Ex-Husband's CallChapter 22

On the way back to the office, Tong-laoshi kept thinking about what he should do with the pair of movie tickets. As a teacher, he knew that he shouldn’t even accept a tiny chunk of an eraser from a student. But Feng Kaiwen was right, if he didn’t go, it would be a waste.

Tong Qiu debated with himself for a while then entered the office. He tidied up his belongings and prepared to leave early. He decided to think about it once he was home. BhDb2K

It was a cloudy day.

As he was about to leave the school building, Tong Qiu debated whether or not to bring his umbrella. He remembered there was an umbrella in his office, in his desk drawer to be exact. Huo Zhixing had given it to him last spring and told him to keep it at school, just in case. However, he’s never had a chance to use it and the umbrella had lain in the drawer for a whole year.

Please visit chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

Tong Qiu’s current place was close to the school. He tilted his head and looked up at the sky and decided to make a bet with the heavens and pray that he wouldn’t be rained on.

The truth was, it was just a bout of laziness. He was already at the front doors and didn’t feel like going back in. FkXl1n

Tong Qiu, whose ass had been hurting the whole day, wished he could walk quickly but it was harder than he expected. He could only do his best as he hurried towards the school entrance. He hadn’t gone far before Chu Yao gave him a call.

“My condolences,” Chu Yao said playfully, “how do you feel today?”

“…there’s barely been a ripple.”

“Bullshit, did you do it last night?”

Tong Qiu had already guessed that Chu Yao would call him – she might be late but it was inevitable. Although she was simply a friend, she was probably more concerned about his love life than his own mother.

“Mm-hm.”

As soon as she heard him, Chu Yao immediately came to life. “So how was it? Did Officer Huo improve at all?”

“I’m not telling.” Whenever Tong Qiu thought about what had happened last night, the wave of excitement in his heart threatened to overflow. BWaA C

He couldn’t help but berate himself. Despite being a self-proclaimed engineer of the human soul, he couldn’t seem to avoid vulgar thoughts and was inclined to think with the lower half of his body.

How shameful.

“Even if you don’t say a word, I still get it,” Chu Yao said. “I can tell you’re pleased with yourself even if I was 80,000 kilometres away.”

When Tong Qiu arrived at the school entrance, he waved down a taxi and cheerfully climbed inside. He gave the driver his address and continued chattering with Chu Yao. “It was pretty normal, nothing special.” CelvF7

“Stop acting like a goody two-shoes when you’ve already been so naughty. Since it was so good, when are you going to remarry?”

The word ‘remarry’ hit a nerve.

“When did I say we were going to get remarried?” For some ridiculous reason, Tong Qiu felt his heart beat faster and his breath quickened as he stared at the word ‘remarry’ in his mind’s eye.

“Huh? I thought you two got divorced because there were issues with your sex life. But now that the issues are resolved, shouldn’t you be remarrying at top speed?” BzIOuv

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Tong Qiu was struck dumb by Chu Yao’s probing questions.

Lf tjv wjvf tlwrfio jii wevvifv atfrf vjsr jcv revvfcis mbeivc’a oluegf bea ktja fzjmais kjr ublcu bc yfakffc tlw jcv Leb Itlzlcu.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Ktf rfz tjv lcvffv yffc j ojmabg ktfc atfs tjv vlnbgmfv, yea atf yluufg qgbyifw kjr atja atfs tjvc’a yffc tbcfra klat fjmt batfg. Qtlif atfs kfgf wjgglfv, atfs tjv jmafv ilxf akb eqrajcvlcu, lwqfmmjyis vgfrrfv ufcaifwfc ktb kfgf rb mbegafber atfs tjv ab xffq atflg yjmxr ragjluta fnfc ktlif rlaalcu bc atf rboj.

In reality, Tong Qiu was the type of person who wouldn’t even bother sitting if he had the option to lie down. He was a homebody, and a repressed one at that, and secretly wished he could run around stark naked in his own home if he could. oMztwe

He thought he had done a fairly good job keeping up the act, but who could have thought that he would get even closer to his ex-husband after their divorce and end up exposing his ‘shamelessness’.

And now he’s done it. They’ve already slept together and the bonds between them were impossible to unravel at this point.

Maybe this is what they meant by the saying “tell a lie to find the truth”?

That was a bit too literal, right…? hGLvod

“What’s on your mind?” Chu Yao asked. “And what does he think about all this?”

