Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 35

“Ah!” Su Fanxing froze for a moment, slapping her thigh hard. “Right! How could I forget?! You guys are divorced! Setting up a ‘deeply in love’ persona now is just deceiving the fans. If you get caught later, the backlash will be overwhelming…”

Staring at Ye Yichi for a few seconds, she suggested in a small voice, “If you ask me, why don’t you two just go get remarried?”

“If you ask me, you should go do your homework,” Ye Yichi retorted, giving Su Fanxing a light smack.

The next morning, Ye Yichi woke up early. After washing up and packing her miscellaneous belongings, it was only 8:30 AM. Her meeting with the director to join the film crew wasn’t until noon, so she still had half a day.

Before bed the previous night, she had carefully considered Su Fanxing’s words.

Maintaining a “loving couple” persona after a divorce was indeed deceiving the fans. It wasn’t so much about fearing a future PR disaster, but rather that deception, as a practice, should be avoided whenever unnecessary.

Pulling out her phone, Ye Yichi sent a message to Xin Ning.

Ye Yichi: Have the PR department find another way. Faking a persona after a divorce isn’t appropriate.

Xin Ning replied almost instantly.

Xin Ning: You’re awake? I’m bringing breakfast over.

How did things end up like this? How did the tightly shut clam evolve into a “Snail Girl” no, a “Clam Girl”? Ye Yichi couldn’t figure it out.

Fortunately, the Clam Girl hadn’t personally cooked this time.

Looking at the buns bought from a breakfast shop, Ye Yichi brought up the topic again: “Tell the PR department to change the strategy.”

“There’s a strategy in communication studies called ‘public opinion diversion,'” Xin Ning handed Ye Yichi a cup of soy milk while holding one herself, taking a light sip. “It means covering one hot topic with another. Your traffic is too high; simply exposing that someone framed you isn’t strong enough, especially since those photos were real.”

Ye Yichi took the soy milk and took a sip. It was rich, fragrant, and refreshingly sweet.

Xin Ning was right. Using a more explosive piece of news to overwrite the previous scandal was the most effective method… the problem was, they were already divorced.

“Won’t it be even more troublesome if the divorce is leaked later?” Ye Yichi asked.

“Is that the only reason you want to change the method?” Xin Ning nibbled on her straw, her dark pupils reflecting the pink light of the morning glow. “Or are you afraid Xiaoxiao will see the trending search and realize you found a body double who looks just like her?”

Is this “body double” trope ever going to end? Ye Yichi looked at Xin Ning silently.

“Speaking of which, I had someone look into it, but I couldn’t find any information about your high school. Ye Shijin must have kept it strictly confidential, right? Which high school did you go to? Was it domestic? If Xiaoxiao went to the same school as you, her family background shouldn’t be bad either, right?” Xin Ning asked.

It’s never ending. Truly never ending.

Ye Yichi picked up a bun, suddenly wishing she could knock herself unconscious with it unfortunately, the bun wasn’t made by Xin Ning. The skin was soft and the meat filling was springy. If it had been those mantou from last time, there might have been a chance of knocking herself out.

“Or did you two study abroad?” Xin Ning paused for a moment, her voice deepening slightly, the pink light in her eyes freezing and shattering. “That’s it. Back then, Ye Shijin said her niece had returned from graduating… you must have gone to high school abroad.”

“Stop, stop right there,” Ye Yichi hurried to stuff a bun into Xin Ning’s mouth.

If this train of thought continued, it would likely lead back to the video.

“I wasn’t thinking about any ‘Xiaoxiao.’ I’m just worried that being this high-profile makes it easy for people with ulterior motives to dig into the details. If the divorce is exposed, I’ll just take a hit from the haters, but you’ll have to deal with the reporters and Ye Shijin’s people. It’ll be hard to clean up.”

The shattered light began to flow again, rippling gently. Xin Ning watched Ye Yichi quietly for a moment, her shimmering eyes reflecting Ye Yichi’s image, shifting from blurry to clear, then back to blurry.

