Everyone was stunned, each and every one of them dumbfounded.
Jiang Xu strode forward, walking directly on stage.
He plucked the microphone from Zhou Qingyue's hands.
"Hello everyone, I'm Jiang Xu, the author of Those Bygone Years.
Let me say a few words.
First, my relationship with her is just ordinary.
Second, I've never said anything about meeting at the peak.
After all, her academic performance is not that good.
And as the top student in our grade, there isn't much interaction between us.
As for what Miss Zhou just mentioned, I reserve the right to sue.
That's it, I won't waste any more of your time, teachers and classmates. Goodbye."
With that, he strode off the stage with his head held high.
He did not look at Zhou Qingyue's gloomy face.
She clenched her fists tightly, veins appearing visibly on her hands.
She felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation.
She was publically, brutally, and mercilessly exposed by Jiang Xu!
Thankfully, mobile phones weren't as advanced then, and the internet wasn't developed.
Otherwise, the events would have spread online in no time, making her lose face.
This sudden turn of events left many people unprepared.
Upon seeing this, Liu Yue quickly said a few things to smooth things over, then left with Zhou Qingyue.
Back in the classroom, Fu Yanjie gave Jiang Xu a thumbs up: "You're awesome, you humiliated a female celebrity!"
Jiang Xu shrugged.
She was nothing but a minor actress in a low-budget movie.
What he cared about was An Nuonuo.
Pinching her cheek, he asked, "Happy now?"
"Wha... What's... it got to do with me?"
"Hehe, you're still playing hard to get."
Jiang Xu scoffed.
He could clearly see the contrast in the girl's mood from then to now.
An Nuonuo lowered her head involuntarily.
Unsatisfied, Jiang Xu patted her back and ordered, "Stop slouching. Stand tall!"
The young girl pouted, "Why are you being so fierce with me?"
On the other hand, Zhou Qingyue left in a commercial vehicle.
She sat in the back row, stone-faced and silent.
Liu Yue, who was seated next to her, didn't know what to say.
To her, the love affairs of young people were laughable.
Why bother with love when you could be earning money?
After a while, Zhou Qingyue finally spoke, "Aunt, I want to become the hottest female star in the country.
I must, I must step on him, or I will never vent my anger!"
She said with deep resentment in her tone.
Liu Yue was a little worried about her mental state.
But, if she could maintain this determination, she would definitely succeed.
So she said a few comforting words, and finally: "Well, let's go and promote in the next city.
With your talent, I'm sure it won't be long before he is looking up to you, even groveling under your skirt."
Zhou Qingyue clenched her fist in silence.
...
After school at noon, Jun Yue came.
Besides Jiang Xu and An Nuonuo, everyone else had left the classroom.
Jiang Xu purposefully left later that day.
He had guessed this guy would come.
"Nuonuo!" Jun Yue said solemnly, "It's okay, everyone makes mistakes.
Don't worry, from now on, I will never let you be bullied.
Keep your distance from that two-timer."
An Nuonuo quietly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Brother Jun Yue, but I don't mind."
"What?" Jun Yue was dumbfounded.
An Nuonuo added, "I don't mind, Brother Jun Yue, go and have your lunch, don't worry about me."
Jun Yue left as if he'd received a blow, looking lost and defeated.
This was completely different from what he had anticipated.
After Jun Yue left, An Nuonuo glared angrily at Jiang Xu.
Jiang Xu had just forced her into saying something by threatening to reveal one of her secrets.
His goal, naturally, was to amuse himself by dealing a blow to a rival.
It was always fun to mess with competitors.
Jiang Xu pretended to be intimidating in the face of the girl's glare, "What are you staring at? Keep staring, I'll slap you."
An Nuonuo moved to grab her mobile phone.
Jiang Xu, swift as a hawk, snagged her backpack and darted off.
Her mobile phone was in her backpack.
Think you can rely on someone else?
Think again!
An Nuonuo quickly chased after him.
Two days passed quickly.
Jiang Xu heard some surprising news.
"Those Miserable Years of Youth" had become a sensation in Jiang City.
The reason for its sudden popularity was simple.
It was because of the speech he made two days earlier, rebuking Zhou Qingyue.
He didn't realize that his words would stir a great deal of curiosity among the students.
What had happened between these two that had turned them into enemies?
Driven by gossip, they actually discovered a lot about the situation.
Love thwarted, hatred born from love, love triangles, even love quadrangles – all sorts of nonsense was being circulated.
These students then went on to report what they'd found to their family members and other friends.
Plus, there was already talk because Zhou Qingyue was now a celebrity, bearing the title of an actor.
This meant the chatter was intense.
With the growing buzz, people naturally became curious about the film.
On watching it, they found that the plotline was decent and the acting was impressive.
Then, good reviews started to spread, and more people started buying tickets to see the movie.
The film evoked some people's memories of their high school years.
Now, there was a trend of it spreading to neighboring cities.
After learning about all of this, Jiang Xu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The film's popularity had caught him unawares.
He checked his Weibo.
"Those Bygone Years" had already reached the bottom of the trending list.
Seizing this momentum, Jiang Xu hurried to register an account.
After passing the real-name authentication, he submitted the necessary documents.
Soon, there was an official certification badge following his Weibo account.
Author An Ping, author of "Those Miserable Years of Youth", "Youth and Sorrow", "Pure Lover".
Weibo also knew how to take advantage of the buzz.
Seeing that Jiang Xu was related to the "Those Bygone Years" film, they immediately granted him traffic.
Jiang Xu also posted a Weibo status.
'Youth will inevitably end, but friendship and love won't.'
With the official boost from Weibo, he had gained over two thousand followers just over an hour after registering.
Assuming this rate of growth continued, his follower count should increase significantly.
At the end of the school day, Jiang Xu and An Nuonuo stayed back in the classroom instead of heading home immediately.
One was studying, the other was writing.
An Nuonuo occasionally asked Jiang Xu for help when she didn't understand something.
Jiang Xu didn't dare bring Nuonuo to the office where Jiang Xiaoyan was.
Who knew what that problematic girl would do when she saw An Nuonuo—whether she would bully her or say something that could trigger an irrational reaction.
He had to avoid having the two meet as much as possible before the company grew and moved elsewhere.
So, it was better if they stayed in the classroom for now.
The pair studied until five forty, after which they picked up their backpacks and left.
"Ping."
Just as they stepped out of the classroom, Jiang Xu's mobile phone chirped with the sound of a new message.
He picked it up and looked at it, and couldn't help but laugh.