After Being Cheated, I Had a Flash Marriage with My Ex's Aunt - Chapter 13

Bai Shuyi walked over to the cat food shelf and pulled out a can.

In an instant, the two cats acted as if they’d found their favorite drug. They tilted their heads back and swarmed her, paws scrabbling against her trouser legs.

“Hey, watch the claws!”

Faced with the feline onslaught, Shuyi found herself utterly defenseless. Her expression was a mix of indulgence and tenderness. “I’m opening it, see? If one isn’t enough, there are more.”

Whatever Shuyi had intended to do when she first got home was now completely forgotten; her only mission was to serve the cats.

*****

Meanwhile, Li Sui finished her workday. Just as she was about to shut down her computer and head home, her messaging app began to blink incessantly. “Don’t Knock” had finally replied.

Don’t Knock: Are you Li Sui?

Li Sui blinked, her fingers flying across the keys. Li Sui: Did Mimi tell you my name already?

Don’t Knock: You forgot? I’m a hacker. If I want to look someone up, it’s child’s play.

Li Sui didn’t mind the attitude; people with real talent were usually a bit arrogant. She replied quickly, throwing in a bit of flattery.

Li Sui: The Great Boss is truly amazing. Then finding the person I’m looking for should be a piece of cake for you, right?

Don’t Knock: Wait, that’s not right. Do you really have no clue who I am?

Li Sui was genuinely baffled. Mimi had pushed this contact to her; how else was she supposed to know this “Great Boss”?

Li Sui: Boss, aren’t we just getting to know each other now? The person I’m looking for goes by the handle “Checkmate.” It started years ago…

Before she could finish the sentence, a “nudge” notification shook her screen.

Don’t Knock: CARROT!!

Don’t Knock: Li Sui, you’re Carrot, right?

Don’t Knock: It’s me, Qiao Zui. The “Shorty” from next door.

Don’t Knock: Does that ring a bell?

Li Sui’s heart skipped a beat. She was stunned. “Carrot” was her childhood nickname, and “Shorty” belonged to her neighbor and desk-mate. Shorty had moved abroad years ago, and they’d lost touch.

She’s back? And she’s a world-class hacker?

Li Sui forced herself to process the fact that the hacker she’d hired was actually her primary school seatmate. She calmly asked if she had returned to the country.

Don’t Knock: I’ve been back for a month! You’re in Gandu, right? Who is this person you’re looking for? Let’s just meet up and you can tell me in person.

Li Sui’s fingers paused over the keys, lost in thought.

*****

Back at the villa, Shuyi was keeping herself busy. Having never owned a cat, she called her mother, Bai Zhilan, to get a crash course on “Newbie Cat Care.” She scooped the litter, changed the water, and tidied the cat beds with surprising efficiency.

Once the chores were done, she finally began to enjoy the perks of being a cat owner.

Li Sui had messaged her saying she had the restaurant address. Shuyi followed up by asking what time she finished work. The reservation was for 7:00 PM; was she heading there straight from the studio?

There was no reply. No phone call.

Shuyi gave up for the moment. She scooped up the blue cat and settled into a lounge chair on the balcony, stroking the cat’s head. The ball of fur was incredibly soft. Dudu, the blue cat, was a clingy one; he squinted his eyes in contentment and began to purr loudly. Dundun, the cow cat, remained aloof, batting a toy around by himself.

Shuyi let out a soft laugh, a rare sense of joy bubbling up inside her. She couldn’t resist filming a short video and posting it to a private social media account.

Caption: Marriage is actually great. One wife, two “kids.” I’m the real winner in life.

Just as she was about to set her phone down, a call came in. The ID read: “Dad.”

The smile on Shuyi’s face vanished. Her mind went back to her announcement in the family group chat. Her father had been hounding her with messages, demanding to know which prestigious family in Gandu his daughter had married into.

If anyone in the Bai family was old-fashioned, it was her father, Chu He. He had pushed her to marry multiple times, introducing her to daughters of high-society elites, firmly believing that marriage should be a strategic alliance between equals. He would never approve of her marrying a “commoner.”

Shuyi didn’t pick up. She knew her father’s views on marriage were outdated and completely incompatible with her own. They wouldn’t last three sentences before a fight broke out. Besides, she had never been the “filial” type. She chose her own path.

However, she didn’t want to leave things unresolved and risk him treating Li Sui poorly later. She took screenshots of her father’s messages and sent them to her mother.

Shuyi: Mom, you should have a talk with Dad.

Shuyi: My marriage isn’t a game. I won’t let Li Sui be treated unfairly.

*****

As the sun began to set, Li Sui returned. She pulled into the garage and headed for the door, carrying a box of desserts. She looked up at the new villa.

All those years of working herself to the bone hadn’t just been about making her ex happy; she had wanted a home. She wanted the warmth of a family. Her marriage to Shuyi was accidental, but in the short time they’d spent together, she was already starting to feel a sense of peace.

She knew Shuyi was waiting for her. I hope I didn’t stay at the studio too long.

Li Sui reached for the door handle, her heart fluttering with a tiny spark of anticipation. She imagined the cats rushing to greet her. Shuyi had said she wasn’t allergic, but she hadn’t said if she actually liked them. Are they getting along?

Before she could turn the handle, the door swung open from the inside.

It wasn’t a swarm of cats that greeted her. Instead, the beautiful Shuyi stood there, cradling the blue cat in her arms. Dundun, the usually unfriendly cow cat, was lounging on the floor nearby, watching Li Sui with a look of feline arrogance.

Li Sui: “…”

They were… waiting for me to come home?

The scene was so domestic and warm that Li Sui felt an immediate wave of relaxation wash over her.

Shuyi’s expression was cool, but her voice held a hint of lazy playfulness. “Do I get a reward?”

“What?” Li Sui blinked, confused.

“A reward for helping you look after these two,” Shuyi said. She scratched the blue cat under the chin and eyed the dessert box in Li Sui’s hand. “Don’t tell me the ‘reward’ is just a little cake?”

Li Sui hadn’t expected Shuyi to be indifferent to sweets. She awkwardly tucked the box behind her back and offered a shy smile. “If you don’t like desserts… what kind of reward do you want?”

Shuyi saw the girl’s complete lack of defenses and let out a soft, low chuckle. “If I told you what I wanted… would you actually give it to me?”

Li Sui froze. Her mind immediately took a sharp turn into the “scandalous” lane. Couples asking for rewards was usually a form of… flirting. And they were, technically, a couple.

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