It’s Okay to Divorce - Chapter 02

Chapter 02

“!!”

The man’s breath brushed against her earlobe, warm and teasing.

Even though they had intimate contact during filming, this off-script action of his, with him leaning down, felt overly ambiguous.

She could even feel the scorching gazes from the others on set.

She maintained her smile, meeting Zou Tingshen’s eyes. The man’s handsome, profound features were inches away.

Zou Tingshen? What the hell are you doing?

Just because you’re handsome, you can do whatever you want?

To avoid giving others the wrong impression, Mu Mian kept her smile gracious and composed. She patted his shoulder lightly and muttered through gritted teeth, “Don’t you think this request is ridiculous? Hyping up a scandal?”

Heh.

“Rehearsing the kiss scene.” Zou Tingshen straightened up, his face expressionless.

“…………”

He said it so matter-of-factly.

A man and a woman alone in a room? Rehearsing a kiss scene?

Zou Tingshen’s voice was slightly cool, his tone upright and unyielding, without any sleazy undertones. “The kiss scene is our weak point. I hope we can overcome it together.”

He made it sound so damn righteous.

Zou Tingshen continued in his gentlemanly tone, “Of course, besides us, the director and both our agents will be present to avoid any gossip.”

Mu Mian glanced at him sideways. “You’ve thought this through pretty thoroughly.”

“If you agree to the proposal, give me a straight answer. I don’t like it when people back out.” Zou Tingshen’s voice was faint.

“Fine.” Zou Tingshen was dedicated to his craft, and Mu Mian wasn’t far behind.

Seeing his sincere invitation, she didn’t make a fuss about it.

The kiss scene was indeed her weak spot—one of the black marks in her acting career over the years.

She’d won Best Actress through accumulated sweat and effort. Her looks and figure were natural gifts, but earning everyone’s recognition was the reward for her hard work.

With Zou the Movie Emperor’s cold personality, if he were actually interested in a woman, that would be a miracle.

After all, what straight guy could resist kissing the opposite s3x?

His orientation must be questionable.

That evening, Feng Weijian treated the cast to dinner to help the two new actors get familiar with everyone.

Yun Pei sat to Zou Tingshen’s left, chatting with him from time to time.

She’d chatter ten sentences, and Zou Tingshen, out of courtesy, would respond with one. He showed no impatience; toward newcomers, his attitude was quite humble.

The second male lead, Fu Yu, sat beside Mu Mian. After hesitating for a long time, his face flushed red as he struck up a conversation: “Mu… Teacher Mu, I really like your work.”

He spoke like a shy young boy, but from today’s performance on set, his acting wasn’t bad.

Feng Weijian had a good eye—this kid looked mature, and once in character, he transformed, especially with the white coat adding to his gentle aura.

Mu Mian smiled with pursed lips. “Thanks for the support.”

Perhaps because she often played queenly roles, even while eating with a mild demeanor, she exuded an invisible pressure that Fu Yu felt.

The young guy was nervous, his hand trembling as he held his chopsticks.

Feng Weijian encouraged everyone to have some drinks. Mu Mian’s tolerance wasn’t great, so she only had one glass.

Since they had to rehearse the kiss scene that night, Zou Tingshen also drank sparingly.

Feng Weijian couldn’t hold his liquor but loved to drink, so by the end of the meal, he was plastered.

Back at the hotel that night, Mu Mian grabbed her script and knocked on Zou Tingshen’s door as agreed.

He opened it quickly, dressed properly in a white shirt and black trousers, minus the tie, giving him a more casual vibe.

He stepped aside to let Mu Mian in. Since the agents and director hadn’t arrived yet, Zou Tingshen left the door open to avoid any awkward atmosphere in the room.

Zou Tingshen’s room had the same layout as hers—a suite with two living areas and a bathroom.

The only difference was that his felt lived-in, like a home. An upside-down book lay on the desk with a pair of glasses beside it, under a bright lamp.

Something seemed to be cooking in the kitchen, filling the air with a delicious aroma.

Turning hotel rooms into homes—Mu Mian had to admire that.

Zou Tingshen went into the open kitchen and brewed her some rose tea, turning to ask, “Rose tea—with sugar?”

“One cube of rock sugar, thanks.” Mu Mian stared at the man’s tall back.

He placed the tea on the coffee table, then returned to the kitchen to stir the sugary broth in the pot.

As soon as he lifted the lid, the room filled with the scent of stewed chicken.

Mu Mian… suddenly felt hungry.

She shifted her gaze elsewhere.

Fresh lucky bamboo was arranged in a vase on the dining table, and the sofa she sat on had a light-colored cushion—clearly added by the owner.

The room’s temperature was just right, neither cool nor hot, truly feeling like home.

