Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 26

“The more I hear, the less I understand.”

“Whether I was afraid or not, we’re already divorced. What’s the point of saying all this now?” Ye Yichi glanced at Xin Ning. Those shimmering eyes reflected Ye’s face, they no longer held the greedy obsession of the past, nor the resentment of unrequited love.

Only calm remained.

Good, Ye thought. This is how she was meant to be.

Remedial classes ended early. Before the sky had fully darkened, Su Fanxing returned home. Upon hearing that the new neighbor was Xin Ning, Su’s phoenix eyes widened into circles. “What is she trying to do? Don’t tell me she’s here to ‘woo the wife back’?”

“Impossible,” Ye Yichi replied slowly, grabbing a handful of rice.

“How is it impossible? Isn’t that the trope in half the novels and dramas out there? Divorcing only to realize they’re head over heels in love, then sticking to you like a plaster in a ‘crematorium’ pursuit?” Su Fanxing thought for a moment. “Sis, give me the straight truth. Why exactly did you two get divorced?”

“Does the reason matter?” Ye Yichi raised her hand and scattered the rice. The plump chickens clucked and pecked at the ground.

“Of course it matters!” Su Fanxing counted on her fingers. “Based on my years of drama watching experience, divorce is either due to personality clashes or a third party. Clashes aren’t a big deal you can smooth things over, maybe pick the relationship back up. But a third party? That’s a character flaw. Total dealbreaker.”

A third party? According to Xin Ning and Lin Weilan, there was nothing between them.

Ye Yichi lowered her eyes, gently stirring the rice in the box.

Before, as a “player in the game,” she had been blinded. She had only decided on the divorce because of the beauty Lin Weilan. Looking back now, it was a moment of fleeting infatuation the foolish attempt to warm a frozen pond. Xin Ning, meanwhile, felt a deep seated loathing rooted in a bitter grudge. They were simply fundamentally incompatible.

“It wasn’t a personality clash, and there was no third party. Our marriage was a mistake from the very beginning.”

The first move was a blunder; how could the rest of the game be anything but a total loss?

“I see. So there’s no chance of reconciling?” Su Fanxing patted her pants and stood up. “Alright, Sis, I get it. Leave this to me. I’ll make sure your ex-wife knows when to back off.”

“Don’t do anything reckless.”

“Don’t worry.”

Su Fanxing slipped away to the neighbor’s house before dinner. When she snuck back just as the meal was being served, she squinted her eyes and puffed out her chest. “Sis, I guarantee your ex-wife will never bother you again.”

Ye Yichi had a bad premonition. Su Fanxing looked mature, but she had been single since birth. All her knowledge of romance came from melodramatic TV dramas. Who knew what she had actually said to Xin Ning?

During dinner, Xin Ning sent two voice messages.

Ye Yichi deleted them as per usual.

The third message was text, asking if what Su Fanxing said was true. Ye Yichi didn’t reply.

Much later, a fourth message arrived a text nearly as long as an essay. Ye Yichi caught a glimpse of the word “substitute” just as she hit delete.

After that, Xin Ning sent nothing else. Ye Yichi breathed a small sigh of relief. It was better this way; she really didn’t want to be entangled in a messy post-divorce drama.

After watching two episodes of a show, Ye’s phone buzzed again with a message from Xin Ning. It was a video call request. Ye Yichi muted it and laid the phone face down on the table. “Fanxing, what exactly did you say to the person next door?”

“Nothing much.” Su Fanxing’s eyes were glued to the screen. “Sis, this drama is definitely going to be a hit. A total phenomenon. You have no idea, the prices for the limited edition character cards are skyrocketing.”

“Forget the cards. Tell me clearly what you said to Xin Ning.”

In three years of an unhappy marriage, Ye Yichi hadn’t understood Xin Ning, but she had learned her style: persistent, focused, and someone who wouldn’t turn back even if she hit a wall. To be honest, beyond her icy beauty, Xin Ning’s innate resilience was her most attractive trait.

That must be why she could endure ‘lying on ice’ for three years, Ye thought. Her grandfather was right, people are easily attracted to what they lack. As a “salted fish” who enjoyed a lazy life, meeting someone as intense as Xin Ning was bound to be captivating.

The phone on the table lit up, went dark, and lit up again, cycling through four or five attempts before finally falling silent.

“Su Fanxing, spill it.” Ye Yichi frowned slightly.

When a persistent person gives up on video calls, they’re usually about to show up at the door.

“I didn’t say much,” Su Fanxing whispered, glancing at Ye’s expression guiltily. “I just told her to stop pestering you. I told her you didn’t marry her because you liked her, you only married her because she was a substitute for your first love. You know, the ‘realizing you’re a replacement and leaving in a rage’ trope? It happens in all the dramas.”

Ye Yichi stared at Su Fanxing in silence.

The characters in this world were truly creative a new kind of “creativity” every single day. No wonder that long text mentioned a “substitute.”

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the courtyard gate. Thud, thud. Short, firm, and startlingly clear in the quiet night.

“Sis, was that not okay?” Su Fanxing looked toward the gate, her voice dropping even lower. “Did your ex-wife come here in the middle of the night? Did I cause trouble?”

