After the divorce, my ex-husband's cousin tricked me into getting a marriage certificate.

It's said that minor arguments can deepen a relationship.

Qiao Ran felt that Qi Muci's possessiveness towards her had become even stronger after his tantrum tonight.

When the two were being intimate, it seemed as if he wanted to swallow her whole.

Again and again, until she surrendered and begged for mercy.

Seeing Qiao Ran lying on the bed, too weak to even lift her hand, Qi Muci felt like a complete bastard.

She's already his woman, what is there for him to worry about or be afraid of?

Besides, Qiao Ran has never liked Lin Mengchuan.

Lin Mengchuan's persistent harassment will only make Qiao Ran more disgusted and resentful.

Qi Muci felt that his jealousy was really inexplicable and a bit unreasonable.

Actually, Qiao Ran lay motionless on the bed for two reasons: firstly, because her body ached and she felt weak, and secondly, because she was thinking about how to coax Qi Muci.

She understands that no man wants to see his wife still entangled with her ex-husband.

But now is not the best time to announce their marriage.

We should wait until Qi Muci's endorsement expires, otherwise we may face huge compensation and unnecessary lawsuits.

She couldn't tell Lin Mengchuan, but Qiao Ran felt there was one person she could reveal the information to.

She hoped that person could help her control Lin Mengchuan's outrageous behavior.

The next morning.

After breakfast, Qiao Ran asked Qi Muci if he could accompany her to meet someone.

Qi Muci nodded in agreement without asking who he was going to see.

He felt that Qiao Ran's decision to take him along showed that she valued him, and he didn't care who they met.

Qiao Ran told Zhao Mengmeng and then went out with Qi Muci.

Qi Muci drove, and Qiao Ran used her phone to navigate there to a coffee shop on the outskirts of the city.

In this season, and especially in the morning, not many people come to drink coffee.

So after Qiao Ran and Qi Muci parked the car, they got out without wearing masks. It was very quiet around them, and there was no one else around.

Including their car, there were only two cars parked in the parking lot.

When getting out of the car, Qiao Ran asked Qi Muci to take the local specialties from Licheng out of the trunk.

As light snow began to fall, the two hurriedly ran into the coffee shop.

The café has a fireplace with a roaring fire, making it much warmer as soon as you step inside.

The shop owners are a young couple. The husband was busy making coffee at the bar when the wife came over to greet him.

She took Qiao Ran's hand and said with a smile, "I've been waiting for you to come. You really are something, changing your phone number without saying a word, so every time I called, it was switched off."

“If I hadn’t seen the news online that you were filming in Licheng, I probably would have called the police.”

Qiao Ran introduced to Qi Muci, "Honey, this is my high school classmate, An Ning. She and her husband opened this shop. Her husband is over there. Try their coffee later, it's absolutely delicious."

An Ning turned around and waved to her husband, calling out, "Liang Jun, what are you still doing there? Come and say hello!"

Upon hearing his wife's call, Liang Jun quickly put down his work and jogged over to greet her: "Qiao Ran, long time no see, Mr. Qi, welcome to visit! Also, congratulations on your marriage... no, you've been married for half a year now, you're not newlyweds anymore."

Qi Muci asked Qiao Ran with some curiosity, "Do they all know about our marriage?"

Qiao Ran nodded. "When I got up this morning, I contacted An Ning and briefly explained the situation. Don't worry, they are both very discreet and will keep it a secret for us. Besides, they will announce it after the New Year."

An Ning smiled and assured him, "Mr. Qi, Ranran and I were deskmates in school, and we've always kept in touch. This coffee shop was opened with money lent to us by Qiao Ran."

Liang Jun chimed in, "If Qiao Ran hadn't been willing to lend us money, we probably wouldn't have had the chance to open this shop in our lives. Qiao Ran is our family's benefactor, and we won't talk about her affairs."

Qi Muci smiled and said, "I don't care. It was Ranran who asked me to keep it a secret."

"I did this for you too," Qiao Ran said, taking two gift bags from Qi Muci and handing them to An Ning. "These are local specialties I brought back from Licheng. I just bought them randomly, I don't know what to buy, so please don't mind."

"Look at you, we're so glad you remembered us and even brought us gifts. Please find a seat, it's warmer near the fireplace. I'll get you some coffee and tea."

An Ning accepted the gift bag and urged her husband to prepare coffee.

Qi Muci held up the two remaining gift bags and asked Qiao Ran, "Who are these two bags for?"

Qiao Ran chose the table closest to the fireplace, and while taking off her woolen coat, she replied to Qi Muci, "What's the rush? The main character hasn't arrived yet, but he should be here soon. Take off your coat; you'll be sweating soon."

Qi Muci put the gift bag he was holding on the sofa, took off his coat, and squeezed onto the sofa with Qiao Ran.

She said other guests were coming, so of course he would sit with her.

Qi Muci looked around at the interior and said in a low voice, "The environment here is nice and feels very comfortable. How long has this shop been open? How come I've never noticed it before?"

Qiao Ran warmed her hands by the stove. "It's been about three years now. When I was living at the Lin family's house, I would sometimes come over to sit down, have a cup of coffee, and chat with An Ning when I was feeling down."

Qi Muci: "So she knows everything about you?"

Qiao Ran: "Yes, everyone knows. She also knows that Lin Mengchuan's affair is with Lin Fei. When we were in school, An Ning warned me to be careful of Lin Fei. She thought Lin Fei was two-faced and too hypocritical."

“An Ning is really good at judging people. When I married Lin Mengchuan, she met Lin Mengchuan at the wedding and told me that Lin Mengchuan was unreliable and that I should be careful.”

Qi Muci smiled, "I wonder what she will think of me. You can ask her when you have a chance later."

Qiao Ran smiled and replied, "Okay, I'll ask about it later."

Just then, a noise came from the coffee shop entrance, and Qiao Ran and Qi Muci looked over at the same time.

Qiao Ran recognized them at a glance and quickly got up to run over and greet them, "Grandma, Sister Ju."

When Xu Ying saw Qiao Ran, she was overwhelmed with emotion, tears welling up in her eyes. "You heartless girl, you haven't contacted me for more than half a year."

Sister Ju chimed in, "That's right, we thought you'd forgotten about us."

An Ning ran over and asked, "Ranran, have all the guests arrived?"

Qiao Ran replied to An Ning, "We're all here, just the four of us. Please bring us a pot of coffee and some extra tea and snacks."

An Ning: "Okay, please have a seat. I'll be right there."

Qiao Ran helped the old lady and headed towards Qi Muci's direction.

Qi Muci had already stood up, and he bowed slightly to the old lady.

Xu Ying looked at Qi Muci, then at Qiao Ran, and asked, "Ranran, are you two really dating?"

Qiao Ran asked the old lady and Sister Ju to sit down first. She then went around to the opposite side and pulled Qi Muci to sit down before answering the old lady's question.

Qiao Ran: "Grandma, actually we're not dating, we're husband and wife."

Xu Ying exclaimed in surprise, "What? You two are husband and wife? When did you get married? Why didn't we hear anything about it?"

Sister Ju was incredulous. "Weren't you filming in Licheng the whole time? Did you get married in Licheng?"

Qiao Ran smiled and shook her head. "We got our marriage certificate before going to Licheng. The reason we didn't announce it is because we are both actors and were afraid of being harassed by the media. We had no choice but to keep our marriage a secret."