Chapter 1The Relationship Expert Insisted on Testing My Boyfriend

Just after I posted travel photos with my boyfriend on social media, a "relationship expert" messaged me.

“Sweetie, your boyfriend doesn’t look like a quiet type. Send me his WhatsApp; I’ll give you a free relationship assessment, how about it?”

“Are professional homewreckers this brazen these days?”

After I refused, she immediately posted our private messages online, crying victim. A flood of netizens messaged me, hurling insults. I softened, publicly apologized to her, and stated I just wanted a peaceful life. But she and the netizens decided I was guilty and insisted on helping with the "assessment."

Days later, the expert triumphantly posted a screenshot of her successfully adding my boyfriend on WhatsApp, captioning it: “Easily handled; your boyfriend isn’t well-behaved~”

But looking at her, I felt only pity.

* * *

The relationship expert’s new post hit ten thousand likes within an hour. I looked at the two screenshots in the post: the first was a friend request, with just nine words, “Hey handsome, I’m the person in the picture, add me~”. The second was a WhatsApp chat interface, with the expert’s contact name "Relationship Expert 12," no username visible. But the profile picture opposite was mine—a photo taken a few days ago during our trip, where I was smiling radiantly.

The comment section had exploded, with a flood of netizens rushing to mock me.

“@her out to see! What does your man look like in someone else’s chat box? Look familiar?”

“Where’s that clown now? No wonder she cursed even for a free assessment; turns out her dearest boyfriend, whom she’d been hiding, was cheap goods.”

“Some people shouldn’t hide; come out and apologize to everyone.”

As the netizens wished, I was @-mentioned in the top comment, followed by a mischievous emoji from the expert.

Watching the online comments grow increasingly unbearable, I couldn't help but post a response: "Thank you, netizens, for your concern about my relationship. However, my boyfriend and I have known each other since high school and have weathered many storms. I know the kind of person he is and I have confidence in our relationship. If our relationship truly breaks down in the future, I will not hesitate to break up, but before that, I do not wish to put him through any 'character tests,' nor do I want anyone to intervene in our relationship."

Seeing many netizens agree, I breathed a sigh of relief, praying that everyone would disperse. But the expert immediately jumped in, wailing: "Sweetie, I don't want to ruin your relationship, I just want to help you test him because I'm afraid girls might encounter bad men."

The moment she spoke, her loyal followers poured in, and the tide of public opinion instantly shifted. They became convinced that I was just reluctant to leave a scumbag, and they started mimicking my words, posting various sarcastic parodies, attaching my post below, gleefully calling it "reference material."

Even the comments that wished us "99" (forever love) were replaced. I looked at the stinging words, my chest tightening, and finally just turned off my phone.

That evening, I returned home after a day's work. As I walked in, I saw Adam leaning on the sofa, looking at his phone, a faint smile on his handsome face. Hearing me, he instinctively flinched, flipping his phone screen down. He said dryly, "Zoe, you're home early today?"

"Yeah, were you chatting with someone?"

"A buddy."

My heart sank. He was lying; Adam always blinked when he lied. I reassured myself that we were adults, everyone had their private matters.

I pretended not to know, complaining to him about work as usual. Adam listened quietly, as always, but his eyes kept darting to his phone.

After talking for a long time, he didn’t respond once. For some reason, I felt a surge of weariness. Remembering the day’s turmoil, I couldn’t help but probe, "Adam, did anyone strange add you today?"

He smiled faintly, "No, why?"

But my heart sank further because of his words. I instinctively clutched the hem of my clothes, quickly shaking off those strange thoughts. Adam and I had been through so much over the years; there were always others around – schoolgirls who had crushes on him, colleagues who liked him – but he had rejected them all. How could he now let someone who suddenly appeared online ruin our relationship?

Besides, I knew what kind of person Adam was. Thinking this, I breathed a sigh of relief and went to my room to rest. However, when I opened my phone's social media, I saw the relationship expert had just posted a new update.

“My poor sweetie, my heart aches for you.”