Chang Jing and Bai Mei strolled slowly along the pedestrian street, which was busiest at this time of day. People who had just finished dinner liked to come out for a walk and stroll, even if they didn't buy anything, just looking around was quite nice.

Bai Mei looked at Chang Jing's profile and saw that he had a relaxed and carefree smile on his face as he walked and observed the shops and stalls.

There was not a trace of trouble on his face.

But Bai Mei couldn't calm down when she thought about the absurd farce that had taken place on the campus forum.

"Um... Chang Jing, what are you planning to do about that rumor?" Bai Mei finally couldn't help but ask.

Chang Jing turned to Bai Mei and smiled easily, "I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, I'm fine. I don't care about these rumors; they'll naturally subside in a while."

"But...but..." Bai Mei said anxiously, "That post went viral, and everyone is talking about you. This will seriously damage your reputation!"

Chang Jing smiled gently and comforted Bai Mei, saying, "I'm used to matters of reputation. Explaining is useless in this kind of protracted battle; it will only embolden the other side, so I choose to ignore it."

"I feel a little bad that I dragged you into this too."

Bai Mei couldn't help but appreciate Chang Jing's rational response.

Chang Jing's maturity and composure were enough to put her at ease.

“As your friend, I have to do something for you!” Bai Mei said stubbornly. “If you ignore what people say about you, then I’ll help you fight back! I’ll teach those who spread rumors a lesson.”

Chang Jing looked at Bai Mei's indignant expression and felt both touched and amused.

He stepped forward, gently ruffled Bai Mei's hair, and said as if coaxing a child, "Sweetie, you're not only my good friend, but also a girl. Even if I need help, I won't drag you into it. It's best for me to handle this kind of thing myself."

Bai Mei suddenly felt a little embarrassed after he rubbed her like that.

However, she still refused to give up so easily; the thoughts buried deep in her heart were not so easily abandoned.

"I know we're just friends! But friends should support each other."

Bai Mei stubbornly said, "Chang Jing, I've noticed your problem is that you're too much of a gentleman, too considerate of others' feelings. But those scumbags dare to spread rumors and slander you because they've taken advantage of your kindness!"

“I’m not weak,” Chang Jing explained slowly. “I just choose to ignore it. Only rational people know that responding to slander often fails to achieve its purpose and will only lead to more accidental clashes.”

Bai Mei was utterly impressed by Chang Jing's maturity and rationality. She exclaimed, "Chang Jing, I truly admire you. But I think you understand the importance of loyalty between friends, right?"

"I understand." Chang Jing nodded. "But as friends, we shouldn't let them worry about me or do anything rash. I'll handle this myself, so don't worry."

“But…” Bai Mei wanted to argue, but was stopped by Chang Jing’s serious gaze.

Chang Jing said earnestly, "Bai Mei, listen to me. I'll take care of myself in this matter, so don't worry about it. We're just ordinary friends, and I don't want you to do anything that would harm yourself for my sake, understand?"

Bai Mei realized that her actions might have gone too far after he said that.

She and Chang Jing were just ordinary friends, yet she repeatedly acted as if she were playing some important role.

If Chang Jing really considers her a friend, wouldn't her actions put him in a difficult position?

Bai Mei felt a little embarrassed. She nodded, hiding her thoughts, and said to Chang Jing, "I understand. I'm sorry, I was too enthusiastic. You can handle this yourself. I won't meddle anymore."

Seeing that Bai Mei finally understood, Chang Jing sighed softly and said to her, "Thank you for your kindness. Please don't worry about such things anymore, okay? I really don't want to see you get into trouble because of me."

Upon hearing Chang Jing's "sweet words," Bai Mei's cheeks instantly flushed red!

She tugged at the corners of her mouth, nodded shyly, and smiled, "Okay, I'll listen to you. I won't do it again next time."

"Okay, that's good." Chang Jing nodded, inwardly letting out a huge sigh of relief.

As long as this young lady stops interfering, things shouldn't get any more complicated, right?

Now that things have been made clear, the rest will be much easier.

After Chang Jing left, Bai Mei also returned to her dormitory.

She leaned against the bed, beginning to think about her actions in a daze.

He must have seen my post on the campus forum, right?

Could this be considered my "true confession" to him?

But Chang Jing didn't say much just now!

Could it be that Chang Jing just took my declaration as an angry outburst from an ordinary friend?

Did I fail to convey my true feelings?

Oh dear! What a huge mistake!

Miss Bai covered her burning face with a pillow, tossing and turning in bed in great distress...

...

Back in his dorm, Chang Jing sat down and looked at the post. He already had some guesses about the poster's identity.

He thought to himself that this method was really too low-level. Although the rumors spread on the Internet in this day and age could get away with it for a while, CUHK was still quite rigorous in these matters and would verify the facts sooner or later.

Chang Jing didn't care about the earliest version of the rumor because its impact was limited; at most, it would only cause him to be unable to find a partner for a year or two.

This punishment would have a significant impact on an ordinary, innocent boy, but for Chang Jing, a transmigrator and reborn individual, it was negligible.

However, the rumors that followed started to go too far, and if no countermeasures are taken to deal with them, they will still have some impact on my reputation in the future.

In particular, maliciously misleading online trolls into misunderstanding his character could negatively impact his milk tea shop and clothing store business.

In the long run, it will disrupt his plans to open branch stores.

Currently, the impression score of women on themselves has declined significantly.

Most importantly, now that even Bai Mei has been dragged into this, and things have escalated to this point, things are even more complicated.

Previously, it was only targeted at him personally, but he has many means and methods to retaliate.

However, once it involves people close to you, there are too many variables.

We must act as soon as possible and resolve this issue before things get too bad!

Chang Jing carefully observed the dynamic reactions to those posts. Besides the onlookers making a fuss, there were two other accounts with sharp and radical words, and they also made a lot of inflammatory remarks.

Chang Jing looked through the previous posting history of the two accounts and it was easy to see that the two accounts were obviously working together to guide the public opinion of the onlookers in a direction that was unfavorable to Chang Jing and Bai Mei.

Chang Jing smiled coldly, having already roughly determined the owners behind the two accounts.