Once Yang Xueyi set her mind to something, her determination was unmatched.
That night, she intended to go to bed early, but even after taking melatonin, she couldn’t fall asleep.
So she got up, pulled an all-nighter, and put together a diary meticulously documenting every twist and turn of her feelings for Ying Yun.
The next morning, she snuck upstairs.
While Ying Yun was busy making coffee in the kitchen, she quietly slipped her diary in among the pile of medical casebooks sprawled across his desk.
As expected, her plan went off without a hitch.
Yang Xueyi’s covert operation went completely unnoticed—Ying Yun didn’t suspect a thing.
He rushed out for his ward rounds, finished his black coffee, and swept all his notebooks and professional books into his bag in one go, completely unaware that he’d also packed Yang Xueyi’s “private stash” along with them before heading out the door.
The gloom from yesterday’s scolding by Ms. Yang Meiying was swept away.
Yang Xueyi was now fired up, eagerly waiting for the aftermath—waiting for Ying Yun to discover an unfamiliar notebook among his things.
No matter which page he flipped to, he’d find Yang Xueyi’s “little deer pounding heart” and her feelings for him.
To make the diary more diverse and rich, Yang Xueyi even copied a couple of confessions in French, carefully marking every accent just as she found them.
After all, you can never confess too much, and French makes it sound romantic!
Although Yang Xueyi had never studied French, she understood the “bkbk” of French love talk—at the end of the day, it all boiled down to calling someone “darling” in countless ways, so nothing could go wrong.
Ying Yun hated her so much—once he discovered that she truly “craved” him, he’d be so shocked and disgusted, just the Chinese “I like you” would make his scalp tingle.
He’d never bother to look up what the French meant.
Yang Xueyi felt victory was in her grasp this time.
The best part was, her actions were so subtle that she could even turn the tables—she only “accidentally” left her diary on the dining table, and it was Ying Yun who took it away and peeked inside.
She was the real victim!
By then, Ying Yun wouldn’t dare to scold her, and would probably want to keep as far away from her as possible.
Let’s see if he dares to tattle!
When something good happens, your spirits soar. Yang Xueyi was suddenly full of energy.
Although she was on sick leave at home for her dislocated arm, she still decided to check her computer for important work emails.
That’s when she got a call from her colleague Chen Xi—
“Check your email, quick!”
Chen Xi’s voice was excited, “Li Liming got fired!”
Sweet revenge, and how satisfying it was!
Yang Xueyi couldn’t wait to open her inbox.
As expected, there had been too many witnesses at the company party, and faced with ironclad evidence, the company took a firm stand—Li Liming was dismissed.
As for the earlier incident where Yang Xueyi’s work achievements were maliciously stolen, the company had investigated and issued a warning to Tang Qi, demanding that she return the translation performance bonuses, and promised to compensate Yang Xueyi with the performance bonus that should have been hers.
Getting her bonus back was great, but…
Tang Qi only got a warning?
What about the opportunity to train at Meiguo Zongbu this year…?
“By the way, now that Li Liming is gone, Admin Director Pan Fang has been transferred to manage us,” Chen Xi continued, sighing.
“There are tigers on the eastern hill, and tigers on the western one. Li Liming is gone, but there are always others. Pan Fang—Tang Qi used to curry favor with her and gave her plenty of gifts. Now it’s obvious she’s letting Tang Qi off easy.”
Chen Xi clearly had a lot to vent and spent ages complaining with Yang Xueyi before hanging up.
No sooner had she hung up than Yang Xueyi received a call from her new supervisor, Pan Fang.
Pan Fang was a bit younger than Li Liming, her voice gentle but with a hidden edge, “Xueyi, how’s your arm? When do you think you can return to work? The company has several new drugs to register, the translation workload is huge, and Chen Xi is about to go on a business trip. You’re the only one left.”
Yang Xueyi answered calmly, “Director Pan, my hand isn’t recovering that fast, and I’m worried about long-term problems. Besides me and Chen Xi, isn’t there still Tang Qi in our department?”
“Tang Qi is about to go to Meiguo Zongbu for training.”
Just as she thought.
Yang Xueyi’s tone turned cold, “The opportunity to train at headquarters is based on performance, right? Now that it’s clear Tang Qi stole my credit and performance, shouldn’t the training spot go to me?”
“You were wronged, yes, but it was Li Liming who appropriated your credit. Tang Qi wasn’t fully aware of the details. Mainly, Li Liming wanted to coerce you, so he listed Tang Qi as the translator at the last minute. Tang Qi was afraid to offend Li Liming and didn’t dare correct the mistake. That was her fault, so the company issued a warning.”
