【37】This kind of moment of heaven and hell should not be manipulated by people maliciously.
Ever since the coffee shop where Liang Zhiyao worked closed, and the rumored "big chain" that was supposed to take over hadn't yet arrived, students inevitably began to flock to this more expensive, more pleasant coffee shop. Even though it was nearly evening, past the optimal time for caffeine intake, the shop was still packed. While Lin Jiayue was waiting in line to order, Liang Zhiyao received a message from Tan Xu on her phone, saying that he had something urgent to do and wouldn't be going to the library. She felt a mixture of disappointment and relief at the message. Ever since their dinner together, she sometimes felt unsure how to get along with Tan Xu. Honestly, she didn't want to lose contact with him, but when they met, she couldn't help but carefully manage the distance between them, and her mind wandered to other things. After getting her coffee, they found a newly vacated seat in a corner and finally sat down. Lin Jiayue hesitated, seemingly unsure where to begin. After a long pause, she blurted out, "Han Xingzhou and I broke up." Given their recent estrangement, this wasn't surprising, but the state of their relationship was the part of the whole situation that she was least curious about. Liang Zhiyao sipped her coffee in silence, waiting for her to continue. "Actually, I want to apologize," she said. "I was the one who spread the rumor about you at the beginning of this semester, and I also submitted the subsequent submissions. But there were some misunderstandings. I genuinely believed it was true at the time." It took Liang Zhiyao several seconds to process what she was saying, and then a sudden realization struck her: "Did Han Xingzhou lie to you?" From the initial cynicism and rumor-mongering, she had always assumed Lin Jiayue was the instigator, and Han Xingzhou a cowardly, inactive bystander. She had never considered the possibility that she firmly believed the rumor to be true. "Yes," Lin Jiayue nodded. "We returned to China during the summer vacation and happened to be interning at the same internet company. We gradually became familiar with each other, and later he confessed his feelings to me. But he was still pursuing you until May. Many people in the department knew about it at the time, and I was a little bothered by it, so I asked him about the specific situation." "I guess he felt that revealing the real reason would make him look snobbish and selfish, and it would not be good for his image, so he made up an outrageous lie, saying that you were in debt from gambling, and that's when he decided to get out. School had just started, and I saw you sell your car and take various part-time jobs. I always believed what he said...
Ever since the coffee shop where Liang Zhiyao worked closed, and the rumored "big chain" that was supposed to take over hadn't yet moved in, students inevitably gravitated toward this more expensive, yet more inviting, coffee shop. Even though it was nearly evening, past the ideal time for caffeine intake, the place was still packed.
While Lin Jiayue was queuing to order, Liang Zhiyao received a message from Tan Xu on his mobile phone, saying that he had something urgent to do today and would not be going to the library.
She felt complicated when she saw the news, feeling a little disappointed but also relieved.
Ever since that dinner, she sometimes felt unsure how to interact with Tan Xu. Honestly, she didn't want to break up with him, but whenever they met, she couldn't help but carefully tread the fine line between them, inevitably slipping into wild thoughts.
After getting their coffee, they found a newly vacant seat in a corner and finally sat down.
Lin Jiayue hesitated, as if she didn't know where to start. After holding it in for a long time, she blurted out, "Han Xingzhou and I broke up."
This wasn't surprising, considering how they'd been estranged recently, but their relationship status was the least interesting part of the whole thing. So Liang Zhiyao drank his coffee in silence, waiting for her to continue.
"Actually, I do want to apologize to you," she said. "At the beginning of this semester, I was the one who spread the rumor about you, and I was also the one who submitted the article later. But there were some misunderstandings. I really thought it was true at the time."
Liang Zhiyao took several seconds to digest what he said, and suddenly it dawned on him: "Did Han Xingzhou lie to you?"
From the initial sarcasm and rumors, she always thought that Lin Jiayue was the instigator, and Han Xingzhou was a cowardly and inaction bystander, but she never thought about the possibility that she firmly believed the rumors were the truth.
"Yes," Lin Jiayue nodded. "We returned to China during the summer vacation and happened to be interning at the same internet company. We gradually became familiar with each other, and later he confessed his feelings to me. But he was still pursuing you until May. Many people in the department knew about it at the time, and I was a little bothered by it, so I asked him what the details were."