As a celebrity, Zou Tingshen was living a “normal” life of everyday chores.

She actually felt a bit envious.

Zou Tingshen turned the heat down to simmer the chicken soup.

He grabbed his script and went over lines with Mu Mian, then checked his phone and said, “Director Feng is drunk and can’t make it tonight. Xu Lin will be here soon. Will Miss Ming come?”

“Ming Wei went to buy something; she’ll be here shortly. Hey, Zou Tingshen,” Mu Mian scanned his room again and sighed, “You sure know how to make yourself at home.”

“Life is your own.” Zou Tingshen added some water to her cup, his tone light. “Not everyone is like you, Miss Mu—acting both on and off the screen.”

His words were soft, but Mu Mian found them grating.

Zou Tingshen poured himself a cup, his long fingers gripping the black teacup as he sipped delicately.

Mu Mian sensed a subtext, and recalling how he’d vomited after their kiss, she thought he was deliberately trying to disgust her. Her chest tightened.

She sipped her water, shot him a sideways glance, and asked, “How much disgust are you swallowing to work with me?”

“Miss Mu, how disgusted do you want me to be with you?” Zou Tingshen didn’t answer directly but countered.

With Ming Wei absent, Mu Mian couldn’t keep up her queenly facade; her true nature showed in front of Zou Tingshen.

She slammed her cup down on the table. “If you have a problem with me, just say it outright. No need for this—hey, why are you glaring at me?”

Zou Tingshen’s face showed no emotion. “Oh? You think I’m glaring at you?”

Wasn’t he? Staring at her without blinking, with such cold eyes—wasn’t that a glare?

Mu Mian thought Zou Tingshen was doing it on purpose.

“Heh… Just because you’re handsome, you can glare at girls however you want? Keep glaring, and if I get pregnant, can you take responsibility?” Mu Mian had no interest in rehearsing lines anymore. She grabbed her script and stood up. “I’m not in the mood tonight. We’re not doing this. Now it’s not you who’s disgusted by me—it’s me who’s disgusted by you!”

Zou Tingshen stood as well, looking at the puffed-up, angry girl with a hint of helplessness.

In front of him, Mu Mian’s personality was different from how she acted around others.

She was clearly an immature big girl at heart, yet she insisted on packaging herself as a mature imperial sister—how tiring must that be?

When angry, Mu Mian liked to puff out her cheeks, her dark eyes wide and round, black pupils shining brightly, misty with moisture.

Moments after she spoke, a sharp cramp gripped her abdomen.

Mu Mian broke out in a sweat from the pain, clutching her stomach as she sank back onto the sofa, her face contorted in agony.

The abrupt change made Zou Tingshen’s brows knit tightly. He steadied her shoulder and asked: “What’s wrong?”

“It hurts… my stomach hurts so much…” Mu Mian’s face was ashen. She turned away and asked him: “Zou Tingshen, did you drug my water? Even for revenge, this is too much!”

Her attitude toward him stemmed from his initial disrespect.

Vomiting right after kissing her in front of everyone—even the forums were buzzing: Movie Queen Mu has serious bad breath; Movie Emperor Zou puked after one kiss!

As a girl, how could she endure such humiliation?

Her abdomen swelled suddenly, ballooning larger and larger.

Even the usually unflappable Zou Tingshen showed shock on his face. “You… your stomach.”

“My stomach hurts so much…”

Mu Mian looked down, horrified as her abdomen swelled to the size of a seven-month pregnancy.

She didn’t even care that Zou Tingshen was a man; she lifted her shirt, staring at her round belly, mouth agape in shock, eyes rolling back as she fainted.

Zou Tingshen pinched her philtrum, and she soon woke up.

In her panic, she grabbed Zou Tingshen’s earlobe. “Zou Tingshen, tell me this is an illusion—I’m dreaming!!!”

Zou Tingshen furrowed his brows, regretfully informing her: “It’s real.”

Mu Mian’s lips trembled, and she burst into tears.

“I’ll take you to the hospital.”

With Mu Mian’s sudden “illness,” Zou Tingshen didn’t dare delay. He stood immediately, grabbing his phone and wallet.

At the door, he paused, seeing the empty hallway, then reached back to close it.

They couldn’t go out like this—they were both high-profile targets, and reporters might be lurking downstairs.

Zou Tingshen returned to the room, pulled out a black tracksuit, changed quickly, and donned a baseball cap, sunglasses, and mask… fully disguised.

He grabbed a bath towel from the bathroom and wrapped it around Mu Mian’s head like a headscarf.

Everything ready, he supported Mu Mian out the door.

In the elevator, they stood together.

Mu Mian leaned against Zou Tingshen, clutching her stomach and moaning.

The attendant noticed and asked, “Sir, do you need me to call a doctor?”

