Captain He’s heart immediately went cold: “I haven’t even opened my mouth yet?”

Lei Hong scoffed: “Everything you want to say is written all over your face. Why don’t you tell them to stop their efforts – all this trouble will just make it awkward for you when you can’t save face.”

She seemed unwilling to talk more with her ex-husband and tried to walk around him, but someone quickly grabbed her arm with such force that the dumpling wrappers in Lei Hong’s hands almost fell.

“What, you want to get physical now?”

Lei Hong raised her eyebrows. He Jianqiu recognized this expression – it meant things wouldn’t end well afterward.

But they were already divorced. Could there be a worse ending than this?

Ghost’s Bane stopped worrying and brought out his work assertiveness – he began assertively apologizing: “Lei Hong, it was wrong of me to act unilaterally before, but after being married so long, we don’t have relationship problems. You know this.”

“You treating everything I say like it goes in one ear and out the other – that’s not a relationship problem?”

Lei Hong sneered: “I told you eight hundred times that I voluntarily stepped back from the front lines, but you wouldn’t listen. I told you I didn’t care about having kids, you wouldn’t listen either. After you got injured, I told you there was no need for divorce, but you still wouldn’t listen. You were single-mindedly convinced you’d wronged me. Captain He, apparently nothing I say has any meaning to you at all, so why are you looking for me to marry again?”

She tried to shake off the hand on her arm, but those five fingers were like iron clamps. Lei Hong laughed angrily: “Let go of me. If you really want to get physical, you know my temper.”

“Brother Lei, when I was executing those missions abroad before, there were several times I felt like I couldn’t hold on anymore. Each time, I could only keep going by thinking that you were still at home waiting for me, then forcing myself to continue.”

Suddenly, Captain He spoke softly.

He had never said these words before, because each process was too painful – he really didn’t want to bring these things home, to bring them before his bedside companion.

Lei Hong looked at him without saying a word, but the struggle over her arm continued, which prompted the person in front of her to keep talking: “That last time when I got stabbed, I remember before the ambulance came, I kept thinking – after finishing this one, I won’t do this job anymore. I’ll apply for a transfer, do some logistics work, then we’ll have a child, set up a little shop near home, and I can come find you after work.”

“Well, that’s really hard to tell.”

Lei Hong said coolly: “After all, I took care of someone for two months, only to get a ‘let’s divorce’ in the end. Those who don’t know might think I was a free nanny who’d outlived her usefulness.”

Just like before, Lei Hong’s words were always merciless, like a knife stabbing straight at vital points. Shancheng’s Ghost’s Bane was struck in his weak spot and couldn’t help closing his eyes, seeing his wife’s haggard appearance by the hospital bed.

Someone later told him that during those days in the ICU, Lei Hong cried almost every day – and in ten years of marriage, he had rarely seen Lei Hong’s tears.

He Jianqiu really didn’t want his wife to become like his mother in the future, always living in fear, eventually breaking down physically too.

Rather than let her become like that, it was better to set her free.

“I just wanted you to be happier.”

Captain He dryly spoke the truth: “This was also my first time being married, no experience, so… could you forgive me just this once?”

Under the slanting sun, He Jianqiu felt he was just one step away from kneeling and begging Lei Hong, but after waiting a while, the woman just looked at him expressionlessly.

“Oh, but I still don’t want to agree.”

Lei Hong said emotionlessly: “So what then?”

“…”

A pain more unbearable than a knife wound made Captain He frown. He said in a low voice: “Brother Lei, are you really never going to care about me again?”

Taking advantage of his distraction, Lei Hong pulled her arm free: “I see you’re living quite well without me caring about you.”

She carried the groceries toward No. 29. He Jianqiu was left standing there. He unconsciously clenched his fist, but immediately felt the key ring pressing hard between his fingers.

When they divorced, Lei Hong hadn’t taken the ring back but left it for him.

Gritting his teeth, He Jianqiu hurriedly followed after all, but as soon as he entered Huangliang Yimeng, the atmosphere was so awkward it was suffocating.

The room full of roses was no longer a matter of obvious intentions. Combined with Song Nanshi holding a confetti cannon but hiding it half-heartedly, and Bai Yang holding a huge cake, Captain He truly regretted agreeing to Bai Yang’s damned remarriage plan for a moment.

Lei Hong glanced at him sideways and said coolly: “Why not just hang a banner saying ‘Celebrating Big Brother and Sister-in-law’s Successful Remarriage’?”

Hearing this sarcastic tone, Bai Yang’s face immediately fell, and he even spoke before He Jianqiu could: “Sister-in-law, you… why don’t you not rush to give an answer, have some cake to calm down first?”