The idea was certainly “creative,” and while the kid meant well, the excuse… well, it was usable.

Ye Yichi patted Su Fanxing’s shoulder. “It’s fine. Go wash up and get to bed. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Ye Yichi, open the door. I know you’re awake.”

Outside, Xin Ning’s cold voice was half a pitch higher than usual. It didn’t sound like a “CEO” at all. Ye Yichi walked slowly toward the gate. “Coming.”

As she walked, she mentally scrambled to build the lie.

The person couldn’t look too different, nor could the personality or body type be a total mismatch. If you’re going to act, you have to do it right. Before her fingers touched the latch, she quickly scanned her classmates from before she transmigrated and picked the closest match.

Opening the door, Ye Yichi took the initiative. “Fanxing told you everything, didn’t she?”

Xin Ning stared intently at Ye Yichi’s lips, her fingers curling slightly against the doorframe. Her brow furrowed deeper by the second. After a moment, her voice rang out, deeper and slightly raspy.

“Is what she said true?”

“It’s true.”

“What was her name?”

“I called her Xiaoxiao.” Ye Yichi curved her lips into a faint, silent smile. See? Planning ahead pays off. “I shouldn’t have told you this, but since you already know, I won’t hide it. Xiaoxiao and I were high school classmates. She joined my class in the second year. I was smitten the moment I saw her.”

Xin Ning’s frown deepened as the wind whipped the corners of her coat.

Ye Yichi subtly clenched her fingers. In three years of failed marriage through love and struggle, she had never wanted to hurt Xin Ning, even when the divorce papers were signed. But language is a sword, and she knew exactly how sharp this one was.

“I don’t believe you,” Xin Ning said. “In three years of marriage, you never mentioned this person. Don’t think you can lie to me with a made-up story.”

“Why would I need to lie?” Ye Yichi sighed softly. “If you want to hear it, I’ll give you the details.”

“Xiaoxiao’s parents were designers. They lived near the Design Institute, on top of a very steep hill. I’d take the bus with her on weekends, and we’d have to climb that hill for ages after getting off. Every time we reached her building, she’d refuse to go up, she’d make an excuse to walk me back to the bus stop.”

“Oh, and that wooden safety amulet I gave you? Xiaoxiao had one just like it. Also made of jujube wood. She was wearing it on her wrist when I first met her. To be honest, your eyes and brow look a lot like hers. Especially when you wear that amulet watching it sway, I could almost trick myself into thinking the person beside me was her.”

“Enough.” Xin Ning’s voice dropped to a low, heavy tone.

“Do you believe me now?” Ye Yichi asked. “If not, I can keep going. There’s a lot to say about a first love.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” The cold voice was sharp and jagged, like a blade striking ice.

The wind grew stronger, howling in the distance. Up close, it tossed the stray hairs on Xin Ning’s forehead and carried a faint scent to Ye Yichi’s nose.

The scent of roses.

“I wasn’t going to tell you,” Ye Yichi rubbed her nose. “Fanxing just thought you were pitiful, being kept in the dark.”

After that night, the house next door was quiet for many days.

Grandma Su passed by several times and peeked through the gate. The rooms were still decorated as before, but the door was locked and no one was inside. Ye Yichi figured that this time, Xin Ning had finally exited her life for good.

A few days later, Lin Weilan knocked on the gate of the “Flower Evening” courtyard.

Unlike her usual radiant self, the “little sun” now had a small cloud over her brow. She stared at Ye Yichi for a long time, her lips pursed. “In theory, I shouldn’t ask, but I’m just too curious. What on earth did you say to Xiao Ning? She’s been like a different person lately.”

Ye Yichi couldn’t guess what “different” meant for Xin Ning.

Then, one afternoon a few days later, there was noise from the courtyard next door.

Grandma Su ran over to see the commotion and came back smiling, shaking Ye Yichi awake. “Little Chestnut, Little Chestnut, guess who’s next door!”

“Who?” Ye Yichi yawned. Anyone but Xin Ning was fine.

“It’s still ‘Three Inches of Snow’ (Xin Ning)! Hehe, she said she’s staying for the long haul.” Grandma Su gestured in the air. “Haven’t seen her in a few days, and she’s lost a lot of weight. Her chin is sharper, and her face is as white as paper. Poor thing. I need to get her some eggs to nourish her.”

Ye Yichi stared at Grandma Su’s retreating back.

How could someone as proud and cold as Xin Ning come back? And stay long-term? Grandma’s dementia must be getting worse, she and Fanxing needed to take her for a check-up soon.

“Eggs, eggs, eggs…” Grandma Su muttered, carrying a small basket of eggs out the gate.

Ye Yichi hurried after her, worried she might get lost. Fortunately, Grandma Su went straight next door. Through the open gate, Ye Yichi saw a tall, thin figure.

In the days since they last met, Xin Ning had indeed thinned down significantly. The camel hair coat she wore the one Ye Yichi had once sent to the dry cleaners used to fit her perfectly. Now, it looked oversized. Xin Ning looked as fragile as the day they first met.

Xin Ning looked toward the gate.

Their eyes met. Xin Ning covered her mouth and coughed softly.

“I forgot to ask last time… exactly when did you decide to choose me as the substitute?”