After the Divorce, I Ended Up with My Ex-Husband’s "White Moonlight" [Transmigration] - Chapter 1

Villa in the Western Suburbs of C City.

“Madam, Madam!” Aunt Zhang put down the phone and hurried upstairs, her small steps patting against the floor. She couldn’t wait to share the good news.

Finding the vermilion bedroom door tightly shut, Aunt Zhang called out from the hallway, her voice thick with irrepressible joy. “Madam! Sir said he’s coming home tonight!”

There was no immediate response. Just as Aunt Zhang began to wonder if she hadn’t been heard, a calm, unhurried voice drifted from inside: “I know.”

Aunt Zhang paused. Usually, if the Mistress heard that the Master was coming home, she would have bolted out of the room to confirm the news. What was different today? Had her heart finally been broken beyond repair?

“Madam,” Aunt Zhang pleaded through the door, “The Master comes from a good family; he’s handsome and wealthy. It’s inevitable that young girls will try to cling to him. But as long as you remain the legitimate wife of this household, sooner or later…”

“I understand. You may go back to your work.” Aunt Zhang waited a moment longer, but when the door remained closed, she sighed. she turned and trudged downstairs, looking back with every step. To her disappointment, even after she reached the bottom floor, not a single sound came from upstairs.

“Madam didn’t come down?” the Lu family butler asked, appearing slightly surprised.

“No,” Aunt Zhang replied. the two shared a silent, perplexed look before returning to their duties.

“The sun must be rising from the west today,” Aunt Zhang muttered to herself while wiping a table, glancing at the bright sunlight outside.

Inside the room, once the hallway finally fell silent, Ning Qi touched her face in disbelief. It was warm. She… she was alive?!

No, she was supposed to be dead. Everyone knew the eldest miss of the Ning family had been frail and sickly since childhood; doctors had predicted she wouldn’t live past twenty. It was only because of her family’s wealth that she had lasted as long as she did.

She had spent most of her life in hospital wards. When she finally closed her eyes, she had felt a sense of relief. Her only regret was her family—her parents, her brother, and Sister Lian Mu—who were all still waiting for a miracle. In the end, she had failed them.

The room was not hers. Ning Qi surveyed the unfamiliar space. She was lying on a massive two-meter bed with charcoal-gray linens. To her left was a small nightstand holding only a phone. Beside it stood a row of wardrobes, and directly opposite was a vanity.

Ning Qi threw back the covers and climbed out of bed, struggling toward the mirror. Her head was dizzy, yet she found she could walk more easily than she ever could before.

The person in the mirror looked very similar to her. This body was thin, and its face was slightly sallow, but it was in far better condition than her previous self. Her original skin had been deathly pale, and she had never possessed such thick, lush hair.

Yet, her eyes felt stinging and heavy, as if she had just finished crying. Upon closer inspection, they were red and swollen. As Ning Qi touched them, a tear escaped her control and rolled down her cheek.

The curtains were half-drawn. Ning Qi pulled the heavy black fabric aside to let the sunlight in and cracked open two windows. Exhausted by the effort, she sat back on the bed.

“Sleeping pills?” On the nightstand, several pills lay scattered next to an overturned bottle. With her years of medical experience, Ning Qi recognized them instantly.

Recalling the weakness she felt upon waking, she realized it wasn’t just the disorientation of transmigration—this body had taken sleeping pills. It seemed she had only taken one; her stomach didn’t hurt, she just felt drained of strength.

What is this person’s name? Where am I? Unable to find any memories, she opened the nightstand drawer.

“Ning Qi.” This person had the same name?

Beneath her ID card was another document: a marriage certificate! The edges were slightly wrinkled, as if it had been handled many times. Ning Qi opened it. The woman in the photo was clearly the owner of this body; she wore a faint smile, her lips curved upward in a way that radiated genuine happiness.

In stark contrast was the man beside her. He was handsome, but he didn’t look like a groom; he looked as if someone owed him tens of millions of dollars. There wasn’t a hint of joy on his face. Clearly, the marriage was not a happy one.

“Lu Mingze.” The name sounded familiar. Ning Qi placed the certificate back.

“Madam…” Ning Qi recalled the way the woman outside had addressed her. She went to the wardrobe, dressed, brushed her hair, and headed downstairs.

“Madam!” Aunt Zhang beamed when she heard the movement upstairs. She knew the Master’s return wouldn’t leave the Mistress indifferent. “Madam, I’ve prepared the ingredients. If you’d like to cook dinner—”

The words died in her throat. Ning Qi’s outfit was not that of someone intending to cook.

Her large eyes were bright, her features delicate against her fair skin, and her seaweed-like hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a sky-blue dress adorned with star-shaped gems that shimmered with every movement. Aunt Zhang’s eyes lit up.

The Mistress usually wore drab grays and blacks. Today, she had actually chosen this sky-blue dress! The only mismatch was the slippers on her feet, but that hardly mattered. Aunt Zhang thought she looked better than the celebrities on TV. After all, the Mistress was a natural beauty who rarely bothered with makeup.

It seemed the Mistress was still the same—her heart still belonged to the Master. Aunt Zhang felt certain that with the Mistress looking this beautiful, the Master would surely have a change of heart.

“Do I need to cook dinner?” Ning Qi asked with a soft smile and a gentle voice.

When she smiled, a small, charming dimple appeared. Even the middle-aged Aunt Zhang was moved by the sight. “No, no need.”

Normally, Ning Qi would insist on preparing a lavish meal whenever the Master returned, hoping he would taste it. He almost never did, except for the two times the Dowager Mrs. Lu had been present.

That’s a relief, Ning Qi thought. She didn’t know the first thing about cooking. She smiled again and asked, “I’m a bit hungry. Is there anything to eat?”

