A Scummy Divorcee Alpha: Ex-Wife’s Top-Tier Soothing Agent - Chapter 14

Half an hour later.

Du Wan sat on the edge of the bed, feeling her body up and down.

Amitabha, her life was still intact.

But the first kiss she had painstakingly preserved for over twenty years—gone!

She was defiled!!!

Du Wan touched her swollen lips, her eyes filled with resentment as she glared at the culprit.

“Boss Zuo, do you realize this behavior constitutes workplace sexual harassment?” Du Wan stood up for herself, taking the opportunity to set a new condition. “Next time there’s work content outside the scope of the agreement, I can cooperate, but… you have to pay extra.”

“You actually have the nerve to mention money to me!?” Zuo Yijia was sucking on a small cut on her finger, pacing the room irritably. “Useless thing. Fainting just from a kiss… If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be forced to stay the night here!”

“Huh?” Du Wan flared up. “I haven’t even blamed you for having terrible kissing skills yet!”

Zuo Yijia’s eyes were bloodshot, and her eyelids had turned into tired “triple folds” from exhaustion, yet her sharp edge remained. She let out a cold laugh. “You’re a veteran of the battlefield, so ‘experienced,’ yet you don’t even know how to breathe while kissing?”

“Don’t pin this on me.” Du Wan’s combativeness hit maximum levels. “If you want to leave, just leave. Can your mom really stop you?”

Having her inner thoughts exposed, Zuo Yijia turned ashen with rage. “You don’t understand!”

Du Wan admitted, “Fine, I don’t.”

She didn’t understand this complex emotion—why someone would clearly care about another yet desperately try to escape them.

Du Wan opened the glass door on one side of the bedroom. The night breeze was cool, the stars were brilliant, and the soft lawn beneath her feet smelled of fresh grass, naturally calming her mood.

“Just deal with it. It’s not like we haven’t slept together before.”

Du Wan walked back in and split the pillows and blankets into two sets. Seeing the mermaid still standing in the same spot, she found it hilarious. “You just kissed me, and now you’re acting all disgusted? Did I ever complain about you smelling like alcohol?”

Zuo Yijia seemed to remember something; she suddenly covered her mouth and rushed into the bathroom.

I’ve offended this fish again, Du Wan thought with a hint of regret. But being forcibly kissed—wasn’t she the one who got the short end of the stick?

In the bathroom, Zuo Yijia brushed her teeth vigorously—once, twice… until that foreign taste was finally replaced by mint. Yet, the strange heat rising within her refused to subside.

The sound of rushing water filled the room as Zuo Yijia buried her face in the basin. Bubbles rose to the surface until she abruptly lifted her head.

Under the harsh, bright lights, the woman in the mirror looked pathetic. Water droplets rolled over her flushed skin, bringing a wave of violent tremors. With shaking hands, she opened her bag and injected a full vial of suppressor into her body.

The medicine took effect quickly. The giant wave dissolved into foam before it could crash down. She slumped onto the floor in relief, panting softly, waiting for the episode to pass.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Boss Zuo, are you done yet?” Du Wan was hopping around like a restless monkey, pounding on the bathroom door. “I really can’t hold it in anymore!”

Zuo Yijia brushed back her damp bangs. Pressed against the cool marble tiles, she felt too lazy to move.

Du Wan: “If you don’t come out, I’m kicking the door down!”

Zuo Yijia: “…”

The door opened. Du Wan charged in like a gust of wind, clutching her waistband while grumbling, “Finally out. I thought you’d fallen into the toilet… Eh?”

Du Wan looked at her in surprise. “Boss Zuo, why is your face so red?”

Zuo Yijia glared at her and slammed the door shut. Du Wan caught a glimpse of an empty packaging box in the trash and began to understand.

When she eventually came out, the mermaid was already fast asleep on the bed. Her sleeping posture was unrefined and her clothes were disheveled—completely unlike her usual self.

Du Wan watched her for a while, then reached out and gently covered her with a blanket.

Du Wan slept on the sofa all night and woke up with an aching back.

The fish was nowhere to be seen—probably off for a swim. Du Wan didn’t bother looking for her. she strolled to the entrance, stretching her sore muscles and breathing in the fresh suburban air.

A figure watched her from a distance for a long time before slowly approaching.

Ophelia got straight to the point: “Child, I’d like to have a chat.”

Ophelia wore a square shawl; as she moved, the brown tassels swayed gracefully. Du Wan wasn’t focusing on the beauty’s poise, but rather on the very obvious lipstick mark on that shawl.

The blatant possessiveness of the mark’s owner was hard to miss.

“Apologies.” Noticing her gaze, Ophelia looked down and used a handkerchief to wipe it.

“Perhaps you young people don’t understand yet.” She sat down gracefully with a smile. “When one reaches a certain age, they might not need ‘romance,’ but they cannot do without ‘passion.'”

Du Wan was tactful and didn’t pry.

Ophelia pushed a check toward her.

“Five… Five million!?” Du Wan squinted at it, aghast. “Why… Do you want me to leave Boss Zuo?”

It was just like a TV drama—the CEO’s mother throwing cash to force the poor female lead away. Du Wan didn’t need any coercion; she would have run long ago if she could.

“That was my original plan, but I’ve changed my mind.” Ophelia took a sip of tea. “I want to ask you for advice on how to get along with Yijia. If your methods are effective, this is yours.”

“I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you.” Du Wan felt the woman had misunderstood her. She pushed the check back with a heavy heart. “I don’t know her any better than you do.”

