ATCF Ch 25 Part 1 – We Like Her Sowing Discord (I)

Thanks to the restoration of the anonymous chat, the students who were chatting on separate group chats quickly returned one by one, as if reclaiming their primary hub.

Some questioned whether Shen Mian had forged the screenshots, to which she replied immediately by saying that the screenshots were taken from the actual chat records that she restored with the help of the police.

Then, to assert her claim, she posted a selfie taken at the police station.

However, many people still expressed their doubts and suspicion, asking why Shen Mian only brought out the matter now.

Shen Mian quickly explained how Jiang Zhou had removed her from his friend list and deleted their chat records, leaving her with no proof whatsoever. Furthermore, she also emphasized that she had no grievances with Jiang Li and had no reason to be so hostile to her.

She also welcomed everyone to confirm the authenticity of her claim by sharing the address of the police station she visited. Although her case was too weak to make it to the report, there must be a record of her visit today.

Shen Mian narrated the whole thing in an orderly manner and also publicly called for Jiang Ruo, saying that she knew she had seen the message and asking whether she still insisted on standing on Jiang Zhou’s side.

Unfortunately, Jiang Ruo never came out to respond. Some friends couldn’t stand it and gave her a call, but she never answered.

Gradually, public opinion began to waver. Although there were still some steadfast believers who tried to make excuses for Jiang Zhou, the majority dismissed them for being Jiang Ruo’s brainless fans.

Thanks to the layer of anonymity, everyone had no scruples and took delight in berating Jiang Ruo’s usually fierce fans.

Being outnumbered, Jiang Ruo’s fans hastily tried to change direction. They began asking whether the anonymous messages last night were also sent by Shen Mian.

But Shen Mian refused to admit it. The speculations surrounding Jiang Ruo and Jiang Li’s identity were merely an assumption made by her and Lin Yu. Without definitive evidence, revealing that she had started the rumor would only provide Jiang Ruo’s fans with ammunition to attack her. Furthermore, her claims that Jiang Li addressed the twins as ‘cousin’ was entirely made up, so she must never tell anyone.

Shen Mian once again realized how brainless her past self was. How could she let herself be used as cannon fodder by others? Fortunately, although the lesson with Jiang Zhou was hurtful, it woke her up and made her grow a lot.

With a renewed determination, Shen Mian started typing messages again, denying that she had started last night’s messages. She also stated that it was Jiang Zhou’s threat that gave her the idea to go to the police station to report the case and restore the chat records.

Finally, she openly shared her doubts: if Jiang Li was really Jiang Zhou’s sister by blood, what made him so hostile to her?

Shen Mian’s denial was somehow effective. In any case, the messages were sent anonymously, and no one could tell for sure who was actually behind them. They couldn’t force Shen Mian to confess, could they?

However, Jiang Ruo’s silence was another matter. It was taken as a confirmation that Jiang Zhou had indeed deliberately manipulated Shen Mian to stage the fake suicide attempt.

Jiang Zhou was handsome and had good grades, making him a prominent figure at school. There were quite a number of fans of him, both in the high school and middle school divisions.

But the chat records Shen Mian exposed had shattered everyone’s illusions about him. While the reason why he disliked Jiang Li remained unclear, there was no justification for his action. Why couldn’t he just confront her directly instead of scheming in the dark?

Jiang Zhou planted the seed of hostility in Shen Mian and fanned her to target Jiang Li. After Shen Mian was punished, he not only failed to console her, but he even came up with an idea to make her pretend to commit suicide to put the blame on Jiang Li.

What a despicable villain!

Fortunately, his plot did not succeed, and Jiang Li was not affected, but Shen Mian could no longer come to school because of this!

As a result, everyone began to sympathize with Shen Mian, believing she had terrible misfortune by meeting Jiang Zhou. Not only was she taken advantage of, but she was also swiftly kicked away once she was no longer useful.

All this time, Director Li remained squatting on the toilet as he followed the conversation in the group. It was not until his wife came to call him out that he finally turned off his phone and returned to their bedroom.

When Shen Mian said back then that Jiang Zhou was the one who gave her the idea, Director Li didn’t feel like she was lying. However, without concrete evidence, he couldn’t be on Shen Mian’s side and punish Jiang Zhou arbitrarily.

The exposed screenshots confirmed his previous hunch, but Director Li couldn’t feel happy about it. Jiang Zhou’s words could only be taken as hints at best and not coercion. Clearly, the chat was far too weak of evidence for the school to punish him.

What puzzled Director Li further was the reason behind Jiang Zhou’s animosity. Why was he so hostile to Jiang Li?

Director Li didn’t believe the reason Jiang Zhou stated in his conversation with Shen Mian — that he was worried that Jiang Li would bully Jiang Ruo.

Furthermore, there were still anonymous messages from last night. Whoever sent them obviously implied that Jiang Li was the true daughter of the Jiang family and that Jiang Ruo was just the cuckoo who took over the magpie’s nest.

Director Li recalled Feng Song and Feng Bai’s visit last week and Feng Song’s subsequent inquiry about Jiang Li afterward. If Jiang Li were their cousin, the twins’ behavior would totally make sense.

But if that was the case, Jiang Zhou’s hostility toward Jiang Li became even more perplexing.

After all, they were a brother and sister. Even if they had been separated for many years, they were still related by blood, so why did Jiang Zhou treat Jiang Li like an enemy?!

Director Li shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He still had some understanding of the Feng family’s behavior. If Jiang Li was really Feng Yun’s biological daughter, the Fengs would definitely make a big move in the near future.

He only needed to wait a while and watch how everything would play out.

 

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T/N:

Tuesday’s late chapter

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