A Washed-up Movie Queen's Divorce Strategy [Rebirth] - Chapter 5

Ji Chenli squatted on the deserted mountain road and cried for a long time. By the time Tao Yuan arrived, she was curled into a ball with her arms around her knees like a stone; Tao Yuan almost missed her.

“Hey, if you’ve cried enough, get on the bike. Are you afraid I’m going to scold you or something?” Tao Yuan’s motorcycle pulled up next to Ji Chenli. She had fought with Ji Chenli over her refusal to listen to advice about marrying Ming Lang, and the two had been in a cold war for over a week. Tao Yuan didn’t have Ji Chenli’s memories; she only thought her little girl, whom she had protected since childhood, had been bullied and was hiding in a corner crying.

Ji Chenli looked up, her face streaked with tears, staring in disbelief at the familiar face before her. She thought she was dreaming and feared that if she weren’t careful, the dream would end and Tao Yuan would vanish. She wiped her tears, stood up, and pulled Tao Yuan into a tight embrace.

“Sister…”

“I told you a thousand times that Ming Lang is a bastard. I told you not to get married, but you just wouldn’t listen. Are you suffering now?” Tao Yuan also raised her arms to hold Ji Chenli’s back, patting her gently like she was soothing a child. “Alright, alright, Chen-chen, stop crying. Come home with me. There are plenty of fish in the sea; we’ll find someone better later—a hundred times better than Ming Lang!”

Ji Chenli didn’t even hear what Tao Yuan was saying. Just the sound of Tao Yuan’s voice, so incredibly real in her ear, was enough to make her nose sting. “Sister, I’m sorry.”

She owed Tao Yuan more than just an apology; she owed her more than she could repay in two lifetimes.

“It’s good that you know. Just listen to me in the future and stop making me angry.” Tao Yuan magnanimously patted Ji Chenli’s back. “Let’s head back quickly. A few of the kids at the home love to kick off their blankets in the middle of the night; I have to go back and tuck them in, or they’ll definitely catch a cold tomorrow.”

The old director of the orphanage had passed away two years ago. The orphanage was located in a “no man’s land” between jurisdictions, and no one had stepped up to take over after the director died. Seeing the children—some big, some small—suddenly lose their livelihood, Tao Yuan couldn’t bear to see them suffer. She simply took over the orphanage herself and became the new director.

“Mhm!” Ji Chenli nodded vigorously. She sat on the back of Tao Yuan’s motorcycle, hugging her waist and pressing close to her back. Ji Chenli still couldn’t believe this was real—that Tao Yuan was standing right there, alive and well. Heaven had been kind to her, giving her a second chance, likely so she could cherish the people she cared about.

In Ji Chenli’s memory, she hadn’t returned to the orphanage in a long time; it was a place that easily triggered painful memories. After Tao Yuan’s death, Ji Chenli had donated money to set up a fund managed by professionals, but she lacked the courage to involve herself personally. In Tao Yuan’s memory, however, whenever Ji Chenli wasn’t busy filming or trying to please Ming Lang, she spent her free time at the orphanage helping care for the parentless children.

So, as Tao Yuan rumbled the motorcycle all the way to the suburban orphanage on the edge of the city, she naturally took off her helmet and got off. Ji Chenli, however, sat on the back of the bike and stared at the worn-out orphanage plaque for several minutes.

Tao Yuan noticed something was off. “Chen-chen, why are you so dazed today? Do you have a fever?” She reached out to feel Ji Chenli’s forehead. “No, your temperature is normal. What’s going on then?”

Ji Chenli snapped out of it, gave a dry cough, and climbed off the motorcycle. Grabbing Tao Yuan’s shoulders, she pushed her toward the gate with a smile. “No fever, Sister. In the future, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay here with you.”

“You? I’ll be happy as long as you don’t find my kids annoying.”

Ji Chenli pretended to be angry, stiffening her neck. “Am I that kind of person?”

“Keep your voice down, don’t wake the children.”

“Hehe, I know. Sister, I’m hungry. I want the egg noodles you make.”

“Fine, I’ll go make them for you. You go check on the kids on the second floor who kick their blankets.”

“Okay!…”

And so, Ji Chenli settled into Tao Yuan’s orphanage.

She wasn’t as famous as she would be when she became the Movie Queen, but she had played third or fourth-tier roles in several prime-time dramas. The kids at the orphanage recognized her as a star from TV; every time she came, they would swarm around her. Now that she was taking a break, Ji Chenli had no other ambitions. She spent her days taking care of the kids and doing housework. Her manager called her many times, but eventually, Ji Chenli got so annoyed she simply turned off her phone.

She stopped doing the skincare routines she used to value so much. Every day, she wore a tattered apron and went bare-faced, washing her face and brushing her teeth with tap water from the yard. Perhaps because her mood had brightened, her skin became more radiant after half a month, more effective than all those fancy lotions and creams.

One morning, while combing her hair in the mirror after washing her face, Ji Chenli teased Tao Yuan, “Sister, is the water in your yard magical? How does my skin get smoother the more I wash it?”

Tao Yuan tossed the children’s dirty laundry into the washing machine and laughed. “Then keep washing it until you scrub a layer of skin off!”

Ji Chenli’s eyes sparkled. She tied her long hair back with a hair tie and, while washing her hands, deliberately splashed water onto Tao Yuan. “I wouldn’t mind even if a layer came off!”

The two laughed and played for a while, then arranged for the children to eat breakfast. A few of the older ones went to school, and the younger ones went inside to watch cartoons. Only then did Tao Yuan pull Ji Chenli down to sit in the yard. “What do you plan to do?”

