Marrying My Ex-Wife's Mortal Enemy (GL) - Chapter 7

Dou Huan and Qi Yue wandered into a high-end boutique.

Qi Yue had her eye on a deep navy-blue dress—it looked luxurious and felt even better to the touch.

She took it into the fitting room to try it on, and once she stepped out, it looked stunning on her.

“I’ll take this one,” she said decisively.

“I’m terribly sorry, miss.”

The sales assistant looked visibly uncomfortable as she explained, “That dress has actually just been reserved.”

“Reserved for?”

Each item in this boutique was one of a kind. And even if there were duplicates, Qi Yue had no interest in wearing something someone else might own too.

She frowned, clearly displeased. “You could’ve told me earlier.”

The sales assistant bowed slightly, apologetic. “I’m very sorry.”

Qi Yue changed back into her clothes and came out of the fitting room, only to find Dou Huan at the counter. Huffing, she stormed over. “That dress I liked? Already taken, and they didn’t even bother to say so—they just left it hanging out there. So annoying.”

Then she noticed a woman standing across from Dou Huan—pretty and well-groomed.

“You know her?” Qi Yue asked, raising a brow.

“Tong Yi,” Dou Huan replied with a smile, introducing her simply.

She hadn’t expected to run into Tong Yi here. While Qi Yue had gone in to try on the dress, Dou Huan had been waiting just outside the fitting rooms.

That’s when Tong Yi had come in.

Dou Huan hadn’t planned to speak to her, but Tong Yi had taken the initiative first: “Miss Dou. What a coincidence.”

Tong Yi seemed gentle and harmless—always polite, always smiling.

If Dou Huan hadn’t lived through everything in her past life and hadn’t seen Tong Yi’s true face, she might’ve actually thought she was a decent woman.

At the very least, she wouldn’t have suspected she was the kind of person to become someone’s mistress and wreck a marriage.

“Miss Tong? Yeah, what a coincidence,” Dou Huan said, looking her over slowly.

The dress Tong Yi wore was ordinary; her heels were nothing special. If it weren’t for her decent looks and passable figure, even the sales staff here might not have bothered with her.

Dou Huan, by contrast, was dressed in an expensive new dress with flawless makeup. She looked polished and radiant—like a princess.

Under Dou Huan’s open scrutiny, Tong Yi instinctively shrank back.

In the past, Dou Huan had never greeted her with anything but a cold face. But today, she wore a sunny, almost cheerful smile. “Out shopping alone, Miss Tong? Didn’t Chu Li come with you?”

She blinked slowly, her large eyes playful and beautiful, as if mentioning Chu Li were no big deal.

Anyone overhearing might assume Chu Li was Tong Yi’s girlfriend.

Tong Yi hadn’t expected her to say that. Her face flushed as she gave a slightly awkward smile. “Miss Dou, about last night—I’m sorry if I went too far. It was just a joke. It was Chu Li’s birthday yesterday, and I didn’t want to kill the mood.”

“Oh? So to keep the mood going, you slept with her?”

Dou Huan looked amused, as if watching a performance. “Miss Tong, your approach to being a homewrecker really is… refreshingly original.”

Tong Yi’s face turned stiff, caught off guard by her harsh words.

She brushed her hair behind her ear and tried to explain, “Miss Dou, you’ve misunderstood. Chu Li and I are just friends.”

“Friends or friends with benefits?” Dou Huan shot her a sideways glance. “As long as you know what kind of relationship it is, there’s no need to disgust the rest of us.”

Tong Yi clenched the dress in her hands, her expression wounded. “Miss Dou, must you be so cruel?”

“Cruel?” Dou Huan laughed like she’d just heard the biggest joke.

In her past life, because of this sweet-faced little white lotus, she’d been cast as the villain in Chu Li’s eyes, swallowing injustice after injustice.

Sure, her complicated relationship with Chu Li had played a part too—but the fact remained: Tong Yi had inserted herself into their marriage. That alone made Dou Huan furious.

Still, her voice remained cold and detached. “If I really wanted to be cruel, I’d strip you down right now and let everyone get a good look at what kind of figure a mistress needs to have.”

She gave Tong Yi a look from head to toe, then flicked a comment like a whip: “Nothing special, really.”

Tong Yi bit her lip, face burning and eyes glassy as she turned away to hurry to the register.

But just then, the sales assistant informed her that someone else was still trying on the dress she’d just paid for.

Tong Yi hadn’t truly wanted it anymore, but since the money was already paid, she couldn’t just walk away.

She stood awkwardly waiting.

Dou Huan noticed she hadn’t left, crossed her arms, and strolled over. Smiling sweetly, she leaned in. “Waiting for Chu Li?”

