Chapter 21: Dare to Tell the Truth

At first, everyone stared at Hu Li Jing silently. Then they understood.

"Ah…that guy." Ren Zhang nodded in understanding. "The stalker."

"Didn't Ru Yin Yue already say she doesn't like him? She told him to stop bothering him. I don't blame her. That guy was pretty creepy."

"Yeah, he got rejected. So why should she care about him when marrying Si Zha Nan?"

Most of the classmates sympathized with Ru Yin Yue. They knew the guy who was in love with her, back in high school. While Ru Yin Yue pursued Si Zha Nan, that person pursued her and was rejected. Perhaps he was socially awkward, but he came across as creepy to them. At least he didn't go too far, simply just staring at her from afar most of the time, but that was still…disturbing.

There was one time he almost followed her home, but several of the classmates had managed to stop him. The guy apologized and tried to tone down on his actions. Since he didn't go too far and did his best to stray, no one reported him to the police. He hadn't done anything except behave like a stupid, socially awkward teenager who didn't know how to chase a girl.

So they left him alone. And when he was told that he had gone too far, he had obediently backed off.

"I hear he continued to keep tabs on Yin Yue after graduating from high school?"

"No. He did follow me on social media for a while, but when his comments got creepy, I told him to stop following me. I haven't heard from him since." Ru Yin Yue had no reason to lie. "I don't know what happened to him after that."

"I don't know…he straight up disappeared after high school."

"I heard he went back to his home country, Country S, to serve in the military or something." Ren Zhang frowned. "I don't know if he came back to Hua Xia after that."

"Oh? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, citizens of Country S must serve two years of mandatory military service. He went to university after that."

"…that might explain his behavior." Ru Yin Yue thought for a bit. She didn't exactly sympathize with the guy, but she now understood his behavior a little. Stuck alone in the military, far from the people he knew in high school, perhaps he was craving for some attention. He did sound a bit desperate, which was what put her off. At least he obediently backed off when she told him to.

"That's rich, coming from you." Si Zha Nan was glaring at her coldly, his arms folded. "So it's not okay for that person to stalk you, but it's okay for you to stalk me?"

"I didn't stalk you." Ru Yin Yue met his gaze evenly. "On the contrary, aren't you the one who harassed me?"

"Really? If you didn't stalk me, then what do you call…" Si Zha Nan trailed off, trying to think of what Ru Yin Yue did, but came up short. Everyone was watching him closely, and he felt cold perspiration drip down his back. Now that he thought about it, most of what he thought Ru Yin Yue did was told to him by Zhou Ni Yao, but he hadn't actually experienced stalking from her. She didn't send him any messages because…well, he blocked her number. She didn't follow him home or on social media. That was nothing she did that could be constituted as stalking. Zhou Ni Yao did tell him of the bad things she did to try, like being a slut, being greedy, lying…but none of them actually had anything to do with stalking him.

"What's the matter, Si Nan?" Ren Zhang asked snidely. "Aren't you going to finish your sentence?"

"Don't be deceived by her, everybody!" Si Zha Nan shouted, pointing a finger at Ru Yin Yue. "She's a slut who seduces men! She somehow tricked me into climbing into bed with her! That's why Ni Yao ran away! She saw…"

"…so basically, Ni Yao dumped you because she caught you cheating on her with Yin Yue, and your mother had you take responsibility by marrying her?" Ren Zhang finished for him when he fell into an embarrassed silence.

"Wait, why are you blaming him?" Hu Li Jing shouted. "Clearly it's Ru Yin Yue's fault for seducing someone else's man! She's the one who stole Ni Yao's fiancé from her!"

"Well, perhaps she's partially at fault here, but are you going to pretend that Zha Nan is completely innocent and blameless? He did cheat on Ni Yao in the end."

"I was plotted against! It was all her scheme! She got me drunk somehow, and I…" Si Zha Nan spluttered.

Ru Yin Yue sighed and rose to her feet. She was getting sick of this farce.

"Believe what you want. If there's nothing else, I'll go home first."

"Who allowed you to go?" Si Zha Nan aggressively grabbed Ru Yin Yue's wrist and tried to forcibly yank her back toward the sofa. "You're the guest of honor today."

However, Ru Yin Yue had enough. She spun around, grabbing Si Zha Nan's arm with her other hand and twisted it in the same maneuver that her boss at the café where she worked for when learning music overseas taught her. Si Zha Nan winced in pain and let her go, and she quickly distanced herself from him. A cold smile crawled across her lips.

"My scheme? Mind you, it was your parents who gave me the wine. I was unconscious the entire time. I wonder, who was the one who carried to your bed after drugging me with wine? If it wasn't you, since you claim that you're also the victim, then I wonder if it's dad and mom…"

"Enough." Si Zha Nan suddenly realized that he couldn't afford to drag his parents into the scandal. All his former classmates were watching them curiously, and Ru Yin Yue was revealing far too much information. If everyone learned what his parents did…

"Man, this is interesting. I didn't expect to hear such drama tonight." One of the classmates was chewing on a slice of watermelon, watching the debacle unfold.

