Helping My Ex-Wife Find Love Every Day - Chapter 34

The wedding concluded amidst a mixture of sincere and hypocritical well wishes. From start to finish, Qiu Qingshi monopolized the top spot on the trending searches. It wasn’t just the trending topics; all the major entertainment forums were also buzzing about her pregnancy.

Before one wave subsided, another rose. The on-site media, not afraid of getting their hands dirty, freely released a press release praising her for overshadowing others:

#QiuQingshi’s Bridesmaid#

A photo of Qiu Qingshi and Xiao Lili together was posted.

The accompanying text was somewhat provocative. It first praised Qiu Qingshi for being pure and unconventional in her white gown, then used sophisticated wording to subtly suggest that she made Xiao Lili look like a gaudy flirt.

The trending search page refreshed, and it ranked fifteenth. After another refresh, good heavens, it was number two.

She accounted for two of the top three spots.

Xiao Lili’s “Dawn Fans” were furious, throwing bowls, smashing pots, and overturning tables.

They flocked to the comments section in droves to defend Xiao Lili.

[What the heck! It was bad enough that you competed with my Lili in various settings before, but today is your wedding day, a big day in your life, and you still bought two trending searches—one moment claiming you’re pregnant, the next claiming you’re prettier than Lili! Have some shame, will you?]

[As a person, leave a thread of grace, and you will meet again later. Have some perspective!]

[Lili even invited you to be her bridesmaid; she treats you like a good sister, and what about you? Treating her like a stepping stone? You’ve been targeting her for so many years, is it ever going to end!]

The “Snail Rice Noodle Fans” (Qiu Qingshi’s fans) were not having it.

[Hahahahahahaha, the biggest joke of 2020! Sister competing with Xiao Lili in a beauty contest? Dawn Fans, activate your little brains and think carefully, is Xiao Lili even qualified?]

[This question is too difficult for them. As everyone knows, they are all brain-dead fans, and the brain-dead have no ‘little brains,’ so they can’t think of this point.]

[God, what a joke about taking Xiao Lili as a stepping stone! Sister is the boss’s wife of Jinghong Entertainment. She has high-quality resources she can pick and choose from until her eyes blur. Xiao Lili isn’t even worthy of being a stepping stone!]

The fan bases of the two A-list actresses are alarmingly large, and both are battle-hardened. When they start to clash, they show no quarter, holding nothing back, slaughtering each other’s public pages, and then separately controlling their own comment sections—a total mess.

Passersby pulled up their little benches to watch the spectacle.

Meanwhile, the public relations teams on both sides had the intention of letting things slide.

Firstly, the Dawn Fans and Snail Rice Noodle Fans have been feuding for years, and a conflict can erupt at any time; they are used to it.

Secondly, free trending exposure is like a pie falling from the sky—a free bonus. As long as it doesn’t go too far, they can pretend they don’t see it.

While the internet was tearing itself apart, Qiu Qingshi remained “unmoved, despite the wind and rain.” She went back to the dressing room, changed out of her clothes, said goodbye to her “plastic sisters,” and left first.

Qiu Fugui (Qiu Qingshi’s father) went to catch up with an old comrade-in-arms—Xiao Lili’s father—to chat about recent events and reminisce.

The “old comrade” story is that when Elder Xiao was an educated youth sent to the countryside, he was assigned to the village of Qiu Fugui for labor. Over a full decade, he and Qiu Fugui developed a deep, brotherly affection.

Yao Xiangyi, seeing that he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, dismissed Chi Guyuan and Tang Sili and went to find Qiu Qingshi alone.

The great actress Qiu saw her coming from afar. No matter how unwilling she was, she had to save face. She grasped the hand extended to her, their fingers tightly intertwined, looking like an enviably affectionate couple.

They followed the departing crowd out of the banquet hall, chatting briefly with people who spoke to them.

In a place where others couldn’t see, Qiu Qingshi elbowed Yao Xiangyi and whispered, “Why are you holding my hand so tightly? Loosen up a bit.”

Yao Xiangyi’s thumb rubbed the back of her hand, making the most of the opportunity to take advantage of her.

Qiu Qingshi ground her back teeth: “Stop it, you… beast.”

Yao Xiangyi tilted her head and leaned in, provoking her: “I’m what?”

