Did My Ex-Wife Agree to Remarry Me Today? - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Disappeared

During the time Li Zhou was away, Chi Yun reported to the Stone House every single day, sometimes even scrounging dinner at A-Mei’s place. Feeling a bit guilty about the free meals, she would buy groceries and bring fresh fruit and delicious snacks to satisfy the cravings of A-Mei and Grandma Wang.

Every time Wang Fang asked Chi Yun what she wanted for dinner, Chi Yun’s answer was always the same: “Pancakes.” Any kind of pancake would do, but leek pancakes were the best. Wang Fang didn’t understand why this child loved pancakes so much, but if Chi Yun asked, she made them.

One change Li Zhou would surely notice upon her return was the vegetable patch in the yard; the leeks she had planted were all plucked bald by Chi Yun.

While chatting in the yard after dinner, Chi Yun would fish for information from Wang Fang about what Li Zhou liked to eat. “You’ve been neighbors for so long, she must have come over for meals, right?”

Wang Fang recalled, “She never actively came to scrounge for food; it was always me bringing food over to her. She’s so busy and forgets to eat, it makes one worry. But she’s easy to feed—as long as it’s vegetarian, she’ll eat whatever I bring.”

“As for what she likes… I asked her once, and her answer was the same as yours. She said she likes pancakes.” The leeks in the patch were grown specifically to make pancakes.

Chi Yun’s tail feathers perked up metaphorically; she beamed instantly. “Then it must be my influence.”

“Haha,” Wang Fang laughed, her eyes narrowing into crescent slits as she teased Chi Yun. “When I asked Xiao Zhou, that was several years ago. She didn’t even know you back then, did she?”

“In my view, you’re the one who copied her, and now you’ve flipped the story to flatter yourself.”

Ever since Li Zhou patted Chi Yun on the head at the airport, Chi Yun had become quite fond of flattering herself. On her first night at the Stone House, an exaggerated version of the story—where Li Zhou was so reluctant to part that she didn’t want Chi Yun to leave—had already spread through the house.

Chi Yun didn’t argue with Grandma Wang. She simply looked at the distant sea with a slight smile, her tail feathers still “up.” When she first knew A-Li, A-Li hadn’t even moved to this village yet; surely she was the earlier influence.

“I can tell you a secret though,” Wang Fang’s expression suddenly became mysterious, as if this secret were massive. “Xiao Zhou told me this herself.”

Chi Yun sat up straight, picked up her chair, and scurried over to Wang Fang’s side. She pricked up her ears and said, “I want to hear it!”

The sun had completely sunk below the horizon, leaving the sky a pale pink. Not far away, A-Mei and Cookie were running circles under the coconut trees, chasing each other. Their minds were entirely on playing, with no time for the adults.

There were only Wang Fang and Chi Yun in the yard. The neighboring aunts had all gone home for dinner, so there wouldn’t be a third pair of ears. It was the perfect setting for a secret! Chi Yun raised three fingers in a vow: “My lips are sealed. Once you tell me, I absolutely won’t tell anyone else!”

It wasn’t that kind of secret. Wang Fang smiled with her hands on her knees, speaking in her usual tone. “Right after you got divorced, I asked Xiao Zhou what she liked about you. Guess how she answered?”

This question… Chi Yun had truly never considered it. Because she was cute? Because she used to cling to her as a child? Thinking it over, Chi Yun always felt it was more about their childhood bond. As an adult, she had hardly left any good impressions on Li Zhou.

To her surprise, Wang Fang said, “It’s the face. Xiao Zhou said she likes your face.”

Chi Yun was stunned. All this time, she thought she was riding on the coattails of her childhood self to win Li Zhou’s favor. It turned out… it was because of this face?

Chi Yun had to confirm one thing: “Grandma, did she say… my current face?”

“What else?” Wang Fang laughed kindly.

Chi Yun added, “I’ve known her since I was very small. I was chubby as a kid and many said I was cute. Could she have liked the childhood me and carried that feeling to the present?”

“What’s there to like about a kid?” Wang Fang made a face of mock-disgust. “Playing with you because you’re cute is just having a playful heart; that’s not the same as the ‘liking’ that gives one the impulse to marry. When she said she likes your face, it’s definitely this current face.”

Chi Yun felt as if she’d been struck by an electric current. she sat there dazed, her heart feeling tingly and numb, unable to react for a long time.

