Chapter 13: Saving the PUA’d Supporting Female Lead (13)

“Take your things, sign the compensation, and leave. Or tomorrow’s headlines. Pick!” Tang Qi tossed them a pen.

“A Parental Severance Agreement? Luo Xue, have you lost your mind? You can agree to something as absurd as this?” Mother Luo looked at Luo Xue with utter disbelief. “I gave birth to you and raised you for so many years, and this is how you repay me?”

“You were the ones who didn’t want me first.” Standing behind Tang Qi, Luo Xue declared her position through her actions.

“Fine, fine! I never imagined the daughter I raised for all these years would side with an outsider!” Father Luo ground his teeth in fury. Tang Qi laughed. “I’m simply granting you your wish. Why are you so angry out of shame? Don’t worry—if a day ever comes when you fall into poverty and destitution, Luoluo definitely won’t ignore you.”

Back on the set, Luo Xue refused the vacation Tang Qi arranged for her and threw herself into her work every day.

“Teacher Tang, your family member is here!” The staff member saw Luo Xue arriving with lunch and called out to Tang Qi with a laugh. Luo Xue’s face flushed slightly, but Tang Qi never cared about this kind of teasing. Seeing Luo Xue, she put down her script, went to meet her, and took the lunchbox from her hands.

As the two ate lunch, Tang Qi tentatively brought up something she had been pondering. “Luoluo, is there anything you’ve ever wanted to do?”

Luo Xue tilted her head, not understanding Tang Qi’s meaning.

“It’s not good for you to always be an assistant…” Seeing Luo Xue’s smile instantly vanish, Tang Qi quickly sped up her speech. “I don’t mean I don’t want you around me. But you’re also a top student. Being an assistant forever is such a waste.”

She didn’t know if she was explaining it correctly. “I just feel you shouldn’t be buried like this. Whether you want to do business, invest, go to graduate school, or act… you should have a career of your own.”

At this point, Tang Qi’s words slowed. She promised in a low voice, “Only then will people not look down on you or give you trouble. I will always be with you.”

She had kept Luo Xue by her side all this time to protect her. But Luo Xue was also an outstanding person.

She needed to be seen by the world.

Just like with her parents—if Luo Xue had a career, she wouldn’t have been cast aside so easily.

Luo Xue was silent. Tang Qi comforted her. “Take your time thinking. No rush.”

Over the next few days, Luo Xue pondered this question. Of course, she didn’t neglect her usual duties. She still went online every day to check news about Tang Qi. That day, Luo Xue saw an entry at the very bottom of the trending searches: “Tang Qi University Grades”.

Amused, she clicked on it, fully expecting to see fan’s fawning compliments. After all, Tang Qi’s grades were absolutely impeccable.

But after just a few glances, her expression changed. Someone had posted a long image containing Tang Qi’s transcripts for every semester, with this comment attached: “Tang Qi debuted in her sophomore year, filming three or four dramas a year. How did she have time for classes? Yet she was not only ranked first in her year but also received the National Scholarship. Seems like these grades have a lot of water in them.”

Below, many people were questioning Tang Qi’s results. Some commented: “No wonder Tang Qi never talked about her grades before. She was afraid of being exposed for faking them.”

“I feel sorry for the students who studied seriously. Their rankings and scholarships were stolen. Shouldn’t the school give an explanation?”

“Being a celebrity makes you rich enough. Still not giving up the scholarship. I used to quite like Tang Qi, but now I’m turning my back on her.”

Luo Xue immediately contacted the agent. In this short time, the trending topic had already shot up to number one on the list.

Tang Qi had just finished filming a scene when she heard the System’s gleeful wailing. “Host, you’ve been slandered!” She glanced at the trending search the System sent over and responded without the slightest ripple in her heart, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from her face. “How’s Luoluo doing?”

“She’s contacting people to combat the slander for you.”

Tang Qi told the director she was heading back to rest. When she returned to the hotel, she saw Luo Xue with two phones and three computers all open, typing away furiously.

“Luoluo.”

“You’re back?” Luo Xue didn’t even turn her head. “Your bathwater is drawn, and the food is on the table.”

Tang Qi walked up to the computer and saw Luo Xue active in various school groups and the company group, saying something. Tang Qi walked over. “I know about the trending topic. I’ll have Sister Zhou…”

“Tang Qi.” Luo Xue turned around. Her expression was serious, a kind of earnestness rarely seen. “How about you let me handle this trending topic?”

At this moment, Luo Xue’s slightly long hair was simply pinned up in a bun, stray strands scattered across her cheeks. As she spoke, Tang Qi could still see the dimples at the corners of her mouth. Under the soft lamplight, the sincerity in her eyes couldn’t be ignored.

Tang Qi shook her head. Here she was, telling Luo Xue to become independent, yet she was subconsciously handling everything herself.

