Did My Ex-Wife Agree to Remarry Me Today? - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Changing into Pajamas

When Chi Yun got home, she first took a shower, then poured herself a large glass of warm water. She placed a straw in it and set it by her bed, taking a few sips every now and then.

A Phoenix’s fear of water, in the end, has a lot to do with habit. Much like people in daily life who fear needles or medicine, or those who dislike fruits and vegetables with strong odors, it isn’t that they can’t touch water or bathe; they just extremely dislike and reject it. It is not an insurmountable obstacle. Because they dislike it, the frequency of contact drops, forming a cycle of less usage and growing psychological resistance. To change this, one must start by increasing contact.

Thinking of this, Chi Yun propped up her knees and sat barefoot on the bed, curling herself into a ball. She held the glass in her arms and sipped slowly through the straw, keeping her mouth constantly hydrated. She was browsing for swimsuits on her communicator. On the other hand, she was waiting for Li Zhou to take her off the blacklist, so she occasionally switched to WeChat to check.

The dazzling array of swimsuits made Chi Yun’s eyes blur. Just as she was about to yawn, a message popped in. Thinking it was Li Zhou, she suppressed the yawn to check. It turned out to be from Yu Ting.

“Ha—ah—” So sleepy. Chi Yun cleared the mist from her eyes and looked down at Yu Ting’s message: “This is a real-life photo of the swimming pool. I went swimming today and took a few pictures. President Chi can take a look; the environment is really nice.”

Chi Yun didn’t even click the image. She replied directly: “Thank you for the trouble, President Yu, but I’ve lost interest in learning to swim and won’t be considering it in the future. I won’t be going. Thank you.”

Yu Ting clearly didn’t have a follow-up ready and sent a polite but awkward: “I see.” Chi Yun ignored her.

Earlier that morning, Chi Yun had mentioned to Chief Manager Hu that she might need a reasonably sized swimming area. Public pools might lead to encounters with people with ulterior motives, which wasn’t safe. Why use someone else’s pool when they had their own land? Manager Hu immediately made arrangements, sending a construction team in overnight; they were already working at full throttle.

Chi Yun didn’t know what the pool would look like in a month. But she trusted Manager Hu; she felt that since it was built by her own people, it would be suitable for a Phoenix’s constitution.

With the venue settled, Chi Yun now lacked a coach. Her old philosophy was that as long as the technique was solid, she didn’t care about the price or the person’s personality. But after last night’s events, Chi Yun realized she had to be careful; she had to find someone who wouldn’t cause A-Li to misunderstand. Going in and out of A-Li’s blacklist three times was not a good thing.

A suitable candidate… Chi Yun actually had one in mind, but she hadn’t spoken to her yet. She had to ask for her opinion first.

Putting the swimsuit shopping aside for a moment, Chi Yun called Long Xuan. After some small talk, Chi Yun stated her purpose: “Auntie, can you teach me how to swim?”

“You want to learn to swim?” Long Xuan’s reaction was identical to Li Zhou’s—complete disbelief. After all, her vivid impression of Chi Yun was of a girl who would step into a tiny puddle on a rainy day and scream for her auntie to save her. The rescue had to involve lifting her straight up to pull her foot—only the sole of which was wet—out of the water. Letting her swim… wouldn’t she be screaming for help the whole time she was soaking?

Chi Yun explained the reason. Mentioning A-Li and the pursuit of her wife, Long Xuan felt a deep resonance and understood immediately. The act of becoming brave and fearless for a loved one was something she had experienced herself; she had pushed through and succeeded. There was no reason for her not to help. She agreed: “Auntie will teach you. I’m free anytime; just call me when you’re ready.”

“Is there any preparation I should do now? Running to improve my fitness? Or buying things I might need?” Chi Yun asked. She was a complete stranger to this field and had to learn from her auntie.

Long Xuan said: “Those things aren’t vital. The most important thing is that the pool must have emergency rescue equipment. It’s best to have a lifebuoy every half-meter so you can reach it just by lifting your hand. Auntie is afraid I won’t be able to fish you out in time…”

Chi Yun: “…”

“Okay,” she said. She would tell Manager Hu.

After hanging up, Chi Yun took a sip of water but suddenly sucked in air. She got out of bed to go to the water dispenser for a refill. Only then did she realize that despite sipping for so long, the water level had only dropped by a sixth. The glass was still almost full. Chi Yun felt speechless at her own miscalculation of her capacity.

Just as she was about to walk back, her communicator on the bed vibrated. She calculated the time and realized this message was likely from Li Zhou. She could call her now.

