Marrying My Ex-Wife's Mortal Enemy (GL) - Chapter 14

On just her second day at work, Dou Huan stumbled upon her boss and a senior colleague having an affair. Feeling like her ears had been tainted beyond recovery, she refused to suffer alone—so she dragged Qi Yue out for a meal to vent.

“Hahahahahahaha—!”

Qi Yue was pratically laughing so hard, any semblance of ladylike decorum long gone. She looked possessed by some meme spirit, gasping for breath between laughs.

Dou Huan tugged the corner of her mouth into a stiff smile. “…”

Noticing people starting to glance in their direction, she quickly covered Qi Yue’s mouth. “Can you keep it down?!”

Qi Yue tried to stifle her laughter but couldn’t quite manage. “I’m sorry, but just picturing you bolting out of there—like, you, of all people—it’s hilarious. You’re Dou Huan! Scared of that kind of thing? I can’t—I’m dying.”

Dou Huan lowered her voice, trying not to draw more attention. “I wasn’t scared, okay? I just didn’t want people thinking I was eavesdropping or something. That’s not exactly my kink.”

The memory of what she’d heard made her shudder. Hugging her arms, she muttered, “Ugh… so embarrassing.”

“What’s so embarrassing about it?” Qi Yue asked with the smug tone of a seasoned perv. “You know how loud people get in adult films? This is nothing.”

Then she suddenly perked up, eyes gleaming. “Wait a sec—since you’ve never watched guy-girl stuff, and there’s not much girl-girl content out there… Don’t tell me you’ve never watched anything?”

“I…” Dou Huan tossed a rabbit head into Qi Yue’s bowl in mock anger. “So what if I haven’t? I’ve seen illustrated guides—I get it.”

Qi Yue burst out laughing again, hand over mouth, clearly entertained. Dou Huan felt mocked, snatched the rabbit head back, and grumbled, “Forget it. You’re not getting any.”

“No, no, give it here!” Qi Yue reached out to grab it, but Dou Huan kept it out of reach.

Qi Yue tried coaxing her. “Give it to me, and I’ll show you that video.”

“What video?”

“The girl-on-girl one. You know.” Qi Yue blinked innocently, her tone deadly serious.

Dou Huan stared at her in shock. “You have that?!”

Qi Yue shrugged dramatically. “Not right now, but give me a minute—I’ll find one.”

You had to admit, Qi Yue was a real pro. Not long after Dou Huan got home, a video file popped up in her inbox.

Out of sheer curiosity, she opened it. Barely five minutes in—right when the two leads were just getting to the bed—she slammed it shut.

Watching that kind of thing as a single woman felt… physically hazardous. Nope. She’d wait until she had a wife. That was safer.

She carefully saved the files in a special folder labeled: Watch with Wife.

******

That night, Dou Huan had a very embarrassing dream. In it, she walked in on Liu Xinxing and Director Zhao in the middle of an intimate moment. When she was caught, Liu Xinxing threatened her—if she dared tell anyone, she’d expose Dou Huan’s divorce from Chu Li to the whole company.

But in the dream Dou Huan stood her ground and said; “Go ahead.”

When the threat didn’t land, Liu Xinxing pulled out two photos and sneered, “Think you’ll be so brave after seeing these?”

She flung the pictures at Dou Huan, who picked them up—and nearly fainted.

In the photos, two women were kissing. One of them was her. The other… was Jing Yu?!

That shock jolted her awake. Even though she knew it was just a dream, she still wasn’t fully conscious—her thoughts all muddled.

She drifted in and out of bizarre dreams all night, but when she woke, the only thing she could clearly remember was that photo of her and Jing Yu kissing.

Seriously, what the hell?

They barely even knew each other. Why was she dreaming about her?

Dou Huan shook her head and got out of bed. Whatever. People always said dreams were the opposite of reality. No way something that ridiculous would actually happen.

By the time she went downstairs, Aunt Chen had already made breakfast. Seeing her, the woman greeted warmly, “Good morning, Miss Huan.”

