Liu Mingming: "@Wen Yu, class president, stop playing dead. Come out!"

It wasn't until this moment that Xiao Xiao, though still bewildered, began to understand. The social circle in Dream City wasn't particularly large, so any novel news spread incredibly fast. After Han Lie's return, although he maintained a low profile, everything he did was quite shocking. It wasn't strange, therefore, for the gossipmongers of their grade to sniff out some information.

But the rumors that followed were simply outrageous.

District Director Zheng: "Don't overestimate Han Lie. You guys actually have no idea how he made his fortune."

Liu Mingming: "You know?"

District Director Zheng: "Of course, I do! That son of a bitch was harassing our school beauty, Chen Yanfei, on the train and ended up getting beaten up by Panzi Hang. Panzi's family compensated him with over 800,000 yuan. He then used that money for plastic surgery and, as a result, caught the eye of a wealthy girl from their school!"

Hao Yadong: "Fuck, fuck, fuck! And then what?"

Wen Yu: "Then his father-in-law took him under his wing and helped his career take off! Isn't that obvious?"

Wang Fangfang: "Oh my god! Is that for real?! Wen Yu, don't tell me you're badmouthing him and spreading rumors just because you hold a grudge?"

Wen Yu: "Tch! As if I would. If you don't believe it, go ask around yourselves. The day Han Lie returned home, his mom was so startled she blurted out, 'Son, what have you done to your face?' Their neighbors all heard it loud and clear!"

Holy shit! What a huge scoop!

Xiao Xiao, remembering Han Lie's former appearance and comparing it to the dazzling Han Lie he had seen today, was suddenly, utterly convinced.

Thus, he couldn't contain the jealousy in his heart and couldn't help but remark.

"Han Lie is indeed ridiculously handsome now, a huge difference from before."

Liu Mingming: "Yo! Xiao Grass is here? Long time no see, how have you been?"

Li Lihua: "Xiao School Hunk, you've seen Han Lie?"

Xiao Xiao: "Yeah, I met him once. He's handsome, wears designer brands, and his whole demeanor has changed significantly."

He felt he hadn't spoken ill of Han Lie, just stated the facts.

As a result, everyone started to lean towards believing it.

And District Director Zheng was still there, adding fuel to the fire.

"What's so great about Han Lie? Just selling himself! And who knows how ugly his rich girlfriend is! Why else would she desperately throw herself at some pretty boy who's had work done? Let me tell you, Panzi himself told me he knocked out two of Han Lie's molars back then!"

Liu Mingming: "Ah... no wonder Panzi Hang, despite getting into SISU, suddenly came back to repeat the year... It must have been because of the fight, huh?"

Li Lihua: "I see... So, are we still inviting Han Lie to the class reunion?"

District Director Zheng: "Invite my ass? The guy wasn't much to begin with, and now he's even more repulsive... Anyway, I'm ashamed to associate with him!"

Wen Yu: "I certainly didn't invite him. If any of you want to kiss his ass, go ahead and arrange to meet him yourselves!"

District Director Zheng: "But ladies, don't get your hopes up. Our Magic Capital son-in-law, Brother Lie, is already taken, hahaha!"

Xiao Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

No way! No matter how he made his fortune, his current influence is exactly what our family needs...

Before he could speak up to persuade them, his potential girlfriend, Hu Jing, suddenly chimed in, angrily defending Han Lie.

"What is wrong with you guys? Han Lie just had corrective vision surgery and some dental work, that's it. What kind of cosmetic procedure can add more than ten centimeters to someone's height? Han Lie is composed and warm, and very methodical in how he speaks and acts. He doesn't even look down on us, yet you're all blindly slandering him? And it's not enough to slander him, you have to call his girlfriend an ugly hag too? What is wrong with all of you!"

Hu Jing wasn't actually a very popular figure in the class. It would have been better if she'd kept quiet. Once she spoke, the other girls became even more agitated.

