After Divorcing My Omega Ex-Wife - Chapter 7

“You!!” When Shi Lisheng saw the green certificate on the table clearly, he was so angry that he fell back onto the sofa.

No one had expected Shi Yun to divorce Xie Qingyun. After all, everyone still remembered how she had clung to Xie Qingyun before.

Shi Yu’s expression changed. She was the first to pick up the certificate and flip open the first page. Printed on it were Shi Yun and Xie Qingyun’s information and photos. The divorce date was three months ago. He Qiuyue and Shi Yu exchanged a glance.

It was a little hard to believe.

No one had thought Shi Yun would truly be willing to do it.

Shi Yun swept her eyes over the three of them, taking in their anger and the joy they could not hide.

With a mocking laugh, she took the divorce certificate back and looked at Shi Yu. “Are you satisfied now?”

He Qiuyue snapped sharply, “Ah-Yun!”

Shi Lisheng knew that after the marriage, Shi Yun and Xie Qingyun’s relationship had been ordinary at best. But he had always thought, what married couple didn’t have conflicts? If they spent more time together, things would be fine. Feelings could be cultivated.

Even after he later learned that Shi Yu had suddenly fallen for Xie Qingyun at first sight after returning to the country, he had always disapproved of Shi Yu having contact with Xie Qingyun. He only took it as a child’s passing whim, something that would not last.

He had scolded her both openly and indirectly, and had also threatened to cut off her allowance.

Who kept thinking about their elder sister’s wife?

Later, seeing that Shi Yu had restrained herself a lot, he had stopped taking it seriously. But today, he suddenly realized the true taste of the matter.

He Qiuyue knew all of this and had always secretly pushed Shi Yu and Xie Qingyun together, avoiding Shi Lisheng every time.

“What do you mean?” Shi Lisheng had weathered ups and downs in the business world, so he immediately heard the implication in Shi Yun’s words.

“You should ask your precious daughter what she has been doing these past few months.” Shi Yun did not look at him. Her burning gaze only fixed on Shi Yu.

Shi Yu was afraid. Her body trembled, but her mouth still refused to yield. “Dad, don’t listen to Shi Yun’s nonsense! She slanders me every time!”

She had always had someone backing her and had put many stumbling blocks in Shi Yun’s path. Even now, she did not know how to restrain herself and directly called Shi Yun by name.

“She is your elder sister! What kind of attitude is that?” Shi Lisheng slammed his hand hard on the table, his face red with anger.

Shi Yu had grown up pampered and adored. Shi Lisheng had never once gotten angry at her. This was the first time.

He Qiuyue realized that Shi Lisheng was truly angry this time. She left Shi Yu and walked to Shi Lisheng’s side, soothingly taking hold of his arm. “Xiao Yu is still young.”

Her hand was violently flung away. Shi Lisheng said, “Still young? She’s already in her twenties, and you still call that young?”

Shi Lisheng only felt humiliated. His eldest daughter could not handle her family relationship, and his younger daughter was relentlessly pursuing her elder sister’s wife.

And his wife had been helping their younger daughter all along. He had actually failed this badly as a person.

Shi Yun found it funny. She had heard those words just half an hour ago, only now the subject had changed.

Shi Yun picked up her bag, turned around, and left.

She could not be bothered to watch this family point fingers at one another. Dogs biting dogs.

Back in the car, her emotions eased a lot.

She had long since stopped feeling sad over her family’s harsh treatment.

Taking out her phone, she saw Xie Qingyun’s messages floating at the very top. Beside them was a small Do Not Disturb icon. The latest messages were from last night.

[I miss you so much.]

[I miss you so much.]

[I miss you so much.]

Endless “I miss you so much” messages that she could not scroll to the end of.

With a cold laugh, she did not hesitate to block both Qian Can and Xie Qingyun.

She had originally wanted to maintain a good relationship as fellow people in the industry, but after this incident, she was too lazy to put on an act with Xie Qingyun.

With that time, she might as well go to an art exam training institution and see if there were any good prospects.

She casually opened the Moments of an overseas furniture agent she had added during the renovation. They had posted quite a few new items.

Thinking of the vintage tableware that had been broken a couple of days ago, she could not help feeling pained.

Navigation, start engine, all in one smooth motion.

With one step on the gas, she drove straight to the store.

Since it was a workday, there were not many people in the shop.

There were two floors. The first floor had a vintage style, mostly European furniture brands. She had lost interest in those and went straight to the tableware area.

Tableware was difficult to transport, so only a very small portion was displayed. Most of it was still posted by the shop owner as pictures on Moments and handled through reservations.

