Did My Ex-Wife Agree to Remarry Me Today? - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Quitting Smoking

What was there to see in a person’s mouth?

That thought was still bouncing around Li Zhou’s head a second before she pried open Chi Yun’s lips. It wasn’t as if she’d never seen Chi Yun’s teeth before. When they were kids, Chi Yun would stand in front of her and cry every other day, mouth wide open. She never hid her grievances; she’d just wail, putting her loud voice and snowy-white teeth on full display.

Li Zhou remembered seeing serrations on Chi Yun’s teeth back then tiny, wave-like edges. Now that she was an adult, those serrations should have disappeared.

Using her thumb and index finger to tilt Chi Yun’s chin up, Li Zhou gestured for her to open wide. She was only interested in seeing if those “baby waves” still existed. Upon inspection, the teeth were perfectly neat—no cavities. Two of the bottom teeth still had faint serrations, as did two on top. However, they were much less noticeable than when she was a child.

Her childhood teeth were cuter, Li Zhou thought.

Feeling that Li Zhou was looking in the wrong place, Chi Yun blinked and protested, “Why are you looking at my front teeth?” Her front teeth couldn’t possibly be the sharp ones.

“Just looking,” Li Zhou said casually.

Chi Yun flicked her tongue against a sharp fang, indicating that this was the culprit. Li Zhou glanced at the tooth, which was half-hidden by Chi Yun’s tongue, and nodded. “I see it.” Her tone was flat, almost dismissive. She couldn’t find anything particularly fascinating about a tooth; it wasn’t exactly a blooming flower.

Chi Yun closed her mouth and stared directly into the depths of Li Zhou’s eyes. She swept away the smoke screen and bared her true intention with abrupt bluntness: “It’s time for bed. Can I have a goodnight kiss?”

Why were there so many requirements for just going to sleep? Remembering the kiss that almost slipped past her lips that afternoon, Li Zhou refused decisively. “No.”

“I ate on time, took my medicine on time, and only ate that tiny bit of pancake… can’t you be a little flexible?” Chi Yun’s gaze was soft and pleading. Her meaning was clear: I was so well-behaved, don’t I get a reward?

“No,” Li Zhou said. “Eating and taking medicine is for your own health. What does that have to do with me? Why should I be flexible?”

Li Zhou found it somewhat ridiculous. Taking in an ex-wife whose marriage had ended was already an act of supreme kindness. If Chi Yun hadn’t been so uncharacteristically obedient, she would have kicked her out long ago.

“Then I’ll quit smoking.” Chi Yun threw out her biggest bargaining chip, one she had planned long ago. “One goodnight kiss, and I’ll quit. I won’t smoke ever again.”

Li Zhou frowned, her train of thought successfully derailed. Chi Yun’s constant bartering made her feel like there were more chips to be won. She instinctively asked, “What about drinking?”

Smoking and drinking were the two habits Li Zhou disliked most and hoped Chi Yun would never pick up. It would be best to quit both together, but… could this woman really do it?

“Drinking… not yet. But I can do the cigarettes,” Chi Yun said seriously. She wasn’t addicted to nicotine; smoking was just a way to vent her frustrations. She could manage her moods on her own from now on. Alcohol, however, was part of business culture. As long as she held her current position, she couldn’t avoid social drinking entirely.

The cigarettes and lighter she’d confiscated were still downstairs. If Li Zhou hadn’t decided to give the processing equipment a rest until the next big printing job, those items wouldn’t have survived thirty minutes. She truly wanted Chi Yun to quit.

“Can you really quit?” Li Zhou weighed the credibility of the promise.

“I can. I keep my word,” Chi Yun promised.

“Then… alright.”

Only after the conversation ended did Li Zhou realize Chi Yun had already propped herself up, watching her with burning intensity. She was in a perfect position to lean down and kiss her. It was as if she had anticipated the “yes” and prepared in advance.

Does she think about anything else? Li Zhou thought. Despite her inner critique, she didn’t intend to back out.

“I’m going in,” Chi Yun said, eager to redeem her hard-won kiss.

Li Zhou’s long lashes trembled, and her breathing slowed as she gave a tiny nod.

Chi Yun pressed her lips against Li Zhou’s, picking up where the afternoon’s interrupted kiss left off. She released all the heat that the earlier phone ring had scared away. Li Zhou sensed this kiss wouldn’t be peaceful, but she didn’t expect this.

Chi Yun’s nimble tongue explored her mouth, sweeping through before tangling with Li Zhou’s own tongue in a dance. Once Li Zhou adapted to the push and pull, Chi Yun softened the pressure, leading Li Zhou’s tongue back to her own territory to graze over those “serrations” and fangs.

Looking at them hadn’t felt special, but when the slick, soft tip of a tongue brushed against a sharp tooth, both of them shuddered as if struck by lightning, clinging to each other even tighter.

Chi Yun held Li Zhou’s face, kissing her fervently. Li Zhou gripped the back of Chi Yun’s head, refusing to back down. The temperature rose steadily.

At the edge of reason, the kiss ended with a sharp sting. Following the pain was the thud of someone falling onto the floor and Li Zhou’s indignant voice: “And you said you didn’t do it on purpose! I think you’re just addicted to biting things!”

