Chapter 8 The Rumor

While Juliet was gone, two posts related to her suddenly blew up on the school forum. [Freshman Animation Student Stuns with God-like Looks, Might Replace Eileen as the New Campus Beauty!] The post was simple, just a bunch of photos. They were all sneaky shots the poster took when Juliet was checking in. In the pictures, the girl wore a plain white T-shirt and light-washed jeans, her skin fair, her figure slim, and her legs long and straight. Most of the shots were profile and back views, not very clear, but it was obvious that she had a delicate, nearly perfect face. The comments below were filled with praise. [OMG! What kind of goddess is this??] [I can't... My screen is so dirty, why can't I clean it? Oh, it's all my drool, ugh...] [How can a beauty like this be an art student?? Who said art students looked like miners? Come out and take a beating!] [Why didn't I apply for animation? If I knew there was such a pretty classmate, I would've gone for it!] [+1, the person above is right!] [I checked the freshman registration form, her name is Juliet Black. Even her name sounds pretty! T_T] [You're all being fooled! Juliet is Eileen's adoptive sister! Four years ago, she beat up Eileen for no reason, causing her to suffer from depression ever since! Eileen's parents sent her abroad because of it, but they still paid for her schooling! Now that she's back, she's already hit Eileen again! Juliet is a psycho! A freak! She has violent tendencies! Someone like her should never stay at our university! | Share Link |] The last layer of replies caught a lot of people's attention, and everyone who saw it clicked on the links that followed. [Freshman Juliet Has Violent Tendencies! Antisocial Personality! As an adoptive daughter, she beat up her adoptive parents' biological daughter, causing her to suffer from depression for years!] The post detailed Eileen and her parents' kindness. They not only adopted Juliet, who was a poor orphan, but also treated her like their own daughter and sister. Yet, Juliet repaid their kindness with hatred, feeling jealous of Eileen. Four years ago, Juliet randomly attacked Eileen, kicking her down the stairs and grabbing her hair to slam her head into the ground. This left Eileen hospitalized for over a month, and she still had psychological scars. Just a few days ago, Juliet returned to the country. Eileen wanted to give Juliet her diamond necklace, but Juliet forced her to nearly swallow it. In front of their parents, Juliet slapped Eileen several times again... The post quickly gained traction. Such a terrible incident shocked everyone's worldview, and within a short time, it racked up thousands of replies. [What, nobody's saying anything? Then I will! Is this something a person can do? Juliet isn't human; she's an animal!] [A real-life Farmer and the Snake?] [Oh my gosh! Kicking her down the stairs, slamming her head into the ground, forcing her to eat a necklace, slapping her... This isn't something even a drama would dare show! This is a crime; she should be reported to the police!] [How can someone like her even be in college? I strongly demand the school expel her!] [She's so pretty, but her heart is dark! An orphan adopted by a wealthy family who isn't satisfied and wants to harm their biological daughter? Someone like her should just die!] [I heard Eileen had depression before and thought she was being dramatic; I had no idea it was like this... I strongly demand the school expel Juliet!] [I strongly demand the school expel her!] [...] Of course, Juliet wouldn't be so bored as to browse the school forum. So when she got back to school, she noticed the strange looks from everyone around her, completely clueless about what was going on. As soon as she walked into the dorm, the atmosphere instantly fell silent. Juliet raised her eyebrows and asked, "What's going on?" The terrified expressions from everyone along the way made her suspect her identity had been exposed. No way, right? NY University probably didn't have that strong of an intelligence network yet, did it? Bess was the first to stand up. "Juliet, don't worry! We don't believe those things on the school forum; we believe in you! You're definitely not that kind of person!" Dora quickly nodded. "We can tell our instructor about this and let them handle it. If it comes to it, we can report it to the police. Those rumor-spreaders are going too far!" Lillian was quietly sitting in her spot, doing her nails, before finally looking up at Juliet. "I can help you get the post taken