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

Seeing Qiao Ran's embarrassed expression, Qi Muci suddenly reached out and flicked her pink nose. "Just kidding, that's your group chat with your girlfriends. I don't want to be your girlfriend."

Qiao Ran's face flushed slightly, and she smiled with her lips pursed.

Ding Ding, who had been waiting at the door of the chairman's office for a long time, saw Qi Muci and Qiao Ran arrive and quickly greeted them, "Brother Qi, Ranran, you're here! Chairman Qi has been waiting inside for quite some time."

Qi Mu'an's secretary, Liang Xiaotong, hurriedly said, "No, no, Brother Qi and Chairman Qi made an appointment at ten o'clock, and it's only nine fifty now."

Dingding chuckled, "I was just teasing them."

"You're so naughty," Liang Xiaotong said with a laugh as she knocked on the door twice. She opened the door and said to Qi Mu'an, "Chairman Qi, Brother Qi and Miss Qiao are here."

Qi Mu'an's voice came out, "Okay, quickly invite them in."

Qi Muci led Qiao Ran inside, with Ding Ding and Liang Xiaotong following behind. After the guests were seated, Liang Xiaotong asked, "Brother Qi, Miss Qiao, and Ding Ding, what would you like to drink? Tea or coffee?"

Qi Muci turned to Qiao Ran, who was sitting next to him, "Coffee?"

Qiao Ran nodded.

Ding Ding raised her hand, "Then I'll have coffee too. Thank you, Secretary Liang, you've worked hard."

"Okay, please wait a moment," Liang Xiaotong replied and left.

Qi Mu'an looked at Qiao Ran with a smile and praised her, "Miss Qiao, I'm so glad to finally meet you in person. My family are all your fans. There are even posters of you in my mother's room."

Qiao Ran looked incredulous.

Qi Muci: "It's true. My mother is a fan of your dramas. She'll be very happy if she finds out you've signed with our company. Be prepared, she might be clamoring to see you and invite you for afternoon tea."

Qi Mu'an smiled helplessly, "Yes, my mother loves to host afternoon tea parties at home."

Qiao Ran smiled sweetly, "I also enjoy afternoon tea. It would be my honor to participate."

Qi Mu'an: "Okay, I'll tell my mother when I get home tonight, and she can prepare an afternoon tea party for you."

After chatting for a while, Secretary Liang brought in coffee.

She placed the first cup of coffee in front of Qiao Ran and said with a smile, "I know you love coffee, Miss Qiao. Please try this coffee. These coffee beans were brought back by Chairman Qi when he went abroad for business."

"If Miss Qiao likes it, I'll get some for you to take back later."

Qi Mu'an quickly explained, "Miss Qiao, Secretary Liang is also a fan of yours. She knows your preferences very well."

Qiao Ran felt flattered and said, "Thank you, Secretary Liang, thank you for remembering me."

Liang Xiaotong: "Of course I remember, Ms. Qiao. We fans will always support you. Everyone hopes you can come back to filming as soon as possible. Oh, right, I almost forgot about the materials that Chairman Qi asked me to print. I'll go get them for you."

Qi Mu'an raised his chin, "Let's try this coffee first."

"Okay," Qiao Ran picked up the cup and smelled the aroma. "It smells so good. Could these be coffee beans grown in the rainforest?"

Qi Mu'an was surprised, "You guessed right. It seems that you really like coffee, Miss Qiao. You can tell the origin of coffee by its aroma. Even professional baristas may not be able to tell."

Qiao Ran said embarrassedly, "Chairman Qi, I was just talking nonsense."

Qi Mu'an laughed loudly, "I believe that even though you're talking nonsense, you still have a certain level of judgment."

Liang Xiaotong returned carrying a stack of documents, placed them in front of Qiao Ran, and introduced them: "Ms. Qiao, these are the movies and TV series that our company is currently preparing. The female lead has not yet been decided."

"Chairman Qi said that you can choose any two or three films as an additional condition for signing with our company."

Ding Ding, who was standing nearby, was overjoyed. While reaching for the copy, she said to Qiao Ran, "I'll help you choose. Do you want to act in a movie or a TV series? How about one of each? Let's film two this year."

Qi Muci suddenly coughed, and Liang Xiaotong immediately reacted, pulling out a copy from the stack of documents and handing it to Qiao Ran.

"Miss Qiao can check out this movie. It's a new film that Brother Qi and his old friend Director Tang are preparing. It's the film they plan to submit to the Austin International Film Festival next year."

"You'll definitely be walking the red carpet then, which will be a great opportunity for exposure, just what you need."

Qiao Ran took the document and opened it; the title was "Rebirth from the Ashes".

Her heart skipped a beat; the title of the film seemed to reflect her current situation, instantly captivating her.

Seeing that Qiao Ran was engrossed in reading, Qi Muci said, "I'll send you the first draft of the script later. Director Tang is still revising the script, and there are still some parts that need to be adjusted. You can take a look at the script first before making a decision."

Qiao Ran nodded, "Okay."

Ding Ding handed over a copy of the script, "Ranran, this fantasy drama is pretty good. It's adapted from a popular novel and already has a certain audience base. I've read that book; it's very good. I'll go to the bookstore and buy you a copy later."

Liang Xiaotong quickly said, "No need to go to the bookstore, I have them all here. You can choose first, and I'll go get the books for you later."

Ding Ding: "Secretary Liang, you've thought of everything so thoroughly, I love you to death."

Qiao Ran ultimately chose one movie and two TV series, one a fantasy drama and the other a period drama, both of which were adapted from novels.

Liang Xiaotong immediately went to get the book and also printed out a copy of Qi Muci's movie script.

Qi Mu'an offered very good terms for the contract, far exceeding Qiao Ran's expectations, so the negotiation process went smoothly. The only problem was when Qiao Ran would be able to complete the divorce proceedings.

Qi Muci suggested that the legal team from Xingyun Entertainment communicate with Lin Mengchuan. If the other party still disagrees, then directly file for divorce, and the court will first allow them to mediate.

Qiao Ran agreed, and Qi Mu'an handed the matter over to Liang Xiaotong, asking her to arrange for a lawyer to communicate with Lin Mengchuan as soon as possible.

I'll try to get the divorce finalized within a month.

After chatting for over an hour in Qi Mu'an's office and finalizing all aspects of the contract, Qi Mu'an invited Qiao Ran to lunch at the company cafeteria. When they went downstairs to the cafeteria, the entire cafeteria was abuzz with excitement.

If the two bosses hadn't been there, the employees would have all wanted to go up and take a photo with Qiao Ran.

However, upon learning that Qiao Ran had signed with Nebula Entertainment, everyone felt there was no rush and there would definitely be plenty of opportunities to take photos with her in the future.

Qiao Ran hadn't felt such a warm atmosphere in a long time.

She was also very excited, and even more certain that this was the life she wanted—to live for herself!

Meanwhile, Lin Mengchuan returned to the Lin family home at lunchtime.

In the restaurant, in front of his mother and grandmother, he told Lin Fei, "I've found an apartment. It has three bedrooms and a living room, and all the furniture and appliances are ready. You can move in this afternoon."

Lin Fei stared at Lin Mengchuan with wide, surprised eyes. "Mengchuan, but I want to be with you, and our child definitely wants to be with his father too."

Lin Mengchuan looked displeased. "Lin Fei, are you kidding me? You're only a few months pregnant? The baby isn't even fully developed yet!"

Lin Fei was taken aback and replied sullenly, "I understand. I'll move in after my lunch break, but I don't want to live with my parents. I'd appreciate it if you could hire a maid to take care of me."