Chapter 40 Not an Ex-Boyfriend, but an Ex-Husband

Chapter 40: Not an Ex-Boyfriend, but an Ex-Husband

It was quite warm on New Year’s Eve, with a brief spike in temperature, even though it had snowed just two days earlier.

Strange weather.

Li Wangyue made a quick appearance at school, said hi to the students, and left after watching the awards ceremony.

It was still early, and Zhao Bing hadn’t urged him to hurry, so he swung by his usual convenience store and bought two rice balls.

As night fell, perhaps the weather was truly good; even in the bustling city, the stars were clearly visible in the sky.

He finished the rice balls to take the edge off his hunger and thought about grabbing some hot oden, but remembered Zhao Bing had said he’d treat them to a big meal, so he decided against it, didn’t want to be too stuffed and ruin the fun.

The group chat was blowing up, mostly with messages from Yu Jiayi. She was at Yunling Foreign Language Academy and couldn’t make it back, but she sent a ton of photos. She wore an elegant gown with a coat over it, sipping bubble tea backstage getting ready; she was gonna co-host the New Year’s Eve event with a senior from Yunwai.

The chat was all praise, with some expressing concern that she might be cold in such little clothing, but Yu Jiayi answered each one that the auditorium’s heating was very strong, so she wasn’t cold at all.

Li Wangyue also jumped in a few times. These young people were lively, and hanging with them always made him feel young again.

Thinking he’d be busy later, he sent out a New Year’s red envelope early, telling the kids to have fun and look forward to the new year.

After that, not wanting to come off too old, he scrolled his phone and picked a cute little line-drawn dog sticker to send, one he’d snagged from Meng Chi.

He drove to a hotel near Dusklight, and as soon as he entered, he saw Zhao Bing running around. He was about to go help when Zhao Bing ducked into a little side door, doing God knows what.

“You can’t come? Didn’t we agree… Alright, then take care of your sister-in-law, no worries, we’ll have plenty of chances to hang out. Go on, let me know if you need anything, my brother knows many doctors…”

Li Wangyue caught that and didn’t butt in, waiting nearby.

Zhao Bing put down his phone, the fake smile dropping from his face, but it lit back up when he turned and saw Li Wangyue.

“You’re here! Hungry? Want to grab a bite first?” Zhao Bing had some snacks brought over.

Li Wangyue didn’t stop him, just asked, “Is your friend okay?”

“It’s nothing, they just can’t come.” Zhao Bing waved it off, sounding casual. “I still got you guys.”

When the snacks came, Zhao Bing got more calls—all cancellations.

Li Wangyue could tell those people had only agreed to hang with Zhao Bing ’cause they had nothing better to do, making empty promises, and when something better came along, they’d ditch him.

Zhao Bing sat in a chair munching on cookies, one hand on his phone calling new people, the other checking on the dinner plans.

With just four hours left till New Year’s, everyone free was already taken, and the ones who hated crowds couldn’t be dragged out.

Every time Zhao Bing cheerfully called a friend to invite them, only to get a polite no, he’d smile and say it’s cool.

Li Wangyue grabbed his other phone. “Let me take care of it.”

Dinner was ready, but there were other plans too, like a night harbor cruise, which Li Wangyue knew jack about, so he waited for Zhao Bing to call the shots.

“After we hit the Ferris wheel, we can do a night cruise around the harbor,” Zhao Bing said.

“What Ferris wheel?”

“The one you talked about last time.” Zhao Bing grabbed his hand, all excited. “You said there’s a sea Ferris wheel at Landong Port, and it’s super lucky for making wishes.”

Li Wangyue remembered. Months ago, he’d overheard students talking about how the Ferris wheel at Landong Port was magical—if you made a wish at the top, you’d get whatever you wanted.

He’d thought it was just a joke back then, but Zhao Bing had remembered.

“Tickets for that Ferris wheel are crazy hard to get, especially for the top cabin on New Year’s Eve. I know a guy who works there—I used to date him and gave him a bottle of cologne, so he hooked me up with several sets of tickets.” Zhao Bing beamed, clearly fishing for a compliment.

