With this in mind, Zhu Mingâs eyes slowly quieted down as he looked at Zhao Xinxin. They were no longer as hot and crazy as before.
But Zhao Xinxin was enraged at being exposed: "Donât spit on my face! Iâve never done anything like that. It is just your own imagination, so why blame it on me!"
Having been enlightened and having lost his heart, some of those words sounded difficult to accept.
Zhu Mingâs expression was calm as he gazed at Zhao Xinxin, as if he was looking at a stranger: "I donât think you know yet, do you? Just an hour ago, I was questioned by the academy, and I didnât mention a word about you during the whole process. "
Zhao Xinxinâs expression changed noticeably. She looked stunned, as if she was doubting the truth of that sentence.
Zhu Ming watched her expression and continued word by word: "I told them that I was the one who set this up from the beginning to the end. I said that I was jealous of An Yanâs results in the entrance examination and his closeness to the two Cheng brothers, so I deliberately spread such rumours to slander him."
Zhao Xinxinâs expression changed with Zhu Mingâs words, finally settling on annoyance.
She did not feel that there was anything wrong with her attitude or words just now, but after hearing these words, there was inevitably a trace of weakness and guilt in her heart.
But this weakness and guilt were soon replaced by more anger. Why did Zhu Ming not say anything in the first place but had to wait until now to say these words?
Was he deliberately trying to embarrass her?
Besides, who knew if Zhu Ming said that on purpose as an excuse to avoid his responsibilities?
She looked away and said in a blunt tone, "This matter was originally your responsibility and has nothing to do with me. Whether you have been investigated or not, it is none of my business! "
Even though he had seen Zhao Xinxinâs true face, Zhu Ming was still shocked by her shamelessness. He laughed out loud, "You are right. It is true that this has nothing to do with you, but what is going to happen next has everything to do with you because I have changed my mind. I will report the truth of this matter to the college and accept its punishment. I hope you will do the same."
He had hurt so many people in the name of love, and indeed deserved to be punished as he deserved.
Zhao Xinxinâs eyes instantly went wide as she looked at Zhu Ming incredulously, "How can you do this? Who are you to do this to me? "
Zhu Mingâs reply was very short: "This is my freedom."
Zhao Xinxin was so angry that her face turned red. It was until this moment that she realized her earlier actions might have been damaging.
If she hadnât come to Zhu Ming today and said those words to him, perhaps Zhu Ming would indeed not have betrayed her.
Even in the future, he would still have been willing to do anything for her.
But she did such a thing out of fear, instead of making Zhu Ming change his attitude and inviting considerable trouble for herself.
But someone like Zhao Xinxin, who had a strong character and was used to shirking responsibility, would never admit her mistake even though she had already made some judgements in her heart.
So her first reaction was nothing but anger: "Zhu Ming, you are simply too despicable!"
Zhu Ming no longer wanted to say anything more to Zhao Xinxin and directly stood up, "I think this should be our last meeting, so goodbye, Miss Zhao."
"Wait!" Zhao Xinxin saw that Zhu Ming was getting up to leave, and she hurriedly called out to him, but she couldnât soften her tone. She could only say in an aggressive manner, "Zhu Ming, even if you tell the college about this, there is no evidence to prove that what you say is true. You should know this very well."
She had always been secretive every time she met Zhu Ming. She would specifically check whether Zhu Mingâs light brain had the recording or video function turned on when they met, in order to prevent leaving evidence.
Zhu Ming replied, "I am well aware of this, but I will still report the situation truthfully."
"You will only end up harming yourself if you continue being stubborn!" Zhao Xinxinâs tone took on an obvious threat, "You know what my family is like, and if you insist on offending me, Iâm afraid there will be no place for you in the entire pharmaceutical industry in the future!"
These words made Zhu Mingâs face ugly. He was well aware of the Zhao familyâs power in the pharmacy industry, so her threat might really be more than just verbal.
Seeing this, Zhao Xinxin said with a bit of smugness, "As long as you donât betray me, I certainly wonât do anything to you. Itâs a good deal for you, isnât it?"
Zhu Ming gritted his teeth, but in the end did not change his mind: "Iâm sorry, I donât intend to accept your threats."
Zhao Xinxin was so angry that she cursed several times behind him but never called Zhu Ming back. In the end, she could only stomp her foot and follow him out.
Although his attitude was firm when he left, Zhu Ming was at a loss for a moment.
He had liked Zhao Xinxin for so long, but he never thought that it would end up like this.
