Rebirth to Save Myself

"I remember Wanying and Lin Zhe didn't publicize their relationship much, unless someone confessed to one of you. In that case, to clearly reject them, you would mention that you already had a partner. Especially Lin Zhe, who would loudly proclaim that he planned to marry Wanying right after graduation. I guess that's what angered a certain girl, which is why she spread rumors about Wanying." Ye Zhenzhen added a lot, all pointing the finger at Lin Zhe.

"It's all my fault, but I can't think of which girl it is right now." Lin Zhe said guiltily, holding Chen Wanying's hand and looking at her.

“It’s not your fault, it’s her narrow-mindedness,” Chen Wanying said to Lin Zhe.

"So what should we do now?" Su Xia asked.

"I think the best way is to find that girl and have her post a clarification. That way, at least she'll take responsibility for her mistakes," Lu Lu said.

"That girl will most likely not admit it. If she did, wouldn't that ruin her reputation?" Chen Wanying was very clear-headed. If she were that girl, she would definitely not admit to it.

"What should we do? If this isn't resolved, a lot of people will misunderstand Wanying." Ye Zhenzhen started to get anxious. Nothing seemed to work. She couldn't just let that girl who spread the rumors get away with it.

“That’s when I need my dad’s help.” Chen Wanying smiled, then called her dad in front of everyone and said, “Dad, do you know? There are rumors all over the school that you’re keeping me as a mistress, and that you’ve given me a lot of money.”

"What nonsense are you spouting? You're my own daughter. I wouldn't be so heartless as to be that insane." Mr. Chen cursed loudly on the phone. Anyone would be angry in his shoes.

“Yes, so I was planning to call the police. But your daughter has little influence here, and I’m afraid I’m not enough to get the police to intervene.” Chen Wanying said with a wronged expression, and you could hear a hint of tears in her voice even through the phone.

"Wait here, I'll get someone to come and help you right now," Mr. Chen said before hanging up the phone.

"This, this!" Ye Zhenzhen was speechless for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Zhe also picked up his phone and called his mother, saying, "Your daughter-in-law is being bullied at school."

"Who, who is so bold as to bully Yingying? Was it you?"

"It wasn't me, it was a shameless woman. She coveted me and then framed Yingying, saying that she was being kept by her father and was a mistress."

“What? Wait a minute, your mom has a friend over there, I’ll ask her to help.”

"it is good."

After the two finished their phone calls with their families, looking at the stunned crowd, Chen Wanying said, "I'm going to show her that you can't afford to offend those evil capitalists."

"I think it's great." Su Xia nodded. It would be stupid not to use someone with connections and resources like this! If you're being bullied like this and don't fight back, that's not called having a good temper, that's called being cowardly.

The group met at noon, exchanged greetings, and then went to the cafeteria for lunch. At 1:30 PM, while everyone was taking a nap and feeling drowsy, a sudden siren blared, waking them up considerably. Two men in uniform got out of a car and headed straight for the building with the teachers' offices. Everyone immediately pulled out their phones to gossip.

Passerby A: What's going on? I heard a police siren!

Passerby B: I personally saw two police officers enter the department head's office; it was the Chinese Language and Literature Department.

Coffee for Life (Su Xia): According to rumors, it's related to a post on Tieba these past two days.

Passerby C: What? Is it about that girl who was being kept? I saw that post too. Could it be that the original wife reported her?

Coffee for Life (Su Xia): No, it was the girl who called the police, asking them to investigate the truth behind the comments and find the person who spread the rumors.

Dewy Morning (Lu Lu): I've heard about it too. That post was completely fabricated. The girl who was falsely accused called the police and said she wouldn't let the person who spread the rumors get away with it. In serious cases, they could even go to jail.

The girl who spread the rumors, Chen Li, was shocked when she saw the message in the school group chat. What was going on? Why was the police called? She had done something similar in high school, spreading rumors about another girl's promiscuity, which led to her being bullied by everyone. The girl was eventually forced to drop out of school and didn't even take the college entrance exam. That incident caused quite a stir back then, but Chen Li got away with it completely.