“Who knows.” Tong Qiu thought about it for a moment, then added, “Based on what I’ve seen, he probably just wants to be fuckbuddies!”

After all, Huo Zhixing had said, ‘If Tong-laoshi wants to hook up in the future, he doesn’t need to bother finding someone else. I’m always available, satisfaction guaranteed’.

Chu Yao let out an “uh-oh” and shut up. XNorvz

“Whatever, just let it be.” Tong Qiu’s ass still hurt and his brain was too tired to think. “Everything will be alright if I just go with the flow. Let fate decide what happens between us.”

Although he spoke of fate, Tong Qiu’s heart was still unsettled and he thought, ‘to hell with being fuckbuddies, Tong-laoshi isn’t someone you can play around with’.

—

The aforementioned Tong-laoshi stopped by the pharmacy in his neighbourhood and bought a small tube of ointment. He decided to head home and apply some in front of the mirror – he was pretty sure Huo Zhixing had completely wrecked him in that particular spot. VGnbfK

Come to think of it, Huo Zhixing was one hell of a guy – after wreaking such havoc, he had simply washed his hands of the destruction and left.

Fuming, Tong Qiu gritted his teeth and made his way home. When he lifted his gaze, he found himself face to face with his mortal enemy – Fang Baicheng.

Tong Qiu hadn’t seen him around for a while and had almost forgotten him. The man was like the devil himself – speak of him and he was bound to appear.

“I’ve waited for you for a long time.” s1I5SK

“…Is there a problem?”

“I haven’t seen you in so long. I missed you like crazy.” Fang Baicheng pulled out a small box from his pants pocket. “A present for you. Don’t reject me.”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Tong Qiu said to himself, ‘What the fuck, does this dude have to go this far?’

Fang Baicheng had a ring in his hand and while Tong Qiu was still recovering from his shock, he had already knelt on one knee. His face was full of sincerity as he said, “Tong Qiu, Chu Yao told me that you don’t like me, but I still feel that when it comes to matters of the heart, it’s worth fighting for. I fell for you the moment I laid eyes on you and in all these years, this is the first time I’ve fallen for someone so hard.” H9 Oa5

“Stop,” Tong Qiu said, “You’re not taking this seriously. You don’t understand me at all.”

“I do understand you,” Fang Baicheng replied. “I know that you might not react well to this kind of behaviour but I’ve already found out everything I possibly can about you. I don’t mind that you’re divorced and I’ll treat you well, so all you have to do is be with me.”

“…I don’t approve of your wording. What do you mean ‘you don’t mind that i’m divorced’? So what if I’m divorced?” Tong Qiu said, his temper rising.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” Fang Baicheng explained, “Tong Qiu, I think you should give it a try and accept my feelings. I’m positive I can make you happy.” 82qOsF

“No thanks,” Tong Qiu stepped around him and continued towards his apartment. “It’s not going to work out.”

Fang Baicheng trailed after him and was about to follow him into the building, but Tong Qiu spun around and blocked his way. “Can you stop following me? You’re honestly acting like…”

Tong Qiu didn’t really want to use words like ‘pervert’ or ‘stalker’ or ‘peeping tom’ to describe Fang Baicheng since it would be hurtful. However, Fang Baicheng’s behaviour was starting to scare him and normally speaking, an ordinary person was no match against a lunatic.

“It’s no good,” Tong Qiu said. “There’s no chance of anything happening between us because my ex-husband and I are about to remarry.” cyM6Tk

Fang Baicheng had been wearing a hopeful expression but upon hearing the word ‘remarry’, his mental state was immediately shattered.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious,” Tong Qiu said. “I spent the night at his place yesterday. Today, I only came back to pick up a few things and I’m going to move back pretty soon. Look, the clothes I’m wearing right now are his, too.”

Tong Qiu pushed Fang Baicheng away. He wanted to shut the door to the building and hurry back home. “Don’t come looking for me again.” ehLRfn

As Tong Qiu reached out, Fang Baicheng grabbed him by the wrist.

Night had already fallen and the skies had darkened. It was too dark for Tong Qiu to see clearly so he stumbled and fell to the floor. The fall made his already-smarting ass hurt even more and he grumbled under his breath. Before he could get up, Fang Baicheng had grabbed hold of him and began to drag him towards a pitch-black passageway.

