Chapter 48: Song Ya

Last night, after finishing her date with Zhang Tao, Song Ya was waiting at a red light when she noticed the light still had plenty of time, so she picked up her phone and scrolled through TikTok.

As she scrolled, a TikTok notification suddenly popped up.

【Your Contact Friend】

Above the message was a profile picture.

Song Ya glanced at it and was immediately surprised—the profile picture was clearly Qin Yun.

Frowning, she tapped in and was stunned by what she saw on Qin Yun’s homepage.

“One hundred eighty thousand followers? How is that possible?”

Seeing the follower count, Song Ya rubbed her eyes hard, convinced Qin Yun must have bought them.

“So vain—even on TikTok he has to fake followers. Who’s he trying to impress?”

Song Ya muttered a criticism and was about to exit, but the like counts on a few videos below seemed suspicious.

TikTok videos are default-sorted with the newest at the top.

So the first video she saw was Qin Yun’s rock-climbing clip on the Dongya Cliff.

“Three hundred thousand likes?”

Song Ya thought it was absurd—this guy not only bought followers, he bought likes too, so incredibly vain.

“Hmph, since the divorce he’s become so pathetic.”

Song Ya smirked and tapped open the latest video.

“Hello everyone, I’m Qin Yun. I’m currently at the starting point of the ‘Duan Long Zhan’ cliff on Dongya, Zhoushan Shengsi—seventy meters…”

As the voice from the video played, a car horn suddenly blared behind her.

“Beep beep…”

The urgent sound, charged with anxiety, made her jump and drop her phone to the side.

She stomped on the accelerator, driving through the intersection, but her mind still clung to the images she’d just seen.

Not far ahead, she pulled over at a bus stop.

She picked up her phone again and tapped the video play button.

For the next forty minutes, Song Ya’s mouth never closed.

The man in the video radiated testosterone—handsome, fit, bright, confident, and instantly likable to anyone who watched.

“How is this possible? When did he learn to climb? Only two months… how could he change so much…”

Song Ya opened several other videos and watched them one by one.

Soon, in the comment sections of each video, she confirmed every number was real, every comment genuine.

Qin Yun really had over a hundred thousand followers.

For a moment, she couldn’t accept that her ex-husband—a man who’d left the marriage with nothing, unemployed and alone—had become a TikTok content creator, and seemed to be succeeding.

She used TikTok too—she was practically a half-time content creator—but after all these years, her follower count never reached a thousand, let alone qualified her to open a storefront.

Yet Qin Yun, in just two months, had built a following of over a hundred thousand.

The latest video clearly had a commercial tag—she followed trends too; she knew exactly what “DJI” meant.

Landing a DJI sponsorship meant real success.

Thinking of the man in the video, then recalling the man in real life who had cared for her obsessively, Song Ya felt a sharp sense of dissonance.

Before the divorce, Qin Yun had been attentive to her, but always looked drained, exhausted.

Now, after leaving her, he was fit, smiling more—was it possible that leaving me was his liberation?

“No… impossible…” Song Ya gritted her teeth, eyes blazing. “I have Zhang Tao. Once I marry Zhang Tao, even if you become a million-follower influencer, you’re still begging for scraps, living off strangers’ tips. I’m different—I’ll be the general manager’s wife of Hengyuan Tech, then the chairwoman’s wife.”

She immediately posted a comment: “Hmph, earning a few scraps—hope you live long enough to spend it. One day you’ll fall and die.”

Still not satisfied, she forwarded the video to several friends and told them to leave negative comments.

Qin Yun didn’t know any of this—and even if he did, he wouldn’t care. He might even thank them.

Negative or positive comments—they all boosted the video’s weight in the algorithm.

…

From the Dongxi Expressway to the bridge, Qin Yun waited until the speed limit rose to 100 km/h before accelerating.

Anyone who’s driven on highways knows how unsettling it is when your speed perception doesn’t match reality.

Especially when traffic is light, the dissonance is worse.

Around 9:30 a.m., he finally entered the highway, and the 5.0T beast finally roared, shedding its gentle facade.

Accelerating, overtaking—it was the perfect vehicle for a driver.

Just before reaching the Yuyao service area, his phone rang.

“Hey, awake?”

Su Huan replied: “Yeah, you on the highway?”

“Already passed Yuyao service area,” Qin Yun said, glancing at the service area on his right. “Aren’t you working today?”

“Took the day off,” Su Huan stretched, revealing her curves—unseen by anyone. “What time will you get here?”

“Two and a half hours—I’ll be under your building.”

“Good, I’ll get ready. By the way, how much red envelope are you giving?”

Qin Yun said: “You’re different—you can give a thousand or eighteen hundred.”

Their relationship with Gao Feng determined the envelope size.

When he got married, Gao Feng gave him 3,800. Now, after all these years, he owed him double.

“Alright, have you seen your video? It’s already over 1.5 million likes, and your followers hit 200,000.”

