Chapter 44: The White Moonlight’s Substitute (10)

In the library, Yao Rong spent the entire morning reading through three books.

She returned them to their original positions and checked her wristwatch.

At this time, Yao Shiyun should have finished her class.

Just as she was thinking about Yao Shiyun, her phone buzzed with a message.

Xiao Yun: 「Mom, I’m heading back to the dorm to grab something.」

Xiao Yun: 「You can stay in the library and enjoy the air conditioning. I’ll text you when I’m at the entrance.」

Yao Rong replied: 「I’ll come to the dorm to find you.」

Campus cafeterias are usually built near dormitories.

Going to the dorm to find Yao Shiyun would save her an extra trip.

Just as she was about to leave the reading room, another message from Yao Shiyun popped up.

Xiao Yun:「 No need, no need! I’ll be quick.」

Yao Rong was a bit surprised:「Are we heading to the cafeteria for lunch later?」

[Xiao Yun:「 Yeah.」

Yao Rong paused for a moment, thought briefly, and replied, 「Alright, message me when you arrive.」

After sending the message, she didn’t stay in the reading room but instead headed down to the library’s first-floor lobby.

There was a computer station where visitors could look up information.

Yao Rong powered on an unused computer and searched the university’s internal forum.

Finding nothing relevant, she switched to searching A University forum.

On the forum’s homepage, she saw a highly popular post titled:

「Exposing that Bai Fumei from the Fashion Design Department Who Plays with People’s Feeling」

*

Back in the dorm, Yao Shiyun began packing.

There wasn’t much—just two jackets belonging to Lu Xinghua and two packages she had picked up for him.

After placing them into a shopping bag, she waved at her roommate. “I’m heading out.”

The moment she stepped out of the dorm, she saw Lu Xinghua.

He was wearing a light gray trench coat, hands in his pockets, standing alone under a streetlight. He was well over 1.8 meters tall, an imposing figure.

Yao Shiyun walked toward him.

“You’re here, Xiao Yun.” Lu Xinghua greeted her.

Yao Shiyun frowned slightly.

Noticing her displeasure, Lu Xinghua smiled apologetically, his eyes dimming. “Sorry, force of habit. Just give me the stuff—I’ll take it and leave. I won’t bother you again.”

It was peak hour for students returning to their dorms. Many glanced their way, some outright staring.

The scrutiny made Yao Shiyun uncomfortable. She handed the bag to him directly. “Returning what belongs to you.”

“Alright.” Lu Xinghua accepted it and, out of the blue, brought up the online post. “I checked the post after you told me about it. I think there may be a misunderstanding. How about this—when I get back, I’ll clarify things on the forum. Our relationship isn’t something outsiders should judge.”

He spoke with such sincerity that Yao Shiyun began to doubt her own judgment.

Did he truly not know anything?

To be honest, she hoped he didn’t.

She didn’t want to believe that the only person she had ever loved could be as despicable as she had thought.

“Let’s leave it at that,” Yao Shiyun forced herself to remain calm. “There’s nothing left to discuss between us.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

She was afraid that if she lingered even a second longer, she wouldn’t be able to hide her vulnerability.

Lu Xinghua was different from the Yun family.

She had never expected anything from the Yun family. But when she agreed to be with Lu Xinghua, she had sincerely envisioned a future together.

She had liked him so earnestly—so much so that she couldn’t even bring herself to speak harshly to him now.

She walked faster and faster until she was almost running.

Just as she passed a fork in the road, a group of students suddenly appeared from the opposite direction.

Unable to avoid them in time, Yao Shiyun collided with a girl holding a stack of books. The books tumbled to the ground.

“Sorry!” Yao Shiyun squatted down, hastily gathering them.

“It’s okay.” The girl responded.

When Yao Shiyun handed the books back, she casually glanced at the girl—

Both of them froze.

“Huh,” the girl’s companion also noticed the resemblance and exclaimed in surprise.

“I have to go. Bye.” Yao Shiyun found it oddly coincidental—she had just run into someone who bore a striking resemblance to her.

