Jin Fuxiao had many siblings in her family when she was young. Later, when chatting with Ju Cixin, she mentioned that her stunted growth was partly due to this reason.
A moment later, she added that it was only after going to the fishball factory that she finally ate her fill, and Peng Hu even gave her own portion to her.
Her conversations always naturally looped back to Peng Hu, so Ju Cixin hurriedly interrupted her, saying that was enough and to stop talking about it.
Her ears were practically growing calluses from hearing about it; was Peng Hu going to reimburse her for an ear-cleaning service?
Sitting to the side, Peng Hu smiled and asked Jin Fuxiao if it could be reimbursed.
Jin Fuxiao replied that she would clean her ears personally.
Ju Cixin stepped back several paces, waving her hand and saying she couldn’t possibly accept that.
Back then, they had already founded Chenhun Group. Several of them had clear divisions of labor: running sales, building the website, interfacing with factories, and so on.
It was just that they couldn’t even afford to rent a co-working space, so they rented a dilapidated old residential house with red brick walls, rounded archways, and iron railings. Opposite them was a shop selling hot dry noodles, and whenever they ordered food together every day, they would ask the boss to round down the price.
A few girls in similar dire circumstances gathered together. Even now, Ju Cixin still claimed her sexual orientation was influenced by Jin Fuxiao and Peng Hu, and that the two of them as a married couple had to take full responsibility.
Later, when Jin Fuxiao tossed back the blind-date roster, it was treated as a backlash against arranged setups.
The photos on the blind-date forms flew out everywhere, featuring younger ones as well as older ones, yet Jin Fuxiao didn’t take a liking to a single one.
Her reasons were either that they weren’t as good-looking as her, or that they weren’t as good-looking as that person.
Peng Hu’s office was still preserved at the company headquarters, locked up. Whenever new employees asked about it, anyone who answered would give them a subtle, knowing look.
It was just like Jin Fuxiao’s sealed-off heart; even if covered in dust, it was filled with Peng Hu.
After completely losing all trace of Peng Hu, she took down many of Peng Hu’s photos.
She frequently thought of her, yet didn’t want to look at her photos, not knowing how to summon someone whose survival remained unknown.
Her mature body gradually grew thin due to her partner’s departure without saying goodbye. Appearing in front of the screen now, her appearance was already a readjusted state.
Although Jin Fuxiao said that one’s thirties were the best time in life, Ju Cixin knew she was lying.
The best time in Jin Fuxiao’s life was during those years when Peng Hu was by her side.
Back then, she ate much more than she did now and had a greater curiosity toward life, rather than soaking in the office all day long or constantly thinking about how to boost sales to sustain the company.
Times had changed as well. Many company bosses connected with the internet to build an approachable image, and no one knew what the next opportunity might be.
When Ju Cixin first recommended Jin Fuxiao to join a reality show, she thought Jin Fuxiao would refuse.
After all, ever since Peng Hu left behind the divorce agreement, Jin Fuxiao no longer continued her habit of taking an annual joint photo.
Ju Cixin didn’t want to be the top boss either. She was doing very well in her position, as the second-in-command was the most comfortable zone. Previously, Jin Fuxiao had someone to share the burden; no matter how close Ju Cixin was with her, she had arrived later.
On her previous reality show, Jin Fuxiao performed very well. More people paid attention to her, and some also became interested in her private life.
Inevitably, Peng Hu was mentioned, causing age-old rumors to resurface again.
The most absurd accusation was that Jin Fuxiao had murdered Peng Hu.
Ju Cixin didn’t dare to ponder Jin Fuxiao’s feelings in detail; she only knew that besides such rumors, there was even more betrayal involved.
Having known her for many years, she didn’t believe Peng Hu was capable of doing such a thing, yet during the final years of her relationship with Jin Fuxiao, Peng Hu’s cold indifference was also very obvious.
She no longer cared as much about Jin Fuxiao.
She frequently missed gatherings and seemed to drive off to other places alone, with hotel check-in records showing under her name.
Jin Fuxiao didn’t want to suspect her and tried asking her face to face, but Peng Hu claimed she had never gone out.