Unable to wait, she strode toward the bed, but after two steps, she forced herself to stop. She stared at the water in the glass, challenging the other version of herself: Do you dare to finish the rest of the water in one go? She was going to have a long phone call with A-Li and definitely wouldn’t have time to drink, right? This glass was today’s mission; if she didn’t finish it, wouldn’t it be like failing before even starting?

Chi Yun removed the straw, lifted the glass, held her breath, and gulped the water down. She actually finished it in one breath. When she started messaging Li Zhou, she was hiccuping the whole time.

“I’m home, but it’s not convenient to take a call right now.” Li Zhou had sent this two minutes ago.

Chi Yun asked: “Can you look at messages?”

Li Zhou: “Yes.”

Chi Yun sent: “Can you help me pick a swimsuit?” She sent the links she had filtered to Li Zhou.

Li Zhou looked through them one by one. Chi Yun had picked fairly modest ones, but Li Zhou felt they weren’t quite right. She replied: [I’ll send you one in a few days.”

Chi Yun first replied: “Okay.” Then a doubt arose: “Do you know my measurements? My size?”

“I know,” Li Zhou sent.

“How do you know? I don’t even know them myself,” Chi Yun was surprised, then her brain started filling in the gaps: [You didn’t secretly measure me while I was asleep, did you?”

Li Zhou: “I was the one who picked up the wedding dress.”

Okay, never mind. Chi Yun noticed that whenever the year they got married was mentioned, the atmosphere between them would instinctively turn cold, as if entering a minefield. Yet, the events of that year couldn’t be ignored entirely.

When Li Zhou said she could call, Chi Yun dialed immediately. She heard the sound of Li Zhou turning off the lights and walking up the stairs. She guessed: “Were you busy with work just now?”

Li Zhou, having just returned with her car keys still in hand, gave a soft “Mm.”

Perhaps because it was night, both of them instinctively lowered their voices, making them soft and light, like a feather brushing against something.

“Can you stay on the line?” Chi Yun said slowly. “When you’re ready to sleep, tell me, and then I’ll hang up.”

As Li Zhou was considering it, Chi Yun mumbled on the other end: “I won’t be able to see you for a month, and we’ll have a time difference. It’ll be hard to stay in touch, right? Opportunities to talk like this will probably be rare…”

Li Zhou switched her communicator to the other hand, her lips curling into a silent smile. “Okay.”

Based on the sounds coming through the receiver, Chi Yun could vaguely guess what Li Zhou was doing. She went to the balcony, reached for the drying rack, and was taking down the laundry. Unsurprisingly, it was the pajamas Chi Yun had washed and hung there three days ago.

Just as Chi Yun thought her little trick was working, Li Zhou took the pajamas into the bedroom instead of the bathroom. Chi Yun ducked her head under the covers to hear the sounds better. This action made her voice sound muffled through the phone.

Li Zhou heard the muffled voice ask: “Aren’t you bathing tonight?”

“No,” Li Zhou said decisively.

Chi Yun was inevitably disappointed, but soon, she heard the sound of a zipper sliding. Li Zhou was changing. Chi Yun held her breath. She recalled the clothes Li Zhou was wearing today. As Li Zhou removed her outer layers and placed her hand on the clasp of her undergarments, Chi Yun spoke: “I used to eavesdrop on the sound of you changing.”

Li Zhou’s hand, having just released one clasp, paused.

“When you were in the room next to mine, I would pay attention to when you returned. When I felt you were about to change, I would quiet down to listen.”

Through those tiny sounds, Chi Yun could usually tell which layer Li Zhou was removing and how many layers were left. After they married, they slept in separate rooms. The two rooms were adjacent, separated only by a wall. A Phoenix has excellent hearing; it isn’t hard to hear movement next door. She hadn’t done it intentionally at first, but after hearing it once by chance, she would pay attention every time.

Today, there was no wall, only the receiver, providing even more valid information. Chi Yun felt her judgment would be even more accurate. She also predicted that after saying this, the communicator—and herself—would be temporarily banished by an annoyed Li Zhou. Only after her anger subsided and she finished changing would she be “released.”

Unexpectedly, Li Zhou didn’t shy away. She continued unfastening the clasps, removed her remaining clothes until she was completely naked, then put on her pajamas. Finally, she tossed out a sentence lightly: “I used to listen to the sound of you changing, too.”

“!!!!!”

A rush of heat went straight to Chi Yun’s brain. She threw off the covers and sat bolt upright in bed, her heart trembling. She admitted to her own lewdness, but A-Li seemed so prim and proper—how could she do such a thing too!

Support