The dirty deed of Li Hao's father – the calculated spreading of Li Hao's date pictures with Yuna – had ignited like a wildfire in a dry forest, scorching every corner of the media landscape. Li Hao was no longer just a name; he was a phenomenon, plastered across every screen and page.
On television, news anchors delivered the scoop with breathless urgency, their voices echoing through living rooms and cafes.
"Breaking news!"
a perfectly coiffed anchor announced, a glossy image of a smiling Li Hao and Yuna superimposed beside her.
"Li Hao, the enigmatic CEO of Li Defense Research and Development Private Limited, is confirmed to be dating Yuna, the stunning heiress and daughter of Dongfang Defense Technology's formidable chairman. This strategic alliance hints at a potential merger of industrial titans!"
Another channel speculated on wedding bells, while a financial expert analyzed the potential market impact of such a powerful union.
Newspapers screamed headlines in bold, black ink:
"POWER COUPLE: LI DEFENSE & DONGFANG HEIRESS JOIN FORCES!" and "LOVE AND INDUSTRY: CEO LI HAO'S ROMANCE ROCKS THE DEFENSE WORLD."
Glossy candid shots – the very ones curated by Li Hao's father – accompanied the articles, sharing a laugh over dinner.
And then there was the internet, a veritable tinderbox of reactions. Social media platforms exploded with trending topics. On Weibo and Instagram, girls were openly grieving, their heartbreak a shared digital lament:
*Nooooo, my CEO Li Hao is taken! My heart is shattered into a million pieces. My Monday is ruined forever!*
*Another one bites the dust. Why do all the good ones get snatched up? I thought I had a chance, even if it was just in my dreams. Farewell, my future husband CEO Li!*
*Is this real life? He was literally my phone wallpaper. I'm going to cry into my pillow all night.*
*The dream is over. Time to delete all my fantasy fanfics. Goodbye, perfect man.*
Conversely, a wave of enthusiastic praise for the new "power couple" drowned out some of the despair:
*Power couple alert! CEO Li Hao and Yuna, a match made in heaven. The ultimate business alliance and a gorgeous pair!*
*Finally, some good news. They look so perfect together, like something out of a drama! Their combined net worth must be astronomical.*
*Future of the defense industry right here. Their kids will probably invent time travel and colonize Mars. So elegant, so powerful. I stan this couple!*
*This is what real influence looks like. Forget celebrity gossip, this is the news that matters. Congratulations to the happy couple!*
_________
The fire of the forest also reached Yu Han.
The low hum of the projector and Professor Chen's droning voice usually served as a reliable lullaby for the backbenchers, but today, an unusual undercurrent of whispers rippled through the classroom.
Yu Han, slumped in his usual spot, found it irritating. He was attempting to dissect the complexities of ancient economic systems, a task made infinitely harder by the incessant, almost conspiratorial murmuring that had punctuated the lecture since it began.
Two girls a row ahead of him huddled together, their heads almost touching. A sudden, sharp giggle escaped one of them, making Yu Han wince.
"Seriously? What's so funny in the middle of a boring lecture? "
He rolled his eyes, about to dismiss them as typical giggling college girls, when one of them discreetly pulled out her phone, shielding the screen with her hand as she showed something to her friend. Another round of hushed squeals and gasps followed.
Curiosity, a rare intruder in Yu Han's usually indifferent academic life, pricked him. He leaned forward almost imperceptibly, his eyes narrowing like a microscope on 10x magnification, focusing on the sliver of screen visible between their hands. It was an Instagram post.
"Just a post," he thought, sighing internally at the triviality of it all. He was about to retreat into his apathy when a name, emblazoned in bold, caught his eye.
"Wait a minute." The words were an internal gasp, but the force of them jolted his body.
Before he could even register what he was doing, Yu Han shot up from his seat, snatching the phone from the surprised girl's grasp with a speed born of pure, unadulterated shock. His eyes devoured the headline, blurring past the comments and likes:
*BREAKING NEWS: CEO LI HAO OF LI DEFENCE R&D SPOTTED DATING YUNA, DAUGHTER OF DONGFANG DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY CHAIRMAN! LUXURY RESTAURANT DATE CONFIRMED!*
The world tilted. Yu Han felt a lurch in his stomach so profound it threatened to spill whatever little he'd eaten for breakfast. His sudden, violent movement had caught everyone's attention.
Professor Chen's voice boomed, "Yu Han! What on earth do you think you're doing? Sit down, immediately!"
