Meanwhile, another video was uploaded at the same time, but this time, by Kang Sola in her vlog. It"s a video which states her support for Xue Guangxi. She swept through the situation briefly, and then presented the compound photos of the original – Xue Guangxi and him – and the tampered version with the Second Master and the censored girl.
"I just want to let it out. I"m here to support my friend. Some bad people want to take him down through slander. Well, as a friend I"m going to fight with him in his battle. This is my way of clearing his name."
"I know the scale is just limited to our university, but then, he"s my friend, and this is the only thing that I can do for him so I posted this vlog to support him."
Kang Sola"s supporters and subscribers immediately backed her up. "We"re with you, Sola!"
"The truth will be revealed!"
"Your friend will see justice! He will be vindicated in due time!"
Xue Guangxi and Kang Sola who remained seated in the cafeteria both checked their respective posts online and the comments that each earned. It was leaning on the positive side. Of course, it should be leaning onto Xue Guangxi"s side after the explicit admission of the girl who started it all.
That should be the end of it.
However, as one incident ended, another one hinted to start.
As she was checking the videos, Kang Sola"s phone beeped with notification as she received a message. It was from her boyfriend, James, confronting her about her latest vlog. Apparently, the boyfriend got jealous with the closeness she has been sharing with Xue Guangxi. The photo spoke for them.
After the message, her phone rang. She was silent for a while. It seemed that the other line was speaking. Her face was scrunched as her eyes glistened with sharp hints of annoyance and hurt mixed in a subtle combination. "I told you we were just friends!" Kang Sola retorted defensively. She spared Xue Guangxi a side-way glance, stood up and went on a corner to take the call.
Xue Guangxi squinted his eyes with utter concern but kept his peace.
After a while, Kang Sola reverted to her seat at their lunch table. Her eyes were swollen red. Xue Guangxi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "That b.a.s.t.a.r.d. He made her cry."
Even if he asked her about it, he knew she would just deny it, so he didn"t pry.
Although down-to-earth, Kang Sola had her own say regarding her own pride and she had her own standards in upholding it.
Moreover, even if there were problems in her relations.h.i.+p, she would not admit it, let alone seek help for it. It"s the only topic Xue Guangxi and Kang Sola had never talked about despite their closeness. It was as if it"s something taboo.
Kang Sola played with her food using her fork.
"Don"t have much appet.i.te?" Xue Guangxi broke the silence. The girl was lost in her own thoughts.
"Yeah. You can have it if you want seconds." She admitted as she shoved her plate towards him.Xue Guangxi only stared at it then tapped his index finger on the table.
The comforting part was left to him by that a.s.shole of a boyfriend that Kang Sola had, or so Xue Guangxi thought.
In truth, Xue Guangxi did not know him personally to pinpoint that he was indeed an a.s.shole. All he could see was that Kang Sola was having a hard time keeping a healthy long-distance relations.h.i.+p.
"Come on." With a sigh, he grabbed Kang Sola"s hand and dragged her out of the cafeteria.
"W-Wait!" She exclaimed helplessly. Without any hint of what was going on, the only action left for her to do was to walk without staggering as Xue Guangxi"s grip was tight, and she got dragged on powerlessly.
"Where are we going? We still have cla.s.s."
"It wouldn"t hurt to ditch cla.s.s once in while, would it?"
"But we skipped cla.s.s yesterday too!"
Xue Guangxi was unstoppable. He went straight towards where his car was supposed to pick them up. He had initially contacted the chauffeur to go to the front of the cafeteria.
As they entered the car, Xue Guangxi told the driver the address where they were heading.
"Guangxi." Kang Sola tugged at their hands still intertwined.
The Second Young Master looked at the hands which were alerted by Kang Sola"s motion of protest, then released her hand from his. "Sorry. Got carried away there."
"What"s the problem, Guangxi?"
"He seemed quite fl.u.s.tered." She thought anxiously.
"What happened when I was taking the call?" She probed further when her friend had not been responding.
"You tell me." He said grumpily.
Kang Sola was not in the mood to bicker. She scrunched her face in disapproval. The jerk of a friend that she had a.k.a Xue Guangxi was resurfacing. With her own adamant att.i.tude, she kept her silence as well.
They weren"t fighting, but it appeared so.
After a while, the car stopped as they arrived at their destination. Xue Guangxi alighted from the car silently, turned towards the other side and opened the door of the backseat. "Come on."
Kang Sola remained frozen on the spot. Did her jerk-of-friend open the door for her? "Didn"t I just p.i.s.s him off a while ago?"
Since she was still unmoving, Xug Guangxi got impatient and decided to drag her out of the car, again grabbing her hand.
This time, Kang Sola tugged her hand away, as she alighted from the car.
Sensing the unintended repulsion from the girl against their physical contact, Xue Guangxi left her alone and entered the establishment first.
It was a dog and a cat cafe.
Following behind, he heard Kang Sola gasped in excitement and surprised. "Oh my G.o.d!" She covered her gaping mouth with both hands.
"Guangxi, really? We"re here? Why?"
Xue Guangxi"s tensed muscles relaxed. His eyes flickered with his own amus.e.m.e.nt from her reaction.
"No reason. I just feel like going here this afternoon."
"Sola, let"s play with them."
She bobbed her head repeatedly.
The Second Young Master laughed gently and patted her on the head. "You"re easy to appease. Especially if I didn"t cause it."
"Hey! You"re ruining my hair!" She protested as she slapped his hand away. "Go pet the dogs." She wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue at him.
"Ugly. You"re so ugly, Kang Sola." He laughed again.
"You"re uglier." She retorted before she headed towards where the cats were. She planned to go play with the cats first and then with the dogs.
Xue Guangxi just followed behind, acting more like a chaperone or a guardian that was looking after a kid. The only difference was that he played with her too, masking the concentrated gaze and undivided attention that he was giving her with boyish fun.
In his line of sight, there was only Kang Sola, his best friend.
That"s right. That"s what best friends do - cheer the other up at times of despair, and stick with each other for support.
"I"ve got your back, and you"ve got mine too, I know." He thought as he watched her smile and laugh as the pets licked her hand, and wagged their tails at her. The cats moved their head affectionately towards her caress, welcoming her soft touch while the dogs danced and pranced around her while barking happily. The happiness that these innocent little creatures innately have in them was contagious. Xue Guangxi was glad it really did lift the girl"s despondent spirit.
He sighed. "What am I gonna do the next time they have a fight? I should make a list or something."