After the Divorce, I Ended Up with My Ex-Husband’s "White Moonlight" [Transmigration] - Chapter 15

The familiar, mechanical voice of a female operator drifted from the phone. Lu Mingze threw the device onto his desk in a fit of irritation. Since the events of three days ago, he had completely lost contact with Yun Shu.

Calls to her phone wouldn’t go through. Her friends claimed they had no idea where she was. Lu Mingze had even sent people to her hometown, but she was nowhere to be found.

Hearing a knock at the door, he smoothed his expression into his usual cold mask. “Enter.”

“President Lu.” His special assistant walked in, clutching a package. His steps were hurried and his voice wavered, immediately drawing Lu Mingze’s ire. “When did you become so clumsy?”

“Pres—President…” The assistant hesitated for a long time before placing a stack of photos on the desk and retreating several steps.

“What is this?” Lu Mingze sat down and picked up the envelope. He didn’t open it immediately, but looked at his assistant with suspicion.

“President Lu, I think… you should see for yourself.” The assistant didn’t dare meet his eyes and looked away.

Lu Mingze opened the folder. After seeing the first photo, he flipped through the rest with increasing speed. His face darkened with fury, his fingers clenching the prints so tightly they crumpled. “Where did these come from?”

“Sir, I don’t know. A package arrived for me today, and I opened it like I usually do. Who knew—”

“Who else saw these besides you?”

“No—no one!” the assistant blurted out. “I only saw the first two.” Realizing that even seeing two was inappropriate, he grew more frantic. “President, I’ll go ahead and—”

“Where was it sent from?”

The assistant handed over the tracking slip immediately.

Lu Mingze fell silent, his expression becoming more hideous by the second. The assistant tried his best to make himself invisible. Finally, summoning his courage, he asked weakly, “President, may I… may I leave now?”

“Get out,” Lu Mingze said coldly.

The words felt like a royal pardon. The assistant bolted out of the room, not forgetting to pull the door shut behind him.

Once the room was silent, Lu Mingze scrutinized the photos again. Who could have taken them? How many people had seen them? Names flashed through his mind and were discarded one by one until he suddenly thought of Ning Qi.

“Zhang Sao, put her on the phone.”

“Her?” Back at the Lu estate, Zhang Sao was confused.

“Sir, do you mean the Madam?” she asked hopefully.

“I mean Ning Qi,” Lu Mingze snapped.

“But… Madam isn’t at the house right now,” Zhang Sao replied.

“Not there?” Lu Mingze was stunned. Before, Ning Qi was always either at the hospital or at home.

He suddenly remembered seeing her dining with Qin Shi. This woman was a better actress than he thought; the moment his mother had been dead for six months, her true colors were showing. “Then where is she?”

“Madam hasn’t lived at the estate for quite a while now.”

“If she’s not there, where is she?” Since taking over the company, Lu Mingze hadn’t stepped foot in the family home once; he truly hadn’t known she had moved out.

“Madam didn’t say. Sir, is something the matter?”

“Zhang Sao, do you have her mobile number?”

“I do.” Zhang Sao quickly flipped through her directory. “Sir, I’ll read it out to you.”

Once he had the number, Lu Mingze said, “Zhang Sao, don’t call her ‘Madam’ anymore. She doesn’t deserve the title.”

“What on earth happened?” Zhang Sao hung up the phone, utterly bewildered. Hearing the Young Master’s tone, it sounded like he was going to settle a debt. She began to regret giving him the number so easily.

But regret was useless now. After a moment, Zhang Sao called Ning Qi to warn her.

At that moment, Ning Qi was practicing the piano. She had played the same piece dozens of times, but she was worried it wasn’t perfect yet.

I have to send Qin Shi the best possible version, she thought. Qin Shi was her first real listener in this world—and one who had actually asked to hear her play. She wanted to be in her best form.

When Zhang Sao called, Ning Qi remained calm. Hearing the woman’s nervous, shaky voice, Ning Qi said, “It’s okay, Zhang Sao. You don’t need to worry about me.”

