Helping My Ex-Wife Find Love Every Day - Chapter 25

After Qiu Qingshi finished the fight, the bodyguards finally arrived, dragging their feet. They located the alley based on the location Yao Xiangyi had sent and were stunned by the sight of the chaos. The ground was covered with thugs clutching their heads, arms, and legs, howling and wailing.

Every single one of them looked like a wretched mess, “in need of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to survive.”

It was immediately obvious that a fierce battle had occurred here.

They quickly surrounded Qiu Qingshi to confirm she was unharmed, then looked sideways at Yao Xiangyi.

She was frozen in place, her face clearly showing “Mom, I want to go home,” yet she couldn’t let go of her Bàzǒng dignity. She pulled at the rigid muscles on her lips, showcasing a forced smile to its absolute limits.

What a heart-wrenching Bàzǒng she is.

Then, glancing at Bai Mengzhao standing beside the Bàzǒng…

Killing intent burst from the bodyguard leader’s eyes. He said in a deep voice, “Miss, put down your kitchen knife.”

Bai Mengzhao’s condition was not much better than Yao Xiangyi’s. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Frightened by the bodyguard, she threw the kitchen knife away as if it were a burning hot potato. It landed right in the center of Crew Cut’s crotch, narrowly avoiding castration.

Crew Cut cried again. It’s hard to be a big brother these days, and even harder to be a big brother who deals with loan sharks.

Qiu Qingshi leaned against the hood of the Maybach, her palms braced on the still-warm car cover. Her thin, slender figure was composed and calm.

She lowered her head, watching the bodyguard squat down to help her put on her high heels. Her facial contours were dimly visible in the moonlight, her neck slender and pale, her eyes curved in a smile.

With every gesture, the First Socialite of Sea City had returned to the world.

Crew Cut had apparently not been beaten enough. “You wait, I’m not done with you!”

Qiu Qingshi’s gaze shifted to him, sharp and cold.

Crew Cut hunched his shoulders, intimidated. “No, no, I didn’t say anything.”

Qiu Qingshi picked up the golf club again.

Crew Cut slapped himself twice, very consciously.

Qiu Qingshi appreciated his self-awareness. It was a pity for someone so clever to be a thug. She handed the club to the bodyguard, and extended her soft, flawless hand toward Yao Xiangyi.

Yao Xiangyi understood. She reached out and clasped Qiu Qingshi’s cool fingers, pulling gently to help her stand straight.

“Bàba, was I good?” Qiu Qingshi asked sweetly.

Having witnessed her fluid “action scene,” Yao Xiangyi dared not defy her in public. She gave a thumbs-up. “When the Movie Queen acts, the ruffians step aside.”

Qiu Qingshi was delighted. She bit her lip and chuckled, lowering her voice, speaking softly and sweetly, “I don’t want to be a Movie Queen.”

Yao Xiangyi: “Why?”

Qiu Qingshi was silent for a moment, letting the suspense build, before finally uttering a romantic phrase, “Because… I want to be your Daji more.”

Yao Xiangyi shivered: So you want to ruin my empire, and ruin me too…

“Hmm? Are you hot? You’re sweating on your forehead.” Qiu Qingshi placed her palm on Yao Xiangyi’s forehead, feeling a cold dampness.

Cold sweat.

“Bàba, are you unwell?” Qiu Qingshi asked concernedly.

Yao Xiangyi continued her performance of “forcing a smile,” waving her hand and saying she was fine.

Qiu Qingshi was worried and confused. “Was I too aggressive just now? Did I scare you? Let’s go to the hospital. You must not get sick from fright.”

She acted immediately, embracing Yao Xiangyi and guiding her toward the car.

How could Yao Xiangyi, the Bàzǒng, show weakness in front of so many people?

She composed herself, refused the offer, and assigned new tasks to the bodyguards, instructing them to send the thugs rolling on the ground to the emergency room, and then to the police station for serious study of the Eight Honors and Eight Shames.

