After the Divorce, the Whole World is Waiting for Us to Get Back Together - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The sun sank below the western mountains, and the twilight sky offered no moon in its place. The world felt as though it had lost its ruler—unstable, dim, and heavy with oppression. The night breeze took advantage of the silence, growing bold in the quiet evening.

The heavy glass door was pushed open from the inside. A gust of wind rushed against her, knocking the baseball cap off her head. Her long black hair was suddenly set free, dancing chaotically in the darkness.

Cheng Xi was dressed properly, yet she looked more desolate than a beggar on the street. She was still trapped in the nausea and terror of her desperate escape; her frantic, taut nerves made her believe, for a moment, that she was hallucinating.

How much must she still rely on Meng Zhijin to hallucinate her as a savior in a moment like this?

“It’s over now.”

But when that cool voice rang out through the warm, restless night wind, Cheng Xi had to admit it was truly Meng Zhijin.

The property management, after countless complaints, had finally replaced the lightbulbs a few days prior. The bright light inverted the evening, falling into Cheng Xi’s field of vision like a morning sun rising in the east, suddenly illuminating the darkest moment of her flight.

And Meng Zhijin stood right in the center of that light.

A person’s potential always explodes at the moment of greatest crisis and recedes when safety is reached. Cheng Xi didn’t know how “safety” was defined, but after realizing the person she had crashed into was indeed Meng Zhijin, her racing heart finally dropped. All that remained in her ears was her own ragged, heavy breathing from the exertion.

“What are you doing? What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Don’t touch me! I’m telling you, I’m sick! I’ll sue you for everything you’ve got, believe me!”

“Cheng Xi! Cheng Xi! Come tell them! How can you be so heartless? I commented on every single one of your Weibo posts! Did you not receive all those texts I sent you?!”

“You must have seen them, right? Why else would you black-list me? I’m not even mad that you blocked so many of my numbers! Who else would treat you like this? I love you! I love you!”

The bodyguards stood at the door like a black wall, blocking the man’s frenzied pursuit. He shouted at Cheng Xi’s back, his eyes bulging as if they might fall out of their sockets.

Meng Zhijin felt the tension in Cheng Xi’s wrist. She called out to her assistant: “Xiao Qi.”

“Teacher Meng.” Xiao Qi stepped forward immediately.

“Take Teacher Cheng to the car,” Meng Zhijin commanded. Her voice was calm, devoid of any fluctuation, offering a steadying presence.

“Okay.” Xiao Qi nodded quickly, taking over for Meng Zhijin to support the shaken Cheng Xi. “Teacher Cheng, I’ve already called the police. Let’s get you into the car first.”

Cheng Xi was still in a daze. She felt the warmth on her wrist change owners, and a spark of resistance flickered within her. She wasn’t sure if she should depend on Meng Zhijin, but under Xiao Qi’s support, she eventually followed.

A moment later, the muffled sound of a car door opening and closing drifted through the air.

Meng Zhijin looked at the man being restrained by the bodyguards. Her dark eyes held no warmth at all—it was as if she were looking at a piece of filth. She lowered her gaze and spoke calmly to the head of her security: “It’s almost time for the children in the complex to finish dinner and come down to play. Don’t let him frighten them.”

“Understood.” The head bodyguard nodded and signaled to his subordinates. As always, Meng Zhijin didn’t need to worry about the details.

The man’s mouth was physically gagged. In the sudden silence before the building, the sound of a police siren approached from the distance. It wasn’t actually because of Xiao Qi; it was because Xiao Wu, hearing the man’s voice over the phone earlier, had decisively called the police.

The air conditioning in the car was sufficient—not freezing, but a perfectly gentle cool. Surrounded by this peace, Cheng Xi sat in the same spot as before, the churning in her stomach finally subsiding.

She loathed the sasaeng man who had caused this ordeal, yet she couldn’t stop herself from looking out the window. The police car had stopped in front of the unit, and two officers in blue uniforms stepped out.

A bodyguard pulled something from his suit pocket, plugged it into his phone, and handed it to the nearest officer. Cheng Xi couldn’t see clearly, but she instinctively felt it was a miniature surveillance camera. The bodyguard was delivering the man’s vile words directly to the police as evidence. Sure enough, the officers’ expressions soured visibly.

The sun had set, and the moon finally climbed the sky through the thick leaves. The car window framed the scene of the bodyguard talking to the police. Occasionally, children would wander into the frame, only to be hurried away by their parents’ scolding.

