"Shit!"
Li Ran cursed inwardly, pretending to be hypnotized, not daring to let a single extra expression show on his face.
He wasn’t actually hypnotized.
All thanks to the [Focus Necklace] he got from Uncle Ge.
Passive effect of the Focus Necklace: Removes hypnosis, fear, charm, illusion, and other mental attacks.
“Damn it, Su Bingyao actually learned to check a man’s phone!”
Tell me, what married man dares to hand his phone over to his wife for inspection?
What man doesn’t have at least a few little secrets on his phone?
Letting a woman check your phone is practically asking for death.
But right now, he had no choice but to play along, acting like he was under hypnosis and completely obedient.
Li Ran took the phone out of his pocket and handed it to Su Bingyao.
Su Bingyao: “Unlock code.”
Li Ran: “131420.”
Su Bingyao paused, clearly surprised that her ex-husband’s phone password would be something like that.
Had this number been set long ago, or did he deliberately set it recently?
There was no need to explain the meaning of those numbers, but she didn’t believe her husband could be that romantic.
With lingering suspicion, Su Bingyao entered the code and unlocked the phone.
First, she checked the home screen, but there were no shady apps in sight.
Then, she moved on to the one app that could make any man shudder—Feixin.
She opened the chat list and scrolled down.
Any name that seemed remotely suspicious, she tapped in to check the chat history.
But Li Ran’s chats were squeaky clean. Aside from work and family, there was nothing else.
Next, she checked the group chats in Feixin—everything seemed perfectly normal.
Su Bingyao furrowed her brows. “A man’s phone being this clean… that’s suspicious.”
Soon, she noticed a strange group name and tapped into it, only to find the chat history empty.
“‘Cherry Elephants in the Forest’? What kind of group is that?”
Su Bingyao pounced like she’d caught a lead, questioning him as if interrogating a criminal.
Li Ran was equally confused at first, but quickly realized something and began cursing internally, Damn it, isn’t this… one of those groups only men would know?
The group name had a hidden meaning. Anyone who stared at it long enough could figure it out.
Damn it, this is a damn study-material-sharing group!
“F*ck!”
Li Ran was losing it inside. This was a time bomb just waiting to go off.
Why the hell did the original owner keep that group in his phone?
Su Bingyao’s eyes locked tightly onto Li Ran’s, as if trying to dig out lies from his pupils.
But Li Ran remained blank-faced, his eyes empty and hollow, like a puppet, “It’s a luxury resale group.”
Su Bingyao frowned slightly and tapped into the group members. The profile pictures were all labeled with names like “IV,” “Chanel,” “Gucci,” and “Lancôme,” all tagged with the words “high-end.”
“Why are you in a resale group?” Su Bingyao asked, puzzled.
Li Ran’s face didn’t change as he replied, “You like bags, perfumes, and lipsticks. I checked, and they’re really expensive. Business hasn’t been great at work this year, but I still wanted to get you something nice. So I asked around and joined this group. I haven’t bought anything yet, so I got you something else instead.”
“What ‘something else’?” Su Bingyao’s expression shifted to one of guilt. Her husband had been thinking of her all along—it was her who misunderstood.
Li Ran took out a sandalwood box and opened it, holding it out to her. “This is Lankor’s new sandalwood perfume. I was passing by the store today and thought it’d suit you.”
“You… you bought this for me?” Su Bingyao was stunned.
“Yes.”
Su Bingyao picked up the perfume and gently twisted off the cap. A refreshing scent of sandalwood instantly filled the air. Elegant, subtle, with a refined texture that gave off a sense of luxury. There was even a strange energy that seemed to infuse her body.
She looked up at Li Ran’s eyes. A flicker of doubt passed through her—he didn’t feel hypnotized.
But her hypnosis technique wasn’t something ordinary people could resist—especially when caught off guard.
Li Ran’s gaze was blank, his movements puppet-like.
“No… it must be my imagination. He couldn’t possibly be this thoughtful. He must’ve planned this all along.”
Still suspicious, Su Bingyao continued checking his phone—this time the contacts.
“Who’s Wang Qian?”
“A colleague.”
“And who’s this ‘A~96 Quan’?”
“Tea vendor.”
Su Bingyao clicked into the chat with A~96 Quan. The messages were all promotional teasers about new products—Li Ran had never responded.
After the contacts, she opened DouShou (TikTok equivalent).
“A lustful man, there must be a beauty in every five videos. I want to see what you usually watch.”
She scrolled through over ten videos… and saw none of what she expected.
“You’re not normal. How come there aren’t any hot girls?” Su Bingyao looked genuinely confused.
Li Ran replied, “I’m perfectly normal. Games are way more fun than women.”
Su Bingyao was speechless. She kept digging through the phone but couldn’t find a single stain or speck of evidence.
Could this be real?
Her husband answered every question instantly, without hesitation.
Which meant—he wasn’t lying.
With no dirt to be found, Su Bingyao finally handed the phone back.
She began pacing around Li Ran, her cold eyes studying him like a predator.
Truth be told, the phone check had been a spur-of-the-moment idea. She’d heard all over the internet that men’s phones were full of unspeakable secrets.
All you had to do was check, and you’d immediately know what kind of man you’d married.
The internet even claimed you'd be shocked by what you'd find.
Well… shocked she was.
Her husband didn’t have any bad habits. He was… a man entirely devoted to home and family.
That couldn’t be right—otherwise, how did she end up with the memories she had?
Unless… her husband had been possessed by someone else.
Of course, that seemed unlikely.
Still, some things had to be faced head-on.
Even if she’d found something on his phone, there was one question deep in her heart she had to ask. She needed a genuine answer, because it would determine whether their relationship had any future.
She never would’ve asked such a sensitive question under normal circumstances.
But if she didn’t get an answer, it would always feel like a knife twisted into her heart, leaving her in constant pain.
It was also the very reason they’d divorced in the first place.
Only, her husband had never admitted it.
Now, with the help of hypnosis, she had to uncover the truth.
Su Bingyao closed her eyes, took a deep breath. Her chest gently rose and fell.
When she opened her eyes again, a layer of frost had settled over them. Her face showed no warmth whatsoever.
“Did you cheat on me?”
(End of Chapter)