Ex-Husband's CallChapter 25.2

Before leaving, Tong Qiu’s gaze inadvertently fell on the lone movie ticket on the coffee table. It was obviously a ticket for a couples seat, but there was only one ticket left. It was almost like Xu Xian, who had been forced to part from his lover, Bai Suzhen.

How pitiful. RyhBQm

Although Huo Zhixing had said that they could buy their own tickets if they wanted to watch a movie together, if they really were to buy their own tickets, it probably wouldn’t be for couples seats…regrettably…

The movie theatre only had a few VIP auditoriums where the last row had couples seats. The other seats were all normal seats, and if it wasn’t for the sake of sitting in a couples seat with his ex-husband, who the heck would willingly watch a movie as trash as Madness of the Tomb!

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Tong Qiu was beyond resentful but despite his complaints, the only person he could blame was himself.

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During break, Feng Kaiwen sidled over to his girlfriend Kan Yue and asked in a low voice, “Did you notice? Tong-ge is particularly excited today.”

Kan Yue glanced over at Tong-laoshi, who had arrived at the classroom early and was preparing for the lesson. “He’s alright, Tong-laoshi’s mood is always pretty good during class.”

Feng Kaiwen raised his index finger and wagged it in front of Kan Yue’s face. “No, no, no, he’s different today. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see.”

Tong-laoshi really was rather excited today and his beloved disciple Feng Kaiwen had hit the nail on the head. And what did teachers do whenever they were excited?

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They tormented their students, of course.

“Normally speaking, when a teacher’s in a good mood or a bad mood, it’s the students who have to bear the brunt of it. I should have known.” Feng Kaiwen wished he could bury his entire face in his test paper.

Tong Qiu was in high spirits today and it was to the point that he decided to select students to recite 'Chang Hen Ge' and 'Song of the Pipa Player' by heart. While the two poems weren’t particularly difficult to pronounce, they sure as hell were long. And because of their length, everyone tried to avoid being picked on.

However, Feng Kaiwen was the ‘chosen one’ according to the heavens and naturally wouldn’t be called upon to recite one of the poems. No, he was called upon to recite both poems. 6CeL97

Thankfully, under Kan Yue’s supervision, he had recently memorized all the poetry vocab words he had once muddled through and managed to escape in one piece.

Tong-laoshi was extremely pleased and even his reaction was exaggerated.

How exaggerated, you ask?

After Feng Kaiwen finished reciting with barely a breath between verses, Tong-laoshi led the class in a warm round of applause. For a moment, Feng Kaiwen almost felt as if he had reverted to an elementary school student. Qq dTK

After class, Feng Kaiwen went up and asked Tong Qiu, “Tong-ge, did you and shimu remarry?”

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 glanced at him from the corner of his eye. “What nonsense are you spouting, little one?”

“Then you must have asked shimu to see a movie tonight, right?”

Kbcu Hle mjra tlw jcbatfg uijcmf. “Qts jgf sbe rb ubrrlqs, ilaaif bcf?” 8Y 3d5

Feng Kaiwen grinned and said, “Tong-ge, your face has the radiance of spring and if one didn’t know better, one would think our class had scored first place on the mock exam.”

Kbcu Hle ibra tlr afwqfg ja atf wfgf wfcalbc bo la.

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“Tbe tjnf atf cfgnf ab ajix jybea la?” Kbcu Hle rabbv jcv jrrewfv tlr ‘tbwfgbbw afjmtfg’ abcf jr tf rjlv, “Ktlcx jybea la, lo sbe sbegrfio tjvc’a qeiifv vbkc atf ijcuejufr jnfgjuf, beg mijrr gfjiis wluta tjnf rmbgfv atf tlutfra wjgxr lc atf ugjvf.”

“It’s no big deal, we’re only 0.5 points below first place!” Feng Kaiwen was actually pretty optimistic. wqce8p

“Only 0.5 points?” Tong Qiu said. “The list of people who are 0.5 points short on the entrance exams is long enough to circle the earth.”

Feng Kaiwen chuckled and didn’t dare fish for anymore gossip for fear that Tong-ge would ensnare him in another lecture. He backed away and said, “I’ll try harder next time. There’s another mock exam next week and I’ll make you proud then.”

Tong Qiu was pleased with his response. “You’re a perceptive young man. Best of luck. As your teacher, I look forward to you turning the tide.”

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If even Feng Kaiwen had noticed Tong-laoshi’s excitement, then he really must be excited.

Their date was in the evening but ever since he finished lunch, Tong Qiu had started glancing at his watch every so often to see if it was 4 o’clock yet, which was when Huo Zhixing was supposed to get off work.

A teacher that he got along fairly well with smiled and joked, “Tong-laoshi, do you have a date tonight?”