Some money is better left for others to earn.

Ophelia looked puzzled. “You are legal partners living together day and night. Is there truly no communication between you?”

Now that it was time to vent, Du Wan was wide awake.

“Oh, you have no idea!” She slapped the table, indignant. “Zuo Yijia is a total… Clam!”

She had originally wanted to say “blockhead,” but remembering the fish’s mother was sitting right there, she improvised. She pressed her palms together and smiled. “She’s like a clam.”

“The shell is rock hard. It’s not easily pried open, and if you aren’t careful, she’ll give you a nasty bite.”

Ophelia was intrigued by the metaphor. “Clams bite?”

“Of course.” Du Wan gestured with her hands, mimicking a shell snapping shut. “Whoever hurts her, she bites. And then she refuses to open her heart to anyone ever again.”

“Not even to you?”

Du Wan froze and lowered her hands. She blew the steam off her tea and said decisively: “No matter who it is, it could never be me.”

Joke all you want, but Zuo Yijia could slap me into the sand with one flick of her tail.

Ophelia immediately read the subtext, her gaze becoming meaningful.

“I see.” She swirled the teapot, speaking slowly. “So it cannot be forced. One must take it step by step.”

Du Wan gave her a thumbs up.

Du Wan left briefly and returned to find the tea cleared, replaced by two plates of delicate pastries.

Ophelia: “Try these. I made them myself.”

The fried cheese rolls were crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. The flavors of dried tangerine peel and cinnamon blossomed on her taste buds. Du Wan couldn’t help but reach for a second.

“Good child, I like you.” Ophelia was blunt. “Actually, I can tell there’s more to your relationship with Yijia than meets the eye.”

Du Wan stopped eating.

“Regardless of how you two end up, I only hope—”

Du Wan interrupted: “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her.” She then immediately covered her mouth, looking around awkwardly.

“I also hope you don’t get hurt.” Ophelia kindly handed her a napkin, her gaze sincere. “The pain we caused her shouldn’t be passed on to someone else.”

Du Wan stepped out of the living room.

“Where did you go?” Zuo Yijia looked at her suspiciously. “I’m leaving. Unless you don’t want to go?”

Du Wan snapped out of it and grabbed her hand. “Boss Zuo, do you need any more sisters? Do I look like your long-lost younger sister?”

Zuo Yijia shook her off and stepped away, her tone unfriendly. “What kind of trick are you playing now!?”

“I’m trying to poach your family’s loyalty.” Du Wan looked up and sighed melancholily. “Forget it. I can’t get through to you.”

Du Wan ignored a call from her manager as the group walked out.

Suddenly, Zuo Yijia started searching her person, looking panicked. She whispered a few words to Secretary Liang, who hurried back inside.

They waited for a while, but he didn’t return.

The sun was high and generous with its heat. Zuo Yijia wiped the sweat from her brow, unable to stand it, and decided to wait in the car.

As Du Wan followed her, a piece of paper slipped from her pocket. A breeze caught it and sent it fluttering toward the road. Du Wan chased after it without a thought, unknowingly reaching the edge of the highway.

Strangely, for a deserted suburban road, a car appeared on the horizon like a ghost, approaching her at a terrifying speed.

Honk—!

The car screeched closer. As she reached forward to grab the paper, images flashed in her mind.

Blood-stained camera flashes. A broken body.

Du Wan had once read that a person remains conscious for a second before death—was this a memory of her dying moment?

She was terrified, unable to breathe. The shadow of death was approaching, trying to drag her back to the hell she belonged to.

Just then, she felt a sudden tightening around her waist. Someone had pulled her back to the world of the living.

“Cough, cough…” Du Wan knelt on the ground, coughing violently.

Zuo Yijia stood over her, fuming. “If you’re going to go crazy, pick a better time and place! What would it look like if you died at my front door?”

Du Wan coughed until tears came. Wait, why does the fish’s scolding sound so pleasant all of a sudden? I really have gone crazy!!?

Zuo Yijia hid her trembling right hand behind her back. Her gaze dropped, noticing something off.

Zuo Yijia: “What’s that in your hand?”

Warning bells rang in Du Wan’s head. She gripped the item, scrambled to her feet, and looked around, pretending to be calm. “Nothing.”

Zuo Yijia raised her voice: “Show me!”

“No!”

Zuo Yijia was convinced something fishy was going on. In her stilettos, she charged forward and grappled with Du Wan, successfully prying the paper from her hand.

“Five million?” Zuo Yijia looked at the check header and let out a sinister laugh. “Who gave this to you?”

Du Wan was too nervous to breathe. Her mind was already playing the drama of “Mother and Daughter Turn Against Each Other in a Bloody Feud.”

Damn, I’m going to be cast as the ‘femme fatale’ who ruins their family.

“Or—” Zuo Yijia stared at her intensely, her expression shifting. She gritted her teeth. “Have you already found your next sugar daddy?”

Du Wan: “…”

Du Wan let out a massive sigh of relief.

Thank goodness. This fish is as dense as a wooden block.

Before Zuo Yijia could read the rest, Du Wan snatched the check back and tore it into tiny pieces. The scraps fell like snow.

“Who exactly are you protecting!?” Zuo Yijia’s face was dark. She tried to grab the remains.

The next second, Du Wan stuffed the scraps down the front of her shirt, put her hands on her hips, and puffed out her chest. With the view fully on display, she uttered these wild words:

“You want to know? If you have the guts, come and get it yourself!!!”

Zuo Yijia’s hand froze mid-air. Her expression slowly crumbled.