On Her Wedding Night, She Transmigrated To The Aftermath Of Her Divorce - Chapter 5

Yu Yan and Yu Lan, mother and daughter, had a strained relationship.

Yu Yan deeply disliked her mother, while Yu Lan was equally dissatisfied with her useless daughter.

Yu Yan’s resentment stemmed from many things. While her mother’s constant work and neglect since childhood was bad enough, the main issue was her mother’s cold and unfeeling personality.

As far back as Yu Yan could remember, she’d been raised by her grandmother like an orphan, with her legendary mother only visiting once every six months. It wasn’t until she was ten that her mother finally brought her to Yuncheng.

Before she turned ten, Yu Yan had always longed for her mother. Though she loved her grandma dearly, she couldn’t help but look forward to her new life with her mother. She had no father—neither her grandma nor her mother ever mentioned him, nor explained whether he was dead or disabled. Yu Yan never dreamed of having a father; her impression of men was overwhelmingly negative. Despite her young age, she had heard countless stories of bad men—the dirty, rude boys in her class who reeked of sweat, the fathers who drank too much, gambled, and had terrible tempers… Greasy, arrogant, vulgar, stupid, emotionally unstable, violent criminals… From these countless examples of male misdeeds, she concluded that men were inherently inferior to women, deserving of contempt.

Though she didn’t particularly like Yu Lan, at least she was her mother, a woman.

Yu Lan was extremely strict with her. From the moment they arrived in Yuncheng, Yu Yan was enrolled in an elite elementary school’s Accelerated Class, followed by a barrage of after-school tutoring. Yu Lan had meticulously planned her daughter’s life trajectory from the moment she took her away: at least a 985 University degree in China, followed by several years abroad, then starting at the bottom of the company and working her way up for three to five years. Only then, if she performed well, would she qualify to be personally mentored by Yu Lan and eventually take on the responsibility of running the company.

Yu Yan had grown accustomed to her carefree life with her grandma and had no aptitude for studying. Her mother’s words frightened her, but she lacked the motivation to change. No matter how many excellent teachers Yu Lan hired or how many outstanding tutors she brought in, it was all futile as long as Yu Yan’s heart wasn’t in her studies. Though her grades remained poor, she got along famously with every tutor.

Yu Lan was busy with work and rarely asked how Yu Yan was doing at school or what she did each day. When she was home, she would only glance at Yu Yan’s report card. Her domineering nature forced Yu Yan to trudge through her studies, constantly reminiscing about her happy days with her grandma.

Unaccustomed to city life, Grandma preferred living alone in her old home in the south. Yu Yan worried about her constantly. One day, Yu Yan’s right eyelid twitched incessantly, and she felt anxious and short of breath. Sure enough, something had happened to her grandma.

The nanny found Grandma collapsed at home. Rushed to the hospital, she was diagnosed with a severe stroke and was not expected to survive. This coincided with Yu Yan’s mid-term exams, and she remained completely unaware. When she woke up and found Yu Lan gone, there’s nothing unusual in there.

She was driven to school by the chauffeur. Returning home that evening, she learned from Yu Lan’s assistant that her mother had rushed back to their hometown because Grandma was ill.

Yu Yan had always been well-behaved, wanting to be the kind of obedient daughter Yu Lan would like. But that was the first time she’d ever acted up, refusing to go to school, refusing to eat, and demanding to go to the hospital to see her grandma. If Yu Yan hadn’t been so stubborn, Yu Lan would have weighed the pros and cons and let her daughter continue her studies the next day.

At that age, Yu Yan’s immature mind created a deep rift between her and her mother. She felt Yu Lan was cold and heartless, completely lacking in warmth.

Yu Lan was nothing like the mother Yu Yan had imagined.

Yu Yan could never feel close to her.

They weren’t like ordinary mother and daughter pairs, where the mother is kind and the daughter filial. Yu Yan never shared her troubles with her mother because she’d always say, “You should focus on your studies.” When walking side by side, they never held hands; when sad or upset, they never hugged, because both would feel awkward. They never said caring words to each other, not even on birthdays—Yu Yan had tried once, but Yu Lan just said, “You should spend more time on your studies.”

Yu Lan’s tone was always cold and harsh.

Yu Lan was initially quite patient with Yu Yan. But as Yu Yan entered adolescence and their grandmother passed away, Yu Lan stopped caring and let her true nature run wild. Yu Yan was beaten, scolded, and even ran away from home. Gradually, Yu Lan had to accept her daughter’s mediocrity. She simply didn’t have the time to deal with it. Yet, no matter what, Yu Lan maintained a superior air, keeping her contempt for Yu Yan ready at hand. She constantly reminded her daughter that her current comfortable life was all thanks to her mother, and that without her, Yu Yan wouldn’t even be able to compete with others for empty bottles.

Yu Yan’s ears had grown calluses from hearing this.

How could I possibly lose at scavenging? Who even scavenges for bottles? She’s not going to brainwash me.

Even when arranging Yu Yan’s marriage to Fu Yunqing, Yu Lan used the same manipulative tactics: “I’ve fed and clothed you for twenty years. You squandered my efforts, refusing to learn or achieve anything. What do you think you’re doing now?”

Then, she cut off Yu Yan’s allowance and support.

Yu Yan felt like her world was collapsing.

In short, all these years, Yu Yan had never experienced the motherly love she’d longed for during those ten years without her mother.