After some more soothing, they hung up. Ning Qi set the phone aside and played through the piece once more, feeling quite cheerful. Just as the final note faded, her phone rang again. She didn’t answer.

The caller was persistent, ringing several times. Estimating that the timing was right, Ning Qi finally picked up.

“Where are you?” Lu Mingze skipped the pleasantries.

“Lu Mingze, President Lu,” Ning Qi said unhurriedly, idly plucking a few notes on the piano with one hand. “You usually never pick up my calls. What made you decide to call me today?” She assumed her old number had been on his blacklist for ages.

“Where. Are. You.” Lu Mingze was straining to suppress his rage, trying to extract her address.

“If you have something to say, say it,” Ning Qi said, her fingers dancing lightly over the keys. “Can’t you hear? I’m busy.”

“Did you take those photos?”

Finally, the main event. Ning Qi smiled. “Of course not.”

The man on the other end stalled. If she didn’t take them, who did? Wait—if she hadn’t taken them, her first reaction should have been to ask what photos he was talking about.

Lu Mingze realized he was being played. Before he could explode, Ning Qi drawled, “I hired someone to take them.”

“You—”

“Lu Mingze,” Ning Qi interrupted, “you need to understand one thing: right now, you are the one asking a favor of me.”

“What do you want?”

Silence stretched for a long moment. Then, Ning Qi spoke: “Have your lawyer bring the divorce agreement.” She rattled off an address and hung up.

“Ning Qi!” For the first time in his life, someone had hung up on him. Lu Mingze kicked his chair over in fury.

Outside the office, the Lu Group employees exchanged glances at the sound of the crash and then went back to their work. Only the special assistant was in a state of pure panic. Is he going to fire me? He knew the President had been trying to divorce his wife… so the President was cheating, and now the assistant not only knew about it, but had seen the visual evidence. He felt utterly doomed.

At 1:00 PM, Lu Mingze arrived at the location Ning Qi had specified. It was a tea house—elegant, retro, and quiet. People were leisurely sipping tea and discussing business.

The frantic pace of the city seemed to slow down here, but Lu Mingze was in no mood for aesthetics. Ten minutes later, Ning Qi strolled in.

Until she sat down across from him, Lu Mingze didn’t even recognize her. When she removed her mask, his eyes looked ready to spit fire.

“Ning Qi, don’t think you can use this to threaten me.”

This woman claimed to love him, yet she had used his mother to force him into marriage. Now, she probably wanted to use these photos to force him to stay. “I’m telling you, it is impossible for me to stay with you.”

“Don’t act like I actually want to stay with you,” Ning Qi replied, no longer needing to hold back. “Infidelity, a scumbag husband… this divorce is happening today!”

At the mention of “infidelity,” Lu Mingze bristled. “Ning Qi, watch your tongue!”

“You had the nerve to do it, but not the nerve to admit it?” Ning Qi took a sip of tea.

She knew his type. If you tried to be subtle, he would bully you. But she spoke boldly because she knew he was powerless here. At the Lu estate, he dared to be aggressive because it was his domain. Here, in public, if he wasn’t a fool, he knew he couldn’t even raise his voice. The patrons didn’t know Ning Qi, but they would certainly recognize the face of President Lu.

“Did you bring the agreement?” she asked.

Lu Mingze shoved the papers across the table. Ning Qi wasn’t offended. Expecting respect from him was a fairy tale; she wasn’t going to waste energy on it.

She glanced at the “Clean Break” clause. Exactly as expected.

“This is impossible.” Ning Qi tore that page out right in front of him and dropped it into the trash can. “I suggest you think it over and have Lawyer Yang write a new one.”

“How much do you want?” Lu Mingze finally understood. To him, this was all about her greed.

“Not much,” Ning Qi said with a pleasant smile. She signaled a number.

“Fifty million.” Lu Mingze could accept that. “I can—”

“Lu Mingze,” Ning Qi interrupted, “I truly wonder how the Lu Group has survived under your leadership. It must be a struggle.” She nodded thoughtfully. “The stocks are dropping every day, aren’t they?”

