60/Rejection Words
The internal debate competition selection was in three days. During this period, Chen Mian spent her time in the dormitory researching and preparing debate topics, except for going to and from class. She occasionally discussed the debate topics with her teammates. She was unaware of the rumors when they started to circulate. It wasn't until Deng Momo asked her if she had something going on with Lin Yuqing that Chen Mian frowned.
Deng Momo said to her, "Of course I know that there's no way you and him could have anything going on, but he pursued you so passionately before, so now you often sit together to discuss issues. In other people's eyes, this is a huge turning point, which is why some people think that you will get together sooner or later."
Chen Mian's notebook was filled with all the useful information she had recorded. She was not good at multitasking; when she was fully engaged in one thing, she would forget about everything else. She and Lin Yuqing had never discussed anything unrelated to the debate, so she couldn't help but feel emotional after hearing what Deng Momo said.
Some even asked, puzzled, "What kind of turning point is this? Just because they sit together to discuss problems doesn't mean they'll end up together sooner or later. Isn't this relationship coming too easily?"
Chen Mian couldn't convince herself to just follow her own path and let others talk. After seeing some of the questions about her relationship with Lin Yuqing on the school's confession wall from Su Wangqiu, she unusually took the initiative to care about her own gossip and directly contacted the person in charge to submit a clarification.
The person in charge was still a little confused and asked her in the chat box: Do you really want to send it like this?
Isn't that a bit too harsh? Anyone who's interested in gossip knows that Chen Mian is hard to pursue. Actually, the school isn't lacking in beautiful girls. There are girls who get confessed to every day, and countless girls have their confessions posted on the confession wall. They either post a candid side profile or a photo of the other person's life that they found somewhere. They post pictures but don't have the courage to confess directly. They anonymously block out their identities and treat sweet words as true feelings, trying to win a relationship by being moved.
People are used to it. Gossip is about sacrificing yourself to entertain others. The parties involved don't need to take it too seriously. Anyway, public opinion will change again after a while.
Chen Mian wasn't the first to come forward to clarify, but she was the first to speak so directly and without any regard for sentimentality.
Chen Mian replied to the message on her way to the debate club: Yes, thank you for your help, just send it like this.
There was a few minutes of silence on the other end before a "OK" was sent.
The news that the confession wall at China University of Political Science and Law was updated spread on the Tsinghua University campus after class. Wang Hui, a student in the finance class, was pursuing a girl in the literature department of China University of Political Science and Law. It all started when he caught a glimpse of her on the bus and saw her putting her student ID card in her bag. He then went to the confession wall hoping to find her contact information.
After that, I checked every day to see if I had been selected, and I would see the latest news as soon as I walked out of the classroom.
Wang Hui immediately exclaimed "Holy crap!" His roommate, who was yawning from exhaustion, punched him on the shoulder and said, "Are you trying to wake me up?"
"No." Wang Hui stared at the screen, feeling that it would be difficult for people to understand if he said it directly, so he simply described the whole thing, from occasionally seeing campus gossip about China University of Political Science and Law on the confession wall to the clarification from the parties involved that he had just seen. In short, "If I were that guy, I would be heartbroken. What's the difference between this and cutting off all possibilities in front of everyone?"
His roommate was a little curious, "What exactly did they say?"
Wang Hui held up his phone and recited aloud.
"Hello everyone, I am Chen Mian from Class 1 of Law. I would like to clarify the recent rumors about me. I have no plans to be in a relationship. We are just having normal conversations. I hope that the rumors will stop with the wise. Thank you."
Every word was pronounced clearly and precisely, and he even imitated a girl's tone of voice by using a high-pitched voice.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw his usually aloof and lazy roommate, Chen Yu, stop in his tracks. He still had his phone in his hand, and the lit screen showed the call interface. He could vaguely hear a male voice on the other end of the phone expressing an even more exaggerated emotion than his own.
Shen Yu moved his phone away from his ear, looked at Wang Hui, and asked, "Where did you see that?"
"The confession wall at China University of Political Science and Law, this is it." Saying that, he handed his phone to Chen Yu to look at.
It was no different from what he was saying; it was what Chen Mian would say, but it didn't seem like something the Chen Mian of the past would do.
During her high school years, Chen Mian was the subject of gossip at school, discussed in anonymous chat groups. She simply stated indifferently that it was none of her business, that out of sight, out of mind, and that there was no need to waste time on such matters.
This decisive response made Shen Yu realize that Chen Mian had changed quite a bit.
The girl who hugged him in the bar and said sorry in a soft voice turned around and coldly rejected others. This kind of behavior, which is similar to showing off one's specialness by comparing oneself to others, must be said to have made Shen Yu feel good.
You Huai yelled on the other end of the phone, "How many versions are there, Shen Yu? What the hell was your classmate reading just now? Chen Mian said she's not dating? Then what the hell are you talking about? Are you just lying to us because you're afraid of losing face?"
You're quite good at grasping the key points, aren't you?
In that long sentence, Chen Mian said that she was not in a relationship.
Shen Yu nodded to his roommate, indicating that he wasn't going back to the dorm. As he walked out, he sneered at the person on the other end of the phone, "You think you're so good with words?"
You Huai fell silent. He felt that everything was over and Shenyu was truly in a terrible state.
While others might be considered backup options in relationships, he wasn't even that. Yet he bragged everywhere about being in a relationship, fooling everyone around him, especially Chi Sheng, a teenager with delusions of grandeur who was preparing for his senior year of high school and was so caught up in the idea that he would be left behind if he didn't date. Occasionally, he would call and ask what it meant to like someone, acting like he was possessed.
