The White Moonlight I Chased, the Divorce I Never Expected (GL) - Chapter 5

“Xiao Yi.”

“Hmm, I’m here.”

When Wen Ranqing woke up, Chi Yi was still dressed exactly as she had been the night before, waiting quietly.

The air in the room was heavy with a sickly blend of lingering floral sweetness and the remnants of alcohol, intoxicating and thick.

Chi Yi didn’t look at Wen Ranqing.
Instead, she said considerately, “I’ll go get you a cup of coffee.”

Now that her duties had been fulfilled, she quietly retreated to her rightful position —
Even if it was the last day, she still played the role of the obedient canary to perfection.

Her long, bare legs stretched out in the open air.
Chi Yi didn’t bother to cover herself.

As she exited the room, the scent of wild roses was finally cut off.
Chi Yi let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

The desire that had roared through her all night hadn’t dissipated — it had only been replaced by an even deeper emptiness.

Her own susceptibility period was approaching as well.

Chi Yi returned to her room and injected herself with a suppressant — one provided by Wen Ranqing, stamped with the Wen Pharmaceutical logo.

The drug entered her system, but unlike before, it didn’t immediately suppress her impulses.
Chi Yi attributed it to last night’s intense stimulation and brushed it off.

After a quick wash-up, she scooped some coffee beans into the machine.
By the time she returned to the living room with a steaming cup, Wen Ranqing had just hung up a call to her assistant.

So, the question from last night had its answer —
Wen Ranqing was leaving the country today.

The coffee would probably go to waste.
Chi Yi awkwardly withdrew her hand, took a small sip herself, and set the cup down on the coffee table.

It was bitter — so bitter she couldn’t understand how Wen Ranqing drank this every day.

“My flight’s at eight this morning,” Wen Ranqing said, adjusting the watch on her wrist.

Chi Yi, tactful as ever, helped her straighten her collar.
“Understood, President Wen.”

Wen Ranqing paused, then added,
“There are some formalities I need to complete for Junze at his school. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be back tomorrow night.”

“I see.”
Chi Yi couldn’t understand why Wen Ranqing — usually so sparing with words — was offering such detailed explanations today.
She smoothed down the corners of Wen Ranqing’s jacket, avoiding eye contact deftly.

Wen Ranqing’s gaze lingered on Chi Yi for a moment longer than usual —
A ripple flashed through her peach blossom eyes but disappeared almost instantly.
Chi Yi didn’t notice.

“Travel safely,” Chi Yi said softly.

On her youthful, reckless face, her bright, clear eyes shone just as they had the day they first met — always carrying a little stubborn light.

It almost felt like… she was sending off a beloved.

Wen Ranqing tilted her head slightly,
the corners of her mouth lifting in the faintest smile —
melting some of the frost that had always clung to her.

“Coffee’s harsh on the stomach. Add some sugar and milk next time.”

“Be good. Wait for me.”

The sudden tenderness startled Chi Yi.
Before she could process it, the door closed behind Wen Ranqing, taking with it the faint floral scent.

Never mind.
No matter what Wen Ranqing said or did, they were nothing to each other now.

Chi Yi had stayed a whole year longer than the contract required.
By now, she had fulfilled her duty — and then some.

She pulled out her phone and called Song Yan —
who, judging by how quickly she answered, seemed to have been waiting.

“Little birdie~”
“You finally remembered me? You’re finally willing to call your Sister Song?”

Song Yan was two years older than Chi Yi,
but Chi Yi had never called her “sister” — it was always just “Song Yan.”
When Song Yan first heard Chi Yi call Wen Ranqing “Sister Wen,” she had been bitter about it for a long time.

Chi Yi rolled her eyes.
As she headed back to her room, she shot back,
“Big Sister Song~ Come on, you’re almost thirty, you’re still not used to it?
I never forgot you!
Ask Tan Jin if you don’t believe me.”

“If anything, you were the one who ignored me first, oh mighty Lawyer Song.”

Song Yan laughed out loud, waving her secretary out of the office.

It seemed…
Chi Yi had finally made up her mind to move on.

The stubborn, unyielding little bird who used to be impervious to reason the one who wouldn’t fight back even when pushed was almost unrecognizable now.

Finally, she thought, finally showing some spine.

“Seriously though,” Song Yan said, voice softening, “Let me handle your divorce lawsuit.”

“Tsk—”

“Hey, Chi Yi, come on now — no need to go that far just for a divorce,” Song Yan said, half-joking, half-concerned.
“Even without Wen Ranqing, you still have me. Besides, there are millions of Omegas out there — why cling to just one?”

“It’s fine,” Chi Yi replied.

One moment Song Yan was teasing her mercilessly, the next she was blabbering out of genuine worry —
and no matter how Chi Yi tried to hide it, she was touched.

She picked up the shards of the broken glass, the red of her bl00d blending into the dark liquid on the floor.

Slipping back into the old, easy way of talking with Song Yan, she said lightly, “I spilled some coffee. Don’t worry.”

“If you’re not planning to file for divorce yourself, there’s no need to trouble you with it either,” Chi Yi continued.
“The contract was pretty clear. Once the time’s up, I can walk away whenever I want.”

They both knew — the marriage had long been hollow.
Rumors about Wen Ranqing’s private estates and so-called flocks of ‘canaries’ were rampant.
But every time Chi Yi asked, Wen Ranqing told her she was ‘working.’

Chi Yi had half-believed it — and ultimately hadn’t been cruel enough to hire someone to investigate.

“Huh? Did I hear that right?” Song Yan teased.
“So all this time, you were strategizing your own grand escape?”

“Chi Yi, Chi Yi — I must’ve really overestimated you, little birdie!”

If Song Yan had been standing in front of her, she probably would have spit at her out of exasperation.

