Chapter 2 – The Rumour Economy

Li Yichen learned two important truths during the first break.

First, rumors did not need evidence.

Second, rumors did not need logic.

They only needed boredom.

He sat at his desk, staring at the blackboard like answers might magically appear there. They didn’t. Behind him, the classroom buzzed with whispers that stopped the moment he turned his head.

This was psychological warfare.

“Okay,” Yichen said quietly, leaning toward Zhou Minghao. “You’re telling me everything. Slowly. Clearly. Preferably without ruining my life.”

Minghao looked around like he was about to confess to a crime. “So… this started yesterday.”

“Of course it did,” Yichen muttered. “Everything bad starts when I’m not present.”

“Someone saw you near the old stairwell after school,” Minghao continued.

Yichen frowned. “I pass that stairwell every day.”

“Yeah, but you were… standing there.”

Yichen blinked. “I stand in many places. That’s how legs work.”

Minghao ignored him. “And then someone else said you were waiting for someone.”

Yichen opened his mouth, then paused. “…I was waiting.”

Minghao’s eyes widened. “You were?”

“For the rain to stop,” Yichen snapped. “It was pouring.”

“That detail did not make it into the rumor,” Minghao said carefully.

Yichen rubbed his temples. “So people saw me standing near stairs. And?”

“And then,” Minghao said, lowering his voice dramatically, “someone said you looked nervous.”

“I always look nervous,” Yichen said. “That’s my face.”

“And then,” Minghao continued, clearly enjoying this, “someone said you were holding something.”

Yichen froze. “Holding what?”

“No one knows.”

“That’s worse.”

“And then,” Minghao finished, “someone said you left… disappointed.”

Yichen stared at him.

The classroom felt very quiet.

“…That’s it?” Yichen asked. “That’s the rumor?”

Minghao nodded. “People filled in the rest themselves.”

Yichen leaned back in his chair, letting out a hollow laugh. “So let me guess. I was secretly meeting someone. I was rejected. I’m heartbroken. And now I’m mysterious.”

Minghao winced. “Actually…”

Yichen closed his eyes. “Actually what.”

“They think you rejected someone.”

Yichen’s eyes flew open. “Who?”

Minghao hesitated. “That’s the thing. Everyone has a different answer.”

Yichen felt his soul leave his body again.

During the next class, the rumor evolved.

By lunchtime, it had a plot.

According to the version Yichen overheard near the canteen, he had met someone secretly, turned them down coldly, and walked away without looking back. According to another version, he had done it “politely but cruelly,” which Yichen didn’t even know was possible.

One boy claimed Yichen had said, “I don’t have time for feelings.”

Yichen nearly choked on his water.

“I literally don’t have time for homework,” he whispered.

As he walked through the corridor with Minghao, people openly stared now. Some looked impressed. Some looked disappointed. One junior gave him a thumbs-up.

“Why are you encouraging this?” Yichen muttered.

Minghao shrugged. “Respect, bro.”

“I do not want this kind of respect.”

They hadn’t even reached the canteen when Chen Rui appeared in front of them like she had been summoned by the rumor itself.

“Li Yichen,” she said, arms crossed. “Can I ask you something?”

Yichen braced himself. “Legally?”

Chen Rui ignored that. “Is it true?”

He sighed. “Is what true?”

She leaned closer. “That you turned someone down yesterday.”

Yichen looked at Minghao. Minghao looked at the ceiling.

“No,” Yichen said flatly. “It is not true.”

Chen Rui blinked. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“…Not even a little?”

“No.”

Chen Rui looked almost disappointed. “Oh.”

She walked away.

Yichen watched her go. “Why did she sound sad about that.”

Minghao patted his shoulder. “Your legend collapsed for her.”

The worst part was that teachers started noticing.

In the afternoon, their literature teacher paused mid-lecture and looked directly at Yichen.

“Li Yichen,” she said. “Please focus.”

Yichen straightened. “I am focused.”

“Good,” she said. “Because distractions can… spread.”

The class snickered.

Yichen slowly lowered his head onto his desk.

This was not happening.

By the end of the day, the rumor had reached peak absurdity.

Someone claimed he had been seen walking away in the rain “like a tragic male lead.” Someone else insisted he had smiled sadly.

“I don’t smile sadly,” Yichen muttered while packing his bag. “I smile awkwardly.”

Minghao leaned over. “You know what the funniest part is?”

“There is no funny part.”

“No one knows who the other person is.”

Yichen paused. “So this is all about… nothing.”

“Yes,” Minghao said cheerfully. “Pure imagination.”

Yichen slung his bag over his shoulder and stood up. “That’s it. I’m ending this.”

“How?”

“I don’t know,” Yichen admitted. “But I refuse to be the main character in a story I didn’t agree to.”

Fate, unfortunately, heard him.

As he stepped out of the classroom, he nearly collided with someone.

“Sorry—” he began.

He stopped.

The person standing in front of him was Lin Xinyue.

She was quiet. Smart. Known for keeping to herself. Also known for being involved in exactly zero rumors.

She looked at him calmly.

“Li Yichen,” she said. “People are talking.”

He exhaled slowly. “I know.”

Her gaze was steady. Too steady.

“They think it was me,” she added.

The hallway seemed to tilt.

“…What.”

Lin Xinyue nodded. “Apparently, I was the one you met yesterday.”

Yichen stared at her in horror. “I didn’t even see you yesterday.”

“I know,” she said. “That’s why this is impressive.”

Behind them, someone gasped.

Yichen turned his head slightly and saw three students frozen mid-walk, eyes shining with interest.

The rumor had found a face.

Yichen straightened his posture.

This was no longer a misunderstanding.

This was war.

And he was losing badly.

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