The Rumors Ferment
So what if she likes women
After breakfast.
Lin Shu, shouldering her schoolbag, was the first to head out.
She stood in the entryway, changing her shoes with swift movements. Seeing no one behind her, she slowed down.
Once her shoes were on, Lin Shu threw them heavily onto the floor.
The ‘clatter’ was extremely loud.
Auntie He hurried over and asked cautiously, “Miss Lin, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” Lin Shu said, her young face cold. She looked back toward the living room and deliberately raised her voice to ask, “Is Shen Man going to school today or not?”
“I’ll go ask Manman[,” Auntie He said quickly.
“Hurry up, or I’ll be late for school.” Lin Shu let out a soft huff through her nose, crossed her arms, and stood waiting in the entryway.
“Okay, okay,” Auntie He nodded hastily.
With that, she turned back to the living room, looked at Shen Man, and said, “Manman, are you finished eating?”
“Mhm,” Shen Man responded with a placid expression, picking up her schoolbag and getting up.
Lin Shu watched Shen Man walk over.
She uncrossed her arms and strode outside with a cold look on her face.
Shen Man followed behind at an unhurried pace.
“Hurry up, the elevator’s about to close,” Lin Shu urged loudly, her finger holding down the elevator’s open-door button.
Shen Man remained as unruffled as ever, fixing her hair in the reflection of the elevator doors.
Seeing this, Lin Shu bit her lip in frustration, but she didn’t dare let go of the button.
Shen Man timed it perfectly, stepping into the elevator just before Lin Shu was about to throw a fit.
Lin Shu forcefully pressed the buttons for the first floor and door-close, shot Shen Man a sideways glance, and said coldly, “How can you be such a slowpoke?”
Shen Man didn’t answer, her eyes fixed on the numbers jumping on the display above the door.
With a ‘ding,’ the elevator doors opened.
Shen Man walked out first.
Lin Shu followed behind, her cheeks puffed out in anger.
Shen Man got into the car and fastened her seatbelt.
Her long, slender fingers began tapping on the steering wheel, making a ‘thump, thump’ sound.
Listening to it, Lin Shu couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
While fastening her own seatbelt, she snapped, “Stop tapping. What if you break my car?”
Shen Man stopped.
She turned her head to look at Lin Shu. “Shushu, are you ready?”
Hearing this, Lin Shu froze for a second.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, turned to look at the scenery outside the window, and grunted, “Mhm.”
Shen Man looked at the girl’s delicate, fair profile in the rearview mirror and sighed internally.
She couldn’t persuade Lin Shu, nor should she.
Letting everything proceed toward the predetermined conclusion was the best possible outcome.
They drove to school.
Shen Man looked out the window at the crowd outside.
Lin Shu’s car was flashy and conspicuous; many people recognized it.
Quite a few students stopped, their heads together in whispers1, their faces filled with expressions of contempt and disgust.
Lin Shu snorted, not sparing it a single glance.
She opened the car door and got out with a look of arrogance.
She glared at the people whispering private words2 and rebuked them loudly, “What are you looking at?”
At her words, some people averted their gaze and quickly left the scene.
Seeing this, Shen Man stopped the words of restraint that were on the tip of her tongue.
She got out of the car and said to Lin Shu, “Shushu, it’s time for class.”
Lin Shu shot Shen Man a glare and stared straight ahead.
She walked forward with her head held high and chest out3, unafraid of anyone’s gaze.
Shen Man followed from a short distance behind her.
From all around came the sounds of various hushed discussions, all about Lin Shu. Words of ridicule and contempt could be clearly heard.
Lin Shu could hear them too, but she paid them no mind.
When she entered the classroom, the noisy room instantly fell silent.
In a flash, nearly everyone looked toward her, and the expression on each person’s face was a spectacular show4.
With a cold face, Lin Shu scanned the crowd.
She forcefully threw her schoolbag onto a desk in the front row. The ‘thud’ startled many students into turning their heads away.
Shen Man entered the room.
Looking at the crowd’s varied expressions, she said in a heavy voice, “Class is about to start. Everyone, please take your seats.”
The moment she finished speaking, a girl stood up and said loudly, “Class Monitor, Lin Shu is a freak who likes women! We’ll get infected if we sit with her. We should kick her out of the classroom!”
Her face was full of utter disgust. After speaking, she turned to look at the others.
Many people immediately chimed in, “Kick Lin Shu out! We can’t let her sit in the same classroom as us.”
The quiet classroom was suddenly bubbling up and spreading all around5 with noise.
Shen Man put down her schoolbag, walked to the teacher’s podium, and rapped her knuckles hard on the desk.
The noisy crowd gradually quieted down.
