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“What’s going on, Sister Quan?”
“There are some negative rumors about you online.”
“What kind of rumors?”
Quan Xinya hesitated for a moment before saying.
“Someone is spreading false accusations about you.”
After hanging up, Song Qingyu opened her phone’s browser and searched for her own name.
An account with the username “Insider” leaked a shocking exposé, claiming that a certain female celebrity with the initial “S” was notorious in the industry for being passed around.
According to the post, she had secured numerous opportunities through illicit means early in her career. Later, she starred in a critically acclaimed film and even won an award. However, she was greedy—unwilling to endure the slow grind of making money through acting. Before long, she used her family’s connections to marry into a wealthy family.
But on the very day of her wedding, her husband received her medical report and discovered that she was riddled with sexually transmitted diseases. From that moment on, he treated her like discarded trash. In their three years of marriage, he never once touched her.
Unable to endure a life of loneliness, the actress eventually filed for divorce. Recently, she has been attempting a comeback in the industry.
A scandal involving sleeping with powerful figures for resources, being abandoned by a wealthy husband, and suffering from a sexually transmitted disease—any one of these accusations alone would be explosive. But together, they created a storm.
As soon as the rumors spread, the internet went into an uproar.
People began speculating about which married actress with the initial “S” the post was referring to.
**
Netizens combed through every married actress in the entertainment industry whose name started with “S.” However, at first, no one suspected Song Qingyu.
After all, she had been completely absent from the industry for the past three years. Even now, her return to acting in Director Fan’s film had received little publicity. Only a few scattered set photos had been released, and most of the attention was focused on the male and female leads instead.
Just as the internet’s self-proclaimed detectives were in full swing, a well-known paparazzi account suddenly dropped a bombshell—photos of Lu Yanchuan and Xie Wannin holding hands while strolling through the streets.
The caption read: “Young Master Lu is truly blessed—finding love again after divorce, happily accompanied by a beautiful woman.”
Lu Yanchuan… divorced?
The ever-sharp netizens immediately connected the dots.
An actress who won an award for a movie, married into a wealthy family at the peak of her career, stayed married for three years, got divorced, and then returned to acting—every single detail matched perfectly with Song Qingyu’s timeline.
Before long, her name was everywhere, dominating online discussions.
“Hah, no wonder Song Qingyu landed a role in a big production as soon as she debuted—turns out she slept her way to the top.”
“Getting that kind of disease at such a young age… what a waste of a pretty face. A woman with no self-respect is just rotten cabbage.”
“Her ex-husband must have had it rough. Marrying a diseased trophy wife? Even if he never touched her, just looking at her must have been disgusting.”
“…”
One vicious comment after another flooded the internet, each one smearing Song Qingyu’s name with slander.
But among the sea of insults, her eyes locked onto just a few words—“wedding day” and “medical report.”
What did that mean?
Could it be that on the day she and Lu Yanchuan got married, he really did receive a medical report with her name on it?
Was that why he never touched her in three years? Why he loathed her so much?
A deep sense of confusion welled up inside Song Qingyu.
She was already divorced. She had already let go of Lu Yanchuan.
But the years of cold treatment and humiliation she had endured—she needed an answer.
Without hesitation, Song Qingyu dialed Lu Yanchuan’s number.
He didn’t pick up.
So she went straight to the Lu family’s golf course at Pingxing Mountain.
She knew Lu Yanchuan well enough to be certain—every Sunday, without fail, he played golf at Pingxing Mountain. It was a habit he had maintained for years.
Sure enough, Song Qingyu found Lu Yanchuan at the Pingxing Mountain golf course.
By the time she spotted him, he had just changed into his golf attire and was about to board a shuttle cart to the course.
“Lu Yanchuan!”
Hearing her voice, he turned around.
The moment he saw Song Qingyu, his brows furrowed tightly, forming deep creases.
“What are you doing here?”
“Don’t look at me like that, as if I’m some kind of nuisance. I didn’t come here because I wanted to see you,” Song Qingyu said, meeting his gaze. “I just have one question. Once I get my answer, I’ll leave.”
Lu Yanchuan’s patience was already wearing thin. “Then hurry up and ask.”
Song Qingyu took a deep breath. But when she finally spoke, her voice trembled slightly despite her efforts to stay calm.
“Three years ago, on the day we got married… did you receive a medical report with my name on it?”