"I guess he felt that revealing the real reason would make him seem snobbish and selfish, and that it would ruin his image, so he made up a really outrageous lie, saying that you were in debt from gambling, and that's why he decided to get out of it. It was just the beginning of school, and I saw you sell your car and take on various part-time jobs, so I kept believing everything he said."
At this point, she took a deep breath and said, "Although I was deceived by him at the time, I did spread this rumor out of selfish motives. I always felt that this way I wouldn't be seen as his second best backup because he couldn't get you."
The other party's attitude changed so drastically and was quite frank that Liang Zhiyao didn't know how to react.
According to Lin Jiayue, she was at best a "stupid and innocent" snowflake who added fuel to the fire.
"That post was quickly deleted by the blogger. But the rumor has been circulating for a while, and it's spread even more than I imagined. So I still want to apologize to you. I'm sorry."
Liang Zhiyao did not comment on whether he accepted this or not. Instead, he asked, "How did you later find out that this was not the case?"
"Because of another matter," Lin Jiayue's expression became increasingly grim, "it's about Wu Yiyuan hiring someone to take the exam for him."
The conversation finally came to the part that Liang Zhiyao was most interested in.
"I attended a club party with him a while ago, and he mentioned that the course was too difficult and he was afraid he would fail. This guy must be a bit stupid. He asked in front of several people if there was any reliable channel to find a ghostwriter."
Liang Zhiyao speculated with a hint of sarcasm, "So you 'accidentally' let him know that there's someone like me in my junior year who has decent grades and is desperate for money?"
"...More or less," she said, scratching the paper lid of her coffee cup with her fingernails, a look of embarrassment on her face. "At the time, I noticed Han Xingzhou still had a few photos of you in his phone album. I'd just had a big fight with him and was still feeling pissed. Then I saw the news on the school's social media that the coffee shop was closing. I thought...I thought someone with flawed morals like you, who had lost her part-time job, would agree to him without hesitation."
"After the exam, Wu Yiyuan posted his transcript, and I knew he had someone take the exam for him. Regardless of whether that person was you or not, it wouldn't stop me from reporting him to the school for cheating. After all, no one is innocent if they're implicated. But I really didn't expect that after you rejected him, he would look for someone else and, by chance, he found Han Xingzhou."
"Han Xingzhou must be mentally ill. He even said that we were so financially disadvantaged that he agreed to the offer just to buy me a decent birthday present. He's also been fooled into believing all those WeChat public accounts are writing nonsense about him."
When she mentioned Han Xingzhou, her expression changed from embarrassment to disgust. "After he found out I was the one who reported the cheating, we had a huge argument. That's when he accidentally let something slip, and I realized he had made the whole thing up from the beginning. You just had a sudden family crisis, there was no such mess."
Liang Zhiyao felt like he was listening to a storyteller. He was clearly a part of the story, but the absurd yet realistic plot was so heartbreaking that it felt more like he was just a bystander watching a play.
Thinking about it this way, the lies Han Xingzhou fabricated triggered Lin Jiayue's malice towards him, which fermented into rumors and malicious frame-ups. As a result, after going around in circles, the boomerang of being reported for cheating finally stabbed him. It was really ironic.
What a retribution in this life.
"I'm sorry. Maybe you think I'm a bad person," Lin Jiayue continued. "I also feel that I was in love before and did something excessive. After knowing the truth, I regret it very much. But I sincerely want to apologize to you. After all, we are in the same boat, right? In the final analysis, we were both deceived by the same man."
Compared with the absurd incident itself, the conclusion drawn by the other party also made Liang Zhiyao laugh and cry.
It's unlikely that Lin Jiayue's crimes are unstoppable. After all, she was deceived by lies and believed she was speaking the truth. Later, she reported academic misconduct with a fierce hatred for evil.
But at the same time, her willful and reckless behavior due to slight malice towards others is indeed frightening.
She tried to "shake hands and make peace" with Liang Zhiyao with an inexplicable confidence, as if she regarded herself as a pure victim - after all, Han Xingzhou was indeed the source of evil.
Even after discovering the other person's true face, perhaps her "love brain" woke up, and she instantly no longer had any reason to dislike Liang Zhiyao. She might even inexplicably develop a sense of compensation and feel that she should accept the apology without hesitation to gain peace of mind.
