Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 13

As Xin Ning walked out of the orange small building, the sun…

As Xin Ning walked out of the orange building, the sun was already slanting across the sky. Ye Yichi sat in the passenger seat, having just dazedly finished a late afternoon nap. Her ring was pressed against her cheek, leaving behind a faint, rose-shaped imprint.

Xin Ning stared at the mark for a moment. “About signing the contract, thank you.”

“No need for thanks, it was only right,” Ye Yichi shook her head repeatedly.

She had only recently realized she might have played the role of the person breaking up a pair of “lovebirds.” Although she was innocent by way of ignorance, she still felt guilty. If it weren’t for the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere and she couldn’t call a ride, she would have left in a Didi long ago.

“Let me treat you to dinner,” Xin Ning said. “There’s a bar nearby with great desserts, you should like it.”

Ye Yichi should have refused immediately. But… a bar nearby? Could it be a place where Xin Ning used to sing?

That ill-timed hesitation changed the course of events. By the time Ye Yichi snapped out of it, the car had already driven out of the orphanage.

Fine, let’s go, Ye Yichi thought. Let her, the oblivious interloper, go to the very scene where the two leads once shared their tender moments and endure the humiliation. That’s how “slapping the face of the villain” was supposed to work but then again, she hadn’t known about the leads’ past history before.

Could it be that this content was only written in the side stories?

That really is… a trap meant to kill.

The bar was indeed not far from the orphanage, just over the crest of the hill. It was called a bar, but it was more like a small resort. The architectural style was quite grand. Ye Yichi estimated it to be five star quality. The bar was an amenity of the resort; it wasn’t large, but it was well-positioned, right up against a cliff.

Xin Ning chose a booth by the window.

Ye Yichi curled up lazily into the sofa. Turning her head, the fiery sunset was fully visible.

It was truly a beautiful place. Xin Ning and Lin Weilan must have sat here once, watching this same sunset. Returning to an old haunt, she wondered what Xin Ning was feeling?

She quietly turned her eyes to observe Xin Ning, only to meet Xin Ning’s cold gaze.

The afterglow gilded those dark eyes with a crimson brilliance, and her ruby earrings shimmered along with them. Faced with such a beautiful being, anyone would be moved,  you really couldn’t blame her.

“Xin Ning.” Ye Yichi curled her lips slightly and looked back at the sunset. “Monday, 8:30 AM. Let’s meet at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau and get the divorce done.”

Xin Ning watched her silently for a few seconds before handing over a menu. “What are you eating?”

“I said, we’re going to get divorced on Monday.”

“The alliance was forced by your Ye family. What right do you have to take the initiative to mention divorce to me?” Xin Ning’s voice dropped.

Outside the window, the setting sun was like blood.

Dark red shadows covered Xin Ning’s upward curving eyelashes, casting an even gloomier darkness. “If you won’t speak, I’ll just order randomly.”

See? That’s the overbearing protagonist for you. Even when it came to divorce, “the magistrates are allowed to burn down houses, while the common people are forbidden to light lamps.” (Only the protagonist gets to call the shots).

“Fine, order whatever, just as long as it isn’t coffee.” Ye Yichi propped her chin up lazily. The ring setting touched her skin, sending a tiny chill.

After ordering, Xin Ning’s gaze fell upon that ring.

“Wearing the ring you pestered me for on your hand while talking about divorce… Ye Yichi, don’t you think you’re being too fake?” Xin Ning’s voice was like water flowing beneath the vast ice plains of Antarctica cold, bone-chilling, yet not frozen. It flowed through and then returned to silence.

Outside, only a few stubborn glimmers of the sunset remained.

If I have sinned, let a solar flare or a magnetic explosion send me back, Ye Yichi thought, glaring indignantly at Xin Ning by the fading light.

She had already come to her senses, she was stepping aside voluntarily. Couldn’t the protagonist just control that mouth of hers that stayed silent only to strike like a thunderbolt? In TV dramas, people usually parted on good terms. Why was it that for her, nothing she did was right?

She was just a “salted fish” trying to lie a bit flatter.

It wasn’t like she didn’t have a heart.

The last ray of sunlight vanished, and the lights on the singer’s stage flickered on. A clear, beautiful voice rose in a graceful melody. Ye Yichi turned to listen for a while it was a “Gufeng” (ancient style) song.

“I originally held the book of five thunders, subduing dragons and tigers to drive all creatures; yet I was led astray by the wind and the moon, caring only for you alone.”

Led astray by the wind and moon. How fitting.

“Plucking the stars to hang in a grass hut, using the crescent moon as a hook to fish the five lakes; I am but a lonely bird of the human world, filling my jar only with wind and snow,” Ye Yichi hummed softly along.

“I haven’t heard you sing before,” Xin Ning said, looking at the stage. Her voice was very light, muffled by the quickening rhythm of the chorus.

When the song ended, the food arrived.

Salad and steak standard fare. A rose-pink cake placed on a matte black rectangular plate looked quite exquisite. Ye Yichi scooped a small bite. Xin Ning was right, the cake here was indeed good.

As the second song began, the waiter brought over two drinks.

Crystalline milkshake glasses, light pink liquid, topped with fine rose petals two rose milkshakes.

“Put them both in front of me, thank you,” Ye Yichi said casually.

“That’s not what you said the first time we met,” Xin Ning glanced at her, holding her knife and fork to slowly cut into the steak. Pink juices welled up from the rift, soaking the brown outer layer.

“That’s because I didn’t know you were lactose intolerant then,” Ye Yichi said guiltily.

Their first meeting was at the engagement banquet. Ye Yichi had just traveled into this world and was caught off guard by the beauty. By the time she snapped out of it, she was already handing over a rose milkshake.

