan: If you still have any dignity, just leave by yourself. Don't wait for the gang leader to come back and issue a wanted order to hunt you down.
Because only the gang leader has the authority to expel the deputy gang leader, everyone could only swipe the screen and use angry voices to ask me to quit the gang automatically. To be honest, after my undercover identity was exposed, my mission had failed, and there was no point in staying. It was wise to leave quickly and hide offline until the storm died down before coming out.
but……
——I don’t accept it!
This sudden outburst of stubbornness was not directed at the people who had urged me to quit the gang, but at the dark force behind the scenes - ruining the studio's reputation, publishing my work ID number, and letting players drive me away. Did they want me to become a rat crossing the street that everyone wanted to kill?
Humph, I'm so sorry. When I was labeled as a "gold digger" in real life, I was already prepared to face all kinds of criticisms and blame. Now it's just a crisis in the virtual network. Do you think I will give in at this level?
[Gang] Zui Mengchi: I admit that I am a member of the studio, but I have not infringed the interests of any of you. I have a clear conscience and will not voluntarily withdraw from the club.
If I quit the club, I would appear guilty. Once this matter is exaggerated by people with ulterior motives, it will probably become a kind of "evidence" of "Junzi Studio's dark history". Such a strong statement naturally brought more angry criticism from the public, but I have gradually been able to face it all calmly.
[Gang] Zui Mengchi: I am still the deputy gang leader, and there is nothing left to do. Does anyone need help with a quest or a dungeon today?
There was a chorus of boos.
I patiently asked several times, but no one asked for help, so I went to the leveling area alone to earn gold and equipment. No matter how they shouted, or even posted angry messages on the world channel saying "I'll kill you every time I see you", I just did my own thing. When it was time to go to bed, I said hello in the gang channel as usual and logged off openly.
However, I still feel uncomfortable.
Being calm in action does not mean I am calm in my heart. I tossed and turned all night, wondering who planned this farce against me. When I was leveling up, Butterfly Feifei who was online also discussed this matter with me. In the end, we came to the conclusion that I really didn't offend anyone in the game, but I made many enemies in reality. Could it be that the mastermind behind this was someone who hated me in real life?
——Who could this person be?
No sleep all night.
The next day when I got up and washed, I was still thinking about this problem. Perhaps because I was too immersed in my own world, I didn't notice the strange looks from all directions when I went out to school. When I was about to reach the teaching building, an angry roar woke me up from my thoughts.
"Chi Junjun!"
When I looked up, I saw Zhou Xiang, the sports director of the student union, rushing to me angrily. In the student union, Zhou Xiang had always been considered a moderate who would not target me. Sometimes when we met on campus, we would greet each other. But now, he glared at me fiercely, his tone was gnashing his teeth, as if he was facing a class enemy.
I looked confused: "What's wrong?"
"You are still playing dumb now?" Zhou Xiang was furious. "I thought you would repent after joining the student union, but I didn't expect you to be such a despicable woman! Even if Ling Hanfeng had embarrassed you before, you shouldn't have retaliated against him by stealing his speech! Do you still have a conscience?"
It was like a bolt from the blue. I was stunned on the spot. Zhou Xiang's voice was like thunder, exploding in my ears.
"If you don't want others to know, then you better not do it. It's clearly written in black and white on the notice board. Let's see how you can quibble this time!"
When I rushed to the bulletin board behind the teaching building, it was already crowded with people, and the buzzing of boiling discussions made me feel suffocated. I squeezed to the bulletin board and saw at a glance that it was filled with four pages of printed paper, and the content was all repeated, the same screenshot.
——Miss Gold Rush, how did you complete the task of stealing the speech? Next Friday is the student union's performance speech day!
——Don't worry, I will find a way to handle it.
——Mission successfully completed! The speech has been sent to your mailbox, please check.
This is a screenshot of the text messages between me and Lu Yuxiang.
At that moment, rather than the guilt, panic, and embarrassment of being exposed, what first seized my mind and occupied my entire brain was actually -
Did Ling Hanfeng know?
Will he be disappointed in me?
Will he hate me even more because of this?
When I came to my senses, I was immediately shocked - how could I have such a thought? I always thought that I would not care about anyone's eyes, and I always thought that I was ready to bear any infamy. Why did I suddenly care so much about that person's thoughts at this moment? I even felt a little regretful and afraid?
While I was dazed, the people around me had already noticed my presence. Ling Hanfeng's popularity in the academy was not in vain. The crowd who were standing up for him immediately turned their fire on me. The crowd was excited and the voices of condemnation were endless.