Summer evenings were always full of this noisy, comfortable movement. Except for Meng Zhijin.

The night wind blew again, stirring the long hair behind Meng Zhijin’s back. A few black strands danced in the breeze. She stood there quietly, occasionally answering the officers’ questions. The streetlights cast a bright incandescent glow over her, tracing her straight, proud shadow on the ground.

Cheng Xi remembered the first time she met Meng Zhijin. A simple plain slip dress and a cardigan hadn’t hidden any of her sharp brilliance; she had stood out effortlessly in a crowd.

But she shouldn’t be here.

The thought popped into Cheng Xi’s head. The many emotions piled in her eyes dissipated, only for new ones to surge up. She stared directly at Meng Zhijin’s back, her gaze obscure.

Whir.

The sound of the automatic door opening pulled Cheng Xi back to the present. The police had finished their preliminary inquiry and, with the bodyguards’ help, escorted the man into the patrol car. The oppressive presence of the large bodyguards vanished, and the complex returned to its quiet state.

The car door opened slowly. The warm evening wind rushed in, brushing against Cheng Xi’s calves and wrapping a layer of heat around her thin ankles. It also brought her dull gaze into direct contact with Meng Zhijin herself.

The night wind drifted with an indescribable restlessness. The atmosphere was a bit awkward, though perhaps only for the onlookers.

Maybe she truly had no strength left. Cheng Xi met Meng Zhijin’s gaze and didn’t even try to look away quickly. She only paused for a beat before slowly averting her eyes. Her fox-like eyes, traced with black eyeliner, tilted upward. She remained bold, yet she seemed exceptionally weak, her emotions laid bare.

In the hazy night, a taxi’s headlights approached from afar, merging with the lights in front of the police station. Qi Ming stepped out in a hurry, still wearing the clothes she had left in yesterday. After checking with the duty officer, she headed straight for the second floor.

But when she pushed open the door, she didn’t see Cheng Xi. She saw Meng Zhijin’s manager, Su Jing.

Qi Ming paused. “Sister Su Jing… why are you here?”

“You couldn’t make it back in time, so Zhijin asked me to stand in for you,” Su Jing replied.

Qi Ming nodded. Usually a firebrand, she was now somewhat reserved. “Um… thank you.”

“No need,” Su Jing said, her voice flat. “The agency isn’t doing its job. As Cheng Xi’s manager, you should be more vigilant. Every star deals with sasaengs, but today’s situation… isn’t it a bit too serious?”

“Yes.” Qi Ming nodded, her voice unusually muffled. She pushed aside her reserve and entered professional mode. “This man has been harassing Xiao Xi for over six months. Initially, our methods worked, but starting last month, they became less and her effective.”

“His parents are in the construction materials business. They have some money, but not enough to be this well-informed,” Su Jing looked over the documents. “If an artist’s private itinerary is leaked to this extent, there’s definitely an internal leak. You need to investigate, especially the period when the change started.”

Qi Ming nodded and sat down beside Su Jing. The bright light in the room cast their shadows against the scuffed wall—a moment of quietude amidst the mess. Neither noticed the door behind them opening just a crack, then closing again.

In the hallway, the stubborn excuses and frantic curses of criminals drifted in and out. The light felt weak against the night.

Cheng Xi looked at the silhouettes of Qi Ming and Su Jing and paused; she decided not to go in and disturb them. The shadow the stalker had cast over her was peeling away like a layer of skin, replaced by the stability of the surroundings.

Yet her heart was far from calm. She stared dully at the full moon outside.

After this, she definitely couldn’t live in her current home anymore. She’d have to find a new place. Should she sell this apartment? Given her current financial situation and her uncertain future, she probably had to. She had finally found a place of her own in this city, only to lose it again after two years.

Two years…

The coincidence of the number weighed on her heart like a stone.

It wasn’t midsummer yet, and the early morning breeze carried a chill. Cheng Xi stood by the window and exhaled a silent breath. The white mist quickly vanished in the cold air, bringing another scent with it.

The aroma of coffee.

Cheng Xi startled and saw that Meng Zhijin was standing beside her at some point. The moonlight was clear, making her eyes look pitch black.

Without warning, Meng Zhijin placed a coffee in Cheng Xi’s hand. Her voice was somewhat cold.

“Let’s talk.”

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