Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 22

“Are you driving me away on purpose?” Xin Ning asked.

“You’re overthinking it,” Ye Yichi said calmly, pulling out her phone and pointing to a page. “Look here, it’s clearly stated: Huawan Guest house is temporarily closed. Next time you’re looking for a place to stay, remember to check online first.”

“Why is it closed?” Xin Ning pressed further.

There were plenty of reasons: the grandmother’s memory was failing, Su Fanxing was too busy with school, and Ye Yichi herself was lazy. No one was there to pick people up from town, no one to clean, no one for room service the list went on.

“It has nothing to do with you, so there’s no need to tell you,” Ye Yichi looked up, glancing at Xin Ning. Half a month ago, this person was an obsession she couldn’t shake; half a month later, she was nothing more than passing smoke. “If you want to stay in the ancient town, there are plenty of other guesthouses nearby. You can go ask them.”

“Is that so?” Xin Ning pursed her lips slightly, avoiding Ye Yichi’s gaze. She paused for a moment. “If…”

Ye Yichi recognized this look.

Back when Xin Ning claimed her black card had never been deactivated, she had acted just like this awkward and evasive. Wait, could this be the ‘winding up’ phase before a protagonist decides to perform an act of charity? Alarm bells went off in Ye Yichi’s head.

“Stop right there,” she interrupted Xin Ning. “I’m not short on money, and I’m not in any trouble. Neither are Xingxing or Grandma. Keep your charity for the orphanage; we don’t need your handouts.”

Xin Ning’s gaze froze, sinking into a dark depth.

Oh boy, is she angry? In the past, Ye Yichi would have felt a pang of heartache. But now? After monitoring her heartbeat for a few seconds, she felt nothing but calm. Actually, she just felt hungry.

“Please leave. We’re about to eat, and it’s not appropriate for you to keep standing here.”

“Ye Yichi,” Xin Ning called out her name coldly. Her eyes were dark and obscure, like a pool of water mixed with crushed ice. “It’s been half a month, and you haven’t come to look for me even once.”

They were divorced; why on earth would she look for her? Ye Yichi found it bizarre. “Isn’t that normal?”

“It’s not normal,” Xin Ning said. “You should be pestering me.”

Listen to that. How can a mouth with a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius say such infuriating things?

Ye Yichi gritted her teeth, but she didn’t actually feel the urge to snap. Time really was a wonderful thing. In just half a month, the bitterness and resentment she had accumulated over the years had vanished. Even being insulted to her face didn’t trigger a strong reaction.

Old Man Ye was right: even the most unforgettable love and hate cannot withstand the long stretch of time.

Ye Yichi curled her lips. “So, in your heart, I’m really that pathetic?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Xin Ning’s voice wavered, a rare occurrence. Her eyes shifted, and amidst the ice and water, a hint of regret flickered. “I just thought… if you found out about something, you would have come to find me.”

Find out what? She spent her days feeding chickens and soaking up the sun. What did she need to know?

To be honest, she was a tiny bit curious just a tiny bit. But life was finally peaceful, and Ye Yichi didn’t want any more involvement with the protagonist.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t want to know,” Ye Yichi said.

The sound of skipping footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

Su Fanxing was back, which meant it was time for dinner. The smile on Ye Yichi’s face became bright and genuine. “Don’t come back to Huawan in the future. It’s quite annoying.”

When exactly did Xin Ning leave? Ye Yichi wasn’t sure.

While she, Su Fanxing, and Grandma Su were eating, a lonely shadow was still standing by the courtyard gate.

“Sis, what did your ex-wife come here for?” Su Fanxing lowered her voice, glaring at the shadow. “Do you want me to go kick her out?”

“Do you dare?” Ye Yichi raised an eyebrow.

Su Fanxing wrinkled her nose, her voice even quieter. “What’s there to be afraid of?”

“Then go ahead,” Ye Yichi nodded, smiling.

“Fine, I will.” Su Fanxing rolled up her sleeves and stood up. After a few steps, she turned back to Ye Yichi. “Sis, I’m really going.”

“Go.” Ye Yichi continued to nod with a smile.

“I… I’m really, really going.” Su Fanxing blinked, her long legs refusing to move another inch. “Sis, she won’t do what she did before, right? Collapsing the moment I start yelling at her?”

Ye Yichi burst out laughing.

“You’re still laughing!” Su Fanxing’s face crumpled like a bitter melon.

You couldn’t really blame Su Fanxing. Anyone who had seen that scene would be left with psychological trauma. Ye Yichi remembered it clearly: she had watched Xin Ning go limp and fall. Just as she was panicking, a group of middle-aged women swarmed in to accuse her. Back then, her heart had pounded so hard it was second only to the moment she realized she had traveled into a book.

Thinking back on it now, was that just the “suspension bridge effect”?

“Sis, don’t just watch the drama. Do we kick her out or not? I really want to, but I’m scared she’ll just go thud right in front of the gate,” Su Fanxing muttered. “If she really collapses, we’ll end up on the trending searches.”

“She won’t collapse. This isn’t a hospital. She just can’t stand being in a hospital alone,” Ye Yichi snapped back to reality. “But there’s no need to mind her. The TV show is about to start. If she wants to stand there, let her.”

“Oh, right! The premiere! Let’s hurry up and finish eating.” Su Fanxing quickly sat back down.

When they were clearing the dishes, the shadow outside the gate was still there.

The premiere consisted of three episodes, each about forty to fifty minutes long. By the time they finished, it was almost time for bed. Honestly, Director Li’s skill was impressive. When Ye Yichi was filming, she hadn’t felt much, but on the big screen, her character was filled with the desolation of being abandoned and the heartbreak of being betrayed.

