Tang Qi had anticipated every possible outcome, but she had not anticipated that Luo Xue would choose to lay her own wounds bare in broad daylight.
Just as the public opinion war reached its peak, Luo Xue posted her first Weibo update since the entire affair began. It was a long, detailed account that meticulously enumerated every detail of her relationship with Li Chengyu.
The bills from their meals, the living expenses he took from her under various pretexts, the “heartfelt” gift on their first anniversary, the umbrella she never received, and the constant stream of what seemed like caring reminders and advice.
She wrote about how she had humbled herself into a groveling supplicant just to please Li Chengyu, how she had abjectly begged for forgiveness.
She even exposed what she had been most unwilling for others to know—her family background—to the whole world.
“I didn’t ask him to return the money I gave him after the breakup, hoping we could at least have a dignified ending! Yet he believes my refusal to let him keep leeching off me means I wronged him, that I was obligated to give unconditionally. Sometimes I couldn’t understand my own desperate craving for a love that was only skin-deep. Later, I understood: I didn’t love myself enough.”
“People are equals, and love should be equal too. It shouldn’t just be one person giving, nor one person lording over the other. I hope whoever reads this—whether male or female—will see clearly into the nature of love. While loving others, don’t forget to love yourself.”
Compared to Li Chengyu’s repetitive, baseless accusations of her being a gold digger, her account pinpointed the exact time, place, and events.
Those who read her words fell silent. Romance is supposed to be beautiful; it should never become an excuse for one person to oppress and crush another.
In that moment, countless people resonated deeply with Luo Xue. Many who had been beaten down by so-called “love” wept reading her article.
After Luo Xue’s post went live, the tide of online insults receded. Just when everyone thought the matter was finally drawing to a close, one of Li Chengyu’s fans posted a video she had secretly recorded.
She said she had followed Li Chengyu since his debut. Once, while visiting a hospital for a check-up, she had run into him and recognized him instantly.
The video quality was poor and grainy, but you could faintly hear Li Chengyu demanding money from Luo Xue—two million yuan, just like that. Most appallingly, when a spider startled Luo Xue, he shook the spider into her clothes.
The video showed Li Chengyu grinning as he undid Luo Xue’s clothing, using his phone to record and threaten her. Then Tang Qi knocked his cap off, revealing his face crisp and clear on screen.
Even Li Chengyu’s most die-hard fans could utter no words in his defense.
He had embodied shamelessness, sleaziness, and disgusting behavior to the fullest. The fan who posted the video said she had abandoned her fandom after that incident but hadn’t wanted to publicly bash someone she once liked. This time, she simply couldn’t hold back anymore.
Tang Qi couldn’t help but laugh. She prided herself on her meticulous strategies, but this one truly wasn’t her doing. It only proved that Li Chengyu had committed far too many evils.
Those who had harbored doubts about Luo Xue’s account could no longer voice any question after seeing this video.
Many people flocked to her Weibo to offer their comfort. Reading the heartwarming messages from strangers, Luo Xue felt a gentle warmth bloom in her heart. She had genuinely feared people would call her a Simp, but truthfully, she had been blinded by love back then. She couldn’t blame others for saying so.
Tang Qi tousled her hair. “I told you I would handle it.”
“But I can’t let you do everything.” Luo Xue leaned into Tang Qi’s embrace, her tone laced with a pleading, coquettish note. “I can’t depend on you for absolutely everything. This whole mess was my fault, after all.”
Tang Qi lifted Luo Xue upright, her expression turning unusually stern. “Luoluo, this is not your fault. Meeting a bad person was never your intention. The ones who are wrong are the people who do harm, not those who encounter it. When someone is hurt or threatened, the problem doesn’t lie with them—the problem lies with the people who hurt them.”
Luo Xue’s eyes widened, stunned. Tang Qi continued, “You have no problem. You did nothing wrong. Loving someone wholeheartedly while in a relationship—that’s the right thing to do. That’s respecting the relationship itself.”
Was it? Had she truly done nothing wrong?
