Fighting Magic with Magic

When Jimo put the question to Zhuang Zhe, he actually knew the answer and rattled off a whole lot.

"You didn't even know that? You've been here for nothing. His dad runs a media company. Didn't you two go to the same middle school? That bastard's been using all his family's marketing tricks on our forum."

"He practically treats the forum like his own home."

Both were nouveau riche who had paid their way into the school, and Zhuang Zhe didn't mince words about him.

They'd gone to the same middle school?

Jimo didn't really remember him. They were probably classmates who hadn't known each other well. From the sound of it, Zhuang Zhe had plenty of grievances against him.

Jimo asked, "Do you know him?"

Zhuang Zhe nodded. "Yeah. That bastard's a real prick. We had a bit of an argument back in high school..."

That explained it.

Jimo closed his book and took off his glasses. His eyes ached terribly from overuse, and he tilted his head back to put in some eye drops.

His movements were casual, but a plan was gradually taking shape in his mind.

You like offering rewards, don't you?

I'll let you offer all the rewards you want.

Zhuang Zhe stared blankly at Jimo, his words trailing off without him realizing it.

Jimo sat in the light, his head tilted slightly back, a breathtaking curve running from his jaw to his collarbone. Zhuang Zhe could even make out the fine hairs on his face.

"Jimo, you..."

Hearing him, Jimo gave a questioning hum. He opened his eyes and looked over, just as a drop of the solution ran down his cheek.

Zhuang Zhe's breath caught.

He thought Jimo was much better-looking than the girls in their class. How had he never noticed before?

"What were you saying, Zhuang Zhe?"

Jimo couldn't see him clearly, so he put his glasses back on.

The strong lenses distorted his eyes, making them look much smaller. He looked like a different person, and even his bearing was much less impressive. Still, a closer look revealed Jimo's striking features.

Zhuang Zhe came over and slung an arm around Jimo's shoulders like they were best buddies. "Man, I just realized you're pretty handsome without your glasses."

Jimo smiled, taking it as teasing. "You're handsome too. We're all handsome."

Zhuang Zhe gave him a playful wink. "Right? I think so too. You're still a little behind me, though."

"Yeah, you're the most handsome."

Jimo brushed him off. He opened the forum and anonymously left a comment under the post.

[Did this happen around seven or eight yesterday evening? I passed Building B and saw a boy in a school uniform run away from there.]

Jimo held his phone, watching for a reply.

Sure enough, a private message from Easton's Foremost arrived within three minutes.

[Bro, can you tell me more? Did you see his face? What department is he in? If you can give me useful information, I'll make it worth your while.]

Jimo's lips curled. He'd taken the bait.

[Send me a deposit first, so I can see how serious you are.] He added an account number after the message.

The other party readily transferred a five-figure deposit.

Jimo looked at the number. Jiang Wangshu would have to work for a month to earn that much.

He immediately transferred the money to Jiang Wangshu.

Then he sent another message to Easton's Foremost Gossip: [Meet me by the academy's artificial lake at eight tomorrow night.]

After doing all that, Jimo turned to Zhuang Zhe, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Want revenge?"

Zhuang Zhe looked over, puzzled.

Night fell, and the streetlights on either side of the artificial lake cast a soft glow on the water.

In a dim corner, two people whispered.

"Are we really doing this?" Zhuang Zhe gripped Jimo's arm tightly.

Jimo glanced at him and said lightly, "If you're scared, you can go back first."

"Me, scared of that bastard? As if!" Provoked, Zhuang Zhe raised his voice considerably.

Jimo hurriedly tugged at him. "Shh, keep it down. He should be here any minute."

That day, the two had discussed it in their dorm room and reached an agreement: Easton's Foremost Gossip was asking for a beating.

So Jimo had first pretended to be someone with a lead, then arranged to meet him in person. Now they had arrived ahead of the agreed time to lie in wait. Once the bastard showed up, they would gang up and beat him.

There were no surveillance cameras and few passersby here. It was perfectly safe.

Jimo checked his watch. At eight on the dot, a small, thin figure appeared by the lake right on time.

Jimo's phone buzzed. The other party had sent him a private message asking where he was.

He and Zhuang Zhe exchanged a smile.

The artificial lake was secluded, and no one passed by for a long while. Jimo repeated his old trick, pulling a sack over the man and dragging him into a dim corner.

"Who is it? Who the hell are you? Was it you last time too? What do you want?" The sack struggled nonstop.

The kid was timid and stupid, yet he loved showing off. Someone had asked to meet him, and he'd actually come without taking any precautions. Zhuang Zhe had always found him especially irritating.

"Your daddy." Zhuang Zhe kicked him and spoke in a disguised voice. "Not bad, Song Chengzhi. Making a good profit off the forum, aren't you? Other people come here to study, but you came to collect gifts."

Realizing they knew who he was, Song Chengzhi fell quiet. He trembled. "How do you know my name?"

"Never mind that. Stop posting all that nonsense about the special scholarship students on the forum..."

Jimo shook his head, afraid Zhuang Zhe would reveal their identities if he said too much.

"Give me your phone."

There were actually two of them, working together.

Song Chengzhi pulled out his phone with a trembling hand. "Y-you're breaking the law. If the teachers find out, you'll definitely be expelled..."

"Who said we were from the school?"

Zhuang Zhe sneered.

"Just do as you're told, and we won't do anything to you."

Jimo silently took the phone and tapped quickly a few times, finally stopping at the delete button. He paused, but in the end didn't delete the post.

He backed out and used the account to start a new thread, writing another post in an exaggerated tone without a trace of expression.

OP: [I found some earth-shattering gossip!!! It looks like F4 never paid any attention to the special scholarship student whose surname starts with J. Was someone in the student council actually using this chance to suck up to them? Could so-and-so from the student council be the real green tea? Maybe we've been following the wrong gossip all along.]

Someone replied immediately. [OP, did you take the wrong meds? You even dare gossip about the student council...]

[I admire OP's dedication to gossip. That ID checks out. But I've had a vague feeling something was off for a while. Someone finally said it.]

[Reporting in: I know who that so-and-so is. He's always wanted to get into F4's circle.]

Jimo watched for a while. Sure enough, all it took was starting the conversation and nudging it along a little for it to take a different turn. Plenty of people were ready to parrot what others said.

Let the student council deal with the headache. Once the rumor spread, Huang Zhenghao would naturally be afraid of F4 misunderstanding him and would be anxious to clear things up. Then he wouldn't have the mind to bother Jiang Wangshu.

Fighting magic with magic.

Jimo was in a good mood. Once he was done, he stuffed the phone back into Song Chengzhi's pocket.

Then he threatened him. "We'll be watching you. Don't delete the post. I won't make things difficult for you; just leave it up for at least three days. Otherwise, we won't let you off as easily next time."

Song Chengzhi asked timidly, "What did you do?"

Zhuang Zhe grew impatient. "Why do you care so much? Just do as you're told."

Song Chengzhi shuddered and didn't dare make a sound.

Once they were done, the two exchanged a glance and told Song Chengzhi to turn his back, hug a tree, and count aloud to a hundred.

They walked backward, keeping their eyes on Song Chengzhi, then quietly slipped away through the little woods behind them.