Chapter 43: Your Ex-Wife Plans a Seven-Day, Eight-Night Cruise with a Divorced Omega and Her Kid Part 2

If Pei Shijin went alone—lone Alpha, lone Omega, both freshly divorced—sparks would fly for sure?

Guan Yueying felt the road ahead was long. She hoped Pei Shijin wouldn’t go.

“Right, we were going to help investigate for you, but I got swamped after getting back and forgot. Starting tomorrow for sure.” Lin Shu said.

“No rush—spend time with Taotao first. Work can wait.” Pei Shijin replied.

“Haha, true. I’m back to being a rich second-gen now—no money worries.” Lin Shu laughed heartily.

Hearing footsteps, Guan Yueying scurried away, puzzled—what exactly were they investigating?

Soon it was check-up day; Gao Ye’an arranged it at a private hospital in Haicheng.

Pei Shijin saw her mentor, Zheng Aimei, again here.

Thinking of what Song Zonghui said—that Teacher cared about her—Pei Shijin felt an indescribable mix of emotions.

After the complex machine exams, it was the TCM doctors’ turn to take her pulse.

Pei Shijin looked at Teacher’s fingers on her wrist, feeling even more uneasy than last time.

Last time, Lu Yixue occupied her mind; she hadn’t considered anything else.

“I heard from Little Song you did a part-time grad program—who’s your big-shot advisor?” Teacher Zheng suddenly asked.

“No specific mentor—all the department profs are available for guidance.” Pei Shijin answered softly.

No teacher was willing to take on a non-working part-time student, but she offered a lot of money, had plenty of undergraduate achievements, passed the assessment, and guaranteed results during her master’s program—with those results listed under certain teachers’ names. That was how she smoothly enrolled in graduate studies.

Teacher Zheng’s brows furrowed together, and she said nothing more.

When it ended, Pei Shijin ran into Teacher Zheng again in the corridor while waiting for Guan Yueying to pick up her medicine.

“Although so many years have passed, I still want to ask—why did you ghost me without a word? If you’d had difficulties back then or a better opportunity, I definitely would’ve understood.” Teacher Zheng looked at Pei Shijin, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

She had truly valued Pei Shijin before—working half-time while studying, with top grades, a good temperament, willingness to endure hardship, and talent in traditional Chinese medicine.

Pei Shijin froze. It took her a long time to find her voice again, her throat tight. “Back then, I received your email saying your spots were full. My family was financially strained, so it was more suitable for me to start working directly rather than pursue further studies.”

Zheng Aimei also froze. “I only sent you an inquiry email when you hadn’t enrolled.”

“I never received any other email from you.” Trembling, Pei Shijin pulled out her phone and found the email she’d looked at countless times and deliberately saved.

Zheng Aimei took out her glasses from her pocket, put them on, and took the phone to examine it carefully.

No matter how many times she looked, the sender was herself.

She then pulled out her own phone and opened her email. Naturally, there was no record of that email in her history.

What she checked were the ones she’d sent to Pei Shijin.

They showed as sent successfully, but there was a black dot after them that the others didn’t have.

The two sat on the hospital stairs researching it and finally discovered that Zheng Aimei had blacklisted Pei Shijin. The emails appeared to send successfully but were intercepted by the blacklist.

They sat there in silence, digesting this absurd accident.

Someone had tampered with things. Who?

It had to be someone close who knew Zheng Aimei’s email login and her habit of communicating with students via email.

Zheng Aimei hadn’t held back from trying to call Pei Shijin, but the calls never went through.

Now, looking at her contacts, someone had changed the stored phone number by one digit. That number back then must have been an empty one.

Zheng Aimei had assumed Pei Shijin was acting guilty and avoiding her.

Meanwhile, Pei Shijin had been busy scraping together medical fees for her mother and felt like the sky had fallen again when she got the email. But her world was already in ruins, and she hadn’t bothered seeking an explanation.

“I’ll investigate this thoroughly and give you a proper accounting.” Zheng Aimei took off her glasses, wiped them, and put them back in her pocket.

“Thank you.” If it was one of her rivals from back then, they should’ve graduated by now, but Pei Shijin didn’t want to say things like “No need” or “Don’t worry about it.”

If the school could revoke that person’s dual certificates, that would be ideal. Pei Shijin could accept any other punishment too—she was petty and didn’t want bad people to get off easy.

“You’re interning at Little Song’s clinic now?” Zheng Aimei asked.

“Mm.” Pei Shijin nodded.

“Want to come intern with me? I’m short a reliable assistant, and I’ll be at the Haicheng campus for the next couple of years.” Zheng Aimei was uncharacteristically nervous, her fingers curling on her knee.

“Sure.” Pei Shijin agreed without hesitation. “Have Zonghui hire someone else for the odd jobs.”

Teacher Zheng was her ideal mentor; learning from her was an honor.

After her first paper was published during grad school, another teacher had wanted to take her on, but Pei Shijin refused.

Traditional Chinese medicine valued lineage; she couldn’t just take any master. The only teacher she wanted was Teacher Zheng.

“So happy? Looks like you’re recovering well.” Song Zonghui behind the clinic counter thought “beaming with joy” fit Pei Shijin perfectly.