The reason for spreading rumors about this girl was that the boy Chen Li liked liked her back. So, Chen Li casually mentioned to her friends that she saw that girl get into a car after school. Moreover, the license plate number was different. As everyone spread the rumor, it became more and more outrageous, until even the teacher started to dislike the girl.

"Nothing happened back then, but now there are photos. I don't believe she can turn things around." Chen Li was skeptical. Last time, she could be accused of spreading rumors, but this time there were photos. What was she afraid of?

Not long after, Chen Li received a call from her homeroom teacher, asking her to go to the principal's office. The teacher's tone was quite cold. Chen Li asked her teacher, "What do I need to do in the principal's office?"

"Just come when I tell you to. Why all the nonsense?" The class teacher sounded extremely impatient on the phone, then hung up without saying anything more.

Seeing Chen Li get up, her roommate asked with some confusion, "Where are you going in the middle of the day?"

Chen Li said awkwardly, "I ordered takeout, I'll go downstairs to get it."

"Oh."

Chen Li walked slowly toward the principal's office with trepidation. What should have been a ten-minute walk took her half an hour. During that time, her homeroom teacher would call her from time to time to urge her on where she was and why she was taking so long. He suggested that if she was too far away, she should walk faster or ride a bicycle.

"dong dong"

The class teacher flung open the door and, seeing Chen Li standing outside, immediately said, "You're finally here! Stop dawdling and come in."

As soon as Chen Li entered, she found the two policemen mentioned in the group chat sitting on the sofa, while the principal sat expressionlessly behind his desk. Opposite the policemen sat Chen Wanying and Lin Zhe, Lin Zhe glaring at her with rage. If looks could kill, Chen Li would probably be torn to pieces by Lin Zhe right now. Next to them sat a well-dressed man in a suit, who also looked at her without saying a word.

“Chen Li, right?” one of the police officers asked.

"Yes, it's me. May I ask what's the matter?" Chen Li asked cautiously.

"Don't be nervous, come sit over here and let's talk." The policeman beckoned to her, and after she sat down, he said, "We called you here today mainly to ask you some questions. Just tell us what you know, relax."

"Oh, okay." Chen Li nodded lightly, then glanced guiltily at Chen Wanying.

"Did you post this? Is this username yours?" The police handed over a tablet, which clearly showed a post by Chen Lifa spreading rumors that Chen Wanying was being kept by a sugar daddy.

Just as Chen Li was about to deny it, she heard the police say something.

"You'd better tell the truth, otherwise we can find out too."

"I...I didn't mean to." Chen Li was completely overwhelmed, and that was all she could say.

"You didn't do it on purpose, but I think you did! Do you know how much harm your words are causing Yingying?!" Lin Zhe was furious when he heard this, and stood up, pointing at Chen Li and cursing loudly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to. I just posted it online, I didn't expect so many people to pay attention and reply, and it made it trend." Chen Li knew that the situation was not good for her, so she immediately apologized, shifted the blame, and played the victim.

"Hello, I am the lawyer entrusted by Ms. Chen Wanying. My surname is Lin." The man sitting next to the two spoke first, briefly introduced himself, and then said to Chen Li, "You published her photo on the Internet without my client's consent and without any redaction, which violated her personal privacy."

"I really didn't mean it. I'm sorry, Chen Wanying. I really know I was wrong." Chen Li looked at Chen Wanying pitifully, thinking that this way she could get away with it.

"When you spread rumors about me, did you not think about the consequences?" Chen Wanying asked softly.

"I've already said I was wrong, what more do you want from me? Do you expect me to kneel down before you'll forgive me?" Chen Li was getting impatient. Why make such a big deal out of this little thing involving the police and lawyers?

"Attorney Lin, I'll leave the rest to you." Chen Wanying didn't answer Chen Li, but looked directly at Attorney Lin.

