Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 21

“Don’t!” Ye Yichi tried to grab Su Fanxing but caught only air, watching helplessly as the girl’s long legs carried her right in front of Xin Ning.

It’s over, Ye Yichi wailed silently. Here comes the melodrama.

“You villain!” Su Fanxing tried to grab Xin Ning’s collar. Before her fingertips even brushed the fabric, she let out a small gasp. “Eh? You… what’s wrong with you?!”

Xin Ning’s back was pressed against the wall, her fingertips curled as she gasped for air in large, desperate lungfuls.

With every breath, her face grew a shade paler. Fine beads of sweat broke out on her cold, white forehead, glistening like condensation on an ice sculpture. In her deep set eyes, waves of distress seemed to surge, yet the gaze she shot out remained icy and sharp, bypassing Su Fanxing to lock firmly onto Ye Yichi.

“Wh-what’s happening here?” an elderly woman cried out.

“That girl just came over and started shouting at her. She yelled her into this state!”

“Right, right, I saw it too! That little girl even tried to get physical. It was her doing, don’t let her get away!”

One helpful auntie went to fetch a nurse, while several others blocked Su Fanxing’s path.

“You’re talking nonsense! I didn’t even touch her!” Su Fanxing’s phoenix-shaped eyes widened, filled with a sense of being wronged.

It really is turning into a melodrama, Ye Yichi sighed. Pulling Grandma Su with her, she squeezed into the crowd. “Everyone, please don’t make it hard for the kid. I’m her sister if there’s an issue, talk to me.”

Xin Ning was supported by a nurse who had rushed over and was led toward the consultation room. Her cold gaze never once left Ye Yichi.

“Look, the victim is looking at the sister.” “We have to keep an eye on the sister.” “Exactly, don’t let her leave. If something really happened, make her pay!” The aunties shifted their target, surrounding Ye Yichi.

Watch me all you want, Ye Yichi thought, scanning the crowd lazily.

Were any of these the same aunties from last time? She couldn’t be sure; too much time had passed, and the situation back then had been far too chaotic…

“Sis, I really didn’t hit her,” Su Fanxing whispered in defense. “I only said one thing and she turned like that. She’s faking it! Yeah, she’s a professional scammer!”

“Oh, listen to this! So young and already making false accusations?” “That girl was just standing there quietly, minding her own business, and you came up and started cursing.” “That’s right, we all saw it.”

The aunties grew increasingly indignant.

“Everyone, calm down. She’s just hyperventilating. Once she’s better, she’ll be able to clear our names,” Ye Yichi soothed. She patted Su Fanxing’s shoulder and handed Grandma Su over to her. “Xingxing, take Grandma to wait over there. I’ll handle this.”

Su Fanxing bit her lip, unwilling to leave. “She won’t actually be in danger, will she?”

“No, she’ll be out in a bit.”

Ye Yichi had experienced a similar situation before.

Back then, there was a high-pressure project, and everyone at the Xin Corporation had worked overtime for nearly a month. A junior assistant couldn’t handle the strain and fell ill.

The day the two of them went to the hospital to visit, they were in the middle of a fight over a supplier issue.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Ye Yichi remembered she had left the fruit basket in the car. She had stomped back to get it, and when she returned, Xin Ning was just like this back against the wall, her breathing growing more frantic by the second.

Back then, a group of helpful aunties had surrounded them too.

They claimed they had seen Ye Yichi acting bossy and arrogant toward Xin Ning. Even now, Ye Yichi couldn’t understand it. They had a conflict and needed to communicate, but Xin Ning refused to speak, so she had to be the only one talking. Why didn’t the aunties criticize Xin Ning for her “cold violence”? Why did they say she was the one being overbearing?

Was it as Old Man Ye said that her looks were just too “aggressive”?

That was a damn injustice.

She was clearly kind enough that, on this “joyous” day of her divorce, she was sitting on a cold hospital bench waiting for her unlucky and loathsome ex-wife…

After waiting for over half an hour, the loathsome ex-wife still hadn’t emerged.