“Thanks, but could you hail a car for us to the hospital?” The attendant smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

The attendant called a car and personally saw them off.

Only after the car drove off did the attendant react.

That voice… sounded like Zou Tingshen? And that pregnant woman… looked so much like Mu Mian?

The thought swirled in her mind for a moment before she shook her head.

Impossible—why would Zou Tingshen take a pregnant woman to the hospital in the dead of night? And how could Mu Mian have a big belly?

At the hospital, they arrived discreetly.

Zou Tingshen contacted his private doctor, Su Xing.

Su Xing looked at Movie Queen Mu writhing in pain on the chair, too busy for gossip, and examined her first.

He moved the stethoscope over Mu Mian’s belly, his brows furrowing deeply.

A moment later, Su Xing put away the stethoscope, pulled him aside, and scolded: “Zou Tingshen, what the hell? Mu Mian’s belly is this big, and you didn’t even notice she was pregnant?”

“Pregnant??” Zou Tingshen’s stern face showed a moment of daze.

He was momentarily stunned.

Su Xing glanced at him sideways. “The entertainment industry is getting messier by the day. I saw the news about your new drama starting up the other day—I thought Mu Mian’s seven-month belly was padded with cotton. Didn’t expect it was real, with your kid?”

Zou Tingshen cut him off sharply: “Impossible.”

“What the—??” Su Xing leaned in, whispering: “It’s not yours?”

“…………” To protect Movie Queen Mu’s reputation, Zou Tingshen changed the subject. “Find an OB-GYN first, give her a full check-up. Be discreet—you know our identities.”

“Look at how tense you are. If it’s not yours, why so nervous?” Su Xing patted his shoulder. “We’ve been through thick and thin—this much, I can handle. Wait here; I’ll arrange it.”

Su Xing set them up in obstetrics.

Two hours later.

The obstetrics director came personally with the report: “The baby is seven months along, very healthy. It’s just normal fetal movement, Miss Mu—no need to worry.”

The director glanced at Zou Tingshen, then at the pale-faced Mu Mian on the bed. Unable to contain her excitement at seeing celebrities, she cleared her throat and gossiped: “You two? When did you get married?”

Zou Tingshen’s eyes flickered, his voice overlapping with Mu Mian’s weak one: “How could I possibly marry her (him)!”

The director and Su Xing were both stunned.

Realizing his gaffe, Zou Tingshen fell silent.

Su Xing saw Zou Tingshen’s lips pressed tight and nudged the director: “Hey, Director Qin, you’re a grandma now—stop being so nosy, okay?”

“Being a grandma means I can’t be a fan? That’s not how it works!” Director Qin shot Su Xing a look, then turned to Zou Tingshen. “Mr. Zou, my granddaughter is a big fan of yours. Could you sign something?”

Zou Tingshen nodded, took the pen, and dashed off a stylish signature on the paper.

After the director left, Su Xing patted his shoulder again. “Your wife seems pretty unhappy with you. Go coax her—I’ll handle the patients next door.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The ward door closed, leaving just him and Mu Mian.

He walked over as Mu Mian struggled to sit up, looking at him: “Zou Tingshen, this is impossible—I can’t be pregnant!!”

“The hospital’s advanced equipment tells us there’s indeed a child in your belly.” Though Zou Tingshen couldn’t believe this fantastical fact either, it had happened.

Mu Mian had indeed ballooned in an instant.

Overwhelmed with fear, Mu Mian seized Zou Tingshen’s wrist, shaking it as she sobbed, “Impossible, impossible—I’m still a virgin! How could I be pregnant? Even if I were, it couldn’t swell to seven months in a split second! This can’t be!”

The girl cried like a storm, tears soaking her cheeks, her face glistening.

Zou Tingshen stared at her belly, suddenly feeling a pang of softness. “Calm down.”

“How can I calm down? You’re not the one with the big belly! You can’t understand how I feel!” Mu Mian cried hysterically. “How am I supposed to face people now? How can I keep acting? If this belly stays like this forever, my career is over!”

Zou Tingshen pressed his hands on her shoulders, using his strength to restrain her and force her to calm down.

After muttering to herself for a bit, Mu Mian thought of something and suddenly yanked his ears, eyes red as she demanded: “Zou Tingshen! Are you an alien? Whoever you glare at gets pregnant? Did you glare at my belly this big!!!”

Zou Tingshen’s ears ached from the pull: “…”

Does this girl really enjoy yanking ears?

Mu Mian shouted at the top of her lungs, “Zou, you bastard! You saw this kid grow—tell me, what now?”

Zou Tingshen’s brows furrowed deeply. He pondered in silence for a moment, then lifted his gaze to meet Mu Mian’s tear-filled eyes. “Have it. We’ll marry. I’ll be the father.”