Chapter 46: The White Moonlight’s Substitute (12)

After contacting Lawyer Tao, Yao Shiyun tucked her phone into the drawer and focused on the lecture.

It wasn’t until Zhou Miaomiao sneaked a peek at the forum during class that the poster from the other forum had responded.

“Tsk~” Zhou Miaomiao rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, “That poster claims they just happened to run into Lu Xinghua at a bar and overheard this gossip by chance, which is why they posted it. What a pathetic excuse.”

Yao Shiyun smiled—it did sound rather unconvincing.

Zhou Miaomiao scanned the replies and was utterly speechless. “Seriously? People are actually buying this nonsense…”

Just as the class bell rang, Yao Shiyun closed her book and took out her phone to check the replies.

As Zhou Miaomiao had said, quite a few people had taken the poster’s side.

「The girl already admitted she was the one who initiated the breakup. I don’t think she can clear her name on this point.」

Fortunately, most commenters remained rational.

「The guy clearly pursued her relentlessly until she gave in. What’s so strange about breaking up after realizing they’re incompatible?」

「Exactly. The Qing Dynasty fell ages ago—women have rights now.」

Many comments also mocked the poster for failing to provide any evidence.

Perhaps provoked by the ridicule, the poster fired back:「Fine, I don’t have screenshots. But if she’s claiming he gave her the cold shoulder, where’s her proof? Show us some real evidence! And while you’re at it, explain why he would suddenly start ignoring her!」

Yao Shiyun: “…”

She wanted to know the reason just as much as they did.

After refreshing the thread and noticing public opinion shifting in the poster’s favor, Yao Shiyun contemplated for a moment, then steeled herself to confront them directly.

She had done nothing wrong—she wouldn’t accept these baseless accusations.

Since they demanded proof, she’d give them exactly that. Yao Shiyun carefully compiled screenshots of her chat history with Lu Xinghua from the week before their breakup and posted them:

「Here’s your evidence. Since there are many messages, I’ve only included one week’s worth. If that’s not enough for you, I can go back further.」

「As for why he gave me the cold shoulder? Sorry, but I’d like to know that even more than you do.」

Having already mentally classified the poster as Lu Xinghua’s accomplice, she couldn’t resist adding a final jab:「If possible, perhaps you could “coincidentally” run into Lu Xinghua again and help me ask him for an explanation.」

While the poster’s reaction remained unknown, the eager spectators following the drama exploded with comments:

「Damn, she didn’t hesitate at all! Asked for screenshots? She delivered instantly!」

「After reading those messages, I’m so angry I want to drag my boyfriend out of bed and teach him a lesson!」

「She sent over a dozen messages daily. His only reply at 10 PM: “Just finished work. Going to sleep.” The audacity!」

「The contrast is insane—remember how dramatically he pursued her? And now this is all we get? Blink twice if you’ve been possessed, dude.」

「Unless he admits to being possessed, I won’t accept any excuse. And if he does, he can take his pick: A City Psychiatric Hospital or A City Research Institute!」

*

Lu Xinghua, who had been closely monitoring the thread, nearly blacked out when he saw Ling Bai’s provocative response.

Even the most patient person would snap at those words.

And sure enough, Yao Shiyun hadn’t held back.

She had posted the screenshots.

Staring at the damning evidence, Lu Xinghua felt like coughing up blood.

With trembling hands, he clung to his last shred of hope and refreshed the page.

The new flood of replies crushed what little hope he had left.

At this point, he felt like dying.

“Ling Bai!” Lu Xinghua’s eyes blazed with rage.

Ling Bai was also reading the thread.

Seeing those screenshots, his mind went completely blank.

This… this wasn’t quite what he had expected.

Just looking at the messages, even he had to admit—his best friend had definitely been giving Yao Shiyun the cold shoulder…

As classmates, roommates, and best friends, Ling Bai knew perfectly well that while Lu Xinghua had been busy with graduation and competitions, he definitely hadn’t been too busy to reply to messages.

While Ling Bai was still processing everything, he heard Lu Xinghua call his name.

Instinctively, he turned—and flinched at Lu Xinghua’s ferocious expression.

“Xing… Xinghua…”

Regaining some composure, Lu Xinghua pressed his hand to his forehead. “Sorry. I lost control for a moment.”

