NOVPUBZhong Chen was holding a printed photo in his hand. Whoever was responsible for spreading this had put considerable thought into it—the photo was even accompanied by a bold headline, much like those in gossip magazines:
【Zhong Chen’s Girlfriend Secretly Meets Strange Man at Hotel Late at Night!】
The wording was so clever, the focus so precise, and the insinuation so blatant that even the most rational person wouldn’t believe there was nothing going on between the two.
Zhong Chen brought the photo to Shen Ying, barely suppressing his anger as he demanded, "Is this you in the photo?"
Shen Ying glanced at it, as if confirming the scene captured, then nodded straightforwardly. "Yes, it is."
For a moment, Zhong Chen felt the world spin around him, his body swaying unsteadily.
Xing Jiale and Gong Zhaoxi quickly steadied him before turning their furious gazes toward Shen Ying.
They had already been displeased with how Shen Ying treated Zhong Chen like a gullible fool—at least from their perspective, she had never shown any genuine affection for him.
They could tolerate her milking him for benefits, telling themselves it was just "dating expenses," but this? Secretly meeting another man at a hotel? That crossed the line.
Xing Jiale said coldly, "What were you doing at a hotel late at night with a man?"
Shen Ying met his gaze without flinching. "Nothing much. Just testing my academic knowledge and exploring future career options."
Zhong Chen shoved Gong Zhaoxi’s supporting hand away, his eyes red with fury. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"
Xing Jiale chimed in, "You’ve fooled him so many times, you actually think he’s an idiot now?"
"This time, there’s photo evidence. Did you really think you could talk your way out of it?"
Gong Zhaoxi shook his head. "Even if Zhong Chen is blindly in love, he’s not going to make excuses for something like this."
Shen Ying’s expression turned incredulous as she stared at Zhong Chen. "You actually don’t believe me?"
Zhong Chen snapped, "I want to, but you’re not giving me a reason to!"
"Who the hell goes to a hotel with a stranger to discuss academics and career prospects? Do you really take me for a fool?"
Betrayal and grief clouded Zhong Chen’s mind. He couldn’t accept that the person he loved would do this to him.
But Shen Ying just shrugged. "If that’s how you see it, there’s nothing I can do."
"I’ve given you my explanation. If you don’t believe me, what’s left to say?"
Xing Jiale’s temper flared. "You think you can just walk away after doing this to Zhong Chen?"
Shen Ying looked at him in surprise. "So, I’ve already been convicted, then."
Then, with a disappointed glance at Zhong Chen, she said, "Fine. If you’re so convinced this is some kind of setup, there’s no point in continuing this relationship."
"Like Xing Jiale said, I won’t take advantage of you. I’ll return everything you’ve given me today."
"We’re done."
Zhong Chen’s pupils constricted. Even in his rage, the word "breakup" felt like a knife to his heart.
As Shen Ying turned to leave, he instinctively reached out to stop her—but she was already walking away, leaving his hand grasping at air.
Staring at her retreating figure, he was left in stunned confusion.
But it wasn’t just him. Xing Jiale and Gong Zhaoxi were equally caught off guard by Shen Ying’s reaction.
She had been so straightforward, so unhesitating in giving up all the benefits she had schemed for.
Her lack of resistance made them question their own certainty about the situation.
Taking advantage of the chaos at school, Shen Ying openly skipped class and went straight to shopping and catching a movie.
A big-budget film she’d been looking forward to had just been released, and she wanted to watch it before spoilers flooded the internet.
But the moment she left, the school erupted.
To be honest, Shen Ying was a polarizing figure.
At first, as the target of bullying, she had shocked everyone by fighting back—even turning their schemes against Zhong Chen. She was unlike anyone they’d ever dealt with.
But just as they were racking their brains for ways to retaliate, Zhong Chen suddenly brought her into his circle, forcing everyone to change their attitude toward her.
After all, the four of them never took on followers. Being accepted as one of their inner circle placed her at the top of the school’s social hierarchy.
Then, within days, rumors of Zhong Chen’s feelings for her spread, culminating in a public confession.
Those who had bullied her were terrified, bending over backward to appease her in fear of retaliation.
The girls’ reactions were even more complicated. With so many of them harboring crushes on Zhong Chen, Shen Ying’s sudden rise as his girlfriend bred jealousy and resentment.
As Shen Ying herself joked, "The only person in this school who’s real with me is Shen Zuola."
Given the collective sentiment, most people were secretly pleased by today’s events. They wanted Shen Ying to fall back to where she belonged.
But the outcome was nothing like they expected. Zhong Chen’s fury had met no resistance, and all those waiting to kick her while she was down were left disappointed when she simply vanished.
It seemed like a big deal, yet it completely lacked the grand spectacle such an event should warrant.
Shen Ying paid no mind to the school's commotion. After coming out of the movie theater, she saw several text messages from Xia Meng on her phone.
[Are you okay?]
[Are you coming back to class today?]
[Zhong Chen didn’t show up all morning either.]
[I’m sorry. It’s all because I wanted to go out that we ended up in this mess.]
Shen Ying thought she couldn’t let her good friend worry, so she quickly reassured her with a few messages, finally calming her down.
True to her word, as soon as she got home, she arranged for someone to pack up her belongings and have them delivered to the Zhong household.
Luckily, her parents were out running their stall, so Shen Ying avoided having to explain anything.
For the next few days, she conveniently skipped school under the pretense of attending classes. Instead, she spent her time wandering around, eating, and having fun.
The school teachers, aware of the dispute involving Zhong Chen, didn’t dare meddle further by calling Shen Ying’s parents to inquire.
Meanwhile, Zhong Chen, upon receiving the items Shen Ying had sent over, was thrown into a state of panicked helplessness.
