Chapter 106 The Singer, Oh, Singer 39

"Because of these two things, Hou Pan's reputation was particularly bad."

"Hu Zhengzheng had good grades, was pretty, and had a great personality back then. School leaders and teachers really liked students like her who came from poor backgrounds but worked hard. So, when the rumors started spreading, they immediately began a strict investigation."

At this point, The young driver coughed twice, pulled out a bottle of mineral water, and took a couple of sips.

Lin Xiangjun, being very sensible, placed another hundred underworld currency next to him.

Spend it, spend it.

Not only was Hou Pan a key suspect, but she was also willing to spend a bit for such explosive gossip.

It cost two hundred just to hear that old man on the seesaw sing those god-awful nursery rhymes twice. In comparison, this guy was good-looking, had a nice voice, told a vivid story, and most importantly, used a lot of words—he was simply the king of cost-effectiveness.

Seeing the two hundred underworld currency notes beside him, The young driver's voice became even gentler.

He knew that becoming a taxi driver was the right decision!

Which customer who could afford a taxi wasn't rich? As long as he could get them to leak a little from their fingertips, working for a month would cover his four years of college expenses!

"But anyone could tell that rumor was fake, just someone spreading lies. After all, a guy like Hou Pan, who's 1.6 meters tall and weighs 180 pounds, looks like a giant stone bollard standing by the road... If a man can't even manage his own appearance, what kind of future could he have? Just standing next to him is embarrassing, let alone liking him."

Hearing that description...

Yuck, that really is disgusting.

The young driver snorted, clearly looking down on Hou Pan. "The school leaders found out the truth soon after. It wasn't that Hu Zhengzheng had a crush on Hou Pan at all. It was just that one day on her way to school, Hu Zhengzheng saw Hou Pan crying by the school's artificial lake. She felt sorry for him and gave him the two buns she had for breakfast."

"Hu Zhengzheng was just doing a good deed. Who knew that Hou Pan would think she had a crush on him and gave him the buns just to talk to him?"

"As for the claims of a secret crush, being too shy to speak, or her studying hard because he rejected her to make him notice her, those were all baseless. Hu Zhengzheng herself cursed in class, saying she didn't even know him before giving him those buns. She said if she'd known he was that perverted creep, she would've fed the buns to a dog rather than give them to him."

Having said this, The young driver couldn't help but chuckle.

"The key was that Hou Pan was caught. When Hu Zhengzheng went to confront him and asked when those fabricated events supposedly happened, he actually managed to sound quite convincing. If it hadn't been for the school's surveillance cameras and the fact that Hu Zhengzheng spent most of her time doing homework in class—meaning the times and places he mentioned didn't match up at all—he might have actually fooled everyone."

"The school leaders certainly weren't going to let a student like him affect a top student in their class. So, the day after the investigation finished, they told Hou Pan to pack his things and get lost."

"And then?" Lin Xiangjun asked.

The young driver shook his head. "After Hou Pan was expelled, no more news about him came out. I was busy with my own exams at the time, so I didn't look into it further. But I remember when I graduated, Hu Zhengzheng took first place in the final exams again, scoring over thirty points higher than the runner-up."

Lin Xiangjun listened, still wanting more.

As expected, no matter the time, the essence of humanity is a gossip collector.

Seeing that Lin Xiangjun still wanted more, The young driver didn't want to miss the chance to earn money. He racked his brain for a long time and finally spoke again as they neared Senhe Mansion. "I don't know anything else about Hu Zhengzheng and Hou Pan, but regarding the Xia Suhe you mentioned earlier, I think I've heard some news, though it might not be accurate."

Lin Xiangjun sat up straight again. "What news?"

"When people were talking about Hu Zhengzheng and Hou Pan, I heard a girl in my class mention that Hu Zhengzheng and Xia Suhe were very close. They used to be neighbors and grew up together, attending the same elementary and middle schools. They even got into the same high school. Although they weren't in the same class, they often ate together."

"As soon as the rumors Hou Pan spread came out, Xia Suhe was fuming in her class. She dragged Hu Zhengzheng to the dean's office to complain, saying that Hou Pan's rumors had seriously affected Hu Zhengzheng's mental health, making her afraid to be at school and unable to focus on her studies. She demanded that the school take strict action."

"Actually, when things like this happen, most school leaders just want to suppress it or gloss over it. The reason they handled it so decisively and quickly back then was largely because Xia Suhe made such a big fuss."

They arrived at Senhe Mansion.

The young driver parked the car by the roadside, and the four tentacles on the roof opened the door again.

Lin Xiangjun thought about it and first tossed a hundred notes aside to show her satisfaction with the news. As The young driver smilingly tucked the underworld currency into his pocket, she added, "Can you wait at the entrance for a while? Once I'm done with my business, can you take me back to Xieyou Alley?"

"Of course. You can place an order on your phone and designate me."

For a customer who paid so generously and readily, The young driver wished she would just hire him exclusively, let alone take another trip.

Following The young driver's guidance, Lin Xiangjun successfully completed the operation.

However, she wasn't sure how long she would be inside, so she gave him another two hundred before getting out.

"I'm not sure how long it will take, so I might have to trouble you to wait a bit longer."

Earning five hundred underworld currency in tips for one trip, the driver smiled as brightly and enthusiastically as a Golden Retriever, a far cry from his cold and indifferent demeanor when she first got in.

The four tentacles on the roof also became much more enthusiastic. Seeing Lin Xiangjun about to get out, they even made a double heart gesture for her.

"Of course, no problem. You can take as long as you need; I'll be waiting right here for you."

After closing the car door, Lin Xiangjun couldn't help but sigh.

"So this is the kind of life rich people live every day. No wonder they love life and the world."

If she got to face such a cheerful and enthusiastic handsome young man every day when she went out, she would love life too, and she'd be happy to go out and play every day.

"Really... the world is ending and I'm rich; the society is overrun with weirdness and I see handsome guys. Why did I become rich at such a perfect time?"

Sighing, Lin Xiangjun turned to look at the gate of Senhe Mansion.

She happened to see a distorted weirdness in the security booth at the gate, with at least a hundred eyes all over its body.

Seeing Lin Xiangjun look over, all the eyes on the Hundred-Eyed Weirdness blinked simultaneously.

In an instant, every single hair on Lin Xiangjun's body stood on end.

Just then, a little boy walked out of the residential area, leading a little girl by the hand.

The little boy still looked human, except his eyes were frighteningly large and had no whites. The little girl, however, had completely lost her human appearance; her mouth was terrifyingly large and filled with rows of shark-like teeth.

From a distance, they saw Lin Xiangjun and simultaneously revealed a weird smile.