The White Moonlight I Chased, the Divorce I Never Expected - Chapter 52

[Xiao Yi is heading back first~ This matter’s a bit tricky.]
[But I’ll be home tonight.]

Otherwise, tomorrow would be the last day of her originally planned stay abroad. She’d added meetings to her schedule last-minute, taking up over half the day with business partners. If she didn’t return that evening, the only chance to see Chi Yi would be at the airport the next night.

Thinking of this, Wen Ranqing tapped a few more times on her keyboard, sent several reaction stickers, and then finally set her phone down on the desk.

When she looked up again, a faint smile still lingered on her lips.
“Apologies for the delay. Please continue, President You.”

Chi Yi had politely declined You Ranran’s offer to take her to the hospital. She sat in silence until 10 p.m., then finally left through the back path behind the villa, where no one would be around. Though her pheromones were under control, the chaos in her mental strength made her brain feel increasingly sluggish. A soft ringing persisted in her ears.

For the past three hours, she had endured a reverse reaction of secondary differentiation. The persistent physical pain no longer fazed her.

The only thing she couldn’t accept was this:

The doctor had advised her that if she truly cared for her current partner, the most rational approach would be to avoid all pheromone-related contact—or, more decisively, to change partners altogether.

Pheromone contact, temporary markings, permanent bonds—each of these would only deepen the mutual dependency on each other’s scent. If the other person’s dependency on Chi Yi was already high, then any further intimacy could cause them irreversible harm.

Chi Yi didn’t know exactly how dependent Wen Ranqing was on her pheromones. But if even the smallest discomfort made her feel distressed on Wen’s behalf, how could she ever bear to let Wen endure that kind of physical suffering?

Her mind was blank.

She didn’t even need to focus to sense it—her body was saturated with the faint scent of milk. It lingered and circulated inside her constantly, reminding her of what she could not, or should not, do.

For the first time, Chi Yi felt powerless and utterly lost.

It felt like… she was on the verge of betraying the relationship.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Chi Yi didn’t dare look. At this hour, it could only be Wen Ranqing. She couldn’t deny it—she was avoiding her.

Avoiding the moment Wen Ranqing found out. Avoiding having to tell her. Avoiding whatever decision Wen Ranqing might make afterward.

She was genuinely afraid that Wen would cling to her gently but persistently, never giving up no matter how many times she was pushed away.

Chi Yi felt like a trapped animal, caught between the promises she’d made to Wen Ranqing and the harsh reality of her own failing body. She couldn’t see a way forward or back. For the first time, she was hesitating—so uncertain that she barely recognized herself.

An Li hadn’t accompanied Wen Ranqing on this trip just to care for her health. She was also here on official business with a pharmaceutical research partner of the Wen Group. Sitting in the car, she had been waiting with a set of reports and a case of newly developed medications—for two full hours.

Wen Ranqing had refused to take a break. Once they returned to China, she would likely spend every day with Chi Yi, leaving no time for proper discussion. So An Li could only wait here, hoping to speak with her face to face.

The report detailed when Chi Yi’s hormone levels would return to normal—likely by the end of the year. In the suitcase were medications tailored specifically for both of them, based on pheromone data they’d gathered. If Wen Ranqing insisted on staying with Chi Yi, these treatments would help minimize the physical damage.

Of course, that scenario was a given.

An Li had been trying to dissuade Wen Ranqing from a medical standpoint for four years—only to be met one day by her boss arriving with a woman clearly carrying a fresh temporary mark.

She remembered the injection session clearly—Chi Yi had looked pale and fragile, pushed to her limits, so disoriented she couldn’t even say An Li’s name. Even An Li, who had seen countless patients, couldn’t help but feel alarmed. But Wen Ranqing still told her,
“It’s nothing compared to what Xiao Yi has suffered.”

Neither her boss nor the Chi family heiress ever made things easy.

The surroundings were quiet. The stillness in the air was suddenly broken.

As a sensory specialist, An Li immediately detected a trace of Alpha pheromone—faint, but unmistakable. She couldn’t ignore it. In fact, she recognized it almost the moment she smelled it—

Chi Yi?

She found herself asking the question even before she could spot that familiar figure in the rearview mirror.

An Li quickly realized that the very thing she’d long worried about had finally happened—and much earlier than expected. Surprisingly, her first instinct was relief.

In that brief moment, countless memories surfaced—of Wen Ranqing’s calm but stubborn expressions whenever she made suggestions. Their biggest disagreement had occurred just before the overseas trip.

Though, in truth, it barely qualified as a disagreement. Cold and emotionally reserved by nature, An Li had been silently sulking, while Wen Ranqing probably hadn’t even noticed. How else would she have replied so cluelessly to her last message—asking where exactly she’d seen the cat video?

An Li remembered Wen Ranqing’s final instruction to her with absolute clarity:

“From now on, if Chi Yi asks about anything, just tell her. You don’t need to ask for my permission anymore.”

Back then, she had thought: They’re together all the time. When would I ever get the chance to tell Chi Yi anything myself?
And yet, here she was—face to face with her.

The party at the villa was still going strong, filled with young people enjoying themselves. Out back, the estate backed onto the coastline. Other than the occasional crashing of waves, it was eerily quiet. A single white car parked there stood out immediately.

“Dr. An…” Chi Yi murmured, her gaze nearly unfocused. She hadn’t even turned around before she was called out.

