After the soul swap, I became stronger (8): It’s officially announced again!

It was as if he could hear the click of a camera in his mind. The assistant was suddenly startled and quickly looked over at the couple next to him. Fortunately, he didn’t see them hugging each other. He shouted loudly, “Boss! Someone is taking pictures secretly!!”

After finishing speaking, without waiting for the two to react, he dashed out in a single leap to snatch the camera from the person’s hand.

Unfortunately, the other party was indeed a professional in this line of work. As soon as he saw the assistant’s reaction, he turned and ran, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

After a while, the assistant returned, panting heavily, and said hesitantly, “Sorry, boss, I couldn’t catch up…”

Chu Feng’s expression wasn’t very pleasant.

He looked at the young man with some difficulty and said to Si Qi, “It might be the media reporters who are after me.”

As a rising star in the business world, Chu Feng was young, wealthy, and exceptionally handsome, making him the type of guy girls adored. Dressed in a suit, he exuded an aura of restraint and elegance, always the center of attention wherever he went, and had consistently attracted media attention.

He knew he was very popular online, and many netizens would exaggeratedly call him “husband” directly. But he didn’t expect that after becoming famous, even his private life would be disturbed. If it involved the young boy…

He knew in his heart that the difference in status between him and the young man was too great. If others saw the way the young man interacted with him, they would definitely look at the young man with suspicion, thinking he had ulterior motives.

He didn’t care about being called gay, nor was he afraid that the company would be affected by it. He just worried that the young man wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of pressure, which would affect his daily life.

Who would have thought the young man just smiled and said to him, “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to publicly acknowledge our relationship? Or do you think it would be embarrassing if the news got out?”

Chu Feng was taken aback.

He hadn’t known the young man for long, and he was usually very busy with work, making it hard to find time for dates. The young man was equally busy at school and in the research institute, with seemingly endless tasks to do every day. The number of times they had actually met in person could be counted on one hand; most of their interactions had been through online chats.

Previously, he and Si Qi got along well, and the atmosphere would sometimes seem a bit ambiguous when they occasionally met, but due to various reasons, he never broke through that barrier with the young man.

Now, suddenly hearing Si Qi say this, Chu Feng actually felt a bit caught off guard, and for a moment didn’t know how to respond.

Refuse? Of course, it was impossible to refuse. Although they hadn’t known each other for long, he was certain that he could never let go of the boy in this lifetime.

Agree? He certainly wanted to agree, but the boy was still so young, with a more beautiful and broader life ahead of him. He couldn’t hold the other person back…

Si Qi, not as hesitant as him, said with a calm expression, “Anyway, I’ve made up my mind about you. No matter who asks me, I will say I like you and I want to be with you. If you don’t dare to admit it…”

Si Qi glanced at Chu Feng, a half-smile on his face: “Do you dare not to admit it?”

The assistant standing nearby, who heard the entire process, was utterly dumbfounded. He thought to himself, this guy really had some skills, saying such things just to get ahead as soon as possible! What was there to be afraid of for a nobody student to have a little scandal? As long as he could tie himself to this young rich man, his future would definitely be worry-free for life!

But what about Chu Feng? With such a huge business, even the slightest disturbance could have a massive impact! If he were to come out publicly, how many rumors and slanders would the entire conglomerate face from the outside? How could the shareholders in the company possibly let it go?

Chu Feng was gambling with his own future!!

The assistant was so furious that he almost rushed over and pointed his finger at Si Qi’s nose, cursing him out and telling him not to be so shameless and harm others. But deep down, he knew he was just a salaried employee and had no right to meddle in his boss’s affairs. Still, he just couldn’t get over it!

Chu Feng looked at the stubborn-faced young man with a complex expression and gently advised, “You’re still young; doing this will have a very negative impact on you.”

Si Qi snorted, “As long as I’m strong enough, who dares to speak ill of me? Anyway, I want to be with you, and no one can change that!”

Chu Feng felt both touched and pained upon hearing this, while the assistant couldn’t help but roll his eyes, thinking to himself that this was truly the most shameless person he had ever seen in his life!