“O-okay…”

Ling Bai swallowed nervously.

He turned back, anxiously continuing to scroll through the post.

However, as he scrolled, Ling Bai couldn’t help but look at the chat screenshots again.

*

There were two classes that afternoon, and Yao Shiyun was walking with Zhou Miaomiao to their second class.

Zhou Miaomiao scrolled through the screenshots while cursing. “Ugh, what a scumbag!”

“Never thought Lu Xinghua was such a two-faced dog. I seriously misjudged him!”

“Playing the victim, twisting the truth, absolutely shameless—ugh!”

She was so caught up in her tirade that she wasn’t watching where she was going.

Yao Shiyun laughed and quickly pulled her aside before she could collide with other students. “Hey, watch where you’re going.”

Zhou Miaomiao planted her hands on her hips and praised Yao Shiyun. “You were absolutely brilliant today!”

Yao Shiyun replied lightly, “They asked for evidence, so I simply delivered.”

“Exactly! When dealing with scumbags, you have to hit them where it hurts!” Zhou Miaomiao clapped in approval. “Shiyun, keep this energy up! You’re completely different today—absolutely badass!”

Yao Shiyun paused for a moment, then smiled, her eyes curving with genuine pleasure.

Badass?

No one had ever described her that way before.

But she had to admit—she really liked it.

“Miaomiao, which version of me do you prefer? Today’s or before?” Yao Shiyun tilted her head and asked Zhou Miaomiao.

“Hmm…” Zhou Miaomiao considered for a moment. “Both are good, really. It doesn’t matter how you are day-to-day, but when facing problems, this version of you is definitely better.”

The previous Yao Shiyun wasn’t bad at all.

Just too soft and indecisive when encountering issues.

Yao Shiyun nodded. “You’re right. I feel the same way.”

As they chatted, they reached their classroom.

Finding an empty seat, Yao Shiyun bit her lip and, with a hint of anticipation, forwarded the thread to Yao Rong.

—Would Mom be proud of how I handled this?

*

Meanwhile, after parting with Yao Shiyun, Yao Rong returned to the library’s computer corner and chose a secluded spot to start her research.

She first looked up Lu Xinghua’s basic information.

Upon learning that Lu Xinghua had graduated from D City No. 2 High School, Yao Rong went directly to that school’s forum to search for information about Lu Xinghua and Bo Shan.

In high school, the two had been prominent figures—one as the student council president and the other as the vice-secretary of the school’s Youth League Committee—so there were quite a few posts about them.

Yao Rong opened and read through the posts chronologically.

She wanted to understand what kind of person this “white moonlight” was and why she had broken up with Lu Xinghua back then.

After reading through more than twenty posts, Yao Rong not only learned about many of Bo Shan’s activities in high school but also unexpectedly discovered Lu Xinghua’s high school Weibo account name.

Since the remaining posts held little value, Yao Rong decided to try searching for this Weibo account.

Surprisingly, she found it.

The account had clearly been dormant for a long time, but a month and a half ago, it suddenly “rose from the dead” with a new post: 「Chen Zeping told me you’re back in the country, as an exchange student at A University. You’re already a senior, so there’s no need to come back as an exchange student. So… did you come back for me?」

After reading the post, Yao Rong’s eyebrows arched slightly as she immediately took a screenshot.

The situation was crystal clear now.

This Chen Zeping must be a mutual friend of Lu Xinghua and Bo Shan.

Normally, students participated in exchange programs during their sophomore or junior years. For Bo Shan to come as an exchange student with less than a year until graduation was clearly unusual.

And coincidentally, Lu Xinghua was also at A University, and the two had a history from high school…

For whatever reason, when Chen Zeping learned that Bo Shan was coming to A University as an exchange student, he had informed Lu Xinghua.

Then when Lu Xinghua saw that his “white moonlight” was returning to China, possibly for him, he immediately started looking for ways to dump Yao Shiyun to regain his freedom.

Regarding this..

Yao Rong: “…”

Though she didn’t know why Bo Shan had suddenly returned to China, it certainly didn’t seem like she had come back for Lu Xinghua.

Self-delusion was truly a disease.

Just then, Yao Rong’s phone screen lit up.

Closing the computer, Yao Rong opened her phone and clicked on the forum link Yao Shiyun had sent.