“Classmates, I’ve also seen the post on the school forum. This matter will naturally be handled by the proper authorities. What you need to do is study hard and not be led by the rhythm6,” Shen Man said in a low, serious voice, her gaze sharp and cold.
Someone, unconvinced, stood up and retorted loudly, “You go to and from class with Lin Shu and you’re close with her. You’re definitely taking her side…”
“I have nothing to do with her!” Lin Shu cut in coldly, glaring fiercely at the speaker.
She spoke with disdain and arrogance, “Even if I do like women, it’s not your place to meddle in idle matters7.”
Hearing this, Shen Man’s elegant brows furrowed, and she gave Lin Shu a disapproving look.
Lin Shu met her gaze without fear.
“You…” The girl’s face turned ashen with anger. She quickly seized on the admission in Lin Shu’s words and shouted to the others, “You all heard her! Lin Shu admitted herself that she likes women. She should be kicked out.”
“Right, kick her out,” many others agreed.
The classroom erupted into chaos again.
Just as Shen Man was about to speak, the bell rang.
The subject teacher walked in and his first glance fell on Lin Shu.
Lin Shu lifted her chin high, glaring back without any sign of weakness.
“Shen Man, the exams are coming up soon. You lead the class in review for this period,” the teacher said before walking out of the classroom.
Shen Man understood. This attitude was directed at Lin Shu.
Whether it was the teacher’s own idea or someone else’s instruction, it meant that quite a few people were already ostracizing Lin Shu.
Shen Man looked at Lin Shu.
The girl was crossing her legs in the style of Erlang8, one hand propping up her chin and the other toying with a pen, looking completely unconcerned.
Their eyes met.
Lin Shu raised an eyebrow, her expression haughty.
Shen Man retracted her gaze and began guiding the students through their review.
The class period felt both long and short.
When the bell rang, many students ran outside to play.
A portion of them stayed in the classroom, discussing things in low voices.
They would occasionally glance at Lin Shu, their eyes full of disgust.
Lin Shu ignored these strange looks and played on her phone with her head down.
When she scrolled to a funny video, she would even laugh along with it.
Shen Man sat beside her, her eyes calm, betraying no hint of her emotions.
Xia Ke looked at the two of them, her brows knitting together.
After the morning classes were over.
Xia Ke reached out and nudged Shen Man’s back, saying with a smile, “Manman, come hang out in my dorm for a bit at noon.”
As she spoke, she glanced over in Lin Shu’s direction.
Shen Man understood what she meant.
She packed her things without responding immediately.
Lin Shu slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and stood up.
She stared at Shen Man, her expression arrogant as she said sarcastically, “Class Monitor, you should stay far away from me, lest you get dragged down and misunderstood by others.”
With that, she walked out with a cold look on her face.
Shen Man said nothing.
Her expression didn’t even change.
After having lunch with Xia Ke, Shen Man walked toward the student dormitories.
The two entered the dorm room.
Xia Ke immediately pulled over a chair and said with a smile, “Manman, sit wherever you like. Ah Xu went out for a shoot today and won’t be back until tonight.”
“Thanks.” Shen Man sat down, her gaze drifting toward the scenery outside the balcony.
Xia Ke sat beside her.
Observing the expression on Shen Man’s face, she asked in a low voice, “Something this big has happened to Lin Shu. What are we going to do?”
“It’s not just our class now. Even students from other classes and majors are talking about it, and a lot of the teachers know, too.”
“You don’t need to worry. Lin Shu is, after all, a thousand gold9 of the Lin family. The school won’t do anything to her for the time being,” Shen Man said in a calm tone, looking outside.
Hearing this, Xia Ke couldn’t sit still. She stood up and walked in front of Shen Man.
A shadow fell over Shen Man, blocking her view.
Shen Man looked up, her expression open and composed.
Xia Ke was baffled. She asked, “Manman, how can you be so indifferent? We’re the same as Lin Shu. We should be helping her.”
Shen Man was silent for a moment, then stared at her own fingers and said, “I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do.”
Xia Ke frowned, her eyes full of confusion. “Manman, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to. I have things to do, so I’m leaving now.” Shen Man didn’t want to say more. She stood up, turned, and walked out.
Xia Ke stood up and watched Shen Man’s retreating back.
Just as Shen Man was about to open the door, she asked seriously, “Manman, are you afraid of getting implicated? Is that why you don’t dare to speak up for Lin Shu?”
Shen Man paused at her words.
After a moment, she turned back to look at Xia Ke. “If this had happened to me today, I would absolutely not deny it.”
As she spoke, her voice was low. Her cool, clear eyes were against the light, making it impossible to discern the emotions hidden within them.
Xia Ke couldn’t see her expression clearly, nor could she understand what she meant.
She sighed and said, “Bye-bye.”