Qiu Qingshi pursed her lips and did not answer.

As a renowned lady, she would never say such a vulgar word out loud.

Yao Xiangyi took advantage of this, acting without fear.

After taking the elevator to the parking lot, Yao Xiangyi became even more presumptuous, getting into Qiu Qingshi’s nanny van without apology.

Qiu Qingshi raised the partition inside the vehicle, separating their private space, and angrily said, “Who gave you permission to come up? Get out.”

Yao Xiangyi scooped her up and sat her on her lap: “I’ve been coaxing you for many days. Don’t be so cold to me.”

Qiu Qingshi grabbed both of her ears and twisted them up and down: “I wonder who ignored me for two whole months before!”

“I apologize to you,” Yao Xiangyi said sincerely.

This matter was indeed her fault. Ever since she “awakened,” she had blindly blamed Qiu Qingshi for her fickleness and abandonment in the original text. But she gradually realized that the original text wasn’t even a complete novel—it was just an outline. The wretched author had abandoned the text right after writing the beginning, and Qiu Qingshi hadn’t actually done anything.

Upon realizing this, her guilt toward Qiu Qingshi came in like a tidal wave, making her miserable.

This was part of the reason she had been going to such lengths to cheer up Qiu Qingshi recently.

When she found out that Qiu Qingshi had turned down all her work for her, she felt even more self-reproach.

Qiu Qingshi is an extremely ambitious person, sacrificing many things for the goals she strives for.

She remembered one year on a film set. They were filming a winter scene during the height of the summer heat. The director was rushing the schedule, and the scenes were tightly packed. Qiu Qingshi was wrapped in thick costumes every day, three layers on the inside and three on the outside, with a prop stove lit near her feet, filming from morning till night.

She filmed for three days. On the fourth day, she suffered from heatstroke. She endured the discomfort without saying a word, not even telling Taozi (Peach, her assistant). When filming reached noon, she suddenly collapsed, falling down the steps, which scared the director out of his wits.

Fortunately, Taozi knew first aid, found cold water to cool her down physically, and immediately sent her to the hospital for emergency care.

Yao Xiangyi took a red-eye flight to Hengdian to see her in the hospital. As soon as Qiu Qingshi opened her eyes, she hugged Yao Xiangyi and cried until her face was stained with tears, as if she had suffered tremendous bullying.

After crying, she insisted on going back to the set to continue working.

It was from this incident that Yao Xiangyi felt especially heartbroken for her and also understood her, never again complaining that she was neglecting her because of filming.

The acting profession is not easy, especially for actresses.

The old saying goes, “If you want to be glorious in front of others, you must suffer behind the scenes.”

Those celebrities sway gracefully on the red carpet, but how many people truly care about how much hardship they have endured or how many injuries they have sustained to get there?

Listening to them tell their stories, speaking lightly and moving on quickly, one might mistakenly believe it’s easy to make a fortune.

Yao Xiangyi hugged her and kissed her cheek: “Why did you turn down your recent work?”

Qiu Qingshi pretended to be disgusted, wiping the saliva from her face: “I told you before that I wanted to rest for a while after being busy for so many years.”

Yao Xiangyi exposed her lie: “It’s because of me.”

“You wish…”

Yao Xiangyi fiddled with her fingers and murmured, “I must have hurt your feelings these last two months.”

Qiu Qingshi crossed her arms and said with a huff: “It’s normal for our feelings to have faded since we’ve been separated so much over the years. It’s okay, I’m not angry.”

“I felt your sincerity. Thank you, my dear wife.”

Qiu Qingshi almost wanted to forgive Yao Xiangyi.

She thought it was odd how soft her ears were—they melted as soon as Yao Xiangyi said something nice.

You have no backbone.

“So… are you still going to get a divorce or not?”

Qiu Qingshi’s question clearly stunned Yao Xiangyi.

The impulse Qiu Qingshi had to forgive Yao Xiangyi instantly poof died out.

She grabbed Yao Xiangyi’s collar, transforming into a little sweetheart filled with rage: “Let’s go! The Civil Affairs Bureau! We’re going right now!”

Yao Xiangyi explained: “Sweetheart, I have a hidden difficulty with the divorce.”

Qiu Qingshi thought: Look, how high-level this CEO is, actively asking for a divorce, and then trying to play the victim.

