Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 14

“Is this an interrogation from the legal wife?”

Ye Yichi pursed her lips and kept smiling. “She probably just thinks I look hilarious wearing a mask.”

Lin Weilan shook her head. “I don’t think so. Xiao Ning is usually cold and indifferent, she’s never interested in anything. She wouldn’t keep staring just because of a mask.”

“Then why do you think she’s looking?” Ye Yichi asked.

“It’s definitely because of you as a person,” Lin Weilan laughed, her tone a mix of mysterious and hearty.

It’s really hard to dislike her, Ye Yichi thought privately. To have caused Xin Ning to lose such bright sunshine in the past… the “Ye Yichi” of three years ago was truly despicably evil.

“Alright, fess up. What exactly is the relationship between you two?” Lin Weilan nudged Ye Yichi’s arm. “Whisper it to me. I promise I won’t tell Xiao Ning.”

What answer was Lin Weilan looking for? Ye Yichi couldn’t be bothered to guess.

How had Xin Ning introduced her to Lin Weilan? Ye Yichi didn’t know. How did Xin Ning want to introduce her? Ye Yichi couldn’t fathom that either.

Ultimately, this was a little game of flirtation between the two protagonists; there was no need for her to get mixed up in it and ruin her own mood. She’d leave it to Xin Ning. Ye Yichi yawned and looked toward the bar.

Xin Ning said a few words at the bar and returned to the table.

Ye Yichi spoke lazily: “The great beauty Lin is asking what our relationship is. Why don’t you explain it for us?”

“Between me and you?” Xin Ning addressed Ye Yichi, but her gaze fell on Lin Weilan. After a moment, she frowned and said softly, “We met through a business collaboration.”

Ye Yichi raised her eyes in surprise, the mist of her yawn not yet fully dissipated.

Friends, partners, betrothed Ye Yichi had imagined many possibilities. She never expected Xin Ning to simply say they met “through a collaboration.” What did that even count as? An insignificant passerby?

Then she truly deserved praise for her keen insight.

Wasn’t she exactly that? An insignificant passerby who transmigrated into a book. Now that the mission was complete and she was making a graceful exit, there was no need to leave a name for her good or bad deeds.

“Right, met through a collaboration,” Ye Yichi nodded with a smile, scooping up a spoonful of cake.

Thank goodness for dopamine from sugar.

“Really? Is it that simple?” Lin Weilan’s sparkling eyes darted between the two. After a moment, she cleared her throat and stood up. “The piano is set up. I’m going to play.”

Lin Weilan played a very cheerful piece.

Her fingertips danced across the black and white keys ding-dong, ding-dong like a mountain stream singing happily in summer.

Ye Yichi couldn’t tell what the song was; she had never understood music. But she was certain of one thing: this temporary digital piano was different from a real one.

Its sound was too stable.

A real piano carries physical vibrations when played complex, organic, and infinitely variable.

Just like life.

Damn, I’m basically a philosopher whose career was ruined by feudal superstition.

As the music ended, Ye Yichi took the lead in applauding.

Lin Weilan waved at them with a smile, her fingers returning to the keys. A second piece began magnificent and brilliantly woven.

“She plays so well,” Ye Yichi whispered in admiration. “Too bad I don’t know what it is.”

“Debussy’s L’Isle joyeuse (The Island of Joy),” Xin Ning said. “The previous one was La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair), also by Debussy.”

Who was Debussy? What did The Girl with the Flaxen Hair express? Ye Yichi didn’t know. The Island of Joy, however, was indeed very joyful, just listening to it made one feel the delight of existence.

“Lin Weilan is so multi-talented,” Ye Yichi praised sincerely.

“Unlike some people, who only know how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Xin Ning paused, her voice softening. “I never thought before that someone could actually play a song as simple as Little Star incorrectly.”

The tail end of her voice was cool with a slight upward lilt. If one ignored that face carved of ice and snow, this could almost be considered a laugh. Ye Yichi licked her canine tooth and smiled along.

“I didn’t get it wrong when I practiced. I only got nervous playing in front of you.”

Back then, they hadn’t been married long. Ye Yichi had just moved into Xin Ning’s villa and saw a piano in the corner of the living room. It wasn’t a digital piano, but an old-fashioned grand piano classic Victorian style with ivory plated white keys and ebony black keys.

Xin Ning must like pianos, right? Several times, during breaks from her late-night binge-watching, Ye Yichi would see the living room light on. Xin Ning would just sit there silently in front of the piano. Honestly, if Xin Ning weren’t so beautiful, the scene would have been quite terrifying.

Why did she like it but never play it?

Ye Yichi couldn’t figure it out, but it didn’t matter. Someone once said that to love someone is to enter their inner world. Since Xin Ning liked looking at the piano so much, if Ye Yichi learned to play it, maybe Xin Ning would look at her a few more times.

When she had asked if she could use the piano, Xin Ning indeed looked at her several times, her expression cold, her eyes frozen.

Fortunately, she didn’t refuse.

Regrettably, Ye Yichi truly had no talent. After days of practice, she only managed to learn Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

1155665, 4433221.

She still remembered the numbered musical notation even now. Ye Yichi lowered her eyes and sighed.

At that time, relying on rote memorized notes and a mediocre rhythm, she was like an ugly duckling trying to impersonate a swan. She had been nervous in front of Xin Ning. In a gap between her fumbling fingers, she had looked up, only to find Xin Ning’s gaze rippling like water.

And so, the notes she had memorized so firmly skipped a line. She couldn’t tell a 2 from a 3, or a 1 from a 6.