After thinking for a moment, she added, “Remember to smooth things over with the surrounding neighbors.”

She didn’t want anyone taking an opportunistic video of Qiu Qingshi brutally beating the thugs, only for it to be sensationalized online. If that happened, Qiu Qingshi’s “Icy Royal Sister” persona would shatter into ice shards.

The bodyguard leader, who was always efficient, reassured Yao Xiangyi, guaranteeing that the mission would be completed.

“Also,” Yao Xiangyi glanced at the bloodstains on the bumper and said with heartfelt distress, “Help me take this car to be washed. You can leave your car for me.”

The bodyguard nodded, exchanging car keys with her.

Under his command, the bodyguards acted in an orderly manner, “clearing the scene” at the fastest speed. The small alley restored its former peace.

The two remaining bodyguards escorted Yao Xiangyi and Qiu Qingshi into Bai Mengzhao’s house. To prevent any more thugs from causing trouble, they stood guard in the courtyard, ensuring they could spot enemies immediately.

Bai Mengzhao’s house was an old three-story building, grey concrete inside and out. It was built in the 1980s, had never been renovated, and its decor and layout retained their original flavor. Even many of the furnishings were ancient.

The lighting wasn’t particularly good, and the air was filled with a slightly damp, moldy smell, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Instead, it had a long-lost, everyday, homey quality.

Like the lyrics of that song—

Plainness and simplicity are the only truths.

Yao Xiangyi quite liked it.

Bai Mengzhao seemed uneasy and invited them to sit at the dining table. “I’ll go pour you some water.”

With that, she turned into the kitchen.

What she called a dining table was actually a simple, square wooden table, neither too big nor too small, and one leg was lame, propped up by a pocket dictionary.

Yao Xiangyi came from a privileged background and rarely experienced the hardships of common life. Like a curious baby, she looked left and right. When she grew tired, she tilted her neck back to observe the sixty-watt lightbulb hanging in the center of the ceiling.

The gentle light shone on her, making her features clean and warm.

Qiu Qingshi didn’t allow her to be so interested in her love rival’s house. She covered Yao Xiangyi’s eyes with her hand, saying sourly, “Don’t look.”

Yao Xiangyi was rarely playful. “I will look.”

Qiu Qingshi cupped her face, nose-to-nose with her. “Look at me. I’m your wife.”

Yao Xiangyi closed her eyelids. “I won’t look.”

Qiu Qingshi pecked her on the lips. “You’re trying to make me mad.”

A triumphant smile flashed in Yao Xiangyi’s beautiful eyes. She pinched Qiu Qingshi’s knee. “Ask you something, okay?”

Qiu Qingshi was sulky. She turned slightly away, using her body language to tell Yao Xiangyi that she didn’t want to talk to her.

Yao Xiangyi shamelessly said, “Băobèi (Baby)~”

Her voice was slightly low, carrying a magic that penetrated the heart, and those two simple words held an indescribable sexiness.

Qiu Qingshi surrendered, looking back. “Ask away.”

Yao Xiangyi cleared her throat, meeting her eyes. “Do you think… Bai Mengzhao and I look alike?”

She had pondered this question for a long time without result. She couldn’t help but wonder. Since the original title was The Stand-in: My Priceless Little Sweetheart, Bai Mengzhao should have some similarity to her.

Qiu Qingshi was annoyed. “I forbid you to belittle yourself! How can she compare to you?”

Yao Xiangyi was a tiny bit happy.

Sure enough, a counterfeit can never be real.

“Do we look alike?”

“What about our personalities, are they similar?”

Qiu Qingshi paused for an instant, then said mercilessly, “If she had your rotten temper, she would never have lived to adulthood.”

Yao Xiangyi didn’t understand and humbly asked, “Why?”

Qiu Qingshi pinched her soft, doughy face, giving a forced smile. “She would have been beaten to death a long time ago.”

