The Ex-Husband Returns

Chapter 3: Taking Him Home

So he could apologize, spoke clearly, and had a pleasant voice—Qiao Mo quickly came to a conclusion: this was an educated homeless man.

As long as he was still capable of listening to reason, she thought, there was hope for him.

“Um… I can lend you my phone,” she said cautiously, “but promise me you’ll give it back right after the call, okay?”

She wasn’t exactly rich herself. If he ran off with it, she wouldn’t even have the strength to chase him down.

“Don’t worry. I’ll hand it back as soon as I’m done.”

The man stretched his hand toward her, silently urging her to hurry up and hand the phone over.

Qiao Mo took her phone out and nervously passed it to him, even opening the dial screen to make it easier.

Just as the man—Xiao Xu—tapped the first two digits, the phone screen suddenly went black. He held it out to her. “Looks like it’s dead.”

She checked. “Yeah… no battery.”

Well, that wasn’t her fault. She really had meant to help, but ever since leaving the Xiao house, she’d forgotten to charge her phone.

And her phone wasn’t a great one anyway. The battery life was notoriously bad.

Embarrassed, she said, “Maybe… you can try asking someone else?”

Xiao Xu scratched his tangled mop of hair and replied like it was the most natural thing in the world, “Why don’t you just charge it at home and let me use it then?”

…What?

Was he trying to cling to her? Qiao Mo suddenly grew wary—was he hitting on her? Did he think she was easy just because she looked decent?

She crossed her arms and took a step back, eyes guarded. “My husband’s home. That’d be... inconvenient.”

Xiao Xu looked around. The streets were empty. She was clearly his only option.

“I promise,” he said, “once I make the call, I’ll give you ten thousand yuan as a thank-you.”

Qiao Mo gave him a once-over. His hair was a mess, his clothes were torn, and he was still covered in dried blood. “You? You don’t look like you can scrape together ten yuan, let alone ten thousand.”

He opened his mouth to respond—then caught sight of himself. Yeah… not the best moment to argue that point.

Xiao Xu had just returned from a top-secret research base where he’d been isolated for the past three years. He’d completed a major project and had only recently been sent back under the radar.

He had nothing on him. Not even a phone. Some thugs had mugged him on the way into town.

He was supposed to report to a Class-A hospital to start collecting clinical data for the next phase of his research. Originally, someone from headquarters was supposed to drop him off at the hospital entrance, but an emergency had called the driver away—and now he was stranded.

“I’m not a bad person,” he said earnestly, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. “I just got caught in a bad situation. I’m actually a doctor—at a top-tier hospital. If you ever get sick, I’ll make sure you get treated.”

Was that supposed to be a threat or a promise? Qiao Mo couldn’t help but chuckle. What kind of doctor cursed people into needing his services?

Still, he didn’t seem like a criminal—just someone down on his luck. Her heart softened.

“Okay,” she said, “come back to my place. Once my phone charges, you can make your call.”

Xiao Xu nodded gratefully. He wasn’t planning to call family, though. He didn’t want to alarm them. This was just a temporary assignment—after it was over, he’d be back in the lab.

He intended to call a colleague who could pick him up and take him to the housing unit the organization had arranged.

“Thank you. Really. I appreciate this.”

He followed her through a rundown neighborhood, heading toward the oldest, shabbiest-looking apartment building.

He frowned slightly. Her husband let her live in a place like this? Doesn’t look very safe…

But once inside, he noticed something strange—there were no signs of a man living here at all. No shoes by the door. No razor in the bathroom. No scent of aftershave. Nothing.

He glanced at her suspiciously. She lied.

She must have said that earlier to protect herself.

“Do you live alone?” he asked casually, watching her as she put groceries away.

“Yeah,” she answered automatically.

Then she froze.

Crap.

She quickly tried to backpedal. “I mean—no. I don’t live alone. My husband’s just… out. He’ll be back soon.”

Xiao Xu smiled faintly, playing along with her lie without exposing it.

Once Qiao Mo plugged in her phone to charge, she gestured toward the couch. “Have a seat and wait here for a bit. I’ll bring it to you as soon as it powers on.”

Then she headed into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a glass of water and handed it to him.

“If it’s not enough, I’ll get you more.”

Xiao Xu was indeed parched. He tilted his head back and gulped the whole glass in one go.

Seeing this, Qiao Mo quickly poured him another and reminded, “Slow down, there’s plenty more!”

Xiao Xu tugged at his collar, frowning. His clothes were sticky, damp, and gave off a strange smell.

As someone with a severe cleanliness obsession—especially coming from a medical research background—he couldn’t stand it for even another second.

He stood and pointed toward the bathroom. “Do you mind if I take a quick shower?”

Qiao Mo hadn’t expected him to push his luck. She didn’t like the idea of sharing her bathroom with a stranger, so she shook her head firmly. “No.”

Xiao Xu glanced down at his appearance. After a second’s thought, he took off the watch on his wrist and held it out to her. “If it’s okay with you, this can be your ‘bathroom rental fee.’”

Qiao Mo took the watch and turned it over in her hands. Though she wasn’t familiar with luxury brands, she had seen her father-in-law wear one just like this before.

Rolex. Whether real or fake—either way—it looked valuable.

Could he actually be a rich young master who’s fallen on hard times?

Right now, what she needed most was money. Judging by the craftsmanship, even if it was a knockoff, it had to be worth something.

She slipped the watch into her pocket and waved a hand, feigning generosity. “Alright, go ahead.”

Once he disappeared into the bathroom, Qiao Mo turned back to the kitchen to make dinner.

She washed some vegetables and set a pot of water to boil, planning to make simple veggie noodles—cheap, but healthy.

When Xiao Xu emerged, freshly showered, he spotted two steaming bowls of noodles already set on the table. They looked—and smelled—incredible.

His stomach growled loudly. He hadn’t eaten for a full day.

He glanced toward the kitchen, saw Qiao Mo still busy preparing side dishes, and—without asking—sat down and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

In no time, he had devoured the entire bowl.

When Qiao Mo came out holding a plate of vegetables, she stared in disbelief.

“Wow… You ate that like you’d been starving for days. That was fast.”

Xiao Xu smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. I was really hungry. But I’ll pay you for the meal.”

Qiao Mo raised an eyebrow. From the moment they’d met, this man had mentioned money more than once.

With mock offense, she asked, “Do I really look that money-obsessed to you?”

Realizing she might actually be upset, Xiao Xu quickly waved his hands. “No, no, not at all. I just… I don’t know how else to thank you.”

Ever since he was a child, he’d been taught one thing: money solves 99.9% of life’s problems.

And the remaining 0.01%? That’s because you didn’t spend enough.

At that moment, Qiao Mo suddenly realized—he was only wearing a towel.

Water droplets still clung to his chest, glistening under the light.

Flustered, she immediately turned her head away. “Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”

Xiao Xu looked confused. “You don’t have any of my clothes here, do you?”