In the end, Chu Feng couldn’t outargue Si Qi and didn’t have the heart to make the young man deny his feelings for him. He could only find a way to resolve the matter on his own, taking on all the pressure for the young man.

After he sent the teenager home, he had his assistant investigate which media outlet took the photos and find a way to buy them back with some money.

Who would have thought that the person who secretly filmed them this time wasn’t even targeting Chu Feng at all, and didn’t even know who he was. They just thought that Si Qi, coming from a poor background and liking men, had actually hooked up with a seemingly wealthy man outside, and the two were even dating outside the campus!

The photo reached the hands of the Son of the World, who was just a fake young master from a wealthy family, completely unaware of who the renowned Chu Feng was or what he looked like. Naturally, he never considered whether he could offend this person. At that moment, his thoughts were the same as the hired help he had paid for; he just felt that Si Qi had hooked up with a big shot! He was so excited that he had someone upload the photo to the internet that very night, and the title was quite shocking.

What kind of high school students are getting involved with wealthy men, engaging in financial transactions and the like?

It clearly and explicitly detailed the poor background of Si Qi’s family, stating that his parents were in debt and lived a hard life. It also mentioned that he was unfilial, had a bad attitude towards his parents, and made them write IOUs to pay him back. Furthermore, it said that he was gay, which was one thing, but he also engaged in prostitution, taking advantage of his good looks to sell himself to others. He was simply a person with a notorious reputation.

The post not only clearly and thoroughly detailed Si Qi’s background, where he was currently studying, and so on, but also included numerous pieces of irrefutable evidence in the form of photos. For example, Si Qi carrying a backpack back to that dim and dirty home, Si Qi sitting in an extravagant and expensive restaurant enjoying a delicate meal, Si Qi and that obviously wealthy man exchanging smiles, their bodies leaning closely together as if embracing…

Originally, in this day and age, the idea of men being together already sounded quite eye-catching. Coupled with topics like student affairs and financial transactions, the post quickly gained traction with the help of the Son of the World and various professional online promoters, rapidly trending and attracting considerable attention overnight, even alarming the school authorities.

The school leader looked at the boy’s face in the photo, then saw the ambiguous way the two interacted, and suddenly felt a jolt in his heart.

Upon seeing the post again, he was even more furious to find that it blatantly mentioned the name of their school. He couldn’t contain his anger and directly called Si Qi’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Huang, asking him to bring Si Qi over.

At this time, that post had already spread throughout the school, and many students were discussing the matter, occasionally casting glances at Si Qi. Their gazes contained malice, suspicion, and of course, a fair share of schadenfreude.

Those students who were beaten up by Si Qi directly came to Si Qi and said maliciously, “Si Qi, I heard you like men. Is it true that you can sleep with anyone for money?”

A few students who were quite close to Si Qi nearby heard this and got very angry, directly saying, “Watch your mouth! Si Qi would never do such a thing! That post is completely slanderous!!”

“You think Si Qi is that kind of person? He wouldn’t lack that little bit of money! He has a good relationship with Xie Man, and Xie Man even said that his parents really like Si Qi. They plan to have Si Qi work at their company in the future!”

“Exactly, with Si Qi’s abilities, he doesn’t need to rely on others to get ahead!”

As a result, those people sneered and loudly said, “Who knows if he and Xie Man are in that disgusting kind of relationship too!”

“This guy is gay. The people close to him, the ones speaking up for him, are probably just feeling guilty, afraid that their own relationship with Si Qi will be exposed, which is why they’re so eager to defend him!”

“Those photos are so clear. If there was nothing going on between Si Qi and that person, would the atmosphere be so ambiguous?”

“Si Qi, you tell me yourself, what is your relationship with that person?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Si Qi, thinking that he would feel guilty, angry, and argue.

Who would have thought, Si Qi casually sat in his seat, showing no signs of urgency at all, and very calmly said, “Yeah, I’m dating him.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell silent for several seconds.

People who had a good relationship with Si Qi showed worried expressions, while those who came to trouble Si Qi instantly became excited, their faces flushed as they loudly exclaimed, “Just as I thought! I knew it!!”

