Chapter 66: The Second Red Card Penalty
As the social software with the most users worldwide, news on Bluebook spread extremely fast.
Just as [Is Character Linked to Education? Floriman Academy Sees Two Students Exposed for Misconduct in Succession] went viral, an “insider” broke the news that all students at Floriman Academy had poor conduct and that special recruits in previous years were all bullied into dropping out.
This news dealt a heavy blow to the many netizens who yearned for Floriman Academy. For a time, public opinion exploded, not limited to Bluebook; even various media outlets were scrambling to report it.
The first to be affected were the active internet users trading on the “Floriman Academy” name. Their comment sections were completely overrun.
Next were public figures like Shi Ye, whose personal fame exceeded the school’s. Because his grades were too outstanding and he possessed many fans, the cursing was blocked by fans as soon as it reached his side.
Bluebook was lively, and the Black Pigeon Forum was just as lively.
[Damn, who posted that? One-third of the tickets for my concert have been refunded.]
[I’m worse off than you; I lost 20,000 followers.]
[Only 20,000, what are you screaming about?]
[I only have 30,000 followers on Bluebook to begin with.]
[People are placing malicious orders on every platform for my family’s shop. We’ve had to close all purchasing channels. Fuck, don’t let me find out who secretly posted that article, or I’ll kill him.]
[I was supposed to go on a quiz show, but now it’s been canceled. What does a special recruit dropping out have to do with me? I didn’t bully them.]
[I’m finding someone to investigate who this grandson is right now!]
[Waiting for you.]
[Waiting for you +1.]
[Hope the school punishes this person once they’re found.]
[The Student Council should handle this, right?]
[The Student Council definitely has to handle this. This concerns the reputation of every student in our school.]
[Who has contacts at Bluebook? Hurry up and get Bluebook to control the public opinion. Stop letting them blacken our school.]
[The Student Council definitely has contacts.]
For a moment, the heavy responsibility of saving Floriman Academy’s reputation fell on the Student Council.
Student Council President’s Office
With such a big incident occurring, everyone thought Zhou Xie would surely fly into a rage. However, today’s Zhou Xie was surprisingly calm. He hadn’t even smoked.
In the meeting room, Li Ao was reporting on the Science App’s situation and optimization plan. After Li Ao finished, it was the next person’s turn.
The air stagnated for a second.
Knock knock. Zhou Xie turned his hand over, his knuckles rapping on the table. “Report.”
The next person snapped back to reality, opening their notebook. “Next month is the school anniversary. We plan to send out 200 invitation letters to invite honorary alumni back to visit. The list needs you to confirm it with the Principal again in the next two days. Next, we need to design the invitation.”
Zhou Xie pondered for a moment. “Did you look at the Bluebook trending topics?”
“…” Gulp.
“Given the recent appearance of some negative discourse, raise the number of invitations to 500. At the same time, prepare to find some media outlets we have good relations with and invite them to visit Floriman Academy during this year’s anniversary.”
“But the school has always…” Kept a low profile externally.
“That is why security needs to be strengthened for this anniversary. Don’t let the media photograph anything inappropriate.”
“Understood.”
The next person continued reporting on the anniversary matters. After everyone at the long table had spoken once, they all thought the meeting was over. Suddenly, Zhou Xie spoke up.
“There is one more matter that requires a collective decision.” Zhou Xie looked at Li Ao.
Li Ao nodded and stood up. “Through backend IP inquiry, the person posting articles on Bluebook to smear the school is a student of Floriman Academy.”
“What?” Everyone was stunned.
Li Ao: “This incident has had a massive impact. Not only has the reputation of the entire student body been affected, but even the seniors who have graduated are suffering deeply. Therefore, after the President communicated with the Principal, a round of voting involving all students will be conducted.”
“Whether to give the Special Recruit a Red Card penalty.”
“Special Recruit?”
“Is it that guy named Wen Rong?”