Shi Yun had been busy lately, and several cups and tableware pieces she especially liked had already been reserved by other people. When she asked again, they were all one-of-a-kind items.

She did not have any specific style she liked. Her only requirement was that it had to catch her eye.

Finding something she liked was quite rare.

So she had come offline to try her luck.

What she had liked online was a round plate with a red line around it, and the outermost edge was decorated with repeated little cat designs.

She thought there might be a similar style in the physical store.

After browsing around twice, she did not find anything.

She only saw an oval fish plate. Around it was a ring of irregular European-style lines, decorated with dark blue flowers.

At first glance, it was stunning. But after Shi Yun walked around once and came back to look at it again, it seemed overly complicated.

She took a photo and sent it to Chen Su, wanting to ask for her opinion.

Probably because Chen Su was still asleep, the message sank without a reply.

In the end, she bought nothing.

She only greeted the shop owner and asked them to be sure to keep any tableware similar to the little cat round plate for her if they came across it again.

Returning empty-handed, Shi Yun drove back to the hotel.

It was already September, but the sun was still scorching. Shi Yun took a cool shower and lay back in bed to catch up on sleep.

Her phone lit up. A friend in the industry had sent her an edited video.

[Have you heard? Qian Can is preparing to leave the industry. No one knows which company Xie Qingyun is planning to sign with.]

[A few friendly competitors I know reached out, but all of them were rejected. Her team has been keeping this matter very tightly under wraps.]

Shi Yun had seen the video blogger a few days ago. It was Qingqing, My Mountain, the one who defended Xie Qingyun.

The video was made by blending together several of Xie Qingyun’s modern dramas. In general, it used them to tell the story of Xie Qingyun’s earlier life. After losing her memory, Shi Yun had never properly looked at Xie Qingyun.

Only after watching this long video did she learn that Xie Qingyun had left home when she was young. After growing up and making a name for herself in a film, her family suddenly took her back in, and they had been leeching off her ever since.

For some inexplicable reason, Shi Yun’s heart clenched.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Without realizing it, she fell into a deep sleep.

/

Early in the morning, Xie Qingyun was woken by the sound of the doctor’s rounds.

After sending the doctor away, she had just been about to doze for a while when Qian Can burst through the door in a rush, carrying a bag of breakfast.

Xie Qingyun lay limply on the bed, her brows and eyes drooping. Her face was pale, and she was wearing a hospital gown. Anyone who saw her would think she looked pitiful.

Seeing Qian Can come over, Xie Qingyun did not move at all. She had no reaction whatsoever.

Soy milk and fried dough sticks were placed on the small bedside table. Qian Can grabbed a fried dough stick with one hand and took out her phone with the other, placing the chat history in front of Xie Qingyun. “Hurry up and get yourself together. Shi Yun is coming over later.”

“Really?” Xie Qingyun suddenly raised her head, instantly regaining her energy.

“Nonsense. When have I ever lied to you?” Qian Can stuffed a cup of water into her hand and nagged again, “Hurry up and get up. The doctor has already finished rounds, yet you’re still lazing in bed.”

Xie Qingyun grabbed the phone on the table and carefully read through the chat history. Before today, Qian Can had sent Shi Yun many messages, but they all stopped before Shi Yun’s car accident.

Seeing Qian Can humble herself and beg Shi Yun to come see her, Xie Qingyun sniffed, mist gathering in her eyes. She was extremely moved.

Her relationship with her family was poor, and over the years, Qian Can had been like family to her.

The two of them had a rather mutual-dependence sort of bond.

Seeing her like this, Qian Can pinched Xie Qingyun’s cheek. “All right, now. You’re already an adult, yet you’re still crying.”

Xie Qingyun felt the pain and opened her mouth vaguely. “What are you doing?”

“If you had listened to me earlier and stopped making trouble with Shi Yun, you wouldn’t have fallen to this point now.”

At this, both of them felt a little sad. Qian Can sighed. “I’ve interacted with Shi Yun before. She’s a soft-hearted person. Don’t keep making the same mistake.”

Xie Qingyun did not make a sound. She had read the chat history.

She was also betting on Shi Yun’s soft heart.

Perhaps her hospitalization would be a breakthrough.

“Oh, right. I just went to see the doctor. She said you’ve only been too tired lately, your emotions have been fluctuating too much, and with the side effects of the suppressants, there’s nothing major. It’s just that your pheromones are still a little unstable right now, and you keep losing control and releasing them randomly.”

“Stay in the hospital for a few more days and get a comprehensive physical examination. I stayed with you last night. Should I ask Xiao Cui to come today?”