“No.” Tong Yi avoided her eyes, gripping the paper bag tightly. Her face flushed as if it were on fire.

She looked deeply uneasy.

Dou Huan peeked into her bag and lifted the hem of the skirt inside. “If I remember correctly, Miss Tong, you’re just a junior assistant designer, right? Monthly salary… what, five thousand? That dress costs your entire paycheck. Tsk, Miss Tong—you really know how to spend.”

Tong Yi got the message loud and clear—Dou Huan was accusing her of sleeping with Chu Li and spending her money. And it stung, because it was true.

After last night, Chu Li had handed her a credit card and told her to buy whatever she wanted.

She didn’t make much on her own and couldn’t afford these kinds of luxuries. But she had to dress up and had to look beautiful. She couldn’t afford to lose her appeal in front of Chu Li.

Still, she hadn’t expected to run into Dou Huan here of all places.

Just then, Qi Yue came out.

Tong Yi heard her complaining and saw she was with Dou Huan. She immediately wanted to leave—but she couldn’t bear the thought of wasting the money she’d just spent.

When Qi Yue heard the name “Tong Yi,” she paused, then stepped up to her with a sarcastic grin and extended her hand. “Hi, homewrecker.”

Tong Yi’s face flushed crimson from the public humiliation, especially with all the sales staff looking on. She ignored Qi Yue and turned back to the assistant, flustered. “Is my dress packed?”

“It is,” the assistant said, just as she was about to hand it over—only to be stopped by Qi Yue.

“Wait a minute. How much for this dress? I’ll pay triple.”

Qi Yue smiled charmingly at the assistant. “You can treat the extra as a bonus. That’s what—two months of your salary?”

The assistant wavered, clearly tempted, and glanced at Tong Yi with a conflicted look.

Tong Yi was mortified, but she didn’t dare snap at Qi Yue. She could only protest to the assistant, “Is this how your store does business? I paid first—shouldn’t there be some principle of ‘first come, first served’?”

“How strange,” Qi Yue said as she circled her slowly, tapping her on the shoulder. “You seem to understand that once you pay for something, it’s yours. So how come you didn’t get that when it came to someone else’s wife?”

Tong Yi’s panic skyrocketed. Her face was practically glowing red with shame. Afraid of what more Qi Yue might say, she suddenly turned and tried to leave without the dress.

But Qi Yue wouldn’t let her. She grabbed her arm. “What’s the rush, Miss Tong? Aren’t you going to take your dress?”

“Let go of me!”

Tong Yi’s eyes welled up with tears. She didn’t even know who Qi Yue was—she could only look to Dou Huan for help. “Miss Dou, please tell your friend not to go overboard!”

Dou Huan blinked innocently. “Yueyue, she says you’re being mean.”

“Let me go!” Tong Yi was desperate now. She tried to pry Qi Yue’s hand off her arm.

In the scuffle, her shopping bag slipped from her grasp and hit the floor. She crouched down to pick it up—

Only for Qi Yue to step on the skirt that had fallen out. She looked around dramatically. “Oh no, what did I just step on?”

She played it up so well that Dou Huan burst out laughing.

Tong Yi could only watch as her brand-new dress was crushed under Qi Yue’s foot. She felt a sharp pang in her chest and stood up, snapping, “What do you want from me?!”

“Oh, now you’re upset?” Qi Yue stared at her coldly and jabbed a finger at her shoulder. “Weren’t you having the time of your life playing the mistress?”

“What’s it to you?!”

Tong Yi was on the verge of tears. People around them had started to stare, and she felt utterly exposed—like she was being stripped bare and put on display for public shame.

Her eyes were red, caught between fury and helplessness.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Chu Li finally arrived—just in time to see Qi Yue stepping on Tong Yi’s dress, while Tong Yi stood there red-eyed and almost crying.

To an outsider, it looked like Dou Huan and her friend were bullying Tong Yi.

Chu Li rushed over and pulled Tong Yi into her arms, glaring at Dou Huan. “If you’ve got a problem, take it out on me. Why go after Tong Yi?!”

That was all it took—Tong Yi burst into tears in Chu Li’s arms, finally letting out all the frustration she’d been holding in.

To those who didn’t know the full story, it looked like Dou Huan was the villain tearing the lovers apart.

But Dou Huan? She just felt sick.

Dou Huan walked over to Qi Yue, gave Tong Yi’s bag a kick, sending it sliding across the floor, and said coldly, “So what if I bullied her?”

She was never known for having a good temper to begin with, and with that icy expression now, she looked even more defiant.

“You—!”

