After the Divorce, the Whole World is Waiting for Us to Get Back Together - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The setting sun remained stationary, still bathing Meng Zhijin in its glow.

Her arm rested on the seat’s armrest, her fingers vanished into the long hair behind her ear as she propped up her head, looking somewhat casual. Her cool voice, as always, carried a hint of gentleness that, combined with the tepid sunlight, sounded like a playful joke.

But Cheng Xi knew it wasn’t just that. This was Meng Zhijin “teasing” her again. She was doing it on purpose.

Cheng Xi looked at Meng Zhijin sitting in the car without even a flinch of a frown. She was never the type to avoid someone just because of a few words. She got into the car calmly and spoke leisurely: “Xiao Qi said she’d accompany me back, I didn’t expect Teacher Meng to even lend her the car.”

“It turns out Teacher Meng is so good to her own people—answering every request and even giving double.”

The sun hanging behind the small studio building cast Cheng Xi’s shadow over Meng Zhijin. Hearing this, Meng Zhijin nodded naturally: “Yes.”

With the passenger picked up, the car started smoothly during their conversation. The greenery on both sides of the road was lush, with white magnolias blooming at regular intervals. The car followed the ramp onto the elevated highway, heading straight into the cluster of skyscrapers that seemed to touch the clouds.

Xiao Qi checked the side mirrors occasionally. After passing two exits, she said to Cheng Xi, “Teacher Cheng, don’t worry, there are no sasaengs following us. You can tell me your home address now.”

Cheng Xi nodded: “South Qingnian Road, Dongfeng Garden, West District.”

“Got it.” Xiao Qi nodded and pulled up the navigation for the driver.

With the suspicion of being followed cleared, Cheng Xi, who had been shooting all day, felt she could finally rest. Just as her head touched the soft headrest, she heard Meng Zhijin’s voice drift over: “Do sasaengs squat and follow your car often?”

“Not often.” Cheng Xi sat up straight again, propping her head to watch the retreating buildings outside. “It’s just that those few people are like weeds—you pull them and they grow back. Reporting them to the police worked at first, but for the past six months, it hasn’t been very effective.”

Cheng Xi hated discussing this topic; her voice was thick with disgust. She looked at Meng Zhijin’s profile reflected in the window glass and inexplicably withheld the second half of her sentence.

Sometimes her phone would receive explicit harassment messages from them, so disgusting she wanted to vomit.

“Mhm.”

Meng Zhijin gave a lukewarm response and then fell silent. It was as if her inquiry was merely to gather information on how these stalkers harassed her.

For a moment, Cheng Xi didn’t know what to say. Her lips moved, but then she pressed them shut again. Right, she and Meng Zhijin were no longer in that kind of relationship. For her to ask as a newly re-acquainted “stranger” counted as concern; whether she helped later was her own choice. There was no longer a need for Meng Zhijin to exhaust all efforts for her like she did in the past.

Even if some of those efforts weren’t things Cheng Xi had wanted.

The sunset grew dim. Outside was like a scene from a night lantern festival, constantly changing. In a blink, the scenery became familiar. Seeing the car approaching the main gate of the residential complex, Cheng Xi said, “You can just drop me off here.”

However, the car had already made the turn. The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and, acting as if he hadn’t heard her, drove straight toward the gated entrance.

The old man at the guard post was the type to judge a book by its cover. Seeing such an expensive car approaching, he scrambled to manually open the gate. Without pausing, the car smoothly entered the complex where it didn’t belong.

“The gate management in your complex isn’t very good,” Meng Zhijin remarked, her eyes calmly scanning the scenery of Cheng Xi’s neighborhood.

“It’s because your car is too expensive,” Cheng Xi refused to admit it, arguing back. “This is an old high-end complex; the property management is fine.”

Meng Zhijin said nothing. She didn’t validate the excuse.

Cheng Xi didn’t push the issue. When she saw the driver approaching her specific building, she said crisply, “We’re here, right here.”

The car door was opened and then shut by the person getting out. A loud “thud” echoed in the quiet neighborhood. Cheng Xi’s footsteps toward the unit door paused, and she turned to wave at the person inside. “Stay safe on the road. Thank you, Teacher Meng, for the ride today.”

The car’s anti-spy tint was excellent; even in the bright light, only a vague silhouette could be seen. Without waiting for a reaction or a response, Cheng Xi turned and entered the building.

The elevator, once a symbol of a luxury complex, now bore the mottled marks of time, humming loudly as it ran. It felt as if it were carrying a dozen people, yet from beginning to end, Cheng Xi was the only one inside.

Stepping out of the elevator, she began messaging Xiao Wu to say she was home safe while walking toward her apartment. However, the further she walked, the more she felt something was off.

Right at her front door stood someone dressed as a delivery rider. The person wasn’t tall; the oversized uniform vest hung loosely on them. A helmet hid their gender, but they were hunched over, seemingly doing something to her door. They didn’t look like they were in the wrong building trying to contact a customer. They looked like they were picking the lock.

