Unraveled

The Set-up

"…I don't know how she spread it, and I don't know why she just had to pick Mr. Wu and me to make up rumors about, but somehow I was inexplicably turned into his mistress. Because of this, Mr. Wu even wanted to persuade me to resign a while back. I told him I'd leave after I got my year-end bonus in two months. What I didn't do, I simply didn't do. That's when he calmed down—Sister Ping, you can just take this as gossip. I don't think Mr. Wu would cheat either. He cares about you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten so mad."

After finishing, Gu Quan let out a sigh. She had never realized until now that a person's tongue could be so sharp—rumors and instigation all depended on how well someone could spin words.

Liao Pingping listened, her gaze complicated, her face gloomy. She forced herself to sound indifferent:

"Sigh, young girls are always like that—too eager to stir up trouble. She's just upset that you didn't hire her for the ad. Rotten to the core."

Gu Quan only smiled and stayed silent.

Though Liao Pingping pretended not to care, inside her chest was already burning with rage.

Sometimes, when a woman overthinks, she'll connect all the scattered dots and convince herself she's solved the mystery, smug like some self-proclaimed Sherlock Holmes.

Why did Molly have to drag Wu and Gu Quan into this? Because she had a guilty conscience.

Why did Molly bring a backup guy with her today? Also because she had a guilty conscience.

Why was Wu playing board games with another girl in the gaming area, avoiding eye contact with Molly? Ah—that too must mean he was guilty.

And this afternoon, in the supermarket, hadn't Gu Quan's casual words been about young women like Molly?

Liao Pingping's expression twisted for an instant as she thought it all through, staring across at Molly. And at that very moment, Molly, in the middle of chatting with Yuan Ye, suddenly lifted her head and looked over. From Pingping's angle, it looked like Molly's gaze was dismissive, even provocative.

Molly's eyes shifted from Gu Quan to the woman beside her—Wu's wife, face dark, glaring at her with hostility.

Her heart skipped a beat. Molly quickly turned her head away, not daring to look again.

But to Pingping, that very action screamed guilty conscience. She immediately concluded: her husband's mistress must be Molly.

That kind of satisfaction—finally catching the other woman—mixed with the sting of betrayal, boiled over. Pingping's face froze cold. She spun around and stormed into the villa to find Wu.

The day's team-building event had turned into a domestic farce.

Gu Quan had overestimated Pingping. She had thought the housewife might endure it, at most wait until they got home to fight with Wu, leading eventually to Molly's dismissal. She hadn't expected Pingping to explode right then and there, throwing punches at the house party.

At first, the couple had quarreled inside a room. Wu, guilty, didn't want a scene—"We'll talk at home." But Pingping cried, yelled, and then started hitting him. Stifled and angry, Wu eventually struck back.

And once a man hits, the façade is torn. Pingping yanked open the door, shouting:

"Look, everyone! Your director hits women! Domestic violence! And he cheats, too!"

Colleagues rushed in, pretending to break things up but mostly just enjoying the spectacle. Even the people barbecuing outside came running.

Molly was the most eager to see drama. She tugged at Yuan Ye's sleeve, wanting him to come along. Yuan Ye, chewing on a skewer, just shook his head lightly.

"Not interested."

Molly didn't insist, but dashed inside anyway, like she was afraid to miss the show.

Gu Quan, planning to breathe fresh air a bit longer, saw it was just her and Yuan Ye left. She, too, went back into the villa.

The moment she stepped inside, she saw the crowd packed at the game area's doorway under the harsh white lights. She frowned—just as Pingping's voice shrieked at full volume:

"You b***h! You seduced my husband! How dare you show your face here!"

Before Molly could even process it, a slap landed across her cheek. An enraged woman knew no reason. Pingping's strike sent Molly crashing to the ground. Seeing her teary, pitiful face only fanned the flames—Pingping struck harder and harder.

Wu, humiliated, slipped away unnoticed. Once Pingping realized he was gone, she finally stopped, tossed out one last insult, straightened her hair, and stormed out.

Molly was left defending herself in tears, while the crowd murmured on.

Arms folded, Gu Quan stood on the fringe, unnoticed. Only Yuan Ye slipped beside her and clearly saw the smile tugging at her lips.

She bit down to suppress it, but her eyes glowed with a brilliance that couldn't be hidden.

Yuan Ye leaned close, murmuring:

"Got what you wanted. Feels good, huh?"

Gu Quan shot him a look, then smirked after a beat.

"You came today just to watch this unfold, didn't you?"

Quick on the uptake. Yuan Ye grinned lazily, nodding.

"Yeah. She played me. I've had enough of her."

Too smug, too fake—acting innocent while stringing him along as backup. Yuan Ye had despised Molly for a while.

No matter how she tried to explain, Molly couldn't shake off the label of mistress. She collapsed onto the sofa, crying endlessly. Through her blurred tears, she spotted Yuan Ye and whimpered for him.

He approached indifferently, looked her over, and said coldly:

"Call a ride. Go back to the dorm. Stop disgracing yourself here."

Molly froze.

"Dis… disgrace? You think I'm disgracing myself? You think I really am the mistress?"

He tossed a tissue box onto her lap, turned, and walked out.

Never had Molly been treated with such disdain. Seeing him leave without a backward glance, her tears fell even harder. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gu Quan in her white coat, smiling faintly as she cracked open crawfish shells at the dining table. The sight made Molly's blood boil.

She shot up, shouting at Gu Quan:

"Happy now? My reputation's ruined!"

"What's that got to do with me?" Gu Quan didn't even lift her head.

Molly hurled the tissue box to the ground, her tear-streaked face twisted.

"You've always targeted me! Who else could it be but you!"

Gu Quan chuckled softly.

"And why would I target you?"

Why? Because the rumors about Gu Quan had spread from her own lips, of course.

But Molly wasn't foolish enough to say it outright. She glared at Gu Quan, then grabbed her phone to call a car and fled.

Once the eyesore was gone, Gu Quan's mood lifted even more.

By ten, the villa had only a handful of colleagues left, sitting in twos and threes, drinking. Some had gone home rather than stay overnight. Others decided to eat, drink, and sleep over.

Gu Quan planned the same.

She had come early, worked all day, barely eaten. Now, with the "little vixen" problem solved, she enjoyed spicy crawfish and snails, washing it down with warm milk tea. Blissful.

Better to linger here than risk being hassled by Yuan Ye at home.

The third floor of the villa was for resting, with seven or eight bedrooms. After eating, Gu Quan picked an empty one to wash up. But as soon as she pushed open the door, a shadow darted from the corner, shoving her inside and locking it.

She was thrown onto the bed.

Startled, she looked up—and froze in fury. It was Yuan Ye.

She didn't know how soundproof the place was, but after deciding to cut ties, she wanted nothing more to do with him. She hissed at him to leave.

But Yuan Ye only chuckled low, his hot breath spilling across her face—raw, masculine, intoxicating.

She wore a tight black knit dress tonight. His hand slipped beneath, bold and unrestrained.

Gu Quan's brows knotted as she shoved him hard.

"Our relationship is over."

Yuan Ye laughed softly. He paused, leaned down, and whispered hoarsely in her ear:

"Really over? Then what if those nude photos of you got leaked, and you couldn't trace it back to me?"