From the look in the other woman's eyes, Zuri could sense hostility.
"What do you want?"
An Ruoxi's face was cold. "You're the one, aren't you?"
"How absurd," Zuri replied, her voice calm.
"Leave him, and I can pretend none of this ever happened. If not, don't expect peace while you're here. You should know the power he has behind him. You're not good enough for him," An Ruoxi threatened.
Azura, standing by, burst into laughter. "If Zuri isn't good enough, then who? You?"
An Ruoxi's friends stood nearby, utterly confused, having no idea what they were talking about.
Zuri, encountering such a fan for the first time, found it hard to comprehend. "Rest assured, there will never be anything between me and him."
"You're sure?" An Ruoxi narrowed her eyes, watching her suspiciously.
Azura rolled her eyes dramatically at An Ruoxi. "Every woman in the world could be a possibility, except her. Got it?"
An Ruoxi's sharp gaze shifted between the two, as though weighing the truth of their words.
"If you're so confident, then prove it. Delete his contact info right here, in front of me," An Ruoxi demanded.
Zuri chuckled, "And what gives you the right to make such demands? What authority do you have over me?"
An Ruoxi let out a cold laugh. "If you have nothing to hide, then why don't you delete his number?"
Zuri, exasperated by her twisted logic, was amused by how ridiculous the conversation had become. Continuing to engage with her felt like an insult to her own intelligence.
"Let's go," she said, deciding to walk away before she lost her temper.
Seeing Zuri try to leave, An Ruoxi became even more convinced of her guilt and blocked her path. "Aren't you afraid I'll expose you?"
Zuri's eyes turned cold as she stared her down, her voice calm yet menacing. "If you dare, I'll make sure you regret it."
The power dynamic flipped instantly—An Ruoxi, who had been so dominant, now found herself the one being threatened.
"You're threatening me?"
Zuri walked past her, ignoring her anger and frustration.
Azura took a few steps, then turned back to look at An Ruoxi. "Out of respect for our shared bond as women, here's some advice: if you want to live a long life, learn to keep your mouth shut. Think carefully before speaking, because every word has consequences."
As the two walked away, An Ruoxi's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Ruoxi, what's going on between you and her?"
"Who is she involved with?"
One of An Ruoxi's sharper friends began to piece things together. "Could she be… Owen's rumored girlfriend?"
At this, the other two gasped, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"No way! That can't be true!"
One of the girls quickly pulled out her phone, comparing the photo of Owen's rumored girlfriend with a picture of Zuri. To her shock, the eyes were identical.
"Oh my god! Owen's rumored girlfriend is our school's new campus queen!"
A group of girls passing by overheard the conversation.
"What did you just say? Who's Owen's rumored girlfriend?"
"Who else? The new campus queen."
"You're kidding!"
"Check the photo for yourself."
Within moments, the group of girls had their phones out, and soon, the rumors were spreading like wildfire.
Neither Azura nor Zuri could have imagined how fast the news would spread. It was as if the whole school knew about it as soon as they had left.
The speed was astonishing.
At that moment, the two of them were still blissfully unaware of what was happening.
"Zuri, what if she really does go all out and expose your identity? What will we do then?" Azura asked, her face full of concern.
Zuri replied calmly, "Am I Owen's girlfriend?"
Azura shook her head.
"Then there's nothing to worry about. If I'm not his girlfriend, what is there to be afraid of?" Zuri answered with confidence.
Azura hesitated for a moment. "But… are you really aware of how attractive your third brother is?"
Zuri nodded decisively. "Of course, I know."
"Are you sure?" Azura eyed her doubtfully.
It wasn't that she underestimated Zuri, but given how little Zuri had known about the entertainment industry before meeting her, it was hard to be certain.
"Absolutely," Zuri said, sounding resolute.
Little did she know, those words would come back to bite her a few hours later.
Azura, convinced by Zuri's confidence, let go of her worry.
They continued walking towards the teaching building, but more and more people seemed to be staring at Zuri.