Shen Man walked out of the dormitory building and wandered aimlessly around campus.
The weather had already turned hot. The scorching sun beat down, enough to make one break out in a sweat after just a few moments.
Shen Man walked slowly, as if she couldn’t feel the heat.
There wasn’t a single bead of sweat on her fair, beautiful face, a stark contrast to the people brushing past her.
“No wonder Lin Shu is like this. Turns out her mother is a lunatic,” a person nearby said in a low voice.
Their companion agreed, “Yeah, mental illness is hereditary.”
Shen Man stopped walking.
She watched the two figures recede into the distance, and their unbearable words gradually faded away.
She sat down under a tree by the path, took out her phone, and searched for the forum post.
The original poster had posted an update at twelve noon.
It dug up the love, hate, passion, and enmity10 between Lin Shu’s parents, with long passages focusing on the madness and despicableness of Lin Shu’s mother, who forced Lin Shu’s father to break up with his first love so she, the ‘little three,’ could take the throne11.
“You’re the little three!” Lin Shu’s name suddenly appeared in the forum.
Shen Man’s eyes flashed, and her fingers flew as she scrolled through the subsequent messages.
The replies below were all from people enjoying the drama or hurling abuse. There were no more replies from Lin Shu.
Shen Man exited the forum, her fingers gripping her phone tightly.
She opened her chat with Lin Shu, stared at the input box for a long time, and then turned her phone off completely.
After two days, the forum incident had fermented and grown even more intense.
Shen Man and Lin Shu were eating breakfast when they received a call from their homeroom teacher.
“Shen Man, you and Lin Shu need to come to the school right away. The principal wants to see Lin Shu about something,” the teacher said in a serious tone.
“Okay, Lin Shu and I will be right there.” After hanging up, Shen Man looked at Lin Shu.
Lin Shu shot her a sideways glance and continued to eat her breakfast at a leisurely pace.
Shen Man didn’t rush her. She sat down and started playing on her phone.
Several messages from the homeroom teacher came in. “Shen Man, yesterday many parents from our class co-signed a letter and raised a fuss with the principal, demanding that Lin Shu be expelled.”
“Early this morning, parents from other classes also co-signed, making the situation even bigger.”
“The school has already notified your father’s secretary. Have Lin Shu ask her father to step in and see if this can be suppressed.”
“Thank you, Teacher,” Shen Man replied formally.
Putting down her phone, she looked at Lin Shu and said, “Shushu, Uncle Lin doesn’t know about this yet.”
With Lin Huai’s temper, he would surely scold and berate Lin Shu the moment he found out.
He wouldn’t help her resolve the abuse and discrimination.
Lin Shu snorted, completely unconcerned.
She put down her utensils, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and said with a haughty expression, “What does it have to do with me whether he knows or not?”
Shen Man was silent.
After a moment, she stood up and said, “Let’s go to school.”
The two arrived at the school.
Shen Man drove the car directly to the building with the principal’s office.
It wasn’t class time yet, so they didn’t run into anyone on their way up.
Standing before the principal’s office door, Shen Man knocked.
“Come in,” the principal said, his voice tinged with exhaustion.
Shen Man pushed the door open, and she and Lin Shu went inside.
“Lin Shu, this incident at the school has already blown up. You must give everyone an explanation,” the principal said with a serious expression, remaining seated.
Lin Shu wasn’t the least bit afraid. She retorted coolly, “What kind of explanation do they want?”
The principal was taken aback by her insolent attitude. He stood up, both angry and exasperated, and said, “Lin Shu, I’m not joking with you. Your actions have had a huge impact on the school and have seriously affected its image and atmosphere. As of now, no fewer than several hundred parents have co-signed a letter demanding your withdrawal.”
“I’m under immense pressure, and I’ve asked them to give you a chance. As long as you apologize properly and stay home to receive treatment from a psychiatrist, you can come back to school after you’ve recovered.”
“I’m not sick! I don’t need any doctor,” Lin Shu scoffed, her raised eyes filled with untamable defiance.
She looked at Shen Man, her face a mask of indifference. “Even if I have to withdraw, I won’t say a single word of apology to those people.”
“They don’t deserve it!” she finished, then strode away.
“Shen Man, you’re the Class Monitor. Have a good talk with Lin Shu and get her thinking straight. You can’t let her act so recklessly. Otherwise, if it really comes to withdrawal, don’t blame the school for being heartless,” the principal said sternly.
“Okay, I understand,” Shen Man said with her head lowered, maintaining a polite and respectful posture.
After leaving the principal’s office, Shen Man caught up with Lin Shu.
She asked seriously, “Shushu, are you really not afraid of being forced to withdraw?”
“Are you?” Lin Shu raised an eyebrow, retorting with disdain.
Shen Man shook her head.
