Glancing at that name, Bo Ranying instinctively furrowed her brow, a wave of nausea rising in her gut.
Only after the intense discomfort passed did she have the energy to ponder the blatantly pointed message.
Tsk.
It reeked of someone angling to take her place, offering herself up in bed—the implication practically leaped off the screen.
Bo Ranying figured she could guess what was in the attachment.
To avoid any mistakes, she still clicked open the compressed file and checked its contents. Once it loaded, a series of disheveled photos appeared before her eyes, complete with a video.
The woman huddled in the man’s arms, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red. Behind them stretched crisp white bedsheets, crumpled and twisted in a way that was utterly indecent.
The faces in the photos were crystal clear, their identities unmistakable.
Bo Ranying took one look and frantically closed them out, fleeing back to the main screen with a single tap.
One more glance, and she would have lost control and thrown up.
Disgusting.
A chill ran through her like she’d swallowed a fly.
She was stunned by this hidden side of Qiao Xiuyu, the one he’d kept from everyone for so long.
In all their time together, she’d never picked up on a hint of it.
Was this what he called a normal relationship?
Since she couldn’t give him what he wanted, he’d found someone else to fill the role.
No, she’d sensed something off about Qiao Xiuyu before—a faint unease she’d brushed aside.
Bo Ranying recalled their video call a few days earlier. The doubts from that moment suddenly made perfect sense.
The faint dark circles under his eyes from staying up late, the woman in high heels who’d knocked and brought in some files, the screen that had shaken for an instant, the call abruptly hanging up.
Delivering files had been the excuse; delivering comfort was the truth.
The one who’d come looking for Qiao Xiuyu back then was probably this MURUO who’d sent the email.
Uninterested in the exact spelling or more details about the woman, Bo Ranying let her mind swirl with nothing but disgust and shock. She hardened her resolve: the breakup couldn’t wait. She needed to cut ties with Qiao Xiuyu as quickly as possible and call off the engagement.
True to her decisive nature, she immediately informed both sets of parents of her decision to end things with Qiao Xiuyu. It sparked an immediate uproar among the elders. Her own parents from the Bo Family even flew to Linxi overnight to get to the bottom of the breakup.
For something this big, a casual verbal decision wouldn’t cut it. At the very least, the parents from both sides needed to meet and talk it over.
Worried she was acting on impulse, her parents pressed her, while the Qiao Family refused to accept the split.
Qiao Xiuyu’s mother, in particular, couldn’t bear to lose the daughter-in-law she’d set her heart on. She reached out to Bo Ranying repeatedly with concern, asking if something was troubling her, and even prodded Qiao Xiuyu to go beg for reconciliation in hopes of salvaging the relationship.
Bo Ranying was at her wits’ end. Qiao Xiuyu offered no clear explanation to the families, leaving the elders convinced there was still hope for them to patch things up.
She stopped holding back. Right in front of both families, she laid out the ironclad proof of Qiao Xiuyu’s infidelity.
Photos, video—angles sharp, pixels crisp, no chance of fakes. And sent by the other woman herself.
The Qiao Family fell silent, chagrined and out of arguments. They couldn’t very well insist Bo Ranying stay engaged to Qiao Xiuyu after that.
All the blame shifted to him. They called him blinded by lust, utterly lacking in decency…
Naturally, Bo Ranying’s parents ached for their daughter’s hurt and wholeheartedly backed her choice. No more words needed— the breakup was final.
Emotions ran high, spilling over as they glared daggers at Qiao Xiuyu.
As for Qiao Xiuyu himself, he was dumbfounded when Bo Ranying produced the evidence. His face cycled through shock, shame, outrage, and fury.
Memories flooded back.
He thought of Mu Ruo’s sweetly innocent allure, her eyes brimming with adoration and dependence on him. She cared so deeply, picking up on his frustrations at work and in life, doing everything to please him. He’d grown used to confiding in her without a second thought. What schemes could a fresh graduate straight out of school, smitten with him, possibly have?
