Thirty-Eight

The university campus was vast, especially across different majors. Unless one made a deliberate effort, many people might not even cross paths once in four years.

Finding someone could be troublesome, but not entirely so—after all, the reputation of a "big shot" was likely well-known.

After several hours of searching, they finally got the computer genius's phone number from a senior student. Without hesitation, they dialed.

"Hello, who is this?"

Shen Mengjie took a deep breath and said, "Are you Senior Li Hao?"

Hearing a pleasant female voice on the other end, Li Hao's tone immediately softened. "Yes, that's me... May I ask who you are?"

"Hello, I have something I’d like to ask for your help with... If it’s convenient, could we meet?"

"Of course, of course! Where would you like to meet?"

Huang Fei frowned deeply upon hearing the eagerness in the other person’s voice.

But Shen Mengjie just chuckled lightly. "How about the coffee shop at the East Gate?"

"Sure."

After hanging up, Shen Mengjie excitedly put away her phone and instinctively glanced in Long Aotian’s direction.

If not for Long Aotian’s idea, she truly wouldn’t have known what to do.

The only solution she could think of was arguing back on the campus forum.

But the screenshots the other party had posted were undeniable—she couldn’t explain them away because they were real. (Back in 2007–2008, reporting to the authorities was an option, but not always effective.)

Even if she tried to explain, no one would sympathize with her.

But if she could find the person spreading these rumors, she’d confront them face-to-face.

She knew her behavior wasn’t entirely blameless, but as Long Aotian had said, even if she deserved exposure, she shouldn’t be the only one.

Besides, she had only gone out to eat and sing with those who had invited her. If they could provide her with emotional fulfillment, she’d accept their next invitation.

On the other hand, if they couldn’t offer that and only wanted to take advantage of her, there wouldn’t be a next time.

She enjoyed the attention and admiration, but she wasn’t stupid.

It takes two to tango—if they hadn’t actively pursued her and added her as a friend, she wouldn’t have chatted with them in the first place.

So this situation wasn’t entirely her fault. A guy who had a girlfriend but still tried to hit on her deserved to be exposed on the campus forum too—let him taste his own medicine!

If you’re wondering why she couldn’t just match the chat records to identify the person, even if they had blurred out details, she should have been able to find them based on her own chat history...

Shen Mengjie would lower her head in shame. Her responses were practically identical, as if copied from a template.

And with so many guys adding her on QQ, all with the same chat background, it was like trying to find a needle in a stack of identical needles—nearly impossible to pinpoint the original one...

......

At the coffee shop, she waited less than ten minutes before a slightly chubby guy walked in. He wasn’t very tall, wore black-framed glasses, and had a side-parted fringe—clearly, he’d made an effort to wash his hair.

With just one glance, Shen Mengjie knew this had to be Li Hao. There was no mistaking the unmistakable aura of a shut-in gamer.

"Senior Li Hao?" Shen Mengjie stood up and smiled sweetly at him, her delicate face radiating charm.

Li Hao froze for a moment when he saw her, clearly not expecting the person who’d called him to be such a pretty and alluring girl.

His face instantly turned red.

He walked over but didn’t sit down right away, instead asking, "You’re the one who called me earlier?"

"Yes." Seeing his flushed expression, Shen Mengjie’s smile grew even sweeter. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet me."

A beautiful girl with a sweet voice—for guys who’d never been in a relationship, this scene would leave a lasting impression.

Li Hao was no exception.

Clearing his throat, he sat down across from her. "So... which department are you from? What do you need my help with?"

"Senior, my name is Shen Mengjie, I’m—"

The moment he heard "Shen Mengjie," Li Hao’s cheerful expression vanished, replaced by stern seriousness.

"I can’t help you."

With that, he stood up to leave.

Shen Mengjie was stunned. Just a second ago, he’d seemed interested in her...

Seeing that he was really about to walk away, she quickly stood and called after him, "Senior Li Hao, what’s wrong? Did I offend you somehow?"

The people waiting outside noticed the situation and instinctively moved closer.

Li Hao suddenly saw a group approaching him and felt a pang of fear. He turned back to Shen Mengjie. "Didn’t you call me to meet alone? Why did you bring so many people? Are you trying to mess with someone like me too? You’ll get what’s coming to you."

The barrage of accusations left Shen Mengjie momentarily speechless—especially the last line about "getting what’s coming to you." She was at a complete loss.

Huang Fei, hearing him talk to Shen Mengjie like that, immediately stepped forward and pointed at Li Hao. "Watch your mouth."

Long Aotian pulled Huang Fei’s arm down and apologized to Li Hao. "Sorry about that. But could you tell us why you reacted this way?"

Li Hao shot Huang Fei a defiant look before turning to Long Aotian. "You’re with them, aren’t you?"

When Long Aotian nodded, Li Hao’s expression turned disdainful.

"If you’re with them, then there’s nothing to explain."

Then he looked at the still-confused Shen Mengjie and smirked. "You really are something, huh? Not only did you string along thirty-eight guys online, but you’ve got this many people defending you in real life too..."

Hearing this, Long Aotian gave Shen Mengjie a deadpan look.

Under his gaze, Shen Mengjie lowered her head in shame—she genuinely didn’t remember there being that many...

Still, Long Aotian caught two key points in Li Hao’s words.

First, even Shen Mengjie herself was hazy about which chat records belonged to whom.

Yet Li Hao had cited an exact number: thirty-eight.

With that in mind, Long Aotian looked at Li Hao skeptically. "Thirty-eight? Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?"