Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 3

Refreshing sweetness fades the bitterness.

Ye Yichi rolled the lemon candy over her tongue, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Xin Ning, who never touched sweets, had somehow learned to keep candies in her pocket after meeting the right person. How delightful, how moving, how utterly world-shaking.

What do they call this? This is what people call “love makes you grow.”

As for those who aren’t loved… well, even wearing half a mask, they wouldn’t be recognized face-to-face.

Heh.

Ye Yichi’s fiery red lips curled into a silent sneer. Her nose wrinkled briefly before smoothing out, her round eyes shifting toward Xin Ning like those of a haughty cat.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice lazy and nonchalant.

But inside, a sour ache surged.

She had craved this sweetness for three years, and now that she finally tasted it, she should be happy. So why did it feel even more bitter? Perhaps this candy was poisoned a poison named Xin Ning, flavored with the scent of ice and snow.

“Xingxing, let’s go. Come to my room and pick out a bag.”

Collapsing from the “poison” in public would be too embarrassing. Ye Yichi pulled Su Fanxing toward the second floor.

Creak, creak-creak. The wooden stairs sounded like they were poisoned, too as if they might give way and fall apart at any moment.

If they did break and she fell, she wondered if she could just transmigrate back. Old Man Ye used to say that life is like a dandelion: even if you only have a few leaves left, you have to try your best to grow a yellow flower. As for what happens after the flower withers? That’s not important. You fly wherever the wind blows; good or bad, it’s all fate.

Then again, one couldn’t fully trust Old Man Ye’s words.

Old Man Ye also said that when she smiled with her eyes curved, she looked exactly like the “Rose-Pink Glazed Bowl with Floral Medallions” from her mother’s dowry.

“Is a Rose Pink Glazed Bowl with Floral Medallions beautiful?” Ye Yichi asked Su Fanxing, who was busy rummaging through the bags.

“I don’t know if it’s beautiful, but it can certainly hold a lot,” Su Fanxing replied without looking up. “Eye catching, spacious, and expensive. I saw on the news the other day that some rose-pink glazed thing sold for a fortune at an auction. The transaction fee alone could buy a luxury car. Who knows what kind of fool has more money than sense.”

Ye Yichi had a vague feeling she was being insulted, but she had no evidence.

The next morning, Ye Yichi went downstairs under the fading moonlight.

Before leaving the courtyard, she stole a glance. The light was on in Lin Weilan’s room, and in Xin Ning’s as well.

The “official CP” goes on a trip and takes two separate rooms. They’re in their late twenties and still playing at “pure love.” Look at them now separated by a wall, pining for each other, unable to sleep even in the early morning.

Ye Yichi silently rolled her eyes.

She headed toward the foot of the mountain, carrying her mask.

Today’s highlight was the scene where she wore the mask and broke out of a coffin. After finishing her hair and makeup, Ye Yichi climbed into the coffin and lay flat. To match the mask’s aesthetic, many white roses had been placed inside. She picked one up; judging by the shape, it was an Athena.

This variety doesn’t have a very large head, but its beauty lies in its high degree of openness.

She used to grow a massive bush of them.

She wondered what happened to that Athena after she moved out.

Xin Ning never said it, but it was obvious she despised that garden full of roses. Having finally suffered through to the divorce, she probably hired someone to dig them up the very same day.

I spent three years carefully nurturing them. What a waste.

Ye Yichi’s fingertips brushed the petals, mourning for the Goddess of Wisdom.

“Yes, yes, that’s it! That emotion is perfect. Xiao Ye, hold that, we’re filming now,” Director Li praised repeatedly.

When the morning shoot ended, Ye Yichi took a lunch box and sat on the coffin lid to eat. As she finished her meal, she heard the faint voices of staff members nearby.

She looked up and muttered “enemies” under her breath.

The two protagonists, who had been too lovelorn to sleep this morning, had somehow decided to enter the mountains. Lin Weilan was holding up her phone, seemingly asking a staff member something, while Xin Ning stood quietly beside her, looking like a solitary, ethereal flower.

After the inquiry, Lin Weilan led Xin Ning away.

Ye Yichi withdrew her gaze, poking her empty lunch box with her chopsticks.

“What are those two doing?” Director Li asked. “Could they be newcomers here to try their luck? With those looks, they’d definitely be a hit.”

“No, they’re botanists. They’re in the mountains for field research.”

Ah, right, Ye Yichi thought. Lin Weilan, one of the leads, was a famous botanist in the book.

Unlike her, who was at best an 18th-tier obscure star.

The rightful heir to the Xin Group and rising star of the business world accompanying a botanist through the forest that was an enviable, beautiful romance. Accompanying an 18th-tier star to a film set that would be a tycoon “visiting” their caged canary.

It was actually quite funny when she thought about it.

In three years of marriage, Xin Ning had never “visited” her of her own accord.

The only time they had slept together, Ye Yichi had been the initiator. Even in bed, Xin Ning didn’t deign to move; Ye Yichi had somehow ended up as the “top” in a daze, sleeping with Xin Ning with equal parts nervousness and devotion.

When Xin Ning and Lin Weilan are together, how would they decide who’s the top and who’s the bottom?

Ye Yichi didn’t know. Privately, she hoped they’d never even get to that stage. It would be best if they immediately realized they were incompatible and parted ways forever, never to meet again.

As they say, her “breadth of spirit” just wasn’t enough.

She was only fit to be cannon fodder.

After lunch, the crew got busy again. Around 3 PM, it suddenly began to rain. Director Li hurriedly called everyone into the studio shed to take cover.

