novelraw Chapter 285: No Way, Is the Girl in the Photo Really You?
Chapter 285: No Way, Is the Girl in the Photo Really You?
Xu Su was scrolling through the group chat history when she received a text from Shen Chen: "Brother Zhou handled it. I didn’t get involved."
Tsk...
As expected, Shen Chen’s judgment was correct. Xu Su sent back an "Okay."
Looking at the few people in the group who were still relentlessly tagging her, she heaved a heavy sigh.
She typed a reply on her phone with both hands: "I know her."
’If her future university schoolmates weren’t in the group, she would have just said she didn’t know the girl. But considering she might have to meet Liu Yun, Nanyang, and the others in person someday, she couldn’t very well deny it...’
Seeing Xu Su, the local Chang City high schooler, finally surface, the already lively group erupted with even more activity.
Sika: "You really know her! I thought it was just for clout. Susu, is she as pretty in person as she is in the photo? It has to be Photoshopped, right? I refuse to believe anyone actually looks like that."
Beiyue: "Alright, little junior, hurry and tell everyone. What grade is this girl in? What’s her name? And most importantly, does she have a boyfriend?"
You Shan: "Dude, why are you asking? It’s not like she’d be into you even if she didn’t have a boyfriend."
Liu Yun: "You guys quiet down and let Susu talk. @Little Susu, do you go to the same school as her?"
"..." The corner of Xu Su’s mouth twitched. She couldn’t understand how the entire group could get so worked up over a photo of a stranger they found online.
Xu Su: "Same school, same grade, same class. She has a boyfriend. The photo isn’t ’shopped."
’She has a boyfriend...’
The group, which was usually buzzing with messages, fell silent for a few seconds.
It was her master, Nanyang, who finally surfaced to break the silence: "Figured as much. An average pretty girl in high school already has admirers crawling out of the woodwork, let alone one on her level. It’s completely normal for her to already be dating someone."
Sika: "I still can’t believe it. Someone actually looks like that! It’s blowing my mind. She’s practically glowing! @Little Susu, she must be your school belle, right? Susu, do you have her contact info? I want to add her and get to know her!"
That was followed by a sticker of a small, drooling turtle. "I want the pretty girl’s QQ number. Susu, can you make my dream come true?"
The sticker was so cute that Xu Su couldn’t help but smile. She hesitated, wondering if she should just admit it was her.
Just then, Mountain Tiger Hunting tagged her with a question: "Susu, does your name have ’Su’ in it?"
Xu Su froze, her heart sinking. Mountain Tiger Hunting sent another voice message: "Wasn’t that guy’s social media profile locked? I just cracked his password and looked through all his posts and updates. It looks like the girl’s name is Xu Su. Hey, Susu, she has the same name as you."
It was during class, so she couldn’t listen to the voice message. After converting it to text, she stared at it for a few seconds and sighed to herself.
’Getting this invested in gossip... they’re really something else...’
Sika: "Holy shit! What do you mean, ’same name’? I’m starting to seriously suspect that Susu IS the girl in the photo! How could there be so many coincidences? Same class, same school, ’Su’ in her name, and she also has a boyfriend!"
Nanyang: "No way, no way... Is the girl in the photo really you? @Little Susu"
Feifei: "Whoa... if it’s really Susu, does this mean our Qingxuan Sect has the next server-wide beauty contest in the bag?"
Liu Yun: "Being the number one beauty on the Immortal Continent server is nothing. If Susu is really the Xu Su from the photo, and she gets into University B like she said she wanted to, then the title of our university’s campus belle is as good as hers."
Compared to being the campus belle of University B, a beauty ranking in an online game really didn’t amount to much.
You Shan and Beiyue, who had been the most hyperactive voices in the chat, were so stunned by the news that they went quiet. Both of them started scrolling back through the chat history, checking to see if they had said anything too out of line.
Mountain Tiger Hunting, the one who had first posted the photo in the group, was already shell-shocked by the possibility that the person in question had been right there in the chat the whole time.
’It’s one thing to gossip about a pretty girl, but it’s a whole other level of awkward when the subject of the gossip is watching you do it...’
The group suddenly went dead silent. Even Sika stopped typing. Everyone was waiting for Xu Su’s answer.
Even the perpetually grayed-out avatar at the very top of the member list lit up, indicating they were online. Xu Su puffed out her cheeks. ’What is happening? Even Sect Leader Si Xuan is here for the drama...’
The group was praising her to the skies, which made Xu Su a bit too embarrassed to just come out and admit it.
But with the anticipation built up like this, everyone was waiting for her answer. She couldn’t just leave them hanging...
These were online friends she had known for over half a year, and several were going to be her upperclassmen. After a moment’s thought, Xu Su took out a test paper she had just gotten back that afternoon. It was a physics exam, and she was only two points shy of a perfect score. She snapped a picture of her name and the score together and sent it to the group.
Little Susu: "My name is Xu Su. I really didn’t expect you all to learn my full name this way."
Xu Su sent a resigned-looking emoji. After she posted it, the group was silent for a long time...
She blinked, then continued typing: "I’ll work hard to get into University B, and then we can all meet up in person."
Sika was the quickest to react: "Add me! Susu, we’ve known each other for so long and we’re not even friends on QQ! I sent you a request, accept it, quick!"
She certainly knew how to get straight to the point.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Xu Su replied with an "Okay" and accepted her friend request.
In an instant, the group exploded with activity. Liu Yun, Feifei, and several others she was already close with all sent her QQ friend requests. Xu Su didn’t play favorites and accepted them all.
Liu Yun: "Susu, you should set up some friend request restrictions. I’m worried that if your QQ number gets leaked, you’ll be flooded with requests."
In real life, only Huang Feng and Qian Jia knew about this particular QQ account of Xu Su’s; she hadn’t added any other classmates, so it probably wouldn’t get leaked. Still, since Liu Yun had brought it up, she quickly changed her settings to block all incoming friend requests.
Beiyue: "Hey, sorry, Susu. I was just running my mouth earlier. I didn’t mean anything by it, so please don’t get the wrong idea."
One by one, a few other people also chimed in to apologize.
Xu Su paused, then quickly scrolled back through the chat. Seeing that they had just been talking about whether she had a boyfriend and things like that, she didn’t think it was a big deal at all.
She replied cheerfully, "It’s fine, you guys didn’t say anything wrong. I just went and looked at that thread on the Haijiao Forum. Now, some of the things people were saying in there were really out of line."
Many of the comments in the thread were vile, crassly judging her looks and making crude jokes. Xu Su had only scanned a few before closing the page to call Shen Chen, but what she saw was more than enough to disgust her.
Feifei: "I went and looked this afternoon, too. All I can say is, you find all sorts of people online. You can’t even be sure the thing on the other side of the screen is human."
Sika: "Susu, what’s your relationship with the guy in the photo? How’d you end up in a picture with him? And he posted it online where so many people could share it."