Rumors

"Sara, right?"

As Chuck was playing the helpful hero, Simon approached Sara.

"Yeah, what's up?" Sara responded, her gaze fixed on Chuck, who was talking to someone nearby.

"Do you have any special intentions toward Chuck?" Simon asked bluntly.

"What?" Sara looked confused. "No, of course not!"

"Is that so?" Simon wasn't convinced.

"I should get going. Please give this to Chuck." Sara, seeing Chuck being called over, left a contact number before walking off.

"Where did Sara go?" Chuck asked when he returned, clearly noticing her absence.

Simon handed Chuck the business card. "She left! But she left you a contact number."

Chuck grinned as he read the card.

Seeing Chuck so happy, Simon hesitated, but then decided against mentioning anything.

From Simon's years of watching movies and TV shows, he knew this pattern too well—Chuck suddenly gaining special abilities and then a beautiful woman approaching him? Something was off.

"Is something wrong?" Chuck asked, noticing Simon's pensive expression.

Simon thought for a moment and subtly warned, "Chuck, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Sara's beautiful, but if she's getting close to you, it might be for some other reason."

Chuck laughed bitterly. "What else do I have to offer except for this thing?" He gestured to his head, referring to the Intersect.

Simon patted him on the back. "You're better than you think."

With that, Simon got to work.

The next day, when Simon arrived at school, he immediately sensed that something was different.

"Meg, what happened?" The red 46 on Meg's purity test score stood out glaringly on her locker.

When Meg saw Simon, her eyes welled up, and she rushed to hug him. "Simon, everyone's saying I scored 46 on the purity test. But I swear, I've never even taken that damn test."

"It's okay, I believe you." Simon gently patted her back, offering reassurance.

"What should I do?" Meg looked up at him, her expression full of worry.

Simon gently ruffled her hair. "Leave the professional stuff to the professionals."

"What do you mean?" Meg asked, still confused.

Without further explanation, Simon dragged her over to find Veronica, who had just arrived at school.

"Veronica, I need your help," Simon said, getting straight to the point.

Veronica nodded. "I've heard about it! Don't worry, I'll find out who's behind this."

"But!" Veronica suddenly smiled, "If Meg wants me to help, I'll be more than happy. She's the kindest girl in the school."

"However," Veronica turned to Simon, "since you're asking, I need some payment."

"How much?" Simon asked, already expecting this.

"200," Veronica said with a smirk.

"…Veronica, you're getting worse." Though a bit frustrated, Simon pulled out two $100 bills and handed them over.

"Good! Wait for my good news!" Veronica said confidently as she pocketed the money.

"Can you do it?" Meg asked, still worried.

Simon was firm. "Everyone has their specialty. Veronica's best at getting to the truth. Trust her; she'll get us the answer we need."

With that, Simon put his arm around Meg. "Come on, I'll help you clean your locker first."

However, Simon greatly underestimated the power of rumors.

At lunchtime, Meg, looking distressed, approached Simon. "Simon, someone's been calling me non-stop, sending me pornographic emails, and calling me a slut."

Simon felt his heart ache for her. He pulled her into a tight hug. "Tell me who they are. I'll make them pay."

"No!" Meg stopped him. "Don't do anything rash, Simon! If you do, you'll get expelled."

"But..."

"I'm fine! Just wait for Veronica to figure this out, everything will be okay," Meg said with a forced smile.

"Look, bad boy and slut girl, wow, what a perfect match."

Some people just couldn't keep their mouths shut.

Two boys, standing nearby and obviously not paying attention, made the comment in front of Simon.

Already irritated, Simon snapped. Without a word, he stormed over to them, grabbed both by the collars, and lifted them off the ground.

"I swear, if I hear anything like that again, I'll sew your mouths shut. Got it?" Simon said coldly.

"Sorry! We won't do it again! Please, let us go!" The two boys, terrified by Simon's fury, pleaded.

Simon dropped them back to the ground. Without any hesitation, the two boys collapsed into their seats, looking humiliated.

Stepping up onto a nearby table, Simon shouted, "Everyone listen up—if I hear anyone talk about Meg again, I swear, they'll regret it."

The once-bustling cafeteria fell into complete silence at Simon's outburst.

"Don't do this, Simon!" Meg pulled him down, trying to get him to leave. "They're not worth it. Let's go!"

Simon didn't resist. He allowed Meg to pull him out of the cafeteria.

Simon's outburst quickly spread throughout the school.

Thanks to Simon's words, many of the students who had been thoughtless began to show more restraint.

However, the school administration also took notice of Simon's actions.

Fortunately, since Meg was the victim, and Simon's actions hadn't led to any severe consequences, the school decided not to expel or punish him. They merely gave him a verbal warning.

"Dom, I need your help." But Simon wasn't about to let things slide. After school, he found Dominic.

"What happened?" Dominic asked, noticing Simon's serious tone.

After recounting the entire incident at school, Simon said, "I need you guys to come with me to school tomorrow. You won't need to do anything, just drive around the school and keep an eye out."

"I got it! Don't worry, man. I'll gather everyone to support you," Dominic promised.

"Thanks, man!"

Glancing at the time, Simon then added, "Mia, can you look after Meg? I need to head to work."

At that moment, Meg really needed someone to talk to, but Simon wasn't the right person.

To prevent Simon from worrying, Meg had been pretending to stay strong.

Simon understood that Meg needed someone else to comfort her.

"You go ahead, I'll take care of Meg," Mia said, pulling Meg into a comforting hug.

"Thanks!"

Simon nodded and then turned to Meg. "Call me if you need anything, I'll be there."

"I'm fine. Go to work," Meg said, managing a faint smile.