[Jing Shu]:"It's already too late to apologize. I'm already mad, so don't don't blame me later for bullying you."
Jing Shu leaned back against the plush leather sofa, the blue light of her smartphone illuminating her cold, indifferent features. She really didn't want to deal with this petty drama. It felt way too much like picking on someone far beneath her. Seriously, why did some people love ramming their heads into iron plates?
[Tang Yuan]:"What, you came all the way here to hit me? Go on, try it. See if I don't kill you. Who doesn't have connections now? Who dares to survive without some backing? So what if you are a useless president. You think you can boss me around across departments? I work in the Electric Network. If you have got guts, come find me."
[Jing Shu]: "I'm not hitting you. You are going to hit yourself later. You are shouting real loud right now, so don't you dare apologize later. You better have some backbone."
[Tang Yuan]:"Please, what the hell are you talking about. Only idiots apologize. Hurry up and come over, right now. If you don't, I will look down on you. Don't pretend in front of me. I used this trick eight generations ago."
[Jiang Changke]:"Alright alright, big boss, I'm wrong. I'll retract everything. I will retract everything. I will withdraw every single thing I said. You all hurry up and apologize too. If you offend the boss, you are done. Do you even know how strong the vice president is?
She could crush you with one finger. And all you people in the group pretending to be big shots, stop calling him Young Master Lan like you are best buddies. In front of Jing Shu, he is nothing. And what is this Wu City Four Young Masters thing? You think hanging around Jin Baba makes you impressive?"
Wu City Four Young Masters? Jing Shu had never even heard of such a thing. She stared at the screen, a small, sarcastic smile playing on her lips.
Jiang Changke clearly loved stirring the pot. He instantly maxed out everyone's hatred toward him with a few lines of text. Maybe he was born to be a walking disaster. With one speech, he whacked everyone at once. The whole group exploded into outrage and condemnation as notifications flooded the screen. They immediately lumped him in with Jing Shu. Even she was speechless. Where did this idiot come from? She didn't remember him at all.
"Jiang Changke, who are you pretending to be? Acting like it's real. You borrowed money from us back then and never paid it back, you little rat."
[Gu Qiran]: "Keep acting. Go on. You are really committed. I bet you raked in a lot of virtual coins for this scam. Fraudster."
[Liu Xia]:"The Wu City Four Young Masters are all real big shots. Jin Baba's dad is literally the boss of Wu City. Young Master Lan hangs around with Jin Baba like brothers. How is that not impressive? Young Master Lan's family is high status in Wu City too. He helped our school get tons of jobs. Tell me, in Wu City, isn't Young Master Lan amazing? I don't believe Jing Shu's status can compare."
Jing Shu finally understood.
Jin Baba? Jin Tianci's son. He was the one who robbed her supplies back then. She had been so pissed she stormed straight to Jin Tianci's house to demand justice. She definitely had beef with Jin Baba. When did this guy become part of the Wu City Four Young Masters? The idea was almost comical.
The group chat was completely on fire now. Even Young Master Lan jumped in to tag Jiang Changke, telling him to watch his mouth or he would deal with him personally. Young Master Lan really had influence. A lot of people in the chat got their jobs through him. The moment he spoke, the crowd shifted to support him.
But Jing Shu's issue wasn't solved either. Plenty of people still siding with Tang Yuan started attacking Jing Shu. They called her and Jiang Changke two scammers working together. Since Young Master Lan had spoken, why wasn't she quiet already? Someone even dug up her old influencer history, mocking her for failing as an actress and becoming an online personality instead. At first glance, she looked like she was on the losing end, but that wasn't true.
Internet flame wars never change. The more miserable people are in real life, the more arrogant they become online. They act like their fathers run the world and they can kill you both online and offline. At this point, it hardly felt like a law-based apocalypse anymore.
The fight kept going. Liu Xia and her friends continued throwing snide remarks while others cursed Jiang Changke and flattered Young Master Lan at the same time. Young Master Lan clearly enjoyed the control. Sometimes he would even add lightly, "Alright, I will add a few more spots for the Elite Club. But like I said, if you are the real deal, you can get in without my quota. If you are fake, I won't invite you."
[Liu Xia]:"Wow, see that? Lan Shao is on a different level. He can increase the Elite Club quotas. Your relative is the organizer, right? Can you bring me too? Unlike certain people who play fake and scammy. You think becoming a so-called vice president through lies gets you in?"
"Trying to steal the chicken but losing the rice. I bet you paid Jiang Changke a lot."
[Lan Shao]:"It's not that my relatives are running it. I just asked through Jin Baba. He makes all the decisions anyway. Isn't Wu City basically run by his dad?"
Just then, after going silent for a moment, Tang Yuan suddenly dropped a video in the group and tagged everyone. The chat went still for a second as everyone clicked it.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A string of sharp slaps echoed in the quiet of Jing Shu's villa. It was a video of Tang Yuan hitting herself. One slap after another, each one leaving a crimson handprint on her pale cheeks. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were red with tears.
While slapping herself, she said, "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I was impulsive when I said those things. I was jealous, I couldn't accept it. I'm an idiot. I'm sorry, I have no backbone. I'm scared."
The moment the video ended, everyone went silent. Then shock hit them all at once. What the hell happened? What was going on?
[Liu Xia]:"@Tang Yuan-jie, what are you talking about? How can you bow to evil forces? Did she threaten you? Tell me, I will stand up for you."
[Tang Yuan]:"Screw you. You are the one stirring trouble. Hurry up and apologize."
[Liu Xia]:"Unbelievable. I was trying to help you. How can you side with the enemy? Talk about a warm face stuck to a cold butt."
Tang Yuan had been the one cursing the loudest earlier. She disappeared for a few minutes and now came back a completely different person. Before anyone could figure it out, Liu Xia sent a thirty-second apology voice message. His tone was trembling with fear and panic, his breathing ragged as if he were running from something.
Only then did the classmates realize something was seriously off. Jing Shu's influence was way too real. It had only been a few minutes. They were screaming insults earlier, and now Tang Yuan was slapping herself and apologizing. What had Jing Shu done?
[Jiang Changke]:"Hahaha, @Tang Yuan, why are you bowing your head? The worst she could do is use her connections to get you fired. You are kneeling for a stupid job? And look at your husband @Cheng Long. Silent as a rock. You were cursing everyone earlier and he didn't say a word. Now you are about to kneel and he is still gone. Tsk tsk, what a scumbag."