“Ye Shaohua, I never pegged you for this type.”
The hostile roommate—the one who rarely stayed in the dorm—glared at her with undisguised contempt. Her social circle certainly recognized Liu Yizhou.
“Everyone knows Yong Teng’s CEO is dating the Zhao family heiress. And here you are, playing the homewrecker?” She wrinkled her nose as if smelling something foul. “Honestly, it’s disgusting. What kind of desperate trash sleeps with an old man for money?”
This scene existed in the original plot—but it was arriving far earlier than expected.
Ye Shaohua glanced down at her still-open chat with Assistant Ji. Her fingers tapped out a reply:
[Apologies, but I currently have no interest in joining your company.]
When she looked up, the dorm was thick with tension. Her roommates’ eyes held a mix of judgment and confusion.
“Shaohua…” The eldest roommate bit her lip. “Is that post… true?”
Her voice wavered. She didn’t want to believe the rumors. But the facts were undeniable—Ye Shaohua had miraculously produced 200,000 yuan for her mother’s surgery overnight.
Yet—
After nearly four years of living together, she knew Ye Shaohua. The girl who pulled all-nighters for scholarships, who ate instant noodles for weeks to save money—this wasn’t someone who’d sell herself.
“Do you believe me?” Ye Shaohua countered instead of answering.
The roommate met those obsidian-dark eyes—unfathomable yet steady—and remembered the calloused hands from endless part-time jobs. If she were truly a gold-digger, why live like a beggar?
“But the post…” The eldest gestured helplessly at the screen, where vile comments multiplied by the second. Even as an outsider, the vitriol turned her stomach.
Ye Shaohua’s lips curved—a smile sharper than broken glass.
“Let them talk. Some people clearly mistake kindness for weakness.”
A former top-tier special agent who’d reached the pinnacle of the underworld—weak?
With just one of her hacker identities, she could erase every trace of that post before lunch.
…
Meanwhile, at the Hospital
Ye Mother chatted cheerfully with fellow patients about their children’s achievements. Her complexion had improved dramatically since the surgery.
Then—an unexpected visitor.
“Xiao Ye, you never mentioned an elder daughter?” The grandmother in the next bed blinked at the glamorous woman in the doorway.
Ye Mother’s face froze the moment she recognized her.
“Auntie Ye—may I call you that?” Zhao Yijun’s smile was saccharine as she studied the prematurely aged woman. “We need to talk. About your daughter.”
The usually gentle Ye Mother turned to ice. “Speak.”
Wheelchair-bound, she followed Zhao Yijun to the corridor, spine rigid.
“Ah, so you do remember me.” Zhao Yijun’s manicured fingers adjusted her designer bag. “But today isn’t about the past. It’s about your daughter’s… profession.”
She paused, savoring the moment before striking:
“Did you know she’s being kept by multiple men?”
Ye Mother’s hands clenched the wheelchair arms. “Lies! Shaohua would never—”
“Denial won’t change the news articles.” Zhao Yijun tossed glossy photos onto Ye Mother’s lap—grainy shots of Ye Shaohua entering luxury cars. “Where do you think the money for your surgery came from? Your precious daughter earned it—on her back.”
She leaned down, voice dropping to a venomous whisper:
“Like mother, like daughter, no? Tell your whore to stay away from my fiancé. Or else…”
The unspoken threat hung heavier than the hospital’s antiseptic air.
“With my connections?” Zhao Yijun straightened, smirking. “Making you two disappear from Beijing would be child’s play.”
With that, she strutted away, heels clicking like a death knell.
Ye Mother clutched her chest, gasping. A nurse rushed to stabilize her.
Minutes later—hands trembling—she dialed her daughter.
“Shaohua. Come to the hospital. Now.”
“Right now? I’m handling something impor—”
“I said NOW.” The line went dead.
Ye Shaohua arrived to find her mother dressed in street clothes, standing despite her frailty.
“Mom, you shouldn’t be—”
“KNEEL.”
Ye Mother’s red-rimmed eyes brimmed with tears. A hand raised—then faltered, unwilling to strike.
For the first time in her life, Ye Shaohua knelt.
Just as Assistant Ji Yunchen arrived, summoned by an anonymous tip.
“Shaohua… Why?” Ye Mother’s voice shattered. “I raised you under scorn and poverty so you could stand tall! You’re an S University student—my pride! How could you lie? How could you do this?!”
The damning photos fluttered to the floor like dead leaves.
