Scandal!

"What? Take responsibility?! What on earth could have happened that requires Xia Ping to take responsibility?" Several students nearby immediately heard Jiang Yaru's words and instantly began to gossip.

"Yeah, and this matter can't even be known by the teachers. What kind of bad thing could it be?" Another student was also extremely curious.

They had been keeping a close eye on the conversation between Xia Ping and Jiang Yaru; there was no helping it, as the school beauty was always the center of attention, no matter where she went.

"I saw Jiang Yaru rush over early this morning looking furious, and she had two panda eyes. I reckon she didn't sleep all night and is under a lot of mental stress," one student observed carefully. "I didn't expect her to come looking for Xia Ping to settle scores the moment she arrived, catching him outside on the spot just like a wife catching an adulterer. She was so angry; I suspect these two have an illicit affair."

"Forget about suspecting, it's obvious something major happened."

A male student said with grief and indignation, "They're already talking about taking responsibility, what else is there to say? It must be that scumbag Xia Ping who played with her feelings and abandoned her. He took Jiang Yaru to a hotel, got her pregnant, and now that things have gone wrong, she's making him take responsibility."

The expressions of many students changed drastically. It wasn't impossible; looking at Jiang Yaru's angry gaze, her flushed, pretty face, and her teary-eyed appearance, she looked for all the world like a woman three months pregnant who had been abandoned by her husband.

"Impossible. That guy Xia Ping is average-looking and his family is poor. How could he possibly hook up with the school beauty Jiang Yaru? Even I don't have the qualifications, so how could he?"

One student refused to believe it, desperately trying to explain and urging the surrounding students not to trust such absurd speculation.

"What's there not to believe? I heard a long time ago that Xia Ping and Jiang Yaru are neighbors. They've known each other since they were kids, childhood sweethearts. Their feelings grew over time, and then on some dark and windy night, with their parents away, they just caught fire and things got out of hand."

"Holy crap, I've seen plots like this on TV. Hearing you put it that way, the story is quite vivid."

"This is what they call 'the proximity of the water tower gets the moonlight first.' Don't look at how ugly Xia Ping is or that he has no redeeming qualities; the advantage of being a neighbor is too great. We aren't even on the same playing field as him."

"I bet it was that one time they caught fire, and she ended up hitting the jackpot. One slip leads to eternal regret."

"No wonder she's under so much mental stress; she's got panda eyes. A high school girl getting pregnant is the kind of big news that makes the headlines."

"Shameless Xia Ping! He got Jiang Yaru pregnant and hooked up with the school beauty, but he's still not satisfied and actually wants to abandon her? He's asking for public outrage."

"According to the grapevine, Xia Ping might have women at other schools too. He's playing the field with five or six people."

"What a scumbag. He has women at other schools too? I never thought Xia Ping, who looks so honest, would be this kind of person."

The students discussed it heatedly, the crowd was surging with emotion, and some malicious individuals were even spreading rumors that Xia Ping was cheating on multiple people. The whole class was in an uproar.

Hearing the chatter around her, Jiang Yaru's pretty face turned as red as a tomato. She hadn't expected her words to be misunderstood to such an extent; that was clearly not what she meant at all.

"Alright, alright, let's talk about this at home. Don't make a scene here and let people make a joke out of us." Although Xia Ping didn't know why Jiang Yaru was so angry, he didn't want to be the subject of gossip everywhere he went.

Let's talk about this at home?!

The students were all shocked. Wasn't such domestic language the kind of dialogue used by an old married couple? It was usually what a husband would say to his wife when they were arguing in public and being watched by others.

The scene, their expressions—it was so similar to the present. This was the tacit understanding cultivated by long-term cohabitation; that atmosphere of an old married couple was fully exposed. They were showing off their affection.

"My god, I don't want to live anymore. A flower stuck in cow dung."

"They're already talking about going home; I bet they're living together."

"Animals! They're only high school students and they're already living together. In ancient times, they'd be drowned in a pig cage."

"It must have been that animal Xia Ping who forced her. Jiang Yaru isn't the type to do something like this."

"It's all the fault of that human-faced beast Xia Ping. If it weren't for him, this wouldn't have happened."

"I hope Xia Ping explodes on the spot, gets struck by lightning when he goes out, or gets hit by a car. Raise your hand if you agree."

"Today is the darkest day in the history of the 95th Middle School, comparable to the early days of the Great Cataclysm."

"I haven't even confessed yet, and the goddess is already pregnant. Is there anything more tragic in the world than this?"

The students wailed, their hearts seemingly shattered, and their hatred for Xia Ping soared crazily.

"Huh?"

Xia Ping blinked. He clearly heard the system's constant notification sounds; it seemed his hatred points were increasing continuously and quite aggressively.

"This, this!" Jiang Yaru also heard the words of the surrounding students and realized the misunderstanding had blown up, but all of this was caused by that bastard Xia Ping. She gritted her teeth and glared at him.

Xia Ping rubbed his chin and said, "Don't worry, I'm not an irresponsible man. Since things have reached this point, I will definitely take responsibility."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Jiang Yaru was dizzy. What she was saying and what this bastard was saying were not the same thing at all.

The surrounding students were in an uproar. Sure enough, their relationship had reached such a stage that they were already discussing taking responsibility?

"Alright, alright, class is starting. Let's talk about this later." Xia Ping waved his hand, not wanting to continue the conversation.

Talk about it, my foot! If they kept talking, it would turn into a full-blown scandal.

Jiang Yaru glared at Xia Ping, her anger boiling over. Thwack! She raised her foot, stomped hard on Xia Ping, and turned to leave in a huff.

She knew she couldn't keep talking, or she had no idea what kind of rumors would be spread about her.

The scandal spread with incredible speed because Jiang Yaru's popularity was simply too high and she had countless fans in the school. In just one hour, it had spread throughout the entire campus.

"Did you hear? Jiang Yaru has a boyfriend, and she's pregnant."

"My god, is it true? This is too explosive."

"I don't believe it. How could something like this happen? Who exactly is her boyfriend?"

"It seems to be a classmate, a guy named Xia Ping."

"Is that the guy who defeated Xiong Batian?"

"That's him. Rumor has it he played with her feelings and abandoned her, and he has over a dozen women outside of school, seven or eight of whom are pregnant. Jiang Yaru is just one of them."

"What an animal! Getting into such a mess while still in high school? He's not human, he's a pig! I want to hack him to death."

"Rest easy, there are at least thousands of people in this school who want him dead; you'll have to get in line."

"Shameless Xia Ping, juggling over a dozen relationships and bullying the school beauties—he is the disgrace of this school."

"How could Jiang Yaru fall for a man like that? She has zero taste."

"Women are always being deceived by scumbags; it's just a part of the growing experience."

"Experience my foot, why don't they experience me instead?"

"I hope that scumbag Xia Ping explodes on the spot and gets hacked to death by a mob of angry women."

Countless students were discussing this gossip, their hatred for Xia Ping skyrocketing.