One moment it was “Miss Dou,” the next “Miss Huan”—the inconsistency was giving her whiplash.

“Aunt Chen, just call me by my name. Or ‘Huanhuan’ works too.”

Aunt Chen paused, then chuckled. “Alright.”

There were steamed buns, porridge, and two side dishes on the table. Dou Huan motioned to Aunt Chen. “Come eat with me. I can’t finish all this alone.”

“Oh no, you’ve got work today. You eat first.”

Dou Huan didn’t push the matter. Just as she took a sip of porridge, she heard noise from outside.

“Aunt Chen, who’s out there?”

“Oh,” Aunt Chen glanced outside. “It’s… the second miss.”

“Hmm?”

Under Dou Huan’s questioning gaze, she quickly corrected herself. “Miss Chu, I mean. She said the flowers in the yard needed tending, so she called someone over. I figured she was right, and I don’t know how to handle plants, so…”

Dou Huan didn’t respond. She finished her meal and headed out.

The sun was already blinding. Shielding her eyes, she saw a few gardeners at work and walked over.

“Which company are you all from?”

A nearby auntie wiped her brow and smiled. “Mei Lv Gardening.”

Dou Huan nodded with a gentle smile. “Thanks for your hard work.”

“It’s nothing,” the woman replied cheerfully. “It’s our job.”

Back inside, Dou Huan crossed her arms and looked at Aunt Chen. The older woman immediately sensed trouble.

“Miss Huan?”

“I should’ve clarified earlier,” Dou Huan said calmly. “So I’ll say it now: Chu Li and I are divorced. From now on, I want nothing to do with her. Nothing.”

“That means I’ll be paying your salary from here on. If she asks about me, you tell her you don’t know. And if I find out you’ve reported anything to her…” Her tone sharpened. “Then you can go work for her. You won’t be needed here.”

Aunt Chen paled. “I understand. I won’t have any contact with her again.”

Dou Huan gently patted her shoulder. “Relax. As long as you’re on my side and keep things separate, nothing changes. The gardeners out there are working hard—go give them some water, and get the company’s contact info. If the garden needs upkeep again, you can call them. I’ll handle the payment.”

“Right away,” Aunt Chen beamed, clearly relieved.

As soon as Dou Huan stepped out, Aunt Chen pulled out her phone and called Chu Li.

“Miss Chu, Miss Huan told me not to contact you anymore. Please don’t call me again or I’ll get fired. Thanks for everything.”

Before Chu Li could get a word in, Aunt Chen hung up and blocked her. Done and dusted.

Chu Li: “Hello? Hello?!”

******

Dou Huan had left early that day, so she got to the office in ten minutes. Only one or two people had arrived. Liu Xinxing wasn’t there yet. She wondered if it would be awkward once they met.

Still, it was probably best to act like nothing had happened. After all, Liu Xinxing hadn’t seen her.

Soon after, Zhou Wei rushed in and immediately asked, “Have Director Zhao and Miss Lu come in yet?”

“Nope,” Dou Huan replied.

Dou Huan noticed how out of breath and sweaty Zhou Wei looked and handed her a bottle of mineral water.

“Thanks.”

Zhou Wei took it, twisted the cap off, and gulped down several mouthfuls before letting out a long sigh. Once she’d caught her breath, she turned on her computer.

“Morning, little Huanhuan~”

A sweet, sing-song voice popped up beside them—it was Liu Xinxing. The sudden greeting made Dou Huan freeze for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled politely. “Good morning, Xin-jie.”

“Good girl.”

Liu Xinxing smiled radiantly, then pulled a brand-new lipstick from her bag and placed it on Dou Huan’s desk. “My friend just got back from a business trip and brought me some makeup. I thought this shade would look nice on you—here, it’s yours.”

Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked back to her desk.

Zhou Wei, having booted up her computer, turned to glance at the lipstick on Dou Huan’s desk. She picked it up, saw the label, and raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Whoa—TF? That’s pretty high-end.”