Yao Xiangyi pinched her thumb and pinky finger together, holding them up, and asked, “Is there absolutely nothing similar between us?”

Qiu Qingshi found her tedious. “No, no, no.”

Yao Xiangyi found it strange. Then how did Bai Mengzhao become her stand-in?

She wasn’t as rich as Yao Xiangyi, not as pretty, not as domineering, not as long-legged…

Just as she was pondering this, Bai Mengzhao returned with the hot water.

Yao Xiangyi stared fixedly at her.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, just a little white rabbit. She wondered what Qiu Qingshi saw in her in the original text.

Was it because she was poor? Because she owed loan sharks?

Qiu Qingshi really had money to burn.

Bai Mengzhao’s fringe was slightly messy. She placed the cups on the table and quickly adjusted her hair. “CEO Yao, Movie Queen Qiu, thank you for saving me today. I have no way to repay you. If you ever need me for anything, just say the word. I would not hesitate to go through mountains of knives and seas of fire for you.”

She suddenly became emotional and bowed deeply. She didn’t control her movement well, and her forehead hit the tabletop.

A loud “BANG!”

It sounded painful.

She quickly cried out “Ouch, ouch.”

Yao Xiangyi and Qiu Qingshi both couldn’t help but laugh.

“You child, you’re so clumsy. We were just helping out when we saw injustice on the road. Don’t worry too much about it.” Yao Xiangyi stood up to approach Bai Mengzhao to check her injuries, but just as she raised her hand, she… sat back down under Qiu Qingshi’s warning gaze.

Yao Xiangyi: A jealous woman is not to be provoked.

Following the principle of “where the wife leads, the husband follows,” Qiu Qingshi chimed in, “I received your new camera last time, and I felt more and more uneasy. I was too heavy-handed that day at the night market, and I haven’t apologized to you yet.”

Bai Mengzhao was overwhelmed. “No, no, no, please don’t say that. I was in the wrong first.”

“If you make a mistake, you must own up to it. That’s my rule for life.” It’s also one of the socialite’s guidelines.

Qiu Qingshi stood in front of Bai Mengzhao, bowed slightly, and spoke with her delicate lips. “My apologies.”

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah—

My idol is apologizing to me!

I’m dead, I’m alive, I’ve repeatedly died and been resurrected.

From now on, I am her loyal fan who will never leave.

Bai Mengzhao’s legs went soft, and she plopped into the chair, lying back like a salted fish carcass.

A man’s violent cough came from upstairs, mixed with phlegm and heavy, intermittent wheezing.

Bai Mengzhao came back to life, as if sensing a summons. “Excuse me, I’ll go check on my father.”

“Go ahead,” Qiu Qingshi and Yao Xiangyi said in unison.

Watching Bai Mengzhao leave, Qiu Qingshi twisted Yao Xiangyi’s waist. “You’re not allowed to get too close to her.”

Yao Xiangyi batted her hand away.

Before they could exchange more than a few words, the coughing upstairs stopped. Bai Mengzhao descended the stairs with a loud “thump, thump, thump.”

The three began their “late-night conversation around the table.”

Bai Mengzhao first explained the reason why the thugs came to collect the debt—her mother had uremia and needed a kidney transplant, and her father took the risk of borrowing from loan sharks.

Yao Xiangyi couldn’t help but admire the author’s moral depravity. The dog-author’s novel-writing wasn’t great, but they had firmly grasped the essence of old-school web novels: the female protagonist must have a tragic past.

Bai Mengzhao’s life story was as follows: “I don’t know who my biological parents are. As long as I can remember, I lived in an orphanage. When I was seven, I met my current adoptive parents. They adopted me and gave me a home.”

“This home wasn’t wealthy, but they treated me as their own, and life was decent. Three years ago, my mother got sick, draining all the family’s savings…”

Bai Mengzhao had only just begun her story when her tears fell like broken strings of pearls, streaming down her face.