Si Qi couldn’t help but laugh and said to these people, “Haven’t you figured out who my boyfriend is?”

A few people said with smug expressions, “Hmph! Isn’t he just a pervert who likes to keep young students?”

Si Qi happily took back his phone and waved it in front of him: “I recorded this conversation. I can guarantee it will definitely become your lifelong black history.”

The person across from me looked bewildered, just about to continue mocking, when their homeroom teacher, Mr. Huang, with a scowl on his face, walked over.

Seeing Si Qi surrounded by people and talking about “boyfriend,” he was infuriated and directly said, “Si Qi! Get out here!”

When the students saw the teacher come out, they immediately felt that things had gotten troublesome. They didn’t dare to stop Si Qi and just watched him being taken away. Then they started discussing it in the classroom.

“Who is Si Qi’s boyfriend?”

“Do you really think he and that person are in a romantic relationship? I thought Si Qi was just saying it out of anger!”

“Otherwise! I think Si Qi could never do something like that!”

“I looked at that person and he seems quite familiar to me…”

“Do you feel the same way? So do I!”

“Could it be some kind of celebrity? He looks pretty handsome…”

Everyone was discussing aimlessly for a while until a phone call suddenly came to one of the students’ phones. It was the student’s parents.

“Hey, Mom?”

She didn’t know why her mom suddenly called at this time, thinking it was just to talk about everyday matters. But her mom directly asked, “Yin’er, is that person in the post your classmate?”

The student immediately looked conflicted and said somewhat sheepishly, “Yeah…”

Mother: “Is it the person you introduced me to at the last parent-teacher meeting?”

The student felt even more guilty: “Hmm…”

She thought her mother would scold her about this, telling her not to have any more contact with Si Qi in the future, but her mother actually said, “Wow, he’s quite impressive!”

Student: “I was wrong… huh?”

She exclaimed, “What?”

Mother: “The other person in the photo is Chu Feng, the one who made the Forbes list before turning thirty.”

The student recalled carefully, suddenly gasping in surprise, “It was him all along!”

No wonder she thought this person looked so familiar; it turned out she had seen photos of Chu Feng online before and had even excitedly called him “husband” several times along with a group of other netizens…

The student thought about it and felt that her mother’s tone just now was a bit off, and she wondered, “Mom, you actually don’t think Si Qi is very… you know?”

The mother over there chuckled and said, “If I hadn’t met Si Qi and Chu Feng before, I might have thought otherwise. But I’ve met these two people—one is intelligent and quick-witted, with limitless potential for the future; the other is outstanding and capable, always surrounded by the right people. Neither of them would ever stray down a crooked path, so how could I think their relationship is improper?”

The student said, “You think so highly of Si Qi?”

Mother directly said, “This Chu Feng also came from a poor family, didn’t he also start his career at a young age through the internet business? I think this Si Qi and Chu Feng are very similar, both are promising. Maybe even the photos in that post were a misunderstanding.”

The student blinked rapidly, scratched his head, gave an awkward smile, and didn’t have the courage to tell his mother that Si Qi had just publicly admitted that he and Chu Feng were in a romantic relationship.

Her selfish desire was for her mother to think that Si Qi was a clean and innocent person.

Mother: “I don’t have anything going on either, just asking casually. Oh, and…”

Mother thought for a moment and said gently, “Chu Feng will definitely become even more impressive in the future. If he and Si Qi really get to know each other, you can spend more time with Si Qi at school. Given the current public opinion, if Si Qi faces any unfair treatment at school, you can help out and build a good relationship with him…”

The student was a bit surprised after hearing this and quickly nodded, “Okay, okay, no problem, I got it, Mom.”

Even if her mother didn’t say so, she actually wanted to help Si Qi a bit in her heart.

Hanging up the phone, seeing someone over there still loudly saying that Si Qi is a shameless and despicable person, the student retorted sharply, “What nonsense are you talking about! Do you even know who the other person in the photo is?”

“Who is it?” the person asked with wide eyes.