As his sympathy surged, he also thought: Oh, at least Chen Mian knows how to refuse others, unlike that troublesome Chen Yin, who picks out every love confession WeChat message to annoy him.
There was no need for the eldest brother to mock the second brother. He sighed and said to Shen Yu, "Yu, why don't you treat me to a meal and I'll comfort you?"
However, he heard his good friend Shen Yu tell him to get lost on the other end of the phone.
*
Chen Mian's clarification had a significant impact, most directly causing a stir within the debate club. On Wednesday, the eve of the club's internal selection, a member of the group was working part-time off-campus, so they arranged to meet at a coffee shop near his workplace to discuss the matter.
This was the last meeting that had been arranged beforehand, but everyone fell silent when they arrived at the scene.
There were four people in total. Apart from Chen Mian and Lin Yuqing, the other two were closer to Lin Yuqing and knew about the confession wall incident. Seeing the awkward atmosphere between Chen Mian and Lin Yuqing, they felt the atmosphere had frozen. They didn't know what to say to ease the tension. Just as they coughed, they heard Lin Yuqing laugh and then ask Chen Mian, who was sitting opposite them flipping through documents, "Chen Mian, can't you be a little more tactful?"
Chen Mian knew that Lin Yuqing would press her for answers after she posted that clarification.
Hearing his somewhat angry question, she remained calm and said, "Senior, I'm just telling the truth."
Lin Yuqing: "You can talk to me privately. Why make it public? Now everyone knows that you rejected me and there's no way we can be together. Where do you expect me to save face? What will others think of me? Have you considered how I'm supposed to face people at school?"
The other two echoed in hushed tones.
"Yes, Chen Mian, you could have clarified things in private. Saying it on the confession wall is really going too far."
"Yu Qing didn't do anything wrong, and he's been very good to you. Even if you can't be lovers, you can still be friends, right?"
"Oh dear, this is a mess."
...
There are all sorts of opinions, but they all basically express the same meaning: Chen Mian didn't need to go to such extremes.
We're all adults; we should at least maintain some basic dignity. The saying "Leave a way out for others so you can meet again in the future" means the same thing. There are plenty of girls who have been confessed to, and you, Chen Mian, aren't the only one whose confession is posted on the confession wall. Why don't other people react so strongly? No matter how much you dislike someone, you can just keep quiet and clarify things privately so everyone can understand that's not the case. There's no need to be so disrespectful.
It's as if she's told everyone that she could never like Lin Yuqing.
Too indecent.
However, Chen Mian found this dignified manner somewhat amusing.
"If publicly refusing is considered excessive, then isn't publicly spreading rumors excessive?"
To everyone, Chen Mian was a gentle girl who never spoke harshly. When asked to do something in the debate club, she would always nod and say yes, rarely refusing, and never expressing any dissatisfaction. So what she said at this moment stunned everyone.
"Senior, I've rejected you countless times, but you never took it seriously. I've expressed my dislike countless times, but you seem to think that persistence will always lead to success."
"Whether it's crashing my class or giving me flowers in front of everyone, I find these behaviors extremely annoying. Isn't it excessive to make a move to please yourself without understanding the other person's feelings?"
"People are talking about you and me, so as the person involved, is there anything wrong with me refuting these things that make me uncomfortable?"
Chen Mian found it utterly ridiculous.
Being liked wasn't something she begged for. Perhaps for others, being liked is a form of recognition, but Chen Mian never needed that kind of recognition. These likes were superficial, nothing more than attraction to appearance, and perhaps a deeper factor was attraction to personality after getting to know each other. But so what? Just because you like me doesn't mean I have to be grateful to you.
Even though many people around her said that Lin Yuqing was a nice person, gentle and affectionate towards her, Chen Mian still found it extremely annoying. She felt that Lin Yuqing had no concept of boundaries and wantonly disrupted her life, turning her affection into a get-out-of-jail-free card. Whether it was expressing her affection for her in public or bringing flowers to their class in a self-righteous manner, it was all troubling behavior.
She didn't make Lin Yuqing like her, nor did she need Lin Yuqing to like her.
What exactly is he trying to sympathize with?
A few tables away.
Chen Yin stirred her coffee. The moment You Huai, who was sitting opposite her, saw Chen Mian and a few boys come in, he called Chen Yu.
The call screen had been running for more than ten minutes.
The Bluetooth earbuds plugged into his ears finally allowed him to hear the person on the other end of the phone ask, "Where are you?"
You Huai was amused and mouthed to Chen Yin that the person who was supposed to pay the bill had arrived, then gave Shen Yu the address.
The very last moment the call ended.
Chen Mian coldly said the last sentence, "So, senior, I don't understand, when being tactful is of no use to you at all, what is there to criticize about me doing this?"
Upon hearing this, You Huai's table immediately fell silent.
He watched as a tall boy sitting opposite Chen Mian grabbed his things and left, as if watching a good show. The two people sitting next to him couldn't stop him and followed him out.
She sat there, seemingly unaffected, and even tossed a few sugar cubes into her coffee.
"Wow, I never noticed before. Chen Mian speaks so directly. I thought she was a soft girl."
Chen Yin chuckled, "Soft girl? Are you blind, You Huai?"
Who is a soft girl? Chen Mian could never be a soft girl.
She had long seen that Chen Mian was a tough nut to crack.
How weak can someone be who can associate with Shenyu?
None of them are kind-hearted people.
/
I'm late, I'm late! Sorry for the long wait. *bows*
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