Ye Yichi complied, her gaze inadvertently drifting toward the forest.

Xin Ning and the other had entered the mountains at noon; where were they now? The mountain weather was unpredictable; a heavy downpour could be dangerous.

The staff and Director Li also remembered the two women from noon. “Those two beauties who went into the mountain… wonder what’s happening with them.”

Ye Yichi licked her canine tooth.

The sharp tip scraped her tongue with a tiny sting.

They’ll be fine. They’re the protagonists. They had massive protagonist auras over their heads. Even if every “Extra A, B, and C” in the book met with disaster, those two would be fine.

Yet, why did her heart feel inexplicably anxious?

Ye Yichi began slowly kicking at the weeds on the ground. This mountain wasn’t exactly “developed,” but it wasn’t a primitive wilderness either. If it were a true virgin forest with high scientific and environmental value, the Forestry Bureau would never have allowed them to film here.

Come to think of it, what was Lin Weilan “researching” in a mountain with no scientific value?

Perhaps “research” was just an excuse, and the real goal was to take Xin Ning out on a date? Being a botanist, she could walk through the mountains with her beloved, showing off her knowledge every time they saw a flower or a tree…

Stop it. Ye Yichi took a slow breath.

Let them show off however they wanted. She was just an outsider.

The rain lasted half an hour before tapering off. After Director Li finished the final shots, the staff began loading the equipment onto the vehicles.

As the cars were nearly packed, Ye Yichi saw Lin Weilan and Xin Ning approaching from a distance.

They didn’t look like they had been caught in the rain at all; their hair was fluffy and their clothes were dry.

See? That’s a protagonist for you. Even the dark clouds couldn’t bear to touch them they only hovered over the heads of supporting characters like her.

“You’re the botanists from this morning, right?” Director Li called out to them. “It’s getting dark, it’s not safe to walk. We have two empty seats; why don’t you head down the mountain with our crew?”

See? The protagonist aura strikes again. Ye Yichi smacked her lips sourly.

“Xiao Ye, why don’t you come over to my car?” Director Li waved at the lip-smacking Ye Yichi. “We’ll make some space so they can sit together.”

“Okay,” Ye Yichi replied.

To be honest, Ye Yichi was relieved by the Director’s decision.

Half a month ago, when Xin Ning handed over the divorce papers, Ye Yichi had been shocked and confused, thinking only of leaving. After moving to the small courtyard, she had slowly started to process it.

Three years of marriage. She had thought that even without love, there should be family affection. If not family affection, then at least the camaraderie of having been “comrades in arms.” At the very, very least, they should be “nodding acquaintances.”

Old Man Ye said that anyone you’ve nodded to counts as a friend.

Xin Ning didn’t think so.

She seemed to be made of ice and snow from the inside out. If you melted the outer shell of snow, the core was still cold ice. Worse yet, she was so cold that the tiny droplets of water from the melting would quickly refreeze into even sharper ice crystals.

Ye Yichi was afraid that if she sat too close, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from pulling open Xin Ning’s collar to examine that porcelain skin inch by inch to ask Xin Ning why there wasn’t a shred of emotion hidden beneath it.

Could it be that Xin Ning’s heart was also made of ice?

If it weren’t ice, how could she fail to feel the three years of sincere devotion Ye Yichi had given her? How could she offer a settlement that left Ye Yichi with nothing? How could she watch her leave on a drizzly day without uttering a single word to ask her to stay?

Looking up at Xin Ning, who was speaking softly to Lin Weilan, Ye Yichi pushed the car door open, preparing to get out.

Forget it. It’s over. Let everything stay in the past.

Growing old together isn’t something that can be replaced by the snow on one’s head, having met at all is already a stroke of luck. A “passerby” like her having three years by the protagonist’s side was enough. There was no need for “whys” and “wherefores.”

“No need to trouble you.”

Xin Ning’s cold voice grew slightly louder as she walked toward Ye Yichi’s side.

What was going on? Ye Yichi hurriedly touched her face in a panic. Good, the mask was still on.

“We’re already grateful for the ride. We’ll just sit separately.” Using the open door, Xin Ning climbed into the car and sat down right next to Ye Yichi.

Her scent was still that crisp, cold chill mixed with a faint fragrance like plum blossoms on a snowy night but now it also carried the smell of damp grass.

Ye Yichi lowered her eyes. A few blades of bright green grass were stuck to Xin Ning’s snowy-white ankles.

In the past three years, Xin Ning had never stepped foot in the garden. Whenever Ye Yichi was busy among the flowers, Xin Ning would always find an excuse to stay away. She was like some strange creature that saw flowers, trees, and even dandelion seeds floating in the autumn wind as “monsters.”

How could anyone be afraid of plants?

Ye Yichi couldn’t understand it.

Later, she had once brought a bouquet of home-grown roses to Xin Ning. Xin Ning’s indifferent gaze had landed on the rose leaves, and her eyes had flickered. Within that cold pool of her gaze, a tiny ripple of terror appeared. Ye Yichi had quickly looked down and saw a round hole in the dark green leaf left by a pesky leafcutter bee.

After that time, Ye Yichi had a vague suspicion. Later, after observing for a long while, she confirmed it: the ice sharp Xin Ning was actually afraid of bugs.

So afraid that she didn’t even dare enter the garden.

And yet, now that she was with the “right person,” she wasn’t afraid anymore. She could run all over the mountains, unaware of the grass clinging to her ankles.

Heh.