“It’s Chu Feng! The Chu Feng on the Forbes list!” The female student said with some pride, jokingly to the person, “You think you’re pretty impressive, saying bad things about Chu Feng in public and accusing him of keeping male students? Do you think you can afford to offend him?”

The person across the table’s face suddenly changed, and only at this moment did they finally remember who the person in the photo, who looked particularly familiar, was. A hint of regret began to stir within them.

But once the words were out, he couldn’t be taken back. He could only put on a brave front and say, “So what if it’s Chu Feng! Didn’t he do this? Are we not allowed to speak up?!”

“This matter? What matter? What did Chu Feng and Si Qi do?” The few students who were already quite angry, upon hearing about Chu Feng’s identity, suddenly seemed to gain confidence and directly said, “Is it not okay for them to be in a serious relationship? Is it illegal for rich people to date these days? Why do you have to think of them in such a dirty way?”

“Besides, with someone as great as Si Qi, who wouldn’t like him? He’s smart, has a good temperament, and is well-liked. Who knows what kind of talents he might have in the future! It’s perfectly normal for Chu Feng to take a liking to him!”

“Exactly! Chu Feng is almost thirty, an old man, who would take advantage of him is still up for debate!”

A few students who were insulted were furious and pointed at the group, saying, “You, you, you, you can even say something like ‘Chu Feng is an old man’!”

Chu Feng became one of the top billionaires in the country in his twenties, handsome in appearance, with limitless future achievements. Which woman wouldn’t want to marry him upon seeing him? Even this straight man couldn’t resist Chu Feng’s pursuit and was about to bend, yet he still dared to call Chu Feng an old man. It was simply absurd!!

The students snorted coldly, word by word, and said, “Anyway, Si Qi could never be kept by someone!”

A few of the students who were confronted were so furious they were practically jumping up and down, unable to contain their anger: “What use is it to say it’s impossible? The whole world says Si Qi is being kept by someone, so he is being kept! There’s no way to wash this away!!”

Meanwhile, the principal’s office.

“You handle this yourself! What are you going to do!!”

In the office, several school leaders and class teachers, with cold faces and furious expressions, slammed the table at Si Qi and said, “How old are you? Doing something like this? Do you have no shame?”

“You have excellent grades, the school spends money to let you attend, and even gives you scholarships! And what do you do? You, at such a young age, not studying well, learning from those people outside to find rich people to support you! Tell me, does what you’re doing now live up to the school’s investment in you, to your parents’ expectations of you, and to yourself!!!”

“We are very disappointed in you. Don’t come to school anymore. We will announce your expulsion to the public!”

“Don’t blame us for being ruthless. If it weren’t for your teacher Huang constantly pleading with us, I tell you, Si Qi, this matter wouldn’t end so easily. You have caused a very bad impact on our school’s reputation!!”

As soon as Si Qi walked in, he was met with a barrage of insults from several people, leaving him somewhat speechless. Once they finally gave him a moment to speak, he directly said, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with getting close to someone I like. Besides, my academic performance hasn’t been affected by these actions, and I haven’t been flaunting my relationship with Chu Feng everywhere! Instead of causing trouble for me, you should go after the person who posted that message. He clearly targeted me, and it is he who is causing a negative impact on the school, not me.”

“You! You still have the face to say that!” The school leader didn’t even notice the name Chu Feng for a moment; his focus was entirely on Si Qi, who didn’t think he had done anything wrong, almost driving them to the brink of anger.

“You are dating someone and still speak so confidently! You say it’s because you like him? What will people outside think? Will they believe what you say?”

These school leaders didn’t care at all about Si Qi’s thoughts; all they were thinking about was how to distance their school from this scandal.

Actually, it was the teachers in the classes who had more contact with Si Qi, like Teacher Huang, who felt more sympathetic towards him. They thought that as a student, Si Qi encountering such a situation and being threatened by adults must be very frightening for him. Unable to hold back, they spoke up for him: “Si Qi is indeed at fault in this matter, but the one who is more at fault is the person who deliberately posted and spread this matter. I know Si Qi well. He studies hard, gets along with people, is good at dealing with others, and has a lot of experience in handling social situations. He will definitely be successful in the future! He could never be kept by someone, nor does he need to sell himself to do such things!”