As she walked away, she overheard their conversation:

“Bo Shan, you and that girl look so alike.”

“Yeah, same hairstyle, same vibe. If I weren’t paying close attention, I’d have mistaken you for her.”

At the library entrance, Yao Shiyun took a deep breath and messaged Yao Rong.

Shortly after, Yao Rong emerged.

“Mom.” Yao Shiyun walked up and held her arm. “Did you wait long?”

“Not long.” Yao Rong grasped her hand in return. “Why are your hands so cold?”

“Maybe I was walking too fast.” As they left the library, Yao Shiyun changed the subject. “Mom, on my way here, I ran into a girl who looks a lot like me.”

Yao Rong was momentarily stunned, suppressing the flicker of emotion in her eyes. “How similar?”

“Our facial features aren’t exactly the same, but we both have long hair with bangs and a similar aura. I was startled when I looked up.”

“Did you catch her name?”

“I heard her friends call her Bo Shan.”

Bo.

Then there was no mistake.

Yao Rong frowned slightly. She had expected Bo Shan to return to A University in another week, not this soon. And she hadn’t expected her to run into Yao Shiyun so quickly.

This disrupted her plans somewhat.

But Bo Shan could wait—right now, the priority was dealing with that post.

After lunch, Yao Rong and Yao Shiyun returned to the library’s computer area.

“Xiao Yun, check if the library has any books on business management,” Yao Rong whispered.

Seeing Yao Shiyun engrossed in searching for books, Yao Rong walked to another computer and powered it on.

She reopened the forum thread.

In just an hour, the post—which had started to lose traction—had gained another dozen pages of comments.

This only happens when the person involved responds.

Yao Shiyun had been with her the entire time, meaning it had to be Lu Xinghua.

Yao Rong skipped to page 27—the last page she had seen earlier.

She found a reply from an ID named “FallingStarOnThinSnow”.

「I didn’t expect everyone to be so interested in my love life. It’s quite embarrassing..

Being together is a two-person decision. Breaking up isn’t just one person’s fault.

I once loved a cloud, but a cloud is like the wind slipping through fingers—just catching a moment is already a blessing.

I only wish her a bright future and to meet someone who truly understands her. As for me, I’ll move on with my life. Please, let’s not dwell on this anymore. Thank you.」

Many onlookers had replied to this.

A flood of comments followed:

「Wow, our former student council president is so magnanimous. I support you, senior!」

「I believe missing out on you is someone’s loss /shrug.」

「Stop defending her. She doesn’t deserve it.」

「Tsk, is this the quality of a Bai Fumei? Just because her family has some money, she can play with and hurt others’ feelings?

「Speaking of which, is she really that rich? How wealthy are we talking about?」

「Probably just moderately well-off. Who knows if those designer brands she wears are even real」

Yao Rong stopped scrolling.

She looked up at Yao Shiyun across from her and lightly tapped the keyboard a few times.

Yao Shiyun was busy noting down useful book titles while searching. Just as she was about to close the current page, her mouse accidentally clicked something, causing the page to jump directly to page 27 of the post.

Yao Shiyun was stunned. Ignoring why the page had jumped, her eyes were completely fixed on the reply from “FallingStarOnThinSnow.”

What did he mean by “breaking up isn’t just one person’s fault”?

What did he mean by “catching a moment is already a blessing?

This was his so-called clarification? Did he think she was so foolish that she couldn’t tell the difference between an explanation and an excuse? He seemed to be explaining, but in reality, he was subtly implying over and over that the breakup was her fault.

Yao Shiyun mechanically scrolled down with her mouse.

「One of the parties involved has responded. What about the other? Or is she too guilty to reply?」

Her fingertip paused slightly on the mouse.

By staying silent, by not responding or explaining, she was letting herself be misunderstood.

With slightly trembling hands, Yao Shiyun placed them on the keyboard and tried to type a response.

But after editing it several times, she still felt that her words lacked conviction.

