Did My Ex-Wife Agree to Remarry Me Today? - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Love Rival No. 2

A-Mei had promised “Biscuit’s Mom” to keep their morning trash-picking secret, but she was a terrible liar. The moment Li Zhou questioned her, she panicked. “Not Mom! Not Mom! I meant Ma… Ma… Ma-Sacks! Yes, burlap sacks!”

With that, she scrambled back to her own yard, terrified of making eye contact.

Li Zhou guessed a portion of the truth but didn’t press her. While they were talking, Biscuit—who had been wandering with her bowl dropped it. She sniffed around and trotted over to the two sacks Chi Yun had left in the corner. She grabbed a corner of one with her teeth, trying to drag it toward Li Zhou.

But with her tiny frame, she couldn’t budge it. She could only tug and strain against the heavy fabric. Seeing the commotion, Li Zhou walked over.

Next door, A-Mei complained to Ms. Wang: “Grandma, I don’t want to pick up trash with Biscuit’s Mom anymore! She told me to lie to Sister Zhou! I’m no good at it, and I don’t want to do it.”

Wang Fang chuckled. “It’s fine. Xiao Zhou will only ask once. By the way, about the person I lent tools to… Biscuit’s Mom? How did she become Biscuit’s Mom?”

“She told me herself,” A-Mei said. “She said her name is Bing Bing, so Biscuit (Bing Gan) takes her surname. She’s the mom.”

Wang Fang laughed heartily. “Alright, Biscuit’s Mom it is. Look, I lent her tools and Xiao Zhou didn’t come to interrogate me or tell me to keep my distance from the ‘ex.’ That means her own heart isn’t as set as she claims. It means we can keep one eye shut.”

This was too complex for A-Mei. She only cared about one thing: “Can I go play with Biscuit now?”

“Trust Grandma,” Wang Fang promised. “Go play. She won’t ask about Biscuit’s Mom again.”

Relieved, A-Mei peeked into the next yard. Seeing Li Zhou busy in the studio and Biscuit frolicking in the garden, she waved and hissed, “Biscuit! Over here! Come here—”

The puppy wagged her tail and ran over. Once the “hostage” was secured, A-Mei called out to the studio: “Sister Zhou, can I take Biscuit to the park for a bit?”

“Go ahead,” came the immediate reply.

A-Mei beamed and went to grab her bicycle a custom build by Li Zhou with a front basket perfectly sized for a puppy. She packed a water bottle and snacks. “Back by lunch!” Ms. Wang reminded her.

Can you tell a person’s character by the trash they pick up? Li Zhou thought so.

Some people were disgusted by cigarette butts and tissues; their bags remained suspiciously clean of small, grimy items. Others avoided heavy things; their bags were filled with un-crushed plastic bottles and balloons that took up way too much space. Then there were those like A-Mei, who loved “treasures”—large debris she hoped Li Zhou could turn into a bunk bed so Biscuit could sleep in her room.

Director Cao was like a magnifying glass, spending her time wrestling cigarette butts out of pavement cracks. Chang Qi, the sailor, had been the only one brave enough to go into the freezing winter water to clear the shallows.

And Chi Yun?

Chi Yun picked up everything, and she organized it with obsessive neatness. She crushed every bottle and can to save space. She used specific containers for shards of glass and butts. In her bag from last night, Li Zhou even found a neatly coiled length of kite string.

On weekends, tourists swarmed the beaches. When a kite got stuck in a tree, they’d tug once, give up, and leave the line behind. A taut kite string could be lethal, almost like a garrote. Someone had left that hazard behind; Chi Yun had seen it and cleared it.

Knowing these traits, it was easy to identify the two “mysterious” sacks in the corner. Li Zhou dragged them into the processing room and hit the “recycle” button.

Chi Yun arrived at her office two hours late. On the way, she had stopped at a pet store to buy treats, a woven rattan ball, and a teething stick. Having never owned a pet, she relied on the clerk’s advice and A-Mei’s “consultation” via WeChat. They had spent an hour sending photos back and forth so the “Little Master” (Biscuit) could choose her gifts.

At the office, her assistant, Pei Pei, whispered, “CEO Liang from Hengzheng Pharma has been waiting for two hours.”

Chi Yun didn’t care. Hengzheng Pharma wanted to profit off the terminally ill, and Chi Yun wanted no part of it. She had intentionally stayed away to avoid his “money-making” lectures.

By 5:30 PM, the staff were leaving. Chi Yun walked out carrying a massive, heavy briefcase.

“CEO Chi, what’s in the bag? It looks heavy,” a department head asked in the elevator.

“Data,” Chi Yun said concisely.

“A new big project?”

“You could say that.” It wasn’t a lie; she had just closed a deal for a new specialty drug with fewer side effects. The managers went quiet, admiring their boss’s dedication to working late.

Chi Yun got into her car, ate a few bites of food, and drove straight back to Shazhou.

When she arrived, she saw A-Mei on her skateboard. One foot was on the board, the other pushing very slowly. As Chi Yun drew closer, she saw why: the palm-sized puppy was sitting regally on the nose of the board, eyes squinted against the breeze.

“Biscuit’s Mom!” A-Mei called.

“Heading back?” Chi Yun lowered her window. “I’ll give you a lift.”

A-Mei hopped in with the board and the dog. Chi Yun wanted to ask if Li Zhou had suspected anything, but she didn’t want to burden the girl further. As they passed Li Zhou’s house, Chi Yun noticed all the lights were off.

“Is A-Li out?”

A-Mei looked at the dark house. “Sister Shanyu picked her up in a boat. They went to the island across the way.”

The name was familiar, but Chi Yun couldn’t place the face. “Shanyu? Which Shanyu?”

“The movie star!” A-Mei said. “I even have a photo with her.”

Chi Yun frowned and pulled over. “Can I see the photo?”

A-Mei handed over her phone. It was the National Goddess, a woman with a beauty that was famously “impossible to hate.” In the photo, A-Mei, the actress, and Li Zhou were all smiling radiantly.

What alarmed Chi Yun was how close the actress was standing to A-Li. There was plenty of space, yet they were shoulder-to-shoulder.

“Sister Zhou said she might not come back tonight,” A-Mei added, twisting the knife. “Biscuit is staying with me. Biscuit’s Mom, do you need to back up? My house is just behind.”

Chi Yun didn’t back up. She decided right then and there: she was sleeping in her car by the shore. She was going to wait for Li Zhou to come home.

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