“Yeah, I received it. So what? It’s been three years. Why are you asking about this now?”
“What disease?” Song Qingyu took a step forward, closing the distance between them, her eyes locked onto his. “What exactly did that report say I had?”
Her gaze was piercing, unwavering. Lu Yanchuan felt an inexplicable discomfort under her stare. Irritated, he shoved her away. “You don’t know what kind of filthy disease you have?”
The disgust in his expression, the sheer repulsion in his voice—Song Qingyu took it all in.
She thought about the countless days and nights she had spent trapped in this suffocating marriage, exhausting herself emotionally.
And suddenly, she laughed.
It was a quiet laugh at first, but it carried a weight that even she hadn’t expected.
“Lu Yanchuan, do you remember? I was only five when I first came to the Lu family. We used to play ball together on the backyard lawn all day long…”
“We grew up together. We even got into the same high school. I thought that even if you didn’t love me, at the very least… we were friends.”
“But I guess ‘friends’ was just my own wishful thinking.”
“…”
“Since you hated me so much, why didn’t you refuse when your grandfather asked you to marry me?”
Lu Yanchuan fell silent.
Back then, he had agreed to marry Song Qingyu for two reasons. First, he didn’t dare to go against his grandfather’s wishes. Second, his grandfather had promised to invest in his company if he married her. At the time, he was desperate to prove himself to his father, Lu Jianping, and establish his own success—so he agreed.
“If you didn’t refuse the marriage, if you chose to marry me, then why… why didn’t you ever trust me?”
“Just because of a single medical report with my name on it, you sentenced me without question?”
“Why did you never ask me for the truth?”
“Why?”
Tears slipped down Song Qingyu’s face.
Three years of marriage—three years of coldness, humiliation, and injustice.
Yet even on the day she discovered Lu Yanchuan’s betrayal, even in the moment she asked for a divorce—she had remained calm.
She had never cried in front of Lu Yanchuan before.
But now, she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
The moment he saw her tears, something sharp twisted in his chest.
Irritation surged through him—raw and uncontrollable.
The last time he had felt this unsettled was the day they got divorced.
He didn’t understand why.
This loss of control, this unfamiliar sense of unease—it made him feel exposed, vulnerable.
“Stop acting pitiful in front of me,” he snapped, his voice harsher than he intended. “Are you trying to say that report was fake? That someone framed you?”
“Yes, that medical report was fake. Someone deliberately framed me. But none of that matters anymore.”
“In fact, I should be grateful for that report.”
“Because of it, our marriage was nothing more than an empty shell. Because of it, I never carried your child. Otherwise, I’d be even more disgusted right now.”
Song Qingyu wiped away her tears, her voice steady and resolute.
“Lu Yanchuan, remember this—I was never dirty. It’s your mind that’s filthy.”
“You’re an ungrateful, heartless man. One day, you’ll get what you deserve.”
She turned to leave.
For a split second, Lu Yanchuan felt as if something was being ripped away from him. His chest tightened, and without thinking, he took a step forward, instinctively reaching out to stop her.
But then—his phone rang.
It was Xie Wan’ning.
He hesitated for a few seconds before declining the call.
By the time he looked up again, he still didn’t stop Song Qingyu.
Song Qingyu left the golf course.
Pingxing Mountain was far out in the northern suburbs, and finding a cab was nearly impossible. She had been trying for a while with no luck.
Her mood was already terrible, but as if the heavens wanted to add to her misery, it started to rain.
Cold raindrops soaked through her clothes, drenching her completely. At some point, she gave up checking the ride-hailing app and just kept walking, head down, lost in thought.
“Beep—”
A car horn sounded behind her.
She turned her head and saw a sleek Maybach pulling up beside her.
It was Li Huaidong’s car.
The Maybach smoothly pulled over, and moments later, Li Huaidong stepped out, umbrella in hand.
He walked toward her, shielding her from the rain.
Song Qingyu had just cried. Her eyes were still red, and she didn’t want him to notice. She lowered her head and murmured, “What a coincidence.”
“Not a coincidence. I came specifically for you.”
Li Huaidong had come to the golf course today with the Lu family’s father and son. He and Lu Jianping arrived first, while Lu Yanchuan was late as usual.
Lu Jianping scolded Lu Yanchuan for his lack of punctuality. Lu Yanchuan explained that Song Qingyu had suddenly shown up looking for him, and he had been delayed because of her.