At that time, Xin Ning had only looked at her coldly for a moment before taking it and drinking it in small sips.

Later, seeing Xin Ning’s face turn pale, Ye Yichi realized…

“You gave me a piece of candy back then,” Xin Ning said.

“Did I?” Ye Yichi didn’t quite remember. She only remembered staring at Xin Ning through the entire engagement banquet first in awe, then in worry.

“You said that when I felt unwell, holding a candy in my mouth would make me feel better.” Xin Ning’s gaze passed over Ye Yichi, looking out at the silent night. “I wouldn’t have thrown up originally, but that candy was too sweet.”

Lactose intolerance, drinking a cold milkshake, and then eating a sickeningly sweet candy… halfway through the banquet, Xin Ning got up and went to the restroom. Ye Yichi, worried, followed stealthily and saw the jade-like beauty leaning against the sink, vomiting violently.

Even as time passed, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.

Stirring the straw, Ye Yichi whispered, “I’m sorry. If I had known then, I definitely wouldn’t have given you the milkshake or urged you to eat the candy.”

“It’s fine.” Xin Ning shook her head slowly. Her cold voice, wrapped in the melodious music, seemed to carry a hint of a smile. “It wasn’t entirely the milkshake and the candy. Meeting the Ye family and marrying into the Ye family was, in itself, disgusting enough.”

Ye Yichi’s hand, which had been fidgeting with the straw, came to a sudden halt.

Xin Ning took the milkshake cup from her, placed the straw in her mouth, and took a quiet sip.

“Careful, you’ll get a stomachache.” The words popped out before Ye Yichi could even register her surprise. Having said it, she realized…oh, right. Xin Ning had just said it wasn’t entirely about the milkshake and the sugar, it was because the alliance and the Ye family were disgusting enough to make her sick.

“Um… how about I step outside for a bit?” Ye Yichi didn’t want to make Xin Ning feel any more uncomfortable.

Xin Ning released the straw and stared at her coldly, Ye Yichi’s silhouette reflected in the depths of her dark eyes.

What did that mean? Ye Yichi couldn’t read her.

Forget it, it wasn’t the first day she couldn’t understand this woman. She grabbed her bag and prepared to stand up just as the bar door opened and a tall figure walked in. After greeting the bar staff and the singer, the person turned their gaze and walked toward their table.

It was Lin Weilan.

“I happened to be nearby, heard you were here, and thought I’d come by to see you.” Lin Weilan greeted Xin Ning with a smile and then winked at Ye Yichi. “We meet again! I’m here to join the fun, you don’t mind, do you?”

I mind. I mind very much, Ye Yichi grumbled internally.

But it didn’t matter. She was planning to leave anyway.

Ye Yichi stood up. “Not at all. I was just about to head out. You two enjoy your meal.”

“Eh? Don’t go.” Lin Weilan quickly stood by the seat, blocking Ye Yichi’s path. “Last time was so rushed, we didn’t get to talk much. It’s rare to cross paths like this, we should definitely chat a bit more.”

Why are all these protagonists so overbearing?

Ye Yichi licked her canine tooth, wanting to snap back, but then remembered her guilt for “breaking up the lovebirds.”

“Leave after you finish eating,” Xin Ning said. “The food has already been served.”

Fine. Can’t let food go to waste. Ye Yichi buried herself back into the sofa. Lin Weilan took the opportunity to sit down right next to her.

What was the meaning of this? A declaration of war? Ye Yichi arched an eyebrow at Lin Weilan, but that beautiful face carried no hostility. She looked like the bright, dancing sun of early summer, one look was enough to make anyone feel inferior.

Fine. If this was a declaration of war, she’d just endure it.

It wasn’t enough to have the oblivious interloper suffer at the scene of the leads’ past romance; now she had to sit through a live reality show. She had broken them up, she deserved this.

“I really miss the days of singing and playing piano,” Lin Weilan said with a smile after ordering. “Xiao Ning, since we’re here, why don’t you go talk to the owner and have them bring the piano out?”

“Is that necessary? There’s already a singer tonight,” Xin Ning said.

“But I want to play.” There was no dissatisfaction in Lin Weilan’s warm eyes.

She continued to stare at Xin Ning with a grin. “It’s been so many years; I don’t know if I still have the skill. My hands are itching to play, but I’m too embarrassed to ask the owner myself. If I volunteer and play poorly, that would be so humiliating.”

“Just do it as a favor to me, Xiao Ning. Go talk to the owner, okay? If I mess up, I’ll just say you forced me to go up there, haha.”

“Okay.” Xin Ning stood up and walked toward the bar.

Just like that? She gave in? Ye Yichi was secretly amazed. So the “ice beauty” was weak against acting cute and pleading?

No, no, that’s not right. Ye Yichi had tried acting cute before, and it only earned her a cold glare from Xin Ning. It wasn’t that she was weak against all cuteness. Xin Ning was only weak when it came from the great beauty Lin Weilan.

As for Lin Weilan… now that she had sent Xin Ning away, was the real declaration of war coming? Ye Yichi sat up straight and sized her up.

“Hey, don’t be so serious.” Lin Weilan lowered her voice and leaned toward Ye Yichi. “I wanted to ask back at the gala, what’s your name? You’re so pretty, are you a celebrity? Oh, right, you were filming in the mountains the next day. You must be a star, right?”

Look at that. Both are protagonists, but why is Lin Weilan’s mouth so sweet? So sweet it was impossible to hold a grudge.

“I’m not a star. I’m just an extra,” Ye Yichi smiled.

“How do you and Xiao Ning know each other? You’re quite close, aren’t you?” Lin Weilan asked again. “No use denying it. I’ve known Xiao Ning for years. I can see right through her. I noticed it back at the gala, she was stealing glances at you the whole time.”