Slowly blinking, Xin Ning took a small bite of the bun while Ye Yichi was still holding it.

Ye Yichi withdrew her hand and took a bite herself.

“Seriously, even though we’re divorced, I hope you can live well,” Ye Yichi said unclearly while slowly chewing the bun.

Xin Ning looked at the overlapping bite marks on the bun, the tips of her ears turning red bit by bit. “No one will find out about the divorce. Don’t worry.”

Are the confidentiality measures at the Civil Affairs Bureau really that good? Ye Yichi lacked common sense in this area and could only believe Xin Ning and in fact, despite being at the center of the storm for half a month, no one had indeed discovered they were divorced.

During this half-month, Xin Ning visited the film set six or seven times, averaging once every two or three days.

Every time Ye Yichi tried to refuse, Xin Ning would shut her down with: “You said you hoped I could live well.”

To “live well” meant maintaining the loving persona, which meant frequent visits for the media to capture. Logically, there was nothing wrong with it, but actually… looking at the daily growing chat logs on her phone, Ye Yichi licked her canine tooth, unsure of what expression to make.

Beep. A new message arrived.

Xin Ning: New Year’s Day is in a few days. Does the crew have time off? If so, shall we take Fanxing and Grandma out to play? Guo Guo has been out of the ICU for a few days now; can you accompany me to the hospital to see her?

Xin Ning: Even if you don’t have time off, it’s okay. I can bring Fanxing and Grandma to see you. It’s been a long time, and they both miss you very much.

See? After learning the “language skill,” the Clam Girl’s communication abilities were growing by the day she even knew how to use the “family card” to get her way.

To be honest, after so many days apart, she also missed Su Fanxing and Grandma Su.

The training with the crew was mostly finished. After the holiday, they would start script readings and getting familiar with props. The director’s plan was to move directly to the filming location to read scripts while doing some blocking rehearsals.

Should she move with the crew? Or move things back to Huawan first and then meet at the new location after the holiday?

Ye Yichi considered it for two days.

The night before New Year’s Eve, she told Xin Ning she would return to Huawan the following afternoon.

The next day, just after noon, Xin Ning sent a message saying she had arrived at the set.

Isn’t this way too early? Luckily, her things were packed. Ye Yichi dragged her luggage toward the parking lot.

Seeing the white Bentley from a distance, she narrowed her eyes slightly. In the warm sunlight, the quiet and elegant Clam Girl stood by the car, ruby earrings sparkling, holding a bouquet of roses.

Black wrapping paper enveloped the red flowers. The blooms were the size of fists, a deep primary red with high centers and gracefully recurved outer petals. The petals had a velvety sheen.

Red Lady.

Much fresher and more beautiful than the previous bouquet.

“Is this another free gift from buying someone else a present?” Ye Yichi approached, met by a wanton sweetness.

In addition to the sweetness of the roses, there was a sharp hint of green mint and a faint mellow aroma of red wine. She sniffed lightly Rose of No Man’s Land.

The Clam Girl actually wore perfume today?

“It’s not a gift; it never was.” Xin Ning took Ye Yichi’s luggage and tucked the roses into her arms. “The previous bouquet was something I bought specifically on the way to pick out a gift for Lin Weilan, because the moment I saw it, I thought of you. It’s a pity I couldn’t get it to you that day.”

Did the Clam Girl not only put on perfume but also eat honey? Holding the roses, Ye Yichi felt her heart tremble at the sight of the brilliant red.

“Do you like it?” Xin Ning asked.

Her cold voice carried a flowing joy crisp and clear and her pure black eyes were layered with shimmering light. “If you like it, I’ll send a bouquet every week from now on.”

Unbelievable. A clam that has learned human language is truly formidable when she speaks properly.

If only the Mobius strip didn’t exist. Ye Yichi rubbed the bridge of her nose, remaining silent.

“Did Xiaoxiao ever give you roses?” Xin Ning asked again.

See? Exactly what she feared.