“Chi Yi.” An Li stepped out of the car, holding a small spray bottle from the glove compartment. As she got closer, she confirmed that the pheromone traces were only residual on Chi Yi’s clothing and put the bottle away.

Chi Yi’s body was tense, her smile faint and strained.
“Why are you here, Dr. An?”

Her tall, slender frame was hidden beneath her gown, but on closer inspection, she was visibly trembling—not just from physical pain, but emotional strain as well. She wasn’t ready to tell Wen Ranqing. Even Wen’s private doctor was too close for comfort.

Chi Yi’s condition left little room for doubt. An Li didn’t even need to ask to understand the state of things between the two women. Before performing her duty as a physician, she let out the softest of sighs.
“I’m waiting for President Wen. There are things I need to discuss with her.”

“You… Did something happen?”

An Li usually stayed far away from other people’s personal matters—especially Wen Ranqing’s. She wasn’t someone prone to sentiment. But this time, she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

If Chi Yi had just gone through the process of secondary differentiation, then this would be the most critical time for recovery and recalibration. Adjusting the drug ratios based on her body’s changing condition could maximize effectiveness. Waiting for someone like Chi Yi, in her current state, to initiate that conversation on her own—her body might not withstand the delay.

That soft sigh landed heavily in Chi Yi’s heart.

The doctor who suddenly appeared before her looked as professional as always, meticulous and composed. But her demeanor wasn’t as cold as usual—there was something else there. A subtle helplessness, maybe even a hope that Chi Yi would open up.

Chi Yi stood stunned for a couple of seconds. Her actions seemed to run ahead of her consciousness. Even so, a faint suspicion began to form in her mind. She wasn’t sure, but her heart had already spiraled into chaos. A sour ache rose to her nose, and her eyes instantly reddened.

The two tall women stood by the edge of the coastline. Neither spoke for a while. One waited patiently; the other wrestled with the storm in her mind.

The sea breeze blew past—slightly stifling—but the chill had already seeped into Chi Yi’s bones. After a long pause, she finally asked:

“Dr. An… You know, don’t you?”

She sounded like she didn’t know anything at all. And even though An Li had been aware for some time, both women flinched at her words.

If she hadn’t been so personally involved, her rational mind would have never believed someone could take such a huge risk with their body just to honor a promise—or endure so much, for nothing more than love and respect.

“I know,” An Li said.

Her tone was calm—almost too calm—but it struck like a chill wind in early spring, slipping quietly into Chi Yi’s bones.

An Li knew. And so did Wen Ranqing.

Chi Yi’s chest tightened. Her lips parted—just trying to breathe.

An Li stated it plainly:
“President Wen knows.”

“That time, after you were discharged, you avoided her for a while. No one answered the door when she went to your place. And when you finally met again, something was clearly off about you.”

“It was a public hospital—very difficult to access medical records directly. Wen Ranqing was worried, but didn’t dare ask you outright. So she pulled a lot of strings to find out.”

“I’ve been analyzing your pathology reports this whole time. Today, I came here to meet with her.”

Chi Yi’s thoughts were as restless as her mental strength. She had already gotten past the hardest part—acknowledging the truth—yet she felt no relief. The sea breeze that brushed against her skin was stiflingly warm, but her body still trembled with cold.

Wen Ranqing knows…

Then… did Wen Ranqing also know about the physical harm that excessive contact with her could cause?
Those desperate embraces, the kisses, even the times she—

In a flash, Chi Yi recalled what An Li had said during their encounter in the remote mountains.

Back then, An Li had told her:
“If you really care about Wen Ranqing’s health, don’t go near her during vulnerable periods. It’ll only hurt both of you.”

Chi Yi’s heart clenched, as though an invisible hand had gripped it with unbearable force. Cold sweat soaked the back of her clothes. She had questions she’d wanted to ask, but now realized—there was no need.

An Li had already answered them all.

Wen Ranqing had never once brought it up. Not once. Despite everything—despite the many times they’d been together, her complete openness, her yearning closeness—she never said a word.

Chi Yi bit down hard, suppressing the sharp, bitter tang that rose in her throat. Even when she’d been eighteen, curled up alone by the stairwell for five days and nights in silence, she hadn’t felt this hollow, this utterly crushed.

What kind of resolve… had Wen Ranqing made, to choose to be with her like this?

To An Li, her few words might have seemed trivial, but she could understand Chi Yi’s disorientation and chose to give her space.
“I’ve said everything President Wen asked me to say. When you’re ready, come back with me to the research institute for a full check-up. I’ll wait in the car.”

Chi Yi didn’t even seem to hear her. Her face turned visibly paler with each passing second. In the face of these truths, all her self-control shattered like glass.

Images of their intimacy flashed through her mind—touches, expressions, warmth—all of it so vivid. And now she knew: every one of those moments may have carved deeper pain into Wen Ranqing.

Her chest ached as though it were being torn apart. Her blurred vision caught the doctor’s retreating figure. Only when An Li had disappeared did Chi Yi finally turn around, leaning against the back of the car, coughing twice—each rasp laced with the metallic taste of blood.

She stood alone for what felt like an eternity. Then her pocket began to vibrate again, persistently. Chi Yi pulled out her phone, her fingers trembling uncontrollably.

When she saw the name on the screen, something inside her cracked—finally giving her emotions a moment of release. Scalding tears spilled silently onto the screen.

Incoming Call: Wen Ranqing

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