My girlfriend was reborn.

Chapter 51 The mob
The sounds of the oboe and flute have long since faded, leaving only silence flowing through the night.

"People always like to create gods, and regard all beings that are beyond human mortals as gods, wanting them to guide them forward like idols."

In the chilly night, Cheng Shuangjiang narrated in a calm and even tone.

"People also like to destroy gods, to watch the high and mighty gods fall into the mud, wounded and battered, and then say, 'I knew it all along.'"

Zhou Heming was able to describe the events that Cheng Shuangjiang had encountered at that time without the girl saying much.

She was an excellent student and a piano prodigy. Being able to perform her first solo at a charity gala attended by many celebrities in the city made her a rising star in the public eye.

After a car accident, she should have been a victim deserving of pity, but Cheng Shuangjiang chose to commit suicide.

Furthermore, it also implicated Zhou Heming, who went to rescue him.

This was originally a story that wasn't worth making a big deal out of, but local news reporters and independent media outlets didn't think so.

They will inevitably write grand, condescending, and serious reports such as "Who is to blame for the fall and suicide of a former genius?", "Three questions about the fragile psychology of modern high school students", and "Even the best grades cannot make up for a broken heart".

A top student with excellent grades and a musical genius, she actually tried to commit suicide because she broke her leg in a car accident, causing the student next door to also be hospitalized. Isn't she too fragile, too selfish, and too inconsiderate of others?

Students these days eat, drink, and study well, their conditions are so much better than ours were back then, why are they so fussy, unable to endure even the slightest hardship, and so extreme?

Even if such a person doesn't die this time, she will grow up to be a vengeful person and will eventually commit a serious crime. She should never be forgiven. If the law cannot punish her, then let public opinion destroy her!
"The scope of cyberbullying expanded rapidly."

Cheng Shuangjiang added in a murmur.

"They don't care about the truth, they don't need answers. They just want to vent their emotions, to take out their daily frustrations on strangers online, or they want to gain fame and attention by profiting from others' suffering."

“It started by targeting me, but I was still in a coma at the time. Then it spread to the driver who caused the accident. Because of my case, the accident was discovered. Everyone blamed the driver and his family, colleagues, and company. They even went to his door to threaten and shout. In the end, it led to his family committing suicide by drinking pesticide. The internet celebrity who came to film the video even commented, ‘They deserved it.’”

"Then the school was involved. Not only my uncle, but the entire Jiangcheng Middle School was held accountable. Many innocent people were investigated or suspended as a result. The college entrance examination of this year's students was also affected. Later, the reason why Lu Bai's matter became so big was also related to my matter."

"In the end, it's you."

"I?"

Zhou Heming subconsciously asked a question, then instantly understood the answer and was stunned.

“Although you were hospitalized at the time, you were not seriously injured. You were exposed to the online public opinion and learned about my past. After the driver’s tragedy, you did two things.”

The girl reminisced, her expression slightly somber, filled with a sorrow that evoked empathy.

"First, I wrote this script and had the doctor give it to me. It was a form of forgiveness, encouragement, and a way to save me."

"Secondly, you published an article online, detailing the truth of what you know and denouncing those unscrupulous media outlets, just like what you did to help Xu Youyou when you were in your first year of high school."

"A flawed warrior is still a warrior, and a perfect fly is still just a fly. You wrote the same words."

Zhou Heming fell silent.

He did the same thing Cheng Shuangjiang did when facing the family of the driver who caused the accident at the funeral home that day.

He was proud of his past self in that timeline because he had managed to stay true to himself amidst the overwhelming public opinion of the mob, and had a clear conscience.

He also felt sad for his counterpart in that timeline, because Zhou Heming knew very well that such articles would not reverse public opinion like those stories, but would only make the mob hiding behind the internet even more vicious and unscrupulous.

"Then, you also became a victim of cyberbullying."

Cheng Shuangjiang gave an answer that was as cold and realistic as reality itself.

"They fabricated our relationship, concocted rumors, added fuel to the fire, and even attacked your uncle's funeral company. Your family's debts and the project your parents were involved in were also dug up, and your family members were attacked in the same way. Countless reports covered the sky."

"That's why I left Jiangcheng to study and work in Ningjiang, and only returned to Jiangcheng later?"

Going to an unfamiliar city would at least protect those around Zhou Heming from the influence of public opinion. Only after time has passed and everything has returned to dust could he return home.

"And what about you? In that situation, are you really capable of taking a year off from school and then retaking the college entrance exam?"

What Zhou Heming is worried about now is the future of Cheng Shuangjiang, who has a history of this.

She shook her head.

"Actually, I didn't go to university."

Yes.

Even Zhou Heming, who was on the periphery, had to leave his hometown. Cheng Shuangjiang, who was at the center of the vortex, would inevitably be attacked even more fiercely, and she might not even be able to complete her studies.

This was once a top student who could score 698 points on a test.

"sorry."

Zhou Heming said in a low voice.

"Why are you sorry?"

Cheng Shuangjiang seemed a little confused as to why the boy beside her was apologizing to her, when it was clearly all her fault.

