She Said She’d Love Only Me… While Cheating Behind My Back. So I Left Divorce Papers and Vanished

Overview

After discovering that his wife, CEO Liu Ruyan, is having an affair with her 21-year-old assistant, Lin Yu, Chen Ze quietly decides to disappear rather than confront her. The clues pile up: Lin wears Chen and Ruyan’s wedding ring in a photo, Ruyan comes home smelling of another man’s cologne, and Chen finds Lin’s underwear in her car. On their wedding anniversary, Ruyan offers him flowers and affection. Chen gives her a small box containing the melted remains of their rings.

While Ruyan continues to promise that she’ll love only him, Chen changes his name to Xiang Yuan, arranges the divorce through a lawyer, closes his accounts, and prepares to leave for Norway to study art. He carefully plans his exit, including making multiple copies of the divorce papers because he expects Ruyan to tear up the first one.

Later, Ruyan sees Chen praising their marriage on TV. She is still wearing the ring she made for him, and the audience sighs over their apparent romance. Chen’s reaction is a bitter laugh.

The Affair and the Separation

Ruyan’s synchronized messages reveal explicit plans with Lin Yu, making the affair impossible to ignore. Chen’s health deteriorates under the stress. Then, during a hospital visit, Lin sends him an ultrasound image and claims that Ruyan is eight weeks pregnant. Chen doesn’t argue or ask for an explanation. He collects the divorce papers and leaves, while Ruyan insists that he can’t escape her.

Ruyan’s confidence collapses when she returns from a trip with Lin and finds Chen gone. His brief note says he knows about the affair and is leaving. She searches the villa, calls their friends, tries to access his deleted social accounts, and even offers a lawyer $50 million to reveal his location.

The lawyer refuses, saying he prefers to earn his money honestly. He also points out that Chen prepared plenty of divorce papers. Ruyan tears them up anyway, but the lawyer explains that she can tear up as many as she likes—he can print more.

Lin Yu’s Exposure

Lin’s messages reveal him to be a calculating opportunist. He sent Chen photos and taunts, demanded gifts, and hoped Ruyan would leave her husband for him. When Ruyan confronts him, she throws him out.

Lin’s attempt to save face goes badly. Neighbors mock him for being the affair partner, and his plea for help brings ridicule rather than sympathy.

Ruyan’s Search and Chen’s New Life

Ruyan’s search for Chen leads nowhere. She travels to Norway but discovers that he is living under his new name.

After months of guilt and desperation, Ruyan publicly confesses her infidelity on a TV show and begs Chen to forgive her. She also becomes seriously ill after refusing to eat or drink and suffers a miscarriage. Her family pleads for Chen to return, but he has deliberately cut himself off from news of her.

In Norway, Chen builds a quieter life, painting winter landscapes and caring for a kitten. He tells his new friend Lisa that he won’t sacrifice his life to save someone who betrayed him.

Ending

The story ends on a gentler, open-ended note. At a Christmas gathering with Lisa and her sister Anna, Anna shyly asks Chen to be her boyfriend. He turns her down for now, explaining that he may leave the city someday. Still, the moment hints that he is beginning to imagine a future beyond his painful marriage.

Characters

• Chen Ze / Xiang Yuan — Ruyan’s husband, who leaves to begin a new life in Norway.
• Liu Ruyan — Chen’s wife and a CEO.
• Lin Yu — Ruyan’s assistant and affair partner.
• The divorce lawyer — Helps Chen arrange the divorce.
• Lisa — Chen’s friend in Norway.
• Anna — Lisa’s sister.