Ex-Husband Comes Crawling Back After Divorce

"Not me who got sick."

"Then it must be your lover. You're willing to pay so much for medical help, you must love her deeply."

Wen Shimo looked at the words 'lover' and again visualized Qiao Ran's voice and smile, as well as the scenes of profound passion they shared that night. He immediately felt his body tense up, his throat itching slightly.

Those nights' events had taken place over ten days ago, but he still couldn't bear to think of them. Just thinking would lead his body to react abnormally.

This annoyed him greatly, as his pride in his self-control over the years seemed to have crumbled after meeting that woman.

"As long as she can be cured, no amount of money is too much."

"Who would have thought that in this indifferent world, there are still devoted and faithful good men like you. I believe Divine Doctor Joy will be touched by your sincerity and will cure your lover."

This time, Wen Shimo didn't respond. Looking at the words on the screen, a sense of aversion welled up within him unbidden.

It must be because he hadn't married Song Wanqing yet, he reasoned within himself, that he felt discomfort at the term 'lover.'

Closing the Yixin Medical website, Wen Shimo opened his email to attend to work. As he reviewed documents, he habitually reached for his cup and brought it to his lips, taking a sip of coffee. His handsome brows furrowed into a 'W' shape.

The coffee in his cup was bitter, ice-cold, and astringent, leftovers from the night before.

In the past, when he worked in his study, Qiao Ran would bring him a cup of coffee at the perfect cool temperature each day.

Since their divorce, he had struggled to adapt, always mistaking his own leftover coffee for one brought by Qiao Ran, only to realize after a sip that he and Qiao Ran were already divorced.

That woman could no longer bring him coffee.

Holding the cup, he walked downstairs to the empty dining room, where the image of a slender figure busily working in the kitchen came unbidden to his mind.

"Shimo, just sit for a moment. Dinner will be ready as soon as this Three Delicacies Soup is done."

"Shimo, I tried a new dish today, Drunken Spare Ribs. Have a taste and see if you like it."

"I learned how to make First-Rate Pot from Chef Zhang. Do you want to try it?"

"…"

No matter his reaction, each day when he returned home from work, the woman would always greet him with a gentle, cautious smile, and tell him what dishes she had prepared.

Initially, Wen Shimo had harshly rejected her cooking, callously scattering her painstakingly prepared dishes on the floor, watching as she quietly cleaned up the mess again and again, even when her fingers were cut by broken ceramic. Subsequently, citing the shamefulness of waste as his reason, he no longer overturned her dishes.

Since then, after tasting her cooking, all other foods outside seemed bland and tasteless.

During their three years of marriage, while he pressed her for a divorce, he unashamedly enjoyed her meticulous care.

He had thought he detested her, only to realize after the divorce that she had stealthily infiltrated every aspect of his life without him noticing.

This home, without her, looked the same as before, yet now it felt unbearably cold.

Just like this same coffee bean, this same coffee machine—the coffee he made never tasted as rich and as inviting as when she made it.

Wen Shimo poured the brewed coffee down the drain and stepped out into the cold, rainy night, quickly driving away from the villa in his car.

He could no longer stand it. No matter which corner of the room he went to, his mind would be invaded by memories of that woman.

On the other side of the screen, Qiao Ran sat in front of the computer with a faint, bitter smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

The offered medical fee had reached two billion, the highest amount ever on the Yixin Medical website since its inception. Such an extravagant sum, even in the real world, was something few could afford.

For Song Wanqing, he really was willing to go to great lengths. It seemed that even if she quoted Wen Shimo a hundred billion, he would agree without hesitation.

In fact, Song Wanqing's legs simply required sustained rehabilitation training, no treatment necessary; she could return to normal walking in two years.

Since Wen Shimo was stupidly rich and didn't want to wait, then she simply wouldn't earn the money that was there for the taking.

...

"Qiao Ran, what plan are we working on today?"

After hearing Qiao Ran declare in front of all the sales staff that he would clinch the show hosting rights for HOT, Tao Tao was both nervous and excited.

She always liked challenges, but she never dared to dream of tackling a top-ranking global company like HOT.

But after seeing Qiao Ran's remarkable memory the day before, she instinctively believed that Qiao Ran could secure the HOT company's show.

"There is still half a month left before HOT comes to Beihong Country. Once they are here, it's not too late to start working on the plan. For now, you just enjoy yourself," Qiao Ran said nonchalantly, not looking up from the magazine in his hands.

Watching Qiao Ran's serene composure, Tao Tao felt he had the mysterious air of a boss who remains unruffled no matter how fierce the storm.

"Won't it be too late to start planning after they arrive? You talk like you've got a direction in mind. I'm your partner, and I want to contribute. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty."

"Don't worry, you won't miss out on any work that's meant for you."

"Well, that's reassuring." Tao Tao smiled and looked up, noticing Xu Kexin walking over in ten-centimeter stilettos with an elegant and poised stride.

"Here comes the white lotus flower, watch out for her traps," Tao Tao whispered.

"She's not really a white lotus, more like an expired green tea," Qiao Ran casually remarked, with a slight lift of his eyelid.

He didn't take someone like Xu Kexin, of that level of green tea, seriously at all.

Xu Kexin stood in front of Qiao Ran's desk, speaking haughtily, "Qiao Ran, Tao Tao, to avoid being accused of being autocratic and not giving opportunities to newcomers, today I'll take you to a dinner party for the 'Yu Hua's Story' project, so you can learn how to connect and collaborate with people in the film and television industry."

"Over the years, Song's Clothing has remained at the forefront largely because, besides our own strengths, we've frequently collaborated with major film and television projects for costumes, leveraging the buying power of celebrity fans to maintain our brand status."

"It's such an important project that normally wouldn't involve newcomers. But since you bet with me on the HOT project, if I win, it would seem like an expected victory against rookies, and I wouldn't appear honorable."

"There are similarities between film and television projects and HOT projects. I will personally mentor you so that once you're familiar, the competition for the HOT project will be fair and square."

Putting down the magazine, Qiao Ran looked at Xu Kexin with a bright smile, "Then we're grateful for Director Xu's generosity."

Xu Kexin was right; maintaining a dominant position in the fashion industry, Song's Clothing owes half of its success to its eye-catching costumes in dramas that have won people's hearts.

Fans who followed the drama would continue their support into reality, purchasing celebrity-endorsed designs, keeping Song's Clothing's reputation favorable.

However, since the passing of her mother the previous year, Song's Clothing hadn't released any hit designs for film and television projects and was no longer a sought-after collaboration partner for production companies.

A surge of pain gripped Qiao Ran's heart—the day after tomorrow marked the first anniversary of her mother's death.

...

Xu Kexin, with Tao Tao and Qiao Ran in tow, arrived at the Criss Hotel.

Stepping out of the elevator on the sixth floor, they saw Wen Shimo and his assistant Zhou Yu approaching down the corridor.

"Brother-in-law, what a coincidence, you're here too!" Xu Kexin, quickening her pace, ran up to Wen Shimo like a cheerful bunny.

Wen Shimo's cool gaze drifted above Xu Kexin's head, settling on Qiao Ran.

It had been ten days since he last saw her. She was dressed in a beige business suit, her cool brown hair pulled back into a high ponytail, wearing matching five-centimeter heels, her delicate makeup accentuating her fierce professional woman aura.

She was entirely different from the woman who, apron tied around her waist with a warm smile, would ask him what he wanted to eat.

She looked at him from a distance with a faint smile, as if he were a stranger, without a hint of recognition.