She pulled up the old contract Chi Yi had once sent her, muttering,
“Forget it. I’m not a divorce lawyer anyway — but our firm has plenty.
No matter what, you’re getting that divorce.”

Chi Yi wiped the mess off the floor, leaving the empty milk bottle standing forlornly by the side.

She gave a helpless little smile.
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

On a direct flight from Country M to Beihang City,
Wen Ranqing sat restlessly, unable to read a single word of the magazine in her hand.

Before boarding, Cheng Yuan had called to report that someone from L.H. Law Firm had visited their office —
but he hadn’t had time to update her fully.

Wen Ranqing knew of the Song family’s law firm.
She also knew how unusually close Song Yan was to Chi Yi.

A gnawing unease grew in her chest, compounded by the abrupt suppression of her own heat cycle through inhibitors.
Exhaustion wrapped itself tightly around her, dragging her deeper into fatigue.

Her usually radiant face had gone pale, the veins at her neck pulsing weakly beneath translucent skin.
Slowly, Wen Ranqing drifted into sleep.

Because of her long years of overwork, few people ever appeared in her dreams —
only deep, uninterrupted darkness.

But tonight…

The scent of fresh grass.
The crawling of tiny arthropods.
The fluttering of a kite, clumsily launched by a child, bumping and soaring, until it floated right outside her window…

And always — the little hard candy that needed to be rolled in her mouth for a long time before it melted —
the only sweetness after swallowing bitter medicine.

She remembered the first time she met Chi Yi —
the poised, perfectly mannered girl standing before her father’s old friend, even as Wen Ranqing struggled secretly against the chaotic, newly awakened impulses in her body.

When she had returned to the study afterward, the entire upper floor had been silent — she alone occupied it.

The sound of little footsteps echoed down the hall.

“Sister Wen, I helped Auntie bring your medicine.”

The door opened to reveal an eight-year-old girl in a soft pink princess dress,
her bright, clean eyes wide and lively, black hair flowing freely down her shoulders.
Her dress was brand new, but the hem was already wrinkled and rumpled — just like its mischievous little owner.

Perhaps it was a foreshadowing of her future stubbornness,
or maybe just pure kindness born from hearing rumors of Wen Ranqing’s struggles —
but little Chi Yi had never been discouraged by Wen Ranqing’s coldness.

Without hesitation, her chubby little hand shoved a piece of candy into Wen Ranqing’s mouth.

Sickeningly sweet.

The dream shifted —
colors draining away, endless darkness rushing in.

“Sister Wen, good night!”

“Sister Wen, Sister Wen, did you draw a little kitten? It’s so cute!”

“I’m not scared, Sister Wen… I just… miss my mom a little.”

“Sister, Sister — when I grow up, I’m going to marry you~”

…

Wen Ranqing’s consciousness plummeted through the void without warning.

She jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat, her breathing erratic.

“Big sister?” a clean, boyish voice called out nearby.

Wen Ranqing’s heart clenched violently.

Turning her head, she found Wen Junze looking at her in confusion, concern barely restrained in his expression.

“Are you alright, big sister? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine,” Wen Ranqing replied after a pause, lowering her gaze and flipping through the magazine in her lap as if nothing had happened.

Since he was young, Wen Junze had been sent abroad to study, and the two siblings had barely spent any real time together.

He didn’t know much about his sister’s small daily habits — but from the slight trembling of her fingers and the faint trace of unease in the air, he could sense her deep anxiety.

The young man hesitated, then cautiously ventured:
“Did brother-in-law upset you? Or… did you two have a fight?”

After a moment, he added awkwardly, “If you want, you can tell me about it.”

The term “brother-in-law” felt strange on his tongue and yet the image that flashed instantly into Wen Ranqing’s mind was not of any man.

It was a young, sweet face those black, gemstone-bright eyes sparkling up at her.

She set the magazine aside, her gaze cool and clear.

“Do you know why you’re coming home?”

“I know,” Wen Junze replied quietly.

“Mhm,” Wen Ranqing said. “You remember Uncle Cheng, right?
While I’m away, if you have any questions, just go to him. He’ll guide you.”

“I understand, Sister.”

The young man’s voice was subdued.
Even though he was nearly a grown Alpha now, his tall figure looked almost slumped — quiet and obedient, a rare softness in his profile.

After a long pause, after hearing nothing but Wen Ranqing’s steady breathing, he finally heard her murmur:

“She didn’t upset me. And we didn’t fight.”

“She… she’s a good person.”

In the café, Song Yan lounged comfortably, wearing oversized sunglasses that covered half her face.

But no matter how much she tried to hide, the unmistakable aura of a top-tier Alpha clung to her,
causing several delicate-looking young women to glance shyly in her direction.

Across from her, Chi Yi sat with a slight frown, pen hovering above the contract, yet unable to bring herself to sign.

Song Yan leisurely sipped her coffee, the corner of her mouth quirking up in a teasing smile.
“Click, click, click — Hesitating won’t help you now, little birdie. Lawyer Mo should have wrapped up all the paperwork already.”

“I’m not hesitating,” Chi Yi shot back quickly, but even she could hear the hollowness in her own words.

Inwardly, she wavered, questioning herself:

Was she regretting it?

All the memories — vivid and sharp — came flooding back.

Chi Yi had regretted many things over the years.
Marrying Wen Ranqing… That was definitely one of them.

Disappointment had piled upon disappointment until it finally hardened into despair.

But when things had fallen apart, she couldn’t truly blame Wen Ranqing.

It had been her, Chi Yi, who had clung to a one-sided love.
It had been her, taking advantage of Wen Ranqing’s vulnerable moment offering an irresistible olive branch when Wen Ranqing needed it most.

Chi Yi knew very well — it had always been just a transaction.