"Chi Junjun, you actually have the nerve to show up here!"
"How despicable! How could you do this to President Ling?"
"Get out of the academy! Miss Gold Digger, you are nothing but a profit-seeking villain. You are a disgrace to the academy!"
The angry curses quickly turned into physical conflict, and by the time I realized something was wrong, I was already trapped in the crowd and couldn't get out. Countless people pushed me, and I was forced into the corner of the propaganda column, and I had to protect my head to avoid further damage.
Having never experienced such a chaotic scene, it would be a lie to say that I wasn't scared. I bit my lips stubbornly and made no response to the scolding from the crowd.
As the crowd gathered, more and more people were pushing my hands and gradually turned into angry beatings. At this moment, a stern voice suddenly came from far away.
"Stop it!"
Probably because they heard about what happened here, the dean of studies came over with several teachers. The appearance of the teachers immediately cooled down the commotion at the scene, and the crowd gradually calmed down. I breathed a sigh of relief with lingering fear, put down my hands that were protecting my face, and saw the dean of studies had parted the crowd and walked in front of me.
The dean's surname was Yan. He was old-fashioned and serious. He was very strict and harsh with students. Everyone privately called him "Yan Mo Wang." He looked at me deeply, his face expressionless, and he was intimidating without being angry.
"You, come with me."
I didn’t expect to see Lu Yuxiang in the director’s office.
He lowered his head and stood in front of the desk with a frustrated look on his face. When he heard the door being pushed open, he immediately looked over here. Especially when he saw me, the tension and guilt on his face became more obvious, and his lips trembled slightly, as if he was in great pain.
Director Yan walked straight to his desk and sat down. I stood next to Lu Yuxiang, ready to wait for his decision with him, when I heard the boy say something in a low voice.
"sorry."
Director Yan threw the printed paper that he had just torn off the bulletin board onto the table. His stern eyes wandered over me and Lu Yuxiang, and he said coldly, "Explain it to me."
Before I could speak, Lu Yuxiang suddenly took a step forward.
"Teacher, it's my fault." His voice trembled slightly, but his tone was very firm. "I have always hated Ling Hanfeng and wanted to make him look bad, so I wanted to steal his performance report to hurt him. Chi Junjun happened to be helping in the student union, so I asked her to help me steal it. Chi Junjun was unwilling to do it, but I kept pestering her and forcing her to help me, so she had to do it. This matter has nothing to do with her, she is also a victim."
I looked at Lu Yuxiang in surprise, feeling like I was meeting this person for the first time.
The relationship between Lu Yuxiang and I has always been a little bit delicate. After all, there is a "business and customer" relationship between us. Even if we become good friends later, I don't know how much value this "friendship" has. I never thought that this guy who usually laughs and jokes about being a "fool" would stand up for me at this time.
"No, Director Yan!" Although I was touched, I didn't intend to let others take the blame for me. "Actually, this matter..."
"Chi Junjun, you don't need to speak for me." Lu Yuxiang interrupted me immediately, "Director, everyone has their own responsibility. Whether it's a demerit or expulsion, I am willing to accept the punishment, but please don't misunderstand Chi Junjun, she is really innocent!"
"That's enough!" Director Yan shouted angrily, "Do you think what you did is glorious? Are you talking about loyalty at this time? What were you doing in the first place?"
Lu Yuxiang and I were silent at the same time.
"Don't think I'm easy to fool. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell what's going on." Director Yan's eyes fell on me and he frowned. "Chi Junjun, our teachers know about your family situation. All along, the teachers have turned a blind eye to your behavior. But what about you? From the beginning, you just wanted some small profits, but now you have begun to use despicable means to infringe on the interests of your classmates! School is not only a place to teach knowledge, but also a place to teach you how to be a human being! I declare that from today on, if you are found to be profit-making in the college again, you will be expelled immediately and will not be tolerated!"
My heart sank, and Lu Yuxiang was already shouting anxiously.
"Director Yan! You can't..."
I grabbed Lu Yuxiang, shook my head at him, and then looked at Director Yan.
"I understand," I said.
Director Yan nodded and turned to look at Lu Yuxiang.
"As for you, Lu Yuxiang..." The majestic middle-aged man snorted coldly, "You are indeed to blame for this matter. Return the speech to Ling Hanfeng immediately and go back to write a 2,000-word self-criticism. In addition, ask your parents to come to school tomorrow!"