Should I lean against the door and peek? Ye Yichi stood up. The auntie next to her stood up. Ye Yichi sat back down. The auntie sat down.

“Don’t be nervous. I’m not running away,” Ye Yichi said, curling her lip.

Then she found it funny.

The aunties were just being helpful citizens wanting justice nothing wrong there. Su Fanxing was standing up for her by scolding the ex-wife no problem there. The ex-wife didn’t hyperventilate on purpose, so she probably shouldn’t be blamed either.

When you add it all up, no one did anything wrong. So why was she the one suffering?

Was this the fate of a “cannon fodder” side character?

After another ten minutes, the door remained shut, but a familiar figure approached from the other end of the hallway.

Lin Weilan.

Ye Yichi guessed this was the reinforcements Xin Ning had called. Of course, it was also possible they had plans together and the Great Beauty Lin was simply late, leading to the current mess.

If this had happened in the past, Ye Yichi’s heart would have felt a bit sour. Now that they were divorced, she felt quite happy instead.

Soon, she could dump Xin Ning onto Beauty Lin.

“Hi, we meet again.” Lin Weilan smiled brightly upon seeing Ye Yichi. “Your performance of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ was quite good last time. Your ring-tossing aim was impressive too.”

Was that sarcasm? Ye Yichi couldn’t tell.

Lin Weilan’s expression was too sincere. With a smile on her lips and a mischievous glint in her eyes, if Xin Ning was carved from ice and snow, Lin Weilan was the brilliant, warm sun every smile and look seemed to carry a glowing radiance.

“If you say so,” Ye Yichi smiled.

“Xiao Ning looks cold and detached, as if she doesn’t belong in the mortal world, but she’s actually the most competitive person deep down. In all these years, this is the first time I’ve seen someone who can actually handle her.” Lin Weilan silently gave a thumbs-up.

Ye Yichi was speechless. After three years of a failed marriage, who exactly was ‘handling’ whom?!

“Don’t believe me? That day after you threw the ring, didn’t she throw her safety amulet too?” Lin Weilan lowered her voice, sounding mysterious. “She looked like she was cutting off all emotions, but she actually secretly pinched the string in the gap between her fingers.”

Ye Yichi: “Huh?”

“It’s a pity you left so fast and didn’t see it.” Lin Weilan raised her right hand, mimicking a pinching motion with her thumb and index finger, while keeping her ring and pinky fingers together. She pointed to the gap between her fingers with her left hand, where the mark of an IV needle was clearly visible. “See? Like this. Tucked right here. The gesture looked big, but in reality, that amulet never left her hand.”

The amulet… never left her hand?

If she had heard this before the divorce, Ye Yichi might have been overjoyed, her heart fluttering with the hope that the “hateful protagonist” still felt something for her. But now, they were already divorced.

Only one thought remained in her mind: With skills like that, why doesn’t the protagonist go perform magic? What a waste of talent.

“By the way, why are you here?” Lin Weilan asked.

“Accompanying Grandma for a checkup. I ran into Xin Ning by accident.”

“Xiao Ning is here?” Lin Weilan looked around. “That girl… a few days ago when I was hospitalized, she said she was afraid to come alone and didn’t visit once. Even my gift was sent via courier. Now she dares to come… Hey, where is she?”

Ye Yichi pointed to the consultation room.

“Sick again? No way.” Lin Weilan tried to peek through the door. As she turned the handle, the door opened from the inside.

Xin Ning stood there, hand on the handle, staring coldly at the people outside.

“You really are sick?” Lin Weilan looked her up and down. “How are you? Are you okay now?”

“I’m fine.” Xin Ning nodded, her gaze moving past Lin Weilan to land on Ye Yichi’s cheek.

In the depths of her cold, dark eyes, subtle ripples swirled faint, layer upon layer, circling and spreading before dissolving into a fine mist.

As her gaze crossed with Ye Yichi’s, Xin Ning narrowed her eyes slightly, concealing the surging tides within.

“Were you waiting for me?” she asked.