“Why give him a Red Card penalty? I remember only the School Board can decide on Red Cards…”
Li Ao: “Because the person smearing the school on Bluebook is him.”
Gasps rang out frequently in the office. Everyone was dumbfounded, looking at each other, mouths agape but unable to speak.
Knock knock. Zhou Xie tapped the table again to attract everyone’s attention. “Because all students are victims in this incident, I applied to the Principal for us to decide whether to give Wen Rong a Red Card.”
Early morning. The cold wind shuttled between the old, weathered buildings of Floriman Academy, emitting sharp, mournful shrieks.
For the first time in his life, Wen Rong was woken by a phone call. He climbed up to check the time: 5:46.
His groggy eyes suddenly cleared. He couldn’t believe he had overslept.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz.
The phone rang a second time. Wen Rong scrambled to answer. “Hello.”
Cough cough. Shi Ye coughed twice on the other end. “Hungry? I’ll take you to eat. After eating, we play tennis.”
When Wen Rong changed his clothes and went downstairs, a thunderous noise approached from the distance. A red behemoth whooshed past his face, spinning violently at the wide turn, emitting an even more ear-piercing screech of friction.
He realized belatedly that it was a convertible sports car.
The sports car approached. In the driver’s seat, Shi Ye was wearing a tank top and sunglasses. The lenses were smooth, reflecting Wen Rong shivering in the cold wind.
Shi Ye snapped his fingers, greeting him coolly: “Good morning.”
Wen Rong continued to shake. “Are you cold?”
Pfft. “This temperature is nothing.”
“But your lips are turning purple.”
Shi Ye was silent for a moment, then asked bracingly, “Are you cold?”
“Cold.”
“Then get in.”
Shi Ye opened the door for him. He unfolded the convertible top, asking with a face full of pride, “I installed the roof myself. Cool, right?”
“Cool.” Wen Rong went along with him, then pulled his sleeves tight to prevent the wind from getting in.
“Did you see my drift just now?”
“Drift?”
“Right there at the U-turn.”
“Oh, oh, oh.” So that was where the noise came from.
“Want to learn?”
“Huh?” Wen Rong took two seconds to react, then shook his head frantically. “No need, no need.”
Shi Ye paused. “Alright then.”
Just as he was about to start the car, Wen Rong hurriedly reminded him, “Ideally, since the sun rises late now, you shouldn’t wear sunglasses. It affects your vision.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“No!”
“Trust me, I’ve driven in rally races.”
Because he had genuinely received a death notification, Wen Rong was currently somewhat sensitive to death. His attitude became inexplicably firm. “How about I walk to your villa instead.”
Shi Ye: “…”
Shi Ye: “Then, then turn your face away.”
“Huh?”
“Look outside.”
“Then take off the sunglasses and drive properly.”
“Mm…”
Wen Rong didn’t know why Shi Ye made such a request, but since he always did strange things, Wen Rong was somewhat used to it. He followed the agreement and turned his head to look out the car window.
Once Shi Ye was sure Wen Rong’s line of sight couldn’t see his face, he finally reached up, hooked the frames, and took off the sunglasses.
His sharp eyes were swollen, and there were dark circles under his lower eyelids, looking as if someone had punched him.
Shi Ye, having stayed up all night watching palace dramas, had only discovered his “staying-up-late sequelae” when washing his face early this morning.
He had consoled himself at the time: At least I learned how to seduce Wen Rong.
But now that the seduction had failed, he felt these dark circles were damn ugly.
Wait, is there really a guy who doesn’t like cars or drifting?
Shi Ye didn’t give up. “You really won’t learn? Drifting feels awesome.”
“I don’t have a license. I can’t drive.”
Oh, so he lacks the prerequisites.
Shi Ye smiled knowingly. “Then I’ll teach you. I’ll teach you how to drive.”
“No need, no need.”
“I’ve won a rally championship. I’m more professional than driving school instructors.”
“No need, no need.”
Shi Ye was annoyed. “Why?”
