It’s Okay to Divorce - Chapter 06

Chapter 06

Mu Mian: “…”

Ming Wei closed the video and turned her head to look at Mu Mian, who was banging her head against the table.

She set down her laptop and patted her shoulder. “Mianmian, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Every woman goes through this step—you’re just doing it in a more fantastical way. Study up properly and take good care of the baby.”

Mu Mian lifted her head, forced a dry laugh, and inexplicably started humming, “It’s me overthinking things…”

“…Has pregnancy brain hit you?” Ming Wei reached over to feel her forehead and let out a sigh.

Zou Tingshen caught on to what Mu Mian meant and sent a “smile” emoji, explaining: “Prenatal education video.”

Mu Mian: “I know, I know. I was just joking with you earlier.”

“(smile emoji), (smile emoji).” After sending the emojis, Zou Tingshen added: “Miss Mu, some things aren’t convenient for us right now, but once you’ve given birth, I can cooperate with you.”

“!!!!!!”

So, she hadn’t misunderstood that line, right??

Mu Mian covered her face. That sentence from Zou Tingshen definitely meant that! The Film Emperor looked all proper on the surface, but he wasn’t exactly a straight-laced guy, huh? Hehehe…

Ming Wei asked her, “By the way, Mianmian, how’s your belly feeling? Any discomfort? When my sister was pregnant, her morning sickness was awful. How come you haven’t shown any typical pregnancy symptoms?”

It was true. Aside from the belly pain, Mu Mian hadn’t experienced any of the usual pregnancy reactions.

Could the thing in her belly… really be like Nezha?

Her stomach was already this big—even if it was an alien, she’d have to give birth to it. She couldn’t just take some medicine to abort the child.

Ming Wei paused, then said, “How about this: let’s make an appointment with a doctor tonight, and I’ll go with you for a prenatal checkup? Since you’ve decided to keep it, we need to take it seriously. What do you say, Mianmian?”

Mu Mian thought that made sense. She figured the child was Zou Tingshen’s responsibility too, so she relayed Ming Wei’s idea to him.

Zou Tingshen replied quickly on WeChat: “I’ll go with you tonight. Ming Wei doesn’t need to come.”

Ming Wei and Xu Lin were both agents, after all—not actors. Even if they disguised themselves, they’d be easy to spot.

Zou Tingshen and Mu Mian were different. As top actors, they could nail any role effortlessly. In disguise, they’d be relatively safe and less likely to be noticed by reporters.

Before the makeup session for filming, the crew’s makeup team was utterly baffled.

A staff member asked Mu Mian, “Sister Mu, when did you put on this belly?”

Mu Mian smiled and explained, “Oh, from now on, you won’t need to worry about handling this belly. My special effects makeup artist will take care of it.”

Through the layer of sheer fabric on her top, the supervisor noted how realistic the belly’s texture looked. She asked, “Sister Mu, your makeup artist is amazing—it looks so lifelike. Can I touch it?”

Mu Mian’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Of course you can.”

The staff member reached out and felt her “rubber belly,” letting out a “Whoa!” “Sister Mu, the texture feels so real too.” She patted Mu Mian’s belly lightly—not too hard, but enough to cause a big ripple in her stomach.

Mu Mian felt like she’d been hit hard, her face turning pale.

The staff member asked, “Sister Mu, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” Mu Mian managed, “at all.”

There were more than just Mu Mian in the makeup room; several other actors were there too.

Zou Tingshen was also getting made up nearby, and through the mirror, the scene made his heart race with fear.

His makeup artist asked, “Teacher Zou, are you nervous? Why are you sweating so much?”

Zou Tingshen stared into the mirror, glancing toward Mu Mian, and said flatly, “It’s a bit hot.”

The makeup room was crowded with prying eyes, so he couldn’t talk to Mu Mian directly. He picked up his phone and sent her a WeChat message: “How’s the belly?”

“It hurt a bit just now, but it’s much better,” Mu Mian replied.

Zou Tingshen’s suspended heart finally settled, and he let out a heavy sigh of relief before sending, “Be careful.”

