The next day, the results of Ji Nian's full body examination came back, and all her indicators were normal.
Under the doctor's astonished gaze, Ji Nian insisted on being discharged from the hospital, even Yu Luobai couldn't do anything about it.
Peng He drove over to pick them up, and the two were bundled up warmly as they walked to the underground parking garage and got into the car.
Seeing that the woman had regained her rosy complexion and looked energetic, He Yi smiled and said, "Sister, it's good that you're healthy."
Ji Nian sat in the middle, with Yu Luobai on her left and He Yi on her right, and replied, "It's a must."
He Yi smiled, then looked a bit troubled, and asked, "The discussions about you online are still fermenting, and there are still people pretending to be your former classmates and digging into your past, making their claims sound convincing. Everyone believes them."
Ji Nian's body tensed slightly, but she pretended not to care and smiled, "Let me take a look."
Seeing her natural expression, He Yi breathed a sigh of relief and handed her phone over, saying, "Take a look, it's this post. It already has hundreds of millions of views, and there are photos of you from high school too, though it's hard to tell if they're real."
Ji Nian took the phone and saw that this post was at the top of the trending list. She opened it.
True story, this is Ji Xiaonian, I remember her name. At first, when I saw this video, I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Then I suddenly recalled this scene.
First, let me declare that I was not a participant. To prove that I'm telling the truth, I've included a group photo from when we were in high school below.
It's hard to imagine that this girl, who was constantly bullied, would one day stand at a height we couldn't reach, a celebrity in the spotlight on TV and the internet.
I don't know her well, but the impression she gave me was that she was timid and withdrawn, walking with her head down, silent and quiet. Even when she was bullied, she wouldn't say a word, wouldn't tell the teachers or her parents. Everyone just kept bullying her more and more.
Her grades weren't good either, and the teachers didn't really like her. Sometimes they even said she was gloomy and expressionless all day, never smiling, not likable at all.
For someone even the teachers disliked, we felt even more emboldened to bully her openly. Just recalling her high school life as an outsider gives me nightmares.
Actually, I later heard that it wasn't just in high school, but also middle school that she went through this. Her family situation was very complicated, but I'd better not say too much about that. In any case, I'm glad she's doing so well now, and I wish her all the best.
After reading it, Ji Nian felt that the blogger was quite sincere and didn't reveal too much about the original poster, even offering blessings at the end.
She opened the high school group photo and zoomed in to look at the low-resolution image.
Ji Nian paused, her heart aching slightly. The figure in the photo seemed like an outsider, her cold gaze as she stood at the edge of the group making her appear to be in another world.
"It doesn't look like her," Yu Luobai said softly from beside her. He had been looking at the post and photo as well, and felt the personality described and the photo didn't match Ji Nian.
Ji Nian was stunned and turned to ask, "Teacher Yu, what doesn't seem like me?"
Yu Luobai's heart was actually quite complex. The face was almost identical, but the feeling it gave him was familiar yet strange. That gaze seemed familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen it before.
"The personality described in the post doesn't seem like you," Yu Luobai said, looking at her. "You're an outgoing person who loves to smile and gets along well with everyone. Your eyes are bright, while the one in the photo looks like a soulless doll."
Ji Nian was taken aback, then came back to her senses and joked, "But I think her face looks exactly like mine."
Hearing those words, He Yi's body tensed, her expression grew complicated as she thought she might already know the answer.
Yu Luobai's heart skipped a beat as he asked seriously, "So that's you?"
Ji Nian shook her head. "No, it's not me," she said. It wasn't her, it was Ji Xiaonian.
Getting the answer, Yu Luobai felt the tightness in his chest loosen. He pulled the woman closer, and they leaned against each other.
He Yi turned her head away, her nose stinging as she held back tears. She suddenly recalled the scene when she first met Ji Xiaonian, wondering how she could have thought they looked alike. They were clearly one and the same person...
"If it's not you, then just issue a public relations statement to debunk it. Easy, just deny the rumors," Peng He said casually from the driver's seat.
He Yi regained her composure, but still felt heartbroken. Fighting back her complex emotions, she smiled and said, "We didn't handle it well yesterday, so we should draft a statement today."
"No need to make it so complicated. I can just post something on Weibo myself," Ji Nian said nonchalantly.
He Yi was stunned, unsure whether she should ask Ji Nian about it privately or just pretend not to know.
"That's a good idea. Everyone knows Ji Xiaonian doesn't play by the rules anyway," Peng He laughed. "If the company officially issues a statement, people will just be even more suspicious. It'd be better for Ji Xiaonian to debunk the rumors herself."
"I suppose so..." He Yi said, seeing as Peng He had said as much.
"Alright, I'll debunk it now," Ji Nian said, taking out her phone and opening Weibo. Seeing that she had many private messages, she clicked 'Read All,' then opened the top trending post.
She commented directly below it: I can't say it's exactly the same, it's completely unrelated.
As soon as she posted that, viewers who had been following the issue saw it immediately and responded instantly.
"Hahaha, the woman herself has arrived!"
"Lol, what a way to debunk the rumors."
"I was crying just a second ago? Now you give me this answer? I'm not sure whether to cry or laugh."
"Goose, you had me worrying all night as a fan."
"So I was just suffering alone?"
"Hahaha, I can't say it's exactly the same, it's completely unrelated."
"Lmao, I was feeling heartbroken, but this sentence just left me laughing and crying."
"Am I the only one who thinks it's true?"
"I think it's true too."
"Maybe Ji Xiaonian just doesn't want people to know her wounds."
"Seconding the above."
"We don't need to dwell on whether it's true or not. If Ji Xiaonian really went through all that, it's admirable that she can still love the world now."
"Yeah, let's not get too hung up on it. The past is the past. Regardless of who the person in the video is, we shouldn't keep reopening others' wounds."
"It's probably not Ji Xiaonian, their eyes are completely different."
"Of course her eyes would look different from before when she was bullied so badly, right? At least she's living better now than before."
Ji Nian yawned, closed her phone, leaned against Yu Luobai's shoulder, and said, "I'm going to sleep for a bit. Wake me up when we get home."
Yu Luobai stroked her head tenderly. "Sleep well."
He Yi had been following the online situation. Amazingly, in a short time, the trending topic's title had changed to (I can't say it's exactly the same, it's completely unrelated).
And a trend had emerged on social media platforms where people started using that phrase to poke fun at others.