down." "What post?" "The one on the school forum... You didn't know?" Juliet pulled out her real phone and logged into the NY University forum. When she finally saw the content of the top post, she understood what had happened. So it was Eileen acting up again... It seemed she hadn't hit hard enough last time. Bess and Dora looked at Juliet with worried expressions. "Juliet, just stay calm. Spreading rumors and defamation is illegal; we can report it..." "Not everything is a lie, though." "Huh?" Bess was stunned. Juliet squinted and smiled, looking very pleased. "At least the part about me hitting her is true. You guys don't know that Eileen's front tooth on the left side is a fake, do you?" Bess, "..." Dora, "..." Lillian, "..." The content of the post was absolutely shocking. But after hearing Juliet admit it herself, the people present didn't feel any righteous anger. Instead, they thought Juliet looked pretty confident and cool while she spoke. Looking at the three of them, who were momentarily speechless, Juliet casually asked, "What's the matter? Afraid?" Bess and Dora shook their heads. Lillian asked, "Why did you hit her? There must be a reason, right?" She felt like Juliet wasn't the kind of cruel and violent person. Not just her—Bess and Dora also unconsciously believed in Juliet, without any reason. Hearing this, Juliet grinned, showing off her bright white teeth. "Because she deserved it!" Lillian was taken aback. "Well... So what are you planning to do now?" Juliet thought for a moment and said, "Delete the post, then go hit her again?" Bess frowned. "Juliet, Eileen had a lot of connections here back in high school. She's close with the student council that manages the forum. Deleting the post probably won't be easy." "Not a big deal," Juliet replied with a raised eyebrow and a light laugh. The three of them widened their eyes as they watched Juliet pull out a silver laptop from her suitcase and boot it up. Juliet's fingers flew over the keyboard, and in less than two minutes, she logged into the school forum... and the admin panel, where she directly deleted the post. "You, you, you..." Bess couldn't believe it. "Juliet, how did you do that? So cool!" Lillian couldn't help but stand up. "Juliet, did you learn programming?" Juliet turned around and blinked. "I guess I know a little bit." A little bit? The three of them pulled out their phones and looked at the forum, where the post had been deleted, their faces showing pure shock. That was just "a little bit"? Meanwhile, Eileen was looking at the flood of insults directed at Juliet on the forum, a smile creeping onto her face. She could almost picture Juliet being scorned by everyone in the school. Just thinking about it made her feel incredibly satisfied. Suddenly, the forum refreshed, and the post vanished from Eileen's phone. The blank screen clearly displayed— [This post does not exist or has been deleted.] What was going on?! Eileen's face fell as she refreshed the page several times, but the post still didn't exist. "Eileen, look! The post is gone!" A girl from the same dorm shouted, rushing over with her phone. "Look, the post is gone! It must have been deleted by the admin..." Eileen's expression turned ugly, but she still managed to force a gentle smile. "Maybe. Let's just forget about it." The girl was furious. "Eileen, why are you being so nice? The more you let her get away with it, the more she'll take advantage of you. She's just jealous of your status as the princess of the Black family and wants to hurt you!" Eileen lowered her head and said softly, "She... she's actually kind of pitiful. She grew up without parents, and she only came to our family when she was fourteen. I don't even know how she lived before. It's understandable if she has a bit of a temper. It's no big deal." As she said this, she wiped her tears, as if she were truly feeling wronged. The more she acted this way, the angrier the girls around her became. "Eileen, don't worry about it. I'll contact the seniors managing the forum. Someone must've accidentally deleted the wrong post. I'll make sure everyone knows the real deal about Juliet!" Eileen's eyes were red, and she quietly said, "Thank you. I honestly… I really don't know what to do. I'm glad you're here." "With me around, you can relax." The girl gritted her teeth. "She likes to hit people, huh? I can just gather a few friends and teach her a lesson. Let her know what it feels like to get hit!" "Moira, don't act impulsively…" "Eileen, you don't have to convince me. I know what I'm doing."