On Monday, during class, Gong Nanxue didn’t see Bai Rourou’s figure, and when the teacher called the roll, she was absent.
“Did Bai Rourou ask you for leave?”
Gong Nanxue felt strange and went to the class monitor to ask, only to receive a strange look in return.
“No, she probably went into hiding… Don’t you know Bai Rourou is really popular now?”
The class monitor, full of gossip, said in surprise, “You’re the one who’s closest to Bai Rourou; don’t you know what’s going on with her… um.”
At the end, the class monitor faltered and didn’t know how to put it.
After a moment, they sent a link from the campus network to Gong Nanxue’s phone.
Always somewhat detached from campus news, Gong Nanxue finally understood the delayed information—rumors about Bai Rourou.
Gong Nanxue’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Is this how Cai Jinger drove Bai Rourou away?
The entire class period passed without Gong Nanxue paying attention to the lesson; instead, she kept scrolling through posts about Bai Rourou.
Perhaps with some mysterious force involved, in just two short days, the rumors had dominated the campus network—and it didn’t stop there.
While searching online for related content, Gong Nanxue discovered that marketing accounts had already started posting such videos, gaining considerable traffic.
Over time, this would create immense public pressure.
“Bai Rourou maliciously occupying a scholarship spot to support her extravagant lifestyle?”
Seeing this hottest topic, Gong Nanxue frowned deeply.
Having spent so much time with Bai Rourou, she knew her financial situation very well. How could it be malicious occupation?
If Bai Rourou didn’t have that quota, who else could deserve it?
Afterward, there were all kinds of rumors—sugar-daddy relationships, involvement in the adult industry. Seeing this, Gong Nanxue’s face grew particularly grim.
Cai Jinger had gone too far—this was an outright attempt to destroy Bai Rourou!
“This must be stopped immediately!”
Although Bai Rourou disgusted her, she never really harmed her.
How could someone use such vicious means?
If the rumors spread further, Bai Rourou would inevitably face cyberbullying, expulsion, and complete disgrace.
Disproving the rumors?
How could an ordinary person stand against the power of capital?
Ordinary people don’t even have the channels to speak out, and someone as isolated as Bai Rourou would be the easiest target.
Immediately, Gong Nanxue thought of Bai Rourou, who hadn’t come to class.
Could Bai Rourou have skipped class because of these rumors?
For some reason, Gong Nanxue’s mood grew uneasy.
She instinctively took out her phone to message Bai Rourou, but after scrolling through her chat list for a long time, she realized she had deleted all of Bai Rourou’s contact information.
With no choice, Gong Nanxue looked up Cai Jinger’s account and asked about Bai Rourou.
“She didn’t even reply. Is she in class or at a company meeting?”
So, once class was over, Gong Nanxue immediately called Cai Jinger.
“Cai Jinger, how can you drive Bai Rourou away like this?”
The moment the call connected, Gong Nanxue demanded, “Bai Rourou didn’t do anything wrong. You’re trying to ruin her!”
“Xue’er, this was your promise.”
Cai Jinger’s voice came softly, without a trace of apology: “This is how I’m getting rid of Bai Rourou. Do you have a better idea?”
“She could transfer majors or something. Be a little softer.”
“It’s done and can’t be undone.”
Cai Jinger’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, her red lips parting as she continued, “Anyway, it’s already done. Bai Rourou is probably hiding somewhere now. Besides, aren’t those so-called rumors true?”
“Of course some are false! How could she maliciously take a scholarship spot? You know her financial situation.”
“Bai Rourou does that kind of work; how could she be short on money?”
Cai Jinger twisted the logic: “So it makes sense she would occupy the spot.”
***
Gong Nanxue was speechless.
Shouldn’t the money poor students earn through part-time jobs have no effect on scholarship evaluations and awards?
She wasn’t sure, but judging by the online atmosphere, Bai Rourou was being painted as an extremely immoral person.
The comment sections were a mess.
After reading through the comments for the entire class, Gong Nanxue saw only a handful defending Bai Rourou—and those were mostly compliments based on her appearance.
“Alright, alright, Xue’er, you hate Bai Rourou so much, why do you care so much about her?”
Cai Jinger said with some displeasure, “You weren’t like this in high school!”
“Phew~”
Gong Nanxue let out a long breath, choosing not to argue further with Cai Jinger on this topic, instead changing the subject: “Do you have Bai Rourou’s contact info? I can’t find her.”
“How could I possibly know Bai Rourou?”
Cai Jinger’s tone was genuinely surprised: “Normally, Bai Rourou is my rival.”
“Alright, alright, alright.”
Gong Nanxue hung up immediately, frustrated, scratching her head.
The urgent thing now was to find Bai Rourou.
Where could she look?
Where Bai Rourou lived?
She had no idea.
She had originally wanted to visit, but Bai Rourou refused repeatedly, so she never went.
At that moment, Gong Nanxue suddenly realized she knew far too little about Bai Rourou—not even her habits, or where she frequented.
“Troublesome.”
Gong Nanxue took out her phone and dialed several numbers.
No matter what, having a resourceful ‘Gong Laoyezi’ meant a wide network.
But after two whole days, no one had found Bai Rourou.
It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
They couldn’t even find where she lived after leaving Gong Nanxue’s place!
“How is this possible?”
Gong Nanxue frowned deeply, her mood very sour.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Cai Jinger was answering a call from her father.
“The Gong family’s old master is seriously ill in the hospital, not expected to live much longer?”
Cai Jinger learned this crucial news from her father.
More importantly, the Gong family’s lineage was vast.
Gong Laoyezi had at least a dozen children, including seven or eight sons, and from those, dozens of grandchildren.
The family was extremely fertile.
Gong Laoyezi had always held tightly to the family assets without loosening his grip.
There was no will.
So now that he was critically ill, the battle for the inheritance had already begun.
Hundreds of billions, close to a trillion in assets—just a tiny leak would be enough for anyone to live comfortably for life!
Though Gong Nanxue was Gong Laoyezi’s daughter and had seniority, which of her brothers and sisters hadn’t already placed their own people in the family assets?
After years in business, their methods were cunning.
There was simply no comparison to Gong Nanxue, a young woman not yet twenty.
Cai Jinger guessed Gong Nanxue probably didn’t know this news.
Gong Laoyezi’s health issues were definitely being kept secret from the other children.
“So, what’s your point, Dad?”
“Find a way to swallow up Jingxue Capital.”
The voice on the phone was rough: “Anyway, Jingxue Capital will most likely not fall into Gong Nanxue’s hands; her brothers and sisters will snatch it. Better to let us hold it for now.”
A glint flashed in Cai Jinger’s beautiful eyes.
“I understand. But how exactly should we do this?”
“I’ll arrange people. You just need to…”