He hadn’t even put his phone away when a cup of water suddenly appeared in front of him.

He turned to see who was offering it, politely took it, set it on the makeup table, and said, “Thanks.”

“No need,” Yun Pei said as she pulled over a stool and sat down beside him, leaning in to ask, “Teacher Zou, this afternoon’s scene is with you. It’s pretty important, and I’m a bit nervous about messing it up. Can we run through the lines first?”

Zou Tingshen nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”

This scene was where the second female lead, Qin Fei, confessed to the male lead, Mo Shao.

In a torrential downpour, Qin Fei blocked his car, crying her eyes out like pear blossoms in the rain.

Yun Pei tucked away her excited expression and started gathering her emotions, tears coming on cue: “Mo Shao, I’ve followed you for so many years—even gave up great promotion opportunities—and this is how you treat me?”

Zou Tingshen furrowed his brows, his face showing undisguised disgust. “You gave up promotions to become a highly educated mistress? Impressive skills.” As per the script, he reached out to pat the girl’s shoulder. “Keep it up—aim to become a legendary mistress.”

His acting was so natural, the sarcasm seeping from his bones—his eyes chilling to the core.

Even the nearby makeup artist couldn’t help but applaud this short rehearsal!

The lines were killer, and Zou Tingshen delivered them with such intensity, perfectly capturing that satisfying jab at the homewrecker.

Yun Pei’s immersion wasn’t deep at first, but Zou Tingshen pulled her right into the abyss, making her heart twist.

She snapped out of the scene, rubbing her chest as she said to Zou Tingshen, “Teacher Zou, you’re amazing—I almost really believed I was the villain in the story. My dad says I should learn more from you to improve my acting. Teacher Zou, are you free tonight? My father’s visiting the set and wants to invite you to dinner.”

She brought up her father, Yun Haodong, first, thinking the invitation would work, but Zou Tingshen turned her down: “Sorry, I have plans tonight.”

—

Zou Tingshen wasn’t making excuses—he really did have plans.

The crew wrapped early that evening, and Yun Pei had arranged to meet Yun Haodong for dinner at nine.

As Yun Pei headed downstairs, she ran into a migrant worker couple in the elevator.

The man had black hair streaked with bits of white, dark skin, and a scruffy beard. His eyes were dull and lifeless, with a black mole at the corner of his mouth. He was tall but hunched over, wearing a pair of army-green rubber shoes—basically the epitome of rustic.

The man was supporting his pregnant wife.

Yun Pei glanced at the woman with the big belly, dressed in a loose floral maxi skirt and a mask that only revealed her eyes. Her black hair looked greasy, and her cloth shoes matched her husband’s green rubber ones perfectly.

The key thing was… this couple had some unidentified odor about them.

It made Yun Pei nauseous.

She stepped back in disgust, pressing against the elevator corner, pinching her nose as she said to the attendant, “Is this a mistake? Your hotel lets people like this in?”

The attendant glanced at the couple. Sure, it was a five-star hotel, but it wasn’t unheard of for migrant workers to stay there.

The attendant kept smiling. “Sorry, miss, please respect others.”

Yun Pei widened her eyes, glaring at the attendant in a huff. When the elevator doors opened, she stormed out.

The attendant held the sensor door open for the couple, still smiling. “Watch your step—the floor’s slippery.”

The man boomed in a thick Northeastern accent, loud and hearty: “Thanks, big sis!”

The attendant chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

The woman seemed a bit annoyed at the man’s way of speaking.

She grabbed the attendant’s hand too, saying in fluent Sichuanese: “Thanks for sticking up for us! That silly girl was way too arrogant!”

The attendant’s smile turned awkward. “No… no problem, no problem…”

The mix of Northeastern and Sichuan accents… it created an indescribably bizarre vibe.

Once out of the hotel, the two stood by the roadside, hailing a cab.

The woman elbowed the man in the chest. “Not bad, Old Zou—solid acting.”

Zou Tingshen finally straightened his hunched posture, one hand coolly in his pocket as the other flagged down a car. “You’re not half bad yourself.”