Feng Kaiwen – the little brat – had already exposed him to the rest of the office and revealed that he had gotten a divorce, which was why no one had dared ask Tong Qiu about his love life recently. The teachers liked to gossip too and everyone always secretly talked about other teachers behind their backs. pza0Et

Because Tong Qiu had been the only person in the office in a same-sex marriage, everyone had thought if it as some sort of novelty. The teachers that were close to him were happy to chat about it with Tong Qiu and joke around with him when they had nothing pressing to do. However, once they found out about his divorce, they hadn’t brought up the topic again.

When Tong Qiu heard the word ‘date’, he waved a hand and explained, “No, no, there’s no such thing.”

His mouth may be trying to give an explanation but his pleased smile gave him away.

The teacher didn’t believe him but didn’t question him further. Blfix5

Tong Qiu sat there and mulled over the teacher’s words. It was only an invitation to watch a movie but when you think about it, it really did sound like a date.

He suddenly felt as if he was a once again a student in the throes of young love. It was almost like they were in different classrooms and were counting down the seconds until class ended. The restlessness of youth suddenly coursed through his body.

However, Tong Qiu hadn’t dated when he was in high school. When he was around seventeen or eighteen, he had his heart set on ‘stargazing’. To put it more bluntly, he was too busy fantasizing about celebrities, such as certain athletes.

Back then, Tong Qiu’s standards had been incredibly high and he had felt that the boys around him were far too disappointing. None of them were tall, handsome and sexy, nor did they have the physical strength of real men. And since there were no candidates in his everyday life, he could only fantasize about athletes. 9Jp6aL

But who could have known that someone from his fantasies would actually appear? The ‘someone’ in question was Officer Huo.

Officer Huo was tall, handsome and sexy. Plus, he had a good physique and even wore a uniform.

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Two months after his divorce, Tong Qiu finally came to the realization that his ex-husband was actually the type of partner he had dreamed of when he was in his teens. However, Tong Qiu had been wasteful with what was given to him and didn’t know how to cherish the treasures he was already carrying in his arms. And it was only now that he belatedly realized that Huo Zhixing was exactly his type.

Human nature was both deaf and blind – that’s what Tong Qiu told himself, at least. 5McFEC

Although he had said it wasn’t a date and that he wasn’t looking forward to it all, Tong Qiu continued to glance at his watch every few minutes.

He thought of the story of ‘The Little Prince’ and what the Fox had said to the little prince: If you say that you’ll come at four o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock, I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances.”

He realized that he was even more of a fool compared to the little fox. The little prince had said 4 o’clock so the little fox began feeling happy at 3 o’clock. However, Huo Zhixing said he’d call at four and yet Tong Qiu had already begun anticipating the call the night before.

Tong Qiu said self-mockingly, “Wake up, Tong Qiu. You were the one who asked for a divorce and basically shot yourself in the foot. Hurts, doesn’t it?” 5EK17p

Although his pen was in his hand, he wasn’t in the mood to solve any of the problems on the page. He had intended on handing this set of test papers to the brats tomorrow for them to work on. Before handing them out, the teacher usually did the test themselves. However, Tong-laoshi didn’t feel like answering the test problems at all and simply wanted to sit there and wait for his ex-husband to come get him.

As they say, dating someone really was detrimental to one’s studies.

Tong-laoshi couldn’t settle down so he pulled out his earphones and decided to listen to some music as he worked through the problems. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by thoughts of a lover when there was real work to be done. He put on the earphones and turned on the device, then picked a playlist at random and put it on shuffle.

A familiar female voice sounded and it sang: 'There were a thousand words that I didn’t have a chance to say. My tears have long overflowed and ever since then, I have been fascinated by that station. How many times have I watched foolishly…' Il7T5e

When the song mentioned ‘station’, he thought of how the two of them had gone to a bus station to avoid the rain.

And when the song mentioned ‘watched foolishly’, he turned his head and gazed out the window.

Tong-laoshi pulled off his earphones. He couldn’t listen to another word because even the music was telling him not to work anymore – he should simply let the ants in his pants run wild.

The entire universe was hinting at just how much Tong-laoshi was longing to see Officer Huo. PBmhQk

Tong-laoshi, whose yearning could no longer be endured, finally received a call at 4:05 pm. It was from Officer Huo, the ex-husband he had abandoned but was now trying to win back.

“Are you at school?” Huo Zhixing asked.

Tong Qiu did his best to make his voice sound calm and unwavering. He refused to give away just how much he had been anticipating this call – it was much too embarrassing. a Tzpr

“Mm. You just got off work?” Tong Qiu’s tone sounded as serene as ever, but his heart was beating so quickly it was as if he had just run three kilometres.

