Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 18

“The Notary Office,” Xin Ning said. “Our property situation is complex; we should do a notarization before the divorce.”

Is there really a need to be this cautious? Ye Yichi shot Xin Ning a look. The divorce agreement already stated she would leave with nothing, and she hadn’t forgotten: “I don’t want anything except my bags. Is a notarization even necessary?”

“Whether you truly leave with nothing depends on first clarifying the state of the assets.”

Understood. She was being brought along to do a background check on the family estate.

Ye Yichi rolled her eyes even harder. Go ahead, investigate. It would be best if she found out how much the original owner had sold those cars for and where the money went. She wondered if the ice-sculpted protagonist would blush with shame then.

Heh.

Following the application process took two or three hours, and a detailed review would take at least a week. By the time they left the Notary Office, Ye Yichi was too tired to even roll her eyes. Only one thought remained in her mind: Time to eat.

“My treat,” Xin Ning said. “That restaurant from last time?”

“Don’t bother.” Ye Yichi pointed to a small shop by the roadside. “We’re people about to get divorced. You go to your high-end restaurants. I’m going to my ‘fly restaurant’ (hole in the wall).”

“Fly restaurant?”

“Sichuan slang. Forget it if you don’t understand.”

Just like her and Xin Ning they weren’t from the same world. It was normal not to understand her. Ye Yichi sighed and walked silently toward the small shop.

She wondered if Xin Ning’s fever had completely broken?

She could drive all this way, so she should be fine, right?

Then again, it was hard to say. Xin Ning was too good at enduring. When they first got married, Xin Ning had been sick once with a high fever for three days, and Ye Yichi hadn’t noticed at all. On the fourth morning, when Xin Ning didn’t come downstairs on time, Ye Yichi went to look for her only to find her fainted in the bathroom.

“Hey, you…” Ye Yichi turned back, but Xin Ning’s figure was already gone amidst the bustling street.

Good. As expected of a protagonist she should be this decisive in cutting ties.

On the third day of waiting for the notarization, Ye Yichi received an invitation for an audition.

The role was mediocre a minor villain who gets slapped and the pay wasn’t high. The location was near Huawan; many old buildings were there, and period dramas often filmed on location in that area.

Ye Yichi wasn’t particularly excited, but she hadn’t been back to Huawan in a long time. She was planning to visit anyway, so the audition was on the way.

Su Fanxing and Grandma Su heard she was coming back and went to the market early. When Ye Yichi arrived, the two had just returned and were opening the door, the creaking of the hinges mingling with the sound of chickens.

Cluck, cluck, cluck.

“Fanxing, Grandma, you’re raising chickens?” Ye Yichi asked in surprise.

“We sure are.” Su Fanxing skipped over to Ye Yichi, showing off the bamboo basket on her back. “Grandma said you use your brain too much at university and insisted on saving local eggs for you. She also said you need to eat more vegetables to boost your immunity, so she took me to the market to sweep the stalls.”

The basket was full of vegetables. At a glance, Ye Yichi saw almost every type of leafy green available on the market.

“Yueyue, Yueyue, come in quickly.” Grandma pushed Su Fanxing aside and pulled Ye Yichi into the courtyard. “Grandma will introduce you. This is Little Yellow, that’s Little Black, and there’s Little Reed and Little White.”

In the yard, four hens clucked away.

“Little Yellow lays white eggs, they’re the tastiest. Little Black lays black eggs, they’re the most special. Little Reed lays green-shelled eggs, they’re the prettiest they even have little stars on the shells. And Little White… Little White is still small and hasn’t learned to lay eggs yet.”

“Can Grandma really tell which egg belongs to which chicken?” Ye Yichi looked at Su Fanxing. “Also, black-shelled eggs? Green eggs with stars? That sounds a bit fantasy-like. Has Grandma’s condition gotten worse?”

“I reckon so,” Su Fanxing sighed. “I still haven’t managed to snag an appointment for her.”

Ye Yichi sighed along with her. “It’s really not easy to see a doctor these days.”

Lunch was tomato and scrambled eggs made with the white eggs. Grandma said she had specifically saved them, and even Su Fanxing hadn’t been allowed to eat them.

There were also green vegetables and pork ribs bought from the market.

The emerald-green vegetables were arranged on a light-colored plate, and the neat ribs were coated in sweet and sour sauce. Ye Yichi ate several pieces in a row, licking her lips in satisfaction.

“Luckily, only Grandma’s head is a bit off; her cooking skills haven’t been affected.” Su Fanxing patted her stomach. “By the way, Sis, you’ll come back to stay after your audition, right? I’ve been cleaning your room every day.”

Specially saved eggs, a room cleaned daily, and those disliked but always present green vegetables… Ye Yichi lowered her eyes, feeling a bit of nostalgia for Old Man Ye.

“I’ll be back,” she said. “After the audition today, I’ll stay here.”

The afternoon audition went more smoothly than expected, and the character was more three dimensional than she had imagined. What was even more delightful was that the script actually included a scene of lying in a coffin. Ye Yichi signed the contract on the spot.

The filming location was near Huawan, so there was no reason to toss and turn back to the city.

When Su Fanxing heard that Ye Yichi was moving back for a while, her face lit up like a flower. Honestly, Ye Yichi was quite happy too. You get sick of takeout after a while, and her own cooking skills were nowhere near Grandma Su’s.

She wasn’t like Xin Ning, who could consider a big meal to be plain water boiled with a few extra types of vegetables.

After working between the set and Huawan for over a week, Ye Yichi’s main scenes were finished.

When Xin Ning called, she was communicating the last two scenes with the director.

“The notarization papers are ready. Shall we go sign tomorrow?” Xin Ning’s voice came through the screen, with a very old melody playing in the background.