Damn it. If I had known Xin Ning was just sitting at the piano reminiscing about her “white moonlight,” who would have bothered playing the clown for her?

Ye Yichi huffed, grabbed a cup, and took a huge gulp of the milkshake.

“I drank from that one,” Xin Ning said.

“So what if you did?” Ye Yichi rolled her eyes. They used to live together, drink from the same glass, share the same meals, she had even kissed those pale pink lips of Xin Ning’s for real. What was the big deal about sharing a straw?

Oh, right. The “white moonlight” was here.

Her bad.

Ye Yichi pulled the straw out and tossed it aside, then called for service to get a new one. “Since we’re just people who ‘met through a collaboration,’ using the same straw isn’t appropriate. I get it.”

The cheerful piano music drew to a close. Lin Weilan looked over.

Ye Yichi waved at her. “Hey, gorgeous, give me a chance to show off?”

“You play too?” Lin Weilan’s eyes widened slightly. “Come on, your turn.”

1155665, 4433221, 5544332, 5544332.

It was just those few syllables over and over. What was there to “not know”? Ye Yichi brushed past Lin Weilan and sat where she had just been. Looking up at the booth, she saw Lin Weilan sitting on the sofa where she had just sat.

See? This is the overlapping of fates.

She really should play Beethoven’s Fate (Symphony No. 5), but unfortunately, her old man had only ever enrolled her in a suona class.

Forget it. Little Star it is.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star… why did I become a lemon-spirit (jealous)? Curse Xin Ning, curse the author, curse this melodramatic plot, and curse the “Jin Hong” studio.

After finishing the nursery rhyme with her head held high, Ye Yichi stood up. “Doesn’t anyone want to give me some applause?”

Sparse applause broke out, which eventually grew warmer. A few tables even whistled. Ye Yichi guessed they were impressed by her sheer audacity in “imitating the beauty” (Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi). Imitating… but she hadn’t known Xin Ning’s “Xi Shi” (Lin Weilan) actually knew how to play. Oh well.

“Thank you.” Ye Yichi bowed with a smile.

When she looked up again, she looked straight at Xin Ning. “Hey, ‘collaboration partner,’ I’m leaving first. You and the beautiful Lin take your time eating. Monday, 8:30 AM don’t forget.”

“Where can you go without a car?” Xin Ning snorted coldly. “This place is remote. Don’t think about calling another ride-share.”

Look at that. Yesterday she was the protagonist who didn’t know the ways of the world; today she knows the resort is too remote for ride shares. It seems the “special training” was effective. It’s hard to say she’s just a philosopher ruined by superstition, she’s also an excellent teacher ruined by transmigration.

“I’ll go ask the front desk. A place like this must have a shuttle bus.”

It was time for the “excellent teacher” to say goodbye to her student. Ye Yichi turned to walk out.

“Wait.”

Xin Ning’s cool voice rang out again. It was deeper than usual, not the crisp sound of ice hitting a lake, but rather a pressure like an impending mountain storm.

“You’re still wearing my ring.” Xin Ning’s gaze landed on Ye Yichi’s finger. Under the flickering spotlights, the golden rose ring appeared hazy and mottled.

Ye Yichi looked down at the ring.

She had nagged and pestered Xin Ning for this. It must have been around the same time she was playing Little Star. She had accidentally discovered that Xin Ning had a rose ring.

Before she transmigrated, her old man had given her an identical one. She was wearing that ring when she lay in the coffin and transmigrated into the book.

Maybe wearing this ring while lying in a coffin would let her transmigrate back? Ye Yichi had treated it as a last resort and badgered Xin Ning until she got it. Unfortunately, she had tried it a few times later, and it never worked.

Wait… Ye Yichi studied the ring. During her time at Hua Wan, she had been wearing it the whole time.

So Xin Ning hadn’t recognized her at all. At that time, she had only recognized the ring that once belonged to her. Even now, she was clinging to the ring and wouldn’t let go. Heh, what a stingy protagonist. It’s just a ring.

Ye Yichi took off the ring, bounced it twice in her hand, and raised her arm. “Here, take it back.”

The ring drew a golden arc through the air and landed precisely… in the cup of milkshake. With a plop, it splashed a small amount of light pink liquid.

Ye Yichi swore she didn’t do it on purpose. After years of practicing her aim by tossing her keys, she somehow lost her touch in this moment that desperately needed “cool” vibes.

The bar, which had quieted down, erupted in one or two whistles again.

Were they watching the drama? Or did they realize she was breaking things off and were congratulating her on her exit? It didn’t matter. Ye Yichi looked at Xin Ning’s darkening face. The most important thing now was to say something.

But what?

Sorry, I was so angry my aim was off? Sorry, I was too far away? Sorry, I’ve ruined your stable life after all…

Wait, did something weird slip in there? That sounded like the final words of some villain. One faces their end, the other faces her exit, it was a decent match. Ye Yichi thought for a few seconds, couldn’t remember where it was from, and ended up amusing herself.

Staring at the upward curve of Ye Yichi’s lips, Xin Ning’s brow furrowed deeper.

“Sorry about that, my hand slipped.” Ye Yichi withdrew her smile. “Can I go now?”

“No,” Xin Ning said coldly.

“You returned something, so I should return something to you too.” Fixing her gaze on Ye Yichi’s cheek, Xin Ning reached for her wrist and took off the safety jade pendant. “Since you don’t want the rose, I assume you don’t want this pendant either? I’ll help you throw it away.”

With a flick of her finger, Xin Ning casually tossed the safety pendant into the trash can.