“It’s okay, no big changes. I just chatted with Teacher Zheng, cleared up some past misunderstandings, and now I’m going to intern as her assistant.” Pei Shijin felt like good fortune was coming in waves lately—first Zheng Guoli’s self-destruction, now her teacher coming to her.

“That’s great. Wait, what misunderstandings?” Song Zonghui asked.

“What what? I didn’t hear anything. What did you sneak off and do while I was getting your medicine?” Guan Yueying, who’d stuck by Pei Shijin all day, crowded over.

Pei Shijin looked at her and smiled. “Teacher Zheng happened to show up then.”

She gave a brief account of why she hadn’t gone to grad school. She spoke lightly of it, but her listeners Song Zonghui and Guan Yueying were furious.

“What the hell, what kind of person does that? So despicable!”

“Normal competition wasn’t enough, so dirty tricks. Once I find out who, I’ll end her!”

“Utterly vile. I’m reporting her—make sure she can’t survive in the medical field!”

Pei Shijin nodded with a smile. “Sure, avenge me.”

Rage was rage, but with a bright path ahead, her mood was still excellent.

After the tirade, Guan Yueying excused herself to the bathroom and secretly messaged Lu Yixue.

[I can’t even. Pei Shijin had it so rough back then. Mom critically ill and couldn’t afford treatment was bad enough, but then a rival sabotaged her…]

[You have to get revenge for her! Pissed me off. How can there be such scumbags?!!!]

Song Zonghui called her senior apprentice sister to discuss hiring.

The clinic’s business had stabilized. It wasn’t too busy usually, but during the flu outbreak before, the three of them had been overwhelmed.

If Pei Shijin left, they needed to hire someone new.

She put up a job posting that day; Pei Shijin could leave once they found someone.

Lu Yixue saw Guan Yueying’s messages after finishing work—it was past eleven.

She stared blankly at her phone screen for a long time before snapping out of it.

She went to Lu Mingzhu’s room, looked at the sleeping Mingzhu, and lay down beside her.

Lying on her side, Lu Yixue gazed at the little one, tracing Mingzhu’s features with her eyes.

The child’s eyes and mouth resembled Lu Yixue’s; her nose and face shape took after Pei Shijin.

This was the crystallization of the two of them, carrying their blood. Lu Yixue thought it was a bond between them that could never be severed.

Once, she’d resented the newborn baby out of dislike for Pei Shijin, but because of her Mingzhu, she’d gradually accepted Pei Shijin.

Now, because she liked Pei Shijin, she felt something wondrous toward Mingzhu beyond mere maternal love. Humans were such complex creatures.

She slept soundly that night.

That weekend, Pei Shijin was even happier. Gao Ye’an brought Little Mingzhu to Haicheng.

After handing Little Mingzhu over and setting a pickup time, Gao Ye’an went to visit the You Family.

The mother and daughter hadn’t seen each other in so long that they clung like conjoined twins.

Little Mingzhu wanted to get down so she wouldn’t tire her mom, but Pei Shijin couldn’t bear to let go.

It was a joyful, fulfilling day.

In the evening, Pei Shijin took Lu Mingzhu for a KFC kids’ meal. The little one froze at the sight of the tie-in figurine, her big watery eyes fixed on Pei Shijin. How could Pei Shijin bear not to buy it?

After they finished eating, Pei Shijin sent Little Mingzhu to meet Gao Ye’an.

Lu Yixue walked into the KFC and ordered the same kids’ meal, choosing a different tie-in figurine as the gift.

The Eldest Young Lady had never eaten a kids’ meal in her life. She tried it—taste was decent.

She’d bring Mingzhu next time.

At parting, Lu Mingzhu hugged Pei Shijin’s neck, tears pattering down. “Mommy, Mommy, Mingzhu wants Mommy. Can’t Mommy come home?”

“Be good. Mommy’s heart is always with Little Mingzhu.” Pei Shijin patted the little one’s back.

It was heart-wrenching; it took over half an hour before Gao Ye’an carried Lu Mingzhu into the high-speed rail station.

Watching the aggrieved little one, Pei Shijin pondered letting Little Mingzhu stay with her for a while.

Before school started, at least—then she’d have to go back for classes.

A few days later, the clinic hired a new intern. Pei Shijin packed up and reported to Teacher Zheng.

It wasn’t convenient for Guan Yueying to hang around a big shot’s turf every day freeloading air conditioning, but she still didn’t leave.

Four more days until boarding the ship. Once that passed and she confirmed Pei Shijin wasn’t going, she’d head home.

But the next day, Guan Yueying got bad news: Pei Shijin was going on a business trip with her teacher for a consultation, and the location was that very cruise ship.

Who gets sick needing a doctor on a tourist ship? Can’t they dock? Guan Yueying was speechless.

She wanted to discuss with You Yi what to do, but You Yi seemed soulless, responding to everything with “Huh?” after rambling.

Guan Yueying kicked her in frustration, then remembered You Yi hadn’t been to the clinic lately—probably lost her mind over some Omega.

Looked like Lu Yixue would have to handle it herself.

“Hello, what’s up?” Lu Yixue’s voice was hoarse.

“Cold?” Guan Yueying asked.

“Mm.” Lu Yixue said flatly.

“That’s just salt in the wound,” Guan Yueying sighed, exaggerating. “Your ex-wife is going on a seven-night-eight-day cruise with a freshly divorced Omega who has a kid.”

Lu Yixue: ???