After parting with Bo Ranying the night before, he’d been restless, his chest tight with bitterness. Just then, Mu Ruo called to check on him, asking how his date with Bo Ranying had gone and if it was all smooth sailing…
They’d chatted on from there, and by the time they hung up, his phone was scorching hot.
He never imagined Mu Ruo would go behind his back to harass Bo Ranying, flaunting their intimacy.
Qiao Xiuyu had never seen Mu Ruo as a serious girlfriend. She was just a safe harbor for his weary moments—a brief port in the storm.
The scene devolved into chaos, absurd beyond belief. Amid the arguments and judgments from all sides, the engagement was finally dissolved. All wedding preparations halted, and word went out: Qiao Family Second Young Master and his fiancée Bo Ranying had parted ways, with no ties left between them.
Bo Ranying felt a weight lift, free at last.
She was simply Bo Ranying now—no labels, no one else’s definitions clinging to her.
News of the breakup with Qiao Xiuyu spread like wildfire. Soon, everyone at the Dance Troupe had heard.
They realized the engagement party wasn’t just postponed indefinitely—it was canceled outright.
Unaware of the details, her colleagues had watched Bo Ranying’s moods up close day after day. They’d seen her downcast over Nan Qi and jumped to their own conclusions about the split.
Pair that with how bashfully she’d accepted their congratulations and promised souvenirs, and Ye Xingyu alone glimpsed a sliver of the truth behind the broken engagement.
But that was a story for another time.
In the days that followed, Bo Ranying ordered a new car from the dealership. In her free moments, she’d head to the repair shop to work on fixing the ashtray. Progress was slow, but every time she held it in her palm and watched it slowly regain its original form bit by bit, a thrill of rediscovery stirred in her heart.
It meant her reunion with Nan Qi was drawing near.
That thrill was hope, was momentum.
One afternoon, Bo Ranying got a call from her high school classmate Xie Tong.
They’d been close back in school, but Xie Tong had gone abroad for university and stayed on to work there afterward. Their contact had faded over time.
Bo Ranying was stunned to hear from her now.
When Xie Tong explained why she was calling, shock bloomed across Bo Ranying’s face.
Xie Tong had married her girlfriend abroad—legally wed—and now they were back in the country to settle down and build a life here. She wanted a simple wedding ceremony back home, just close family and a few friends as guests.
They’d already arrived in Linxi and hoped to catch up with her old friend, bringing her wife along.
Bo Ranying agreed without hesitation. No time like the present—they set a time to meet at a café.
In her memory, Xie Tong had always been bold and flashy in high school, owning her orientation without shame. While boys and girls snuck around with secret romances, dodging teachers like frightened quails, Xie Tong strode across the school field hand-in-hand with her girlfriend.
When someone asked about them, she’d sling an arm over her girl’s shoulder and declare with swagger, “Oh, us? We’re dating.”
That had been Bo Ranying’s first real brush with a same-sex couple, back when her worldview was still so narrow.
It was an indelible part of her high school days.
Hearing that her old friend had made it official with her love brought Bo Ranying pure joy—and a wave of nostalgia.
Eager to reconnect, she headed to meet Xie Tong.
Xie Tong and her wife had arrived early at the café.
Spotting Bo Ranying, Xie Tong kept peering behind her, as if trying to bore a hole through the empty space.
Puzzled, Bo Ranying sat down and asked, “What are you looking at?”
“Your little shadow—did she really not tag along this time?” Xie Tong teased, rubbing her chin.
Bo Ranying: “Huh…?”
Her mind blanked for a second.
Only after a beat did she realize Xie Tong meant Nan Qi.
And it had been ages since she’d last seen Nan Qi— it felt like a lifetime.
Bo Ranying’s silence stretched on. Xie Tong awkwardly rubbed her nose and blurted, “I figured when Nan Qi heard you were meeting me, she’d drop everything and come with you, no matter what.”
She still vividly remembered high school: even after she’d openly shared her orientation, Nan Qi watched her like a hawk during every chat with Bo Ranying. Those vigilant eyes screamed protectiveness, as if she feared anyone might covet her treasure.
Like guarding her very own candy, not letting a single finger brush the wrapper.