The kiss had been going perfectly until Chi Yun decided to give Li Zhou a little nip at the very end. The force wasn’t light; it actually broke the skin at the corner of Li Zhou’s mouth.

And then, Chi Yun was kicked out of bed.

The kick wasn’t entirely undeserved. But Chi Yun wanted to clarify one thing: it wasn’t an accident, nor was it malicious—she just really wanted to bite. She couldn’t help herself.

Li Zhou refused to listen to explanations. Her head throbbed with anger, and she wanted nothing to do with this person.

“You sleep first. I’m going to the bathroom,” Chi Yun said weakly, informing Li Zhou of her whereabouts. That kiss had set her on fire; she needed to go “tidy herself up.”

Under the covers, a fuming Li Zhou unintentionally heard the sounds from the bathroom. She heard Chi Yun taking off her clothes and the brief sound of splashing water. Is she taking a shower? Is a kiss really worth that much?

If it hadn’t been for that final bite, Li Zhou might have agreed it was worth it. She had been dizzy with emotion until that sting snapped her back to reality. Is she part dog? Li Zhou reached out from under the quilt and touched the corner of her mouth. The pain was sharp, and she could feel a trace of blood.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

When Chi Yun returned from the bathroom, Li Zhou’s stance was clear: she had rolled herself into the quilt like a cocoon and occupied the dead center of the bed, leaving no room for Chi Yun.

Chi Yun had to return to the spot where she’d landed after being kicked off. She sat on the rug, legs crossed, staring at the back of the head visible on the bed. The bed wasn’t high, and the kick hadn’t been that hard, but she knew Li Zhou was furious. Anyone would be after getting bitten like that.

How could she explain that she simply couldn’t resist? How could she explain that it was a habit formed in her unspoken fantasies, where the dream-version of Li Zhou allowed it?

Chi Yun licked her own teeth, reflecting on the pressure she’d used. She promised herself not to bite so hard next time. This was reality, not a dream. In a dream, she could bite however she liked, but in reality, she’d hurt her. If she kept this up, there might not be a next time.

Chi Yun sat on the rug for a long time, waiting for Li Zhou to fall into a deep sleep before sneaking back onto the bed. It was the proper penance for a sinner.

Li Zhou was still in the middle of the bed, clutching all the blankets. Chi Yun lay on the very edge, facing away from the woman who refused to share her pillow. She lifted a tiny corner of the quilt and draped it over her waist. Just a little the absolute minimum of “sharing a bed.”

Chi Yun used her arm as a pillow and fell asleep quickly.

As the night grew colder and the dew deepened, Chi Yun’s body instinctively curled up, her arms hugging herself for warmth. A while later, in a daze, it felt as though her body was being “retrieved” piece by piece. She was pulled into the warm embrace of the bedding.

First her feet. A heat source moved toward her icy feet, and sensing the chill, hooked them into the warmth of the quilt. Then her waist. Then her upper body. Finally, her head, which was cold down to the hair follicles. She was gathered up by the heat source and pressed tightly against it.

Chi Yun woke up briefly during this. She saw it was Li Zhou, acting in her sleep. The small quilt now covered them both perfectly, and Li Zhou was holding Chi Yun’s head against her chest.

She leaned toward Li Zhou’s ear and whispered, “I love you, A-Li.”

Li Zhou was deep in sleep and didn’t hear a thing.

The next morning, finding themselves in this position after an entire night, Li Zhou predictably was annoyed again. She made Chi Yun return the pajamas and banished her from her “territory.”

Even though the morning activities had ceased, A-Mei was up early. Hearing movement in the neighboring yard, she stopped her skateboard to look over. In Li Zhou’s yard, Biscuit’s mom was walking out with her coat, looking back every three steps.

Is Biscuit’s mom going to work this early? A-Mei wondered.

Li Zhou walked out of the house as well. To an outsider like A-Mei, it looked like she was seeing her guest off. Only the two involved knew the truth: the “annoying” one kept asking if she could come back tonight, and Li Zhou, refusing to answer, had simply come out to shoo her away.

Chi Yun climbed into her car, feeling a bit sheepish. Proving that their “revolutionary friendship” was useful, A-Mei shouted through the car window, “Biscuit’s mom, are you coming back tonight?”

Chi Yun rolled down the window and replied, “Yes! I’m coming back for my IV. I messaged Dr. Wang; she told me to come here tonight.” Her real audience was Li Zhou, who was currently glaring at her.

Chi Yun started the car, looped around the driveway, and stopped in front of Li Zhou to say goodbye to the two people standing together. “I’m going to work now.”

“Bye-bye!” A-Mei said enthusiastically.

Chi Yun looked at Li Zhou. Li Zhou said nothing.

Chi Yun drove away. A-Mei waved until the car disappeared. Once it was gone, she turned to Li Zhou with an excited expression. Li Zhou expected A-Mei to talk about oceanography or the videos she’d watched, but instead, A-Mei blurted out:

“Sister Zhou, were you bitten by Biscuit’s mom again?!”

Li Zhou suddenly wanted to put a sign on her gate: Chi Yun Forbidden Entry Tonight.

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