Did My Ex-Wife Agree to Remarry Me Today? - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Off the Blacklist

It had rained a bit last night, and A-Mei had slept like a log, waking up feeling refreshed and energized.

She stretched, worked out the kinks in her muscles, and greeted Biscuit, who was slowly rousing. Biscuit slept at the foot of the bed in a nest A-Mei had made out of old clothes. Seeing the pup spring up and shake herself out, A-Mei figured she had slept well too. In A-Mei’s room, Biscuit got to enjoy rolling around in the covers with her human a luxury she didn’t get at Li Zhou’s house.

First thing in the morning, Biscuit wagged her tail and wobbled over to A-Mei’s side. A-Mei scooped up the tiny dog and noticed that in just a few days, Biscuit had already grown a size larger.

“Little Biscuit is growing up! Soon you’ll be a Big Biscuit,” A-Mei chirped, delighted. She decided she had to share this news with “Biscuit’s Mom” later.

Putting on her jacket, A-Mei stepped out of the house, cradling the warm puppy. Winter in the south wasn’t harsh, and Wuzhou was the “south of the south,” so it rarely got truly cold. However, because of the rain and the lingering dew, a chill hit her the moment she stepped outside. Luckily, she had a warm “heater” in her arms.

Biscuit, unwilling to be a mere space heater, squirmed to get down and play, but the ground was still damp. A-Mei held her tight. She and her grandma had just bathed the pup last night; she wasn’t about to let that clean fur get muddy.

Walking into the center of the courtyard, A-Mei looked around. When her eyes landed on Li Zhou’s gate, she spotted a familiar car. Her expression instantly shifted to excitement. “Biscuit! Your mom is here! She’s so early today!”

“Let’s go find her!” A-Mei started to run toward Chi Yun’s car, but after two steps, she performed an emergency U-turn and ducked behind her own fence. She hid there, peeking through the gaps like a little spy.

“Ah… Sister Zhou is coming out…”

She couldn’t let Sister Zhou see her and Biscuit’s Mom picking up trash together!

Li Zhou walked out and tapped on Chi Yun’s car window. The glass was clouded with condensation, making it impossible to tell if the person inside was awake.

Chi Yun was already in a light sleep. Hearing the sound, she frowned and opened her eyes. One earbud was still in her ear; the other dangled from her neck. She reached up and pulled them off.

It had rained in the middle of the night. The pitter-patter of raindrops against the car window had woken her, so she’d put on the headphones to block it out. While many people found rain or waves to be soothing white noise, to Chi Yun, the sound of water hitting a surface was more grating than a power drill. She hated it and had to shut it out.

Chi Yun usually had a bit of “morning grumpiness,” her brows knitting together like a twisted rope. But realizing it was Li Zhou at the window, she suppressed the irritability and smoothed her expression. She opened the door and stepped out, looking bleary-eyed at the woman waiting for her.

“Good morning, A-Li.”

“Morning…”

The intimacy and familiarity in that greeting made Li Zhou uncomfortable. In their year of marriage, they had never spoken to each other like this face-to-face. Perhaps because she wasn’t fully awake, Chi Yun’s logic hadn’t fully returned, and the greeting had simply mumbled its way out.

“Can you help me see if my hair is messy?” Half-awake, President Chi began to worry about her image.

Li Zhou looked her over. “It’s not.”

Chi Yun straightened up, trying to catch a glimpse of her own back. “Are my clothes wrinkled?”

“No.”

Chi Yun tilted her neck. “Is my neck red?”

Li Zhou studied her. “A little.”

Chi Yun rubbed the spot with her wrist. “Is it obvious?”

“Not really.” Li Zhou noticed that not only was her neck red, but her cheeks were also flushed—likely from the stuffy air in the car. If she had just gone home earlier, she wouldn’t be dealing with this.

Since it wasn’t obvious, Chi Yun let it go. She looked at Li Zhou and asked softly, “Are you here to give me the answer?”

“Yes,” Li Zhou said.

Chi Yun stood up straight, looking quite well-behaved.

“You can pursue me,” Li Zhou stated, “but I won’t necessarily accept.”

Chi Yun nodded and replied softly, “Okay.”

What she wanted was an open channel to convey her feelings and thoughts. Li Zhou had every right not to accept. Since she was the one doing the pursuing and trying to win her back, she was prepared to bear the consequences of her investment.

“There are also some conditions,” Li Zhou continued.

“Go ahead.” Chi Yun pricked up her ears.

“I’m very busy. I have a lot to do and don’t wish to waste time on emotional matters. If you want to take up my time, you must provide corresponding compensation. If you want me to pick up the phone, you must bring me one sack of bottles. If you want to meet me, two sacks of marine debris. If you want to eat with me, the entire beach must be cleared of trash. These materials are useful to me.”

The Shazhou beach stretched for five or six kilometers. It was cleaner on weekdays, but holidays brought swarms of tourists and their litter. Li Zhou hoped this would make Chi Yun retreat.

Instead, Chi Yun beamed and agreed immediately. “Deal. But you have to give me the sacks.”

Li Zhou went to the storage room and brought out several bundles. “Is this enough?”

“If not, I’ll ask for more,” Chi Yun said.

“Then we’re done here?”

“Yes, go ahead and get busy,” Chi Yun said, knowing when to stop. “I’ll head out after I tidy up.”

Li Zhou turned and went back to her studio. Chi Yun stared at her trunk full of burlap sacks, a radiant smile on her face.

In A-Mei’s eyes, Sister Zhou handing over the sacks was a signal that she approved of Biscuit’s Mom picking up trash in Shazhou. That meant she didn’t have to keep their teamwork a secret anymore!

Once Li Zhou was inside, A-Mei’s courage returned. She scurried over to Chi Yun’s side. “Biscuit’s Mom! Did you and Sister Zhou make up?”

Both are Biscuit’s moms, so they’re family! Why all the secrets? They should make up quickly.

Chi Yun liked the phrase “make up.” She smiled. “We’ve made up a little, but not completely.”

“So do we still have to hide from Sister Zhou when we pick up trash?”

“No need.”

A-Mei was overjoyed. “Then are we going this morning?”

“We are,” Chi Yun said, closing the trunk. “I need to collect a lot of bottles this morning.”

Li Zhou was busy in the studio for a while. When her raw materials ran low, she remembered the debris Lin Shanyu had asked the film crew divers to salvage last night and decided to use some of it.

Crossing the yard, she was surprised to find a fresh sack of trash by the gate. An hour ago, she had cleared everything into the processing room. Where did this come from? A-Mei?

Li Zhou approached to check. As she leaned down, she noticed a pink post-it note tucked into the tie of the sack. The handwriting was elegant yet firm, pressing deep into the paper:

One sack of bottles delivered. I’m calling you at noon. Remember to take me off the blacklist.

In the bottom right corner, instead of a signature, there was a drawing of a pancake (a “Bing”).

Li Zhou had thought Chi Yun had left, but it turned out the woman had scoured the beach for a full sack of bottles before heading to work. Li Zhou pulled off the note, folded it, and held it in her palm as she dragged the sack into the studio. These bottles were exactly what she needed to finish the current print. Since she was using Chi Yun’s, she left Lin Shanyu’s pile untouched.

At noon, Chi Yun called right on time.

The moment the call connected, a weak, sickly voice came through the line: “A-Li… I’m sick.”

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