By lunchtime, Xiao Yu's post had blown up.
Three hundred comments. Nearly a thousand upvotes. Screenshots everywhere. Group chats were on fire, and the entire campus was split into factions like it was the Hunger Games.
Some said he was bold.
Others called him insane.
And many—just many—were here for the mess.
Xiao Yu walked into the cafeteria like it was a red carpet. Head held high, hoodie obnoxiously pink, a can of peach juice in hand like it was vintage wine. Bruised, bandaged, and utterly unapologetic.
A hush followed him. All eyes turned.
He sipped.
"Don't stop on my account," he said sweetly, voice cutting through the silence like a knife dipped in honey.
No one dared sit with him.
He didn't need them.
He chose the table by the window, crossed one leg over the other, and watched.
Watched the whispers. The stares. The shifting alliances. Yu Mian hadn't shown up to class all day. Good. Let her stew.
Zhao Chen had ignored him completely. Fine. Expected.
And Rong Xichen?
He had spent the entire first period staring at Xiao Yu like he was an unsolvable equation—or a bug he couldn't quite bring himself to squash.
Whatever. It was all going according to plan.
Until—
DING.
A new post dropped. Sharp and shiny like a dagger between the ribs.
[RECEIPTS] So you wanted to see the villain, huh?
Posted by: princess.tea.cup
His blood ran cold.
He opened it.
Screenshots.
Dozens.
Private chats.
His.
XY: "You think if I drug him, he'll stop acting like a cold virgin? lol"
??: "Yu… you're joking, right?"
XY: "Ofc I'm joking. Unless it works."
XY: "Imagine his face if he woke up next to me naked LMAO. Priceless."
His heart dropped into his stomach. The cafeteria blurred.
The timestamps—last semester.
The tone—flippant. Sharp. Petty.
Too real.
The comments exploded.
"This is sick. Wtf."
"Yo he's psycho."
"So we defended a predator???"
"Hope the cops see this."
"Never trusting pretty boys again."
Xiao Yu felt the oxygen drain from the room.
The words floated in his head, and he couldn't even deny them. He couldn't even scream that it was taken out of context, that it was bait, a joke—because deep down he knew. Maybe he didn't mean it. But he said it.
He grabbed his juice can like it could ground him and bolted from the cafeteria, head down, ears ringing, vision tunneling.
He didn't get far.
He turned a corner—and slammed into Zhao Chen.
Tall. Clean-cut. Perfect.
The one person whose opinion mattered.
"Move," Zhao Chen said coldly.
"No—wait—Chenchen—"
"Don't call me that." His voice didn't rise. That made it worse. It was sharp, cold, precise.
"I didn't post those screenshots. Someone—Yu Mian—she must've had them—"
"But you said them," Zhao Chen cut in. "Didn't you?"
"I don't remember—"
"That's not a denial."
Xiao Yu bit his lip. "I said them. But I didn't mean them."
"Oh," Zhao Chen said bitterly, "So you were only joking about drugging me. That makes it okay."
"No! It was stupid—it was a dumb vent—"
"You made a joke out of my safety."
The words sliced him open.
"I trusted you," Zhao Chen continued, voice still too calm. "I defended you."
Xiao Yu looked up, voice breaking. "You were the only one who did."
"And I won't make that mistake again," Zhao Chen said. "We're done."
He turned away.
Xiao Yu stood frozen, tears prickling the corners of his eyes.
He hadn't cried.
Not when they mocked his voice.
Not when they leaked his selfie edits.
Not even when they tore down his YuMian exposé.
But this—
This broke something.
He stayed against the wall for what felt like an eternity. Until footsteps approached again.
Heavy. Sharp.
Rong Xichen.
Of course.
"Save it," Rong Xichen said.
Xiao Yu didn't move.
"I saw the forum," Rong Xichen continued. "You really are a piece of work."
"I didn't leak those," Xiao Yu whispered. "I don't even talk like that anymore—"
"But you did."
"I was angry! I was heartbroken! I was—"
"Cruel," Rong Xichen said flatly. "That's what you were."
Xiao Yu snapped, "And you're any better? You hospitalized me!"
Rong Xichen didn't flinch. "And you're still breathing."
That did it.
"You don't get to act all high and mighty, Mr. Model God," Xiao Yu snarled. "I messed up, yeah. But at least I'm not pretending to be some moral saint. You're a controlling, egotistical manchild who throws tantrums when people don't worship you."
Rong Xichen smiled.
It was terrifying.
"Funny. You used to worship me?"
"I was delusional."
"And now?"
Xiao Yu's voice dropped to a whisper. "Now I see the god was just a pretty cage."
Rong Xichen took a step forward. "You think you can play the victim after all this?"
"I don't need to be the victim," Xiao Yu said. "I'll be the villain if I have to. But I'm dragging the true monster down with me."
He shoved past Rong Xichen.
No destination. Just motion.
He walked until he found himself in the media room again. Empty. Cold.
He sat. Pulled up the school's private board. Stared at the thread that had burned his reputation alive.
Then typed.
Thread Title: Let's finish the tea party.
Username: stillhot.evencancelled
"I won't deny the screenshots.
I won't even say I didn't say them.
Because I did.
I was stupid. Angry. Hurt. And I said something messed up.
But if we're going to talk about receipts—
Let's look at who posted them. And why."
He attached the voice file. Yu Mian's voice.
"He said something dumb months ago. I kept the receipts. He made it too easy."
"Once the forum hated him, I wouldn't have to lift a finger."
Post.
Send.
Done.
He leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling.
He wasn't waiting for forgiveness.
He wasn't even sure he deserved it.
But if Yu Mian wanted a war, he would give her fire.
Let them all burn.