Lei Hong glanced at the snow-white cream cake in his hands and couldn’t help laughing: “What era is this, still doing arranged marriages, boss? This is forced remarriage?”

She placed the dumpling wrappers on the table and said lightly: “Since it’s all set up, let’s not waste it. This environment would be quite nice for entertaining customers tomorrow. Everyone can share the cake later.”

Her words were too calm, causing Deputy Captain He’s expression to instantly become extremely ugly: “Lei Hong, are you really unwilling to forgive me no matter what?”

Shancheng’s Ghost’s Bane had a baby face that easily evoked pity, and now that face was covered with expressions that Boss Bai of Huangliang Yimeng couldn’t stand.

Might as well do it himself!

Bai Yang couldn’t control his appearance-obsessed instincts after all and began pitifully pleading for He Jianqiu: “Sister-in-law, the cake is already made. Why don’t I cut you a piece to try first… please?”

He held the cake knife, about to cut down on that piece with the “generous gift” with his first cut, but Lei Hong took the cake knife from him at this moment.

“Let me cut it.”

Lei Hong cut along that rose. Everyone’s hearts immediately lifted as they watched her place the cake on a plate and hand it to her silent ex-husband standing behind her.

“Don’t make that ugly face.” Lei Hong looked at him with a frank expression. “You started this.”

He Jianqiu just looked at her without speaking.

After a long while, he gently pushed the cake back, showing an extremely rare, visibly painful expression.

“This is for you.”

Although he had known this possibility existed, Deputy Captain He still felt like his heart had been stabbed again. He didn’t even dare breathe forcefully.

“No matter what today’s result is, it’s yours. Would you be willing to at least take one bite?”

“…You’re quite persistent.”

Having said this much, Lei Hong smiled and at least took the plate, while Bai Yang rushed forward like an overly eager waiter to offer a fork and knife, but Lei Hong didn’t take them.

Or rather, she seemed like she had no intention of “eating” this piece of cake at all.

“So this time, you can finally listen to what I’m saying?”

Without warning, Lei Hong directly inserted two fingers into that snow-white, dense cream.

“You…”

He Jianqiu’s eyes widened. As a deputy captain of criminal investigation who had worked the front lines for years, Shancheng’s Ghost’s Bane’s tongue was completely tied in knots.

“It was always me asking you, with the decision in your hands… now it’s reversed. You ask me, the decision is mine, and you just asked for the third time.”

After Lei Hong finished speaking, she glanced amusedly at the teary-eyed Bai Yang beside her: “Also, this cream is way too thick. With Old Han watching, it’s impossible for the boss to make a cake with such an overly generous conscience about ingredients… did you think I couldn’t tell what’s inside?”

With a hook of Lei Hong’s finger, the ring stuck in the second layer of cake was precisely extracted by her, covered in a layer of cream, lying quietly in her palm.

He Jianqiu stared at her blankly: “So you just wanted to hear me ask three times? The rejection was to scare me?”

Lei Hong sneered: “Don’t you deserve it? Saying divorce when you want divorce, saying remarriage when you want remarriage. Not beating you up directly is already giving you face.”

He Jianqiu was still a bit confused: “So…”

“I’ve had enough of letting you make the decisions.”

Lei Hong carefully wiped the cream off the ring. Soon, that small circle fit perfectly on her ring finger.

“This time, you begged for the marriage – I made the decision. From now on, if you ever try to overturn it for me, I’ll make you eat this ring along with its box.”

Bang!

Suddenly, accompanied by an abrupt explosion, the long-awaited confetti cannon in Song Nanshi’s hands fired into the air. Ribbons immediately flew everywhere. Thanks to Han Sha’s quick reflexes protecting the cake, no more random things got on the cream.

Bai Yang looked exactly like an old father who had just married off his daughter, sniffling and trembling as he said: “So, do you want to eat cake now or go upstairs for a while?”

“Go upstairs for a while?” The newly remarried couple both turned their heads to look suspiciously at their overly prepared host.

“Our naive boss living in Disney didn’t consider the possibility of failure, so the vacant room has been tidied up. You can also take the cake upstairs to eat.”

Han Sha calmly handed the room key to Deputy Captain He.

“Some small items in the room are already included in that 364 decoration fee.”

The shrewd business consultant didn’t forget to add: “Let me tell you upfront – even if you don’t use them, there are no refunds.”

[End of Extra Chapter 1]

Author’s Note Bu Ming Yan Author 2022-07-14 Their problems aren’t completely resolved yet. Brother Lei has two more extra chapters coming up.