Chapter 17 Clearing the Rumors
Time flew by, and soon it was the start of another spring.
The written exam results came out quickly. My score was pretty much what I had estimated—solid enough to secure my spot at K University.
I started preparing for the March interview round.
The interview had two hurdles: a specialized written test and the mentor meeting.
The written part tested knowledge of cutting-edge developments in the field.
Throughout college, I had been collecting and organizing information on physics frontiers, so answering those questions felt effortless.
As for the mentor interview…
I had already screened potential advisors from the publicly available information on the school website.
Right after the initial results were released, I reached out to my top choice, introducing my academic background and expressing how determined I was to work under their guidance.
Hard work paid off. When the final interview results came out, I ranked first among applicants from my own university to the Physics Department at K University—double first place.
I was riding high.
Just as I was ready to celebrate success in both studies and love, the way people looked at me suddenly changed.
Whenever I passed through a crowd, I caught people pointing and whispering.
Tao Zi pulled me aside. “Cen Cen, have you offended someone lately?”
I shook my head. Lately I had been buried in exam prep, and the little free time I had was completely taken up by Shen Xiuming.
“Then what’s going on with you and… Professor Shen?”
Hearing my best friend mention Shen Xiuming, I froze for a second. “It’s related to him?”
Ever since I came clean to Tao Zi about my relationship with Shen Xiuming, she had been shocked for ages. What she found hardest to accept was that I had gotten into a relationship right under her nose without her noticing.
“It’s more than related!” Tao Zi slapped her thigh.
After the admission list was published, someone started spreading rumors on social media that my grades were achieved by “sleeping my way up” and that I had stolen a spot from ordinary applicants.
The mentor I applied to was the same professor who had supervised Shen Xiuming during his graduate studies.
They even posted secretly taken photos of me and Shen Xiuming in the library, claiming we often met there secretly.
Shen Xiuming had never told me who his advisor was. He respected my choices and never interfered with my applications unless I asked.
I zoomed in on the photo and studied it carefully—
“Tao Zi, look—isn’t this your ponytail?”
“Oh my god! They photoshopped me out but left my ponytail on your head?”
After I told Tao Zi everything, she often studied with us. In this picture, Tao Zi and I were sitting side by side. The rumormonger forcibly removed her but forgot to remove the ponytail.
I immediately went to the library to pull the surveillance footage and cropped a screenshot from a different angle that day.
The culprit surfaced quickly.
It was another candidate from the same school who had tied with me on the written exam but ranked second in the interview.
He had learned about my connection to Shen Xiuming and spread vicious sexual rumors to smear and eliminate his competitor.
I refused to get dragged into endless self-justification. I uploaded the third-angle surveillance screenshot along with a clear statement refuting the so-called “climbing up by any means.”
As for my relationship with Shen Xiuming, I offered no unnecessary explanations.
Under my post, quite a few alumni started speaking up for me.
Professor Shen’s theory summary booklet and mistake notebook—Cen has scanned them into electronic files and shares them for free. If they’re really together, I’d be the first to bless them!
Ever since Professor Shen stopped teaching at our school, they haven’t hidden anything. A lot of people already know—no one bothers them.
I secretly shipped them once. I saw them walking by the lake—Professor tried to hold her hand, but Cen Cen smacked the back of his hand. He looked so pitiful.
Soon afterward, K University released all the interview recordings for that mentor position and let the public judge for themselves.
The rumormonger was quickly exposed for multiple instances of data fabrication, exaggeration, and AI ghostwriting in his undergraduate academic papers.
I didn’t give him any chance to beg for mercy. I had already consulted a lawyer, preserved evidence, and initiated legal proceedings, demanding a public apology and rectification of the damage.
Finally, the matter came to an end.
Later, the comment section under my clarification post turned into a wishing well for future examinees…