When Lu Yuxiang and I left the director's office, it was already time for class. The huge campus was empty and there was no one in sight. The only sound we could hear was the sound of students reading from the direction of the teaching building.
"Chi Junjun, I'm sorry." Lu Yuxiang kept apologizing along the way. I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
"How can you be blamed for this? Besides, you could have gotten away with it - your name wasn't on the screenshot, and if you didn't admit it, no one would know that you were the one who made the deal with me."
"I took the initiative to find the director." Lu Yuxiang's brows were knitted in pain. "It was too chaotic over there at the bulletin board. I couldn't squeeze in at all. I had to go find the teacher right away..."
I sighed, "So that's how it is... Fortunately, the teacher arrived in time, otherwise I can't imagine what the situation would have turned into. But I'm curious, that picture was a screenshot of your phone, right? Who saw your phone and posted that picture?"
Lu Yuxiang's face became even paler. He lowered his head, clenched his hands at his side into fists, and then unclenched them several times, as if he was struggling and conflicted. After a long time, he finally spoke.
"It's... Mo Qianjing. "
I stopped suddenly.
It's not because I was surprised by the news, but I knew very well that this incident was definitely a fatal blow to Lu Yuxiang, who had always been deeply infatuated with the goddess in his heart. It was like the most beautiful dream was suddenly cruelly torn apart, and the huge sense of gap and destruction could make a person collapse.
"I... I really didn't expect her to do that." Lu Yuxiang covered his face with his hands, his voice trembling, even a little incoherent, "Yesterday at lunch, she said her phone was out of battery, and she wanted to use my phone to go out and call someone... Now that I think about it, she should have been looking through the records at that time... If she really hated what I did to Ling Hanfeng, she could have come at me, scolded me and beat me, but how could she... how could she use this method... How could she be the kind of person who would do such a thing?"
Having never seen Lawrence Lu look so painful and vulnerable, I couldn’t help but reach out and gently rub his hair, as if I was soothing a frustrated little rabbit.
“You can only know a person’s face but not his heart. If this incident really makes you see a person clearly, it can be considered a blessing in disguise.”
"But, because of me, you were attacked by everyone..."
"Forget it. What I did was indeed dishonorable. It's only a matter of time before I get attacked. You don't have to worry about it."
Lu Yuxiang finally raised his head, his eyes slightly red: "What are you going to do next? If Mo Qianjing is determined to cause trouble for you, your future life will definitely be difficult."
I blinked and smiled at him.
"Don't worry, I won't fall so easily. If you don't even have this awareness, what kind of gold digger are you?"
Although I said those confident words, the situation I faced was much more serious than I had imagined.
——I became the “public enemy of the school”.
I didn't have a good reputation to begin with, and with the "conclusive evidence", my behavior was directly labeled as "evil and corrupt". I was met with scorn, undisguised comments, and groundless slander. The initial "truth" was like bacteria that fell into a petri dish. Rumors expanded and spread at an unimaginable speed, and I had no way to explain it, and I couldn't explain it - even if I had a little explanation or argument, the situation would deteriorate to the point where it would explode again.
You deserve to be a bad guy, you deserve to be criticized by everyone. At this moment, besides letting time dilute everything, silence is the best self-defense.
Those who are innocent will be innocent. This is how I comforted myself.
But I couldn't deceive myself. Compared with the troubles of being entangled in rumors, there was something hanging on my chest like a time bomb, making me feel uneasy and unable to sleep or eat. And three days later, this emotion directly reached its peak.
——Another important protagonist of this incident, Ling Hanfeng, is back.
Ling Hanfeng had not been to school for the past few days because he was out of town to take the . The original copy of the speech was saved in a USB drive by Lu Yuxiang the day after the incident and sent to the Student Union Office by someone else. After that incident, I never went to the Student Union again.
Although I know I have to face it sooner or later, I still don't know how to face him. Should I write a letter to explain, call him to apologize, or just ignore him and never have any contact with him again?
I kept thinking hard on my way to the classroom in the morning, making countless inferences and imagining countless possibilities, until I was slapped in the face by reality.
——Ling Hanfeng was waiting at the door of our classroom.
It took me three full seconds to realize what I saw. I had thought about him coming to me on his own initiative, but I thought he would be aggressive and come to me to accuse me, not as calm and composed as he was. When he saw me coming from the other end of the corridor, he even pushed up his glasses and said "Good morning" with a smile.
This unscientific!
What’s even more unscientific is that I actually ran…ran…ran…ran…
If I hadn't experienced it myself, I would find it hard to imagine that I would actually do such a useless thing.