“The training list at headquarters was decided long ago—there’s no time to change it, and even if we could, there’s not enough time for a visa. So if we withdraw Tang Qi’s spot, no one from our department would go this year.”
Pan Fang was clearly prepared, coaxing, “The headquarters training happens only once every three years—it’s precious and can’t be wasted. Let Tang Qi go this time, she’ll improve her skills and be able to share more of the workload. It’ll make things easier for you in the future.”
So, in the end, sending Tang Qi for training was supposed to be for Yang Xueyi’s own good?
Pan Fang really knew how to paint a pretty picture, “Xueyi, as long as you keep up your professional attitude, the next spot in three years will definitely be yours.”
Yang Xueyi sneered inwardly.
So they wanted her to work herself to the bone for three more years, dangling an empty carrot in front of her?
No way.
Yang Xueyi answered coldly, “It’s fine if I can’t go this year, but Tang Qi shouldn’t go either. This isn’t fair.”
Her attitude was firm, and Pan Fang’s voice hardened on the other end, “Yang Xueyi, you don’t run the company. You have to follow arrangements. I may be new, but rules are rules…”
Enough is enough.
“Director Pan, save your rules for Tang Qi.”
Yang Xueyi chuckled, “But with you backing her so hard, Tang Qi should be grateful and pay her respects when she gets back—no need for you to lay down the rules for her.”
“Yang Xueyi, what’s with that attitude?”
“What do you think?” Yang Xueyi replied coolly, “I quit!”
“I’m sure after training, Tang Qi’s translation skills will skyrocket. She can handle everything herself—let her do it!”
***
Ying Yun was busy all morning, and by the time he was free, lunch hour had already passed.
He just grabbed a simple meal and a hot Americano from the convenience store.
All the outpatients he saw that morning were troublesome, and Ying Yun still had a headache.
At least, on days like this, Yang Xueyi hadn’t made things worse by causing trouble.
He glanced at his phone—no messages from Yang Xueyi.
Looks like yesterday’s warning worked.
Ying Yun didn’t know what kind of scheme this two-faced woman was plotting now, but her attitude toward him had become odd.
One moment she wanted him to carry her Sandwich, the next she claimed she liked him and wanted to bring him food.
She liked him?
Ying Yun was no longer an eighteen-year-old naïve boy.
He knew perfectly well that Yang Xueyi would never like him.
She’d sooner fall for a stray dog on the street than for Ying Yun.
Honestly, Ying Yun didn’t know what Yang Xueyi’s intentions were—he just wished she’d calm down.
If possible, Ying Yun hoped not to hear anything about Yang Xueyi for a while.
Even better if Aunt Yang could return to the country soon—then his quality of life would skyrocket, and he’d never have to be involved with Yang Xueyi again.
But as luck would have it, bad things always came true.
Among the many unread messages, Ying Yun found one from his cousin Meng Chengyun—
A Little Orange: [Bro! Are you in a relationship now!]
A Little Orange: [I just saw you and your girlfriend online! You two look amazing together! Congrats! Let me know when you’re getting married, I’ll fly back immediately! Waiting for your good news!]
A Little Orange: [I could miss any other relative’s wedding, but not yours, my dearest cousin! I have to be there for the biggest moment of your life!]
A few minutes later, Meng Chengyun shared a link, followed by a dramatic change in tone—
A Little Orange: [Hahaha, breaking news, everyone! Click the link above for a surprise! Our cousin got posted to the Abnormal Men Research Center bot.]
A Little Orange: [His girlfriend had an arm in a sling, but not only did he refuse to help her carry things, he hung the bag around her neck! The comment section is going wild!]
A Little Orange: [This girl is really brave—she’s so pretty, why would she go for a guy like our cousin? Hope she can stick it out; otherwise, I’m really worried I’ll never get to drink our cousin’s wedding wine.]
Ten minutes later, Meng Chengyun finally realized she’d sent the messages to the wrong person—
A Little Orange: [Bro, sorry, can’t retract it now…]
A Little Orange: [Just kidding, bro, you’ll definitely get married!]
With a dark expression, Ying Yun clicked the link Meng Chengyun had sent by mistake and saw the candid photos taken outside the hospital café that day—him and Yang Xueyi.
There were three consecutive shots, perfectly capturing the moment Ying Yun hung the bag around Yang Xueyi’s neck, and recording every detail of her expression—from shy, to bewildered, to shocked and incredulous.
Her face was small, and the bag looked huge beside it.
Her dark eyes were wide, her teeth gently biting her lip, making her already rosy lips even redder.
Her beautiful face was full of innocence and surprise.
That deceptive face and those deceptive expressions made the comments overwhelmingly one-sided—
[If I had a girlfriend like this, I’d protect her and never let her carry anything.]