Wang Fang gave her some pointers: “So, with such a great natural advantage, shouldn’t chasing Xiao Zhou be easy? Use your face well.”

Cookie truly lived up to being a dog raised by a grandma; he was getting rounder by the day. When Chi Yun first met him, he was a puppy, but now he had grown into a meatball. In the art of eating, Chi Yun, the nominal “mom,” sighed in self-perceived inferiority.

All she could do was take her gear, along with A-Mei and the pudgy Cookie, to a slightly more distant beach after meals to pick up trash. Running back and forth along the coastline every day with such high levels of exercise didn’t make Cookie any thinner, but Chi Yun had lost quite a bit of weight, making her jawline look sharp.

After returning to the Stone House, Chi Yun would pack the daily plastic haul, add it to the supplies she pulled from the company, and stack it all in Li Zhou’s yard with labels and dates. Saving it up day by day, she had accumulated quite a lot over the month—it was almost filling Li Zhou’s yard.

At night, when Grandma Wang and A-Mei locked up to sleep, Chi Yun would go home alone. She had gone looking for the cup her mother mentioned was in the storage room and actually found it. She also saw the scratch near the bottom of the cup.

What a pity—it wasn’t the same one A-Li used. But looking on the bright side, it was something to be happy about: she and A-Li had “couple cups” now. Chi Yun had searched online and found that this straw cup produced over a decade ago had long been discontinued; you couldn’t buy another one now even if you had the money.

She had told Li Zhou to think of her when drinking water, and Chi Yun herself always thought of Li Zhou when drinking from this cup. This fueled her motivation to transform longing into action. With the “buff” of the straw cup, Chi Yun drank water more diligently every day. Sometimes during meetings, she would open the lid and take two deep gulps under the startled gazes of her managers.

On weekends, Chi Yun usually spent one day at her grandmother’s house and the other at Longya Mountain. Long Xuan was on the mountain and had promised to teach her to swim. She felt the most useful approach at this stage was to have Chi Yun soak in the hot springs to get her body used to the feeling of being in water. If she couldn’t get used to that, paddling with her legs would do. If even that failed, they would “learn” starting from just dipping her toes in.

Long Xuan’s wife, Mu Yiyan, was also on the mountain. Chi Yun happened to want to talk to Mu Yiyan about her future plans, so she went early every morning and returned at sunset.

Longya Mountain was the gathering place for the Dragon clan before they entered the human world, similar to the Phoenixes’ East Pavilion. Nowadays, most Dragons had moved into human society, and there were only a few permanent residents left on the mountain. Her Auntie Long and Auntie Mu only headed to the mountains when they had free time or during special seasons. Usually, you wouldn’t see many Dragons there, but there were more on weekends. Looking up at the sky, you could see parents taking their children for flights. This wasn’t allowed in the city, so people returned to their old home during holidays to release their true nature.

Because the Phoenixes entered the human world later, most still lived in Phoenix Town, so there wasn’t much of a floating population. Chi Yun would also head back there every once in a while.

On a weekend morning, deep in the heart of Longya Mountain, Chi Yun deliberately slowed her car. Many peach blossoms were planted in the valley, blooming in competition during this season, as brilliant as rosy clouds. Occasionally, she would see a few pure white pear trees. Chi Yun couldn’t help but think: The pear trees in the mountains have bloomed; when will A-Li bloom?

Was it because of her that A-Li didn’t even want to grow leaves?

After climbing a slope, a small farmhouse courtyard appeared. Chi Yun parked outside and walked toward the two aunties sitting in a row in the yard. “Auntie Long, Auntie Mu—”

The two were cooking. Chi Yun could smell the aroma from a distance; it was likely grilled fish. Grilled fish for breakfast?

Hearing the voice, Long Xuan, who was bowing her head to peel fish meat, looked up with a bright smile. “Bingbing is here! Have you eaten? Shall I fry a fish cake for you?”

Mu Yiyan added, “The fish can be kept for lunch. There are other things in the fridge; tell Auntie what you want to eat.”

Coming closer, she saw the two sitting at a massive stone table with two grilled fish in front of them, peeling the meat. Two cleaned fish skeletons lay nearby.

“I ate this morning, no need to trouble yourselves.” Chi Yun sat on a stone stool opposite them, rolled up her sleeves, and asked curiously, “What day is it that you’ve grilled so much fish? Do they need further processing after peeling?”