"Something feels off," Azura muttered.
"Yeah," Zuri agreed.
Azura pulled out her phone and logged onto the school's online forum, where a new post was already pinned to the top.
*#Shocking! Owen's rumored girlfriend is our school's new campus queen!*
The post had shot straight to the top of the page.
"Zuri, we've got a problem. That girl exposed you! Damn, how did she do it so fast? She's ruthless!" Azura fumed.
Zuri took the phone and skimmed through the post. It was mostly speculation, with comments split between disbelief and those who thought it was definitely her.
But, ultimately, most people weren't convinced.
"At least most of them don't believe it. As long as we deny it, there's nothing they can do," Azura said, smiling. "That girl thought she could threaten us? She's dreaming!"
Just then, Zuri's phone rang.
"Who is it?"
"It's me," An Ruoxi's voice came from the other end.
"Oh? After going through all that trouble to get my number, what do you want?"
"Just a little reminder. Did you see the post on the school's forum?"
Zuri stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.
"This is just the beginning. If you're scared, delete my brother's contact and promise never to talk to him again. I'll delete the post and clear your name," An Ruoxi said, her tone threatening yet tempting.
Zuri chuckled softly. "And if I don't?"
"If you insist on being stubborn, don't blame me for what happens next. I know my brother is incredibly handsome, and it's normal for you to be infatuated with him."
"But the company won't let you ruin him, and neither will I. You're not going to destroy his career."
"This is my final warning. If you continue down this path, don't expect any mercy from me," An Ruoxi growled.
With a snap, the call ended.
An Ruoxi stared at her phone, her face twisted with anger.
Damn it! She's asking for it!
If that's how it's going to be, don't blame me for what comes next.
An Ruoxi logged into the QQ group, entered the fan support group, and began her operation.
Zuri didn't want to listen to An Ruoxi's nonsense any longer and directly hung up the phone.
Just as she was about to put her phone away, she paused and decided to call Owen.
As soon as the call went through, it was answered immediately.
"Zuri."
"Your fans have found me," Zuri said calmly.
"What?!" Owen jumped out of his chair, asking anxiously, "Did they cause you any trouble?"
"Not really."
In Zuri's perspective, the threat was nothing major. After all, she had faced much darker situations before. An Ruoxi's threat didn't really faze her.
Thinking about An Ruoxi's slightly neurotic demeanor, Zuri hesitated for a moment and then reminded him, "You should be careful."
Zuri, whose understanding of the entertainment industry was still in the "elderly" stage, didn't grasp what "girlfriend fans" or "sasaeng fans" meant.
In her mind, these people were just fans, nothing more.
However, An Ruoxi seemed a bit neurotic, almost dangerously so.
So, Zuri kindly offered her advice.
Little did she know, the one who should be careful was her, not Owen.
"Huh?!" Owen was stunned. Shouldn't she be more concerned about her own safety right now? Why was she worrying about him?
Seeing his confusion, Zuri patiently explained, "Your fans seem a bit obsessive. You'd better be cautious when you're out."
This sudden concern, especially coming from his sister, hit Owen straight in the heart. He was so moved that he almost teared up.
His Zuri really was the most thoughtful little sister.
Owen, both happy and emotional, said, "Okay, I'll be careful."
"Alright, you can go back to what you were doing."
After giving her advice, Zuri hung up the phone.
Owen still wanted to say something, but seeing that she had already hung up, he figured she must be in class.
Isaac and his assistant Rhett walked into the studio, noticing the wide smile on Owen's face.
"Owen, what's up with you?"
Owen proudly looked at the two of them and said, "My sister, my very own sister, just told me to be careful of fans."
"Why did she suddenly tell you to be careful of fans?" Isaac asked curiously.
"Oh, it seems that some fans discovered her, and one of them seems a bit obsessive. It's probably that kind of…" Owen's words trailed off as he suddenly stopped.
"Damn!" Owen cursed under his breath.