You know, just a few months ago, when I secretly took photos of Ling Hanfeng for profit and was visited by the entire student union, I could still smile and say, "The market demand is too strong, and I am helpless." But today, I actually escaped at the critical moment!
I vaguely realized that perhaps something was really wrong, but I had neither the time nor the mood to explore the secret changes in my heart. I just instinctively ran out of the teaching building and hid in the green belt until class time.
Of course, Ling Hanfeng is no longer here.
My mind was in a mess for the whole morning and I had no intention of listening to the class. At noon, I simply asked for leave from the teacher and planned to go back to the dormitory in the afternoon to have a good rest.
However, I still underestimated my "influence" in the college. I thought I was low-key enough. As soon as I walked out of the classroom with my schoolbag, I heard a sharp shout.
"Hey, Mr. Chi, the class isn't over yet, where are you going?"
I frowned and looked at her. The person who was talking was a girl with a ponytail, who was arrogant and looked conceited. There were also a few girls who looked like henchmen following behind her. Although she looked important, she was just a passerby in my eyes. There were so many people who came to pick a fight with me these days. I could meet three or four people who came to provoke me while walking on the street. How could I have the time to remember their faces one by one?
Since I didn't know her, I just treated her as a passerby - I glanced at her expressionlessly and walked around her.
But immediately a strong force came from behind, my schoolbag was grabbed by someone, and I staggered back a few steps and almost fell.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, why are you looking so grumpy? You're really terrible and don't know any manners!"
I glanced around and found myself surrounded by these people. It was lunchtime, and there were many people coming and going around, and many even stopped to watch. Without exception, their faces showed a look of gloating.
"Chi Junjun!" The girl with a ponytail crossed her arms, with a contemptuous smile in her eyes, "I know you are in a hurry to leave. You are afraid that Senior Ling will come to settle the score with you, right? You stole someone's speech manuscript, and after the incident was exposed, you hid and dared not see anyone. You are more annoying than a rat crossing the street!"
I bit my lip and glared at her coldly.
"Step aside."
The other party turned a deaf ear to me and instead winked at his companions around him, trying to push me into a corner.
I subconsciously felt that this provocation was different from the previous ones, so I suddenly turned around, shook off the girl who grabbed my schoolbag, turned around and ran in another direction.
"She slipped away so fast, catch her!" I heard the leading girl yelling in frustration, "Senior Mo said she must be taught a lesson this time!"
Senior Mo? Mo Qianjing?
How much does she hate me that she has to deal with me again and again?
Behind me, I could hear the footsteps of people chasing me. I didn't look back, but I could hear that the number of people joining this "chase game" was increasing. Among those who were shouting "Catch her, don't let her run away", how many of them really knew me and understood me, rather than just following the trend and taking advantage of the situation?
For the first time, I actually felt a sense of sadness and desolation. In a trance, a hand stretched out from somewhere, and the person pushed me hard. I happened to be passing by the stairs and was pushed down the stairs.
The world was spinning.
Then there was the excruciating pain in my ankles and knees. I fell heavily to the ground, and all I could hear was the gloating sarcasm and ridicule.
I gritted my teeth and tried to stand up, but the scene in front of me started to blur and my consciousness started to fade. In a trance, I seemed to hear someone shouting, "Stop! What are you doing?"
But I couldn't hold up my heavy eyelids any longer, so I finally closed my eyes and my consciousness sank into darkness.
Orange-red, soaking everything, smudged everything.
When I opened my eyes, I was filled with such rich and warm colors. After a long moment of confusion, I realized that it was the light of the setting sun, pouring into the room through the clean glass windows, making my eyes burn with a brilliant brightness.
I rubbed my aching head and looked around, and found myself lying on a bed in the school infirmary. A figure was standing by the window looking out. When I squinted my eyes and tried to tell who he was, the man suddenly turned his head and met my sight.
Why is it him?
I quickly closed my eyes, but the other person chuckled.
"Hey, now that you're awake, stop pretending to be asleep."
Then I heard footsteps coming towards me, and the man seemed to drag a chair to the bed and sit down.
I didn't open my eyes, but just turned over quietly and buried my head deep in the quilt.
"The doctor said you hit your head and have a mild concussion. Although it's not serious, you still need to rest for a few days and observe the situation."
I subconsciously touched my forehead and felt a dull pain there.
"You brought him to my infirmary?"
"Um."
"Is it okay not to go back to class? You seniors still have to go to evening self-study, right?"
