She Wants to Divorce Me

Chapter 54

Setting up the stall at the entrance, Ji Yaoguang and Chang Yu mostly chatted about trivial matters, reminiscing about amusing incidents from their campus days. Few people actually came to request love letters. However, an elderly lady with a walking stick and reading glasses asked them to read a family letter for her. Despite this, after a day's work, Ji Yaoguang had transformed into the wealthiest person in the entire inn. Of course, she reluctantly handed over a small portion to An Muyu for daily necessities, while entrusting the rest to Chang Yu for safekeeping.

With her improved mood, Ji Yaoguang became more affectionate even towards Siren. She didn't mind the layer of dust Siren had picked up from running around, hugging and rubbing it, gently smoothing its ruffled fur. She chuckled softly, "Don't run around in the inn. I'll get you something tasty tomorrow." Siren seemed to understand Ji Yaoguang's words, meowing a few times before darting into a low flower bush.

"Aren't you worried about getting dirty?" Chang Yu watched Ji Yaoguang's actions, gently chiding.

Ji Yaoguang laughed lightly, "As a cat owner, how can I worry about 'dirty'?" At this moment, she remembered her role as a cat caretaker. Another night fell, seemingly no different from usual. They were supposed to perform a historical stage play through a lucky draw, but director Zhao Beiting had other matters to attend to, so it was temporarily postponed. The assistant director and cameramen clapped with joy, scurrying off to a small room to play cards.

"Teacher Chang—"

As Chang Yu was about to return to her room, she was suddenly called by An Muyu. The inn's rooms were arranged like ancient side rooms, lined up side by side, with an antique corridor outside. Coincidentally, An Muyu's room was right next to theirs, making encounters inevitable when coming and going. Ji Yaoguang, adhering to the principle of "out of sight, out of mind," turned and entered the room. Chang Yu, arms crossed, maintained a distance from An Muyu, asking coldly, "Is there something you need?"

Large red lanterns hung in the corridor, their bright light filtering through the thin paper, casting a dark red hue. Along with the wind passing through the corridor, it created an atmosphere of solitude and desolation. With Chang Yu backlit, An Muyu couldn't see her expression clearly, but the cold and distant tone stung her, causing her face to pale slightly. She had thought there would be enough time to interact with Chang Yu, being in the same show, but it wasn't going as she had imagined. Everyone had unanimously pushed her into the role of the inn's chef, spending her days in the kitchen washing rice and preparing vegetables, making abundant yet affordable meals for the others who were out and about. Didn't she want to leave the inn? Didn't she want to go out with Chang Yu? But Ji Yaoguang's presence monopolized Chang Yu's days and nights. Why had things developed this way? Even if Chang Yu didn't accept her, Ji Yaoguang shouldn't have come back. Could she still be friends with Chang Yu? Could she try to take a step further?

Chang Yu waited for a long time without hearing An Muyu speak. Instead, she saw complex emotions in her eyes, even a hint of hatred. Frowning, she repeated, "If Miss An has nothing else, I'll return to my room. Ji Yaoguang is waiting for me."

"It's just a door away, is Teacher Chang so impatient?" An Muyu momentarily couldn't suppress her tone of hatred and jealousy. Seeing Chang Yu's expression suddenly turn cold, she covered her mouth and laughed awkwardly, trying to salvage her image with a gentle tone, "I'm sorry, Teacher Chang. I just have something to give you. I saw this set of knives at the market earlier and bought them." Seeing the wood scraps Chang Yu and Ji Yaoguang had brought back, she knew what they were for. How could it be for firewood as Bo Yu had said? She had once had the fortune to see the flawless products of Chang Yu's exquisite knife skills. There must be an artistic romanticism in her nature, just concealed by her habitual coldness and distance.

This set of knives could buy how many cheap vegetables—Chang Yu wouldn't accept gifts from others without reason. She didn't consider herself close enough to An Muyu for this, and with Ji Yaoguang's words lingering in her mind, she thought of Zhao Qing, who had caused the rift between her and Ji Yaoguang. She couldn't help but suspect An Muyu had ulterior motives. She curled her lips into a polite smile, her words of refusal not disguised at all. Just then, Ji Yaoguang's impatient voice came from the room. Chang Yu smiled again and said, "I'm sorry, I have to go back to the room now." As the carved wooden door closed, it blocked An Muyu's burning gaze outside.

Ji Yaoguang was always quick in her actions. She quickly took a shower and nestled into the blankets, turning on the air conditioning to drive away the day's chill from the room. When she saw Chang Yu return, she glanced up and smiled faintly, "The water's still hot, you should go quickly." Then she lowered her head to look at her phone. Since joining the show, it felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, it had only been two or three days. Messages in WeChat came one after another. Besides Ji Kaiyang constantly asking about her situation to express his concern, there was also her manager Su Ci's indirect inquiries.

Su Ci wouldn't leave Sheng Tang; she had taken on a new talent. This realization resurfaced in Ji Yaoguang's mind, making her heart feel as if pricked by a needle. She thought of Su Ci's kindness towards her, but then her mind was invaded by An Muyu's face. "Xiao Yu is the new talent I'm managing. She doesn't understand anything, please take care of her." Su Ci's message tone was flat, but due to her aversion to An Muyu, Ji Yaoguang saw an almost cruel naivety in these words.

Would An Muyu need her care? The one An Muyu probably wanted to get close to was only Chang Yu. The message hinted at future arrangements for An Muyu. Sheng Tang's boss had let go of Chang Yu, their money tree, and naturally knew he couldn't keep Ji Yaoguang either. So he had placed a new talent he deemed promising under the top manager Su Ci. As long as she increased her exposure to the audience through the show, her gentle food expert persona could be established—she would take on advertisements, TV dramas, and even venture into the new field of movies. As An Muyu entered the entertainment circle, she would meet more and more related people, becoming an impenetrable network. Ji Yaoguang certainly didn't want to see this happen. She wouldn't help An Muyu, but would only be a cold observer, a stranger.