“You—” Lu Mingze thought of the photos and suppressed his temper. “How much do you want?”

Ning Qi took another sip of tea, acting like a genuine connoisseur. She slowly stated her real price.

“Are you insane?” Lu Mingze bolted upright. Sensing the stares from other tables, he slowly sat back down.

“Lu Mingze, you’re the insane one,” Ning Qi said. “In two years of marriage, it was Ning Qi who handled your father’s burial. It was Ning Qi who stayed by your mother’s side when she was ill. And yet, for the divorce, you only thought about leaving her with nothing!”

Thinking about the original Ning Qi’s tragic end, fury rose in her chest. She had spent the last few days reading the host’s diaries. Because she was lonely, the original Ning Qi had filled volumes. Her parents were divorced, her father had died saving Lu’s mother—she was all alone in C City. She had pinned all her hopes on this husband, only to receive this in return.

“Don’t forget, the person who saved your mother was named Ning!”

At this, Lu Mingze felt a flicker of guilt. When his parents had that car accident, he thought he had lost them both. It was only because of Mr. Ning that his mother survived.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to repay you,” he argued, recalling the scene. “I told my mother that if you weren’t in the mood for the Gaokao, the Lu Group would pay for your university directly. Even if you didn’t want to go to school, I would have compensated you. But I never intended to marry you.”

“Then why did you agree?” Ning Qi challenged. “You went to the photo shoot for the marriage license. You signed the papers.”

As he opened his mouth to retort, she cut him off. “I don’t want to dig up old history. Just give me the money today.”

“Impossible,” he said firmly. “I can’t produce that kind of cash.”

“Think it over, Lu Mingze.” She wasn’t in a rush.

“Those photos… you…”

“Don’t assume everyone is as interested in your affair as you are,” Ning Qi said. “I have zero interest. However…” She smiled suddenly. “I’m sure someone would be interested in seeing those photos of you and your little lover.”

Lu Mingze’s face turned ashen. Ning Qi felt a sense of satisfaction. In truth, she didn’t care about the relationship between Lu Mingze and the female lead, Yun Shu. But since Lu Mingze wouldn’t let her live in peace, she wouldn’t return the favor. As for Yun Shu—whether she was truly drunk that night or not—she was the “other woman” now. Sorry, not sorry.

“I’m only taking what I deserve,” Ning Qi said. She had demanded half of the Lu Group’s profits from the last two years. She wouldn’t take less than she was owed, but she didn’t want a cent more.

“I can’t get that much cash right now,” Lu Mingze said, trying to stall. “I need time.”

“That’s your problem,” Ning Qi replied. “If I don’t get what I want today, these photos will appear on every phone in the country. Imagine the headlines: ‘Wealthy CEO’s Scandalous Affair with Elite University Student.’ It’s a journalist’s dream.”

“You—” Lu Mingze had thought she would use them in a lawsuit. He never expected her to go straight to the internet.

Ning Qi knew that even with proof of infidelity, the law wouldn’t necessarily give her a bigger slice of the pie. These photos were taken covertly; in a courtroom, they might be considered inadmissible as evidence.

So, she used them as a threat. She didn’t believe for a second that even if Lu Mingze didn’t care about the female lead’s reputation, he wouldn’t care about his own.

“Fine,” Lu Mingze said through gritted teeth. “I’ll find a way to get the money. Tomorrow—”

“Lu Mingze, are you deaf?” Ning Qi flashed her marriage certificate. “I’m throwing this book away today.”

“There are still a few hours before the Civil Affairs Bureau closes. I suggest you use your brain. I’m in no hurry.”

Ning Qi signaled the waiter for another cup of tea. She found the environment quite pleasant—perfectly suited to her current mood.

Lu Mingze stood up, his face livid. Ning Qi didn’t forget to give him one last instruction: “When you have it ready, go straight to the Bureau.