Cheng Xi became instantly alert. Relying on the Sanda (kickboxing) she had learned for a previous role, she grabbed a discarded baseball bat from a pile of waste paper in the hallway and shouted with full authority: “What are you doing!”

Clang.

The sound of something hitting the floor rang out. A screwdriver rolled to the base of the wall. The person lurking at her door turned around.

In the future, no matter how many times Cheng Xi dreamed of this moment, she would wake up screaming after seeing that face. It wasn’t that the person was hideous or terrifying; rather, the expression they gave her was utterly eerie.

His eyes were smiling, and the flesh on his thin face was bunched together. Upon seeing Cheng Xi, instead of fear, he looked troubled.

He muttered quietly, “Did those people not delay you?” and “I really should have tested it a few more times.” His expression gradually turned manic as he said regretfully, “Cheng Xi, you’re really so disobedient. How could you come back so soon? I haven’t even gone into our home yet to set up your surprise!”

Cheng Xi’s heart hammered against her ribs. Normal fans like Xiao Qi would never approach her like this. This was one of those sasaengs who didn’t care about the law.

Rage, combined with old and new grudges, surged up. Cheng Xi couldn’t help but scream: “Are you insane? What do you mean ‘our home’? I don’t even know you! Can you sasaengs just stay out of my life!”

“Cheng Xi, have you forgotten the things you sent me on Weibo? Those photos? How can you say that about me?” The man didn’t agree; instead, a look of confusion appeared in his eyes, which then turned into distress. “I told you I don’t like you showing those to other people. Why won’t you listen?”

“But it’s okay,” the man said, suddenly reaching some strange internal peace. He reached into the backpack at his feet, his smile stretching wider and wider. “Do you know? I loved the photo you sent me last time. I brought that same dress for you. Why don’t you put it on and show me?”

The man’s pathology and delusions far exceeded Cheng Xi’s understanding of a stalker. She looked at the dress he pulled out—the same style as the one she had posted on Weibo last week—along with some extremely revealing lingerie. Her hand gripping the bat tightened, then grew weak.

An indescribable feeling welled up in her chest, expanding rapidly.

Nausea. She wanted to throw up. Even sharing the air with this person made her feel incredibly filthy.

In the next second, Cheng Xi made a clear-headed decision.

Run!

In a race against time, the baseball bat hit the floor. Cheng Xi turned and bolted. The elevator was still on her floor, but the eerie red light made it feel unsafe. Without looking back, she pushed open the door to the fire escape stairs.

The sound of her heels hitting the steps echoed in the quiet stairwell. Dust rose from the rarely used emergency passage. Cheng Xi dialed Xiao Wu. The unanswered ringing echoed in the monotonous stairwell, only to be joined seconds later by the sound of another set of footsteps.

The man had been stunned for a moment when Cheng Xi dropped the bat and fled. Then, the wrinkles squeezed out by his smile deepened.

“Cheng Xi, why are you running! Do you not love me anymore?! Were all your confessions to me on Weibo fake?!”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to wake up and see me every morning? I came as fast as I could when I saw that! Don’t hide!”

“Baby, are you shy? Don’t be. Let’s try it. I promise once you try it with me, you won’t want to leave me ever again.”

The man’s words chased her fleeing figure, becoming more brazen and explicit. The sound of excited laughter mingled with uncontrollable agitation filled the stairwell. The intense exercise left Cheng Xi with less and less air in her lungs; a physical nausea churned in her stomach.

She didn’t understand. Why were there fans like this in the world? Like monsters who fed on an idol’s private life. The more they saw an idol’s terror, the more they heard an idol’s disgust, the more excited they became. She had stopped giving them any attention, yet they pursued her relentlessly. Like a cluster of maggots she couldn’t shake off.

The man’s voice felt like a surging flood of stinking, green filth. The nausea in Cheng Xi’s heart grew stronger as she scrambled downstairs.

Run. I’ll be safe once I’m out of the building.

Call the police, ask a passerby for help, even hide in the security booth at the gate.

The summer evening finally arrived, albeit belatedly. Cheng Xi pushed open the heavy door and burst out of the fire escape, only to be greeted by a gloom that offered no hope.

“Cheng Xi! It’s getting dark outside. Won’t you come home with me!”

The man’s voice was getting closer. Cheng Xi didn’t stop. Even if it was pitch black outside, it was better than being touched by that man. But as she pushed open the heavy unit door to escape, she crashed into someone’s arms.

The massive impact left her brain dazed. In her confusion, she felt her wrist being restrained. Being in such an unsafe environment, Cheng Xi instinctively thought this person was an accomplice. She struggled, but her wrist was held even tighter.

The night breeze rustled the nearby plants, bringing with it a non-aggressive, cool scent. A familiar chill seeped through a thin shirt and onto her sweat-slicked back, turning warm in the cold evening.

“It’s me.”

A clear, cold voice came from above her head. Still shaken, she looked up and saw Meng Zhijin’s face, illuminated by the late-blooming streetlights behind her.

Support After the Divorce, the Whole World is Waiting for Us to Get Back Together