"Rhett, get the car ready. We're heading to the school now," Owen shouted anxiously, grabbing his coat as he rushed out.
His assistant, Rhett, still hadn't figured out what was going on but was startled by Owen's urgency.
"Hurry up," Isaac urged, following him.
Five minutes later, a van sped towards the academy.
At the same time, An Ruoxi, leveraging the connections she had built over the years in the fan support group, managed to gather a large number of fans. Most of these fans were based in the Imperial Capital.
They were all heading in the same direction.
Through the fan support group, more and more fans learned that Owen's rumored girlfriend was Zuri. For the paparazzi, who had a keen sense for any whiff of gossip, any hint of a story was detected immediately.
Whether it was Zuri herself or the group of people going to confront her, the paparazzi with connections caught wind of it and mobilized.
Within ten minutes, posts revealing Owen's girlfriend's identity were popping up like mushrooms after the rain.
At that moment, Nolan, who was attending a seminar in the Imperial Capital, was listening to a CEO on stage when his chief assistant, Grayson, walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "BOSS, Miss Zuri is in trouble."
Nolan's attention immediately snapped back from the meeting, and he looked up at Grayson.
Grayson handed him a tablet.
Nolan's eyes quickly scanned the content, his gaze deepening. He stood up and discreetly left the meeting without alerting anyone.
As soon as he walked out of the venue, Nolan briskly walked while issuing orders, "Contact Mr. Fang, Mr. Hu, and Mr. Wu, and instruct them to block and delete all information about Zuri."
These three were giants of the mainstream media, with two of their companies partially owned by FX Investments.
"Understood." Grayson replied, already relaying the order to the assistants under him.
FX Investments moved quickly. Within fifteen minutes of receiving the directive, they had already begun scrubbing the internet.
Mainstream media could be controlled, and the rest of the smaller outlets soon started receiving orders from Nolan's side.
While the outside world was in chaos, Zuri, the person at the center of it all, was completely unaware. She was fully immersed in the sea of knowledge, attentively listening to the lecture and taking notes, embodying the perfect "model student."
The first group of people to arrive, of course, was led by the mastermind behind all of this.
An Ruoxi, leading a large group of people, marched towards the teaching building where Zuri was.
"Ruoxi, is that little bitch really in there?"
"Yes, she's right up ahead," An Ruoxi replied coldly.
"Hmph, I'd like to see who this little vixen is that dares to seduce my Owen."
"No way would Owen fall for that hussy. She must have used some underhanded tricks."
"Exactly, that must be it."
"We'll make sure she knows why flowers are red!"
The fans grew more and more agitated.
An Ruoxi looked at the angry faces around her, feeling quite satisfied. This was exactly the state she wanted them in.
Owen belongs to everyone, and no one can take him away.
The bell rang, and Zuri packed up her books to leave. This was her last class of the day.
Shen Menglai approached her. "Zuri, shall we go back to the dorm together?"
"I'm heading to the library; it's in a different direction."
Shen Menglai, facing a soft rejection, said quickly, "Esme and I were just going to the library to look up some materials."
Zuri glanced at the two of them, then walked out.
Seeing that she didn't object, Shen Menglai immediately pulled Esme along to follow her closely.
As the three of them walked out, a group that had been waiting under the shade of a tree saw Zuri and rushed over, surrounding her.
Zuri looked at An Ruoxi, who was leading the group, then at the furious faces all around her.
"You're Zuri, the slut trying to seduce my brother," a chubby female fan demanded.
"Look at her eyes, they're just like the woman's in the photo."
"It really is her."
"She doesn't even look that special. How could my brother fall for her? She must have used some trick."
After sizing Zuri up for the first time, the fans began voicing all kinds of disdainful and insulting remarks.
Shen Menglai and Esme, standing nearby, looked at them in shock.
At this hour, with students pouring out of the teaching building, the commotion quickly drew attention from passersby.
Xu Zexi saw the group surrounding Zuri and pushed through the crowd to stand by her side, addressing the fans, "What do you want?"
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