Did My Ex-Wife Agree to Remarry Me Today? - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Helper

Chi Yun walked slowly along the small path, rounding a corner until her car came into view. She stripped off her gloves, stowed the trash-grabber, and slid into the driver’s seat.

Before she could even close the door, the lights in Grandma Wang’s house flickered on. Chi Yun looked over to see two heads one high, one low pop up behind the window glass. The window was already open, as if they had been peeking out for a long time, waiting for her.

Chi Yun offered them a tired smile.

Wang Fang, dressed in magenta pajamas, leaned against the sill. “Finished picking this late?”

Chi Yun nodded.

A-Mei, clinging to Wang Fang’s arm, huddled in the gap between the wall and the window, watching with wide, curious eyes. She recognized Chi Yun and her car. Grandma said “picking things up”—is she a volunteer too? But the others left hours ago. Why is she still here?

“Did you give the stuff to Xiao Zhou?” Wang Fang asked.

“I did,” Chi Yun replied softly. “But she wasn’t happy to see me. She told me not to come back.”

Chi Yun tried to hide her disappointment, but Wang Fang saw right through her. “Normal. You’re divorced. If you didn’t cherish the marriage while you were in it, doing all this after the fact just feels… grating to people.”

“Xiao Zhou is the type who cuts things off clean. If she doesn’t want something, no one can force it on her. It’s only natural she’d drive you away.”

Chi Yun’s heart sank further. This didn’t feel like comfort; it felt like a second twist of the knife. But her goal was clear, and she wasn’t giving up. “I’m coming back tomorrow. Could you help me get some more burlap sacks? Quietly, though. Don’t mention me.”

If she used different bags, they would stand out like a sore thumb among the uniform sacks in the yard. She was afraid Li Zhou would recognize them and throw her hard work out. If the bags were identical, she could sneak them into the pile while Li Zhou was inside the house.

Wang Fang hesitated. Chi Yun was asking her to help cover for her, but she had been Li Zhou’s neighbor for years. Her loyalty really should lie with “Xiao Zhou.”

“I have sacks!” A-Mei interjected, squeezing her head further out the window. “I have lots! Sister Zhou gave me a whole bundle!”

“Are you going to pick up trash too?” A-Mei asked.

A-Mei didn’t understand the emotional complexities; she just knew that more hands made less work. Her volunteer group had disbanded, and tomorrow it would just be her and Biscuit. If this lady joined, they’d be a team of three.

Chi Yun was overjoyed. “Can you give me two?”

“I can give you all of them!” A-Mei chirped. “If I run out, I’ll just go back to Sister Zhou’s. She told me I could take whatever I need.”

A-Mei was the most dedicated “environmental guard” in the village. Li Zhou had even given her a key to the storage room so she could access tools whenever she wanted.

Chi Yun realized she had found an invaluable ally. She made a mental note to stay on A-Mei’s good side. “Thanks, A-Mei. Are you going tomorrow? Let’s go together.”

“I go very early,” A-Mei warned. “As soon as the sky starts to turn gray.”

“I’ll be there,” Chi Yun promised. She could pick trash first, then head to the office.

“Do you have WeChat?” A-Mei asked. “Let’s add each other. Message me when you arrive.”

Chi Yun got out of the car and handed over her communicator. A-Mei scanned it. Chi Yun’s professional handle was a long string of [Company Name + Real Name + Phone Number]. A-Mei didn’t know how to shorten it, so after adding her, she messaged: How should I call you?

By then, Chi Yun had reached her house. She typed “Chi Yun,” then paused. It didn’t feel right. She deleted it and typed “Bing Bing.”

Bing Bing was her childhood nickname.

A-Mei: [Bing Bing?] Chi Yun: [Yes.] A-Mei: [What’s your relationship with Biscuit (Bing Gan)?]

See? Chi Yun thought. Even a child sees the connection between “Bing Bing” and “Bing Gan.” A-Li still hasn’t changed the dog’s name.

Chi Yun replied: [I am her mother.]

Back in her room at No. 28, A-Mei’s jaw dropped. She wanted to tell her grandma, but the lights were out. This sister is Biscuit’s mom, and Sister Zhou is Biscuit’s mom… so they? She sat with that revelation for a while, then deleted “Bing Bing” and changed the contact name to “Biscuit’s Mom.”

Chi Yun didn’t sleep well. Usually, she was the director of her own dazzling dreams, but now the “Dream Li Zhou” spent the whole night pushing her, kicking her, and telling her to get lost.

When the alarm rang, she bolted upright with one thought: Your wife doesn’t want you. Go pick up trash!

When she reached the village, A-Mei was walking the dog at the entrance, cradling her “newly discovered goddaughter”—Biscuit.

A-Mei realized she had brought the dog but forgotten her tools. She handed Biscuit to Chi Yun. “Biscuit’s Mom, I was just walking her. I haven’t grabbed the grabbers yet. Watch her for a bit, I’ll be right back!”

Before Chi Yun could react, the girl vanished, leaving her eye-to-eye with the puppy. Biscuit still looked hostile.

Chi Yun smiled, her aura softening. She crouched down and beckoned. “Call me ‘Mama’ and I’ll protect you from big dogs. But you have to be my helper.”

“Woof! Woof!”

Chi Yun kept her hand steady, a few inches off the ground. “Will you recognize me as Mama?”

“Woof!” Sensing the kindness, Biscuit cautiously moved forward and pressed her fluffy head into Chi Yun’s warm palm.

Chi Yun took it as a yes and scooped her up, her eyes shimmering like spring water. “You have to be on my side. Tomorrow… tomorrow I’ll bring you treats as a bribe, okay? When the mama inside the house tries to kick me out, you bite her pant leg and don’t let her, understand?”

Biscuit blinked up at her, looking adorably confused. She really does look like I did when I was little, Chi Yun thought.

A-Mei returned with a bundle of sacks and split them with Chi Yun. They headed to the neighboring beach, where a music festival had recently ended. Two hours later, they each had two full sacks.

Chi Yun found herself getting better at this. Yesterday, she had been terrified of the ocean’s position; today, she could look at it. Under the morning mist, the sea looked gentle. As long as she didn’t provoke it, it wouldn’t hurt her.

When they returned to Li Zhou’s yard, Chi Yun put her “new daughter” to work. “It’s breakfast time. Go tell your mom you’re hungry so I can sneak these bags into the corner.”

Biscuit gave an understanding “Woof!” and scurried inside on her short legs. While Li Zhou was distracted by the pup, Chi Yun quietly stashed her two bags in the corner of the yard.

“A-Mei, I’m going to work,” Chi Yun whispered as she passed Grandma Wang’s house.

“You’re leaving already?” A-Mei pouted.

“I’ll be back tonight.”

After Chi Yun left, A-Mei ran into Biscuit, who was running out with her food bowl in her mouth. There were five pieces of softened dog food left in it. She seemed to think Chi Yun was hungry and had brought her “leftovers” from Li Zhou. She whined and looked around for her “other mom.”

“Looking for your mom?” A-Mei asked. “She went to work.”

At that moment, Li Zhou walked out of the studio. She frowned. “What mom?”

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