Liang Zhiyao took a sip of coffee and said, "Thank you for explaining the whole story to me. I will keep my promise and keep it confidential. But I noticed... you don't seem to have a clear understanding of the role you played in these two things."
"What do you mean?" The other party was a little surprised.
"As for the rumor, it was because you were deceived by Han Xingzhou, but using cyberbullying to hurt others was your own choice. No one forced you to do it," she said expressionlessly. "As for reporting the cheating, you don't simply see yourself as a messenger of justice upholding academic integrity, do you?"
"With all due respect, your sting operation and the unwavering justice of 'no tolerance for injustice' are two completely different things," her tone suddenly turned cold. "Human nature cannot withstand the test. Your self-righteousness could easily change the trajectory of a person's life. Even if the person who ultimately agreed to take the exam for someone else wasn't me or Han Xingzhou, that person might not have gone astray if you hadn't fanned the flames."
Just like her at that time, this kind of moment where one thought could make the difference between heaven and hell should not be manipulated by someone with malicious intent.
Lin Jiayue seemed to have completely failed to expect that she, who usually seemed so quiet, would suddenly become so aggressive. She stood there awkwardly for a while before saying, "Okay, if you don't accept my apology, forget it."
Then she stood up quickly with her unfinished coffee, as if she were on edge. "I'm leaving now. I hope you'll keep your promise."
After a long time, Liang Zhiyao's thoughts gradually calmed down.
She thought that perhaps her words had been a little harsh. After all, it was rare for someone to have the courage to admit their mistakes.
But that so-called fearlessness of "courage" is also full of another kind of self-righteous ridiculousness.
As dusk fell, the cafe gradually dwindled, and Liang Zhiyao's coffee had grown cold. She walked from her restricted corner to a more spacious area, wondering whether she should go to the library alone or just go home at this hour, which was neither too early nor too late.
While weighing the two options, her eyes wandered across the crowd in the cafe, but suddenly stopped at a certain point.
At a round table near the counter sat a figure she was very familiar with. Tan Xu, holding a cup of coffee, sat across from a rather pretty Asian woman. Due to the angle, she couldn't see their expressions, but the atmosphere between them was certainly quite pleasant.
The coffee in his hand was different from the disposable takeaway cups of Liang Zhiyao or Lin Jiayue. It was served in a mug. For environmental reasons, for customers who are not in a hurry and plan to sit leisurely in the store until they finish drinking, the waiter will usually suggest changing to non-disposable containers when taking orders.
In addition to coffee, there was also a piece of the store's signature chestnut cake on the round table. Two exquisite dessert spoons were placed on the edge of the plate, facing the man and woman sitting at the two ends of the round table.
During the conversation, he said something, and the girl opposite him suddenly smiled, revealing her snow-white teeth, which complemented her tanned wheat-colored skin.
An inexplicable sour feeling suddenly rose from her heart and gradually spread to her limbs, making her feet stick to the ground as if by some external force, unable to move.
What followed was a feeling of confusion and panic that was even stronger than the bitterness. Liang Zhiyao suddenly realized that she had always insisted that she had a clear understanding of the subtle changes in her relationship with Tan Xu, and even selfishly prepared to withdraw at any time, but she was not as carefree as she had imagined.
When everything was normal, she could avoid thinking about this problem, but now she couldn't face herself who was extremely sad.
She was really attracted to this man, or perhaps even more than just attracted to him.
There are many possibilities between young men and women drinking coffee together on campus, and there may not be any real ambiguity. But Liang Zhiyao was even more horrified by the fact that just seeing this scene made her anxious and worried, becoming completely unlike herself.
Rather than asking Tan Xu without any basis, her first reaction was to avoid it completely.
At this moment, she suddenly realized with irony that the anticipation she'd felt since their initial encounter might have been due to her subconscious knowledge of her attraction to him. Her attempt to disguise herself as "friend" only served to blatantly acknowledge her own uniqueness, inevitably fostering unnecessary expectations as they spent time together day after day.
For her, "expectation" has always been the biggest enemy to happiness.
Author's Note
Reversible light path
author
08-07
This article will not have any third party intervention -w- In fact, Zhiyao is more of a struggle with herself, but she will eventually have to face her true inner self. It's all a process of gradual growth~ and thanks for the recommendation votes! It actually exceeded a thousand. Oh, oh, oh.
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