Chapter 62
Gossip was human nature, especially when it concerned the "campus belle." It probably wouldn't even take half a day before it spread through all the chat groups.
It was late summer, the sun blazed fiercely. Hearing the exclamations and curious voices around her, Zhong Zinuan's vision went black.
She might as well be dead.
The two of them supported her as they walked some distance, passing through a small grove. Seeing that there was no one around for the moment, Zhong Zinuan finally let go of her restraint and suddenly broke free from their hands. "Fu Nanshuang! Was it you who tripped me just now?"
Her speech was still a bit leaky; with this outburst, her half-broken front tooth became especially conspicuous, and it wasn't even neatly broken, looking like a tiny little door.
Zhong Ning thought: This might be the toughest ordeal I’ve ever faced in my life.
It turned out that suppressing laughter was truly impossible — the more she tried to hold it back, the more she wanted to laugh.
She indeed had no talent for controlling her expressions, and her facial features twisted terribly.
Fu Nanshuang spoke incredulously, "What kind of joke are you making? Aren't we good friends? We're all in the student council. Why would I trip you, Zhong Zinuan? Are you in a bad mood today, or did I do something before that caused a misunderstanding?"
"Little Ning, you know me. I'm not the kind of person who plays dirty tricks behind others’ backs. What’s wrong with your sister? She’s so hostile toward me."
Zhong Ning thought: Help, my head’s going to fall off from laughing!
Fu Nanshuang continued her syrupy words, "I’m a straightforward person. If I said something that upset you, I will apologize."
Zhong Zinuan looked even more disgusted. She covered her mouth with her hand, just about to speak, when a few students walked over. She immediately shut her mouth again.
Fu Nanshuang spoke up again, "Zhong Zinuan, I kindly supported you to the infirmary, yet you lost your temper at me and even blamed me. We’ve never had any grudges. Why would you slander me like this!"
The few students looked as if they had just stumbled upon some earth-shattering gossip. They blatantly sneaked several glances, pulled out their phones, and began furiously tapping on their screens, even slowing their walking pace.
Zhong Zinuan was so angry that her vision blurred. Falling in public had almost burned away all her remaining rationality. Thinking about how others would view her from now on — from the perfect campus goddess to the goddess who broke her front tooth — made her tremble with rage.
Fu Nanshuang discreetly nudged Zhong Ning with her elbow. The latter immediately caught on. "Sister, Nanshuang was only trying to help you out of concern, why be so harsh. That’s too much. Nanshuang is our mutual friend. I really don’t know what problem you have with her to slander her like this."
She truly couldn't match Fu Nanshuang's emotional performance, but at this moment, no one cared about the minor issue of tone.
The nearby students were now flying across their phone screens even faster.
Her tooth hurt, her head hurt, and every time she opened her mouth to speak, the air leaked through. Zhong Zinuan didn’t want to say a single word, but if she didn’t refute it, her reputation would be completely ruined before tomorrow even came!
She had no choice but to suppress the urge to tear Fu Nanshuang’s mouth apart and forced out a few words through her clenched teeth. "I already said it was a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was only asking if you saw how I fell. Nanshuang, don’t overthink it. Why are you so sensitive, thinking I’m suspecting you? Aren’t we good friends?"
"Forget it, you go handle the recruitment matters. I can go to the infirmary myself."
After saying that, she didn’t even wait for a response and hurried off like her feet were greased.
If it weren’t for the inconvenience of wearing high heels, she would have started running.
The more she argued with Fu Nanshuang, the more problems would arise. The most urgent thing now was to fix her tooth! Every word she spoke only made her lose more face.
A casual explanation would suffice for now. If any rumors did spread, she would clarify them after her tooth was fixed.
With no more gossip to listen to, the few students nearby also left. Fu Nanshuang finally relaxed and laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. "Did you see her expression? More exaggerated than finding half a worm in an apple! Hahaha, I’m dying!"
"So, do you feel better? If not, we can do it again."
Again?
Zhong Ning laughed with curved eyes, waving her hands repeatedly. "I feel better. After this, she must be fuming."
Fu Nanshuang snorted. "She deserves it. Come on, I’ll take you to the dorm."
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Fengcheng University had many campuses. In fact, there were other campuses located on the other side of the city.
As a top university, if nothing else, its environment was absolutely first-class. It was genuinely huge. Half of its buildings were extremely modern, towering structures with a strong sense of design; the other half had an ancient charm, resembling a palace.
The two styles were clearly distinct yet surprisingly harmonious, creating a surreal sense of time-travel dissonance.
If no one told her, Zhong Ning would have thought it was some kind of tourist destination.
In such a huge campus, walking was not a wise choice. Almost every student rode a balance scooter. There were also shared bikes on campus that didn’t require scanning; you could ride and park them freely.
Fu Nanshuang directly picked a two-seater electric vehicle, somewhat like a small train found in parks, with individual seats and a storage box at the back.
In her previous life, Zhong Ning had only attended an ordinary university with standard facilities. Seeing this scene now, she couldn’t help but look around, finding everything novel and fascinating.
"Today it’s mostly student council members and freshmen, or tourists here to visit. But there are also some who registered early or graduate students who stayed on campus."
"They're easy to spot. The ones looking around like you are basically all freshmen."
Zhong Ning thought: Can you blame her? Everything was so new!
Besides, the students’ clothing styles were extremely diverse: some looked like they were going on a wilderness expedition, some like scavengers, some like fashion show models, and some like they were here for Halloween.
Fu Nanshuang continued introducing the names and functions of various buildings — the numbered teaching buildings, the laboratory buildings, and so on.
As she spoke, a goat suddenly ran past them, followed by a group of people shouting, "Catch that goat!!"