Yancy Shaw walked ahead of her, neither too close nor too far.
"Who was that?" Yancy Shaw asked casually.
She knew he was asking about Yvonne Sung. Though she didn’t want to talk about it, she replied lightly, "My ex-fiancé."
It was the third time he’d seen her, and every time seemed to revolve around Yvonne Sung. But clearly, she was in better shape this time—no tears.
Neither spoke further. Lauren Shaw followed behind Yancy Shaw, quickly arriving at the breast clinic. It was true what they said—connections made everything smoother.
Inside the consulting room sat a woman with a streak of gray in her hair and glasses perched on her nose; she looked kindly and welcoming. This must be Dr. Qiu Fang, the seasoned expert her elder sister had mentioned.
Seeing Yancy Shaw, Dr. Qiu blinked in surprise. "Dr. Shen, what brings you here?"
"My friend couldn't find the department, so I brought her over," he replied.
Dr. Qiu looked even more astonished.
They weren't from the same department, and while not exactly close, she’d heard no shortage of rumors about Yancy Shaw. This man was legendary in medical circles—dual PhDs by twenty-two, and by twenty-four, he’d independently performed a near-impossible surgery, securing his renown at Ancheng's First Hospital. Now, at just twenty-eight, he was already a top expert in cardiothoracic surgery in China.
Plenty of women in the hospital had set their sights on him over the years, but none had succeeded.
Dr. Qiu couldn't help glancing several more times at Lauren Shaw—she was indeed a beauty, around 1.68 meters tall with great proportions and an elegant bearing. She looked perfect standing next to Dr. Shen—the two were an unexpectedly fitting pair.
Yancy Shaw, ever the gentleman, stepped out of the exam room.
Dr. Qiu began asking Lauren Shaw about her condition.
After a series of tests, the diagnosis was made: a breast fibroadenoma.
That really was the last straw.
She scheduled surgery for the next day and needed to get everything settled for today.
When she arrived at her studio, she found a crowd of people gathered at the entrance. No clue what was going on.
She squeezed her way through the crowd and saw the doorway was splattered with rotten eggs. The studio door was tightly shut, and the staff inside didn’t dare come out.
Her phone rang in her pocket. She went back to her car to answer.
"Sienna Shaw, don’t come to the store. There are people at the door looking to cause trouble for you."
Looking at the mob at the door, Lauren Shaw couldn’t help but feel bewildered. She’d always been friendly—who would be looking for trouble with her?
Apparently, some people were just determined to make her life miserable.
Claire Xu forwarded her a message. Once she opened it, everything became clear.
Last night, Yana Quinn had started a livestream. Despite working overseas as an actress, she still had a loyal fanbase back home.
When fans asked about her love life, Yana Quinn gazed sadly into the camera and said, "I had a boyfriend I loved deeply in college, but now he’s about to get married."
Fans quickly uncovered that Yana Quinn’s boyfriend was Yvonne Sung, and she didn’t deny it.
With the internet’s sleuthing skills, they spun a dramatic story—according to their imaginations, Lauren Shaw had forced Yvonne Sung into marriage and stolen him away from Yana Quinn. Now, they had come to "avenge" their idol.
Utterly ridiculous.
After calling the police and getting the troublemakers removed, she at last entered her studio.
She had just gotten things settled when she ran into Yvonne Sung.
He glared at her, eyes blazing with resentment, as if she’d done something unforgivable. "What do you want from me? Calling off the engagement wasn’t enough? Will you only be satisfied if you ruin me?"
Lauren Shaw was bewildered at his outburst. "What’s wrong with you? Why would I want to ruin you?"
"Then why’d you reveal everything about me and Yana Quinn?"
Lauren Shaw was even more confused. Reveal what? What was he talking about?
Yvonne Sung sneered. "Playing innocent? Don’t think I can’t see through you. This is just another ploy to win me back. Give it up."
After Yvonne Sung stormed off in embarrassment and anger, Lauren Shaw finally pieced together what had happened.
Someone had exposed Yvonne Sung and Yana Quinn’s relationship, claiming they were the real couple while Lauren Shaw was the third wheel who’d forced Yvonne Sung into engagement and broken them up.
Online, people were tearing her apart, and to top it off, Yvonne Sung thought she was behind the whole thing.
[This woman thinks she can do anything because her family has money. Seriously shameless.]
[Is she so afraid of being single that she has to steal another woman's man?]
Lauren Shaw glanced at a few comments before closing the thread. People were just talking nonsense—a thousand mouths, a thousand opinions. She couldn’t be bothered.
After sorting things out at the studio, she headed back to the Shaw family home.
When she arrived, her mother’s furrowed brows eased a little.
"Shengsheng, you’re home. I was about to call you."
"What’s up, Mom?"
One look at her parents’ faces and she knew—they’d heard all about it.
"That Yvonne Sung, what a shameless little bastard! How could he claim you forced him to get married? Back then, he was the one begging us for your hand, kneeling right in front of us when we refused!"
Eventually, they'd agreed only because Yvonne Sung had seemed responsible. Who could have guessed he’d turn out like this after such a short time?
Lauren Shaw’s mother raged on. This whole uproar had clearly been orchestrated by someone.
Lauren Shaw’s father tried to get the trending posts suppressed, but even if they were, there was no escaping this baseless accusation.
She herself wasn’t bothered. When you walk upright, you don’t fear slanted shadows—she didn’t care what others thought.
But her parents saw things differently. To them, it was the Sung family’s fault, and they demanded an explanation.
"Our Shengsheng can’t be humiliated for nothing!" her mother declared, grabbing her phone and dialing the Sung family.
The moment the call was answered, she jumped in. "Is this really the Sung family's attitude? Your son does all this and then blames our Shengsheng? Have you no shame?"
Su De’an, Yvonne Sung’s father, stammered, "In-law, please calm down. I’ve been scolding Yuche already. Don’t worry, we’ll give you an explanation..."
"What explanation?" Before he could finish, the phone was snatched away by Zoe Carter, Yvonne Sung’s mother. She huffed defensively, "Our Yuche is an outstanding young man—of course many women like him. That’s not his fault!"
"So what if a successful man has some fun with women now and then? Do we really need to make a fuss about such a little thing?"
Lauren Shaw’s mother let out a cold laugh. "Clearly, your Sung family is out of our league." With that, she hung up.
Watching her parents fume, Lauren Shaw considered telling them about her surgery tomorrow, then thought better of it. All of this was because of her—if she hadn’t blindly liked Yvonne Sung, her parents wouldn’t be so upset.
She swallowed the words. With everything going on, why give them something else to worry about?