“Sis, your acting is too good!” As the long ending credits rolled, Su Fanxing grabbed Ye Yichi’s arm excitedly. “What happens next? Did that heartbreaker go after you? Is there a ‘crematorium’ arc?”

“Watch it yourself tomorrow.” Ye Yichi yawned and headed upstairs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the shadow was gone.

Please don’t come back, Ye Yichi thought, yawning again as she muttered lazily, “She completely ruined my afternoon nap for nothing.”

The TV show aired for over a week, and its viewership grew every day.

Gradually, media outlets began contacting Ye Yichi. Director Li also called, saying the romance variety show he was preparing was almost ready. He wanted to use this opportunity to have her make an appearance to promote both projects at once.

It was a reasonable request.

When she signed the contract, it stipulated that she might need to assist with post-production promotion.

To accommodate Director Li’s schedule, they chose a meeting spot near Xin Ning’s company an exquisite dessert shop. When Ye Yichi arrived, Director Li and the media crew hadn’t shown up yet, so she picked the innermost booth.

The waiter brought a glass of lemon water. “What would you like? The small cakes in the display case are handmade by our proprietor. Would you like to take a look?”

Cat cafe proprietor, coffee proprietor, dough figurine proprietor, and now a cake proprietor? She wondered if their skills were better than Grandma Su’s. Ye Yichi turned to look at the display.

The closest one was a chocolate cake, a small triangle topped with crushed hazelnuts.

It looked strangely familiar.

“This cake… your proprietor wouldn’t happen to be named Lin Weilan, would they?” Ye Yichi asked.

“No,” the waiter shook his head. “Shall I call the proprietor out for you?”

“No need.” Ye Yichi pointed at the hazelnut chocolate cake. “I’ll have that one.”

A tiny piece for 48 yuan. As expected, anything associated with the word “proprietor” wasn’t cheap.

Fortunately, the hazelnuts were fragrant and the chocolate was high quality. Ye Yichi ate slowly, her eyes drifting back to the display case. Besides the hazelnut cake, there were five or six other flavors, all triangular. She scanned them one by one: mango, blueberry, red velvet… the only pinkish one was guava-flavored.

“Do you have strawberry cake?” Ye Yichi gestured a certain size. “About this big, square, with a light pink base and a thin layer of deep pink chocolate sauce on top.”

“I’m sorry, we usually only have triangular cakes,” the waiter shook his head again. “If you need a square one, you can place a custom order. However, we haven’t made the specific one you described before. For a custom order, we would need you to provide a photo.”

“I see. Never mind for now, thanks.” Ye Yichi lowered her hand and looked down at her cake.

A few minutes later, Director Li and the media crew arrived one after another. They had already coordinated with the shop, so a “Closed” sign was hung during the interview.

When the interview ended, the media staff brought out prepared gift bags.

“Director Li, Teacher Ye, I hope we can continue to collaborate in the future. Director Li, the company you’re signed with now is a major subsidiary of the Xin Group. Their current focus is promoting your romance show. And Teacher Ye is even more incredible. I heard the new drama this company is preparing is being custom tailored for you? Congratulations, congratulations!”

What new drama? Custom-tailored for her?

Once the staff left, Ye Yichi looked at Director Li in confusion. “The media really knows how to make things up, don’t they?”

“You didn’t know? No way,” Director Li said, looking surprised. “President Xin specifically mentioned this new project at a group meeting a few days ago. She said they plan to collaborate with you, and filming starts next year. It’s a fantasy drama that combines cultivation, tomb-raiding, and repeated time travel. I overheard a bit during the meeting the method of time travel is quite unique: lying in a coffin.”

Repeated time travel? Isn’t that just repeatedly lying in a coffin? Ye Yichi’s eyes widened slightly.

“The news was everywhere a few days ago. Right when our show premiered, it hit the trending searches several times. It got us a lot of exposure. You really didn’t see it?”

She really hadn’t. Ye Yichi thought back. During that time, she was busy soaking up the sun and feeding chickens.

Oh, and collecting eggs. Freshly laid eggs were warm, carrying the chicken’s body heat. But there were no black or green shells like Grandma Su mentioned, and certainly no “little stars.”

On the way back to Huawan, Ye Yichi thought it over seriously.

Xin Ning’s appearance a few days ago was likely because of this drama.

Honestly, the idea of repeatedly lying in a coffin was quite appealing. Unfortunately, now that she didn’t have the ring, the probability of traveling back was too low. It wasn’t worth getting involved with Xin Ning for such a small chance.

Before getting off the bus, Ye Yichi made up her mind. If Xin Ning didn’t show up again, so be it. But if she did, Ye Yichi would make things clear: no collaboration, and stay away. Divorced people should be like strangers. Lingering connections and suddenly being cast as a lead in a new drama, there was no logic to that in this world.

Besides, she needed to buy a car.

Huawan was too far from the city. Taking the bus every time she went to town was a hassle, especially since she’d be going to auditions after the New Year.

What kind of car should she buy?

Her budget was limited. A butterfly door supercar was out of the question, and a van wasn’t right either. Maybe a used sedan? Which brand? To be honest, she didn’t know much about cars. As she passed the ancient town parking lot, Ye Yichi instinctively slowed her pace.

The black one was a Mercedes C-Class, the blue one a BMW 3 Series, the dark green one a Mini Cooper, the white one a Bentley… wait, a white Bentley?

Squinting her eyes, Ye Yichi looked at the license plate. It was Xin Ning’s car.