Chu Li was fuming with rage. The two stared each other down, but Dou Huan showed no sign of backing down. Gritting her teeth, Chu Li pointed at her and spat, “Didn’t you want a divorce? Fine! I’ll give it to you!”

She thought Dou Huan would be shocked, would feel hurt, and maybe even beg her to reconsider.

Dou Huan did freeze for a moment—sadness flickered across her features.

Seeing that, Chu Li’s heart softened a little. She was just about to speak again when Dou Huan suddenly broke into a wide grin. “Divorce? Hell yes! Whoever doesn’t get divorced is a loser!”

That smile—it was like she’d been waiting forever for this moment, radiant and genuine.

Chu Li: “…”

“I’ll have the divorce papers delivered to your office tomorrow.”

With that, Dou Huan looped her arm through Qi Yue’s and turned to leave. Her lips couldn’t stop curling upward. She was clearly thrilled—so much so that she even skipped a little as they walked off, looking like she might take off flying at any second.

Watching Dou Huan’s cheerful retreating figure, Chu Li felt something lodge hard in her chest. She let go of Tong Yi’s arm, but her mood was a mess.

Dou Huan had always revolved around her—no matter what Chu Li did, she always cared. She would never have imagined Dou Huan saying something like that and looking so sincerely happy about it.

What had changed?

Had she really gone too far this time?

For the first time in her life, the usually thick-skinned Chu Li began to reflect on herself.

Meanwhile, Tong Yi, who had just heard the news of their divorce, instantly felt her earlier frustration vanish. She happily picked her dress up off the ground, clung to Chu Li’s arm, and said sweetly, “Ali, did I cause you trouble just now? If you don’t really want to divorce Miss Dou, I can talk to her for you.”

“Talk about what?”

Chu Li’s voice was snappy, and her mood was clearly foul. “I cheated. End of story. There’s nothing to explain. If she wants to divorce, let her. You think I’m scared?”

It sounded fine on the surface.

But Tong Yi could tell—Chu Li still cared about the divorce. Maybe, deep down, Chu Li did care about Dou Huan. She just didn’t realize it yet.

Because Dou Huan had always been chasing after her, Chu Li never expected her to suddenly change.

Of course she couldn’t accept it right away.

The thought of the divorce gnawed at her, so that evening, Chu Li invited Tang Xin and Zhang Yi out for drinks and told them everything.

“What? Dou Huan wants to divorce you?!”

Both women were stunned when they heard the news.

“Right? You guys also think it sounds impossible, right?”

They exchanged a glance, silently thinking: You brought this on yourself.

Chu Li took a long sip of her drink, staring into the glass. “I thought it was impossible, too. But since last night, she’s been going on about getting a divorce. She even said she’s sending the papers to my office tomorrow.”

“She’s probably just bluffing,” Zhang Yi said, although she clearly believed that Chu Li deserved the situation. Still, she tried to offer some comfort. “Maybe she was just too upset and said it in the heat of the moment.”

Then, seizing the moment to emphasize her point, she said: “But seriously, Ali, what you did was really out of line. What woman could accept her partner cheating? Especially someone like Dou Huan—she’s got a proud, princess-like temper.”

“I was just drunk… It got out of hand,” Chu Li muttered, rubbing her forehead. There was regret in her voice.

Tang Xin and Zhang Yi fell silent. Clearly, they didn’t buy it.

Drunken hookups were one thing. However, protecting your ex in broad daylight while completely sober and siding against your own wife is questionable. Please. Who would believe you didn’t mean it?

“Ali, you don’t actually want to divorce Dou Huan, do you?” Tang Xin asked.

Chu Li took another drink. “If I did, would I be talking to you about all this?”

“Then it’s not hard to fix,” Tang Xin said briskly, patting her on the shoulder. “Just go home, apologize, and cut things off with Tong Yi.”

“Oh, come on. She’s been in enough relationships to know what to do.”

Zhang Yi gave Tang Xin a nudge, then turned to Chu Li, speaking firmly. “You want your cake and to eat it too. You’re just being greedy.”

Chu Li stayed silent. Clearly still torn, unable to decide who to give up.

Zhang Yi took out a coin. “Alright, let’s flip a coin. Heads for Tong Yi, tails for Dou Huan. Whichever it lands on, that’s your choice.”

Chu Li took the coin, stared at it for a few seconds, then flipped it into the air.

She didn’t even catch it.

Instead, she stood up. “I’m heading out.”

“What, just like that?”

Tang Xin looked after her. “We didn’t even see the result.”

“You dummy,” Zhang Yi said, leaning back on the sofa with the coin in hand. “She already made her choice the moment she let it go.”

