Chapter 28: Scumbag?

Jiang Mingyue had previously added someone on the school forum who went by the name of Mingde Bai Xiaosheng. This person claimed to have access to all the news about the school, and could find out anything as long as one was willing to pay.

For clarification, Jiang Mingyue’s current school was called Mingde High School.

Jiang Mingyue secretly took out his phone and sent a message to Bai Xiaosheng.

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: Beep beep beep, are you there?

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: Do you want to do a business deal?

Bai Xiaosheng replied almost immediately.

Bai Xiaosheng: What kind of business?

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: Help me investigate someone’s information, Liu Haiming from Class One, Grade Two.

Bai Xiaosheng: What kind of information about him?

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: His character and all of his past relationships.

Bai Xiaosheng: Oh~~~ past relationships, huh~

Seeing the elongated tilde, Jiang Mingyue knew the other person was thinking too much.

Then the other person sent a cheeky panda emoji.

Bai Xiaosheng: Got it, got it. JPG

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: Don’t pretend to understand when you don’t. JPG

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: Can you take this business deal?

Bai Xiaosheng: Of course I can! There’s nothing I, Mingde’s Bai Xiaosheng, can’t find out. But your business is a bit tricky, and the price is a little high.

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: How much?

Bai Xiaosheng: The original price is 999, but since you’re an old customer, I’ll give you a discount and charge you 998. What do you think?

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: …… Deal. When will there be results?

Bai Xiaosheng:The latest will be the day after tomorrow.

Where Moonlight Wanes and Weather Shifts: OK.

After class, Jiang Mingyue and Chen Xiangyi went to the infirmary to get some medicine. On their way back, they intentionally took a detour and passed by the entrance of Class One.

Chen Xiangyi pointed to a boy in the last row of the third group in the classroom. “That’s Liu Haiming.”

Jiang Mingyue casually looked over as she walked.

The boy had short, messy hair and a wheat-colored complexion. His features were neat and proper.

At that moment, he was sitting upright in his chair, speaking to the person next to him. His demeanor appeared quite outstanding.

Perhaps noticing Jiang Mingyue’s gaze, the boy’s eyes shifted toward her. Upon recognizing her, he paused for a moment, then politely nodded and smiled.

Jiang Mingyue shifted her gaze and didn’t respond.

Chen Xiangyi pulled her along and quickened her pace. “Did you see clearly?”

Jiang Mingyue replied: “I saw clearly. He looks quite decent.”

Chen Xiangyi nodded in agreement. “My best friend has a great opinion of this guy. She says he’s a real gentleman, and both his grades and character are good. He’s also on the school’s swimming team, so a lot of people admire him.”

She hesitated, then continued: “Do you think… it could really be a misunderstanding? Maybe he’s not a scumbag.”

Jiang Mingyue wasn’t too sure either. She had no evidence yet. “It’s hard to say. Sometimes people can’t be judged by their appearance. We’ll know in a couple of days. I’ve had someone look into his past relationships.”

“You have connections like that? Who did you get to do it?” Chen Xiangyi asked in surprise. “Are they reliable?”

“We have Bai Xiaosheng at our school. Ever heard of him?”

“Ah, you got him? Isn’t he just a gossip head?” Chen Xiangyi’s expression was a bit hard to read.

“How? Do you know him?”

Just as she finished speaking, the bell for class rang. The two of them hurried into the classroom. Chen Xiangyi quickly added,

“Heard of him.” Chen Xiangyi said. “He used to post all sorts of gossip on the forum and advertise his reputation, but the things he spread were often a mix of truth and lies. No one really believes him; they just treat him as a gossipmonger.”

Jiang Mingyue whispered just before entering the classroom: “Gossip is also a form of information. Let’s see what he finds out.”

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

In the afternoon, after school.

Jiang Mingyue watched Liu Wenqi packing her things, and as she gathered her own belongings, she asked,

“Deskmate, is your family picking you up?”

