Hidden truth, intricate love

Chapter 193 Sowing discord

One day, Gu Yao took advantage of Lin Yue's absence and deliberately asked Li Hao out alone, saying that she had some "concerns" about Lin Yue and wanted to talk to him. Li Hao was a little hesitant at first, but Gu Yao showed great concern and sincerity, so he happily agreed.

The two sat in a quiet cafe. Gu Yao deliberately spoke in a hesitant tone: "Li Hao, I asked you out today mainly because I wanted to talk to you about Lin Yue. I'm a little worried about her recent condition."

Li Hao was slightly stunned, and his tone was filled with concern: "What's wrong? Lin Yue has been a little busy recently, but she didn't seem to say anything unhappy."

Gu Yao lowered her head slightly, pretending to be conflicted. "Li Hao, maybe it's not appropriate for me to say this, but I'm really worried about Lin Yue. I've noticed that she seems to be partying with men a lot lately, and it seems...she's also getting closer to a male colleague at work."

Li Hao's expression changed slightly, and his brows furrowed slightly. "Gu Yao, what do you mean? Lin Yue has always been very open with her colleagues. I know this very well."

Seeing Li Hao waver slightly, Gu Yao was secretly delighted, but on the surface she still pretended to be concerned and said, "I just want to remind you to pay more attention to her. Maybe she is under too much pressure and needs some comfort. I can see that Lin Yue cares about you very much, but if she is too hard-working, she will inevitably become dependent on the people around her."

Li Hao was silent for a moment, his expression slightly complicated. He didn't completely believe Gu Yao's words, but his worry about Lin Yue was quietly increasing.

Seeing this, Gu Yao felt secretly pleased with herself, thinking her first attempt at provoking Lin Yue had yielded some results. She knew it wasn't enough, but she believed that gradually planting the seeds of doubt in Li Hao's heart would eventually lead him to question Lin Yue.

Amplifying contradictions: fabricating evidence

To gradually undermine Li Hao's trust in Lin Yue, Gu Yao devised a series of more covert schemes. Starting with Lin Yue's social network, she secretly obtained photos of her and her colleagues. She compiled a folder of insignificant photos from work gatherings, deliberately capturing moments of Lin Yue conversing with male colleagues and even blurring the backgrounds to make the images appear more misleading.

One day, she pretended to accidentally show the photos to Li Hao. She pretended to have stumbled upon them while sorting through her phone photos, and with a troubled expression, she said to Li Hao, "Li Hao, these are the photos Lin Yue posted on WeChat Moments, but I noticed she seems to be getting along really well with this male colleague lately. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but you know, I'm thinking about Lin Yue."

Li Hao's face darkened as he saw the photos. Although his trust in Lin Yue remained unwavering, a sense of unease welled up within him. Gu Yao, perceptive enough to notice the subtle shift in Li Hao's expression, took the opportunity to whisper, "Of course, I'm not doubting Lin Yue. I'm just worried that her over-reliance on this colleague might cause you trouble."

Li Hao didn't answer, but just lowered his head in thought. Seeing that he didn't refute her, Gu Yao became more convinced that her plan was working step by step.

Frame-up: Anonymous text messages

Gu Yao knew that blurry photos alone were not enough, so she decided to take a more drastic approach. She managed to get an anonymous number, disguised herself as a "good Samaritan," and sent a text message to Li Hao, subtly implying that Lin Yue and a male colleague were too close, even contacting each other frequently late at night, which seemed "unreasonable."

The text message reads:

"Mr. Li, you may not know that Lin Yue seems to have been very close to a male colleague recently. They sometimes work together late at night, which inevitably leads to some misunderstandings. As a friend, I just hope you can be more careful."

When Li Hao received the text, a sense of unease welled up within him. He still believed in Lin Yue's character, but these inexplicable reminders made him wonder if he should pay more attention to Lin Yue's life. He stared at the screen with mixed feelings for a long time before he sighed softly.

Gu Yao secretly observed the changes in Li Hao and knew that her "hint" was working. She was proud of herself and felt that she was one step closer to her goal.

Planning a Misunderstanding: Creating an Alib

Gu Yao knew that Li Hao still had feelings for Lin Yue, so she decided to take more direct action and create an "unexplainable misunderstanding." One day, she deliberately asked Lin Yue to go shopping with her and picked out some very feminine gifts. After purchasing the gifts, she secretly wrote a flirtatious message on the packaging, "For the most special you," and then managed to sneak the gift into Lin Yue's bag.

The next day, Gu Yao pretended to ask Li Hao casually: "Li Hao, Lin Yue seems to have received a gift from a certain man recently. Do you know about this?"

Li Hao frowned, feeling a little surprised. "What gift? Lin Yue never mentioned it to me."

Gu Yao smiled faintly and said vaguely, "Maybe she didn't think it was a big deal, so she didn't mention it to you. I saw her with a gift bag the other day, and there were some special words written on it. You'd better go ask her yourself."

Li Hao's doubts grew deeper and deeper, and he couldn't help but ask Lin Yue if she had received any gifts recently. Lin Yue was stunned for a moment, then opened the bag and found the gift bag that she had no idea about, and was surprised.

"Li Hao, I didn't buy this! I have no idea where it came from!" Lin Yue felt extremely aggrieved and explained anxiously.

Li Hao looked at her expression. His trust in her wasn't completely shaken, but he still felt a little uneasy. He softly comforted her, "It's okay, Lin Yue. I believe you."

Gu Yao secretly observed their reactions. Seeing Li Hao's hesitation, she was secretly happy and decided to keep trying to gradually weaken the trust between them.

Frame-up and instigation

Gu Yao's plan gradually escalated. She deliberately created opportunities when Lin Yue was not around to reveal some information that was "unfavorable to Lin Yue" to Li Hao. She began to reveal Lin Yue's "emotional changes" from time to time, and even made up some trivial things to make Li Hao begin to doubt Lin Yue's behavior.

"Li Hao, Lin Yue seems a little tired recently. She always complains to me about the pressure at work and even mentions that you are sometimes not considerate enough." Gu Yao said with pretended concern.

Li Hao frowned slightly and couldn't help asking, "Did Lin Yue really say that? I've always tried my best to care for her."

Gu Yao pretended to be helpless and patted Li Hao's shoulder gently: "Li Hao, maybe you really need to spend more time with her. Maybe she just feels lonely and complains to me."

As Gu Yao instigated, Li Hao gradually misunderstood Lin Yue's situation and even unconsciously scrutinized her words and actions during their interactions. Lin Yue gradually noticed the changes in Li Hao.