After seeing Yao Shiyun’s screenshots and comments, Yao Rong smiled, exited the post, and carefully composed a message to send to her daughter:

「Xiao Yun, I only taught you how to take the first step. Now you’ve taken the second step on your own. With these two hardest steps behind you, the path ahead will become increasingly smooth.」

After sending the message, Yao Rong left the library.

By her calculations, the driver should be arriving at A University’s east gate soon, so she planned to meet him there.

As she approached the east gate, Yao Rong passed by the “Alumni House” building.

The university’s “Alumni House” typically served as a venue for returning alumni to gather and exchange ideas.

Exchange student receptions and meetings were usually held here as well.

So when passing the “Alumni House,” Yao Rong instinctively paused and glanced inside.

Sure enough, she spotted a group of students dressed in British style.

The students had formed a semicircle, apparently watching some kind of confrontation.

At the center were two young girls and a boy.

One girl had golden curls and wore a haughty expression.

The other had waist-length hair and wore a black and white plaid dress with black leather shoes. Since she was facing away from Yao Rong, her face wasn’t visible.

The boy seemed to want to approach the long-haired girl, but just as he took a step forward, the blonde girl grabbed his arm firmly.

The blonde girl shouted at the long-haired girl: “Have you no shame? Don’t think you can seduce someone else’s fiancé just because you have a pretty face. You owe our family such a huge debt—without us, would you be where you are today?”

“Are you crazy?” The long-haired girl finally lost her temper and snapped, “Please control your fiancé, will you? I’ve already fled all the way from England to A University—what more do you want!”

“Su Xining, stop making a scene,” some onlookers stepped forward to intervene.

“How am I making a scene?!” The blonde girl, Su Xining, retorted. “What do you mean ‘fled’ from England to A University? You clearly knew Brother Zhou would be transferred back to A City headquarters this year, so you rushed here without even finishing your degree.”

The long-haired girl gritted her teeth. “I told you I didn’t know. Believe it or not!”

The boy being held back said wearily, “Enough. She really didn’t know I was coming back to A City.”

Su Xining let out a cold laugh. “See? You’re still defending her.”

“…Can you stop being so unreasonable?” Perhaps finally reaching his limit, the boy violently shook off Su Xining’s hand.

A girl’s strength is no match for a boy’s, and with the boy deliberately shaking her off, Su Xining, wearing high heels, lost her balance. If she hadn’t barely managed to grab a nearby pillar, she would have fallen straight to the ground.

She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed. When she opened them again, she raised her hand to slap the long-haired girl.

Su Xining moved too fast; the long-haired girl only noticed her action when Su Xining was already upon her.

This slap seemed impossible to avoid. All the long-haired girl could do at the last moment was close her eyes.

But—

Eh?

After a few seconds without feeling any pain, the long-haired girl slowly opened her eyes.

Someone had appeared beside her without her noticing.

That person had raised their hand, catching Su Xining’s wrist at the last moment, preventing the slap from landing.

“I think in this situation, slapping the man would have been more appropriate than slapping another woman,” a calm, gentle voice, like a breeze, spread through the crowd. “Of course, hitting someone won’t solve the problem—it’ll only escalate the conflict.”

After speaking, Yao Rong released Su Xining’s wrist.

However, as she let go, she subtly pressed Su Xining’s acupuncture point.

Su Xining suddenly felt her wrist go numb, and then her entire right hand lost its strength. Forget about slapping someone—she probably couldn’t even hold a pen.

“My… my hand…”

“It will recover in about ten minutes,” Yao Rong kindly informed her.

Su Xining glared at Yao Rong, then shot a fierce look at the long-haired girl before stomping her foot and declaring, “Bo Shan, this isn’t over!”

The boy looked at Bo Shan, then at the departing Su Xining, hesitated for a moment, said “sorry” to Bo Shan, and hurriedly chased after Su Xining.

With the crisis resolved, Bo Shan didn’t even glance at the departing pair. Instead, she turned to thank Yao Rong: “Thank you, teacher.”

Yao Rong replied, “I’m not a teacher at this school, just happened to be passing by.”

In truth, from the beginning, Yao Rong had suspected that the long-haired girl might be Bo Shan.

But regardless of who she was, Yao Rong would have stepped in to help in that situation.

“Thank you for earlier,” Bo Shan said, dropping the formal address.