"Because, what you're talking about, you're the only one who has silently endured these memories, and I can't stand by your side back then and face it with you."

Cheng Shuangjiang even went to great lengths to conceal the truth, even deceiving Zhou Heming, just to prevent these calamities that had never happened to him from affecting his life in another way.

"It must have been so tough for you to get here all by yourself."

Upon hearing Zhou Heming's words, Cheng Shuangjiang was slightly taken aback, but soon she revealed a faint smile.

"You don't need to apologize to me, because if it weren't for A-He's existence, I probably wouldn't be in this world anymore."

"Your article brought my case to the attention of the affiliated hospital of Ningjiang University. After understanding my situation, they admitted me for treatment; otherwise, my condition might have been much more serious." "You are the one who saved me."

The young man was slow to realize it.

Cheng Shuangjiang, who chose to commit suicide at that time, never chose to end her own life again. Instead, she lived a miserable life in this world, burdened by insults and attacks.

Perhaps it was because the script she wrote, to some extent, saved her?

Then, the girl, who had lost her piano and her studies and spent thirteen lonely years alone in this world, met Zhou Heming again at the age of thirty.

Zhou Heming couldn't imagine what she must have felt when she saw him again.

"The rest of the story is pretty much what I told you."

Cheng Shuangjiang put down the pen she had been holding since the beginning.

The reunion between Zhou Heming and Cheng Shuangjiang at the age of thirty was not the kind of nostalgic reunion where old friends meet and laugh as they reminisce about the past.

Instead, they are two little monsters, wounded by the malice of this world, huddling together in a corner to lick each other's wounds and keep warm.

In fact, the thirty-year-old Cheng Shuangjiang was not a formal staff member of the library as Zhou Heming had imagined. She was more likely an ordinary shop assistant who helped out at the charity café.

Zhou Heming sighed.

He understood how important his counterpart in that timeline was to Cheng Shuangjiang.

He was her sin, her "accomplice," and her salvation.

It was the only light she could see when she was sinking into the abyss.

Zhou Heming was also very clear about this.

Given this complex relationship, Cheng Shuangjiang's love for herself was certainly not so pure.

If Zhou Heming were to put himself in Cheng Shuangjiang's shoes and consider things from her perspective, he would seize this light at all costs, even at any price.

Even one's entire life—past, present, and future.

While feeling heartbroken for the girl's plight, a strong, involuntary sense of sorrow welled up in the boy's heart. This was the inevitable surge of emotions that came with learning the truth.

He understood that bringing up these things at this time was somewhat inappropriate.

But he also knew that if they missed this opportunity, this matter would eventually become a grudge between them.

This was not only for him, but also for the girl he loved standing before him.

"So it seems your initial reason for liking me was indeed guilt?"

So, the eighteen-year-old boy asked a question.

The girl didn't answer.

However, some questions already have answers when they are raised.

"Actually, whether it's guilt or gratitude, feelings arise without warning, and there are countless reasons to fall in love with someone. I don't care that much about it."

Zhou Heming smiled somewhat reluctantly and glanced at the unusually silent girl beside him.

"You didn't tell me these things and you lied to me, but it's okay. After all, those were things from the past life. In this timeline, none of that happened. We successfully made up for many regrets, saved more people, and became better versions of ourselves."

At this point, he looked away from the blackboard in front of him, took a deep breath, and then spoke about what truly bothered him.

“I’m thinking, I’m not the Zhou Heming who saved you. Those conditions that made you willing to give everything don’t exist in this world. You owe me nothing.”

"I'm afraid that you're just used to loving me and projecting those memories onto me. When you look at me, your eyes are looking at those shadows of the past."

“I also don’t want to see that you chose to stay with me after being reborn because of your past expectations of yourself and the constraints of your sense of morality.”

“I sincerely hope that you think it through: do you like the illusion made up of guilt, memories, and redemption, or a specific person?”

After a pause, Zhou Heming finally understood the feelings of inferiority that Qiao Jinchen and Xu Youyou had felt at the time.

It turns out that loving someone can really make you feel so humble.

They will become sensitive, fragile, and sentimental.

He remained the same as he had been at the hospital bedside in the past, spending his entire life testing the other person's true feelings.

He had no doubt about Cheng Shuangjiang's love for him, and likewise, he also had a love for this girl that could tip the scales. That's why he wanted to uncover this secret.

He knew very well that in another timeline, because Zhou Heming happened to be in that position and Cheng Shuangjiang happened to encounter that kind of experience, the two of them came together. So, in this timeline, would Cheng Shuangjiang, the girl, still have a reason to be unable to live without Zhou Heming?
he does not know.

He wanted a clear answer, for himself and for the other person.

He hoped that their love was a surrender of free will, a passionate rush regardless of everything, and that it was the person who stopped at his doorstep.

Rather than being bound by morality, guilt, or responsibility.

So the boy asked a question.

"I just want you to stop thinking about the past, to let go of all the impurities."

He remained silent for a long time until the bell rang to signal the end of evening self-study, at which point he finally spoke.

"After that, could you... like me now, at eighteen?"

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(End of this chapter)