Yu Lan kept her promise. She rewarded Yu Yan with three million yuan for going with Fu Yunqing to register their marriage. Yu Yan went back to her room and slept. In the evening, her aunt woke her for dinner, and she saw the money had been deposited into her account.

Yu Yan was in a beautiful and comfortable mood. She ate an extra crab leg for dinner.

After enjoying her mood for a while, she calculated her expenses and sent a WeChat message to Fu Yunqing asking for her bank account number so she could transfer the day’s earnings.

Fu Yunqing replied quickly:

[“No need. Consider it a gift.”]

[A gift?]

Yu Yan knew the Fu family was wealthy, and this small sum was trivial to Fu Yunqing. Since Fu Yunqing insisted it was a gift, Yu Yan didn’t hesitate to accept it, replying: “Thank you, Sister Fu!”

[“Kitty kisses.jpg.”]

Fu Yunqing didn’t reply.

So aloof, Yu Yan thought to herself.

No matter. Cool women are the most captivating.

Yu Yan chatted with her girlfriends for a while and scrolled through Weibo. In a moment of boredom, she suddenly thought, Isn’t ending it like this a bit too abrupt? I should sweeten things up for my wife-sister a little more.

Yu Yan got out of bed, arranged the day’s purchases neatly, took a photo, and posted it on her social media with the caption: “Love my wife so much, 55.”

After posting, Yu Yan wondered, Will Fu Yunqing see this? Does she even check social media? She probably does, right? Otherwise, how would she know I’ve been so happy these past two months? Could she have been secretly following me all along?

Instead of Fu Yunqing, Yu Yan received a flood of envious comments from her girlfriends:

[“Already sharing relationship goals?”]

[“Your wife is too sweet.”]

[“Didn’t you say you were running away from the marriage? Why are you accepting gifts?”]

[“Aww, you have a wife again, Sister Yu?”]

[“Drowning in happiness, huh?”]

[“When’s the wedding?”]

[“I’ll ask my wife.”]

Wife, wife… The word felt so natural on her tongue.

Before long, her wife truly came to find her.

[“You dropped your lipstick in my car.”]

Lipstick?

Yu Yan, being so forgetful, had lost countless lipsticks, lip glosses, eyebrow pencils, and powder compacts this year. Losing another wasn’t a big deal—she wouldn’t even feel bad about it. But it was different when Fu Yunqing found it.

After a moment’s thought, Yu Yan said, “Sister Fu, can you keep it for me? I’ll pick it up next time we meet.”

So there would be a next time to meet? That’s how you interact with girls—you owe each other little things. Master Yu had always taught this as an essential part of her “love manual.”

“Okay,” Fu Yunqing replied.

The conversation seemed to end there. Just like in real life, Fu Yunqing was reserved and aloof on WeChat—she didn’t say much.

Yu Yan typed boldly, “Sister, have you seen my WeChat Moments?”

She was being very direct. She’d posted those updates just for Fu Yunqing.

Fu Yunqing took a while to respond. “I saw it.”

“Why didn’t you like it, though?” Yu Yan asked.

“I don’t have a habit of liking posts.”

“Actually, I took another photo,” Yu Yan continued. “But I don’t want anyone else to see it. I just want you to see it, Sister Fu.”

After seeing Yu Yan off, Fu Yunqing returned to the Ancestral Home to keep her grandmother company, staying until now. Exhausted, she leaned back in the car seat, not turning on the music. The driver’s silence matched the muffled roar of the city outside the window.

She clutched her phone, replying to Yu Yan.

She’d seen Yu Yan’s WeChat Moments post during her visit.

No likes, no comments.

Fu Yunqing wasn’t one for such things. In fact, before adding Yu Yan on WeChat, she rarely checked Moments at all. She’d only clicked into Yu Yan’s feed out of curiosity after they connected, and now she found herself checking it occasionally.

Yu Yan had said she’d show her something, but hadn’t immediately sent the photo, clearly teasing her. Naturally curious, Fu Yunqing typed a reply: What photo?

Yu Yan still didn’t respond right away.

Instead of doing something else, Fu Yunqing waited, her mind occupied by Yu Yan. She couldn’t help but recall their interactions that day.

Yu Yan was very different from what she’d heard. She seemed…

While Fu Yunqing was lost in thought, Yu Yan sent her a photo. She tapped to open it.

It was a selfie Yu Yan had taken while looking in the mirror.

The background was her dressing room, cluttered with clothes and dresses hanging haphazardly. In the photo, Yu Yan held her phone, slightly turned her body to pose, and snapped a picture of herself in the mirror.

Fu Yunqing recognized the dress Yu Yan was wearing—the one she had picked out at the mall today. Yu Yan had really wanted it, but her allowance was gone. She had gently tugged at Fu Yunqing’s hand, batting her eyelashes and saying, “Sister Fu, could you pay for it for me first? I’ll pay you back soon.”

It was a white butterfly-patterned halter dress that fit her perfectly. She wore it with Mary Jane shoes that complemented the outfit. Warm white lighting made her skin glow soft and fair. The phone she held blocked most of her face, leaving only a pair of slightly downcast eyes visible beneath her straight bangs.

Her eyes were slightly curved, with prominent eyelids and long lashes.

She was smiling.

[Yu Yan: Do you like it?]

[Yu Yan: Just for you!]

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