Ex-Wife, Please Respect Yourself! - Chapter 5

After chatting reluctantly for a few more minutes, Cheng Luo finally hung up the phone and shouted loudly, “I put your phone on the table!”

Zhai Qing was still busy in the kitchen and only responded with a hum.

Cheng Luo curled her lip where Zhai Qing could not see her, then turned on the television to bring some sound into the room.

“Come and eat.”

It was only then that Cheng Luo realized Zhai Qing had prepared more than one kind of breakfast. In addition to the boiled egg she had requested, there were sandwiches, soup dumplings, and savory steamed buns.

Since when did she need to eat this much in the morning?

Cheng Luo gnawed on her tasteless boiled egg, looking at the person opposite her with a somewhat resentful gaze.

As if receiving a signal, Zhai Qing looked up at her. “Do you want to eat? I made a lot.”

“I am on a diet!” Cheng Luo said with dignity.

“I just checked the packaging. They are all low-fat versions, so you should not gain weight.”

“…”

Cheng Luo humblingly began to eat the soup dumplings.

They were delicious! They were too delicious!

It felt truly comfortable to have her empty stomach suddenly filled. Her body felt lazy, but out of politeness, Cheng Luo asked if she should wash the dishes. In the end, she was refused.

She lay on the sofa with her legs crossed, watching her ex-wife busy herself in the kitchen. Life was truly pleasant. As expected, it was still necessary to have an ex-wife at home.

“…”

An ex-wife who can cook and wash dishes, not an ex-wife who acts like a zombie every day, Cheng Luo added mentally. However, come to think of it, she only had one ex-wife.

Zhai Qing had nothing to do after washing the dishes. She had arrived in a hurry and brought nothing, so she could not work. She could only sit on the sofa and watch a melodramatic romance drama playing on the television with Cheng Luo.

“Are you cheating on me behind my back!” the female lead on the screen screamed hysterically.

“It is not what you think. We are just friends,” the other female lead countered calmly.

Cheng Luo did not expect that a drama she opened at random would actually be a lesbian drama. Although it had been legal for a long time, there was no need to have two women reenact such a cliché plot. These lines were so familiar; it was as if the faces of many people were flashing before her eyes.

“Then say it! Tell me what your relationship is with her!”

“Of course I know. She is your younger sister. She just had some questions she did not understand and came to ask me. How can you, as the older sister, be so selfish!”

“I am selfish? Fine! You two are asking questions all the way to a hotel! Fine, I will be generous. Get out! Get out!”

“You are truly an unreasonable woman! How did I ever marry you into this house!”

Then came nearly five or six minutes of screaming. The hotel equipment was truly good, making it feel like one was right there in the scene. Finally, because Cheng Luo’s ears began to hurt, she turned off the television. The air suddenly became quiet.

Zhai Qing suddenly brought up the matter of yesterday’s trending search for no apparent reason. “Did you see the trending search yesterday?”

Cheng Luo remembered; she had not been drunk then. Cheng Luo nodded.

“That is the daughter of a distant relative of mine. You might know her too.”

“Ah? Do I know her?” Cheng Luo recalled the face in the photo. She had no impression of it at all.

Zhai Qing reminded her, “We met when we went to my house during the first year of our marriage. She was still in university then. She has changed a bit now, so you might not recognize her.”

Cheng Luo did not expect her to mention things from before their divorce. She paused for a few seconds and then replied, “That was too long ago. I have indeed forgotten.”

Then the two were speechless, and the air froze again.

Zhai Qing’s gaze fell on her folded hands. Her thick eyelashes concealed her eyes, making it impossible to see her expression.

But after a few minutes of stalemate, Zhai Qing was the first to break the ice. She turned to look at Cheng Luo. “Do you not like watching it?”

Cheng Luo did not react for a moment. It was only when she saw Zhai Qing point at the television that she understood. “The plot is too cliché. The sequel will definitely be one person asking for forgiveness and the other softening, followed by a happy ending.”

In Zhai Qing’s memory, Cheng Luo loved watching television dramas. Sometimes she would even wear headphones and watch them secretly after going to bed at night, resulting in her being unable to get out of bed the next day and lying there all day.

“Do you not like happy endings?”

“No, it is just because the plot lacks originality.” Cheng Luo rubbed her ears, unable to understand why Zhai Qing was asking so clearly. “Do you suddenly like watching this? Should I turn it back on for you?”

Cheng Luo thought she would not watch it at all, but Zhai Qing actually nodded. Cheng Luo widened her eyes in disbelief and then turned on the television in a daze.

Had her personality changed? Since when did she love watching melodramatic dramas? It was truly strange.

Fortunately, the plot had returned to being calm, and Cheng Luo’s ears could relax. The two watched television quietly until ten o’clock. It was the sound of a knock on the door that brought Cheng Luo back to her senses. She had unknowingly become absorbed in the show. As expected, there was a reason why it was filmed this way.

Cheng Luo went to the entrance to open the door while looking at the television longingly.

“Hi! Your phone!”

