I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 83

Kissing Photo Exposed

A young girl’s feelings, unwilling to be denied

Flins Borg was here for a half-month visit this time.

Within a short week, he sought out Lin Shu to chat many times, knocking on the side and hitting on the flank¹ to persuade her to study abroad with him.

Lin Shu was unmoved, insisting she would finish university before making a decision.

As the class president, Shen Man was clearly aware of this matter.

The current Lin Shu was rebellious and stubborn; the more someone tried to stop her, the more she would do the opposite.

She was in no hurry to persuade Lin Shu.

In the current situation, someone else was more anxious than she was.

After a full day of classes, Shen Man slowly packed her books.

Lin Shu shot Shen Man a glare.

Slinging her schoolbag over her shoulder, she stood up and said haughtily, “I’m not coming back for dinner tonight.”

“Okay,” Shen Man replied with a smile, seemingly oblivious to Lin Shu’s anger.

Xia Ke looked between the two of them.

After Lin Shu had walked out of the classroom, she asked in a low voice, “Did you and Shushu have a fight? I’ve noticed you two haven’t been talking much lately, and you’re rarely together.”

“No.” Shen Man shook her head, her expression natural.

She placed the last book into her bag, hooked a finger through the strap, and lifted it with a relaxed and casual air.

Seeing this, Xia Ke followed behind her. “I still think you two are acting weird.”

Shen Man smiled, not answering but asking instead, “How have you and Yin Ruxu been lately?”

At these words, Xia Ke’s attention was instantly diverted.

She smiled happily and said, “I misunderstood Ah Xu last time. She was busy with acting and accidentally neglected me; it wasn’t that she was trying to ignore me.”

Shen Man paid no mind to the excuse.

Hearing the word ‘acting,’ her fine brows rose. “Where did she get the resources to land a role?”

“Yi Dan introduced her,” Xia Ke said, her eyes full of joy. “Although it’s just a few minor roles, Ah Xu is preparing very seriously.”

“I believe that one day, she’ll definitely become a superstar,” she said, her eyes shining.

Shen Man hummed in acknowledgment and reminded her, “Yin Ruxu is quite lucky, to have a benefactor helping her while she’s still in school.”

“Why would a famous, award-winning actress help a student for no reason?”

“Yi Dan has been my best friend since we were little. She knows about my relationship with Ah Xu,” Xia Ke said in a happy whisper, pursing her lips, the sweetness in her eyes impossible to hide.

Hearing this, a serious look flashed through Shen Man’s calm eyes. “This isn’t a foreign country. There’s very little tolerance for same-sex relationships here. Don’t go telling people casually, or you’ll be ostracized.”

“Okay, I know.” Xia Ke nodded with a smile, unable to resist explaining, “Yi Dan isn’t an outsider. She won’t spread it around.”

“Just be careful,” Shen Man urged as she got into her car.

Xia Ke waved with a smile.

---

Shen Man drove back to her residential complex.

Auntie He had just finished making dinner.

After eating dinner alone, Shen Man sat in her room reading.

The phone on her desk suddenly began buzzing nonstop.

Shen Man picked it up and saw that people were constantly sending messages in the class group chat.

She opened it and scrolled up to the first message.

What came into view was a link to a forum post, with the title ‘A certain pampered young miss² is actually into women.’

Someone in the class group had already mentioned Lin Shu’s name.

Shen Man’s eyes turned sharp. She immediately enabled the mute-all function and swiftly deleted all messages related to the post.

“Do not discuss matters unrelated to the class in the class group chat!” Shen Man typed quickly, tagging @everyone.

After doing all this, she opened the school forum and quickly found the post.

The original poster had a high-level account, and the post was made at six in the afternoon.

At this time, students had no classes and it was peak time for being on their phones.

The first thing on the post was a photo of two people kissing.

One of them could clearly be seen as Lin Shu.

The angle of the shot was exactly from the position where Feng Na had appeared at the time.

Shen Man was almost certain that Feng Na had found someone to make this post.

The goal was to target Lin Shu.

Shen Man immediately called Lin Shu.

She tried several times in a row, but the calls went unanswered.

After a moment of thought, Shen Man called Tan Kai.

Tan Kai answered in a second, saying with a laugh, “Shen Man, you’re looking for Lin Shu, right? I’m driving her home now, we’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

“Okay, thank you for the trouble,” Shen Man said, then got up and walked to the balcony, looking in the direction the car was sure to appear.

In less than ten minutes, Tan Kai’s car came into view.

Shen Man watched the girl get out of the car and slowly enter the building.

Estimating the time it would take for the elevator to come up, she turned, went back to the living room, and sat on the sofa.

Lin Shu opened the door.

After changing her shoes, she walked straight toward her room.

As she passed through the living room, her eyes were not looking sideways.³

“Shushu, wait a moment. I have something very important to tell you,” Shen Man said, standing up with a serious expression.

Lin Shu stopped, turned to look at Shen Man, her delicate little face full of impatience. “What is it? Say it quickly, I need to go take a shower.”

“Shushu, did you see the messages in the class group chat?” Shen Man asked, a trace of anxiety in her voice.