Mu Yiyan said with a smile, “Today is just a day your Auntie Long wants to eat fish. No need to cook it further after peeling; just roll it into balls. If you’re eating with us at lunch, I’ll fry some for you and shape them into pancakes, mostly because I’m afraid you won’t be used to it.”

Roll into balls?

Chi Yun washed her hands and helped. Looking at the two large basins of peeled fish meat, she marveled, “If all of this is rolled into a ball, how big of a ball would that be?”

Long Xuan laughed sheepishly. Mu Yiyan explained, “This isn’t even enough to fill the gaps between your auntie’s teeth. Once she turns into her dragon form, she can eat several in one bite.”

Chi Yun smiled and helped out.

“So, what are your plans for the future?” During the peeling, Mu Yiyan asked proactively, sensing Chi Yun might be hesitant to bring it up.

“I might resign from my position at the company and get involved in environmental causes.” After much deliberation, Chi Yun shared her thoughts.

Mu Yiyan gave an encouraging smile. “Environmental work is very good. We pharmaceutical companies make and sell medicine not to make unscrupulous money, but to help the poor and those suffering from illness—to give back to society. Environmental work is the same; while realizing personal value, it benefits society and the environment.”

Mu Yiyan didn’t try to persuade Chi Yun to stay; instead, she encouraged her to try boldly.

“Thank you, Auntie Mu, but I don’t know if I’m suited for it yet…” If she couldn’t even learn to swim, she’d have to pull her foot back before she even stepped in.

Long Xuan knew what Chi Yun was worried about and cheered her on. “It’s just learning to swim, right? Leave it to Auntie.”

“It’s fine, no rush,” Mu Yiyan also comforted her. “It’s not too late to decide once you’ve had deeper contact with the industry.”

A month can go by fast or slow. When Li Zhou got off the plane, she specifically glanced toward the large pillar where Chi Yun usually hid. That single look made her feel time had moved quickly—it passed in the blink of an eye.

“Sister, over here—” The car had been borrowed by Li Hang, who happened to be nearby, so Li Zhou had called her to pick her up.

Once in the car, Li Hang took over driving duties, set the navigation, and asked Li Zhou if she was hungry or wanted to eat something first. Li Zhou said no and to go straight back to Wuzhou. While passing the cars in the parking lot, Li Zhou took a careful look; they were all sitting quietly, with no suspicious vehicles in sight.

She buckled her seatbelt. As the car exited the airport road and was about to merge onto Jiangwu Avenue, Li Zhou’s communicator rang. It was Pei Pei.

Li Zhou answered. The other woman’s voice was frantic: “Sister Zhou, President Chi is gone! I don’t know where she went; she vanished as soon as I stepped out…”

Li Zhou said in a deep voice, “Slow down. Tell me clearly what happened.”

Pei Pei was indeed a bit incoherent. She gathered her thoughts and said, “President Chi is drunk. Really drunk this time. For some reason, the partners tonight were all pouring her drinks, and she couldn’t refuse. She drank a lot.”

“She wouldn’t let me support her once she was drunk, but she didn’t want to walk either, so I went to the parking lot to get the car.”

“By the time I drove out, she was gone. I searched all around the hotel and couldn’t find her.”

“Which hotel?” Li Zhou asked.

Pei Pei said, “The one near your house, the Purple Cloud Pavilion.”

The “near your house” Pei Pei mentioned referred to Chi Yun’s house—the new home she shared with Li Zhou. The Purple Cloud Pavilion was right next to Huijing Mansion, just across the street. Pei Pei remembered why she called Li Zhou; she thought Chi Yun might have gotten tired of waiting and went home herself. She wanted to go inside to check, but the security at the gate wouldn’t let her in, saying she needed the resident’s permission.

If she could contact Chi Yun, would she need to go in? It was because she was missing that she had to check! Pei Pei had immediately gotten into an argument with security. The security said if she could contact the mistress of the house and she gave the okay, that would work; all they needed was a word of approval from the owner.

Pei Pei argued for a long time but couldn’t win, so she called Li Zhou. This was because the “mistress” registered on the security records was Li Zhou, and the archived number was also Li Zhou’s.

Understanding the situation, Li Zhou said calmly, “Don’t panic yet. I’ll go take a look at the house.”

“You’re nearby? That’s great—” Before Pei Pei could finish, Li Zhou ruthlessly hung up.

Li Zhou wasn’t nearby, but she had a way to know the situation at the house.

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