“Okay, Ms. Chen.” Attorney Lin nodded, then said to Chen Li, “According to Article 25 of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, anyone who commits one of the following acts shall be detained for not less than five days but not more than ten days and may also be fined not more than 500 yuan; if the circumstances are minor, the person shall be detained for not more than five days or fined not more than 500 yuan. Your actions have caused my client severe mental harm and resulted in her being discriminated against and ostracized at school. Therefore, we demand that you compensate my client with 5,000 yuan for mental distress, plus an additional 15 days of detention and a demerit.”

Hearing this, Chen Li's eyes widened. This was simply too much! She looked at the police and said, "Aren't you police officers going to do anything about this?"

“Ms. Chen, as things stand, they’re settling this with you privately, so we won’t interfere. If we were to interfere, we’d have to go through the proper procedures, and you’d have to come back to the detention center with us,” a police officer said.

"What's the difference? You'll be detained anyway!" Chen Li couldn't help but ask.

“There is a difference. According to the lawyer, you will be detained for fifteen days. Follow our procedures: evidence collection, interrogation, submission to the court, and waiting for the trial. You can stay in the detention center until the Chinese New Year,” the police officer continued.

"You can also spend the New Year in the detention center and have some dumplings," another policeman nearby said at this moment.

Chen Li was furious. These two weren't police officers at all; they were clearly scoundrels! She seriously doubted their authenticity. Could it be that Chen Wanying had hired them to put on a show for her? So Chen Li asked, "How can you prove you're real police officers?"

"Hey, look at this little girl, she doesn't believe us." The policeman turned to look at his colleague and said jokingly.

"Whether she believes it or not, hey, you, it's you. Instead of doubting us, you should think carefully about which path you want to take," the police officer said to Chen Li.

“Chen Li, right? Our school’s students have always been law-abiding and good students. This has never happened before. Your behavior is tantamount to tarnishing the school’s reputation. Posting it online will affect our application rate.” The principal also spoke up. His words were clearly telling Chen Li that he was on Chen Wanying’s side and that no matter what she chose, the school would give her a demerit.

Chen Li started to panic at this point, and even her homeroom teacher looked at her with reproach. The homeroom teacher was originally going to apply for the Outstanding Teacher award this year, but this incident would definitely ruin it, and she really wanted to expel Chen Li from her class.

"No, this shouldn't be happening. Nothing happened last time, so why is it like this now?" Chen Li murmured, as if questioning, or perhaps talking to herself.

"Huh? This isn't your first offense?" the police officer asked after hearing Chen Li's words.

“If this isn’t her first offense, then it confirms her intent, and we’ll have to increase the compensation.” The lawyer stated directly, seizing on this point and amplifying it.

"So, Chen Li, what are your plans to do?" the police officer asked directly.

"I...I don't know." Chen Li shook her head; no matter which path she took, it wasn't a good choice.

"Then let's call your parents. Although you're an adult now, I doubt you can come up with that much money," the class teacher said.

Hearing that her parents would be called, Chen Li panicked and immediately said, "No, I can take it out myself."

Unfortunately, the homeroom teacher wouldn't go along with her wishes. She directly called Chen Li's mother and said, "Hello, I'm Chen Li's homeroom teacher. She committed a crime at school and is now facing the risk of detention. Please come to the school when you have time."

"I told you not to call my mom!" Chen Li rushed up to the class teacher, snatched her phone, and said to her mother on the other end of the line, "Don't come, do you hear me? I'll handle this myself."

After hanging up the phone, he handed it back to the class teacher, walked up to Chen Wanying, knelt down, and said, "I'm sorry, I posted the photos last night without verifying them. I'm sorry, I spread rumors and caused you to be misunderstood by everyone. I'm sorry, it was my fault. I will give you the compensation. Please give me some time, can you not detain me and give me a demerit?"

As Chen Wanying saw Chen Li kneel down, she sat down beside her without accepting the apology. A flicker of displeasure crossed her mind upon hearing Chen Li's apology. She didn't genuinely believe she was wrong; she simply sensed the unfavorable situation and begged Chen Wanying for forgiveness so she wouldn't be detained.