Deeply immersed in her thoughts, Ji Yaoguang didn't hear Chang Yu come out. Only when she heard the question "What are you thinking about?" did she suddenly come back to her senses. A corner of the blanket was lifted, and the person combing her long hair slipped into the covers, reaching out to pinch her face, saying softly, "The ink marks are washed clean." Her tone seemed quite regretful.

Ji Yaoguang chuckled lightly. She tilted her head to look at Chang Yu and replied, "The ink marks may be gone, but Teacher Chang, your name is signed in my heart, impossible to erase." Chang Yu, fresh from the bathroom, still carried a faint fragrance of shower gel. Ji Yaoguang tossed her phone aside, lying on top of Chang Yu and sniffing lightly. Her hand slowly slid down to her waist, caressing the skin through the thin pajamas. "Teacher Chang, may I have a goodnight kiss?"

Chang Yu blinked and chuckled, "Are you going to sleep?"

"Of course— not." Her words suddenly changed direction. Ji Yaoguang's lips curled into a full smile. She leaned forward to kiss Chang Yu's brow and eyes, but felt it wasn't nearly enough. The desire suppressed for a time suddenly rose. Her eyes sparkled, filled with a kind of inexplicable expectation. Chang Yu didn't refuse her kiss, and her courage seemed to be encouraged, growing bolder—after lingering on the red lips for a moment, she finally slowly pushed open the tightly closed city gate and began to conquer. Soft panting echoed in the room. The person who had been half-leaning against the headboard was now completely lying flat. Her curled eyelashes were covered with a layer of moist mist, carrying a coy reluctance. The deep kiss swallowed all low moans, with only a burning atmosphere permeating the room from beginning to end. After teasing Chang Yu for quite a while, Ji Yaoguang still had no hint of sleepiness. She lazily leaned on Chang Yu's shoulder, reaching out to search for her phone that had slid off somewhere.

"Seems like this episode of the show has started airing, right?"

"Yes," Chang Yu's voice, washed by passion, was a bit hoarse as she lowered her eyelashes and softly replied.

Ji Yaoguang didn't really want to watch the live show. She was more interested in the online reactions and people's evaluations of them. Comments on her old Weibo posts were increasing, mostly about the show. Many praised her, but Siren, turned into memes, occupied most people's attention. Did they want to praise her, Ji Yaoguang, or her cat? After browsing through her Weibo updates, she went to the show's official Weibo and took a look around. She discovered that they had actually been exposed to cameras from the moment they entered the group, not just after Zhao Beiting said "start." Trying to recall what she had done, Ji Yaoguang couldn't remember much. She quickly scrolled through the comments, and inadvertently clicked on a link to a forum—the title clearly pointed to her, Ji Yaoguang, but in the blink of an eye, thousands more floors had been added.

"I used to think Ji Yaoguang was just a vase in the entertainment circle. If I had to add something before her name, it would be 'wife of goddess Chang Yu.' When rumors of their divorce spread, I was on the goddess's side, because when searching for comments about Ji Yaoguang online, they were either about her poor acting skills and lack of effort, or her involvement with certain artists. As for goddess Chang and that green tea Zhao Qing, I didn't believe they had any connection. But later, everything developed like a dream. Overnight, she went from being an unknown vase in the entertainment circle to the young lady of the Ji family, and also a super academic star from Z University's Chinese department? After 'The Treacherous Courtier' was released, I bought a ticket, partly to see my goddess, and partly to criticize Ji Yaoguang. But the result was shocking. Is this still Ji Yaoguang? Was she possessed by some spirit? How did she change so much so suddenly? A background others can hardly reach, a partner everyone desires but can't have, an alma mater that intimidates most people—she could have just been a slacker! I won't say I'm envious and jealous!"

"I agree with the above. After watching this episode, I was even more shocked, dropping my melon. Is Teacher Ji this cute? How much does cuteness cost per pound? I want to buy some too!"

"I don't want anything else, I just sincerely want a love poem written by Ji Yaoguang."

"To the person above, you can loop the 'Waves Washing the Sand' at the end of the show. The music is by Cheng Henian, and the lyrics are by our baby Ji!"

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

"So in their minds before, I was that terrible?" Ji Yaoguang rubbed her chin, looking at the rows of black text on her phone, speaking thoughtfully.

"No, you're excellent," Chang Yu shook her head.

Ji Yaoguang snorted. She stared into Chang Yu's eyes and said, "You're lying to me. You used to say I was terrible, complaining about my bad temper and willfulness."

"......" Chang Yu pressed her lips together, not saying a word.

"Now I'm giving you a chance to praise me."

Chang Yu complied gracefully, smiling gently, "Yes, our Teacher Ji combines beauty and talent. There's no one as lovable as her in the whole world. Is that enough?"

"You're obviously just patronizing me," Ji Yaoguang protested. "I'm speaking from my heart, but you? You've started sweet-talking. Where did you learn to be so naughty?"

Chang Yu reached out to brush aside Ji Yaoguang's long hair, gazing tenderly into her eyes: "When I'm looking at you."

This sudden romantic line made Ji Yaoguang's heart skip a beat. A blush spread from the roots of her ears. She turned her head away from Chang Yu's gaze, mumbling, "Alright, stop talking!" She buried her face in Chang Yu's embrace, trying to hide her heart full of joy, but the radiant smile on her lips couldn't be concealed.