Just before this confusion spread, the beep of his light brain interrupted his thoughts.
He looked down and saw that it was an email from a stranger. Strangely enough, the email had no title or body, only a video attachment.
Zhu Ming frowned and clicked on the video. His eyes widened in vain the moment he saw the video, and he reflexively shut down his light brain, looking as if he had been in some great shock.
It took a while before his expression gradually regained its composure, then he quickened his pace and headed back to the college.
Zhao Chengxuan was both surprised and disappointed with his daughterâs call. He thought that although his daughter was somewhat arrogant, she could never do such a stupid thing.
He even wondered for a moment if he had misheard, until his daughter asked him in a panic over the call what she should do about the matter.
He took a breath and said in a calm voice, "Find Zhu Ming and apologise to him immediaetly. Offer him compensation, and if he still doesnât change his mind, then let him think that you are also attracted to him and that there is a possibility of development between you. "
Zhao Chengxuan had made it so clear, but Zhao Xinxin still couldnât get the point. She said, with some annoyance, "Dad, thereâs no way I can like that kind of person!"
"Did I say that you should like him?" Zhao Chengxuan looked at his daughter coldly. The disappointment in his tone could no longer be concealed. "There are countless ways to give him such an illusion that do not include the point of your liking him."
Zhao Xinxin noticed her fatherâs cold gaze. Although it was still difficult to accept such a thing, she stopped showing any obvious anger or difficulty in accepting it, much less trying to contradict her fatherâs words, "I âŠâŠ I know."
Zhao Chengxuan was afraid that his daughter would continue to be stupid and explained again and again, "Xinxin, youâd better figure out whatâs most important to you now, your pride or your reputation, understand?"
Zhao Xinxin gritted her teeth and nodded, "I understand."
Zhao Xinxin struggled for a while after hanging up before she made up her mind and called Zhu Ming. To her surprise, she had been blacklisted and couldnât even get through to him!
Zhao Xinxin was furious. After fuming for awhile, she decided to find another way to contact Zhu Ming.
She canât directly go to Zhu Ming. So, she finally found a friend and decided to borrow her light brain to contact him.
But just when she wanted to explain her intention, she saw her friend speak with a troubled expression, "Ah âŠâŠ youâd better not contact Zhu Ming, okay?"
Zhao Xinxinâs tone was as bad as her mood: "I donât need you to worry about my affairs; you just need to lend me your light brain."
The friend hesitated for a moment, but still couldnât resist speaking the truth: "Youâd better take a look at this video first."
With that, she opened her light brain and clicked on the video in a certain post on the schoolâs website.
The first thing that caught Zhao Xinxinâs eyes when the video started was a familiar layout. Before she could figure out where it was, an incredibly familiar voice suddenly came out, "I suppose youâve not been questioned by the college yet, right?"
Zhao Xinxinâs head instantly exploded, and her whole body completely lost the ability to think.
The friend hurriedly closed the video, thought about it, and finally left without saying a word.
At the same time, a certain post that had just popped up on First Collegeâs campus website had quickly turned into a firestorm due to the large number of replies.
1L: "Damn! The content of this video is so explosive itâs mind-boggling! "
5L: "So the ultimate protagonist of the recent rumour-mongering incident that has spread throughout the college is this Zhao Xinxin? Who the hell is she?"
13L: Upstairs, you donât know Zhao Xinxin? She is a member of the Zhao family, a pharmacy family, and may be the head of the Zhao family in the future."
19L: " As far as I know, the Zhao family has a good reputation in the pharmacy industry, so how come this Zhao Xinxin is so âŠâŠmaverick.  What a surprise. "
26L: "More than a maverick. This is simply vicious to the extreme, okay! "
She first deliberately used someone who likes her to spread rumors. When things fell apart, she kicked the whole pot to the other side. The series of actions were really skillful.
34L: "Donât be so direct upstairs. Thatâs the Zhao familyâs potential successor. You will offend the Zhao family if you say that, and then thereâs no telling what theyâll do to you."
41L: "Iâm in the same major as Zhao Xinxin. I thought she was pretty good before, and she must have had good qualifications to be able to make good potions at such a young age, but I didnât expect her to have such a persona behind her. What a surprise. "
55L: "I do feel sorry for Zhao Xinxin. When she was designing all this, she didnât think in any way that the person she was slandering would report the matter directly to the collegeâŠâŠ"
66L: "Speaking of which, I really admire that student too much. His wave of operation is simply too good! "