Li Wangyue smiled. “Thanks. I’m really looking forward to it.”

With that compliment, Zhao Bing perked right up, and the disappointment from the rejections vanished.

Ji Zhijia arrived later, followed by Shang Wendu one after the other. Li Wangyue noticed but didn’t ask.

Zhao Bing, blunt as ever, asked directly, “Did you two do it outside before coming in? Coming in separately like that—who are you trying to fool?”

Ji Zhijia snorted. “I just registered a few new corpses before rushing over. He’d love to come with me, but I don’t take breathing ones.”

Shang Wendu adjusted his glasses. “You do prefer the dead over the living. Even my breathing bothers you—like you’re some delicate princess who can’t take a little noise.”

Li Wangyue handed him a bottle of water, somewhat interrupting their bickering.

He rarely saw Ji Zhijia so irritable. Ji Zhijia could be sharp-tongued, but he didn’t attack people for no reason.

Zhao Bing laughed teasingly. “Do you two poison each other when you kiss?”

“What?” Li Wangyue’s hand shook, spilling water.

Zhao Bing pulled out a stack of cash and waved it proudly. “The guys and I started a betting pool. I put a big bet on them having a past together. Look, I won! Pretty impressive, right?”

Li Wangyue finally understood why Ji Zhijia had gotten angry when he’d asked about his relationship with Shang Wendu, snapping back if he’d also placed a bet.

It was Zhao Bing.

Turning a friend’s private past into a betting game was just the kind of thing Zhao Bing would do.

Seeing Li Wangyue’s confused look, Ji Zhijia reluctantly confessed, “He’s my ex-boyfriend.”

Before Li Wangyue could react, Shang Wendu let out a cold laugh.

“Ex-boyfriend? That’s how you introduce me to others?”

Ji Zhijia gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes, stepping away from him, unwilling to engage.

Shang Wendu smiled, his eyes full of ease. “What, embarrassed? You weren’t ashamed when you proposed to me back then, but now you’re being picky.”

“Thud.”

The bottle hit the floor, water spilling everywhere, and Zhao Bing’s jaw dropped, unable to close for a long moment.

Li Wangyue dared not react further, just looked at Ji Zhijia with a questioning gaze.

Ji Zhijia ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Fine, he’s not my ex-boyfriend. He’s my ex… husband.”

Li Wangyue didn’t know what to say.

Ji Zhijia shrugged. “A brief marriage, about two months, then we divorced. I never mentioned it because I didn’t think it was worth talking about.”

The small hall’s door opened, and a tall, dark man walked in, brushing frost off his clothes. He passed the tense pair with a blank expression, walked up to Zhao Bing, and held out his hand.

Zhao Bing was furious, glaring at Ji Zhijia and Shang Wendu. “Two desperate men who can’t live without a man, getting married! You made me lose money! I only thought you had a fling, but you were actually married! Disgusting! Ugh! Married people are the worst!”

After cussing out the two of them, he pulled all the cash from his pocket and slapped it into Ting Zhenxi's hand, cursing him out viciously, "You dare win my money? Hope you get hit by a car and need to buy yourself a coffin."

Ting Zhenxi took the money and casually counted it, "Thanks for the cash, Master Zhao."

"You placed a bet too?" Li Wangyue glanced sideways at him.

"It's a fun game—why not?" Ting Zhenxi counted the money seriously, then pocketed it.

"Damn, I lost everything! 1-to-5 odds!" Zhao Bing whined, digging through his phone for the bookie's number and calling to curse him out again.

Li Wangyue's ears were ringing.

Ting Zhenxi loved games of chance—the more luck-based, the better; the higher the risk, the more thrilling.

But Zhao Bing was a sore loser. When he lost, he'd go on a rampage, smashing things and throwing fits, super sensitive and fragile. If not for being surrounded by people he couldn't mess with, he'd randomly pick some poor waiter to beat up.

Still, his moods changed fast. Once he'd vented, he remembered he'd invited everyone for New Year's Eve. He put his phone away and put on a smile.

"Alright, let's go eat." Zhao Bing clapped his hands.

The sudden mood swing made Li Wangyue give him a second look.

