A Fake Loyalty Test

I just posted vacation photos with my boyfriend on social media when a relationship tester private messaged me.

Hey sweetie, your boyfriend looks like a player. Give me his Ins, and I'll test him for free, okay?

I replied: Scammer! You're probably just a homewrecker looking to seduce other people's boyfriends.

After I refused, she posted our private conversation online and played the victim.

A flood of internet users swarmed into my messages to insult me.

I publicly apologized to her, saying I just wanted a quiet life.

But she and the internet mob were convinced I was guilty and insisted they had to help test whether my boyfriend was faithful.

A few days later, the relationship tester triumphantly posted a screenshot of adding my boyfriend as an Ins friend, with the caption:

"Easy catch. Your boyfriend's not behaving~"

But as I looked at her, I felt nothing but pity.

The relationship tester's new post had been up for barely an hour when it broke ten thousand likes.

I stared at the two screenshots in the post. The first was a friend request:

"Hey handsome, add me as a friend~"

The second was their Ins chat interface.

The comment section had already exploded, with internet users flooding in to mock me.

"Quick, make her look! Her boyfriend is flirting with a strange woman!"

"No wonder she cursed when offered a free test. Turns out her boyfriend is cheap trash."

As the internet wished, I was tagged in the pinned comment.

Watching the comments become increasingly vicious, I couldn't help posting an explanation:

"Thank you all for your concern about my relationship, but my boyfriend and I have known each other since high school, and I trust him. If our relationship really falls apart in the future, I'll break up without hesitation, but until then I don't want to subject him to any human nature tests, and I don't want anyone interfering in our relationship."

Seeing quite a few internet users agreeing, I breathed a sigh of relief, praying everyone would just disperse.

But the relationship tester immediately came crying: "Sweetie, I don't want to ruin your relationship. I just wanted to help test him because I'm afraid of girls meeting bad men."

As soon as she spoke, the fans who originally supported her followed suit.

They were convinced I just couldn't let go of a scumbag.

Looking at these harsh words, my chest tightened. Finally I just turned off my phone.

That evening, after finishing work, I came home.

As soon as I entered, I saw my boyfriend Aaron leaning on the sofa looking at his phone, a faint smile on his handsome face.

Hearing me, he reflexively jerked away, turning his phone face-down, and said stiffly:

"Summer, you're home so early today?"

"Yeah, were you chatting with someone?"

"A buddy."

My heart sank. He was lying. Aaron always blinked when he lied. I comforted myselfwe were adults, everyone had their private matters.

I pretended not to notice and complained about work as usual. Aaron also listened quietly as usual, but his eyes kept glancing at his phone.

After talking for ages without a single response from him, I felt inexplicably tired. Remembering the day's drama, I couldn't help testing: "Aaron, did any strange people try to add you on Ins today?"

He smiled lightly: "No."

But my heart sank even deeper at his words. I unconsciously gripped my collar tighter, quickly shaking those strange thoughts from my mind.

Aaron and I had been through so much together. It wasn't like others hadn't appearedjunior girls who had crushes on him, coworkers who liked himbut he rejected them all. How could our relationship be destroyed now by some random person who appeared online?

Besides, I knew what kind of person Aaron was.

Thinking this, I relaxed and went to my room to rest. But when I opened my social media app, I saw the relationship tester had just posted again.

"Foolish woman, I feel sorry for you."

I couldn't help being drawn to her cover imagea screenshot of her chat with Aaron.

It started with awkward attempts at conversation, until she discovered Aaron loved gaming, and they suddenly hit it off.

My grip on my phone tightened. It was trueAaron was really good at games.

In contrast, I was terrible at them.

Realizing I'd only drag him down, over time I stopped playing with him.

Comments quickly flooded the post:

"Oh my god, and she won't break up?" Immediately followed by frantically tagging me.

"She acts like she's never seen a man before. All she deserves in this life is garbage."

"Props to the blogger, being able to chat with such a disgusting man."

The relationship tester gently replied: "Sweetie, I'm not suffering. I mainly want to help sisters see men clearly."

Internet users were touched and rushed to comfort her: "The blogger is too good, what a shame the wife doesn't appreciate it."

"It's okay, some women are smart, some are dumb. We need patience. I'll keep working to help her wake up."