“Mm-hmm, my dad is coming to pick me up.” Liu Wenqi said slowly, putting her pens into her pencil case.

Jiang Mingyue paused and looked at her. “Well, that’s good. But why do you look so troubled?”

Liu Wenqi also stopped packing, turned her face toward her, and said: “Do you think the marks on my face are still obvious?”

Her skin was fair, so even small red marks stood out clearly.

Chen Xiangyi, having finished packing, turned around. “Super obvious.”

Jiang Mingyue nodded as well. “Although it’s not swollen anymore, the handprint is still quite noticeable. What, don’t want your family to see?”

“Mm.” Liu Wenqi continued to pack. “I don’t want my family to know about this. I don’t want them to worry.”

“Well, those marks are a problem.” Jiang Mingyue said, eyeing her face and thinking for a moment. “You could probably cover it up with some foundation.”

Liu Wenqi replied: “But I don’t have any foundation.”

“I have some.” Chen Xiangyi said, pulling out a small makeup bag from her drawer.

Inside were some basic cosmetics—foundation, a cushion compact, and cotton pads.

“I’ll do your makeup.” Chen Xiangyi said eagerly, taking out the foundation.

“Mm-hmm, okay.”

By this time, most of the people had left the classroom.

Qi Ze closed his workbook and glanced over at Jiang Mingyue.

Jiang Mingyue and Chen Xiangyi were focused, carefully dabbing and applying on her deskmate’s face.

Qi Ze, having taken out his homework, looked down and began working.

Chen Xiangyi set the cotton pad aside and handed a small mirror to Liu Wenqi. “Take a look, how does it look?”

“Wow, Xiao Xiangxiang, you’re amazing! It’s perfect—if you don’t look closely, you can’t even tell that you have makeup on.” Jiang Mingyue marveled, gazing at Liu Wenqi’s face.

The light makeup perfectly covered the red handprint on Liu Wenqi’s face, and there was no visible trace of makeup.

Liu Wenqi looked at her reflection in the mirror, also surprised.

“It really doesn’t show at all. You’re so good at makeup.”

Chen Xiangyi smiled proudly. “Of course, it’s all thanks to my mom. She loves to dress up, and she used to love dressing me up beautifully when I was younger. Over time, I just picked up on it and learned how to do it.”

Liu Wenqi said: “Auntie is so nice.”

Jiang Mingyue nodded in agreement.

Chen Xiangyi, packing up her makeup bag, smiled smugly. “It’s a must.”

Jiang Mingyue and Liu Wenqi shared a laugh.

Liu Wenqi handed the mirror back to Chen Xiangyi. “Let’s go, my dad sent a message. He’s probably waiting anxiously.”

“My driver sent me a message too. Let’s go, let’s go.” Chen Xiangyi quickly grabbed her backpack.

Jiang Mingyue, having slung her backpack over her shoulder, turned and saw that Qi Ze was still in the classroom. She was pleasantly surprised.

“Qi Ze, you’re still here?”

Qi Ze didn’t look at her, merely responding in a calm tone: “Mm, there’s a problem I haven’t finished solving.”

“Oh, then I’ll wait for you. We can go down together.”

Jiang Mingyue turned to Chen Xiangyi and Liu Wenqi, saying: “You guys go ahead.”

Liu Wenqi nodded. “Mm.”

Chen Xiangyi shot her a teasing look.

Once the two of them had left, the classroom was left with just Jiang Mingyue and Qi Ze.

Jiang Mingyue sat back down beside him, waiting.

To her surprise, as soon as she sat down, Qi Ze closed his book. “I’m done.”

“Then let’s go.” Jiang Mingyue stood up again.

“Mm.”

The scorching sun from the day had already set, and the air still held the remnants of its heat.

Their shadows stretched long behind them, sometimes intertwining, sometimes separating.

As they walked from the classroom to the school gate, Jiang Mingyue chattered away, and Qi Ze occasionally responded in agreement.