Just Wanting to Divorce My Love Rival - Chapter 28

Mu Cheng rested her hands on the windowsill, sticking half her head into the guardroom. “I know you can hear me. Stop pretending, okay? Hurry up and open the gate for me.”

After shouting several more times, the old man finally reacted. He lazily stood up from his seat and walked toward Mu Cheng.

Mu Cheng widened her eyes and gave a smile. “Thank you, Grandpa. Please open the gate.”

The old man stopped in front of the window, spared her a single glance, and then decisively reached out to shut the window, pulling the curtains closed for good measure.

The smile on Mu Cheng’s face froze.

Earlier, she had wondered why Zhong Yingzhi hadn’t chased or stopped her when she ran out; it turned out everything was already calculated.

Mu Cheng nodded, fuming with rage. “Fine! If you won’t open it, you won’t open it. You think I’m out of options? Who didn’t climb trees as a kid? I can flip over this iron gate even if it stays shut.”

The walls were three meters high, but the iron gate was slightly shorter. Between climbing the wall or the gate, Mu Cheng chose the latter.

She looked up at the gate, pacing around it to inspect it, and nodded. She should be able to climb over.

Mu Cheng loosened up her arms, rolled up her sleeves, and gripped the iron bars, beginning a slow and clumsy ascent.

Hearing the commotion, the old man looked out. Seeing the situation, he rushed out of the guardroom. “Madam! You can’t climb that gate! It’s too dangerous! What if you fall? Please, come down!”

Mu Cheng was already halfway up, hanging in the middle of the gate. “Grandpa, so you can hear me now? Weren’t you just pretending to be deaf?”

The old man paced in circles below her, apologizing and explaining, desperate for her to come down.

Mu Cheng refused to listen. “Grandpa, don’t worry. I won’t fall; I’ve got a firm grip. Besides, you don’t have to fear Zhong Yingzhi blaming you. You followed her orders and didn’t open the gate. My climbing out has nothing to do with you. She won’t hold it against you.”

With that, Mu Cheng turned back and prepared to keep climbing.

Zhong Yingzhi finally made her appearance. She wore a collarless white shirt paired with black wide-leg trousers. A pair of high heels made her already tall and striking figure even more prominent. Her cold aura was laid bare by her outfit; there was no trace of the “cuteness” she had shown while wearing the kitten pajamas.

Zhong Yingzhi looked at the person clinging to the iron gate and commanded expressionlessly, “Come down.”

“Never!” Not only did Mu Cheng not come down, but she actually accelerated her climb.

Zhong Yingzhi looked at the old man standing under the gate. “If she flips out of here today, you don’t need to come to work tomorrow.”

The old man panicked and pleaded, “President Zhong, you can’t do that! I have no way to stop Madam if she wants to climb out herself! I’m just a lonely old man without children; I won’t be able to find another job at my age.”

Zhong Yingzhi remained unmoved. “Instead of acting pathetic here, why don’t you find a way to get her down for me?”

The old man looked at the person still climbing and truly had no solution. He paced around frantically.

Zhong Yingzhi looked on leisurely and suddenly suggested, “Shake her down.”

The old man froze. “That… that’s not good, right? What if she falls?”

Zhong Yingzhi looked at him coldly. “Just do as I say. Enough nonsense.”

The old man dared not say more. He grabbed the handle of the gate and shook it lightly twice. He didn’t dare use too much force for fear of her falling; the gate wasn’t short—over two meters high—and a fall would almost certainly result in injury.

Zhong Yingzhi thinned her lips, displeased. “Have you not eaten? Or are you so old you can’t even handle being a guard?”

Gritting his teeth, the old man used all his strength to shake the iron gate violently. The gate groaned and creaked incessantly.

Mu Cheng gripped on tight, nearly losing her footing with every lurch. She yelled frantically, “Zhong Yingzhi, what are you doing?! Are you trying to murder your wife?! I’m your legally wedded wife! What do you want?!”

Zhong Yingzhi raised her hand slightly. The old man took the hint and stopped the shaking.

Zhong Yingzhi looked up at her, the corners of her mouth curving up. “So, before you get shaken down, and while I’m still speaking nicely to you—come down yourself.”

Mu Cheng freed one hand and gave her the middle finger. “In your dreams!”

Zhong Yingzhi’s gaze darkened. “Very well.”

Less than half a minute later, Mu Cheng’s strength gave out. Her hands slipped, her feet lost their hold, and she fell.

Mu Cheng closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. But the expected pain never came. Instead, she fell into a soft embrace, and a faint scent of mint enveloped her nose.

The moment Mu Cheng fell, Zhong Yingzhi had decisively stepped forward, steadily and skillfully catching her.

Buried in her arms, Mu Cheng looked up blankly at the face inches away. For a moment, she was entranced, her eyes blinking. Her heart seemed to skip a beat.

The two remained in that position for about three seconds before Mu Cheng pushed her away and clutched her own chest. “I almost fell. Scared me to death.”

“If you’re so afraid of falling, why climb?” Zhong Yingzhi asked.

Mu Cheng let out a “Tsk.” “Zhong Yingzhi, are you keeping me under house arrest?”

Zhong Yingzhi nodded, perfectly candid. “Yes.”

Mu Cheng’s lip twitched. “But I have the freedom to go out. I’ll go whenever I want. Don’t pull that on me; I’m not buying it.”

Zhong Yingzhi didn’t even lift her eyelids as she said flatly, “You have two choices. One: go back with me willingly. Two: I’ll call the security guards to carry you back.”