Xie Qingyun nodded. “Anything is fine. You arrange it. In any case, I can’t let all of you work too hard.”

Qian Can rolled her eyes at Xie Qingyun. “What kind of manager would sleep soundly at home while her own artist is hospitalized? Would that be proper?”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

After breakfast, Xie Qingyun lay on the bed with an IV drip, while Qian Can napped beside her.

Time passed second by second. Xie Qingyun waited anxiously. Shi Yun had not said exactly what time she would come. From the moment she received Qian Can’s message, she had started looking forward to it.

She had originally wanted to read the script for a while, but when she opened it and started from the first line, half a minute passed, and not a single bit of the plot entered her mind.

Not even a single word crossed her thoughts.

She sighed, then sat up again and studied the character biography. Her right hand wrote and sketched until she finally came back to herself.

The entire sheet of paper was covered with Shi Yun’s name.

Shi Yun written horizontally, Shi Yun written vertically.

It filled the whole sheet of paper.

Xie Qingyun was angry at herself and slammed the small bedside table hard, making the table shake.

It woke Qian Can beside her.

She had to admit it. She missed Shi Yun to the point of going mad.

Qian Can shook her head groggily and asked what had happened.

She was no longer a young person in her early twenties, yet she could still feel that heart-scratching joy over an impending meeting with the person she liked.

“When is she coming?”

“Should I ask?”

“No, no. What if asking annoys her and she doesn’t come?”

Qian Can rolled her eyes. “Can you stop being so dramatic?”

She jerked her chin toward the script. “Haven’t you acted enough?”

Xie Qingyun ignored her and picked up her phone by herself, opening the food delivery app.

From top to bottom, she tapped through one restaurant after another, adding a few items to the cart, then swiping out again. She looked for about ten minutes.

After tapping into the cart, she raised the phone in front of Qian Can. The whole page was full of selected items. “What do you think of these?”

Qian Can narrowed her eyes and swiped up and down on the phone screen. Several of them were nearby Michelin restaurants. “Ordering this much? Do you have other friends coming?”

“What do you mean? These are all things Ah-Yun used to like eating.” Xie Qingyun fell into a sweet expression all on her own. The thought that she would get to see Shi Yun later made her feel that fainting had happened at exactly the right time.

After the divorce certificate had been discovered, the only secret she had hidden had also been exposed.

Now, she had even fewer worries.

Qian Can was speechless. She truly had no way to deal with Xie Qingyun.

“Is Shi Yun a gluttonous beast? Does she need to eat this much?”

Xie Qingyun glared at Qian Can. “I really think you’re too serious.”

Then she raised her phone and waved it. “I’m placing the order, okay? Wait to enjoy your lunch. I also ordered many things you like!”

The hospital corridor gradually became noisy, and more and more people passed by. The takeout placed on the table in the corner of the room went from one package to two, until all the orders had arrived.

Even the IV bottle was empty. The nurse came in to remove the indwelling needle.

The low pressure in the room began spreading without limit.

Her thoughts started to become chaotic. Was it possible Shi Yun was playing with her, using this method to take revenge?

Xie Qingyun shook her head, throwing all those thoughts out of her mind.

Her Shi Yun would never do that.

Qian Can pressed her lips together. Seeing her like this, she could not bear it either. “How about I ask?”

Xie Qingyun first nodded, then immediately shook her head. “Forget it. What if Ah-Yun finds it annoying and doesn’t come?”

“…”

“How did I never realize before that you were so hard to please?”

“You weren’t like this before when you were with that little girl from the Shi family.”

When Xie Qingyun heard that name, her hunched body reacted. She rarely put on a stern face. “Don’t mention that person again. If Ah-Yun finds out, she’ll be unhappy.”

“Before, I was blinded.”

“All right, all right.” Qian Can knew that when Xie Qingyun and Shi Yun divorced, Shi Yu had played no small part. By the time Xie Qingyun truly realized who she loved, it was already too late for regrets.

Qian Can soothingly patted her back. “The past is in the past. Anyway, Shi Yun has lost her memory. She doesn’t remember what you did before.”

Xie Qingyun had concealed the truth about yesterday’s argument with Shi Yun. Hiding the divorce certificate had been a completely instinctive reaction.

When she learned that Shi Yun had lost her memory, the first thought that came to her mind was that she absolutely could not let Shi Yun know they had divorced.

“Grr…”

Xie Qingyun looked at Qian Can.

Qian Can embarrassedly rubbed her stomach and spread her hands, looking innocent. “It’s human nature.”

Xie Qingyun sighed. “Ai, let’s eat first. Later, when Shi Yun comes, we’ll order new food.”