Internet users were moved by her warm words, praising her en masse as her follower count skyrocketed overnight. I clicked through to her profile, where posts about testing other people's boyfriends filled the page. Each post's cover image had large words reading "Certified Scum," and the comment sections were filled with praise and people thanking her.

So now it was my turn?

Just then I heard the door open. I watched Aaron walk into the room, his expression unreadable, and asked again: "Aaron, I can trust you, right?"

Aaron tilted his head in confusion, then smiled and walked over, pulling me into his arms and nuzzling my forehead affectionately: "Of course."

"Okay, I trust you."

I put down my phone and turned off the light to sleep.

After that, I stopped going online, and Aaron showed no unusual behavior.

I figured in a few days, once new entertainment appeared, they'd leave on their own.

But several days later, after finishing a client meeting and taking a break, I saw Aaron's back on a nearby pedestrian street. His tall, straight figure in a black jacket stood out in the crowd.

Equally eye-catching was the beauty beside himin a fitted black dress, smiling brilliantly while holding his hand. It was the relationship tester from online.

I gripped my handbag tightly and hurried forward. Just as I got close, the relationship tester let go of his hand and ran off as if avoiding suspicion. Aaron turned around, looking at me with surprise and panic: "Summer, what are you doing here?"

My gaze moved from him to the person running away, my tone cold: "Who was that just now?"

He avoided my eyes: "A salesperson, kept pulling me to push products."

"Then what are you doing here?"

Aaron owned a large club and usually stayed at the shop. Yet today he'd come to this distant place.

He smiled: "I heard you were here for business, so I planned to wait until your break and take you to dinner."

He even showed me his phonehe'd booked a couple's restaurant. Though I didn't like the gaudy decor, thinking of his thoughtfulness, I happily agreed.

The food was decent. After eating, my mood improved. Bored, I played with my phone, wanting to see if the online storm had passed. But as soon as I opened the app, I saw the relationship tester's new post:

"Sweetie, you ate the meal meant for me."

The photo showed me happily eating and chatting with Aaron. Aaron happened to be looking down, not at me, his back appearing somewhat lonely and distracted in that moment.

I suddenly looked toward where she'd taken the photo, but that spot was already empty. My good mood evaporated completely. My chest felt stuffy, and I accidentally glimpsed the sarcastic comments mocking me in the comment section. A breath stuck in my chest, unable to escape.

Just then, the relationship tester sent a private message, her tone still full of that pitying concern:

"Sweetie, I think you saw that the scumbag probably lied to you, saying I was a salesperson."

An unnamed fire burned in my chest, my tone turning irritable: "I'm reminding you one more timeI don't need your so-called testing. Please stay away from me and my boyfriend!"

The relationship tester remained breezy: "Every woman reacts like you when facing reality. But that's okay, I believe it won't be long before you come to thank me too."

"Enough! I'll say this one last timeinterfering in others' relationships, no matter what excuse you use, makes you a homewrecker."

She sighed helplessly: "Okay, I'll help you test him a bit longer."

After saying this, she disappeared, and I was so irritated I wanted to throw my phone.

Looking up, I saw Aaron had received some message and said: "Summer, I might be busy lately. I have to go."

He left in a hurry.

I watched him get into his car downstairs. A woman got into the passenger seat, her face blocked by him, but she wore the same fitted black dress.

I sat there for a long time before remembering to return to the office. As soon as I got back, I saw the afternoon proposal still spread on the desk, unfinished.

"What's going on with this proposal? I assigned it this morning, and it's still not done?"

I slammed the file on the desk. Several subordinates hung their heads silently. In the corner, a new intern scrolled through her phone and laughed.

"What are you laughing at?"

She looked up and turned her phone toward me. The screen showed the relationship tester's new post. The trending topic was getting bigger, and people around had all seen it.

"Ms. Reynolds, your own face is getting slapped to pieces, and you still come to lecture us?"

The others around her mocked me too.

Just then the door opened. My supervisor walked in, saw the proposal still incomplete, and chewed me out.

"Summer Reynolds, I'm warning you, your messy drama is seriously affecting the company's image. If you don't clean it up within a week, get out!"

By the time I got off work, I dragged my exhausted body home to find the house completely dark.