Ye Yichi pricked up her ears to listen.

“Mandarin ducks stay together, butterflies fly in pairs, the garden’s spring colors make one drunk…”

It was “Daughter’s Love” (Nu’er Qing).

Why was the ice sculpted protagonist, who usually listened to things like Debussy, listening to a soundtrack from Journey to the West? Whatever, she could listen to whatever she wanted, it was none of her business.

“Make it the day after tomorrow. I’ve been very busy lately,” Ye Yichi said.

“Trapped on a mountain again?” Xin Ning asked.

The voice was light, with a slight upward tilt at the end. Against the backdrop of the tender music, it seemed to have a faint, rippling quality.

Was Xin Ning smiling? Ye Yichi couldn’t tell for sure.

“I’m not trapped on a mountain. I’ve joined a film crew.”

“Is it a real crew? Or just an excuse to avoid signing?” Xin Ning’s voice remained calm and indifferent.

The background music reached the part about “kingship and riches.” The lingering deep emotion mixed with Xin Ning’s indifferent voice felt fragmented and dreamlike.

“If you don’t believe me, come see the set for yourself.” Ye Yichi hung up. The director was still waiting for her.

The last two scenes were the death and the funeral.

The death scene was a major one, requiring her to act out unwillingness and reluctance. The funeral was easy just lying in a coffin.

“The coffin isn’t in place yet, so that scene will have to wait until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll film the death scene first.” The director gave Ye Yichi a general overview of the scene and set the call time for the next day.

When Ye Yichi arrived at the set the next day, she saw a familiar white Bentley.

She really came to the set? This annoying Xin Ning really didn’t trust her at all. Ye Yichi rolled her eyes at the Bentley, bypassed it, and walked onto the set.

“You really did join a crew.” Xin Ning got out of the car and followed Ye Yichi. “Counting this one, that’s three crews in a row, right? Why didn’t I notice you loved acting so much before?”

Love?

She was just a salted fish. How could a salted fish love working? Ye Yichi curled her lip. Before, when she had food, drink, and a beauty to look at, why would she have been desperate enough to act?

Now things were different. If she couldn’t transmigrate back and didn’t take jobs, was she supposed to wait to starve to death?

Oh, right, she still had Huawan. Although there weren’t many guests, selling it would fetch some money.

But that was the home of Grandma Su and Su Fanxing. How could she sell their home? Ye Yichi had already decided: once Su Fanxing turned eighteen, she would transfer the ownership of Huawan to her. It would count as repaying the debt the cheap late aunt owed to Su Haoyue.

After all the calculations, the only way was to work hard at acting.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Xin Ning asked. “Is playing a villain who dies a violent death that interesting?”

“It doesn’t have to be a violent death. The main point is lying in the coffin.”

“Lying in a coffin?” A trace of confusion appeared in Xin Ning’s deep, dark eyes. It was like a pebble dropping into still water ripples spreading out, and at the center, reflecting Ye Yichi’s figure. “What kind of twisted hobby is this?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Ye Yichi said dismissively. “And you don’t need to.”

The death scene was a highlight for the character. It was important but not particularly difficult.

Unwillingness, reluctance, repentance, and tragedy expressing those four points was enough. Ye Yichi walked through the lighting setup, the director shouted “Action,” and a teardrop slowly welled up in her eye.

Crystal clear, half-contained.

Only after all the lines were spoken did that tear slowly roll down, splashing onto the ground and shattering silently, followed by more tears, one after another, like a broken string of pearls, yet each falling distinctly.

Until her dress and cheeks were stained with blood, her body slowly slumped to the ground, and her tears ran dry, leaving only half a drop hanging precariously at the corner of her eye.

Reflecting light and dust, about to fall, yet staying put.

It was as if a hovering soul was unwilling to leave the body, or perhaps unwilling to leave this brilliant, colorful world.

The director shouted “Cut” in satisfaction. “Teacher Ye’s acting is incredible. It’s a pity for you to play supporting roles. Next time, I must find an opportunity to collaborate with you as the lead.”

Ye Yichi thanked him with a smile.

The director offered a few more compliments and led the crew to prepare for the next scene.

Xin Ning walked up to Ye Yichi, staring at her red eyes. “Truly an actress.”

Ye Yichi ignored her. To be honest, acting out a crying scene was exhausting, and the pay was low. If it weren’t for the chance to lie in a coffin, she wouldn’t have taken this drama.

“You act so hard, how much pay do you get?” Xin Ning pulled out a candy and held it out to Ye Yichi, half-peeling it.

Light green glass paper; the candy was light green too.

Why did she suddenly start carrying candy? And so many different flavors? Does the great beauty Lin love candy that much? Ye Yichi took it by the wrapper and sniffed it. Green apple scent.

“The pay isn’t much.” She quoted a number and popped the candy into her mouth.

It was sweet with a hint of sourness. Honestly, it was quite suitable to eat after crying.

“Such a small amount of pay for crying that long? Is it worth it?” Xin Ning narrowed her eyes slightly. “Are you really that short of money?”

Those words… whether she was short of money or not was written all over the notarization papers, wasn’t it? Oh, right, they hadn’t gone to the Notary Office to sign yet. This annoying protagonist didn’t know her financial situation yet.

“Whether I’m short of money or not has nothing to do with you.” Ye Yichi swirled the candy with her tongue, moving it from left to right, her cheek bulging out on one side and then the other. “Didn’t you doubt that I joined a crew? Now you’ve seen it and believe it. Please head back?”

Xin Ning watched her bulging cheek quietly for a moment, then looked away.

“My company is currently preparing a new drama,” Xin Ning said. “If you’re really that short of money, I can let you play the lead.”