Qian Can took the takeout out of its packaging and spread it across the small table.

Xie Qingyun looked full of worry. She picked up a piece of pork rib and placed it in her bowl. “This is Ah-Yun’s favorite.”

During the meal, Xie Qingyun barely ate a few bites, and even Qian Can did not have much appetite.

Xie Qingyun kept sighing across from her. Qian Can did not know whether to put down her chopsticks or keep eating.

It was extremely uncomfortable.

“How about I ask after all?”

Xie Qingyun put down her chopsticks, held her face in her hands, and blinked, her eyes full of anticipation.

That entire morning, she had looked through Shi Yun’s Moments countless times.

Shi Yun did not have the habit of posting on Moments. For years, it had just been a blank line. However, the background of her Moments was a snowy scene Xie Qingyun had taken years ago.

Shi Yun had not changed it, though it was possible she had simply forgotten.

But Xie Qingyun still felt sweetness from it.

Her big eyes blinked and shimmered.

Qian Can felt goosebumps in her heart and sent Shi Yun a message.

[Good afternoon, Miss Shi. About what time will you arrive? I’ll go pick you up [cute]]

The instant the message was sent, a red exclamation mark popped up.

She could not hold back.

[?]

In an instant, a string of question marks appeared in Qian Can’s mind.

Her fingers stiffened. She raised her head and met Xie Qingyun’s expectant face, and Qian Can no longer knew how to tell her.

She could only hand the phone to Xie Qingyun.

When Xie Qingyun took the phone, the sweetness that had just passed through her disappeared completely.

Silently, she took her own phone and sent Shi Yun a message.

[I miss you so much.]

The same red exclamation mark appeared.

She returned the phone to Qian Can and laughed self-mockingly.

Sure enough, Shi Yun still refused to forgive her.

If she was not coming, then she was not coming. Why did she have to lie to her?

Qian Can reached out, wanting to comfort Xie Qingyun, but seeing her like this, her fingers stopped suspended in midair.

“Ai, the way you treated her before…” Qian Can tried hard to choose her words so they would not sound too hurtful. “It’s normal for her to be like this now, all right? Don’t be too sad. I don’t think she did it on purpose.”

Xie Qingyun murmured, “Was I really that bad to her before?”

Qian Can slowly said, “If you think that when you went to a film crew and felt unwell, she came to take care of you, and although you were staying in the north of the city, you deliberately told her you were staying in the south, making her go around more than half the city and struggle until midnight to come see you—only for you to shut her outside because Shi Yu was there too—if you think that wasn’t too much, then I suppose it doesn’t count as bad.”

Countless times, she had told Xie Qingyun to stop making trouble.

Xie Qingyun did not listen at all and kept joining Shi Yu in tormenting Shi Yun.

Even Qian Can could no longer watch it. Shi Yu had merely been using Xie Qingyun to bully her elder sister.

Xie Qingyun covered her face with both hands. “But she doesn’t remember any of it. I’m also trying my best to make up for it now.”

“But the harm was already done, wasn’t it? Maybe someone told her?”

Qian Can’s mind turned in circles. She had just been about to blurt out that maybe it was Shi Yu.

But Xie Qingyun spoke first. “It must be Chen Su.”

“…”

Qian Can grabbed the milk tea on the table and took a big sip, forcing herself to calm down.

She had a whole basket of things she wanted to say. From before, she had already discovered that Shi Yu was not easy to deal with, and she had always been the one instigating Xie Qingyun.

She still wanted to speak, but was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.

It was Wen Xixia.

The director of Xie Qingyun’s new drama.

Qian Can immediately switched into work mode, patted Xie Qingyun and told her to compose herself, then went up to greet the visitor.

Wen Xixia was holding a fresh bouquet of double-petaled lilies, their petals dyed a faint blue.

“I heard Qingyun was sick, so I came to see her.”

Wen Xixia wore a white shirt, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, looking like a capable career woman.

Qian Can smoothly took the flowers and placed them at the head of the bed.

Then she quickly cleaned up the takeout on the small table.

The news of Xie Qingyun’s hospitalization had caused an uproar throughout the city, but she really did not have many close relationships in this circle. If one had to name someone, Wen Xixia counted as one.

Xie Qingyun leaned weakly against the bed and did not get up.

“What’s wrong with her?” Wen Xixia found it funny.

Qian Can leaned close to her ear. “You know. Isn’t it still because of that little girl from the Shi family?”

“Shi Yu?”

Wen Xixia’s voice was not loud, but in Xie Qingyun’s ears, it was deafening.

She grabbed a pillow and threw it over. “What are you talking about!”

“It’s Shi Yun!”