"Is it just us here?" Shang Wendu asked.

Zhao Bing pouted, "Yeah, they all have partners. Only you losers are free, so you're stuck with me."

Ji Zhijia immediately fired back, "He said you're unwanted."

Shang Wendu's face didn't change, "He meant you're the unwanted one."

Ting Zhenxi raised an eyebrow and shot Li Wangyue a glance.

Li Wangyue wanted to step in but knew it was pointless, so he just let them be.

Ji Zhijia smirked, "I'm unwanted? Then why has my inbox been blowing up since yesterday from someone wanting to ring in the New Year with me?"

Shang Wendu smiled softly, his voice warm, "Sweetheart, those are from the couple's package we ordered when we got married—100% automated emails. You should've unsubscribed after we split, instead of fantasizing over spam thinking it's me missing you."

"...You're so dead." Ji Zhijia clenched his fists.

Zhao Bing didn't have that kind of patience. He hooked an arm around each of them, pulling them into a hug with a grin, "Darlings, I love you both. It's a good day today. If you keep fighting, I'll hose you down with a pressure washer, okay? Deal?"

Ji Zhijia's face went dark, "Let me go!"

Shang Wendu pushed his slipping glasses up, "Got it. Don't freak out."

Zhao Bing let them go and skipped ahead to lead the way to dinner.

Even though it was the end of the year, the weather wasn't warm enough for just a shirt. Zhao Bing wore only a shirt, clearly too big—sleeves and hem way too long, probably someone else's clothes he'd thrown on. As he walked ahead, the hem flapped around, making him look tall and lanky.

He excitedly talked about the chef he'd hired for tonight, the specialty dishes made just for them, and then dramatically went on about how the wishing Ferris wheel was so magical it could grant everyone's New Year's wishes.

Li Wangyue walked at the back, spotting a waiter in a side hallway. He stepped over to say a few words before following Zhao Bing into the private dining room.

The food came off the cart dish by dish, all tailored to their tastes—things they'd eaten before at dusk. Li Wangyue had never even let on that he liked them, but Zhao Bing seemed to know everything, like he had a sixth sense.

Li Wangyue thought, maybe this weird, eccentric man really could commune with spirits, even talk to animals.

Those three birds weren't pets; they were spirit companions.

Li Wangyue chuckled at his own imagination.

Soon, a waiter came in, bent down to hand Zhao Bing a cup of ginger tea, and brought him a new coat and scarf.

Zhao Bing froze when he saw the ginger tea, blinking.

"Well, looks like this handsome guy's charm is still strong—admirers rushing to send gifts." He flipped his hair, showing off, and put on the coat.

Ji Zhijia muttered darkly, "You'd better ask if it's free. A nice coat like that for nothing? Could be a scam."

Zhao Bing ignored his sarcasm, basking in self-praise, "Lots of people care about me. You're the one nobody wants."

Li Wangyue didn't call out his joke. Watching Zhao Bing's smile, he felt there was a hidden, dense pain beneath it.

"Pass me the salt."

A voice came from beside him.

Li Wangyue didn't catch it, "What?"

Ting Zhenxi was staring at him intently, his eyes seeming annoyed at his distraction.

"Salt," he repeated.

"Oh."

Li Wangyue looked around, but paused when his gaze landed on the table.

"It's right here," he said.

The salt was on the table between him and Ting Zhenxi, within easy reach of both their hands.

A distance you could grab in an instant.

Ting Zhenxi acted like he hadn't heard, asking again, "So can you pass it to me?"

Li Wangyue's grip on his fork loosened, then tightened again. He said softly, "You can get it yourself."

Ting Zhenxi reached out and knocked over the salt shaker. The cylindrical bottle rolled across the table, stopping shakily in front of Li Wangyue.

"Now can you hand me the salt?" Ting Zhenxi asked.

The commotion drew attention, even Zhao Bing looked up.

Li Wangyue set down his fork, slowly reached out, picked up the salt shaker, and handed it to the man.

Ting Zhenxi ignored the stares around him, took the shaker, and sprinkled some on his food: "Thanks, big brother."