He rushed to leave, only to be stopped by Xing Jiale and Gong Zhaoxi. "Where are you going?"
Zhong Chen: "Of course, to find her."
The two pressed further, "And what will you say to her?"
Seeing Zhong Chen’s frantic expression, they couldn’t help but grit their teeth in frustration.
That girl was something else—she was the one who had done the unforgivable, yet she had shifted the burden onto Zhong Chen.
Noticing Zhong Chen’s agitation, Xing Jiale quickly said, "We’ve already tracked down the guy she was with in the hotel room."
"Actually, it wasn’t just one. There were two."
Zhong Chen froze, then bristled like an angry cat. "What did you say?"
This very reaction made Xing Jiale and Gong Zhaoxi even more certain that Shen Ying was guilty.
So they advised, "Don’t let her manipulate your emotions. First, get the full picture before deciding what to do."
Then they released Zhong Chen. "We’ve got those two men detained. Want to go question them yourself?"
Zhong Chen clenched his teeth. "Let’s go!"
The three soon arrived at their destination—an underground room in one of Gong Zhaoxi’s family’s private entertainment venues.
The dimly lit basement held two handsome young men pinned down on metal chairs by several burly men.
Pale with fear, they didn’t dare make a sound.
Then the door swung open, and three figures walked in. The guards stepped back, releasing their hold on the two men.
But the two didn’t relax—instead, they tensed up even more.
Zhong Chen strode forward, his gaze boring into their faces as if trying to burn holes through them.
The mere thought of these two being in a hotel room with that woman made jealousy surge in his chest.
His hostility was so palpable that the two men broke out in cold sweat under his scrutiny.
After what felt like an eternity, Zhong Chen scoffed. "This is all they’ve got? They’re nothing special—far worse-looking than me."
Xing Jiale and Gong Zhaoxi nearly choked, staring at Zhong Chen in disbelief.
Why was this guy acting like a jealous spouse?
To spare their ears further torment, Gong Zhaoxi quickly interjected, "It’s them. Ask whatever you need to."
But Zhong Chen took a step forward, glaring at the two men. "Tell me—how did you force her to go to the hotel with you?"
Xing Jiale couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. "We went through the trouble of finding them so you could delude yourself into defending her?"
Zhong Chen, however, insisted, "But she’s right. As her partner, I should trust her."
"She loves gifts so much, yet she sent everything back. That proves she has a clear conscience. I can’t condemn her just because of one photo."
"So she couldn’t have done anything wrong. If there’s any fault, it’s these scumbags seducing her."
Gong Zhaoxi: "…Should I introduce you to some housewives whose husbands cheated? You’d have a lot in common."
Xing Jiale had heard enough. "Wake up. She’s clearly playing the retreat-to-advance card."
Seeing Zhong Chen’s stubbornness, he nodded. "You don’t believe us? Fine. Then let me show you the truth."
He turned to the two men. "Tell us everything you did that night. Don’t leave out a single detail."
The two exchanged glances, their faces flushing with shame.
"How could we possibly say something like that out loud?"
Xing Jiale was furious with Zhong Chen, but he’d raised this fool since childhood—there was no helping it.
His patience, however, didn’t extend to others. His expression turned icy. "Don’t want to talk? Then demonstrate."
"Whatever you did that night—recreate it right now."
The two men’s faces twisted in humiliation, but their reaction only confirmed the trio’s worst suspicions.
Xing Jiale’s voice dropped dangerously. "Do it. Or if you’d rather not perform alone, I can have the guys behind you help."
The two glanced at the three burly men behind them and nearly fainted from terror. "We’ll do it, we’ll do it!"
Trembling, they stood up. The one who resembled Xiao Yun scanned the room and spotted a long pole in the corner—something that could pass for a dance pole.
The mixed-race guy had it easier—his prop was the chair itself.
Under the silent gaze of the three men, the two began to sway seductively using their props—
At first, the trio: "???"
Five minutes later: "!!!"
Xing Jiale quickly interrupted the increasingly provocative dance moves, as even the bodyguards were now staring at them with strange expressions.
"Stop, stop, stop! What the hell are you two doing?"
The two handsome men, now flushed and fully immersed in their performance, looked dazed at being cut off. "Dancing, of course."
Gong Zhaoxi: "So this is all you've been doing all night?"
The two: "Y-yes?"
Xing Jiale: "Nothing else?"
They immediately retorted indignantly, "What else were we supposed to do? We're not selling ourselves!"
The trio: "..."
What’s the difference?
Suddenly, Gong Zhaoxi seemed to recall something and asked, "So all that effort to lure her to the hotel was just to perform a striptease?"
"Seriously, how did this even start?"
The melancholic-looking guy explained, "I—I’m an art school student. I’ve been dancing since I was a kid. I just happened to hit it off with Miss Shen and wanted her to give me some pointers."
(That was the excuse the woman who forced him into this line of work had prepared.)
The mixed-race guy polished his story similarly: "I’m just a soon-to-graduate guy worried about my future."
"I was discussing career options with Miss Shen."
Xing Jiale scoffed, "Career options like becoming a male escort?"
But before he could finish his sarcastic remark, Zhong Chen had already jumped to his feet.
"I knew she wasn’t lying to me!" he exclaimed, rushing toward the door.
"It really was just about reviewing homework and career advice. I shouldn’t have doubted her."
And with that, he hurried off to find Shen Ying.
Meanwhile, Xing Jiale and Gong Zhaoxi were left dumbfounded by the absurd truth.
On one hand, it wasn’t exactly betrayal.
But on the other, given the two idiots who’d just been gyrating suggestively behind them, they couldn’t exactly call it innocent either.