“Oh, so you’re finally willing to respond?” Wen Xixia smiled and sat by the bed, poking Xie Qingyun’s shoulder. “I thought you weren’t planning to pay attention to me.”

After some joking around, the atmosphere warmed up quite a bit. Xie Qingyun no longer kept a long face and had a slight smile.

Wen Xixia took a thin stack of papers from her bag.

“I came this time to bring you the latest version of the script. I know you’ve been hesitating over whether to accept it. We’ve been friends for so many years, so I won’t beat around the bush with you. After referring to your revision suggestions, we made some changes.”

Xie Qingyun opened the new script and roughly read two pages. “This is indeed a good script.”

She closed the script and pushed it onto the table. “But it’s no longer very suitable for me to take it.”

The story was roughly about a girl escaping from the mountains. The protagonist was in her early twenties.

Letting out a long breath, Xie Qingyun said calmly, “I’m no longer young. If I go play a young girl like this again, won’t I make the audience laugh their teeth off? It also wouldn’t give younger actors a chance.”

Xie Qingyun knew very clearly that she was already thirty-two. No matter how one looked at it, it was no longer suitable for her to play a girl in her early twenties.

Moreover, if she kept occupying the front, the younger generation would never have a chance to rise.

Once the words left her mouth, she also realized that there was an eight-year gap between her and Shi Yun. She was no longer young, while Shi Yun was in the best years of her life.

She felt some regret. Just like that, she had missed the forever-younger yesterday.

Wen Xixia did not force her either. Once those words were spoken, everyone felt a little sad.

After all, Xie Qingyun could be considered someone she and Qian Can had made famous with their own hands.

Xie Qingyun was no longer young, and neither was she.

“All right, don’t be like this. It’s not easy for us to gather together. Let’s not talk about such sad things.” Among the three of them, Qian Can was the oldest, but she was also the first to leave the industry.

Wen Xixia smiled. “Then who among the actors do you think is more suitable?”

She respected Xie Qingyun’s opinion very much.

Xie Qingyun paused. Many people flashed through her mind. Those who were young lacked experience, while those with enough experience were around the same age as her.

There was only one person, but she did not know whether she should say it.

Her voice was very soft. “Zhao Zhilin.”

Qian Can raised her head and looked at her, somewhat surprised.

Zhao Zhilin was an existence even more arrogant than Xie Qingyun. Some time ago, her contact with Shi Yun had caused an uproar, and she never avoided people.

On one side, Shi Yun was about to establish an entertainment company. On the other, she was photographed eating with Zhao Zhilin.

People in the industry all said she was going to switch allegiances.

Only Xie Qingyun and a very small number of people knew that Zhao Zhilin was going after Shi Yun.

But all of that had happened before Shi Yun lost her memory.

“You…” Wen Xixia was somewhat surprised.

Xie Qingyun was very calm. She had absolute confidence when it came to Shi Yun. “I just think she’s very suitable.”

Over the years, Xie Qingyun had acted in many films and television dramas. At first, she had had no choice. In order to become popular, she had to take whatever roles she could, but even then, she had to do her best. Later, after gradually gaining popularity, she had more power to choose scripts and became even more cautious.

So although she did not have many works over the years, every one of them was excellent.

“To be honest, we actually considered her too. It’s just…”

“What?”

“Her contract is about to expire, but you know that little company of hers has always treated her like a cash cow. The contract she signed back then was also very harsh. If she wants to terminate it, she can only spend money to avoid disaster.” Wen Xixia shook her head. That was simply how the rules of this industry worked. If one wanted to leave their original company, even if they did not die, they still had to lose a layer of skin. Back then, when Xie Qingyun established her independent studio, she had also lost a layer of skin alive before gaining the freedom she had now.

“Wasn’t Chen Su’s Yinian planning to sign Zhao Zhilin?”

Qian Can, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up. “You still don’t know, do you? The Chen family found out that Chen Su was supporting Lu Yi and cut off Yinian’s funding. During this period, Chen Su has been out looking for investment. I estimate she thinks Shi Yun just got discharged and doesn’t want to make things difficult for her, so she hasn’t told her.”

Xie Qingyun was shocked. She knew Shi Yun had been preparing for the signing all this time. The few times Shi Yun had previously met with Zhao Zhilin had also been for work.

It was just that Zhao Zhilin herself was prone to overthinking and always treated their meetings as dates.

Lu Yi could not support Yinian. The company needed a first-tier artist who could make money and attract investment.

This was something Shi Yun had always wanted to do.

No matter what, Xie Qingyun had to support her in continuing it.

“What do you think about me going to Yinian?”