“Do about what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” Tao Yuan gave Ji Chenli a pinch. “I mean that person!”

“Who?” Ji Chenli asked, feigning ignorance.

“You know who!”

“Who exactly?”

Tao Yuan stiffened her face and huffed, “Your wife!”

It took Ji Chenli a few seconds to realize Tao Yuan was talking about Ming Lang. To be fair, she and Ming Lang were still legally married partners, so Tao Yuan’s title for her wasn’t wrong. It was just that the term “wife”—a word used by common folk—felt strikingly out of place when applied to Ming Lang. Ji Chenli thought about it and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Seeing Ji Chenli laughing so heartlessly, Tao Yuan’s face darkened further. “What are you laughing at? Do you actually plan to stay with her?”

“How could I?” Ji Chenli slowly stopped laughing. “She’s the head of the Ming family. People like that are not to be trifled with.”

“It’s good you know that.” Tao Yuan brought out a basin of green beans from the kitchen to snap. “Since you’ve thought it through so clearly, why were you so stubborn a few days ago? Now look—it’s too late for regrets.”

“Wasn’t I young and ignorant then?” Ji Chenli joined Tao Yuan in snapping the beans. “Besides, President Ming already has a ‘fair lady’ in her heart; she wouldn’t give me a second look. Right now, the news is still hot. In six months or a year, when the public eye moves on, she and I will just sign a divorce agreement and go our separate ways!”

Ji Chenli spoke with confidence, but Tao Yuan was secretly worried. Those wealthy people were all full of schemes; would they really just do as Ji Chenli said? Not wanting to dampen Ji Chenli’s spirits, she could only sigh, “I hope so.”

Time passed quickly without pressure. After a day of soaking up the sun in the yard, the older children came running back from school in the afternoon, screaming and laughing. They crowded around Ji Chenli, clutching her legs and talking all at once, making her head ache.

“Stop!” Ji Chenli shouted. The children finally went quiet. She wiped a bead of sweat. “Slow down, one at a time!”

“Auntie Ji, at the gate… there are so many cars at the gate!”

“Yeah, yeah! The cars are so fancy!”

“I even saw the people inside! They were all wearing black suits and black sunglasses, just like on TV!”

The children had never seen such a spectacle. They chattered excitedly. Ji Chenli grew alert. “Cars?”

“Yes, lots of cars!” the little girl with pigtails said, her face flushed red.

Ji Chenli leaned down and asked, “Bei-bei, was there a very beautiful big sister in the car?”

“I didn’t see,” Bei-bei shook her head. “There were too many cars; I couldn’t see clearly.”

Ji Chenli’s heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t looking for trouble, but it seemed trouble had come looking for her.

Tao Yuan had gone to buy groceries. Ji Chenli shooed all the chattering children back to their dormitory and pulled out a stool to sit by the orphanage gate. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Ming Lang appeared.

The orphanage was in the old Hexi district, surrounded by citizens clinging to old houses waiting for demolition. Ming Lang had come with several cars and more than ten bodyguards. The neighbors had never seen such a display and thought the orphanage was in trouble, so they all hid in their houses, peeking through the cracks in their windows.

Ji Chenli sat at the gate cracking melon seeds, her mouth working like a machine gun as she spat shells onto the ground. Ming Lang walked up to her, perfectly blocking the sun from her face. Ji Chenli acted as if she hadn’t seen her and, with a pffft, spat two shells right onto Ming Lang’s shoes.

Ming Lang took two steps back, her brow furrowing slightly before smoothing out. “How long do you plan to stay here?”

Ji Chenli didn’t even lift her eyelids, continuing to crack her seeds.

“We are married.”

Ji Chenli still didn’t look up.

“My parents want to see you.”

Ji Chenli finally made a move. Her mouth was dry from the seeds, so she picked up a tea mug from the ground and took a sip.

Ming Lang had always been high and mighty; it was always a matter of whether she wanted to listen to others, never the other way around. To be ignored like this, especially in front of her subordinates, made her face visibly sour. Even the bodyguards behind her lowered their heads to minimize their presence.

“Ji Chenli, I don’t understand.” After a long standoff, Ming Lang spoke again. “You were the one who proposed the marriage.”

There were few times Ming Lang needed to speak so many words. She was surrounded by people who could read minds; a single look or expression was enough for them to grasp her meaning. To speak this much was giving Ji Chenli a lot of face, so Ji Chenli kindly gave her some back. Her eyelids finally flickered as she looked at her sideways. “I’ve thought it through, Ming Lang. You love someone else, and I don’t want to hang myself on this ‘crooked-neck tree’ of yours anymore. Since our assets are already notarized pre-marriage, as long as you’re willing to sign the divorce papers, rest assured—I don’t want a cent of your money.”

Ji Chenli said more in one breath than Ming Lang had said in the half-hour she’d been there. Her throat felt parched afterward, so she took another large gulp of water.

Unfortunately, her words fell on deaf ears. Ming Lang said calmly, as if she hadn’t heard a thing, “Come back with me.”

Ji Chenli was so angry she laughed. Fine, it was like trying to convince a cow not to eat grass—a total waste of breath. She didn’t want to waste any more time with Ming Lang and refused bluntly, “This is my home. I’m not going anywhere.”

A strange, eerie smile flickered at the corner of Ming Lang’s mouth. If Ji Chenli hadn’t observed her for so many years, she would have missed it entirely.