After the Divorce, I Ended Up with My Ex-Husband’s "White Moonlight" [Transmigration] - Chapter 9

Having successfully obtained Qin Shi’s contact information, Ning Qi was beaming. Since it was a private number, she figured she could probably add her on WeChat.

Lying in bed, Ning Qi mulled it over. Finally, she decided to give it a shot. She found the account easily and sent a verification request.

“What should I write?” Ning Qi thought for a moment before simply typing her own name.

Just then, her phone rang. It was Zhang Sao. Ning Qi answered and listened quietly.

“Madam…” Zhang Sao stammered on the other end, clearly hesitant.

“Zhang Sao, please, just say it.” Ning Qi assumed Lu Mingze had caused some fresh trouble, but she didn’t much care either way.

“Madam,” Zhang Sao said, having finally summoned the courage to call, “Young Master’s special assistant called today. He said… he said he needs you to come home.”

“Did he say why?” Ning Qi asked.

“No,” Zhang Sao replied firmly. “He just said you need to come home.”

“Then I’m not going.” Ning Qi refused flatly, without a hint of hesitation. She wasn’t Lu Mingze’s subordinate, nor was she his servant. Why should she rush back for a vague summons when she was living a perfectly carefree life here?

“Madam,” Zhang Sao pleaded helplessly, “you should come back first. Between a husband and wife, things eventually need to be cleared up. Even if it comes to… that step…”

Zhang Sao trailed off, but Ning Qi understood her meaning. She was right; she still needed to divorce Lu Mingze. How could she finalize a divorce without going back?

“Alright, Zhang Sao, I understand. I’ll head back tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

“Madam,” Zhang Sao sighed in relief. She looked like she wanted to say more but settled for: “Then I’ll start cooking early tomorrow. Madam, is there anything special you’d like to eat?”

“Anything is fine,” Ning Qi said, recalling Zhang Sao’s cooking from a few days ago. “I love everything you make.”

“Good, good!” Zhang Sao sounded delighted. “If Madam likes it, then you should stay at the old estate. I’ll cook for you every day.”

While Zhang Sao’s food was indeed delicious, Ning Qi knew her marriage to Lu Mingze was living on borrowed time. Sigh. It looks like I’ll have to learn how to cook for myself, she thought. Eating out every day isn’t a long-term solution. Unless she wanted to eat vegetarian every day—which she clearly didn’t.

After hanging up, Ning Qi saw that her friend request had been accepted. Qin Shi’s profile picture was a deep blue sea. A woman sat by the shore, but her face was obscured; Ning Qi couldn’t be sure if it was Qin Shi herself.

What should I send? Having grown up surrounded by almost no one except family and medical staff, Ning Qi found the art of conversation—especially online—quite daunting. It wasn’t even 9:00 PM yet.

“Are you busy with work?” she messaged.

“It’s alright,” Qin Shi replied almost instantly.

“I’m at home now, at the place you dropped me off last time. This place is…” Ning Qi typed out a long, rambling paragraph before finally asking, “Qin Shi, are you at home right now, or at the office?”

After all that talk, that was the real point, wasn’t it? Qin Shi looked at the wall of text and noted that Ning Qi’s typing speed was remarkably fast, considering she could chatter on for so long.

“At home.”

Sigh. She really is concise to a fault, Ning Qi grumbled inwardly. Goddess Qin Shi, couldn’t you manage just two more words? She didn’t seem this quiet when we met in person!

Then again, perhaps her location was a matter of privacy. Ning Qi remembered how her older brother never shared his location with people he wasn’t close to; it was better to keep some personal space and stay cautious.

I’m talking too much, Ning Qi reflected. She quickly changed the subject. “Qin Shi, what do you usually like to do for fun?”

Her friend Sister Mu had told her that for two people to get to know each other, they had to be able to talk. She could talk to Sister Mu about her brother, but she had nothing to talk about with Qin Shi yet. Finding a common hobby was a good start, right?