“No,” Lin Shu said with a look of indifference, covering her mouth with her hand as she yawned. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

“A photo of you kissing me was posted on the school forum,” Shen Man said in a heavy tone, her expression extremely serious.

Hearing this, Lin Shu immediately stood up straight, her fine brows furrowed as she said angrily, “Who posted it?”

Shen Man handed her phone over. “See for yourself.”

Lin Shu immediately took the phone, her eyes fixed on the post.

Her slender fingers swiped quickly, looking through page after page of comments.

After ten minutes, Lin Shu finished reading the post.

Her fair little face was flushed red with anger. She stared ahead, biting her teeth and grinding them, and said hatefully, “It must be that woman Feng Na’s doing. The background of this photo is clearly the hotel from her birthday party.”

Shen Man nodded and said earnestly, “Shushu, it’s not just being discussed on the forum; people in our class group were already talking about it. I’ve temporarily muted the group, but I can’t stop them from discussing it privately.”

“You need to respond as soon as possible. Tell everyone it was a misunderstanding. We can’t let this situation escalate.”

Hearing the word ‘misunderstanding,’ Lin Shu’s heart clenched.

It felt as if a knife had been dragged across her heart, an unbearable pain.

She stared intently at Shen Man, her round, bright eyes filled with fearlessness. “Let them think whatever they want. I don’t care!”

As she spoke, she curled her lip into a sneer. “The photo doesn’t even show your face clearly. What are you afraid of?”

“Or are you afraid I’ll expose you and affect your academic career?” By this point, her smiling anger was already tinged with a tone of disappointment.

Shen Man narrowed her eyes slightly, her cool face taking on a sharp aura.

She stared at Lin Shu, her gaze turning cold.

With Lin Shu’s proud and competitive nature, she wouldn’t care about others’ flowing words and flying speech⁴, much less hide at home in fear.

At this age of being heavenly true and without evil⁵, the wantonly pampered young miss was fearless of everything, and just as purely, she didn’t understand how terrible rumors could be.

Or perhaps, she chose not to care.

But she cared.

“Shushu, this concerns your own reputation and future. Don’t be willful at such a critical juncture,” Shen Man said coldly, her oppressive aura carrying a lecturing tone.

Lin Shu snorted in disdain. “My reputation and future? I think you’re more afraid of ruining your own prospects.”

Shen Man didn’t speak.

Her eyes grew colder. After a moment of silence, she lowered her voice and said, “Shushu, since you already know Feng Na is pulling the strings, why are you foolishly jumping into her trap?”

Lin Shu pressed her lips together, unwilling to show weakness.

She stared at Shen Man and said, word by word, “Because the photo is real. It’s not fake! I can’t lie as if there were no such matter,⁶ like you can.”

After speaking, with shimmering tears welling in her eyes, she turned angrily and went back to her room.

Shen Man stood where she was, watching the girl’s slender, stubborn back disappear.

Frowning, she let out a heavy breath.

Lin Shu had a straightforward and simple personality. She did things entirely according to her own feelings, without regard for the consequences, good or bad.

She possessed the sincerity and courage of her age, but at the same time, she was reckless and ignorant, easily capable of putting herself in the worst possible situation.

Shen Man stood for a while before sitting down on the sofa.

She closed her eyes and raised a hand to knead the spot between her brows forcefully.

Now was the best time to clarify and suppress the escalating rumors. If Lin Shu chose to remain silent, it would inevitably bring her immense trouble.

The ostracism from people at school, the strange looks, the discussions behind her back—all were invisible weapons that could wound. Even if Lin Shu could withstand these rumors, Feng Na certainly wouldn’t stop so easily.

Beyond the school, the circle of high-society madams and Lin Huai’s business partners were all trump cards in Feng Na’s hand.

She could push Lin Shu into a corner, step by step.

Until she was forced to go abroad in disgrace.

At this thought, Shen Man opened her eyes.

This was precisely the outcome she wanted to achieve.

Shen Man’s mood instantly became complicated.

On one hand, she hoped the plot would proceed according to her plan. On the other, she didn’t want to see Lin Shu ostracized and looked down upon, subjected to those strange looks and ridicule.

After a long, conflicted moment, Shen Man sat up from the sofa.

Just as she was about to get up, her phone rang. The caller ID showed a single character: ‘Feng.’

Shen Man’s expression turned cold as she answered the phone.

“Manman, I heard something big happened at your school. The forums are going crazy,” Feng Na’s surprised voice came from the other end of the line.

Shen Man could hear the intent to rejoice in calamity and delight in disaster⁷ in her voice.

She played along as if nothing were amiss, asking in a curious tone, “Auntie Feng, what happened?”

“You don’t know yet?” Feng Na said in an exaggerated tone, then deliberately lowered her voice. “Everyone is saying Shushu is a monster who likes women…”

“Shushu is not!” Shen Man interrupted coldly.

Feng Na was startled by her suddenly cold voice, but after a moment’s pause, her arrogant tone returned. “Manman, I saw the photo too. The other person looks a bit like you.”

“Tell your auntie honestly, are you a homosexual?” she asked, her voice softening, her tone carrying a hint of inducement.

Shen Man understood this was a threat.

Her face cold, she did not answer.

---

---