Seeing the red-clothed boy's evasive gaze, Ye Linchen became even more certain that he knew something.
She stepped forward, blocking the boy in red's path: "Excuse me, I just wanted to ask you something, why are you in such a hurry?"
The boy in red was clearly taken aback, took a step back abruptly, and his voice even changed slightly.
"I... I don't know what you want to ask, so don't bother me!"
Ye Linchen raised an eyebrow, seizing the loophole in the red-clothed boy's words.
She slowed her speech and looked him up and down.
"I haven't even asked yet, how can you be so sure you don't know? So sure you can't answer?"
The boy in red was taken aback by her words, and his face turned red.
He shrank back and stammered, "Then...what do you want to ask?"
Ye Linchen said calmly, "I just want to ask, when I came in just now, you and the classmate next to you were pointing at me and talking excitedly. I even heard you saying my name. What were you talking about? Can you share it with me?"
The boy in red murmured, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
Ye Linchen narrowed his eyes slightly and continued to apply pressure: "I just want to know what you said, is that so hard? You can't even say this?"
Lin Xuemei immediately chimed in.
"Yeah, it's just asking you to repeat what you said before. It's not difficult at all, so why are you being so hesitant?"
The three of them made quite a commotion, and the students who were about to leave all stopped in their tracks when they heard their conversation.
Some people stared at them curiously, wanting to hear what would happen next.
Some people stared at the three of them with schadenfreude, looking on with expressions of anticipation.
The person in charge of the reading club, who was hosting on stage, came over and politely asked Ye Linchen.
"Hello, classmate. Did you come to our reading club to join? If not, what are you here for?"
Lin Xuemei gestured with her chin towards the male classmate: "Come and ask this classmate something."
The person in charge looked disapproving.
"Classmates should get along amicably. If you want to ask something, can you at least be a little more polite? Why do you have to be so aggressive?" He glanced at the red-shirted boy whose face was flushed, and then said to Ye Linchen, "What he talked about with other classmates, whether he tells them or not, is his freedom, and you must respect that. Your constant pressure is making things difficult for him, and your approach is very inappropriate."
Ye Linchen found his seemingly fair but actually biased words laughable.
She stared at him coldly and asked, "I've heard that your reading club has been talking about me behind my back lately, and has made up a lot of rumors about me, spreading them all over the school. They've made it sound so convincing. As soon as I arrived, I heard this student making things up about me again. Is there a problem with me confronting him?"
She stepped forward and continued to question, "Or is this what your reading club calls the friendly and polite way of getting along among classmates? Is this the mutual respect you advocate?"
"Is your so-called freedom to allow your club members to spread rumors about a classmate they've never met without any evidence? And even launch personal attacks against her?" Ye Linchen's voice rose several decibels, his tone becoming increasingly sharp.
She looked around at the whispering crowd and said, "If that's the case, I'll have to go to the teacher in charge at the school and let them judge this properly. Let them see how your reading club manages its members and how you're trampling on the school's rules and regulations!"
When the person in charge heard that she wanted to go find the teacher, her expression changed slightly, but she still put on an innocent look.
He waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Classmate, are you misunderstanding something? When did our reading club ever fabricate rumors about you? Aren't you being too sensitive?"
"Really? Am I being too sensitive?" Ye Linchen looked at him and suggested, "How about this, you have him repeat what he just said to my face, word for word. If I'm indeed being too sensitive and what he said has nothing to do with me, I can apologize to him, okay?"
“There’s no need for that,” the person in charge refused to agree. “It’s just some trivial talk between classmates…”
Ye Linchen interrupted him rudely: "Did you hear what he said? How do you know it's unimportant?" Her gaze shifted to the boy in red, "You didn't dare say it to my face, did you say something shameful?"
The boy in red stammered, unable to speak. He looked at the person in charge for help, hesitated for a long time, and finally managed to utter a sentence.
"This...this is my personal matter, why...why should I tell you?"
Just then, a boy in the crowd stood up and shouted, "If he won't talk, I will!"
"He just told me that you are the rumored 'Ye Linchen,' who got into a fight with your roommate over a man, causing a huge uproar throughout the school. He also said that you are quite pretty, but you are incompetent, unable to even keep your own boyfriend and having to compete with other women for him."
He also said that if you were his girlfriend, he would treat you well and would never let you suffer any grievances!
Upon hearing this, the boy in red immediately and vehemently denied it.
"No! You're talking nonsense! I never said anything like that! This is slander! You're making things up!"
Another girl with a ponytail stepped forward and pointed at the boy in red at Ye Linchen.
“I can testify! That’s exactly what he said! I was there too, and he said the same thing to me! I even told him, ‘With your looks, no one would even look at you.’”
"Thank you for speaking up for us," Ye Linchen said, then coldly asked the person in charge, "Did you hear that clearly? Is this how your reading club members talk about other female classmates behind their backs? Is this what you call friendly interaction? Is this what you call mutual help and love? Do you still think we're the ones being aggressive?"
The person in charge was speechless and extremely embarrassed by her question.
He blinked and immediately found another explanation.
"Well...you have to be tactful! If you start by questioning me so fiercely, anyone will be scared, and who would dare to tell the truth?"
Ye Linchen hates people who talk without understanding the situation and think they are being fair.
She clicked her tongue in disgust.
"Then I wish that when you are slandered and defamed, you can remain calm, not angry or anxious, and communicate with the other party in a friendly and polite manner, and see if the other party will have a change of heart and take the initiative to admit their mistake!"
Lin Xuemei didn't have Ye Linchen's good temper. She simply pointed at the person in charge and pinned the blame on him.
"You're so eager to protect him, could you be the mastermind behind fabricating and spreading these rumors?"
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