When Ju Cixin lost her patience and slammed the records right in front of her, Peng Hu looked even more astonished than they were.
The matter ended up unresolved.
Jin Fuxiao was just that kind of person: resolute and capable on the outside, but inside, she would fall apart without Peng Hu.
When “Goodbye, Wife” was broadcast simultaneously, even though the weekend was a day off, Ju Cixin, who was at the company, took a glance at the show during her break.
Jin Fuxiao’s plum-colored short curly hair had been straightened, making her appearance exude the authoritative aura of a boss. Unconcerned about whether the live camera was on her, her eyes adorned with delicate makeup blinked, as if teasing, or perhaps mockingly laughing at herself.
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, and even across the screen, one could sense a faint, subtle melancholy.
Comments flashed across the live screen in a flood, cracking jokes, while sensitive viewers also noticed Jin Fuxiao’s low spirits.
Lou Zimiao was a veteran actress. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but then two people arrived one after another; they were another divorced couple.
The two came in one behind the other, bickering as they entered, regardless of whether the show was live streaming or not.
“Do you really have to walk in front of me?”
“You are the one insisting on tailing behind me, alright? You truly have no sense of boundaries.”
“How do you have the nerve to mention boundaries to me? I wonder who ended up on the same plane with me, her divorced ex-wife.”
“It’s not like I bought your ticket. If you think that way, it means you still like me!”
Jin Fuxiao and Lou Zimiao looked over. The two people arriving one after the other were wearing T-shirts and jeans with different prints that appeared to be from the same brand.
One had a head of pink long hair pressed under a baseball cap, while the other had her hair tied behind her head. Disdaining her divorced ex-wife’s lack of strength while dragging a suitcase, she reached out to lift the back wheels of the suitcase, saying, “Move along nicely now, will you?”
Jin Fuxiao recognized that pink hair. During the year she and Peng Hu started their business, they had passed by that idol group’s concert, which was packed with people outside the venue.
She and Peng Hu made a lot of money setting up a stall to sell bottled mineral water. The only unpleasant part was that Peng Hu was mistaken for an artist, which made Jin Fuxiao thoroughly furious.
That night, Peng Hu had to thoroughly please her before her anger dissipated.
“Aren’t they divorced? There’s no feeling of divorce at all.”
“So many years have passed, and Chao Bei is still such a hopeless mess.”
“Her wife can really tolerate it. If I grew up with a person like that, I would only be temporarily blinded by infatuation, wouldn’t I?”
“Are there two more behind them?”
“I see light blue hair! The broadcast just started today; who did the makeup and styling?”
“I originally thought only the boss of Chenhun Group didn’t look like she was divorced, but looking at it now, that’s already two-thirds of them!”
The airport in this city was extremely far from the urban area, so Peng Hu waited a while for the shuttle bus at the airport.
Unlike the previous pair, she and the last guest didn’t take the same bus; they merely got off one after another.
The weather was very hot. Peng Hu was wearing the parent-child outfit Dai Buyu had prepared for her and Zhou Qi. A pink jellyfish was printed on the front chest and back, looking vibrant and entirely out of sync with her temperament, making it quite funny to look at after a while.
Peng Hu saw that the woman ahead of her was even smaller in stature than Jin Fuxiao, with a suitcase almost as big as a person. She walked over and asked, “Do you need help?”
Inside, Jin Fuxiao also saw Peng Hu through the split screen outside.
Several guests were sitting on wooden benches on the first floor of the inn, waiting for everyone to gather for instructions.
The pink-haired idol Chao Bei had met Lou Zimiao before and greeted her.
Lou Zimiao pointed at the screen. “My ex-wife, Shu Huaidie.”
Her demeanor was very gentle, like a quiet stream of water. Whether it was her voice or her gaze, she didn’t sound like someone who was divorced either.
“Did we stumble into the wrong reality show? Is this ‘Wife’s Romantic Journey’?”
“What’s going on? Is there a Werewolf script for divorces too?”
Shu Huaidie completely met the criteria of a truly petite person, and she was also the youngest among those present.
She was twenty-six years old this year and didn’t look to be in very good health.