Watching them suddenly clash, Xiao Xiao felt utterly conflicted.

Wait, when did you meet Han Lie? And why suddenly defend him? Have you... also realized the power he holds now? Hu Jing, Hu Jing, you're acting very suspiciously...

The class group chat descended into chaos. Not many participated, but the fight was fierce.

Hu Jing was outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed.

Eventually, she huffily messaged Xiao Xiao privately: "Why did you suddenly go silent? You didn't even help me! You've met Han Lie in person, haven't you?"

Xiao Xiao, immediately irritated by the question, lost his temper.

"What's your relationship with him, and what's mine? Do you really understand him? Anyway, I have a really bad feeling about him. He seems so fake and arrogant!"

Hu Jing was stunned. Her point was, "Why didn't you help me?" But Xiao Xiao's temper flared even more than hers, which she found incredibly hard to accept.

And what was so bad about Han Lie anyway? He was warm and considerate, with an excellent sense of propriety. Both she and her mother thought highly of him. How could he appear so contemptible in your eyes?

Hu Jing angrily closed QQ, not wanting to reply any further.

The two had inexplicably fought. Xiao Xiao was also very upset, so much so that he stopped thinking about riding Han Lie's coattails.

As if our family can't get through this crisis without him, a pretty boy who lives off women?! What a joke!

…

After Hu Jing and a few classmates who tried to speak fairly were driven off, the group chat devolved into a frenzy for the few haters. Some were motivated by personal conflicts, some by jealousy, and others simply refused to believe. In any case, no one else thought about cozying up to Han Lie anymore.

Ah, kids these days are still so young. If this were four years later, after they'd all been knocked around by society, far more people would be supporting Han Lie.

Who cares how you succeed as an adult? The only thing that matters is whether you're useful to me.

But for Han Lie, all of this was utterly meaningless.

I'm too busy with my own problems to care about a bunch of small fry.

On New Year's Eve, Han Lie had no choice but to keep his phone plugged in, spending most of the day making calls in his bedroom. There were too many people who wanted to wish him a Happy New Year and connect with him. He also had a fair number of calls to make himself, which kept him busy all day.

Ma Honglian pricked up her ears, listening to Han Lie talk to not just one girl—she could tell because the house was so small, and Han Lie automatically lowered his voice whenever a girl called.

Initially, she was quite happy, thinking her son had grown up and knew how to charm girls, which was great!

But as Han Lie lowered his voice more and more often, Ma Honglian suddenly grew very worried.

"Han Yong, my heart is pounding..."

Han Yong, busy polishing the watch his son had given him, replied absently, "Hm? What is it?"

Ma Honglian nudged him and asked secretively, "Tell me, how do you think our son really made his fortune? He hasn't become some rich woman's kept man, or something like that, has he? Otherwise, why would so many women be calling him?!"

This logic…

Han Yong looked up, a look of disbelief on his face, and for once, replied with more than a few words.

"What nonsense are you thinking? What rich woman could afford to give him that much money? Is our son handsome enough to be worth that kind of money?"

Ma Honglian looked extremely conflicted and asked hesitantly, "But what if more than one rich woman is paying him?"

Holy shit! What a tricky angle...

Han Yong was stunned, his expression shifting from baffled to horrified.

It seems… it could actually be possible?!

While the couple was nervously making these well-founded but unsettling speculations, Han Lie, on his end, was also at his wit's end.

The clingy girl and the literary young woman were both finding it hard to suppress their feelings.

Zha Zha cooed, "Dearest brother, I want to spend New Year's with you..."

Sister Ting's voice was rich with emotion, "You little rascal, let me come and keep you company after the New Year. I miss you so much..."

Han Lie felt goosebumps rise all over his skin.

Ladies, I need to deal with Chen Yanfei after the New Year! What are you doing coming here to stir up trouble?!

However, just as he was racking his brains for excuses, a bigger mess was already brewing, and he was completely unaware…