Chapter Forty: Was the Account Actually Stolen That Day?

Luo Chen had not expected that before he could even leave the house, Luo Tianyi would appear, bleary-eyed, from her room, watching his departing figure...

Sade Restaurant, located in the heart of Qingshui City, was a Western-style eatery, a favored spot for lovers’ dates and business meetings alike.

Table 28, by the window?

Turning, Luo Chen saw a girl waiting at table 28, a cap pulled low over her head. Glancing at the time—there were still more than ten minutes left—he hurried over.

“Hello, are you Qiu Shuihan?” he asked.

Even from her profile, Luo Chen could tell she was striking, but when she turned to face him, he was momentarily taken aback.

She looked no more than seventeen, long black hair cascading over her shoulders, features delicate as if painted, her eyes clear as autumn water and glinting with a faint smile. She wore a pale green dress that reached her knees, revealing just a portion of her fair, slender calves.

“Who would’ve thought the notorious King of Dirty Jokes was actually a high schooler?” she teased.

“That nickname is just something the fans came up with,” Luo Chen replied with a wry smile, taking a seat across from her. He really shouldn’t have acted on impulse back then.

“Oh? Wasn’t that title self-proclaimed?” Zhang Shuihan propped her chin on her hand, regarding him with a gentle laugh.

“What if I told you my account was hacked that day? Would you believe me?” Luo Chen lied without batting an eye—he’d never admit to that embarrassing history; it was nothing but regret.

How many times had he wanted to chop off his own hand over it? But in the end, he could never bring himself to do it—he only ever entertained the thought.

“Hacked?” Zhang Shuihan nearly burst into laughter, but managed to stifle it, her body shaking slightly with suppressed mirth.

Account hacked? Who would believe that, all for the sake of saddling someone with the title King of Dirty Jokes?

Luo Chen knew no one would buy it, but he needed some excuse—he could hardly admit the truth. He wasn’t shameless enough to call himself that with a straight face.

“You know Yuan Ning has it in for me, right? Maybe he hired a hacker to do it.” Luo Chen seized the opportunity to shift the blame onto Yuan Ning—he’d never admit it, no matter what.

“Yuan Ning? Hahaha... All right, I’ll pretend I believe you,” Zhang Shuihan finally let out a laugh. The security on Stardust Platform wasn’t something an ordinary hacker could break, where would Yuan Ning even find someone like that?

Thinking of Yuan Ning getting blamed yet again, Shuihan couldn’t help but smile.

At first, Professor Yuan Ning had been unfairly memed by Luo Chen; when he tried to explain, he got accused of abusing his authority, which, to be fair, was actually true. But now it seemed Luo Chen was pinning even more on him? Ever since encountering Luo Chen, poor Professor Yuan Ning hadn’t had a moment’s luck.

“If not King of Dirty Jokes, you need some kind of title. What should we call you, Little Angel?” Zhang Shuihan teased, her bright eyes fixed on Luo Chen.

She had thought that when Yuan Ning retaliated, this boy would crumble, but he’d managed to fight back instead. If Yuan Ning didn’t press charges, there was nothing anyone could do about it. Even if he did, his reputation was already beyond repair—this time, the professor was truly finished.

“Little Angel? Please, just call me Luo Chen,” he replied. Online, he could cope with nicknames like Little Angel or King of Dirty Jokes, but in real life, it was far too embarrassing.

“Your real name? Should I take that as a roundabout way of asking for mine?” Zhang Shuihan feigned suspicion, but the curve of her lips betrayed her amusement.

Luo Chen, seeing her playful pretense, was at a loss for words.

“Haha... Just kidding. You can call me Zhang Shuihan—that’s my real name.” She smiled at his slight awkwardness.

Faced with such a girl, Luo Chen saw no harm in a little joke. She surely wouldn’t take offense.

“Zhang Shuihan, earlier you messaged that you had evidence of Yuan Ning abusing his position. Is that true?” After some small talk, Luo Chen steered the conversation toward business, or else, by the look of her, they’d be chatting idly all day.

“Mm, see for yourself.” Zhang Shuihan pulled out her phone from her bag and played a short video for Luo Chen.

The clip was just two minutes long. There wasn’t much in it, but there were one or two lines from Yuan Ning that could serve as evidence.

“Why not just take this to the police or the university administration?” Luo Chen had always wondered—if she had proof, why not report it directly?

“Yuan Ning has connections at the university. Even if I report him, he’ll just lose his professorship, nothing more,” Zhang Shuihan replied, clearly unwilling to let Yuan Ning off so easily.

“But what good does it do to give it to me?” Luo Chen asked. Even if he had the video, what could he do with it? Submit it as well? At most, he could send it to the ‘Truth’ column.

“It’s different for you. Can’t you upload the video to Stardust Platform?” Zhang Shuihan’s goal was to ruin Yuan Ning’s reputation completely. Right now, many people still had doubts, some even felt Yuan Ning was being wronged. With this evidence, public opinion would surely shift.

“No way! Stardust Platform doesn’t allow uploads of this kind of thing,” Luo Chen frowned. Anything like this would be quickly deleted by the moderators—there was no precedent for such content there.

“I never said I could make Stardust Platform bend the rules.”

“Ugh… I’m not asking you to upload it directly—aren’t remixes your specialty? Stardust Platform can’t possibly ban those, right?”

Zhang Shuihan gave him a look as if he was being foolish. With Luo Chen’s current popularity and Stardust Platform’s tolerance for his work, he could definitely skirt the rules.

“Remix?” Luo Chen finally understood what she meant, though that only made him more bewildered—how much did she hate Yuan Ning?

Yuan Ning’s situation was already dire; if this evidence was remixed and circulated, he’d become a pariah, someone everyone wanted to punish. Every time people watched, they’d want to hit him—real life would become unbearable for him.

“Yes, a remix. But make sure to remove my voice, or at least disguise it so no one knows who I am,” Zhang Shuihan reminded him. She didn’t want any trouble coming her way because someone recognized her voice.

Thanks to Xiang Momo for the reward of 2500 Starting Coins, with flowers. Thanks to the reader Taiyin Tian for 400 Starting Coins, to Passing By for 200 Starting Coins, and to Foodie Yuyuko for 100 Starting Coins.