Rumors, photos, contact information, and fake advertisements flooded the internet instantly. Ashley scrolled through eighteen pages without reaching the end, with new information constantly being updated.

This was a planned, premeditated online attack.

Ashley’s face turned pale, and her breathing became strained.

Soon, her once-quiet phone started buzzing again. The continuous vibrations numbed her palm.

Reflexively, Ashley let go of the phone, and it fell to the floor, buzzing rhythmically on the wooden floor.

She saw the WeChat icon on the screen continuously showed new friends, quickly reaching over 99.

Her WeChat number had also been exposed.

...

Ashley picked up her phone only after it had run out of battery and shut off.

She plugged it in to charge and, after some hesitation, turned it back on.

As soon as the phone lit up, before it could connect to the network, Ashley tried to uninstall WeChat.

However, the signal connected faster than her fingers could move, and the phone turned into a brick again, buzzing incessantly with notifications.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. Ashley was startled, “Who’s there?”

The door was knocked on twice more.

Ashley thought it was the maid calling her for lunch and said hoarsely, “I’m not having lunch.”

“Ashley,” Melissa’s voice came through, “your schoolmate is here.”

A schoolmate? Ashley hesitated before opening the door, “Who is it?”

Melissa whispered, “Someone at the main gate, says she’s your schoolmate.”

Seeing the bruises on Ashley’s mouth, she reached out to touch them but then hesitated, not wanting to cause her pain, “Does it hurt?”

Ashley, feeling agitated, looked at her, “Huh, have a guess.”

Melissa’s face turned pale.

Ashley bypassed her and headed straight for the main gate.

There, she saw Anna dressed in tight black leather, with heavy makeup, anxiously standing by the gate.

Security guards surrounded her, treating her like a dangerous intruder, confining her under the blazing sun.

Ignoring the disdainful and mocking looks from the security guards, Ashley walked over with a stern face and pulled Anna into the shade of a nearby tree.

“Why are you here?”

Anna was surprised to see the wounds on Ashley’s face, “What happened to you,”

“It’s nothing. Why are you here?”

Anna said, “I got your address from John.”

She glanced inside the gate, admiring the wide, exquisite courtyard and the mansion that looked more like a castle. “Ashley, your family is so rich!”

Ashley gave a bitter smile, “If my family were rich, would I be working at Vee and getting beaten like this?

“My mom is a tutor for this family. I’ve lived with the owners since I was young, working and studying part-time.”

Anna exclaimed, “Oh, I see.”

She seemed more disappointed than Ashley.

“Shouldn’t you be at Vee at this hour? Why are you here?” Ashley asked.

Anna remembered the reason for her visit and pulled out a blue hand-drawn flyer, folded to palm size, from her pocket. “Here, take a look at this. But stay calm and don’t get angry.”

Ashley took it and unfolded the paper, “What could possibly anger me? Is it your nude photo? This is—”

Her face turned dark upon seeing the contents. It wasn’t Anna’s nude photo, but her own.

“Someone posted this on the bulletin board in front of the teaching building this morning.

“After the first class ended, the whole school was covered with them.” Anna said.

“I tried calling you after I found out, but your phone was unreachable.” She showed Ashley the alumni group chat on her phone, where messages were flooding in, each discussion more intense than the last.

Ashley subconsciously clenched the flyer.

It had been at least four hours since she came back. Her heart felt like it was being tightly gripped, making it hard to breathe. After a moment, she asked, “Does the school have surveillance?”

“No, the administration office said the surveillance equipment was under maintenance today, so nothing was recorded.”

Ashley glanced at the flyer again.

The blue paper was filled with densely packed words, inflammatory slogans, exaggerated insults, and suggestive language.

There were also many photos, which she had seen at Robert’s place. “Is Robert at school?”

“No, ever since he applied to go abroad, he hasn’t been seen on campus. I heard he flew out a few days ago.”

So it wasn’t him?

Anna pulled Ashley’s hand, “Don’t think too much. Since your phone was unreachable, someone called me.”

“Who?”

Anna bit her lip, “Mark, Mark. I don’t know what he wants to say, but with his influence, if he’s willing to help, this could be easily resolved.”

She didn’t know what price might come with his help.

Ashley frowned, “Mr. Nelson? He knows about this?”

“Someone went to Vee around noon, asking for you by name to perform a strip dance, and Mark happened to be there.” Anna said vaguely.

Ashley fell silent.

“But we couldn’t let this get worse, and it will do harm to you,” Anna said worriedly. “Call him, maybe he’ll help.”

Before Ashley could respond, Mrs Quinn, who had been out for a walk, returned.

“Ashley,” Mrs Quinn frowned, scrutinizing Anna with disdain as if she were looking at trash. “Do you always hang out with such...people?”

With the temperature over thirty degrees, Anna was dressed in black leather with heavy smokey makeup, looking actually like a bitch.

Ashley was used to Mrs Quinn’s harsh words but didn’t want her friend to be humiliated. “Mrs, she’s my friend. She dresses like this because—”

“Enough,” Mrs Quinn glared at Ashley, “Get lost! How dare you go out looking so slutty, get far away! Don’t dirty my doorstep!”

Anna was unfazed, but Ashley’s face turned red. She wanted to argue, but Mrs Quinn didn’t give her a chance and stormed back into the house.

“Who’s this old bitch?” Anna asked, exasperated.

Ashley’s face darkened, “The hostess.”

Anna immediately looked at her with sympathy, “You have it rough.”

Seeing her friend still had the energy to joke, Ashley relaxed a bit, “Don’t mind that. She’s always like that.”

Anna didn’t mind, “You should call. Your issue is more urgent.”

Ashley nodded and dialed Mark’s number.