We Are a Fragile Internet Emperor

Yu Tongjie was someone who held himself to strict standards. Let us call him Strict Bro.

The principle of being strict with yourself and lenient with others did not work for him. He believed that if you were strict with yourself, you ought to be strict with everyone else too.

People like him thought everyone else was an idiot.

As for moving up a class, he considered it the reward he deserved after a year of hard work. In his eyes, Zhang Ningzhi was the same kind of person he was.

Jiang Nian was not.

The fairy tale of improving your score by one or two hundred points over a single summer was an insult to hardworking students like him. It was practically a slap in the face with a slipper.

Cheating. He probably cheated.

Over the past two days, he had always volunteered answers in class, while Jiang Nian had not done so even once. During breaks, he always saw Jiang Nian turning around to laugh and joke with the people behind him.

The joint exam in October would expose Jiang Nian for what he really was.

Zhang Ningzhi, who had moved up with them, did not seem to see through any of this. She seemed distracted in class too. At this rate, someone like Jiang Nian would lead her astray sooner or later.

At ten thirty that night, in South River Bay.

Zhang Ningzhi stood on the balcony in the night breeze, looking out over the county town's lights, her heart full of worries.

Fitting into a new group was harder than she had imagined. The girls in her class seemed to have already formed their own little circles. Some had approached her, but only to exchange a few words.

What troubled her more, though, was Jiang Nian.

He had talked to her that very morning when they first moved up. But once he had new classmates, he barely talked to her anymore. She had even dropped hints!

Heartless jerk! What a waste of her little tissue!

Yesterday, she had not exchanged a single word with Jiang Nian, nor had she talked to anyone else in the classroom.

Boohoo~~

She leaned over the railing of the little balcony attached to her room, debating whether to add Jiang Nian on QQ herself. He didn't hate her, did he? Had she done something wrong?

Beep, beep, beep!!!

The notification sound from the computer in her room startled her, and she immediately ran inside.

Jiang Nian had finally remembered to add her! He had even openly taken out his phone in class to add a girl who was really good at blowing bubble gum, yet he hadn't added her.

Sure, those bubbles were big and round, but that was no excuse!

I was here first!

Hmph. I'll leave him hanging all night and pretend I've fallen asleep. I'll accept tomorrow morning so he can find out how it feels to be abandoned!

Never mind. Ten minutes will do.

Beep, beep. The instant her rounded bottom settled into the computer chair, she eagerly clicked the contacts tab. Sure enough, it was... oh. Her classmate Yu Tongjie.

Zhang Ningzhi let go of the mouse and let out a thoroughly genuine sigh.

His verification message contained only his name, and the request showed that he had added her through their class group. After a few minutes of silence, she started a temporary chat out of politeness.

She would first see what he wanted. If it was nothing important, she would not just add him casually.

She liked posting updates on her QQ Space, but she did not want to have to block particular groups every time. For instance, she did not want casual acquaintances seeing photos of her trips out of town.

Once rumors started flying, making friends would become even harder.

Lemon Branch: "(Smile)"

Meanwhile, Yu Tongjie had just finished showering when he received Zhang Ningzhi's reply. Seeing that it was a temporary chat, he wondered why she had not accepted his request, but did not dwell on it.

As long as he explained things clearly, she would eventually understand his good intentions.

In his opinion, he and Zhang Ningzhi were the same kind of person. First, they had both studied hard and earned their way into the higher class. Second, they both came from relatively well-off families.

Third, she was very pretty-the sort of pretty that was enough to get someone ostracized.

As it happened, he had been ostracized too.

So Yu Tongjie felt that he and Zhang Ningzhi ought to have common ground. Jiang Nian would be sent back down sooner or later. He and she should help each other adjust to their new class.

"How well do you know Jiang Nian?" he messaged her.

At the other end, Zhang Ningzhi had already stood up. When she saw Jiang Nian's name, she instinctively sat back down. What did he mean?

"We get along okay, I guess."

