I could no longer bear to look at my wife without wondering whether she had really betrayed me.
Was Yue Ran truly having an affair?
The thought gnawed at me, driving me toward the edge of my patience. I approached her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into my arms. Before she could react, I kissed her fiercely, desperately searching for an answer to the doubts tormenting me. My hands moved toward her clothes, but just as I tried to pull them off, a sharp sound rang through the room.
Slap!
I froze.
I had never imagined that Yue Ran would actually slap me. For a moment, even she seemed stunned by what she had done. Her eyes widened as she stared at me, and then she began to stammer.
"I'm sorry, Yiluo. I... I didn't mean to..."
She looked panicked, desperately trying to explain herself.
Throughout our marriage, we had never resorted to physical violence. Not once had Yue Ran ever raised her hand against me. Yet today, she had slapped me across the face.
Something had changed.
It hadn't even been a full day since everything had started going wrong, yet the woman standing before me already felt strangely unfamiliar.
"Yiluo, please. I'm sorry. I really am."
She hurried to apologize again, her voice trembling with anxiety.
I said nothing.
I couldn't bring myself to listen to her explanations. Without another word, I turned away and walked out of the house, leaving her standing behind me.
By the time I arrived at the office, my mind was in complete turmoil.
I tried to concentrate on my work, but every thought led me back to Yue Ran.
Had she really cheated on me?
The woman I had loved and trusted for so many years—could she truly have done something like that behind my back?
I wanted to believe she hadn't.
But after everything that had happened, I could no longer silence the growing suspicion in my heart.
For the next hour, my mind remained completely blank.
I knew I might have acted too impulsively this night. Trying to force a kiss on her and pull off her clothes had been wrong. I shouldn't have let my suspicions control me like that.
But whenever I remembered the phone call with Yue Ning last night, I couldn't calm myself down.
Those faint, unmistakable sounds of a woman moaning had come through the phone.
At the time, I hadn't thought much about it. But now, the memory kept replaying in my mind.
Could that woman have been Yue Ran?
Had she really been having sex with Duan Wuqin while I was desperately trying to contact her?
The thought made my chest tighten.
I had no evidence. I hadn't seen anything that could prove Yue Ran was involved with him. Yet her strange behavior, her nervous explanations, and the way she had avoided looking me in the eyes all seemed to point toward one terrible possibility.
I stared at my phone as it rang again.
After a long hesitation, I rejected the call.
Then, driven by a mixture of anger and despair, I blocked her number.
The moment I did it, I felt a strange emptiness.
I didn't know whether I was making the right decision. I only knew that I couldn't bear to hear her voice right now. If she called again, I was afraid I might lose control of my emotions all over again.
I put my phone down and leaned back in my office chair.
Yue Ran, have you really betrayed me?
I couldn't find an answer.
Eventually, I picked up my phone again, hoping to distract myself by browsing the online community I usually visited. Perhaps reading other people's posts would help me forget my troubles for a while.
But as soon as I opened the app, I noticed something unusual.
The community was unusually active. One topic dominated the discussion, with new comments appearing almost every second.
The title immediately caught my attention.
User 1: "Hey, have you guys checked out the new deep-web site called God of the Phallus?"
User 2: "God of the Phallus? What kind of ridiculous name is that?"
User 3: "It's a brand-new site. It only appeared recently, and everyone's talking about it."
User 5: "That's right! Mr. D just posted something that has the entire community going crazy."
User 6: "What did he post?"
User 7: "He claims he make his own daughter-in-law pregnant!"
User 8: "WHAT?! Are you serious? His own daughter-in-law?"
User 9: "I read the post myself. I'm still trying to process it. The man writes as if he's talking about something completely ordinary!"
User 10: "Is there any proof, or is he just making up stories to attract attention?"
User 11: "Who knows? But Mr. D says he's going to release a video."
User 12: "A VIDEO?!"
User 13: "Wait, he's actually planning to upload footage related to his claims?"
User 14: "That's what he said. Apparently, he wants everyone to see it for themselves."
User 15: "This is getting out of hand. If the story is true, the scandal will be enormous."
User 16: "Forget enormous. Imagine what would happen if the people involved were identified!"
User 17: "Has he announced when the video will be released?"
User 18: "Not an exact time yet. People are waiting for his next update."
User 19: "This website only just appeared, and it's already attracting this much attention? That's insane."
User 20: "The name God of the Phallus should've warned us that this place would be outrageous."
User 21: "I'm more interested in whether Mr. D can actually back up his claims."
User 22: "Same here. Until that video appears, everything is still just his word."
User 23: "You say that now, but look at how many people are online waiting for his update!"
User 24: "The site is practically exploding. Every time I refresh the page, there are dozens of new comments."
User 25: "Well, if Mr. D really releases that video, this discussion is going to get even crazier."
User 26: "Someone keep an eye on the updates. I want to know whether he actually follows through!"
User 27: "Agreed. Whatever the truth is, this has become the biggest controversy on the site since it appeared."
User 28: "Mr. D certainly knows how to get everyone's attention."