“…”
“Hey—” Realizing his voice was too loud after blurting it out, he quickly took a deep breath and asked softly, “Everyone has to learn to drive. You’ll need it for work later. If you go to driving school, you have to pay. I’ll teach you for free.”
“No need, no need.”
“Why do you keep rejecting me?”
“I… I think the way you drive is too dangerous. It’s easy to get into accidents.”
Shi Ye, whose attempt to look cool failed: “……”
“?”
“I’ll go to driving school when I get a scholarship later.” Wen Rong paused. “Didn’t you ask me to play tennis? Teach me tennis first.”
Although teaching drifting failed, Wen Rong offered a new suggestion, and Shi Ye’s spirits soared again.
Right, tennis is also my strong suit. Although getting a newbie like Wen Rong interested in tennis is hard, if he ends up liking it, won’t he have to come to me for practice every day?
Shi Ye’s lips curled up slightly. He happily drove the car back to the villa.
It was 6:30 when they arrived at the gate. The sky hadn’t completely brightened yet, but the villa entrance was already crowded with an entire coaching team.
Wen Rong was startled when he got out of the car, trembling as he followed Shi Ye into the villa.
Inside, the villa was bustling even more. Over a hundred people wearing tennis club sportswear were gathered around tables eating. The discussions could be heard before they even got close to the main hall.
“Fuck, don’t let me find out who smeared our school, or I’ll kill him.”
Wen Rong froze abruptly.
Although he had decided to do these things, hearing someone curse him still made him feel a bit guilty.
“What’s wrong?” Shi Ye noticed his small movement.
“Can I…” Wen Rong hesitated to speak.
Because his expression was too troubled, and he kept glancing inside the villa while speaking, Shi Ye looked over and was also shaken.
He instantly regretted it.
He had forgotten that at the start of school, he had dragged Wen Rong to the villa to bully him. Previously, Wen Rong wouldn’t enter his villa either, always going straight to the security room. He definitely had PTSD.
Shi Ye wished he could turn Wen Rong around so he wouldn’t see the villa or think about the darkness. He quickly said, “Go wait for me in the security room for a few minutes.”
He thought, The group inside is almost done eating. I’ll clear them all out quickly, go to the old tennis court, and take Wen Rong to eat and play tennis by ourselves.
With this plan, he opened the door and entered the villa.
“Brother Shi.”
“President.”
Shi Ye nodded in acknowledgment. Just as he was about to find the butler to speak, he heard someone shout.
“Found it! The grandson who smeared the school was dug out by Li Ao.”
“Fuck!” Someone rolled up their sleeves. “Who is it? I’m going to beat him up.”
“It’s…” The excited boy choked on his words, suddenly looking at Shi Ye.
Shi Ye frowned, thinking they were talking about him. What is that idiot Zhou Xie up to now? Throwing this kind of dirty water on me?
What would I gain from posting that kind of article questioning the school? I got cursed at ten thousand times on Bluebook last night too.
“It’s…”
Someone nearby urged, “Who is it? Stop keeping us in suspense.”
“It’s… the Spe-spe-special…”
Another person shouted, “Damn! It’s actually Wen Rong.”
In an instant, Shi Ye’s pupils constricted. “Who?”
“It’s that Special Recruit, Wen Rong.”
Shi Ye strode forward and snatched the boy’s phone. Sure enough, he saw the Black Pigeon post:
[Extra! The one smearing the school on Bluebook is the Special Recruit. IP evidence here]
“Impossible,” Shi Ye blurted out.
How could Wen Rong…
He would. Wen Rong would.
Shi Ye knew very little about Wen Rong’s preferences, but he just knew—Wen Rong was capable of doing something like this.
He didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, nor did he know that smearing Floriman Academy was equivalent to making an enemy of the entire Federation’s upper class.
Shi Ye felt a sharp pain in his brain. Just as he raised his hand to rub his hair, he heard someone shout again:
“Zhou Xie has initiated a school-wide vote, asking whether to agree to give Wen Rong a Red Card penalty.”
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