Ever since breaking up with Li Chengyu, she had constantly questioned herself, wondering if she had been mistaken. Even after getting together with Tang Qi, she had always harbored a nagging worry.
Worrying that Tang Qi might find her troublesome. Worrying that Li Chengyu would annoy Tang Qi.
In that instant, all of Luo Xue’s anxieties crumbled to dust. Blinking away the tears welling in the corner of her eyes, she smiled and said, “Little Seven, has anyone ever told you that you’re truly wonderful?”
Seeing that Luo Xue had truly let go, the stone hanging in Tang Qi’s heart finally dropped. Feeling playful, she teased, “Let me think… It seems someone has. Who was it?” Watching Luo Xue’s expression instantly tense up, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Oh, I remember now—it was you, back in college.”
Luo Xue’s tears turned into laughter. She playfully punched Tang Qi. “You’re always teasing me.”
The mood between them was just right when the System suddenly interjected urgently: “Host, it’s bad! Li Chengyu has gone berserk. He’s beating up the Female Lead.”
Tang Qi’s heart lurched. There was no way she could ignore this, but the System couldn’t place phone calls. For a moment, she couldn’t figure out how to break this news to Luo Xue.
Fortunately, Luo Xue needed to use the restroom. By the time she returned, Tang Qi had already finished calling the police. She turned to Luo Xue and explained, “I just got a call. Li Chengyu has lost his mind—he’s beating his current girlfriend. We’re going to save her.”
…
Locked in her house and cut off from the outside world, Zhou Ling had grown increasingly worried about Li Chengyu, fearing that Tang Qi and Luo Xue were bullying him. Seizing a moment when her parents were distracted, she secretly took her phone and fled.
Along the way, she overheard many people discussing Li Chengyu. Hurriedly, she pulled up Weibo and read through the entire saga from beginning to end. She couldn’t believe that the gentle and attentive Li Chengyu could be so despicable.
She had never considered it from that angle before, but now, looking back carefully, Li Chengyu had always made pointed, insinuating comments: “You don’t look good in makeup.” “Our baby can’t cook—how will she ever be a good wife and mother someday?”
She realized she had become increasingly self-conscious about Li Chengyu’s judgments and more cautious in her behavior around him.
She didn’t want to believe Li Chengyu was that kind of person. Was there some misunderstanding? She had to ask him herself.
But Zhou Ling never imagined that after she asked him just a few questions, he would snap like a madman. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently, demanding to know if she was also going to leave him because he was poor.
No matter how Zhou Ling tried to explain, Li Chengyu refused to believe her. After a few exchanged words, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped her viciously across the face.
Smack!
Li Chengyu stared at his own slightly stinging palm and the terrified look in Zhou Ling’s eyes. Something in his vacant gaze suddenly flared with excitement, as if a switch had been flipped. He lunged forward, slapping her left and right, even grabbing whatever object was within reach to bludgeon her.
In that moment, he felt as though he had reclaimed his dignity.
Faced with the absolute disparity in physical strength between a man and a woman, Zhou Ling was utterly defenseless. At first, she could still plead, but eventually, all she could do was curl herself as tightly as possible, trying to shield herself.
She had never felt such deep regret and despair—regretting she hadn’t listened to her parents, hating herself for coming to find Li Chengyu.
Just as Zhou Ling thought she was going to die, a knock sounded at the door. Li Chengyu stopped his assault on Zhou Ling and stared hard at the door, panting heavily. “Who is it?” he demanded.
“Food Delivery.”
Li Chengyu hadn’t ordered any food delivery, but he was indeed hungry. Licking his lips, a dark smirk spread across his face. “Wait till I’m done eating…”
He swayed unsteadily over and opened the door. But behind it were not deliverymen, but the police. They had rushed over immediately after receiving Tang Qi’s report and had arrived at the critical moment to save Zhou Ling.
Zhou Ling was bruised, swollen, and covered in blood, lying limp on the floor like a shattered rag doll. Beside her lay the Ashtray Li Chengyu had used to beat her. The police didn’t dare move her and immediately called an ambulance.
Tang Qi arrived at the hospital at the same time as the ambulance.
