E-Scum Gong Chapter 24
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 24
If it was a coincidence that he became a trending topic on the day of his speech, his popularity as the top student of Jiang University Affiliated High School only grew stronger in the following days.
And the impact of this on Lin Xu was no less than a grand social death, invading every aspect of his life like a relentless tide. He truly experienced the saying, "people fear getting famous like pigs fear fattening up."
Each class break became a catastrophe for him. He didn't even dare step out of the classroom. Even in the corridors, students from other classes would give him extra glances, not to mock, but out of curiosity.
First and second-year students who hadn't witnessed the speech were also intrigued. They would purposely pass by Class 9 of the senior year to catch a glimpse of this senior who, though originally unknown, now had his own super topic. They wanted to see if he truly possessed the extraordinary aura that netizens described.
Simply put, Lin Xu went from being an ordinary handsome guy to a famous handsome guy.
His classmates in Class 9 took it in stride. After all, in previous years, there had always been a few high-achieving students with good looks, causing small waves and becoming legendary figures in the school. However, with the media's involvement this time, Lin Xu’s fame had reached a slightly higher peak.
Every time Lin Xu left the school gates, he could hear students whispering about him, all in praise.
Instead of feeling happy, Lin Xu felt overwhelmed with shame. As a social phobic, he dreaded being the center of attention. Compliments made him want to curl his toes in embarrassment.
Fortunately, he could pretend he hadn't heard anything. He maintained a calm expression as he hurried home.
Once home, he was faced with another ordeal.
Mrs. Wang, a neighbor, loved to boast. She often bragged about her husband’s respectable job and high salary. She also took pride in her successful children, who were all good-looking and top students. During conversations, she would advise Lin Xu’s grandparents to be stricter with their grandson’s studies, stressing the importance of discipline. She would point out how her youngest son diligently did his homework until midnight, unlike Lin Xu, who often went out to play.
Now, whenever Lin Xu came home, he occasionally overheard Mrs. Wang chatting with his grandmother. "Big Sis, I always knew your Lin Xu would do well. I heard he gave a speech at school recently! That's incredible!" She would then try to pull up the video of Lin Xu’s speech, eager to praise every aspect of it.
Such a resonant and pleasant voice, such eloquent words, and such a handsome appearance...
Grandma Lin, without holding a grudge, gave her face. She politely and listened patiently.
When she saw Lin Xu coming home with his backpack, she quickly took it from him, politely ending the conversation with Mrs. Wang before heading inside.
Once they were home with the door closed, his grandmother asked kindly, "Are you hungry, Xiao Xu? Do you want Grandma to make you something to eat?"
She used to go to the square to dance, but now she waited for Lin Xu to come home every day.
Lin Xu's flushed face finally returned to normal.
Considerately, he replied, "It’s okay, Grandma. I’m not hungry. I’ll go to my room to do my homework."
But his grandmother held onto him, gently saying, "Xiao Xu, are you under a lot of pressure lately? You've been cooped up in your room studying every day."
“It’s almost time for the college entrance exam, so it's normal to be like this,” Lin Xu explained.
Grandma Lin continued, “Why hasn’t your old friend Mao Jun come to play with you anymore? Did you have a falling out?”
Lin Xu recalled that Grandma Lin only knew he and Mao Jun loved playing video games together. She didn't know he used to hang out with those delinquents, so she always felt at ease letting him go out.
“No, he’s busy studying too,” Lin Xu reassured her, knowing she was worried about him.
“Don’t listen to Mrs. Wang. Grandma doesn’t expect you to achieve great things. I just want you to be safe and happy.” She was concerned that Lin Xu had been studying too seriously lately, neglecting to rest, and feared he might be under too much pressure.
After all, Lin Xu had always been a restless child. He had ADHD and never liked school. Because of some incidents in the past, his family had always been very lenient with him, as long as he stayed out of trouble. Now, he had grown up but had become almost too sensible.
“I understand, Grandma,” Lin Xu said, nodding as he hugged her.
After comforting her, Lin Xu gently urged her to go out dancing again. He then returned to his own simple and tidy room.
If souls existed, then the original Lin Xu must still exist somewhere, perhaps on a strange adventure just like him. He shook these thoughts out of his head and focused on playing his current role in life.
In truth, what troubled Lin Xu more than the sudden attention and praise were other matters.
At first, he thought the group chat was merely intrigued and discussing him out of curiosity, but even then, he felt deeply uneased.
Although he and Zhizhi had never video-chatted and their photos were too blurry to recognize each other in person, Lin Xu always felt a sense of crisis.
After all, his name, face, and voice were constantly exposed to Zhizhi. Although Zhizhi didn’t know it was him, he was becoming increasingly familiar with him.
He hoped that time would calm things down, but days passed, and the buzz in the group didn’t die down. It even started to become strange.
For instance, now, when Lin Xu casually opened the group chat, he saw a member using a screenshot of his speech as their profile picture and changing their username to "Lin Xu’s Big Brother Fan."
He felt both awkward and embarrassed.
The group members, unaware that he was among them, continued their fervent discussion.
"Lin Xu’s Big Brother Fan" said, "I’ve searched their school’s forum but couldn’t find any more casual photos. They're all wearing school uniforms with their collars buttoned up all the way... but they can't hide his stunning looks~"
"Come on, he’s still a high school student, don’t be a creep!" another member chided.
"He’s already an adult, okay? He’ll be in college soon. Besides, I’m just a big brother fan, I'm not thinking anything weird."
"Cut it out! Wasn’t your ideal type Amour before? Then you liked Zoe. How quickly you switch!" someone teased.