I turned on the light and saw a note on the table.

"Summer, I have something to take care of. Take care of yourself. I'll bring you a gift when I get back."

I pulled out my phone to call him, but it kept showing temporarily unavailable.

Messages I sent on SnapChat also went unanswered.

I sat on the sofa for a while, then reflexively opened social media. Sure enough, the relationship tester had pinned a new post to her homepage.

"Invited by a certain gentleman to travel for a few days. I'll live-stream the test results for you all then."

Above was her selfie and a plane ticket. The internet users below, hearing about the livestream, completely lost it. Even after seeing it required payment, a bunch of people said they'd pay to watch this drama unfold.

A crowd of people came to my account asking if I'd break up. I reaffirmed my position and seriously told the relationship tester: "I know what kind of person my boyfriend is. Please stop bothering us. This is for your own good."

This time, unlike the previous mockery, quite a few people started pitying me and dug up all my posts and comments to analyze my psychological state step by step.

Some said I must have lacked love growing up, which was why I was so desperate to please men, calling on everyone to love their daughters well.

Others said I was just stubborn, saving face even when broke, too proud to admit the truth.

I was too lazy to argue with them and exited the app. Just then I received a friend request from a stranger.

As soon as I accepted, she sent a photo she'd taken of Aaron and a location.

"He's here."

The next day was Saturday. I booked a flight.

On the way, a cute-looking girl blocked my path. She claimed that thanks to the relationship tester's help, she'd finally seen men's true colors.

Finished speaking, she gripped my hand sympathetically and said:

"I really can't stand watching you degrade yourself like this. Is it worth constantly defending a man? We need to wake up."

I looked back at her earnestly, very much agreeing with her words, and pulled out a hundred dollars in cash.

"You said it so well, thank you for enlightening me. This is money I just found. Here, take it."

She was stunned at first, saying awkwardly:

"Found money... giving it to me doesn't seem right."

Though she said this, she cheerfully reached for the money. The instant her hand was about to touch it, I snatched it back with disdain:

"You'd even take found money? You fail the morality test."

Realizing I'd tricked her, she raged:

"What's wrong with you! I gave you sincere advice, and you pull this ridiculous test?"

"Don't you people love testing? Why are you unhappy when it's your turn?"

"How is this the same? That's testing love!"

I laughed coldly:

"Aren't they both tests? Who are you people anyway? What gives you the right to randomly test others?"

Her face flushed with anger, pointing at me: "No wonder people call you a doormat wife. Just wait until the test results come out and you get what's coming to you."

She stormed off angrily, and I turned to continue on my way.

I flew all the way to my destination. Just after landing, I saw the relationship tester had already set up her phone to start the livestream.

She wore a sexy slip dress, lounging lazily on the soft hotel bed.

Internet users below were shouting, asking why I hadn't appeared yet, wondering if I was hiding somewhere crying.

The relationship tester told internet users to be more patient with unenlightened girls, while her lips couldn't help curling into a smile.

But as the chat time increased, internet users noticed it was well past the agreed time and started getting suspicious.

"How come that guy still hasn't shown up? Are we being played?"

"To be honest, I've been wondering if the blogger actually hooked him. It's all chat recordswe haven't seen them on screen together."

A flash of panic crossed the relationship tester's face. She quickly adjusted, flipping her hair confidently:

"Sweetie, would I fake this? I'm not just any woman. When someone of my caliber makes a move, no man can resist."

"Really? You're that amazing? Next time help me test mine too."

"No problem. After this test ends and I successfully help that sister break up, I'll help you."

Internet users above kept thanking her, saying thanks to such selfless beauties like her, more girls could escape suffering. Only people like me deserved to be deceived by scumbags.

I silently watched their chat on screen, finally unable to resist commenting: "While there's still a chance to salvage this, I advise you to stop now."

As soon as I appeared, they started clamoring.

"Well well, if it isn't the internet's most famous doormat wife. Come to watch your boyfriend's cheating scene?"

Just then, the sound of the door lock came. The relationship tester hid her phone, then stuck out her chest toward the screen:

"Sweetie, don't be afraid of the test. This is all for your own good."

Finished speaking, the hotel room door opened and a man walked in.