"So can I go home now?" Ru Yin Yue asked.

"Come on, don't be like this." Hu Li Jing did a 180 degree turn in attitude. "We all used to be classmates, right? Don't be so cold. You know, we should put the past behind us and toast to Yin Yue and Zha Nan, wish them a happy marriage."

She raised a glass of wine before offering Ru Yin Yue one. When Ru Yin Yue didn't accept, Hu Li Jing feigned hurt.

"Come on, at least give me some face and let me toast to you. I'm being sincere, you know?"

Everyone stared at her in disbelief. Sincere? The girl who had been criticizing Ru Yin Yue for Zhou Ni Yao's loss all this time? And now she wanted to "sincerely" toast her? Perhaps the heaven will collapse.

"I appreciate the thought, but as I said, I had a bad experience with drinking. Didn't you just hear me say earlier that I was drugged by wine that was offered to me? After that incident, I don't want to drink wine again."

"Yeah, Li Jing, don't force her," Ren Zhang said, feeling sorry for Ru Yin Yue. She clearly had been through a lot of difficulties recently. And he could obviously see how Si Zha Nan treated her. The guy was so ruthless. He actually arranged to humiliate his wife in front of everybody like this.

"Even so, it's a pity to let her go so early. At least stay and hang out with us." This time, it was another female classmate. "It's been years since we've seen each other. I want to catch up."

"That's right." Hu Li Jing was quick to latch onto the opportunity. "We don't know if we'll have another chance like this. Don't leave…at least keep us company for a bit. Let us know how you're doing."

"There's no need. I'm doing fine."

"I won't force you to drink, okay? Don't let me spoil your night."

"Yeah, let's catch up, Yin Yue. I want to know how you've been. You disappeared during our university years. I almost thought you died!"

"Where were you? How were you doing?"

A few of the girls gathered and gently led Yin Yue to another place in the sofa. At least they were sensitive enough to put some distance between them and her.

"Nothing much. How about you guys? Have you married yet? Ru Yin Yue was able to change the subject slightly. One of the girls brightened.

"Yes! I met a man in my office. We dated for a few years and got married last year. I wanted to invite you to the wedding, but you…were missing. We couldn't find you, nobody knew where you were. I wanted to introduce my husband to you!"

"I look forward to that." Inwardly, Ru Yin Yue knew Hao Huo Bo was just being polite. They weren't even that close.

Meanwhile, Hu Li Jing was asking Si Zha Nan loudly.

"When was the first time you slept with Ni Yao?"

She had deliberately raised her voice so that Ru Yin Yue could hear her. Even without looking, from her peripheral vision, she could see Hu Li Jing looking straight at her when she asked it.

"Oi…" Ren Zhang began, alarmed. A few of them looked uncomfortable at how she could ask such a question in front of Ru Yin Yue.

However, Si Zha Nan answered calmly with a smile.

"About a month ago."

It was right before Si Zha Nan was about to propose to her. Unfortunately, that night, he had been drunk, so he was unaware that they didn't actually do anything. Honestly, it was mysterious how Zhou Ni Yao didn't seize the opportunity to get intimate with someone as handsome and gorgeous as Si Zha Nan, but she had been pregnant that time, so she had been a little afraid of…doing it.

"Damn, you really held back until so late in your relationship. How pure and innocent! To think you were right on the verge of getting married too…before your proposal was ruined by a third wheel."

"Ignore her," Hao Huo Bo, even though she wasn't that close to Ru Yin Yue, was becoming uncomfortable with the way Hu Li Jing was trying to bully her. "You're the one married to Zha Nan now. What happened in the past doesn't matter."

"Oh, but the past matters." Hu Li Jing stood up and sidled over, a sneering smile on her face. "We've been trying to ask you earlier, Yin Yue. Where were you over the last eight years? Please stop avoiding the question. After you graduated from high school, you mysteriously disappeared. Then when you first came back, the first thing you did was seduce someone else's man. I wonder what you learned over these years."

"I came back about two years ago," Yin Yue replied.

"What? So you went overseas?" Hao Huo Bo asked. Ru Yin Yue nodded.

"So what were you doing overseas?" Hu Li Jing pressed. "Since you were unable to go to university, what did you do there? Did you find work? Ah, perhaps you were forced to sell yourself to a rich foreigner because…"

"What? Did not go to university?" Ren Zhang interrupted before Hu Li Jing could continue with her insults. "Is that true, Yin Yue?"

"A little," Yin Yue admitted. She didn't go to university because she applied for music academy instead. She wondered if music academy counted as tertiary education, but it wasn't the kind of university the rest imagined when they heard the word. "I don't know if it counts, but I attended…"

While she was speaking, Si Zha Nan was staring at her in shock. He rose to his feet and interrupted her.

"How could you not go to university? Your grades were second only to mine."

"I was pursuing my dream," Ru Yin Yue replied. Hu Li Jing scoffed at that.

"Dream? You mean your dream of becoming a mother?"