People only flip coins when they already know what they want—they’re just looking for an excuse. The second that coin leaves your hand, the answer is already in your heart.

Chu Li drove home.

Aunt Chen greeted her warmly. “Second Miss, have you eaten yet?”

“Is the Madam home?”

“Madam?” Aunt Chen hesitated. “She left this morning and hasn’t been back since.”

Chu Li paused as she changed her shoes. Then she pulled out her phone and dialed Dou Huan’s number. The first call went unanswered. The second gave her that cold, unmistakable sound—you’ve been blocked.

She took a long, slow breath in… and out.

Aunt Chen, watching her expression, instinctively followed her lead with a deep breath of her own, afraid Chu Li might smash her phone in a fit of anger.

Chu Li didn’t. She slipped her shoes on again and walked out the door.

She drove straight to Dou Huan’s parents’ house. Dou Huan never spent the night at a friend’s place—if she wasn’t home, she was usually there.

It only took half an hour to drive over. Soon, Chu Li was standing at the Dou family’s doorstep.

Their housekeeper, Aunt Su, didn’t know what had happened between the couple. Seeing Chu Li arrive, she beamed. “Zhong-jie! You have a guest!”

Chu Li had always been respectful and polite when visiting, and she accepted the offered slippers with a gentle smile. When she entered, she saw Zhong Yunxin sitting calmly on the sofa.

Zhong Yunxin glanced at her with cool indifference. “It’s late. What brings you here?”

In the past, she always welcomed Chu Li warmly. This cold reception made Chu Li suddenly feel awkward. She stood properly and said, “Mom, I’m here to pick up Huanhuan.”

“No need.” Zhong Yunxin didn’t look away from the TV. Her posture was upright, and her tone was distant. “Go home. The divorce papers will arrive tomorrow.”

“Mom!”

Chu Li stepped forward in a panic. “I know I messed up. I won’t do it again. Please give me one more chance. Let me see Huanhuan.”

“Chu Li,” Zhong Yunxin finally looked at her, her expression steady. “I didn’t agree when Huanhuan said she wanted to marry you. But it was her choice, and her father and I chose to respect that. That was your chance. And now, you’ve cheated. If she wants a divorce, then respect her decision. Don’t come here and pester her.”

The apology, the plea for forgiveness—everything Chu Li had been ready to say was swallowed up by those words.

Zhong Yunxin was right. She’d already been given a chance—and wasted it.

Like last night, when Dou Huan stormed out of the KTV room. She should have gone after her.

Like later, after their argument. She should’ve gone to make amends—instead of getting tangled up with Tong Yi.

Dou Huan had forgiven her so many times and tolerated so much.

She had always thought she could live just fine without anyone. But now… she regretted it.

Regretted being so careless. Regretted indulging herself. Regretted never truly treasuring Dou Huan—and breaking her heart.

“If divorce is what Dou Huan truly wants, I will respect her decision,” Chu Li said, swallowing hard. “But… can’t she at least think it over?”

What if she changed her mind? What if she couldn’t let go?

Then maybe there was still hope.

Chu Li couldn’t believe that someone who had once loved her so deeply could throw away their feelings in just two days.

“No need.”

Dou Huan walked in right at that moment. “No matter how long I think about it, this is still the answer.”

“Huanhuan—” Chu Li rushed forward, grabbing her hand. “I’m sorry. I really am. I’ll change. I’ll cut off all contact with Tong Yi. Please, give me one more chance. Don’t divorce me.”

“Chu Li, there are no more chances.”

Dou Huan gently pulled her hand free. In her past life, she had given Chu Li countless chances. But to Chu Li, it had always seemed like a given—because she knew Dou Huan couldn’t let her go.

“Huanhuan, I was awful before. I never considered your feelings. I know I was wrong. I’ll listen to you from now on—whatever you say. Please, I’m begging you. Don’t leave me.”

Looking at the desperation on her face, Dou Huan suddenly understood why so many women forgave their partners after being cheated on.

The cheater always came back with apologies, promises, and pleading so earnestly it softened the heart.

But this wasn’t the first time she’d been betrayed.

So this time, her heart wasn’t soft.

There was no righteous fury or yelling. She was just calm.

“Chu Li, maybe you really do regret it today. Maybe you really have changed. But tomorrow, you’ll mess up again. Cheating never happens just once; it is either something that never occurs or something that continues indefinitely. Maybe it won’t be Tong Yi next time. Maybe it’ll be someone else.”

“I loved you deeply. But you hurt me so much… so much that it felt worse than dying. And that pain—you’ll never understand.”

Her voice caught, eyes stinging.

She turned her face away. “Just go. I don’t want to see you anymore.”