Zhou Ling’s parents arrived at the hospital shortly after. Seeing their daughter’s horrific state, Mother Zhou swayed and fainted dead away. Father Zhou first thanked Tang Qi, then went with the police to give his statement.
Father Zhou was consumed with hatred and swore an oath to make Li Chengyu pay.
News of Li Chengyu’s deed spread quickly. The last vestiges of his fanbase abandoned him, and more and more people began posting daily online messages asking, “Is Li Chengyu dead yet?”
Regardless of the person or situation, Tang Qi felt that this kind of online witch hunt was not right. She contacted people to have the most vitriolic comments removed, leaving only rational discussions behind.
Li Chengyu was arrested. Father Zhou acted swiftly, hiring a Lawyer and pressing charges against Li Chengyu in court. With Zhou Ling’s injuries being so severe, Li Chengyu’s charge of intentional assault causing grievous bodily harm was a certainty.
Simultaneously, Tang Qi sued him for conspiring with Eldest Uncle Tang to infringe on her right to reputation. Luo Xue filed her own lawsuit demanding he repay the money he owed. Both cases were also set for trial.
Due to the immense public interest, Li Chengyu’s various cases were scheduled to be heard in a consolidated trial one month later.
A few days passed, and Zhou Ling regained consciousness. She had sustained multiple fractures all over her body and a moderate concussion. Seeing Mother Zhou’s eyes, swollen from constant crying, Zhou Ling began for the first time to truly examine her own faults.
Spoiled and pampered since childhood, how many times had she ignored her parents’ warnings, stubbornly insisting on having her own way, ultimately leading to harming herself?
Learning it was Tang Qi who had called the police and saved her, Zhou Ling made her first request upon waking: she wanted to see Tang Qi and Luo Xue.
Mother Zhou, willing to grant her daughter anything, immediately contacted Tang Qi. On the fifth day after Zhou Ling woke up, Tang Qi and Luo Xue arrived at the hospital room, a Fruit Basket in their hands.
Looking at Zhou Ling, who was wrapped up like a Mummy, an indescribable pang of sorrow filled Luo Xue’s heart. She could not muster a single shred of ill will toward this girlfriend of Li Chengyu’s. Setting down the Fruit Basket, she asked gently, “Are you alright?”
From the moment Luo Xue entered, Zhou Ling’s gaze had been fixed on her. It then shifted to Tang Qi, who stood slightly behind Luo Xue in a protective stance. A look of relief mixed with bitter regret crossed Zhou Ling’s face. “Thank you for saving me. And… Luo Xue, I’m sorry!”
She had listened to Li Chengyu’s complaints about Luo Xue before and had harbored many misunderstandings. She’d even helped Li Chengyu pay for an Internet water army to smear her.
Luo Xue tucked the blanket around her. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
“But the harm was real.” Having faced the threat of death, Zhou Ling felt as though she had matured instantly. “It was my blindness and poor judgment that wronged you both so much. If you ever need anything in the future, you can come to me. I’ll do my utmost.”
Luo Xue chatted with her briefly, but fearing Zhou Ling might overexert herself, she prepared to leave. As Tang Qi helped Luo Xue push her chair back, Zhou Ling suddenly asked, “Your relationship…?”
Luo Xue gave a little shake of the ring on her finger, and Tang Qi made no effort to hide it. A hint of envy laced Zhou Ling’s murmur. “That’s really nice. Maybe I should find a girlfriend someday too. Boyfriends or whatever… I’m truly terrified now!”
She would wake up screaming from nightmares every night. Sometimes, even the sight of a male doctor would trigger her fear.
“Don’t give up a relationship just because of societal norms, but don’t choose the same sex out of rebellion either. Matters of love don’t distinguish gender. We don’t choose a gender; we choose a person.” Tang Qi cut off her train of thought. “Not everyone is a Li Chengyu.”
Zhou Ling nodded. Suddenly remembering the main reason she’d asked them to come, she spoke up urgently: “Luo Xue, be careful of your younger sister. I got to know Li Chengyu because of her. I’ve been carefully recalling those early days these past few days… I keep feeling like she did it on purpose.”