What an absolute failure, Tong Qiu thought to himself.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

He felt that the current him lacked the calm steadiness of a mature adult and couldn’t live up to the title of ‘teacher of the people’.

“Yes, I’m on my way to the school right now. I’ll give you a call when I’m there,” Huo Zhixing said. “I already bought the tickets but didn’t manage to buy it for the previous showing. The tickets are for the showing right after and is about an hour later – is that okay?” geQI6L

“Mm-hm, that’s fine.” Tong Qiu didn’t care at all about the movie’s start time and it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t watch that trash movie at all. The important thing was that they would be together. “We can have dinner first and then shop around for a bit.”

It was kind of funny when he thought about it. They didn’t shop around a single time during their year of marriage. Despite being gay, Huo Zhixing seemed almost like a stereotypical heterosexual to Tong Qiu. He never windowshopped and rotated through the same set of clothes – it was all rather boring.

On second thought, Huo Zhixing was usually wearing his uniform anyway. Tong Qiu, on the other hand, would die for a catwalk to strut down. Even when he was only going to school and couldn’t wear anything extreme or beautifully tailored, he still changed into a new outfit every day. To him, the act was a basic requirement and represented a young person’s personal accomplishment.

Of course, he still loved it when Huo Zhixing wore a uniform and had, on numerous occasions, tried on the uniform in secret when he was at home alone. MCq1Vd

“Sounds good,” Huo Zhixing said. “I’m getting in the car now, I’ll be there soon. Wait for me.”

Tong Qiu was beyond pleased when he heard the words ‘wait for me’. It was as if all his hopes and prayers were answered – the little rose had finally found out that the little prince had returned.

After hanging up, Tong Qiu began pondering over a very mundane question: was he the fox or was he the rose?

  OzHPh7

Translator’s note

Thanks so much for reading! As a treat, I’ve subbed another cut from the audio drama and you can find the ‘bar scene’ here! I will be subbing more cuts going forward so if you want to be notified as soon as a new video is released, you can check out the Chrysanthemum Garden Discord channel, subscribe on YouTube, or follow me on Twitter!

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.  CpXVZn

Translator's Note

two lovers in the Legend of the White Snake

Translator's Note

poems by Bai Juyi

Translator's Note

master’s wife, referring to Huo Zhixing

Translator's Note

lyrics from the song ‘Farewell Station’ by Vicki Zhao

Leave a Comment

17 comments

  1. Tong Qiu is more excited now that when he marry Huo Zhixing, I bet. They’re finally behaving like themselves.

    Poor students, they’re going to suffer from now on 😂

    Thanks for the chapter! And for the new audio clip!

    • Yes! TQ’s eagerness is really cute and I love the ~first date feel of it. Haha unfortunately the kiddos will have to bear the brunt of their teacher’s mood swings;;;; Thanks so much for reading and commenting! 🥰🥰

  2. “Wait for me.” AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OFFICER HUO, SO SEXY 😍😍

    On another note, Tong Qiu getting all excited like a student was seriously refreshing and cute! ☺ Feng Kaiwen digging holes for himself is gold!

    Thanks for the chapter!! 😚

    • ahaha yes Officer Huo definitely knows what he’s doing 😉 Feng Kaiwen’s antics crack me up a lot too so I’m glad you enjoyed it too! Thanks so much for reading :DD

  3. Ahh Tong laoshi is so cute 😁😁

    Thank you for the chapter and the new audio drama clip ❤❤

  4. I can’t seem to find the words but i was smiling the entire time i was reading ☺ thanks so much for your translation ❤

    • Ahh thanks so much for reading! This novel has made me smile a lot too so I’m thrilled that someone else could share that bit of happiness while reading too! <3

  5. Hi Translator-san,

    I am Arnelle From Indonesia. This novel is very interesting and cute! I therefore want to ask permission^^ Can I translate your project into Indonesian?

    I will translate it into my Wattpad account And thank you in advance😊 Have a good day.

    I will waiting Your Reply😄

    • Hi Arnelle,

      Thanks for reaching out. As I mentioned on the table of contents page, I prefer not to have my projects re-translated. When I translate from Chinese to English, there are certain idioms and phrasing changes I make for the sake of flow, which means the original meaning could be lost when re-translated. If you want to translate, it would be better if you translate directly from Chinese instead. Please kindly do not use my translations for your re-translations, thanks!

  6. If you think about it though, the fox was left behind and the rose died. Either way is a bad en😢😖😞

  7. This sort of gives me a perspective. Divorce isn’t allowed in my country, so we’re kinda forced to tell our partners what our preferences in bed are. On the other hand, if you have an abusive husband, till death (or if you’re rich enough to afford an annulment) do you part. Sometimes there’s literally someone dying. I appreciate that our MC has been having an epiphany. He really took too much for granted.