Soon enough, Tao Ran found another damning clue tucked inside the inner pocket of one of Fang Ming’s suits — a small shopping receipt.
And just like that, her fury reignited.
It was for a bracelet.
Price: $3,600.
Impressive. That had to be the single most extravagant thing Fang Ming had ever bought since Tang Ran met him.
Placed beside those three identical necklaces she had already found, the receipt was a cruel joke — an insult in paper form.
“Bastard!”
Tao Ran was so angry she could practically dig a hole through the floor. She tore through every inch of Fang Ming’s belongings, flipping his luggage inside out.
Finally, inside the phone case, she struck gold — a photo of Fang Ming with Lu Sitong, her lips pressed against his cheek, his arm snug around her waist.
Hidden well, but not well enough. Tao Ran saved it immediately.
She went through his call logs and messages next, but there were no obvious traces — the scumbag had clearly deleted everything beforehand.
Still, Tao Ran was nothing if not thorough.
Her sharp eyes caught a suspicious number in his call history — a landline ending with four sixes, which had called twice: once weeks ago, and once just yesterday.
A quick online search told her it belonged to the housing department of a five-star hotel.
Well, wasn’t that interesting? Looked like there was a record of him booking a room waiting to be uncovered.
No need to rush.
She had all night.
After sleeping half the day, Tao Ran was wide awake and full of energy.
She laid out the leftovers from dinner — the ribs, cheesy lobster, desserts, and the fruits and soup that came with the meal — and set up her late-night “detective feast.”
Logging into Fang Ming’s bank account again, she began combing through the transactions one by one.
Before long, everything fell into place.
Shopping transactions. Hotel charges. Bar tabs. Restaurant bills.
All of it matched.
Just last week, Fang Ming had spent three nights at a luxury hotel on the East Coast — $300 per night, plus multiple restaurant and bar charges.
Total: nearly $20,000.
Ha! Tang Ran’s wedding ring had cost barely $3,000, and this jerk was blowing twenty grand on his mistress.
“Scum!”
Cursing under her breath, Tao Ran pulled out her prepared USB drive and backed up every single transaction record from the last few months.
She already had plenty of material — earlier that day, she had logged into Fang Ming’s secret email account using the passwords Tang Ran had once cracked and copied all his exchanges with Lu Sitong.
Now the USB drive was loaded with evidence — enough to bury him.
Next, she turned her attention to his laptop.
Fang Ming rarely brought it home; he kept it in his school dorm most of the time. That alone made it suspicious.
Sure enough, she found several encrypted files inside.
She tried opening them — no luck.
Taking a sip of soup, Tao Ran decided she’d just take the entire laptop with her.
If she couldn’t crack it, she’d find someone who could.
Once that was settled, she moved on to Fang Ming’s credit card.
Tang Ran knew the password for this one. They’d applied for it “for emergencies,” though it was always Fang Ming who carried it — and he had taken it with him on this trip too.
Checking the online records, she found no major transactions — meaning there was still plenty of room left.
The limit was $10,000, with over $7,000 remaining. Converted, that was more than ¥50,000.
Her fingers itched with temptation.
The debit card had $12,000, the credit card another $7,000, plus a few hundred in cash — nearly $20,000 total, or about ¥150,000.
And really, wasn’t that marital property?
Tao Ran felt no guilt at all.
If she didn’t take it, she’d be betraying Tang Ran.
She turned on Fang Ming’s laptop again, plugged in the USB drive, logged into the online bank, verified via phone — and within minutes, every cent from the debit card was transferred out.
Next up: the credit card.
Over $7,000 to play with.
Withdrawals had limits, but spending did not.
So Tao Ran went to an airline website.
She’d originally booked a ticket home for 10 a.m. the next day but changed her mind.
She canceled it.
Not because she wasn’t going home — but because she refused to spend her own money doing it.
Five minutes later, she rebooked the same flight using Fang Ming’s credit card.
Perfect.
…
After polishing off her dessert, Tao Ran stretched. Time to take a walk and digest — and maybe burn through a bit more of that credit limit.
It wasn’t her fault the card still had money on it.
Better she use it than let the scumbag have it.
She found an ATM and withdrew as much cash as she could, though the daily limit left about $3,000 unused.
So she headed for a 24-hour supermarket.
She picked only the best: compact, pricey, and easy to carry.
Three brand-new flagship smartphones.
A dozen luxury lipsticks.
What she couldn’t use, she could gift or resell back home.
When she checked Fang Ming’s banking app later, she noticed the remaining balance — thirty dollars.
Well, she wasn’t leaving that behind either.
She bought food with it — and then handed the entire bag to the homeless people on the corner.
“Thank you.”
Tao Ran smiled.
That was a fair trade — not a loss at all.
By now, the scumbag was penniless — and in debt to a foreign bank.
She could already imagine Fang Ming’s face when the debt collectors came calling, and his parents scrambling to borrow money to bail him out.
By then, she’d be back home.
If he had the guts, he could sue her for property division in court — though chances were, he wouldn’t even be able to leave the country once the debt hit.
As for why…
He’d find out soon enough.
Back at the apartment, Tao Ran still wasn’t satisfied.
She packed up all of Fang Ming’s clothes, stuffing them into bags.
Everything he’d bought for this so-called “academic trip” was top quality — clearly meant to impress someone.
But a beast in human skin didn’t deserve fine clothes.
They’d look better on the homeless.
So Tao Ran decided to give him one last surprise — she’d donate every stitch of his designer wardrobe.
And wouldn’t you know it — good people really do have good luck.
As she was packing, something fell out of one of the shirt pockets.
A watch.
A luxury brand.
Of course — probably a gift from that rich mistress of his.
“Well, well… what a nice watch.”
Tao Ran chuckled. She had to admit, she liked it.
The man was trash, but the watch was innocent. Even second-hand, it would fetch a good price.
She pocketed it without hesitation.
Unfortunately, it was past midnight, and all the pawnshops were closed — she’d have to sell it once she got back home.
She packed up the rest of Fang Ming’s belongings into his suitcase and dragged it downstairs, handing it over to the same group of homeless people.
After a few friendly instructions, she was about to leave when Fang Ming’s phone buzzed once — then stopped.
She glanced at the screen.
As expected, a late-night call from Xiao Ai.
Tao Ran sighed, shaking her head.
That foolish girl — even when Tao Ran wanted to ignore her, she just kept walking right into trouble.
Looks like there was still work to do.