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

Qiao Ran was furious when she saw Lin Mengchuan staring at her chest. "What are you looking at? Don't you want your eyes anymore? Believe me or not, I'll gouge them out and feed them to the dogs!"

Lin Mengchuan snapped out of his reverie, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said in a low voice, "This dress is beautiful and shows off your figure very well."

Qiao Ran was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing, "Lin Mengchuan, do you know what you look like right now?"

Lin Mengchuan pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket and asked casually, "What do you mean? I'm praising you. Don't women like to hear compliments? What, you're not happy that I'm praising you?"

Qiao Ran: "If someone else had said this, I might have been happy, but it sounds different coming from you, Lin Mengchuan. What? Lin Fei is pregnant and can't satisfy you anymore?"

Lin Mengchuan paused, his hand about to light a cigarette still. He raised his dark eyes to look at Qiao Ran. "I have nothing to do with Lin Fei anymore. I've arranged an apartment for her and given her 50,000 yuan a month for living expenses. Let her fend for herself."

"Are you sure this is called letting things fend for themselves, and not keeping a mistress in a golden cage?" Qiao Ran said sarcastically.

Lin Mengchuan: "..."

Qiao Ran rolled her eyes in disdain. "Lin Mengchuan, to be honest, the more I look at you, the more I think you and Lin Fei are a good match. You're really a perfect match."

Lin Mengchuan: "..."

Qiao Ran tossed her long, wavy hair and, under Lin Mengchuan's watchful gaze, strode away in her high heels.

Back in the private room, Lin Mengchuan sat down and the first thing he asked Xu Qing was, "Do you think Lin Fei and I are a good match?"

Xu Qing squinted at Lin Mengchuan. What kind of question was this? How was she supposed to answer it?

Lin Mengchuan said impatiently, "What are you looking at? Don't you want your eyes anymore? Believe me or not, I'll gouge them out and feed them to the dogs."

Xu Qing quickly turned her face away, "Brother Chuan, I was wrong, I won't watch anymore. Why did you suddenly ask such a question?"

Lin Mengchuan: "I ran into Qiao Ran in the restroom. She said Lin Fei and I are a perfect match, like a pot and its lid. Was she insulting me?"

Xu Qing: "...This, indeed, seems to be a roundabout way of cursing someone."

Lin Mengchuan's lips curled up. "Her mouth is getting sharper and sharper; she can even insult people indirectly now."

Xu Qing glanced at Lin Mengchuan. What was going on? She'd never seen anyone be happy after being scolded.

Lin Mengchuan picked up his chopsticks and said while eating, "Hitting is a sign of affection, scolding is a sign of love. She scolded me, which means she cares about me. She's just venting her resentment. Well, let her scold. It's good that she's venting her resentment."

After leaving the restroom, Qiao Ran quietly went to pay the bill, but the staff at the counter said that the payment had already been made.

"Was it Lin Mengchuan who got married?" Qiao Ran questioned the other party.

Seeing the other party's hesitant manner, she knew she had guessed correctly. Without thinking twice, she scanned the code and paid, "to return Lin Mengchuan's money to him and tell him that I don't need his charity."

Just as Lin Mengchuan's mood improved a little, the manager came over to refund him, saying, "Young Master Lin, Miss Qiao said she doesn't need your charity."

Lin Mengchuan's face immediately fell. "Charity? Did she really say that?"

The manager nodded vigorously. "That's exactly what he said: 'Tell him I don't need his charity.'"

Seeing Lin Mengchuan's ashen face, Xu Qing quickly dismissed the manager and comforted Lin Mengchuan, saying, "Brother Chuan, don't be angry. Your wife was just saying things in anger. We're men, we don't argue with little women. Don't take it to heart."

Lin Mengchuan thought about it and agreed; how could a grown man like him argue with a young woman?

Because they waited for Xu Qing's group of friends to arrive, the meal lasted for an hour before ending.