Half in resignation, half in hope that someone might understand, she sent out her final draft.

「I am one of the people involved.

First, yes, I initiated the breakup—but only because he kept ignoring my messages, using silent treatment to force me into ending things.

Second, a lot has happened in my family recently. The day we broke up, my closest family member was rushed to the hospital for emergency care (both my roommates and my advisor can confirm this). Saying I deliberately avoided him these past few days is utterly baseless.」

After a moment, Yao Shiyun refreshed the thread.

There were already more than a dozen replies under her comment.

But every single one was mocking or attacking her.

「Oh, look who finally decided to show up.」

「Everyone knows he chased you for a whole year before you finally said yes. He just got you, so how could he possibly lose interest so quickly? If you’re going to make excuses, at least make them believable.」

「So, what you’re saying is… you broke up with him because you were in a bad mood over your family issues? I think I just cracked the case.」

「It’s not that he was giving you the silent treatment. He was just too busy. He wasn’t hovering around you like before, so the little princess felt neglected, huh?」

「Exactly! Everyone knows Senior Lu has been swamped with graduation stuff and representing our department in the National College Fashion Design Competition. It’s perfectly normal that he couldn’t reply immediately.」

「If you claim he was giving you the silent treatment, then show the screenshots. Proof speaks louder than words.」

The more Yao Shiyun read, the heavier her heart felt.

Just as she thought no one would speak up for her, a user named “HasTheKapokBloomedYet?” posted a reply:

「How does OP even know when she replied to the senior or her advisor? Are we just throwing accusations without evidence now? Show us the proof first.」

Yao Shiyun blinked.

She hadn’t felt like crying while reading all the earlier replies. But now, seeing this short message, a wave of grievance suddenly surged up inside her.

「Alright, I was the one who asked her to provide screenshots earlier. But in the spirit of fairness, OP should provide proof for their claims too.」

「Came here for the drama, but this is ridiculous. So people just spent pages tearing into this girl without a single screenshot?」

「I swear, if neither of them provides proof, I’m about to start calling people out.」

This simple, understated comment carried more weight than her lengthy, emotional explanation.

Yao Shiyun sniffled and turned away.

She walked over to Yao Rong.

On Yao Rong’s computer screen was an academic paper. Yao Shiyun stared at it for a while before suddenly reaching out and gently wrapping her arms around Yao Rong’s arm.

Just like every time she’d been wronged before, she rested her head against Yao Rong’s shoulder.

The only difference was that in the past, she never complained.

But now, in a slightly nasal voice, she murmured, “Mom, I met a scumbag. He played with my feelings and now he’s blaming everything on me.”

Yao Rong reached out and tapped her forehead. “Not hiding it from me anymore?”

A faint flush spread across Yao Shiyun’s face. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

That sudden post, that account named “HasTheKapokBloomedYet?”…

She knew..

It was all her mother’s doing.

In her own silent yet gentle way, her mother was telling her: I know everything, and I will always stand by your side.

“Let’s go sit in a café for a bit,” Yao Rong said softly.

After shutting down the computer, she and Yao Shiyun left the library and found a quiet corner in a nearby café.

Yao Rong ordered a hot hazelnut latte for herself and got Yao Shiyun a glass of milk and a grape jar cake.

As she watched her daughter quietly eating her dessert with her head lowered, Yao Rong took a sip of her latte and finally spoke.

“Xiao Yun, I hope that in the future, whenever something upsets you deeply, you’ll be willing to share it with me. I’m not just your mother—I can also be your friend.”

“Whether it’s relationship troubles, life difficulties, or career setbacks, you can always talk to me.”

“I can comfort you, guide you, stand by you… or simply listen.”

“You don’t have to worry that confiding in me will burden me. You don’t have to fear that I’ll misunderstand you because of what you say. And most importantly, you don’t have to doubt whether I’ll understand you.”

To Yao Rong, what truly troubled her wasn’t hearing Yao Shiyun’s troubles.

It was knowing that her daughter had chosen to hide them.