Yang Zi and Jiang Shao, his two closest friends, who were sitting beside him, reacted instantly. Jiang Shao grabbed his arm, while Yang Zi pushed him firmly back into his seat. The girl, regaining her composure, snatched her phone back, giving Yu Han a bewildered, slightly furious glare.
But Yu Han was no longer in the classroom. He was nowhere. The ground beneath him felt like quicksand, dissolving into an abyss. He went deaf to Professor Chen's continued admonishments, mute to his friends' worried whispers. All he could hear was the frantic pounding of his own heart, echoing the words screaming in his mind:
Li Hao… is dating someone? Li Hao… but he told me… he told me he liked me… He said… he said he cared… Then why? Why is he dating someone else? How could you do this to me, Li Hao?
Was it all a lie? Every single word? Just a game to him? Am I just a naive fool? A temporary distraction? How could he betray me like this?
Yang Zi and Jiang Shao were shaking him vigorously now, their faces etched with concern.
"Yu Han! Hey! What's wrong with you?"
Yang Zi demanded, but his words were garbled static to Yu Han's ears. He stared blankly ahead, a ghost trapped in the shell of his own body. He had to get out. He couldn't breathe.
He scrambled to his feet again, ignoring the renewed shouts from the front of the class.
"I—I need to use the toilet," he mumbled, the excuse tasting like ash in his mouth. He strode out of the classroom, his legs moving on autopilot, propelled by a desperate need for air.
"Control yourself, Yu Han. You already knew this time would come, didn't you? You knew he was too good to be true, too perfect, too… unattainable. But why Li Hao? Why you, of all people? You fucking bastard, you played with my feelings! You strung me along, gave me hope, only to shatter it publicly like this! Was I just a damned toy for you to play with, Li Hao, before you went back to your perfect, powerful world?"
He fumbled in his pocket, pulling out his phone with trembling hands. His fingers flew across the screen, typing out "Li Hao" into the search bar.
The results flooded in – articles, videos, social media posts, all about Li Hao and Yuna. He clicked on one of the top articles, his eyes immediately drawn to a large, high-resolution photograph. It was a candid shot, taken through a window, perhaps.
Li Hao was leaning across a table,his gaze undeniably fixed on… Yuna's chest.
A guttural curse ripped from Yu Han's throat. "Fuck you, Li Hao! You have the audacity to look at other women's breasts like that, right after… right after everything you said to me? Right after you kissed me? God, I forgot who the fuck you are, didn't I? A rich, arrogant playboy who probably collects hearts just to break them."
His feelings were a maelstrom, shifting from profound sadness to searing rage in an instant. One moment, he wanted to curl into a ball and weep; the next, he wanted to find Li Hao and punch him. He hated him.
He absolutely hated him. His hand instinctively reached into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette. He lit it with a trembling hand, inhaling a long, deep drag, letting the nicotine burn his lungs, hoping it would somehow cauterize the gaping wound in his chest.
"Right, Yu Han. You don't have to care about him. He just used you. Nothing else. You were just a fling, a distraction. I should forget about him. Erase him from my mind. He's not worth it."
Meanwhile, Yang Zi and Jiang Shao, totally bewildered by Yu Han's bizarre display, had immediately followed him out of the classroom. Yang Zi spotted a familiar figure standing by the railing, alone, a plume of smoke rising from his lips.
"Hey, you fucking bastard!" Yang Zi yelled, his voice carrying through the quiet hallway. He stomped over, Jiang Shao trailing close behind.
"What's wrong with you? Why did you act like that in class? And stop smoking! This is college! You want to get suspended, huh!?" Yang Zi snatched the cigarette from Yu Han's fingers and flung it to the ground, grinding it under his heel.
Yu Han looked at their worried, confused faces. His mind raced.
"I can't tell them about Li Hao. Especially not Yang Zi. He'd probably march straight to Li Defence R&D and try to kill him."
He forced a smile, a brittle, unconvincing mask. "It's nothing, guys. Just… I was just craving it, you know? Stress. Is the class over yet?"
Yang Zi scoffed, crossing his arms.
"Nothing, huh? You acted like you just saw your girlfriend elope with someone else!"
"My girlfriend… Ah, it's more like boyfriend,"
Yu Han thought bitterly, the forced smile faltering for a split second.
"Ah, it's really nothing, Yang Zi. Come on, let's go back inside before Professor Chen decides to personally escort us to the dean's office."
He grabbed Yang Zi's shoulder, then Jiang Shao's, turning them around and practically dragging them back towards the classroom, his heart still heavy with an unbearable ache.
The cigarette had done nothing to lessen the stress; it had only dulled the edges of the blade that continued to twist in his gut.