When Lin Mengchuan walked out of the restaurant, he bumped into Shen Qinglan and Qiao Ran again, this time with a man by their side.

Qi Muci handed a bouquet of flowers to Qiao Ran.

Qiao Ran was overjoyed and happily took the flowers, then put them to her nose to smell them.

She smiled brightly and thanked Qi Muci, saying, "Thank you, Brother Qi."

Lin Mengchuan found Qiao Ran's smile irritating, because she had never smiled at him like that before, but she smiled at Qi Muci like that.

It's just a bouquet of flowers, why are you so happy?

Lin Mengchuan was very disdainful.

Xu Qing, however, insisted on grabbing Lin Mengchuan and showing him, "Brother Chuan, did you see that? The most foolproof way to woo a girl is to send her flowers. Remember that, and find opportunities to send your sister-in-law flowers more often. Look how happy she is."

Hearing this, the fat man next to him expressed his different opinion, "Brother Xu, what you said is not entirely correct. If the flowers are given by someone you like, then of course they will make you happy."

"But if it's given by someone you dislike, it will only annoy them."

Lin Mengchuan's brows immediately furrowed.

Xu Qing glared at the fat man. "Shut up. What do you know? Have you ever been in a relationship?"

Big Fatty honestly shook his head.

Xu Qing: "That's it. You've never even been in a relationship, so what are you pretending to be, some kind of relationship guru?"

Hearing the noise, Qiao Ran turned around and saw Lin Mengchuan and his group. Her bright smile vanished instantly, and she pointed to the coffee shop next door and asked Qi Muci, "Brother Qi, would you like to have a coffee together?"

Shen Qinglan wanted to create an opportunity for her son, so she quickly said, "Then Mu Ci, why don't you go have a coffee with Ranran and talk about your new drama? I'll head back first. I'm used to taking a nap at noon, and I won't have any energy in the afternoon if I don't sleep."

Qi Muci: "Okay, Mom, did you drive here?"

Shen Qinglan: "Yes, I drove here myself. I parked it over there. You don't need to worry about me. Go have some coffee."

Qiao Ran: "Auntie, drive slowly. I'll come see you when I have time."

Shen Qinglan: "Okay, call me if you come over, and I'll prepare something delicious for you."

After watching Shen Qinglan leave, Qiao Ran called Qi Muci and they went into the coffee shop together.

Lin Mengchuan thought for a moment and said to Xu Qing, "Let's go get some coffee."

Qiao Ran had just sat down when she saw Lin Mengchuan come in. He was like a leech, impossible to shake off.

The more Lin Mengchuan pestered her, the more Qiao Ran disliked him.

Qi Muci glanced at Lin Mengchuan, then turned back and asked Qiao Ran to order.

They both ordered the same coffee.

After the waiter left, Qi Muci asked Qiao Ran, "How's your script reading going? I've been working on it these past few days. If you have any thoughts while you're reading, feel free to contact me anytime, by text or video call."

Qiao Ran: "Okay, Brother Qi, I did have some thoughts while watching, and I've written them down. Let me first talk about a few questions that I can think of right now, and you can listen and help me analyze them."

……

When Qiao Ran and Qi Muci started talking about the script, they forgot about Lin Mengchuan's presence and relaxed completely.

After finishing their coffee, Qi Muci asked the waiter to bring up a pitcher of juice. The two continued chatting until it got dark outside and the warm yellow lights came on inside.

Qi Muci saw that it was time for dinner, so he called the waiter over, and the two of them each ordered a steak and a vegetable salad.

After dinner, Qi Mu paid the bill and prepared to take Qiao Ran home.

The two then noticed that Lin Mengchuan was still in the coffee shop.

When Qiao Ran went to the restroom, Qi Muci helped her carry the bouquet of flowers to the door and waited for her.

Lin Mengchuan followed them out, glanced disdainfully at the flowers in Qi Muci's arms, and said sarcastically, "Cousin, isn't pursuing my ex-wife exciting? You don't actually think you can win her over with just a bouquet of flowers, do you?"