The school leaders were not stupid; they were counting on Si Qi to achieve good grades and bring glory to the school. Over the years, they had paid more attention to Si Qi than to other students, and often heard teachers and classmates mention Si Qi, praising how outstanding Si Qi was.

Now, after listening to Teacher Huang’s analysis again and pondering it carefully, they realized that given Si Qi’s conditions, he really wouldn’t go so far as to degrade himself.

Then, looking again at the young man standing straight in the crowd with a calm expression, it was clear that this child had a very good temperament. He remained composed in the face of danger and was not the type to lose sight of the big picture by getting caught up in trivial matters.

The overwhelming anger slightly calmed down, and with a weary rub of the forehead, he sighed and said, “You’ve been maliciously targeted!”

Whether it was a same-sex relationship, the highly debated and mismatched conditions due to significant differences between the two parties, or the incredibly detailed accounts of how Si Qi was unfilial to his parents…

No matter how you think about it, this matter was incredibly tricky. Although the school leaders had some sympathy for Si Qi, as the management of the school, they really couldn’t protect him just for the sake of one student, stubbornly refusing to expel him, and going to court with the netizens outside who insist that Si Qi had ulterior motives, to clear his name…

This would only have a more detrimental impact on their school.

At most, just like before, wthey wouldn’t hold Si Qi accountable, and they wouldn’t kick him when he was down by pushing all the blame onto him. They would let him leave school peacefully.

The teachers looked at Si Qi with regret, already sensing in their hearts what kind of trouble Si Qi would encounter next and to what extent he would be pointed at by those around him…

They felt very reluctant in their hearts, but they didn’t know what to do.

In their hearts, they even somewhat blamed Si Qi, thinking why he couldn’t just study well at school and had to go out and fool around with some so-called love interest. If he weren’t out there mingling with other men, would he have been photographed like that?

Si Qi saw everyone’s reaction and didn’t think much of it.

Originally, with Xiu Xiu’s abilities, he could directly delete this post, making it invisible to anyone.

But Si Qi didn’t think there was anything wrong with his relationship with Chu Feng. Why should he delete it? Deleting it would indirectly admit that “being with Chu Feng is bad and shouldn’t be known by outsiders,” which Si Qi found quite uncomfortable.

As for those slanders…

How to solve this? It was simple.

Si Qi had been in this world for so long, it was time to get down to business.

He had Xiu Xiu send out a few emails, revealing his identity to the big shots in the domestic research community and expressing his hope to meet them.

The reaction over there was quite significant; they were very shocked when they saw Si Qi’s age. After a flurry of contacting colleagues and reporting to superiors, they immediately replied that they would go find Si Qi.

No matter what, after they investigated Si Qi’s identity and found out that he was even blackened as a gold digger who was with rich men for money, it would be quite a ridiculous reaction. Si Qi once again brought up the previous topic, saying, “I won’t argue about the fact that I like Chu Feng, nor will I hide it. I stand tall and straight, liking is just liking! If you are dissatisfied and want me to drop out, I don’t mind.”

Anyway, in the end, he would definitely not be the one regretting it.

There was no reason in this world that just because a student had a crush on someone and got maliciously slandered online, they should be expelled—understandable, but not acceptable.

He shrugged, “But posting this, slandering me and Chu Feng as having an improper relationship, and even saying I’m unfilial to my parents, I will definitely get to the bottom of this!” He specifically made this trip for this reason; the Son of the World must suffer for his actions, otherwise, wouldn’t that be too easy on him?

The school leader glared at Si Qi with displeasure. At this point, the student’s sexual orientation was no longer the most pressing issue. He directly said, “If you want to leave the school, that’s for the best! As for the person who posted, we will also investigate what exactly happened…”

As they talked, the leader paused for a moment and finally began to find the name Chu Feng somewhat familiar.

Before he could remember who Chu Feng was and why he sounded so familiar.

The principal’s office door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a person he had seen countless times in the central news of the financial magazine stood there, looking at the group inside with a grim expression, his tone as cold as frost: “Who do you intend to expel?”