Mu Cheng laughed in anger. “The ‘Overbearing CEO’ act has really gone to your head, hasn’t it? ‘Carry me back’? Go ahead and call them, see if I’m afraid of you!”

Then, Mu Cheng was carried back by two hulking men, hoisted like a little chick.

The entire way, Mu Cheng glared at Zhong Yingzhi with resentful eyes, her face puffed with anger, yet she had no way to deal with her.

Auntie Yang brought over a glass of warm milk and handed it to Mu Cheng. “Miss Zhong asked me to pour this for you. It’s just been warmed. Madam, please drink it quickly.”

Mu Cheng huffed. “I’m not drinking it. Who knows if she poisoned it.”

Auntie Yang sighed. “Madam, please don’t blame Miss Zhong. She’s doing this to protect you. Given the things you did before and those lessons from the past, no one, under any circumstances, would let you go out alone.”

Good opportunity! Mu Cheng’s eyes darted around as she tried to bait Auntie Yang. “What did I do before? Why is she so afraid to let me go out alone?”

At the mention of the key question, Auntie Yang shut her mouth. No matter how Mu Cheng asked, she couldn’t pry any useful information loose.

Auntie Yang placed the milk on the coffee table. “Madam, drink it while it’s hot. I’ll take my leave now.”

Mu Cheng grabbed her, acting familiar. “Auntie Yang, look, we’ve talked so much. We’re basically friends now, don’t you think? A ‘friendship across generations.’”

Auntie Yang pulled her hand back, maintaining a polite but distant gap. “Madam must be joking. I am the servant, and you are the master.”

“What era are we in? There’s no such thing as ‘servants’ and ‘masters’ anymore. This is just a job for you; at most, our relationship is supervisor and subordinate. A boss can be friends with an employee! I think you’re especially approachable, Auntie Yang…” Mu Cheng babbled on, trying to bridge the distance.

Auntie Yang interrupted her, getting straight to the point. “Madam, just say what you want to say.”

Mu Cheng cleared her throat twice. “Lend me your phone for a second.”

Mu Cheng thought Auntie Yang would definitely refuse, but to her surprise, the woman actually reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver-white phone.

Auntie Yang held the phone out to her. “The phone you asked for.”

Mu Cheng froze. Holding the phone, she was so excited she began to stammer. “That… that was so easy?”

Holding the phone, Mu Cheng brainstormed various plans. She had called her parents before—their numbers were changed. If she couldn’t contact relatives, she’d have to contact close friends.

Friends? Mu Cheng could think of a few good friends, like Xiao Xiaoli, but…

Mu Cheng said dejectedly, “Crap, crap! Why didn’t I think to memorize her number?”

A moment later, she slapped her forehead. Duh! It didn’t matter if she remembered the phone number; she still had WeChat!

Thinking of this, Mu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. She pressed the phone button—it didn’t light up. She pressed it again—still no reaction. Thinking it was off, she held the button down, but the screen remained completely dead.

“How do you turn this phone on?” Mu Cheng asked.

Auntie Yang smiled. “It won’t turn on.”

Mu Cheng frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Auntie Yang explained with a smile, “It’s a dummy model. It can’t be turned on or used. Miss Zhong instructed me to buy you a toy phone. Since the toy phone hasn’t been bought yet, you can take this model for now just to hold onto.”

Mu Cheng was speechless.

Auntie Yang advised, “Madam, stop looking into the past. You won’t want to remember it.”

Mu Cheng: “I do want to remember. I want to remember very much! Please, I don’t need you all to ‘do what’s best for me.’ I just simply want to know.”

Zhong Yingzhi leaned against the doorframe. Seeing Mu Cheng’s frustrated look, the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but lift, and her mood improved significantly.

Noticing her gaze, Mu Cheng snapped, “What are you looking at? What are you smiling at?”

Zhong Yingzhi tucked away her smile and stood straight. “Stop making a fuss. It’s late. Go take a shower and get to sleep.”

Mu Cheng slammed the dummy phone onto the table. “I’m not sleeping and I’m not washing! So what? What can you do if I don’t shower? Are you going to pull that move from earlier again?”

Mu Cheng suddenly went into full “drama queen” mode, mimicking Zhong Yingzhi’s tone: “You have two choices. One: wash yourself properly. Two: I’ll call the security guards to carry you into the bath.”

Zhong Yingzhi gazed at her. “For something like that, I naturally wouldn’t call security. I would wash you personally.”

Zhong Yingzhi spoke very seriously, as if she weren’t joking.

Mu Cheng pulled her slightly open collar tight, looking horrified. “You’re joking, right?”

Zhong Yingzhi tilted her head and looked at her, saying nothing, her eyes deep.

Mu Cheng immediately lost her nerve. “Fine, I’ll wash! I’ll wash myself! No need for you to bother.”

Mu Cheng grabbed her change of clothes and headed toward the bathroom. After two steps, she felt someone following her.

Mu Cheng turned around to find Zhong Yingzhi right behind her, clearly intending to go inside with her.

“I said I’m washing! Why are you still following me? Don’t tell me you want to take a ‘mandarin duck bath’ (shared bath) with me?” Mu Cheng rested one hand on the doorframe, blocking Zhong Yingzhi’s path.

Zhong Yingzhi raised an eyebrow. “That’s not a bad suggestion. I happen to have that exact idea.”

Mu Cheng: “…”