"Amour might just be a washed-up middle-aged man, a total poser. Thinking about him makes me feel stupid. I don’t understand why Zhizhi Mangmang still protects that person when it's obvious he’s a fraud. Maybe it’s a rich kid’s whim? If I were that wealthy, I’d wait until my younger brother goes to college and then meet him."
Lin Xu’s sense of unease deepened as he read the messages.
“What about Zoe? He doesn’t have any scandals, right?”
“I think he’s a freeloader. He used to suck up to Zhizhi Mangmang, and now he’s cozying up to the other rich members in the group. Forget it. Our pure younger brother Lin Xu is yyds~”
“And he’s a top student at a prestigious high school. His classmates say he never flirts with girls and has this aloof aura. He’s simply perfect!”
The group’s focus had shifted. Perhaps they felt that a real-life outstanding guy was more worth their admiration than some unknown internet user. Lin Xu’s emergence provided a perfect outlet for these sentiments.
Even if they couldn’t have him, as long as he stayed single, he was their ideal fictional boyfriend.
Lin Xu felt too embarrassed to continue reading. Yet, both the insults and compliments were about him.
Gu Jinzhi paid no mind to the group’s sudden obsession with a high school boy. He had only glanced at Lin Xu a few times, leaving a faint impression. He thought the guy's image and temperament were worthy of his recent surge in popularity.
Beyond that, it didn’t concern him, and he didn’t get involved. He didn't care at all about the group's frenzy over posting photos of the male high school student, or even that many people were saving them as wallpapers. He thought it was all very exaggerated.
Gu Jinzhi was just puzzled about why Amour seemed a bit strange lately, always jumping at little things.
He messaged, “Gege, I want to hear you sing again~ (looking forward). Even Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star would be fine. I could use it to help me sleep. I couldn’t find the last one in the chat history. Maybe it got deleted. I wanted to save it.”
Lin Xu’s fingers trembled as he typed his response: “I’ve got a cold recently, my throat is sore.”
Even though Gu Jinzhi could never link him to the real Lin Xu, it was still the same voice. Lin Xu couldn’t risk it. He thought it best to lie low for a while.
“Oh... okay,” Gu Jinzhi replied, pouting.
How did he catch a cold out of the blue?
“Is it because you’re overworked? Maybe you’re feeling a bit run down?” Gu Jinzhi sounded concerned.
Amour was just an ordinary office worker, likely overworked by his evil boss. Thinking about it made Gu Jinzhi angry.
“Gege, have you thought about changing jobs? You work so hard and your English is so good. You'd definitely do better somewhere else. Why don't you come back to the capital to find a job? It would be more convenient in the future.” Convenient for meeting up in person.
Gu Jinzhi was subtly probing him.
Lin Xu hesitated. He was about to take the college entrance exam, so he couldn't go anywhere. Besides, Gu Jinzhi was in the capital, and he, he, he... wasn't ready.
“Ah, I’ll think about it,” he replied awkwardly.
Still uneasy, Lin Xu rarely spoke up in the group chat, “It’s not nice to talk about others like this (popping up).”
Ever since Amour had been exposed as a fraud, people’s perception of him had soured, though they only occasionally made snide remarks. After all, he hadn’t deceived them directly.
But for Amour, who rarely spoke up, to suddenly say something so unreasonable was truly bizarre.
“? What are you talking about?”
“We’re not discussing you. We’re talking about another guy, and it’s not harming anyone.”
“Amour, are you jealous? Jealous that we like Lin Xu?” they asked.
Lin Xu felt awkward and a bit frustrated. It wouldn’t have mattered if they talked behind his back, but he could see everything, and so could Zhizhi.
Gu Jinzhi felt uncomfortable, thinking Amour was upset because of this, but their admiration for Lin Xu had nothing to do with Amour, who now had a boyfriend!
A bit annoyed, Gu Jinzhi still defended his boyfriend in the group chat: “What’s there to be jealous about? He’s not single.”
Still feeling something was off with Amour, he privately messaged him: “What’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”
“I just…” Lin Xu couldn’t find the words to explain and gave up trying.
Gu Jinzhi pondered the reason and then asked, “Are you worried that I’ll also start liking cute younger guys?” He couldn’t think of any other reason.
Lin Xu was stunned. He hadn't even thought of that.
Gu Jinzhi comforted him generously, “Don’t worry, I won’t. I like mature men, especially those who are hardworking like you.” Gu Jinzhi racked his brain to find an objective quality to reassure him.
After all, his boyfriend was average-looking and came from an ordinary background. Although he liked him and thought he was a great person, no one would believe him if he said so.
Being diligent at work and willing to put in extra hours was an undeniable virtue! He worked so hard that he even caught a cold — definitely a model worker. If Gu Jinzhi were his boss, he’d make sure to reward him with an extra chicken leg at lunch! He was much better than those lazy trainees who didn't practice but dreamed of debuting all day!
For the first time, Lin Xu didn’t feel awkward receiving a praise. He was just at a loss for words because it was the first time someone had complimented him like this, and it felt a bit forced.
“Don’t worry about them. Let them talk. I won’t join in on chatting about that boy, I promise,” Gu Jinzhi said with a smile, thinking his boyfriend was really insecure. He vowed not to look at Lin Xu’s pictures again.
Gu Jinzhi was almost moved to tears by his own devotion.
“Alright…” Lin Xu replied, resting his chin on his hand, deciding not to care about the group’s sarcastic remarks anymore. From their perspective, he really was meddling unnecessarily.
Well, this would do. At least it reduced the chance of Gu Jinzhi noticing anything amiss. Although he truly wasn’t being childish or jealous.