“Why are you here? Are you not supposed to be sleeping?” Cheng Luo looked at Jiang Wei in surprise. She had planned to pick it up when she had time.

“I could not sleep, so I got up. Let me come in and sit for a while.” Saying this, Jiang Wei tried to push past Cheng Luo to enter the room.

Hearing the sound of the television in the living room and remembering there was another person inside, Cheng Luo hurriedly stopped her. “Stop, stop, stop! Let us do it another day! The room is too messy today and has not been tidied up yet!”

“Oh, I do not mind. Let us chat and relieve our boredom together.”

“No, no, no. I have things to do. Let us play together when I get back!” Cheng Luo was almost sweating from anxiety.

“Why are you so strange today?

Are you hiding someone in your room?” Jiang Wei said as she tried to poke her head in to look. Seeing this, Cheng Luo quickly blocked her head with her hand.

“What person am I hiding? I really have something to do. I have to read the script. Filming starts tomorrow, and I still do not understand the scenes.”

“You are reading the script without me? I can happen to rehearse with you! We have so many scenes together!”

“I want to read it by myself today!” Cheng Luo stood firmly in front of the door.

Seeing that she really would not let her in, Jiang Wei returned to her room, looking back every three steps. She looked quite pitiful.

Cheng Luo breathed a sigh of relief after closing the door. She thought to herself that it was fortunate Zhai Qing was leaving in the afternoon. Otherwise, she would definitely have been seen, and then she would not be able to explain herself.

Cheng Luo returned to the living room and found that the television was still playing, but the person was gone. She found her in the bedroom. Zhai Qing was sitting by the bed holding her script. Cheng Luo’s footsteps stopped outside the door.

Whenever Zhai Qing was fully devoted to something, she always gave off a sense of great distance. It was as if nothing else mattered to her, and the indifference on her body could freeze someone.

Cheng Luo entered the bedroom despite the cold, snatched the script from Zhai Qing’s hand, and said righteously, “You are not allowed to look! These are all confidential.”

Zhai Qing was dazed for a moment and did not react immediately. She looked up at Cheng Luo with a somewhat bewildered gaze. “Is that so? I will keep it a secret.”

Cheng Luo looked straight ahead. “Then how much have you read?”

“This is the second time I have read it.” Zhai Qing had been a fast reader since she was a child and learned quickly, which made people very envious.

“…” Cheng Luo was choked up. “Then forget it quickly.”

Zhai Qing actually followed her lead and nodded. “I will try to forget it.”

Looking at her, Cheng Luo did not know what to say for a while. After a moment of silence, she said, “Remember to look for another kindergarten for Nono after you go back. She still needs to spend time with her peers.”

“Also, do not put too much pressure on Nono. Your kind of elite learning is not suitable for everyone.” As Nono grew older, Cheng Luo felt a bit of panic about the similarities between Nono and Zhai Qing in certain areas, fearing that a little zombie would be raised in ten years.

Zhai Qing agreed to everything.

Seeing her submissive appearance, Cheng Luo felt uncomfortable in her heart. It was as if there was a small flame in her body that could burst into a crackling fire at any time.

Lunch was delivered by the hotel staff. Because it was far from the airport, Zhai Qing had to leave for the airport after eating. She had brought nothing when she came and took nothing when she left.

Seeing her put on her coat, Cheng Luo could not help but speak up. “Send me a message when you get home, or let Nono tell me.”

“I know.”

“Do you need me to see you off? You came all this way,” Cheng Luo looked for something to say.

Unexpectedly, Zhai Qing turned her head and gazed at her seriously with her black pupils. “Can you?”

Cheng Luo looked into her eyes and swallowed the no in her mouth.

She wrapped herself in layers until she could not even recognize herself, and then she felt relieved to walk side by side with Zhai Qing in the hallway.

During this time, she encountered her assistant. She was so frightened that she could not even walk. It was Zhai Qing who grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

Seeing that the assistant did not notice anything unusual, Cheng Luo breathed a sigh of relief. When they reached the hotel entrance, Cheng Luo stopped. “I will only see you off to here. Go back by yourself.”

Zhai Qing was one step ahead of her on the stairs, so she was just at eye level with the person in front of her. “Can I bring Nono to visit you?”

Cheng Luo thought about it with conflict before saying, “This is too remote. It will be a long and tiring journey. It is better not to let Nono suffer. When she misses me, I will take leave to go back and see her.”

“Then what if I miss you?”

Cheng Luo did not react at once and followed her words, saying, “If you miss me, do not come either. WHAT! Why would you miss me! You are not allowed to miss me!” Cheng Luo roared in disbelief, her voice rising by nearly eight decibels.

Then she saw a faint smile appear on her ex-wife’s face, who said in a very annoying tone, “I am joking.”

“You are not allowed to joke either!” Cheng Luo was completely enraged, stamping her feet and turning back.

After she turned around, the smile on Zhai Qing’s face widened. She stood there watching Cheng Luo’s back grow further away until she disappeared before turning to leave.

I will try not to miss you.