Seeing someone helping with the suitcase, she assumed it was a staff member. Turning her head to look, she first saw the comical pink jellyfish on Peng Hu’s clothing, then raised her eyes to see long light blue hair and snow-white skin.
Even more striking were the symmetrical red moles at the outer corners of both her eyes, looking like fallen crimson petals on white paper.
If it weren’t broad daylight, Shu Huaidie would have suspected she was seeing a ghost.
“Are you from Chenhun Group?”
“Fufu’s ex-wife.”
The corners of Peng Hu’s lips twitched, revealing that as a returned jellyfish, she still hadn’t mastered controlling her facial expressions smoothly.
When this scene fell into the eyes of the guests inside, the pink-haired Chao Bei couldn’t help asking, “Is this Sister Peng too tall, or…”
Lou Zimiao said, “Xiaodie is very cute; it’s just that Miss Peng Hu is too tall.”
“She really is tall! I thought I was the tallest one here.”
Chao Bei was thirty years old this year. The idol track hadn’t aged out just yet, and she hadn’t transitioned into acting or ventured into the business world as a boss like her other teammates. She took on small jobs to get by, which was how Lu Yuan, her childhood friend and wife, ended up divorcing her.
After the divorce, the two of them frequently argued across social media platforms, refreshing the tragic archetype of idols retiring to get married.
“Look in the mirror, do you think you look as good as Chairman Peng?”
“You must have tried your hardest with your makeup! Once you wash your face later, your real skin will show.”
“Do you have to tear me down? As if you don’t know I have a public image to maintain!”
“Right! When going out on a date with you, taking an OOTD photo takes you four full hours. Am I your wife? I’m your unpaid assistant!”
“Aren’t you a photographer anyway?”
Lu Yuan didn’t sit next to Chao Bei either. The six chairs at the scene were divided into three groups, and she sat down beside Jin Fuxiao, which happened to make it convenient for her to quarrel with Chao Bei across the room.
“A familiar scene! I thought I entered the wrong live stream.”
“Why are they still arguing on a reality show? Have we viewers turned into judges all the way onto TV? How is the post-production team going to edit this?”
“I’m sorry, I’m guilty! These two making out after arguing like this is what makes it fun. Is this really a divorce show?”
“Forget ‘Goodbye, Wife’; the first episode should be called ‘Kissing Wife’!”
It was amidst such bickering that Peng Hu entered, carrying two suitcases.
Shu Huaidie, who was with her, only reached up to her chest. Although she wasn’t tall, her features were very delicate. Even with makeup, her weak complexion was hard to hide, making people wonder if she could smoothly complete the filming.
Peng Hu aimed straight for the seat next to Jin Fuxiao and walked directly over.
Lu Yuan’s voice grew quieter and quieter as she sat in her seat, her eyes blinking repeatedly while looking at Peng Hu.
Chao Bei knew that whenever Lu Yuan saw a beautiful woman, she acted like this, purely due to an oversecretion of lustful courage. She couldn’t help saying, “Your fake eyelashes are falling off.”
Lu Yuan let out an affected gasp and hurriedly searched for a handheld mirror.
“Splendid! As expected of this pair! Normal people are a bitter couple, but these two are a prickly couple!”
“Xiao Yuan, I understand you! Chairman Peng is indeed… What’s going on? Has she maintained herself too well?”
“I want to sit here,” Peng Hu said to the woman with chestnut-colored side-parted short hair.
Lu Yuan checked her sunflower eyelashes, not forgetting to glare at Chao Bei. “Sure thing! Sit right here, Sister!”
She didn’t go sit next to Chao Bei either, heading instead toward the empty seat next to Lou Zimiao.
With only one seat left, Shu Huaidie sat down beside Chao Bei. “Your hair color is really pretty.”
Her voice was very weak, but her smile revealed dimples and tiger teeth, easily arousing a protective desire in others.
Chao Bei uttered an “Mm.” “Little sister, you have great taste, unlike a certain colorblind person who said my hair looks like a flamingo.”
Peng Hu had no interest in anyone else; the moment she sat down, she turned her head to look at Jin Fuxiao.
“Fufu, I missed you so much.”