“Tell me, how big is this difficulty?” Qiu Qingshi met her eyes, which clearly read: Please begin your performance.

Yao Xiangyi, holding onto a sliver of hope, slowly recounted her recent bizarre experiences.

The beginning went like this:

“This is an unreal world. We are all paper figures living in an old-fashioned novel.”

The middle went like this:

“I awakened and discovered all of this. There is a literary website called Jinjiang that created an Abandoned Text Self-Rescue System and found me.”

The end went like this:

“It forced me to divorce you.”

A black line, two black lines, three black lines… dropped across Qiu Qingshi’s forehead.

A flock of crows also flew overhead.

She clicked her tongue in wonder, giving Yao Xiangyi the most enthusiastic applause.

She couldn’t believe Yao Xiangyi could make up such an absurd and outlandish lie just to get a divorce.

She is an actress, she knows at least eighty screenwriters, and the scripts she has read could pile up into a mountain. She has witnessed countless melodramatic and ridiculous plots, but none have been as original as Yao Xiangyi’s.

She asked, enunciating every word: “Do you think my IQ is only three and a half years old?”

Yao Xiangyi was prepared for this; she knew Qiu Qingshi wouldn’t believe her.

She covered her face, grieving for one second.

The pure-hearted loli (the system) came to comfort her with a Taiwanese accent: [Darling, this isn’t your fault. Once an unawakened person believes what you say, they will also become an awakened person. Awakening is extremely difficult, as hard as licking your elbow.]

What a comparison…

Creative.

Yao Xiangyi gathered her strength and said: “Sweetheart, divorce is actually very simple—just exchanging the red book for the green one. It won’t affect my love for you.”

Listen to this slut’s famous quote.

It simply refreshes the bottom line of humanity.

Qiu Qingshi was even angrier than before, puffing up like the king of pufferfish. She left Yao Xiangyi, sat on the side, curled up in the seat with her knees to her chest.

Yao Xiangyi poked her arm: “Sweetheart, don’t be like this.”

Qiu Qingshi turned her back: “My youth was fed to a dog.”

“Sweetheart, I changed the divorce agreement. All the money goes to you.”

Qiu Qingshi wiped her tears, saying with a choked voice: “I don’t want your smelly money.”

“You’re taking this too seriously. We will be the same as before, no, I’ll make you happier in the future, I promise. As soon as I get through this difficulty, I’ll immediately remarry you.” Yao Xiangyi handed Qiu Qingshi a tissue.

“What kind of hurdle could you, Yao Xiangyi, possibly have that requires divorcing me to solve it!” Qiu Qingshi demanded, her eyes welling up with tears.

Yao Xiangyi had no choice but to explain again: “This is an unreal world. We are all paper figures living in an old-fashioned novel—”

“Big liar, shut up!”

Qiu Qingshi pointed at Yao Xiangyi’s nose, unable to speak.

Yao Xiangyi pledged her sincerity: “Didn’t you want me to participate in Mother-in-Law Is Here? I’ll do it.”

Qiu Qingshi sniffled twice: “No need! Once we’re divorced, she won’t be your mother-in-law anymore!”

Her skin is fair, so when she cries, her eye sockets turn noticeably red, her nostrils subtly flutter, and her eyelashes hang with tears, blinking rapidly.

Who could see that and not sigh, “I pity this beauty?”

Yao Xiangyi is most afraid of her sadness. She tried her best to coax her but utterly failed to calm her down.

Qiu Qingshi cried more fiercely, almost struggling to breathe. She managed to stammer out the question: “Since you want a divorce, why did you run away last week when I waited for you at the Civil Affairs Bureau?”

Yao Xiangyi unscrewed the lid of the thermos cup, making her drink some water, and honestly said: “You were angry then… I hoped you could be happy even when we divorced.”

Wow.

Another golden line added to the slut’s famous quotes.

Qiu Qingshi asked the driver to pull over, chased Yao Xiangyi out of the car, and announced: “Bring your household registration book, ID card, and marriage certificate. See you at the Civil Affairs Bureau.”

Yao Xiangyi stood on the roadside, the scorching June sun overhead, and said anxiously, “Sweetheart, calm down.”

“I am very calm!”

Qiu Qingshi slammed the car door bang.

The nanny van sped away…