Lu Jianping berated him again, saying he was always entangled in messy affairs with women. Feeling cornered, Lu Yanchuan instinctively glanced at Li Huaidong, silently asking for help.
Li Huaidong took the opportunity to ask, “Where is she now?”
Lu Yanchuan replied, “She just left.”
Li Huaidong knew this area was difficult to get a cab from. And with the sudden downpour, she would be stranded in the rain. So, without hesitation, he canceled his game and went looking for her.
“Get in first. We’ll talk in the car.”
He held the umbrella steady, guiding her into the vehicle.
The car’s heater was on, and the moment the door opened, a fresh and calming scent filled the air. The turmoil in Song Qingyu’s heart seemed to settle slightly.
Li Huaidong noticed her red-rimmed eyes—clear evidence that she had just been crying. His mood darkened at the thought that she had shed tears for Lu Yanchuan, but he said nothing.
Once inside, he took off his jacket and handed it to her.
Song Qingyu, soaked to the bone, hesitated. She didn’t want to dirty his clothes, so she shook her head. “No need. I’m not cold.”
Without arguing, Li Huaidong simply draped the jacket over her shoulders.
“I really don’t feel cold,” she insisted.
Li Huaidong glanced at the driver’s seat where Chu Yu was sitting. “So, do you want Chu Yu to walk back instead?”
Song Qingyu hesitated for a few seconds before looking down. It was only then that she realized her rain-soaked blouse had turned semi-transparent, revealing the outline of her white undergarments. Flustered, she quickly pulled Li Huaidong’s jacket tighter around herself and awkwardly turned to look out the window.
Upon returning to Taoyuan, the first thing Song Qingyu did was head upstairs for a hot shower.
By the time she finished washing up and changed into fresh clothes, Li Huaidong had already instructed the housekeeper to prepare a cup of warm brown sugar ginger tea for her.
“Come here.” He tapped his fingers lightly on the table. “Drink the ginger tea.”
Song Qingyu wasn’t fond of ginger. “I don’t really want ginger tea. The wine you opened last time—there’s still some left, right? Can I have a drink instead?”
Li Huaidong gave her a look. “What happened?”
“Nothing. I just feel like having a drink.”
“Good, very good. Just yesterday, she swore she wouldn’t think about another man while still married. And today? Crying over Lu Yanchuan, drowning her sorrows in alcohol—she’s really going to drive me mad.”
Li Huaidong was fuming, but after a moment’s thought, he figured if drinking could make her feel a little better, then so be it.
He pulled out an unopened bottle of red wine from the cabinet. It had been air-shipped from an Italian winery not long ago—milder than the ones he usually drank, more suited to her.
“Want me to drink with you?” he asked.
“No need.” Song Qingyu didn’t want to take up his time and simply said, “I just want to be alone for a while.”
Li Huaidong was once again infuriated.
He rummaged through the cabinet, grabbed a tall-stemmed glass, and set it down in front of her with a loud clink before turning and heading upstairs.
But he still couldn’t let it go.
The moment he stepped into his study, the first thing he did was call Chu Yu.
“Find out what happened to her.”
Chu Yu was incredibly efficient. In less than ten minutes, he had sorted through everything online and reported back to Li Huaidong.
When Li Huaidong heard that Song Qingyu had been slandered with obscene rumors, his heart sank. So that was why she had been so upset today—no wonder she had cried and turned to alcohol for solace.
“Chu Yu, find out who’s behind this and assist her studio in resolving the issue.”
“Yes, Mr. Li.”
**
By the time Li Huaidong went downstairs again, Song Qingyu had already drunk more than half the bottle of wine.
She was clearly drunk. Her eyes shimmered like a galaxy of stars, reflecting an ethereal brilliance.
Li Huaidong recalled the last time she got drunk and immediately had a bad feeling about it.
Sure enough, as soon as he approached, Song Qingyu stood up and wrapped her arms around him.
A soft, fragrant embrace.
Strangely enough, despite how much she had drunk, there was no trace of alcohol on her—only that familiar summer citrus scent.
Li Huaidong tried to pry her slender arms from around his waist, but she held on tight.
“What are you trying to do?” He lowered his gaze to look at her.
Song Qingyu didn’t answer. Instead, her hands slid up to his neck. Rising onto her toes, she tilted her head up—and kissed him.