My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 32

Xiao Nianyuan wiped her face and looked coldly at the girl.

She could probably guess the reason behind the girl’s actions. If the girl had approached her calmly, she would have explained properly. But the girl had immediately thrown a cup of milk tea at her.

Watching the girl’s hysterical state, Xiao Nianyuan felt no sympathy whatsoever. If she pitied the girl, who would pity her?

Seeing that Xiao Nianyuan ignored her, the girl grew even more furious. “Aren’t you even going to admit what you did wrong?”

Noticing someone nearby filming with their phone, Xiao Nianyuan turned to them and said, “Send me the video later.”

The person recording was stunned for a moment, but upon seeing Xiao Nianyuan’s face, they instinctively nodded in agreement. Only after nodding did they realize what they had done, and their face flushed red instantly.

Xiao Nianyuan paid no attention to their reaction and turned back to the girl. “You say I did something wrong—do you have proof?”

“How could I not have proof?” The girl pulled out her phone, frantically scrolling through it. “Look, isn’t this your photo? You’ve fooled so many people, and now you’re even fooling my boyfriend!”

“Your boyfriend?” Xiao Nianyuan sneered. “When did I ever fool your boyfriend?”

The girl dug through her chat history with her boyfriend and shoved the phone in Xiao Nianyuan’s face. “Dare you say this isn’t you?”

Xiao Nianyuan scoffed. She really could say it. “That’s not me. The person using this photo isn’t me.”

The person in the photo was indeed her, but the one using it to deceive others wasn’t. Xiao Nianyuan wasn’t about to take the blame for something she didn’t do.

“You just admitted the person in the photo is you!” The girl refused to back down. “If it wasn’t you, then who else? Tell me, who did you give your photo to?”

No matter what, she was determined to get an answer today.

Xiao Nianyuan narrowed her eyes. “This is clearly a photo someone took without my permission. If anything, I’m the victim here.”

The girl froze, not expecting that response. She took her phone back and scrutinized the photo, then looked at Xiao Nianyuan again.

The angle of the photo wasn’t particularly skewed—it even showed part of her face—but it was clear Xiao Nianyuan’s attention wasn’t on the camera, nor was she looking at it.

The girl hesitated, uncertain. “Maybe you were just deliberately avoiding the camera.”

Xiao Nianyuan said nothing, only staring at her coldly.

Seeing how composed Xiao Nianyuan was, without a trace of guilt, the girl began to waver. Had she really misunderstood?

Xiao Nianyuan had explained herself, and the girl wasn’t unreasonable. She bit her lip, struggling to speak.

Even though she realized her mistake, she had already thrown milk tea at Xiao Nianyuan and said terrible things. She couldn’t just pretend it never happened.

Mumbling, she whispered, “I didn’t mean to…”

Xiao Nianyuan remained silent, still watching her. The girl clenched her teeth and finally apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I—I was just too upset.”

Xiao Nianyuan was still angry. Being drenched in milk tea out of nowhere and humiliated in front of so many people—it would be strange if she wasn’t furious. But since the girl’s apology seemed sincere, she didn’t press further. She simply said, “Actions have consequences.”

Earlier, the girl had accused Xiao Nianyuan of wrongdoing and demanded she admit her mistake. Now that the tables had turned, the girl’s face flushed red and pale alternately. She lowered her head and tentatively said, “I’ll compensate you for the clothes… and your emotional distress.”

Her attitude was sincere now, devoid of her previous aggressive demeanor. She seemed cautious, as if this was her true nature all along.

Xiao Nianyuan glanced at the surrounding crowd, then parted her lips slightly and whispered, “Come with me.”

The girl didn’t react immediately. It wasn’t until Xiao Nianyuan had taken two steps forward and turned back to look at her—eyes signaling to follow—that she understood.

Hurrying after her, the girl noticed people still eager for drama and snapped, “What are you looking at? Can’t you see it was just a misunderstanding?”

The person who’d recorded the video hesitated, “What about the video I took?”

Seeing he’d filmed it to use against the girl, Xiao Nianyuan watched as the girl’s face burned crimson. “I told you it was a misunderstanding! Delete it—don’t spread it around.”

Worried he might not comply, the girl made sure to watch him delete it before catching up to Xiao Nianyuan.

The entire way, the girl trailed behind like a timid quail. She regretted not verifying the facts first, but the moment she’d seen Xiao Nianyuan, memories of her boyfriend being deceived had overwhelmed her. Betrayal had clouded her judgment, and she’d charged forward with the milk tea without a second thought, driven solely by the urge to teach the person who’d tricked her boyfriend a lesson.

Xiao Nianyuan led her through twists and turns until the girl was nearly dizzy. Finally stopping, Xiao Nianyuan carefully scanned their surroundings to ensure no one was eavesdropping before asking, “Did your boyfriend say I was the one who did it?”

The girl shook her head blankly, admitting honestly, “No… I found his chat logs, and then I saw everyone talking about the gaming scam recently, so I tracked down that post.”

Xiao Nianyuan had seen the post too. To someone unaware of the truth, it might indeed seem convincing.

“Didn’t you notice all the ‘victims’ in that post used the same selfie?”