“Yes!” Aunt Zhang rushed to the kitchen and brought out a plate of pastries. “Madam, have some of these to tide you over while I start on dinner.”

“Thank you.” Ning Qi took a bite and sighed with genuine delight. “These are delicious!”

In all her years of cooking, Aunt Zhang had never seen someone savor her food so intently or praise her so sincerely. But I’ve made these pastries before, Aunt Zhang thought, suppressing her confusion. She asked, “What would you like for dinner tonight?”

“Anything is fine,” Ning Qi replied, her voice warm. She truly didn’t know what to choose.

As Aunt Zhang busied herself in the kitchen, Ning Qi focused on the pastries. Within ten minutes, half the plate was gone. She wanted more—it had been so long since she had tasted real food—but she patted her stomach, reminding herself she had to save room for dinner.

At 5:30 PM, Aunt Zhang finished the main dishes. Just as she was about to ask if they should wait for the Master, the doorbell rang. Aunt Zhang opened the door to reveal the man from the photograph: this body’s husband.

Before Ning Qi could get a good look at him, a deafening thud echoed through the house. The sound was harsh and jarring; Ning Qi winced and instinctively closed her eyes.

Lu Mingze had slammed the door intentionally to show his fury. He expected the woman who usually greeted him with desperate smiles to come running, yet she just sat there, motionless and dazed.

A flash of contempt crossed Lu Mingze’s eyes. This woman was constantly testing his limits. Did she really think he was blind?

“Ning Qi!” he barked, his tone icy. “Did I not warn you before? Stop causing trouble for Yun Shu!”

“Who is Yun Shu?”

Her honest question only fueled his rage. “Acting? You’re getting quite good at it!” Lu Mingze sneered. “Now that Mother has passed away, what is there left to pretend for?”

Ning Qi froze. In a flash of clarity, the names clicked together. She had transmigrated into a book.

Young Master Lu’s Stand-in Bride was a novel Ning Qi had skimmed out of boredom in the hospital. It was a story about the male lead, Lu Mingze, and the female lead, Yun Shu, and their tumultuous journey to a happy ending.

She remembered that Lu Mingze had an ex-wife. She had transmigrated into the role of that cannon-fodder ex-wife!

Seeing no reaction, Lu Mingze finally took a proper look at her. Hmph, she’s dressed up better than usual, he thought. Does she think this will seduce me? Dream on.

Remembering his purpose, he said coldly, “Ning Qi, I will only say this once: do not harass Yun Shu. If you do, the consequences will be more than you can handle!”

“I understand.” Ning Qi suppressed her irritation. In the Ning family, no one had ever dared to speak to her like that. She had been pampered her whole life, but she knew how to read the room. Times had changed; she had to endure.

“You—” Lu Mingze stalled. He had prepared a whole lecture, but her quick compliance caught him off guard. He wondered what trick she was playing now. However, since he’d made his point, he snapped, “At least you’re sensible.”

“Sir,” Aunt Zhang whispered from the side, barely daring to breathe. “Will you be staying for dinner?”

“No.” Lu Mingze didn’t want to spend another second in the same room as this woman. To him, her presence was an insult to his eyes.

Suddenly, a phone rang. Lu Mingze answered, rubbed his temples, and sat down—keeping a distance of at least three meters from Ning Qi.

“Senior…” A sobbing voice came through the line. Even from three meters away, Ning Qi could hear it clearly. “I… I didn’t want to trouble you, but someone took photos of you dropping me off and is using them to threaten me. Senior, it’s all my fault. You helped me, and now I’ve ruined your reputation. I don’t care about myself, but you…”

“What exactly happened?”

“I…” The voice on the other end broke into incoherent sobs. “Senior, I’ll send you the photos.” She hung up, her cries muffled.

Lu Mingze glared at Ning Qi, who remained seated calmly.

“Ning Qi!” he snarled, gritting his teeth. “Take a good look at this!”

He shoved his phone toward her. The screen showed photos of Lu Mingze and another woman looking quite intimate. This was likely the woman on the phone—the female lead. Ning Qi looked at them and said nothing.

“What? Nothing to say? You went out of your way to give yourself a ‘green hat’ (cuckold yourself)? There is nothing between us, yet you went through the trouble of having these taken…”

Nothing between you? Ning Qi found it absurd. If you’re so innocent, why are you afraid of photos? However, she knew that at this point in the story, the male lead hadn’t actually started a physical relationship with the female lead yet. His heart belonged to someone else—his “White Moonlight”—who hadn’t returned to the country yet.

“I know nothing is going on between you two,” Ning Qi said, reminding herself to be cautious. But her next words slipped out: “You have someone else in your heart.”

“How do you know that?” Lu Mingze’s fury boiled over. Only his mother and two childhood friends knew about that. How did Ning Qi find out?

In the next second, Ning Qi felt a crushing grip on her throat. Lu Mingze had lunged forward and grabbed her neck. Gasping for air, Ning Qi felt as though she were back in the hospital, undergoing a failed resuscitation. she clawed at his hand, but she had no strength.

“Sir! Sir!” Aunt Zhang screamed in terror. The butler came rushing in.

“I… heard it… from Mom…” Ning Qi choked out the words.

Suddenly, the pressure vanished. She collapsed onto the sofa like a kite with a broken string. She clutched her throat, coughing violently, as Aunt Zhang rushed to pat her back.

“Let me tell you, Ning Qi,” Lu Mingze’s voice was devoid of warmth. “You will never get what you want from me. And you had better take that secret to your grave.”

With that, he strode out. Moments later, the heavy sound of the front door slamming shut echoed through the villa.

“Madam, have some water.”

“Thank you.” Ning Qi took a breath, her head bowed. Her thick hair fell forward, masking every trace of her expression.