“Then I’ll tell Sister Zhou not to interfere in this matter.” Tang Qi agreed. Seeing how easily she consented, Luo Xue asked curiously, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll mess it up?”

“I’m not.” Tang Qi went to take a shower. Watching her retreating figure, Luo Xue couldn’t help but curl her lips. The joy in the corner of her eyes couldn’t be suppressed, no matter how hard she tried.

At Tang Qi’s request, the company did not address the trending topic. This caused the matter to snowball. Tang Qi’s fans initially stepped forward to refute the claims, but after a few days, they were praying daily for the company to quickly come out and clarify things.

Everyone firmly believed that with all the time Tang Qi spent filming, there was no way she could have good grades. And Tang Qi’s silence these past few days indirectly proved this point.

She had no grounds to refute it. She didn’t dare to refute it.

Now the scolding became even fiercer, people practically wanting to tear Tang Qi’s flesh and devour her skin.

Many even brought up other celebrities to compare with her—those who gave up their acting careers for academics, those with poor test scores but who still worked hard to study. The more insults Tang Qi received, the more praise these others got.

Among them was Li Chengyu. Because he came from the same school as Tang Qi, he received the most praise. After debuting in his senior year, he failed every single course and had to retake exams multiple times. This was originally a black mark, but now it was brought up to say he was truthful, that he didn’t use privilege to boost his scores.

For a time, Li Chengyu’s reputation soared. Treading on Tang Qi, he became the center of public discourse.

Troublemakers calculated Tang Qi’s work schedule every year since her debut. Including endorsements and TV dramas, she worked at least two hundred days a year. They posted their calculated time online, questioning Tang Qi: “May I ask where you found the time to attend classes? With this attendance rate, not being expelled is already good enough. How could you possibly be first?”

Tang Qi’s previous good reputation was almost entirely destroyed in this incident. She was practically on the verge of being condemned by everyone. The issue touched on educational fraud, and many came forward to say Tang Qi had used improper means to obtain her scholarship.

Tang Qi, at the center of the maelstrom, focused on filming diligently every day, not a trace of panic on her face. She seemed completely oblivious to the raging storm outside.

Just as the netizens’ anger reached a peak and they began collectively demanding an investigation into Tang Qi, a new trending topic quietly appeared.

The topic was called “University A Students Cheer for Tang Qi.”

People clicked on it, puzzled, and found the initiator was a University A student. He posted his student ID to prove his identity and then declared: “Tang Qi’s excellence was witnessed by everyone in our year and the entire school. I survived my last two years of university only thanks to her notes. Here’s a gift: photocopies of the great one’s notes.”

He posted several images, all containing the content of Tang Qi’s notes.

More University A students came forward. Each posted their student ID and stated that Tang Qi’s grades were absolutely valid and real. They all also posted Tang Qi’s notes.

Some current junior schoolmates said that Tang Qi was still a legend at the school. Every time finals came around, people went to the copy shop to photocopy her notes. The copy shop even launched a “Note Package.”

Netizens were dumbfounded. The people they thought would be the angriest of all, the University A students, were all speaking up for Tang Qi one by one.

Had Tang Qi bought everyone off?

It was then that the school, which had remained silent all along, suddenly stepped forward. They released Tang Qi’s four-year university transcript, along with her TEM-4 and TEM-8 score reports. They also jokingly stated that Tang Qi’s notes had become contraband during finals season; many teachers forbade students from relying solely on her notes to pass their exams.

Looking at Tang Qi’s near-perfect grades and her high scores on the proficiency exams, everyone was a bit stunned. University grades could be faked, but the national English proficiency exams couldn’t be.

Some people seriously examined every page of Tang Qi’s notes. The paper in the pictures looked aged. Comparing the handwriting to Tang Qi’s current signature showed it was clearly the same person’s writing.

Students from other schools exclaimed upon seeing them—Tang Qi’s notes were truly exceptionally well-done. They said they’d also like to buy a set if they could. Starting from this person, the original topic instantly veered off course. Many people were now asking for notes at high prices.

All in all, hundreds of University A students stepped forward to speak for Tang Qi. Some even stated: “An Academic God is an Academic God. You can’t understand how she balances academics and career, just like I can’t understand why I can’t even manage just the studying part.”

In a single day, the situation underwent a massive reversal. Those who had been cursing Tang Qi before were completely dumbfounded.

So it wasn’t privilege? Was she an Academic God?

University A then released another statement. In the past, Tang Qi had gone to her advisor and requested that her scholarship be revoked. But the school believed scholarships should go to students who excel academically and ultimately gave it to Tang Qi anyway. Many students knew about this. Many had even gone to the school and demanded the scholarship be awarded to Tang Qi.

After all, they had all received the “Grace of Tang Qi’s Notes.”

Luo Xue smiled contentedly at her masterpiece, her mood exceptionally good.