The question caught Qin Shi off guard. “I don’t really have any hobbies.”

“How is that possible?” Ning Qi replied instantly.

Everyone had to like something. Ning Qi’s father liked to have a drink, especially during holidays; he didn’t drink much, but he always insisted on fine liquor, treating it like a ritual. He loved collecting wine.

Ning Qi’s mother loved gardening—Ning Qi always felt this hobby was for her sake, so that she could see flowers and greenery even when she couldn’t leave the house. As for her brother and Sister Mu, they both had their own interests.

“Then what do you like to do?” Qin Shi asked back.

“Me?” Ning Qi typed out another flurry of text. “I like so many things! Singing, dancing, traveling, painting—I want to learn them all.”

Unfortunately, she only had a surface-level understanding of any of them. But it didn’t matter now; she had plenty of time to learn.

“That’s good,” was Qin Shi’s simple evaluation.

They chatted for a while longer. It was mostly Ning Qi talking, with Qin Shi providing brief responses. Eventually, Ning Qi let out a yawn as her internal clock began to protest.

“Qin Shi, I’m sleepy! I’m going to bed now.” Then, she sent a sweet, well-behaved kitten emoji and added, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Qin Shi replied.

“Miss.” Just as Qin Shi put down her phone, Nanny Wu brought over a glass of warm water. “Are you still busy?”

“No.”

“I saw you typing away on your phone just now, so I waited. Were you chatting with a friend?”

“I suppose so.” Qin Shi figured that since Ning Qi had insisted on being friends, this qualified.

Qin Shi glanced down at her phone again. It was 9:30 PM. She had been chatting for a while. Scrolling back through the logs, she realized she had essentially been “listening” for half an hour.

As Nanny Wu left the room, she wondered: Who could she be talking to for so long? Having raised the girl, she knew her mistress well. Usually, unless it was work, she only spoke at length with people she truly got along with—and she certainly didn’t talk this much even when reviewing documents!

She must be in love, Nanny Wu guessed with the confidence of experience. She felt an immediate urge to find someone to gossip with.

No, wait, it’s a secret. Nanny Wu pulled herself back. Since the Young Miss hadn’t told the family about being in a relationship, she had to keep it quiet. If that was the case, she needed to guard the secret even more carefully.

But why wouldn’t she say anything? The Master and Madam wouldn’t object to her dating. After a moment, Nanny Wu relaxed. The Young Miss surely had her reasons. She just needed to keep her mouth shut. With that, she hurried off to the kitchen with a light step.

For the trip back to the Lu estate, Ning Qi didn’t have much to pack. On the contrary, she needed to pack up her things there to bring here. After all, this house was the only property that was officially in her name.

When Ning Qi rang the doorbell, Zhang Sao was ready and waiting. The moment she heard the sound, she sprinted to the door like a track star.

“Madam!” she greeted warmly, startling Ning Qi slightly.

“Zhang Sao,” Ning Qi called out while changing into her slippers.

“Madam, please, come sit.” But before Ning Qi could even sit down, the doorbell rang again. Zhang Sao’s eyes flickered—a detail Ning Qi noticed—but Zhang Sao didn’t move this time. It was Butler Lu who went to open the door.

The person who walked in wasn’t the “Young Master” Zhang Sao had expected. It was another man—of medium height with a thin face and shrewd, sharp eyes. He was dressed in professional attire and carried a briefcase.

“Are you Miss Ning Qi?” He nodded slightly to Butler Lu and Zhang Sao before walking directly toward her.

This didn’t stop Ning Qi from sitting down. Zhang Sao gestured for him to sit opposite her.

“I am,” Ning Qi said. Then she asked, “Is there something you need, sir?”

“Miss Ning Qi, hello,” the man said, introducing himself as Yang Rui. He pulled a document from his bag and slid it across the table toward her.

“This is the divorce agreement commissioned by Mr. Lu Mingze.