Speaking of it, Su Huan sounded excited: “If this keeps up, you’ll be a million-follower influencer in no time.”

“Haha, you’ve got a share in this—I won’t forget you. When DJI’s payment comes in, we split it.”

Qin Yun never took Su Huan’s help for granted—he wasn’t that shameless.

So he planned to split the payment evenly, fifty-fifty.

But…

“Forget it,” Su Huan frowned. “This is all you risked your life for—I won’t take a cent. Don’t mention money. I helped you because I wanted to.”

Qin Yun hurried to say: “Then how am I supposed to feel? I don’t understand business dealings—I’ll need your help again. If you won’t take money, how can I ask you to do it?”

Su Huan felt a strange irritation, as if her kindness had been tainted.

But Qin Yun’s words made sense. She changed the subject: “Forget it. Don’t give me the DJI money—if you do, I’ll cut ties. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

Qin Yun sighed. There were people who refused money.

If you won’t take money, what do you want?

But since Su Huan said it, he didn’t press further.

“Alright, we’ll talk about it later.”

He hung up and focused on driving. He stopped briefly at the Shaoxing service area, ate a burger, then continued.

When he arrived under Su Huan’s building, it was still before noon.

“Come up and help me carry my suitcase.”

Qin Yun looked up at the woman leaning out of the balcony and obediently went upstairs.

This old neighborhood had no elevator—terrible for the elderly.

Su Huan’s door was open. Qin Yun stepped in and saw at a glance it was barely fifty square meters—a one-bedroom.

The place was spotless, just as he expected of Su Huan, with a faint, pleasant scent.

In the living room stood a 25-inch suitcase, already packed.

“How’s it? Can you lift it?”

Su Huan raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to try.

Qin Yun chuckled, stepped forward, and lifted the heavy suitcase effortlessly.

Yet his expression showed surprise: “What did you pack? Did you move your whole house? Why’s it so heavy?”

Su Huan laughed: “Don’t be silly. Just clothes and makeup—I’ll be in Harbin for days, so I need winter gear. Don’t tell me you didn’t pack any?”

“…”

They went downstairs—Su Huan ahead, Qin Yun behind.

She wore a dress today; her slender figure was fully revealed as the hem fluttered.

He’d always known Su Huan was beautiful, but back in college, his mind was fixed on Song Ya—Song Ya was beautiful too, her looks nearly equal to Su Huan’s.

Setting personality aside, their figures and looks were evenly matched. Su Huan had the edge in flawless skin.

After stowing the suitcase in the trunk, Qin Yun placed his phone in the wireless charger: “Alright, let’s go. Anything else?”

“Nope, we’re—wait, I forgot my red envelope.”

Qin Yun stared.

“Go get it for me. Password is 8979. It’s on my bedside table—I already wrapped it.”

Shaking his head, Qin Yun got out of the car and went back inside.

Soon after Qin Yun left, the phone charging in the wireless dock rang.

Su Huan didn’t intend to answer, but after the call ended, it rang again. She picked it up—and her heart skipped.

Without thinking, she accidentally tapped answer.

“Son, have you reached Hangzhou?”

Su Huan opened her mouth, then said: “Auntie, Qin Yun went upstairs to get something for me—his phone’s not with him.”

On the other end of the phone, Hu Fen paused in surprise, then smiled: “Is this Xiao Su?”

“Auntie, it’s me. Do you still remember me?”

Su Huan thought perhaps Qin Yun had mentioned her to his mother.

Hu Fen chuckled: “Xiao Yun has mentioned you plenty of times—he even showed me photos from his phone. Xiao Su is truly beautiful.”

Su Huan’s heart warmed, her cheeks flushing slightly: “Qin Yun is exaggerating.”

“Haha, no, that boy hardly ever compliments girls,” Hu Fen said, leaving it there. “By the way, he’s a man—he won’t take care of himself. Xiao Su, I’m asking you to look after him for me. Make sure he eats on time and drinks less alcohol.”

“Yes, Auntie, I will.”

“Good. I don’t have anything else to tell him, so I won’t keep you. Come to Zhoushan when you have time—I’ll cook seafood for you.”

“Alright, Auntie. Goodbye, Auntie.”

The call ended. Qin Yun opened the door and looked at her strangely: “Why did you use my phone?”

“Your mom just called,” Su Huan said calmly, putting the phone back.

“Oh? What did my mom say?”

Qin Yun handed the red envelope to Su Huan.

Su Huan took the red envelope and tucked it into her bag, grinning: “Auntie told me to look after you in Harbin—make sure you go to bed early, drink less, and report any problems to her.”

Qin Yun shook his head, amused and exasperated. That was exactly the kind of thing his mother would do.

“Anything else? Let’s go?”

“Nope. Let’s go—Harbin,” Su Huan said, waving her hand dramatically.

The car pulled out of the residential area and soon merged onto the elevated road.