[Why are all the pretty girls dating scumbags?]
[Just because you’re good-looking, you think you can get away with anything? Hanging things around her neck—are you even human?]
Ying Yun scrolled through a few popular comments, then finished his now-cold coffee with a blank face.
***
When Yang Xueyi declared she was quitting, she felt a rush of satisfaction.
But after hanging up, she started to have second thoughts.
She’d saved up a bit over her years of work, and the company owed her a sizable bonus, so she could support herself while job-hunting.
She wasn’t worried about quitting.
What concerned her was…
If her mother found out, she’d really be finished!
And absolutely, absolutely, Ying Yun must not find out! If he used it against her, she’d never live it down!
She also wondered if he had discovered the “secret crush diary” she’d slipped into his professional books.
Yang Xueyi took out her phone, about to feign concern and ask what Ying Yun had for lunch, when—just as she thought about him—Ying Yun messaged her first.
But the content was completely different from what she expected—
[Still haven’t seen the specialist?]
After this icy sarcasm, Ying Yun sent a link.
[Deal with this. Don’t force me to send you a lawyer’s letter.]
Yang Xueyi, completely confused, clicked the link and finally realized what he’d sent her.
How was this her fault?
Ying Yun’s bizarre behavior had been caught on camera and posted online—how could that be her responsibility?
It just proved that society still had a conscience, and justice hadn’t been buried!
Now Ying Yun was sending her the link—what did he mean?
What did it have to do with her?
If he was upset about the backlash, couldn’t he file a complaint himself?
Yang Xueyi suppressed her inner complaints.
To maintain her “secret admirer” persona, she would endure!
[How could this happen, Ying Yun? Seeing so many people scold you, my heart…]
So happy!
[…hurts so much!]
Yang Xueyi typed dramatically—
[But a lot of people said we look great together, too.]
She was inwardly delighted—everyone had such sharp eyes! But what she typed was different—
[I think the public is very perceptive!]
[But why would you send me a lawyer’s letter? I’m not the one criticizing you. Seeing you get bashed like that, I feel bad enough as it is. Who could stand seeing the person they like get insulted?]
After she sent this, Ying Yun didn’t reply by message, but called her directly.
“Yang Xueyi.”
His voice was icy.
“Whoever makes the mess, cleans it up. You’re the one who submitted that post—deal with it yourself. This is the second time you’ve spread rumors about us being a couple.”
Nonsense!
She never posted anything!
Did he really think she wanted to be associated with such a disagreeable person?
Even after hanging up, Yang Xueyi was still fuming.
Ying Yun, that piece of trash, must have taken her explanation as an excuse again.
Did he think everyone was a dung beetle, eager to roll his giant ball of crap?
Who wants to be his girlfriend!
Being mistaken for Ying Yun’s girlfriend was the greatest humiliation for Yang Xueyi.
Her taste wasn’t that bad!
Angrily, Yang Xueyi logged into Weibo.
She’d originally planned to DM the bot and ask for the post to be deleted, but on second thought, deleting it wouldn’t clarify anything, and it would erase all those justified criticisms of Ying Yun—those comments were spot-on!
So in the end, after identifying herself as one of the people in the photo, Yang Xueyi simply requested clarification—
[Dear bot, the man in the photo and I are not a couple! Please clarify!]
Fortunately, the reply came quickly—
[Sure thing, miss! Clarification coming right up! Congratulations!]
Congratulations?
Indeed, it was something to celebrate—being free from any association with someone like Ying Yun.
As long as things were clarified, Yang Xueyi felt relieved and stopped worrying about it.
She opened a job search website—she had more important things to do now!
***
Half an hour after calling Yang Xueyi, Ying Yun received another message from his cousin Meng Chengyun.
[Bro! Out with the old, in with the new!]
Ying Yun frowned: [What?]
Meng Chengyun sent another link.
Ying Yun clicked it and saw that it was a repost of the previous submission that claimed Yang Xueyi and Ying Yun were a couple—
[Clarification!!! Additional info: What a relief! The bot received a DM from the lady—she’s decisively broken up! They’re no longer a couple; the guy is now her ex! Congratulations to her for escaping misery!]
A Little Orange: [Bro, cheer up! You’ll get through this!]
A Little Orange: [I still remember when you were eighteen and ran all over Rong City to buy your first love a rare signed English book, “The Last Summer.” You wracked your brain to write her love letters—you loved her so much back then, but you got over it. I believe in you, you’ll get over this too!]
[Bro, are you feeling better now?]
Ying Yun thought Meng Chengyun must be too bored abroad.
She really needed to spend less time online.
It was obvious she was trying to comfort him.
Thanks to her “comfort,” Ying Yun’s mood went from bad to even worse.