Before even entering the school, Zhou Chen felt the strange looks from other people.
Clearly, Zhou Ling's rumors have negatively impacted Zhou Chen's image among many uninformed onlookers.
Zhou Chen could feel the whispers and pointing fingers at him from those around him.
Before he received the honor and the school's commendation, most people didn't know him, and even if there were rumors, they wouldn't have had a significant impact.
but,
The commendation ceremony made him a star on campus, and even the smallest things about him were magnified. Zhou Ling's three major accusations directly dragged Zhou Chen into the eye of the storm of discussion.
Zhou Chen remained calm because he had a clear conscience.
As he locked his bicycle and walked toward the teaching building, he clearly heard people whispering behind him.
“He is so cruel to his own siblings. He should be expelled. He doesn’t deserve to study at the same school as us.”
"His existence only tarnishes the school's reputation. I used to think he was quite inspiring, hearing that he dropped out of school to give his younger siblings the opportunity to go to school. Now it seems that it was all a lie. He is so cold-blooded towards his younger siblings that even outsiders can't stand it and have to expose his true colors."
"I strongly recommend that the principal expel this person."
These voices weren't particularly quiet; they were deliberately meant for Zhou Chen to hear. Zhou Chen ignored them completely and walked into the teaching building on his own.
The classmates who passed by cast glances at Zhou Chen with surprise, disdain, disgust, and contempt. Some even avoided him altogether, afraid of getting close and being tainted by his bad luck.
For a time, Zhou Chen seemed to have become a jinx that everyone hated.
Standing at the corner of the corridor, Zhou Na witnessed this scene. She had been waiting for Zhou Chen to appear, eager to know his reaction.
Despite the strange looks from those around him, Zhou Chen could still manage a smile.
Is Zhou Chen really planning to pretend he doesn't see it in order to avoid this media storm?
Zhou Na was a little unsure.
If that's the case, that would be ideal; otherwise, it will ultimately affect her and make her the center of attention.
Upon entering the classroom, as expected, I was met with the collective attention of my classmates.
Zhou Chen walked to his seat as if nothing had happened and sat down.
Li Kaile, who was standing nearby, handed over a piece of paper, which read: "Brother Chen, I can't hold back anymore. I want to tell everyone that those things are all fabricated and deliberately slanderous. We have already called the police, and they will bring the rumor-mongers to justice."
Seeing that Li Kaile was speaking up for him, Zhou Chen felt stifled and wrote a few words on the note with a smile: Let the bullets fly for a while!
Since Zhou Ling wants to ruin his reputation, let things escalate a bit more.
The bigger the waves, the greater the backlash will be in the end.
What Zhou Chen wants to do is to solve the problem once and for all. If it doesn't hurt him, Zhou Ling might use similar methods to continue to smear him and defame him in the future.
The general public will still side with Zhou Ling, who appears to be the weaker party.
But if he first endures a period of public condemnation, and then launches a counterattack when the police arrive and reveal the truth, then all the misunderstandings about him will turn into a surge of anger, focusing on Zhou Ling.
This led to Zhou Ling shooting herself in the foot.
After instructing Li Kaile not to explain to anyone, Zhou Chen got up and went to the playground for morning training.
To Zhou Chen's surprise, the school team members did not view him with prejudice; they all believed that he was being slandered.
After inquiring, Zhou Chen learned that Lu Guoliang had just sided with him, asserting that the text message was false and telling everyone not to believe it.
“Brother Chen, we believe you. We all know what kind of person you are, and you're not like what's described in the text message.”
"Yes, Brother Chen, you are clearly a good person. Only those who don't know you would believe that."
"Someone is trying to slander Brother Chen and ruin your sports career. The person behind this has ulterior motives. Lao Lu said he will find the rumor-mongers and bring them to justice."
Listening to the school team members' comments, which were not like those of others who questioned or doubted him, Zhou Chen was quite moved. In particular, he was touched by Lu Guoliang's protection of him. He had vouched for him before he even arrived, which showed his trust in him and his high regard for him.
There was no indication whatsoever before Lu Guoliang did this, and he didn't even call him yesterday.
Zhou Chen thought that he would talk to Lu Guoliang about calling the police later.
Besides Li Kaile, only the homeroom teacher Wu Yingjie knew about this. Zhou Chen didn't want Lu Guoliang to be kept in the dark about Lu Guoliang's protectiveness of him.
In the morning, after Wu Yingjie emphasized in class not to believe or spread rumors, although some people still cast strange glances at Zhou Chen, the number of people discussing it decreased significantly. At least, no one would talk about it in front of him.
However, Wu Yingjie can only influence students in his own class; he cannot influence students in other classes.
Other teachers and school leaders did not intervene or do anything, as if they knew nothing, which led to students from all grades discussing the matter more and more recklessly.
In Zhou Na's class, many people were also talking about Zhou Chen's character, and some even directly asked Zhou Na if the text messages were true or false.
After all, Zhou Na is Zhou Chen's sister and the person involved.
Faced with the curiosity of some classmates, Zhou Na was not as foolish as Zhou Ling in reinforcing the rumors. Instead, she directly stated that she did not want to discuss the matter.
Since someone had offended Zhou Na, naturally no one came back to cause trouble.
However, based on Zhou Na's reaction, many classmates concluded that the text message was genuine. Zhou Na's reluctance to speak, rather than her attempt to explain for Zhou Chen, was sufficient proof of the matter.
And so.
Soon another voice circulated in the school, and Zhou Na, Zhou Chen's second sister, proved that the contents of the text message were true, and not a rumor, slander, or defamation.
Suddenly, Zhou Chen's image as the cold-blooded, ruthless, and selfish person described in the text message was reinforced and deepened in the minds of many people.
More and more people misunderstood Zhou Chen, and public opinion became increasingly unfriendly towards her. Some even deliberately threw paper balls into Zhou Chen's class.
Even when Zhou Chen was eating in the school cafeteria, he deliberately knocked over Zhou Chen's plate.
Li Kaile was furious and wanted to stand up for Zhou Chen, but Zhou Chen stopped him.
On the other hand, Zhou Na, upon learning that Zhou Chen had begun to be treated unfriendly, was not happy about it. She did not expect that her failure to explain would only make the situation worse.
This is not the situation she wanted.
She understood better than anyone how serious it was when public opinion swung to one side, and how terrible the resulting backlash could be.
At this moment, Zhou Na felt a little regretful. She should have said something to make things right, even if she didn't want to help Zhou Chen.
Unfortunately, it's too late to regret it now!
...
Thank you to the clay figurine artist from Lianhai City for sending the razor blades, and thank you to the brothers who generated this energy with love. (Heart emoji)
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