“You can’t really put it that way.” Ye Yichi lifted her chin, glancing at the surrounding aunties. “Mainly, the citizens here are just too helpful.”

“What does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.” Ye Yichi pulled over a nearby auntie. “The party involved is out. Ask her yourselves. I’m in a hurry to take my sister and Grandma home.”

The aunties started talking all at once, explaining what happened.

Xin Ning remained silent for a moment before speaking softly. “I apologize. It was my own issue. I’ve wasted everyone’s time.”

“See? I told you it had nothing to do with me.” Su Fanxing raised her head high again, glaring fiercely at Xin Ning.

“But it’s not completely unrelated to this little sister. Without a trigger, the hyperventilation wouldn’t have flared up.” Xin Ning’s cold voice rang out again. “As compensation, I’d like this girl’s sister to buy me a coffee.”

The aunties’ eyes all swiveled toward Ye Yichi.

Ye Yichi pointed at herself. “Me?”

To make your innocent ex-wife who officially divorced you this morning, wait for an hour at the clinic door, and instead of an apology, you ask for a coffee? Does being a protagonist grant you skin that thick?

“Not a chance,” Ye Yichi snorted.

“Then forget it.” Xin Ning pursed her lips slightly. “I’ll treat you, your sister, and your Grandma to milk tea instead.”

“What the hell?” Ye Yichi almost laughed from sheer irritation.

One second she was shamelessly asking for coffee, the next she was offering milk tea. Truly, she had the nimble hands of a magician.

“Are you going?” Xin Ning asked.

“Go to hell.” Ye Yichi turned around, grabbing Su Fanxing and Grandma Su to walk away.

Two or three days later, Ye Yichi moved out of her apartment and officially moved back to Huawan.

The historical drama she had filmed earlier with Director Li wasn’t a big-budget production and wouldn’t be on major TV networks, but it had secured a slot on a streaming site. The timing was good; it was set to premiere in half a month.

During that half-month, Ye Yichi didn’t receive any new auditions.

To be honest, she was quite happy about it. The pay from one lead role and two supporting roles was enough for her to “lie flat” until the New Year. If there was anything to worry about this year, it was that her plan to buy a coffin hadn’t been realized yet.

But she couldn’t be blamed for that.

Living with Grandma and Su Fanxing, bringing a coffin into the house just didn’t seem right. Besides, she had returned that ring to Xin Ning.

Ye Yichi figured that the ring was probably resting against Xin Ning’s collarbone right now just like on that rainy night half a month ago, trembling with Xin Ning’s rising and falling breath.

Thinking about it, the divorce had only been half a month ago. Remembering that name felt like a lifetime away. Whether she was an ice sculpture or a vast, silent cold pool, she was now just light flickering past a window, or the shadow of a flower moving across a table during a meal.

Look at that, what a Zen-like realization.

No wonder Old Man Ye said the Ye family was born under a “spiritual star.”

Letting out a lazy yawn, Ye Yichi rocked her lounge chair. The evening sun filtered through the mottled leaves overhead, casting shifting patches of light and shadow. Near the tree roots, the plump, free-roaming chickens clucked while foraging. In the kitchen, Grandma Su was busy. In another half-hour, that little rascal Su Fanxing would be home from school.

Beautiful scenery, good food, and warm people this was the definition of “quiet years.”

Ye Yichi pulled a book over her eyes to cover them. She slept for an unknown amount of time until the courtyard gate creaked open.

“Xingxing is back?” Ye Yichi murmured groatily, removing the book. “Go wash your hands. I’ll tell Grandma to serve dinner.”

No one answered.

“Xingxing?” Ye Yichi looked up, meeting a pair of cold eyes.

“I’m here to check in.” The voice was just as cold and clear.

It was Xin Ning.

She was just as “carved from ice and snow” as she had been half a month ago. Ye Yichi didn’t feel cursed, nor did she feel the surging joy she once felt in her heart.

Wow, so this is what ‘letting go’ feels like?

Not bad.

Ye Yichi lazily withdrew her gaze. “You can’t. The B&B is closed.”