The new year had only just begun when the article dropped.
It wasn't on a gossip tabloid, not at first. It appeared on one of the country's leading financial lifestyle sites, framed in neat black-and-gold text:
"China's Most Admired Bachelor, Gu Ze Yan, No Longer Alone?"
The piece described him as the nation's untouchable figure—thirty-three, brilliant, wealth soaring into the billions, a man who for five years had appeared at galas, conferences, and ceremonies with no partner at his side.
And now, blurry photographs under New Year's fireworks in Guangjing. A tall man, unmistakably him. A slim woman beside him, profile faintly illuminated. Fingers laced.
After five years of solitude, has Gu Ze Yan finally allowed someone into his life?
The comment section exploded.
> [Netizen A]: "Finally! He's human after all."
[Netizen B]: "The girl's profile looks elegant… maybe a good match?"
[Netizen C]: "Tch, probably another gold digger. Billionaires don't get romance, they get leeches."
[Netizen D]: "Wait… doesn't she look like Lin Qing Yun? The fiancée from five years ago?"
[Netizen E]: "I heard she was dumped. Now that he's even richer, she's crawling back. Crazy ex-girlfriend vibes."
[Netizen F]: "Poor Mr. Gu. He deserves better."
The thread scrolled endlessly, alternating between curiosity, support, and malice.
---
Qing Yun found out not by accident but by her classmates.
She was on campus when two girls rushed toward her, waving their phones. "Jiejie! Have you seen this?"
One thrust her screen forward. The article glared back, her own faint profile circled in red by an overzealous forum poster.
For a moment, Qing Yun only looked at it. The words, the comments—gold digger, crazy ex—blurred together.
"Jiejie, are you okay?" her classmate asked cautiously.
Qing Yun blinked once, then returned the phone with a calm nod. "People will talk. It doesn't matter."
Her tone was steady, her face unruffled. Inside, she knew the words cut only if she gave them weight. She refused.
And she certainly would not tell Ze Yan. He never cared for such things, and she had no reason to add fuel to nonsense.
---
But words online had legs. They grew into shadows that followed her.
At first, it was subtle: a man lingering by a fruit stall, camera angled too carefully. Another loitering near Cloudpeak's entrance, pretending to check his phone. Footsteps that mirrored her own for just a little too long after class.
Her classmates noticed. "Jiejie… are we being followed?"
She smiled faintly. "Don't worry. Just walk as normal."
Outwardly, she was composed. Inwardly, she measured the weight of exposure pressing closer, like a tide she couldn't stop.
---
Far away in Guangjing's most expensive suite, Jiang Yi Rong flipped through a leather-bound folder.
Her assistant read aloud smoothly: "Lin Qing Yun. Former fiancée of Gu Ze Yan. Disappeared five years ago. Lived briefly with Xu Wei Ran. Family debts, tragic history. No public presence until now—"
Yi Rong leaned back in her chair, a glass of red wine balanced in her hand. The city lights shimmered behind her.
"So she is the ghost from five years ago," she murmured.
Her manicured nail tapped the page, stopping at a printout of netizen comments: crazy ex, gold digger, dumped fiancée crawling back.
Perfect. The world already wanted to believe Qing Yun was unworthy. All she had to do was nudge.
Yi Rong's lips curved, the smile of someone confident in her next move. "Let's see how long she can stand in the light."
---
Meanwhile, in Liangcheng, Gu Ze Yan returned from a day of meetings. The night was late, the office quiet.
Chen Rui entered, unusually hesitant, a stack of documents in his hand.
"Boss…" He paused, then placed a folded printout on the desk. "You should see this."
Ze Yan glanced down, scanning the headline. His brows furrowed slightly. He unfolded the page fully, revealing the blurry photograph—his own profile sharp against fireworks, and beside him, Qing Yun's faint silhouette.
His eyes dropped lower. The highlighted comments:
> "Gold digger."
"Crazy ex chasing him again."
"He dumped her, but she's back now that he's worth billions."
Silence stretched in the office.
Ze Yan's jaw tightened. His hand closed slowly around the paper until it crumpled in his fist.
"So this is what they've been saying about her."
His voice was quiet, even. But the air in the room shifted—like the moment before a storm breaks.