Silently sighing, Ye Yichi opened the car door, carefully set down the roses, and then shoved the luggage into the trunk.

Half an hour later, they arrived at Huawan.

Grandma Su had already prepared afternoon tea: “Yueyue, eat with Xuexue. I’m going to the market!”

“Is there a market at this hour?” Ye Yichi was surprised.

“Yes, yes! A new supermarket opened in town, there’s a market from morning till night.” Grandma Su pulled Ye Yichi aside, winking frantically. “Oh, Yueyue, are you silly? It’s rare for you and Xuexue to be alone. If this old bag of bones doesn’t hide away, should I stay and be a third wheel?”

“No, Grandma, she and I…”

“I get it, I get it. Fanxing told me everything.” Grandma Su kept signaling with her eyes. “Fanxing said you two are in a ‘marriage first, love later, crematorium chase’ situation. Oh, it doesn’t mean actually sending you to the crematorium to be buried alive! It means a ‘sea of hate’ where you torment each other, back and forth, until you finally reach a HE.”

What on earth is all this? What has Su Fanxing been poisoning Grandma with lately?

“Even ‘HE’?” Ye Yichi was speechless. “Do you even know what that means? You’re just picking up nonsense from her.”

“Who doesn’t know that? Happy Ending, obviously! Back in the day, I studied abroad, you know. Back in the day…” Grandma Su carried her small basket and walked out chuckling. “Back in the day~ I rode my horse and carried my sword with majestic flair~ Breaking through the Heaven’s Gate~ Killing the Liao soldiers until their souls scattered~”

Great, she’s started singing Mu Guiying Takes Command.

Ye Yichi watched Grandma Su leave, then turned to Xin Ning: “I suspect Grandma’s condition might be getting worse again.”

“I know a doctor. I’ll make an appointment for the next few days, we can take Grandma to see him during the holiday.” Xin Ning nodded, then paused. “Grandma wasn’t wrong about one thing: I am indeed ‘chasing my wife.'”

Ye Yichi: “…That’s really not necessary.”

“What have you been doing these past few days? Did you rehearse with any actors?” Xin Ning acted as if she hadn’t heard. “I’ve been at the Xin Corporation. There were many year-end documents to sign. Since you weren’t at the company, it was all on me. Fortunately, I finished it all after three days of overtime so it wouldn’t delay me coming to see you.”

“Also, your aunt’s people are making moves in the dark. I’ve already sent people to keep an eye on them. I don’t plan to deal with them yet; I’ll wait a while. I want to pull them out by the roots.”

“And those roses in the villa courtyard. I’ve carefully pruned every single one. I got pricked by thorns 32 times, scratched by leaves twice, and encountered 12 caterpillars and 8 cabbage worms. Oh, right, and a leaf-cutting bee. They should be hibernating; I don’t know why it was still flying around.”

Her voice was cold yet carried a hint of grievance, and her eyes held tiny ripples.

It must have been difficult. Ye Yichi licked her canine tooth. Xin Ning was afraid of bugs and usually didn’t even dare to enter the garden, yet she had pruned the roses herself.

However, this long speech… why did it sound like she was reciting lines?

“You said so much in one breath. Did you write a draft? Or did you write it down in a notebook beforehand?” Ye Yichi asked tentatively.

Xin Ning looked at Ye Yichi quietly, the tips of her ears turning red.

“You really did?” Ye Yichi went silent for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. She knew it! Even if she had improved her human language skills, she wouldn’t have evolved from “not having a mouth” to a chatterbox overnight.

“I just thought about not saying the wrong thing again.” Turning her gaze away, Xin Ning murmured softly, “You know I always say the wrong things… I’m sorry for all the bad things I said to you before.”

Ye Yichi’s laughter froze on the tip of her tongue.

“It’s okay to laugh. It is quite funny having to draft a script just to say a few words to someone I’ve been longing for.” Xin Ning bit her lower lip, a trace of frustration in her eyes. “Actually, after writing so much, all I really wanted to say was… I haven’t seen you for three days, and I missed you.”