"I took a day off."
"Are you trying to say that I owe you another favor? I didn't ask you to help me. You acted on your own initiative. I won't admit it."
"At this point, is this still what you care about most?"
I was silent for a while, then slowly turned around and looked directly into the eyes of the person sitting in front of the bed - Ling Hanfeng.
"Because, that's who I am." I said word by word, "I'm petty and money-hungry, and I'm disliked wherever I go. If I didn't have some ulterior motive, who would help such an annoying person?"
"Well, what you said makes sense." Ling Hanfeng nodded, looking very agreeable. "I really won't easily help such an annoying guy. What's more, that person is insidious and cunning, repaying kindness with enmity, constantly squeezing out my value for her own profit, extremely vicious, cruel and insane, it's really abominable."
"Hey! How could I be so excessive!" I protested immediately, "It's obviously you who have the upper hand over me and are exploiting me all the time!"
Ling Hanfeng pushed his glasses up, looking innocent: "Oh? Did I say that the shameless and despicable guy was you?"
I:"……"
Me: “Go on.”
"I have always thought that she is such a hateful person, and her actions have always shown that she is indeed such a hateful person. Not long ago, she did something very bad again. As the person involved, I thought I would be very angry, but in fact, I was not as angry as I imagined. I even had a feeling of 'Ah, this is exactly what she would do.'"
The fiery clouds in the sky became more and more brilliant, and the afterglow of the setting sun gently covered the man's hair, eyebrows, cheeks, and even the slightly raised smile at the corners of his mouth, all were dyed with intoxicating and warm colors.
"However, there was something I didn't expect - when I went to find her, she ran away after just one face-to-face meeting. She was in a panic, and she ran away in such a mess without even looking back." He suddenly looked at me with sharp eyes, as if he could instantly see through my most secret thoughts. "Do you know how surprised I was at the time? She is a person who puts profit above all else, but she is definitely not a cowardly person. I thought that after we met, we would confront each other and engage in a verbal battle, but she ran away in a panic. Tell me, why did that happen?"
I subconsciously grabbed the quilt covering my body, lowered my eyes and remained silent.
Ling Hanfeng looked at me quietly for a while, then asked, "Do you think I will forgive her?"
"…Why should I forgive her?" I still didn't dare to look up, just staring at my hands tightly grasping the quilt. "Besides, she doesn't expect to be forgiven by you - sooner or later, you will have to pay for what you have done. She has always understood this truth."
What answered me was a soft sigh.
"But if I don't forgive her, no one else can. From the moment she ran away, I understood - she couldn't forgive herself either. She wasn't as bad as she thought - she was also guilty and ashamed, and knew she had done something wrong, so she couldn't face it all. More importantly, she was not as strong as she thought. She was escaping, retreating, and deceiving herself, but..."
He suddenly lowered his voice, and his magnetic voice was like the mellow sound of a cello, down-to-earth and steady.
"But fortunately, I am strong enough."
"I am strong enough to no longer get angry easily because of her behavior; I am strong enough to deal with whatever she does calmly; I am strong enough to have enough heart and tolerance to forgive her mistakes. This is not sympathy or pity, but a beginning - no one is perfect, and since she has realized her mistakes, everything can start over. What do you think ?"
I always felt that Ling Hanfeng had never truly smiled at me.
He rarely showed me that kind of frank and sincere smile from the heart. After all, from the perspective of position, he and I were tit-for-tat, and even though we later became an employment relationship, there were still undercurrents and grudges in our hearts.
At this moment, in the infirmary at dusk, as the sunlight faded and we could no longer see each other's expressions, I remembered his smile deeply. It was a smile of confidence, encouragement, and fearlessness. Just by being quietly watched, I could feel redemption and warmth. This feeling was so wonderful that I couldn't help but pull up the corners of my mouth, and slowly, gently, I also smiled.
Tears also flowed from the corners of my eyes.
I am not afraid of others' sarcasm, malicious slander, nor do I care about some people's self-protection and cold-eyed watching. No matter how strong the storm is, even if it is painful, I think I can grit my teeth and get through it.
But it was not until today that I realized that perhaps I was also expecting someone to come out from the vast crowd, stand by my side, and say to me: "You don't have to fight alone, you are not such a bad person, you can still start over."
I remember this moment deeply. Even after a long time, when we have become strangers and parted ways, I will always remember that the name of a person has become so different from others from that moment on.
——He is the person I have been waiting and looking forward to.
——That person is you, Ling Hanfeng.

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