“Is it expensive?”

Dou Huan feigned ignorance and whispered, “Weiwei-jie, how much is this lipstick?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Zhou Wei examined it. “Probably around three or four hundred yuan.”

“Then I’d better give it back.”

With that, Dou Huan picked up the lipstick and walked over to Liu Xinxing’s desk. “Xin-jie, thank you, but I really can’t accept something I didn’t earn.”

She placed the lipstick back on the desk and quickly returned to her seat.

Liu Xinxing watched her scurry off, smiling faintly. That lipstick had been a subtle bribe to keep her mouth shut. Seeing how cautious Dou Huan was being, she figured there was no need to worry about her talking.

“I’ve known Liu Xinxing for three years, and she’s never given me anything. Why’s she being so nice to you?”

Zhou Wei narrowed her eyes at Dou Huan suspiciously.

“I get it now!”

“You do?” Dou Huan froze, thinking Zhou Wei might’ve actually figured it out. But then—

Zhou Wei suddenly grabbed her arm. “Spill it. Are you and her secretly seeing each other behind my back?!”

“…?”

When Dou Huan didn’t respond, Zhou Wei clutched her chest dramatically. “I was only gone one afternoon! One! And you—you’re already with someone else…”

She gave her chest a theatrical thump.

Dou Huan raised a brow and asked kindly, “Weiwei-jie, doesn’t that hurt?”

She pointed toward Zhou Wei’s chest, clearly referring to the way she was hitting herself. But the latter misunderstood.

“My conscience doesn’t hurt,” Zhou Wei declared solemnly. “Yours should.”

“…”

Talking to her was like two chickens squawking in different dialects.

“Alright, enough,” Liu Xinxing came over and, in front of Zhou Wei, opened the lipstick, bent down, and swiped it once across Zhou Wei’s lips. “Here, now it’s yours.”

“Wait—what are you—?”

“I remember I gave you a Lancôme skincare set before, didn’t I?” Liu Xinxing grinned, then walked off with her cup to get some water.

That comment jogged Zhou Wei’s memory. She turned to Dou Huan and whispered, “So you do know about her and Director Zhao…?”

Apparently, Liu Xinxing was giving gifts to people who know her secret affair.

Dou Huan nodded like someone resigning themselves to fate.

“It’s fine,” Zhou Wei consoled her. “It’s pretty much an open secret in the office. But honestly, Liu Xinxing treats everyone pretty well—she’s always sharing stuff. We all just pretend we don’t know anything. You should do the same.”

Dou Huan nodded. “Mm.”

She spent the entire morning working on design drafts—tweaking, editing, scrapping, and starting over—until she was finally satisfied. Then she got up to grab some water.

The break room had coffee, milk tea, and plain water, with a tray of fruit and pastries on the side. Not bad at all.

She hadn’t had anything to drink all morning, so she poured herself a cup of warm water and downed half of it in one go. Just then, she felt someone watching her.

Turning her head, she saw a man standing at the door.

He was neatly dressed in a suit, tall and well-proportioned—looked to be in his thirties. He definitely embodied that saying: “Men age like fine wine.” He was attractive and carried himself with gentlemanly ease.

There weren’t many men in the design department, and Dou Huan had already seen all of them—except for one.

The only unfamiliar face had to belong to Director Zhao.

Still, she didn’t acknowledge him. Not recognizing him was the natural reaction.

The man walked over with a pleasant smile. “You must be the new girl in our department, right?”

“And you are…?”

He poured himself some water, then set the cup down and walked up to her, extending a hand. “Zhao Xi.”

He really did have a charming smile—the kind that could easily win over a young intern.

But Dou Huan didn’t take his hand. Calm and composed, she held her cup and simply lowered her head. “Hello, Director Zhao.”

Zhao Xi didn’t seem bothered by her aloofness. He smiled and picked up his cup. “If you ever run into any trouble with work, feel free to come to me.”

As soon as he turned around and left, Dou Huan rolled her eyes.