"But what is this 'compensation for emotional distress' you mentioned, Qingqing? I've never heard of it," Liu Huimin asked, puzzled.

Xia Qingqing smiled. At this time, it seemed that the concept of compensation for emotional distress did not yet exist.

"As the name suggests, the rumors she spread caused me mental harm. Just as physical harm requires compensation, mental harm also requires compensation."

Liu Huimin nodded in sudden realization: "That makes a lot of sense. Sometimes physical injuries can be healed, but emotional injuries can be remembered for a lifetime."

......

Liu Guizhi returned to the dormitory with a bitter face, and she got angry when she saw Xue Mengyu lying leisurely on the bed reading a book.

Annoyed, she questioned, "Mengyu, why did you just leave me all alone and run away?"

Xue Mengyu's hand holding the book froze, and her face revealed a hint of worry: "Guizhi, you're back. I'm sorry, I just suddenly had a stomachache and rushed back to the toilet. Did Xia and the others give you a hard time?"

The next second she added, "I left first because I knew they would never dare to lay a hand on you in public, otherwise I would never have left you there alone."

Liu Guizhi was at least capable of getting into university; she wasn't a complete idiot. How could she possibly believe Xue Mengyu's words? But what could she do if she didn't believe her? She couldn't do anything about Xue Mengyu.

If she dares to anger Xue Mengyu, her parents will cut off her allowance next month, as the school's subsidies are simply not enough for her.

Fortunately, Liu Guizhi's anger subsided quickly. She was already used to Xue Mengyu's style of doing things: rushing to the front when there were benefits, and running away faster than anyone else when trouble came.

Liu Guizhi told Xue Mengyu what Xia Qingqing wanted her to do, and then frowned and asked her what to do now.

"Guizhi, why don't you just do as she says? Otherwise, I'm afraid she won't let you off the hook," Xue Mengyu said with some difficulty.

She hadn't expected Xia Qingqing to be so assertive and come directly to her. Xia Qingqing was also involved in this matter, and she absolutely couldn't let things escalate, so she had to let Liu Guizhi take the blame alone.

Liu Guizhi said with a face full of reluctance: "But she wants me to pay her 10 yuan. Where am I going to get that much money to pay her?"

For Liu Guizhi, clarifying the rumors and writing an apology letter are minor matters; losing money is the real issue.

She wasn't really unable to come up with 10 yuan, she just couldn't bear to part with it; if she gave the money away, she would starve for the rest of the month.

Xue Mengyu thought for a moment and said gently, "How about this, I'll lend you 5 yuan first, and you can pay me back when you have the money."

"Thank you, Mengyu. You're so kind to me," Liu Guizhi immediately agreed. Whether it was lending or giving, the money was what mattered most as long as it was in her own hands. As for repaying the money, that could be dealt with later.

Xue Mengyu kept her word and took out 5 yuan from her pocket and handed it to Liu Guizhi.

The next day, Liu Guizhi gave Xia Qingqing the apology letter she had written.

Xia Qingqing took the letter and read it carefully. The apology letter wasn't very sincere, but at least it explained the cause and effect of the matter, so it was barely acceptable. Anyway, she didn't expect Liu Guizhi to really repent.

She reached out her hand to Liu Guizhi and said, "Liu, where is the compensation you owe me for my emotional distress?"

"I've already apologized to you, can you please not hold it against me? You bought a coat for 60 yuan, so you're definitely not someone who's short of 10 yuan, but that 10 yuan is my living expenses for a month," Liu Guizhi looked at Xia Qingqing pleadingly, trying to get her to waive the 10 yuan for emotional distress.

Xia Qingqing said with a forced smile, "Whether I have money or not is my business. You've ruined my reputation, and I'm already being very kind by only making you pay me 10 yuan."

Liu Guizhi rolled her eyes. Kindness? Are you kidding me?

The women in their compound, both older and younger, all gossiped and talked nonsense. I've never heard of anyone having to pay money for gossiping.

If she wasn't afraid that Xia Qingqing would actually complain to the school leaders, why would she both write an apology letter and pay compensation?

"Can't you lower the price a little more? How about I give you 5 yuan?" Liu Guizhi continued to bargain.

Xia Qingqing was amused by her: "So you think this is buying groceries? If you don't want to pay, fine, then I'll just go find the boss."

Seeing that Xia Qingqing was really about to leave, Liu Guizhi quickly grabbed her: "No, no, no, I'll pay you."

Reluctantly, Liu Guizhi took out 10 yuan from her pocket and handed it to Xia Qingqing, saying in a resentful tone, "Is this okay now?"

"Remember to clarify the rumors in the class. If I hear any more bad rumors, you know the consequences," Xia Qingqing said coldly before leaving with her roommates.

Liu Huimin felt that Xia Qingqing was too lenient with Liu Guizhi; at the very least, she should make her apologize in front of the whole class.

Xia Qingqing did not take this suggestion. She didn't like to be in the spotlight anyway, and besides, some people in the class might not have paid attention to this matter before. Making Liu Guizhi apologize in front of the whole class would only add more attention to the matter.

Smart people won't believe such so-called rumors at all. As for those who will believe them, no matter how you explain it, they'll think you're making excuses.

"That seems to make sense, but I'm still so angry. Why is the penalty for spreading rumors so low? It would be great if people who spread rumors could go to jail," Liu Huimin said with some dissatisfaction.

Xiang Qiu wholeheartedly agreed, as she had also suffered greatly from it; it takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but running around endlessly to refute them.

“We must believe that one day, those who spread rumors will pay the price for their actions,” Xia Qingqing said firmly.

This made all three of them believe her: "We can't wait for that day to come."

"Alright, let's not talk about these unpleasant things anymore. I'll treat you to dinner at a state-run restaurant," Xia Qingqing suggested.

Liu Guizhi's roommates helped her a lot with this matter, and Liu Huimin was even more concerned than her. She wanted to treat her roommates to a meal as a way of thanking them.

Xiang Qiu disagreed: "State-run restaurants are too expensive. If you really want to treat us to a meal, you can just eat at the canteen."

"Yes, it's the same whether you eat in the cafeteria or not."

They all knew that Xia Qingqing wanted to thank them by inviting them to dinner, but they all wanted to save Xia Qingqing money.

Xia Qingqing, of course, refused to eat in the cafeteria; she was tired of eating there every day.

"Oh, I just happened to get some compensation. The main thing is that I want to eat at a state-run restaurant. Will you guys come with me?"

Since she had already said that, her roommates didn't refuse anymore, and after class at noon, they went straight to the state-run restaurant for a big meal.

Liu Guizhi was unaware that Xia Qingqing had taken her compensation money and then taken her roommate to a state-run restaurant. She was trying her best to clarify the rumors about Xia Qingqing.

After much persuasion, most people finally believed it was a misunderstanding, except for a few classmates who still thought that there was no smoke without fire and that Xia Qingqing must have done something to cause this rumor to spread.