She used "okay" to conceal how she really felt, then added "I guess" to give herself some room. Whether they got along well, and just how well, was hers to define.

In her new class, the person she knew best was Jiang Nian, who had spoken to her at the start and helped move her desk and chair.

Actually, she really wanted to ask, "Who are you again?" The name Yu Tongjie sounded familiar, but she had been so nervous when she went up to introduce herself that she had forgotten whose name it was.

Yu Tongjie: "I wouldn't recommend associating with him. I mean it."

Zhang Ningzhi stared at the new message, baffled. Who... was this guy? Why was he telling her who she could associate with? Besides, Jiang Nian was the only person she knew in her new class.

If I don't associate with him, am I supposed to associate with you instead?!

"Why?"

"Because he cheated his way into this class. There's no evidence yet, but based on the latest information I've received, that's probably what happened. There's no reason for you to associate with him."

"I'm only giving you a heads-up as a classmate. It wasn't easy getting promoted from the Parallel Class. We both put in enormous effort, doing practice papers every day and staying up late memorizing material."

"So I don't want to see your efforts go to waste. If you associate with someone like Jiang Nian, who doesn't study, he'll end up leading you astray and you'll be sent back to the Parallel Class."

Sitting at her computer, Zhang Ningzhi froze as the long messages appeared in the temporary chat window. For some reason, she suddenly felt incredibly angry. Even her hands were trembling.

uhcnisH ...ot devom I yhw eveileb reven ll'uoY

️‍ , , ,️ :sijome ni efil yM

selgniSteeM

uhcnisH ...ot devom I yhw eveileb reven ll'uoY

️‍ , , ,️ :sijome ni efil yM

selgniSteeM

yadot uhcnisH ni enoemos rof gnikooL

tem ew woh tuoba eil ot gnilliW

trilfelgniS

ot uhcnisH ni enoemos rof gnikooL

day

Willing to lie about how we met

Singleflirt

Jiang Nian hadn't cheated. She had been in the same exam room as him!

He prepared seriously for every exam and always arrived at the exam room early. There were no cheat sheets on his desk, and he behaved properly throughout the exams, without any sneaky movements.

What gave him the right?! How could he dismiss all of someone's hard work with a single sentence?!

Almost shaking, she typed a few words on the keyboard.

"Jiang Nian didn't cheat!"

At the other end, Yu Tongjie frowned. Zhang Ningzhi was too naive. Jiang Nian had fooled her so easily. Then again, someone who would even cheat could say just about anything.

"That's simply the truth. At the end of last semester, he was still near the bottom of the Parallel Class."

A tear pattered onto the computer desk. Zhang Ningzhi's eyes were red. She wanted to curse him out, but she did not know how, so she could only close the window.

She had been accused of cheating before too, and the suspicions had lingered for a long time. Having lived through those dark days, she knew how awful it felt to be doubted.

She opened the class group and found Jiang Nian in the member list. She clicked Add and entered "Zhang Ningzhi" in the verification message, then thought for a moment and added "Tissue."

Beep, beep. He accepted almost instantly.

[Jiang Yue Nian Nian Wang Xiang Si]: "Huh? You're staying up late too?"

Zhang Ningzhi wiped her tears away, then suddenly smiled again. She had wanted to tell him what had just happened, but she did not want him to think she was a blabbermouth.

So she said, "(Embarrassed) Someone's bad-mouthing you."

Jiang Nian: "We are a fragile internet emperor. That someone wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

Zhang Ningzhi blushed. "Of course not."

"Then who?" Jiang Nian replied. "Anyone who criticizes Our faults to Our face shall be sexecuted."

(Message recalled.) "Executed."

Thanks to Yang Lushun 1982 for one monthly vote, Book Friend 20190610175706516 for one monthly vote, yick Ding for two monthly votes, and Book Friend 20190819180905150 for one monthly vote.

May your backs and kidneys stay strong, bosses.

(End of chapter)