Many students from different classes paused in the hallways, watching with confused expressions. They had no idea what Jiang Chao could have possibly done to make those boys, who usually spent every break hanging around him, suddenly look so grief-stricken and furious. The way they glared at him now was as if he had personally murdered their fathers and set fire to their ancestral homes.
Jiang Chao had always been a veteran manga fan, a walking encyclopedia of industry gossip and insider stories. Throughout the semester, he had recommended dozens of high-quality comics to his classmates. Because of that expertise, he held a fair amount of prestige in the class. Those who had been drawn into the world of manga through his enthusiastic preaching naturally treated him as their leader. Gradually, a small but fairly united group had formed around him.
Unfortunately, this high school focused entirely on academic performance and had no official clubs. Otherwise, Jiang Chao would absolutely have founded a manga research society to formalize his influence.
Now, however, Jiang Chao's informal manga society was already on the verge of a violent collapse.
Students who had never cared about the world of comics simply watched the commotion with detached amusement. Zhou Fang, who used to sit next to Zhao Youyue and had always looked down on Jiang Chao's hobbies, stretched her neck high to get a better view of the brewing fight. The gloating expression on her face was completely undisguised, her eyes sharp with judgment.
As a top student, she had always harbored a deep dislike for people who spent their precious time reading meaningless comics and novels. To her, that behavior was nothing but a criminal waste of youth.
Zhao Youyue's current deskmate, Jiang Qing, wasn't gloating, but her curiosity was piqued by the spectacle unfolding near the railing. She leaned over, pulling Zhao Youyue by the sleeve to make sure she was watching.
Subconsciously, she whispered, "Miss, what do you think happened to them? They look like they are ready to start a riot."
Zhao Youyue didn't answer immediately.
However, she quickly realized the truth behind the scene.
The finale of Pure Love must have been too devastating. Those boys who had once followed the series with such innocent joy had all been thoroughly screwed over by the brutal conclusion. In their trauma, they remembered exactly who had been the one to constantly recommend the series to them in the first place.
Jiang Chao, that complete idiot, had kept promoting it nonstop, dragging them into the pit. Worse still, they had all believed in the poisonous promises of the trap mangaka, Su Li.
Zhao Youyue actually felt a small prickle of guilt about this situation.
In a sense, she was the mastermind manipulating the direction of Pure Love behind the scenes. She was the one who had guided Xu Jing toward that bloody shore.
But she hadn't had much of a choice.
Originally, she had only intended to use Xu Jing's academic abilities inside the manga to improve her own performance in reality. Who could have expected Su Li to elevate her from a background extra into a supporting character, eventually deciding that she should become the series' female lead?
There was no room for modesty anymore. Since the creator had already decided she would be the heroine, she had no choice but to shape Xu Jing in that extreme, impactful way.
Otherwise, with a typical harem comic like Pure Love, where the characters had questionable intelligence and the plot relied entirely on fanservice, how could it possibly leave a lasting impression on the readers? how could Xu Jing become a truly unforgettable female character?
She had fought poison with a stronger poison.
Zhao Youyue had only wanted to take a jab at Su Li, the woman who kept dragging her into trouble. Unfortunately, she had accidentally dragged countless innocent readers down into the abyss with her.
Still, she wasn't the one who had to take the public blame. This was all Su Li's fault for drawing it.
Outside the classroom, Xu Haitao patted his own chest and spoke to Jiang Chao in a voice that was high-pitched with misery.
"Chao-ge! I seriously treated you like a brother! I trusted you with my life. Why did you recommend something like Pure Love to me? That mangaka Su Li is basically a demon. She is a poison king!"
Jiang Chao had no face left to respond to the complaint. He stared at his own shoes, his shoulders slumped.
Did he not feel the same burning resentment toward that snake-hearted woman?
He had completely turned from a fan into a visceral hater.
Xu Jing was his goddess. Yet she had ended up with that kind of horrific fate. That so-called "Good Boat" ending was a massive trap. It was the perfect example of feeding readers poison and crap while wrapping it up like a piece of high-quality chocolate.
"Do you know how much I sacrificed for Pure Love?" Xu Haitao continued miserably, his face turning a blotchy red. "In order to convince these guys, who were used to reading pirated scans online, to support that poison king Su Li and read the official version, even tip Pure Love, I let them touch my B-cup chest so they could vent their frustration after reading it! And this is the ending we got! I seriously... I feel like dying!"
The fat on Xu Haitao's face trembled as he spoke. He looked as if he was about to burst into tears, appearing aggrieved like a five-hundred-pound child.
The members of the manga society standing nearby all lowered their heads, their own faces flushing.
For some reason, they suddenly felt a powerful urge to laugh.
Jiang Chao, who had looked completely lifeless a moment ago, suddenly changed his expression. His eyes widened in shock as he processed what his friend had just said. "Holy crap! There's actually a move like this?"
As he spoke, his hand reached straight toward Xu Haitao's chest before anyone could stop him.
So this was the legendary B-cup feeling...
The moment Jiang Chao finished the grab, he turned on his heel and ran.
Xu Haitao immediately chased after him, roaring with a primal rage and trying to catch him so he could hang him up by his collar and beat him senseless.
Unfortunately, the two were caught in the act by Lao Qiu, who had been making his silent rounds.
Both were scolded harshly in front of the class. Lao Qiu even warned them that if they failed their final exams, they would be in serious trouble with the administration.
The two boys both showed expressions that said "life is suffering."
The ending of Pure Love had left them so depressed and mentally contaminated that they had absolutely no mood to study for the upcoming exams.
They were definitely going to fail.
Of course, failing the final exams was actually not that big of a deal in the long run. Once the next semester started, the teachers usually forgot all the harsh warnings they had made during the previous term.
...
Zhao Youyue felt that her three evening study sessions had been quite fulfilling.
Under the immense pressure of the upcoming finals, she had forced herself to concentrate for once. She even experienced something close to Xu Jing's obsessive focus on her studies.
Thinking about how she would be able to directly use Xu Jing's abilities in the future made her feel increasingly excited.
On the car ride home, she finally took out her phone again. At that moment, using her phone felt unbelievably satisfying, the cool glass smooth against her fingertips.
First, she had endured for a long time without touching it. Second, studying seriously had given her a certain peace of mind. Now she could scroll through her apps with complete confidence.
She opened Weibo.
Sure enough, the finale of Pure Love had already become a top trending topic on the platform.
Words like "darkening," "yandere knife," and "Good Boat" were everywhere in the search results.
The character name mentioned most often was none other than Xu Jing.
Of course, that was because Xu Jing was by far the most controversial character in the entire series. Her character arc and personality were also the most fully developed in the entire manga. One could even say she was the only character whose intelligence actually functioned properly throughout the story.
As for the rich young lady Liu Sha, whose IQ might as well have been 250 on paper, she had truly acted like a complete idiot when things mattered.
Before Xu Jing began plotting against the male lead for Yang Qianqian's sake, she had already used her own abilities to avenge her parents. That storyline had sparked plenty of discussion and praise at the time. Almost no one questioned her revenge because it was incredibly satisfying.
However, once Xu Jing began scheming against the male lead due to her twisted love for Yang Qianqian, her increasingly dark personality started to generate intense controversy.
Now that the finale had been released, the debates surrounding her character had reached their absolute peak.
At the same time, the dissatisfaction with the ending had also reached its peak.
And Su Li's previous promise had completely turned into a joke.