“If I were really scamming people, why would I only use one photo? Wouldn’t I have more?” The girl froze, a realization dawning. Before she could process it, Xiao Nianyuan pressed on.

Dazed, the girl murmured, “Because… the scammer only had that one photo of you.”

Xiao Nianyuan nodded. The girl’s face paled, then flushed sickly. She wasn’t stupid—she immediately grasped the implication. If Xiao Nianyuan were truly the scammer, she’d have multiple photos. The real scammer, impersonating someone else, would only have one to share.

“I didn’t mean to treat you like that…”

Xiao Nianyuan still bore the stains from the milk tea. She hadn’t cleaned herself since being splashed, and the marks had seeped deep into her clothes, nearly blending in.

Flustered, the girl dug out a pack of tissues and offered them, wanting to help wipe but afraid of hurting Xiao Nianyuan with her clumsiness. Instead, she cupped the tissues in both hands for Xiao Nianyuan to take.

Accepting them, Xiao Nianyuan dabbed at her hair and said, “I don’t know the full story myself. The actual victims probably know more than I do.”

Though the scammer had used her photo, they must have mixed truths with lies during the cons—perhaps even revealing real details about themselves.

The girl asked uncertainly, “Should I… ask my boyfriend about it?”

Xiao Nianyuan looked at her for a moment before asking, “Still your boyfriend?”

The girl’s face flushed crimson as she stammered, “No… he’s my ex now.”

Though the thought of her boyfriend being scammed was infuriating, now that she had calmed down and thought it over, wasn’t he just as much to blame?

He had a girlfriend, yet he was still flirting with someone online. If he hadn’t been harboring ill intentions, lusting after the photos the scammer sent, how could he have been so easily tricked out of his money?

He always insisted on splitting the bill when they went out, yet he was generous enough to send money to a scammer online—treating them to meals, buying them milk tea, even asking for their address to send them clothes.

But in the end, it helped her see the man’s true colors. Better to end things now before their feelings deepened. She wasn’t really at a loss.

“Then… I’ll go?”

“I’m still angry,” Xiao Nianyuan said coolly.

The girl stiffened. “Then… what should I do?”

She watched Xiao Nianyuan nervously, genuinely unsure how to resolve this. She had already apologized and even offered compensation—was Xiao Nianyuan expecting her to get splashed in return?

Her face tightened. If that was what Xiao Nianyuan wanted, she’d just have to accept it.

“What’s your name?”

“Zhongli Rong.”

After getting her name, Xiao Nianyuan exchanged contact details with her and said, “I don’t need your compensation, but I do need you to do something for me.”

“What is it?”

Xiao Nianyuan replied, “I’ll contact you when I need your help. For now, act like nothing happened. If anyone asks about me, insist that I was the one who scammed your ex.”

Zhongli Rong vaguely guessed what Xiao Nianyuan was planning and quickly nodded. “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Still feeling guilty, she added, “At least let me pay for the clothes.”

“We’ll talk about that later.”

Xiao Nianyuan returned to her dorm in disarray, startling her three roommates. They fussed over her, asking what had happened and whether they should report it to their advisor.

Xiao Nianyuan shook her head lightly. “It’s nothing. I just… tripped.”

But it was obvious she hadn’t just tripped—who falls into a cup of milk tea?

Ji Rongxue silently wet a towel and handed it to her to wipe her face, while Tan Xialan helped gather her soiled clothes. The three of them ushered Xiao Nianyuan into the bathroom, telling her to clean up before coming out.

There was no hot water in the dorm during the day, so Xiao Nianyuan had to take a cold shower. By the time she stepped out, she was shivering, sniffling slightly.

The air conditioning, which had been running earlier, had been turned off to keep her from catching a chill. Tan Xialan pulled out chairs, seating Xiao Nianyuan opposite the three of them.

Tan Xialan spoke first. “Who hurt you? Don’t worry, tell us. We’ll help you.”

“It was a misunderstanding,” Xiao Nianyuan admitted, not hiding the truth from them. Even though they hadn’t wanted her to know about her photos being misused, she answered honestly. “She thought I was involved with her boyfriend.”

Tan Xialan froze, instinctively glancing at Du Xiaotong, eyes wide with silent questioning—Does she know?

Du Xiaotong patted her hand, signaling her to stay calm.

Ji Rongxue pondered and asked, “Could it be that you’ve offended someone recently? Maybe they’re deliberately spreading rumors about you getting too close to someone else’s boyfriend.”

“Offended someone?” Xiao Nianyuan thought seriously. “No.”

This semester, due to her part-time job, she had little interaction with others. Even at the library, she maintained a strictly professional attitude. Though not as warm as other student workers, she never disrespected anyone and performed her duties flawlessly without any room for criticism.

If she had to consider offending someone, it would have been a long time ago. Why would they wait until now to retaliate in such a way?

Du Xiaotong suddenly said, “It might not be someone you offended. Maybe they just want to make you miserable.”

Du Xiaotong’s words were often abrupt and unclear. Tan Xialan asked in confusion, “So it’s just for the sake of causing trouble in society?”

Du Xiaotong replied, “That’s roughly the idea, though I can’t say for sure what exactly it is.”

Meanwhile, Ji Rongxue, who had been listening to their conversation, suddenly turned pale.