“Fang Baicheng, are you out of your mind?” Although Tong Qiu had an aching butt and didn’t have much strength, he was still around six-foot tall and a man, too. As he was being dragged into the passageway, he clutched the handrail and gave Fang Baicheng a ruthless kick.

“I told you to stay away from me!” Tong Qiu said furiously. The little wildcat had become a little leopard. After delivering the kick, Tong Qiu called the police. fh5BVF

However, he didn’t dial the emergency number. Instead, he called the number for Sanhu Police Station, which he had already memorized by heart.

The person who picked up just so happened to be Zhao Heyu.

Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

Tong Qiu said, “Hello, can I ask if you guys deal with perverts and stalkers?”

Zhao Heyu hadn’t recognized Tong Qiu by his voice and was still puzzling over how someone had managed to call the station’s direct line. However, he set his confusion aside and replied, “Yes, we can handle it. What’s the situation?” 2U5qCT

“My name is Tong Qiu and I live at Huchuan Fengjing Zone 1. There’s a pervert who’s been stalking me for a while now and he’s trapped me inside a staircase. I’ve kicked him down.”

It took a while for Zhao Heyu to react to his words.

“Excuse me, sir, but what was your name again?”

“Tong Qiu.” jaNl4r

As soon as Tong Qiu finished speaking, Zhao Heyu hollered at the top of his lungs on the other end, “Shifu! Something’s happened to shimu!”

—

Huo Zhixing and Zhao Heyu rushed to Tong Qiu’s place as quickly as a raging wildfire. Fang Baicheng was sitting gravely on a step with drooping ears, his eyes filled with shame and resentment. One of his hands was even tied to the handrail with a belt.

“What happened here?” As soon as Huo Zhixing cast eyes upon the scene, he grinned. kAZhrg

Tong Qiu was standing off to the side, his legs pressed tightly together for fear that his loosened pants would fall down. When he heard Huo Zhixing’s voice, he put away his phone and looked up. “I helped you catch a stalker. Does that count as a contribution to society?”

Tong Qiu was still burning with anger. He had never encountered the likes of Fang Baicheng before.

Maybe there was something wrong with Fang Baicheng’s mental state and he had just been unlucky enough to have bore the brunt of it.

Huo Zhixing’s eyes gave a silent signal and Zhao Heyu obediently went over to deal with Fang Baicheng. Huo Zhixing strolled casually towards Tong Qiu, who was standing in the corner with a face full of rage, and gave Tong-laoshi a once-over. Grinning, he said, “You look good in my clothes.” Kkx67w

Fang Baicheng, who had been explaining himself to Zhao Heyu over on the other side, overheard him and suddenly became riled up. “What the fuck did you say?”

Huo Zhixing had had enough of Fang Baicheng’s curses and turned with a smile on his lips. “Dude, I’m just chatting with my partner. What’s got you so worked up?”

Fang Baicheng spun around and made to leap at Huo Zhixing, but was immediately restrained by Zhao Heyu. Zhao Heyu hadn’t planned on cuffing him, but the man seemed like he could easily explode at the press of a wrong button, which meant he was someone who posed a serious threat. He dug out his handcuffs and secured them around Fang Baicheng’s hands. “I’m telling you, stop making a scene. You really wanna attack an officer? Looks to me like you can’t wait to be locked up for a few days.”

Tong Qiu gazed unblinkingly back at Huo Zhixing and there was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. When he had heard Huo Zhixing say ‘my partner’, he was surprised to find that he was rather pleased. VKG7tw

“Hey,” Tong Qiu said. “Isn’t this neighbourhood outside the district that your station is in charge of? Will you be able to deal with him?”

“Of course,” Huo Zhixing said. “This neighbourhood is outside our jurisdiction but you’re still under my jurisdiction. If someone bothers you, how can I not deal with it?”

Please visit chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

— KHo529

The author has something to say:

Tong Qiu: What kind of nonsense is a little officer like you spouting?

______ KhG5L8

Translator’s note

Thanks for reading! It seems like the votes for the audio drama cuts are unanimous so I’ll start subbing once IRL isn’t as busy! 

Once again, I just want to stress that the police officers depicted in this novel are very idealized and shouldn’t be confused with the atrocities that IRL police officers have committed. I understand that novels are an escape for many people (myself included), but if you do find the time I encourage you to learn about BLM and racism/police brutality faced by black and POC communities.