Chapter 83: The True Face Revealed!

“Cousin, I truly never intended to avoid this matter. Look,” Gu Zhiren said, taking out her phone and dialing a video call.

A second later, Duan Jingyi’s pale face appeared on the screen. At the same time, everyone could see the IV drip hanging from her hand, the hospital gown she wore, and the unmistakable backdrop of a hospital wall behind her.

Duan Jingyi’s weak voice sounded, tinged with sincerity. “I’m sorry, Gu Ci. I want to apologize for what happened before. Once I recover and return to school, I’ll apologize to you in person. Please don’t make things difficult for our classmates.”

She then bowed apologetically to the students of Class One. “I’m sorry for causing everyone trouble…”

Speaking seemed to drain Duan Jingyi; she coughed several times, then offered them a weak, regretful smile. “Sorry for making a spectacle of myself…”

The crowd was silent.

“Jingyi, it’s all right…” The students of Class One were overcome with guilt and concern. Although they had just said aloud that Duan Jingyi was truly ill, in their hearts, many had secretly blamed her for pretending to be sick and breaking her promise, leaving them to be humiliated by Class Twelve.

After all, she’d been perfectly fine just last week. Who could believe she’d suddenly fallen sick at such a critical moment? If they hadn’t had no other options, how could they have spoken such insincere words?

But only now, seeing Duan Jingyi in this condition, did they realize how wrong they’d been.

Seeing that even in illness, Duan Jingyi hadn’t forgotten her responsibilities—and felt guilty for causing them trouble—made the students of Class One feel utterly ashamed.

After ending the video call, Gu Zhiren addressed her cousin again, her tone earnest and full of aggrieved humility. “Cousin, please, stop inciting the students of Class Twelve.”

“I know Jingyi unintentionally wronged you before. But we are all classmates, and Jingyi is already like this. If you’re still upset, I’ll voluntarily give up my spot in the Youth Olympics, just please stop targeting Jingyi and our classmates.”

In a few short sentences, she deftly shifted the narrative.

Her words painted Gu Ci as the one who refused to let things go. She subtly pinned Duan Jingyi’s illness on Gu Ci, yet made it sound perfectly reasonable.

Had the students of Class Twelve not known the truth, even they would have believed they’d been goaded by Gu Ci into making trouble for Class One.

But Gu Zhiren would never understand that Gu Ci’s demand for apologies from the dean and Duan Jingyi wasn’t for herself, but for Jin Jiejiao, whom they had bullied!

In fact, after helping Jin Jiejiao get justice, Gu Ci had all but forgotten the matter. If not for being reminded that morning, she might never have recalled it at all!

So the idea that Gu Ci had incited them to trouble Class One was utterly baseless.

But while the truth was clear to Class Twelve, the rest of the onlookers began to look at Gu Ci with suspicion.

They had originally believed Duan Jingyi was avoiding responsibility and had secretly despised her for lacking integrity.

Now, they realized Duan Jingyi was truly ill.

Moreover, even in her illness, she hadn’t forgotten to apologize to Gu Ci.

In contrast, Gu Ci now appeared petty and vindictive, having supposedly caused Duan Jingyi’s illness and then leading Class Twelve to corner Class One.

“It’s just a bet. Is it really necessary to gloat so much after winning?” someone whispered in the crowd.

“Even if Duan Jingyi was at fault before, she’s already sick. Must you people from Class Twelve be so heartless?”

People are instinctively sympathetic to the weak.

At this moment, the crowd entirely forgot that all of this had started with Duan Jingyi herself.

She was the one who, dissatisfied with simply winning the spot, tried to force Gu Ci to apologize or even leave the school.

From beginning to end, Gu Ci and her classmates had only demanded that Duan Jingyi keep her promise and apologize…

Yet now, Duan Jingyi had transformed herself into the victim, and Gu Ci and the others were the ones under fire.

Gu Ci said nothing more.

She took Gu Zhiren’s phone, found Duan Jingyi’s number, and called.

“Cousin, you—” Gu Zhiren’s face changed. She hadn’t seen what Gu Ci was doing with her phone, only felt displeasure at her cousin’s brazenness and an undercurrent of unease.

She tried to step forward and snatch her phone back, but the students of Class Twelve blocked her.

Secretly gritting her teeth, she assumed the look of someone bullied yet afraid to resist.

Immediately, her supporters began to berate Gu Ci.

“How can you bully the campus belle like this, Gu Ci? Don’t you understand privacy?”

“I heard she’s the campus belle’s cousin! If she can do this in public, who knows what she does in private!”

“Hillbilly! No manners at all!”

The call connected quickly. Gu Ci muted the microphone and put the call on speaker.

From the phone, Duan Jingyi’s voice came through, filled with excitement and glee, reaching every ear present.

“Zhiren, your plan really worked! So? Is that bitch Gu Ci being scolded by everyone now? She wants me to apologize to her? Dream on!”

Her voice was energetic, arrogant, triumphant, with none of the previous weakness.

The content of her words left everyone stunned.

So, Duan Jingyi had been colluding with Gu Zhiren to deceive them all along?

Had they really just helped Duan Jingyi scold Gu Ci?

Thinking back, this wasn’t even the first time they’d wrongly accused Gu Ci.

If Gu Ci was so aggressive and heartless, then what did that make them?

Fools? Idiots? Sanctimonious hypocrites, keyboard warriors?

Those who had been defending Duan Jingyi and Gu Zhiren suddenly fell silent, as if someone had pressed pause.

Gu Zhiren’s face turned ghostly pale.

She had tried to stop Duan Jingyi the moment she spoke, but it was too late—Duan Jingyi had blurted everything out.

Seeing the shifting expressions on everyone’s faces, the students of Class Twelve felt only one word—satisfaction!

Serves them right for their blind sympathy!

Now that they knew they’d been used as pawns, how did it feel?

Gu Ci swept an indifferent gaze toward a corner of the school building, then unmuted the microphone and addressed Duan Jingyi in a calm voice. “It’s me. Duan Jingyi, take care of yourself.”

Hearing Gu Ci’s voice through the speaker, Duan Jingyi was caught completely off guard.

She never imagined Gu Ci would call her using Gu Zhiren’s phone.