Chapter 42: Chapter Forty-Two: Forum Storm

#Let's Talk About Our School Belle From Back in the Day#

#Former school belle shows up at the auction house backstage in cheap clothes, getting close with a married man — is this the distortion of human nature or the moral decay of society? #

Below it was attached a photo of her going to the auction house that day to collect payment, shaking hands with Zhang Jingli after entering.

Honestly, the photographer really knew how to find the angle — even she, one of the subjects in the photo, looking at it now, felt it was incredibly suggestive.

The comments below ran the whole gamut.

: Sigh, back then I chased the school belle for two years. Now it seems the only thing between me and winning the beauty was a fat wallet.

: The poster above hit the nail on the head. Never thought she'd be this kind of person — so disgusting!

But there were also rational voices.

: You can't really conclude anything from just one photo. Everyone, don't jump to conclusions so fast and pass a death sentence on her.

: Exactly. The senior's a really good person, she's not that type.

: These days, even the third tier has people rushing to whitewash for her. Truly, morality is in decline. How many benefits did she give you, or were you all just birds of a feather to begin with?!

: No need to get so fired up, poster above. Afraid you've been cuckolded?

Watching the commenters' tempers flare hotter and their words grow nastier.

But plenty of people were still sticking up for her down below, and the ones going hardest against the trolls — you could tell from the IDs alone — were her roommates.

An Luo smiled warmly, then forwarded the post to Zhang Jingli and told him to negotiate with the auction house.

To get a photo like this, the photographer must have been connected to the staff working the auction that day. Better to let them investigate it themselves.

Afterwards, she took a screenshot of her account balance, hid the key personal information, added a watermark, and snapped a photo of the freshly registered logo for the charity fund named "Yu'an Tong Xing," then posted on the campus network as her response.

#Suddenly realized I'm actually a rich lady! #

#Registered a charity fund on a whim — sincerely inviting alumni passionate about public welfare and charity to join! #

Benefits are as follows: monthly salary of ten thousand, two days off per week, five social insurances and one housing fund, holiday benefits, plus communication, transportation, heat-prevention and cooling, and meal subsidies. Apart from statutory holidays, after one year on the job, you also get an extra fifteen days of paid leave every year.

Nothing else to say — I just want to do what I can and hold up an umbrella for my juniors and younger sisters.

For the first batch, we're recruiting ten alumni from our alma mater first. Limited spots, first come first served!

Finally, An Luo put up her contact information.

The moment this post went up, the campus forum absolutely exploded!

: Somebody come tell me the balance in her photo is photoshopped!

: I'll tell you very seriously — it's not! Wait, no, it IS photoshopped, you absolutely must not believe it!!! (That way I have one less competitor, hahahaha!)

: I'm signing up! If you dare scam me, I'll turn into a keyboard warrior and flame you into oblivion on the spot!

: Will an older senior do?

: Give a senior guy a chance too, I'm begging you.

……

An Luo had no time to look at these comments, because she was in the middle of typing a message — but the dorm group chat was also about to blow up.

In less than a minute, it showed 99+.

In the end, the roommates just popped up a video call.

The moment An Luo joined, she was startled into jumping by Meng Meng's loud shout.

"Never thought my roommate was actually a big rich lady! An An, you've gone too far, hiding this from us for so long!"

An Luo shrugged.

"Actually, I didn't know much earlier than you guys did."

Zhao Ruan pushed up her glasses.

"An An, who do you think the poster is?"

Meng Meng suddenly slapped the table.

"It couldn't be Xu Jing, right? She's been targeting An An openly and on the sly since sophomore year."

"Didn't she drop out? I heard from others that she's working as a server at a high-end hotel now."

"I really can't figure it out — she finally got into a prestigious university, and in the end threw away her studies and future for some man. What's she after? A total love-struck idiot!"

An Luo's eyes flickered, then she said with a smile.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Where's A Heng?"

Zhao Ruan glanced at the time.

"She should still be holed up in the lab at this hour."

Friendship really is something magical — even though the few of them hadn't seen each other for over half a year, they still had endless things to talk about.

In the end, it was a phone call from Lin Lin that interrupted them.

An Luo gave the two of them an apologetic smile.

"I'll take this call first, we'll chat again another day."

The moment An Luo picked up, before she could even speak, Lin Lin's panicked voice came through her ear.

"This is terrifying — in just one hour, I've already gotten over a hundred calls from strangers, all asking about that charity fund recruitment thing."

"They all said the recruitment post was from you. Boss, has your identity info been stolen? Or is someone playing a prank on purpose?"

An Luo slapped her forehead with a sudden smack, looking at the chat window with a mix of tears and laughter.

She just knew she'd forgotten something — she'd left Lin Lin's contact info, and chatting with her roommates had been so absorbing that she hadn't even sent the message yet.

Oh my god!

Meanwhile, on the other end, Lin Lin was still reeling from the shock of "my boss who inherited the Bian Li Dian is actually a hidden big rich lady!"

On top of the recruitment matter, she was busy until the wee hours, but she didn't close her eyes until dawn.

The reason was none other than — sheer excitement!

Never imagined that one day, she'd actually get to cling to a rich woman's golden thigh!

Hahaha, double the salary!

Double the happiness!!!

I'll call my parents back home right away and ask them to check if smoke's really rising from our ancestral grave!

There was also one other person who couldn't sleep all night—the one who made the post, Xu Jing.

At first, seeing An Luo being cursed by ten thousand people, she was so excited she couldn't sleep.

But late at night, she suddenly got a call from the manager—the hotel fired her on the grounds that she'd leaked guests' private information and brought a terrible reputation to the hotel, and said they'd hold her accountable.

In the latter half of the night, she was frightened and on edge, so she slept even less.

Watching the comment section unanimously start praising An Luo, she was so furious she smashed her phone on the spot, grinding her teeth.

"An Luo!"

How could she be so lucky!

Suddenly, her phone rang, displaying an unknown number. She hesitated, then answered.

"Who is it?"

"Miss Xu? I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you…"

Dayin Dynasty, Beihuang City.

Early in the morning, Yu'an, brimming with energy, kicked off a day full of vitality with morning practice.

The little fellow first did horse-stance stretches for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, then picked up a small wooden sword and reviewed the basics his little aunt had taught him.

Today, his two aunts had left the city, his mother and the other Ancestor were also busy, leaving only him and his Grandmother in the courtyard.

Although no Ancestor was there to supervise, Yu'an practiced earnestly, stroke by stroke, every movement perfectly standard.

The little fellow's clear, big eyes held determination, his lips pressed together, his small face set, expression very solemn.

The moment An Luo came in and saw this scene, she smiled with relief.

Yu'an was improving fast—no longer the Yu'an who, with a single swing of the blade, would be pulled off balance and stumble.

Beyond a doubt, if he put on a small suit of Armor and a little cape, he'd absolutely be a dashing little general!

But those baby-fat cheeks that jiggled with every movement created such a contrast-cute effect, it totally broke the scene.

Suddenly, a sound of crickets chirping came.

Yu'an turned his head to look.

"Who's there?"