Lin Shu was stunned.
When she processed it, her fair little face filled with disbelief. “You’re just a coward who only knows how to tell me to bow my head and cater to those people.”
“At the end of the day, aren’t you just afraid of getting into trouble yourself?” The more she spoke, the angrier she became, and the look she gave Shen Man was filled with aggrieved pain.
Shen Man didn’t explain or argue.
Lin Shu’s family was powerful and wealthy. She had the capital to be proud and defiant. Even if she didn’t study here, she would have other good options.
Seeing Shen Man’s silence, Lin Shu grew even angrier.
A trace of disappointment flashed through her heart. Biting her lip, she hurried down the stairs.
The loud ‘clack-clack’ of her footsteps echoed in the stairwell.
Each step felt like it was stomping on Shen Man’s heart.
Shen Man had plenty of time and opportunity to explain everything she was doing.
But she chose silence, allowing the plot to develop in a controllable manner.
The two returned to the classroom.
When their classmates saw Lin Shu, they all revealed looks of contempt in unison.
Seeing Lin Shu about to sit down, some people got up and quickly moved to other seats, as if they were avoiding something filthy.
Lin Shu, her face cold, let out a scornful sneer and sat in the front row.
Shen Man sat beside her.
“Class Monitor, come sit with us. Don’t get infected,” a girl said loudly.
“Class is about to start. Everyone sit properly and don’t change seats without reason,” Shen Man said.
Lin Shu glared at the girl who had spoken.
She retracted her gaze, looked at Shen Man, and said with a mocking smile, “They have no idea that you’re not afraid of being infected at all.”
Her voice was very low, audible only to Shen Man.
Shen Man’s expression didn’t change upon hearing her words.
She lowered her head, opened her textbook, and began reviewing diligently.
Not getting the reaction she wanted, Lin Shu immediately felt bored.
She set her book aside and began playing on her phone in plain sight.
The subject teacher came in, glanced at Lin Shu, and quickly averted his eyes.
Lin Shu snorted disdainfully and continued to play on her phone.
After the morning classes, most of the students left through the back door.
Lin Shu didn’t care.
There were no classes in the afternoon.
Lin Shu packed her things and left with her schoolbag.
“I’m going back to sleep. Don’t bother me.” A message popped up on Shen Man’s phone.
She looked up and only caught a corner of Lin Shu’s retreating back.
“Okay, I’m going to the library,” Shen Man replied, heading toward the library with her bag.
Lin Shu returned to her apartment complex.
She saw a luxurious black car parked in her family’s designated parking spot.
She recognized it at once as her father’s car.
Auntie He was standing not far away, looking anxious.
When she saw Lin Shu, she hurried over and said frantically, “Miss Lin, Director Lin is here, and a woman with the surname Feng is with him.”
Hearing this, Lin Shu snorted. “How does he have the nerve to bring that little three here?”
“Why did you let them in?”
“I didn’t dare disobey Director Lin’s orders,” Auntie He explained with difficulty. She glanced outside and asked cautiously, “Why didn’t Manman come back?”
“What would she come back for?” Lin Shu retorted loudly and unhappily. With that, she entered the building, her face cold.
“Miss Lin, Director Lin is very angry. Manman is thoughtful and steady. It would be better if she were here at a time like this,” Auntie He explained in a low voice, keeping pace with Lin Shu.
Lin Shu huffed. “This is my business. I’ll handle it myself. I don’t need her meddling.”
“How could this be meddling…” Auntie He started to say, but seeing Lin Shu’s cold glare, she wisely swallowed the rest of her words.
Sighing to herself, she walked ahead to open the door for Lin Shu.
Lin Shu entered and saw a pair of high heels in the entryway.
A flash of disgust crossed her eyes, and she kicked the heels out the door.
A loud ‘clatter’ echoed in the hallway.
Feng Na heard the noise and came out. Seeing Lin Shu, she said with a gentle smile, “Shushu, you’re back?”
The next second, she saw her shoes outside the door and shrieked as if terrified, “Shushu, why did you kick my shoes out? Your father gave those to me for my birthday.”
Lin Shu swept a disdainful glance over her, ignoring this act of feigned concern12.
She said coldly, “Get out of my house!”
Feng Na immediately put on a wronged expression, looking as if she were about to cry. “Shushu, I know you don’t like me, but your dad and I came today for your own good…”
“I don’t need your hypocrisy. Get out!” Lin Shu cut her off, her voice dripping with undisguised disgust.
Auntie He stood to the side, not daring to intervene.
She walked into the living room and said to Lin Huai, “Director Lin, Miss Lin is back.”
“I know. You’re dismissed,” Lin Huai said, suppressing his anger.
“Understood.” Auntie He nodded and quickly returned to her room.
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