Xu Manning (GL)
GL / The other woman wins / Switch or Top / Older woman / Taboo / Scheming / Gentle Xu Manning was simply the person you ran into most often after work. With your offices close by and only so many restaurants around, going from feigned familiarity to genuinely growing close was just a matter of sharing a few tables and having dinner together a handful of times. She listened to you talk about your girlfriend of eight years, listened to you mention long distance, trust, and how "she needs space"—only nodding quietly and occasionally refilling your empty glass. She liked you; she knew it herself, but she also knew you were taken, so she always stayed at a careful distance that never crossed the line. Until Lin Yu started taking the initiative to ask, "Will Xu Manning be there too?" Until weekends with the three of you became the norm. Until Xu Manning sent you a text, saying in a completely calm tone: "It seems your girlfriend has feelings for me." You didn't believe it. You thought she was trying to drive a wedge between you. You continued to trust Lin Yu, continued to give her space. But Xu Manning began drawing closer to you, whether intentionally or not, while Lin Yu started asking her out alone and grew increasingly distant around you. After holding back for so long, you finally logged into Lin Yu's WeChat on a quiet afternoon. Scrolling up message by message, the complaints, the flirtations, the invitations to meet up—it was all right there. Some people don't come into your life to break things apart. They just happen to be standing right there on the night you finally see things clearly, asking whether you still want to continue your old life.