Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 36

Ye Yichi raised an eyebrow. Was this closed-off clam not only extending its foot, but also throwing a straight-up fastball?

The impact was staggering her heart skipped a beat.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Xin Ning’s eyes remained averted, shimmering with hidden starlight. “Yichi, you’ll miss me too, right?”

“You don’t have to miss me deeply. Just in the early morning or at dusk, in the moment you look up or cast your eyes down if there are just one or two instances where you happen to think of me, I’ll be very happy.”

Her voice trembled with a wrap of shyness, her earlobes and cheeks were a vivid, dripping red.

She memorized it. She definitely memorized those lines beforehand.

Yet, why did the quickening heartbeat turn into a frantic drumroll?

Ye Yichi looked down into Xin Ning’s eyes. Xin Ning trembled slightly as she shifted her dark, bright gaze upward. Their eyes met, and in those eyes brilliant enough to rival the starry sky Ye Yichi clearly saw her own reflection.

It wavered with Xin Ning’s breath, like light caught on the surface of water.

Coming a bit closer, carrying a rippling wave, bright and flickering with bashfulness, Xin Ning tilted her head slightly and gave a soft peck to the corner of Ye Yichi’s lips.

“Even if I am just a substitute… as long as you can think of me, that’s enough.”

Stop talking. The heat at her lips traveled along her nerves. This mouth, which had finally managed to learn human speech with such difficulty, had to be silenced somehow.

What should she do…

Amidst the thumping of her heart, Ye Yichi cupped the back of Xin Ning’s head.

By the time she snapped back to her senses, she had already kissed those trembling lips.

The sweetness of roses, the richness of red wine, and a faint hint of green mint soft and moist, like flower petals touched by morning dew. The “Clam Girl” cautiously lifted her hand, lightly tugging at the corner of Ye Yichi’s clothes. Their intertwined breaths were warm and shaking, like the brush of a feather, and the chaotic drumming of her heart completely lost its rhythm.

I shouldn’t. We’re divorced; this shouldn’t be happening…

Yet, why did she try to press closer after that initial touch?

Her tongue parted the lips that felt like clouds steeped in honey as Ye Yichi tentatively began to conquer territory. The air they breathed rolled with heat waves; in the entanglement, she could feel Xin Ning’s rapid, rising breaths.

No, this isn’t right.

Her hand slid down to cradle Xin Ning’s cheek. The porcelain skin brushed against her palm, and her chest tightened slightly. Forget it. Ye Yichi slowly closed her eyes. Since things had already come to this, why bother with what “should” be?

Whether it was a few seconds or a few minutes later, Xin Ning suddenly pushed Ye Yichi away, gasping for air.

Her cheeks, usually like carved ice and snow, were now soaked in a deep red.

Ye Yichi awkwardly rubbed the bridge of her nose. She could swear to heaven that her original intention was just to shut Xin Ning up did she perhaps overdo the “shutting up” part?

“Um, I…” Ye Yichi tried to find the words.

Xin Ning looked up with misty eyes and wet lips.

“Did you used to kiss her like this too?” Her clear voice was also damp, like a mix of late autumn rain, obscure and uncertain.

The substitute. Again with the substitute.

The truth rushed to her lips. Ye Yichi chewed on it several times: “If…and I’m just saying ‘if’…if I didn’t treat you as a substitute, but fell in love with you at first sight instead…”

“Just like what they said in the video?” Xin Ning interrupted.

The waves flowing in her eyes froze slightly, gradually turning to ice, before softening again a moment later. “I’m going back next door first. I have a video conference to attend. In the future, please don’t make those kinds of assumptions, okay? I… I’ll be scared.”

As expected, it was an unbreakable Mobius strip.

Ye Yichi thought her grandfather shouldn’t have enrolled her in suona classes back then, a math class would have been better to encounter such a timeless mathematical mystery of a problem, what a profound “ill-fated relationship” this was.

Right at the time to start cooking, Grandma Su returned with a small basket.

Seeing only Ye Yichi in the courtyard, she approached with quick, small steps. “How is it? Any progress this afternoon?”

“Grandma, at your age, stop gossiping.” Ye Yichi looked down at the basket, which was full of mandarin oranges.

She casually pulled one out.

“You child, why are you just eating it yourself?” Grandma Su grabbed several oranges and stuffed them into Ye Yichi’s arms. “Go, take these next door and eat them with Xuexue. Xingxing finishes her tutoring early today, so you and Xuexue come back early for dinner. We’re having the stir-fried kidney you like, and the poached greens that Xuexue likes.”

“Oh.” Ye Yichi walked out slowly, cradling the oranges.

It seemed the Clam Girl had really been visiting “Hua Wan” quite often over the past half month; Grandma Su even knew what she liked to eat.

The lights were on in the living room next door. Xin Ning was sitting on the sofa holding her laptop. Seeing Ye Yichi enter, a pink hue slowly spread across her cheeks and earlobes.

“Grandma asked me to bring these to you.” Ye Yichi set the oranges down. “She also said to come over early for dinner.”

“Thank you,” Xin Ning said softly. “I’ve already made the appointment with the doctor. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go with you both.”

Should I say thank you too?

Ye Yichi stared at the ruby on Xin Ning’s earlobe. Hesitating and lingering, as if possessed, she leaned in and kissed it.

The next day, Su Fanxing specifically asked her tutoring teacher for a leave of absence, and the four of them went to the hospital together.

The results were similar to the last visit.

“As long as it hasn’t worsened, it’s good news.” Walking out of the consultation room, Su Fanxing let out a long sigh of relief and winked at Ye Yichi. “Sis, do you remember the last time we brought Grandma for a checkup?”

How could she forget being cornered by those middle-aged ladies?

Ye Yichi glanced at her. “Why bring that up?”

“Ning-jie, what about you? Do you remember?” Su Fanxing leaned in toward Xin Ning, winking again. “Back then, I rushed toward you, and those ladies almost ate me alive. At first, I thought you were trying to scam me. Hey, speaking of which, what were you doing at the hospital that day?”

To be honest, Ye Yichi was curious too.

Given Xin Ning’s special circumstances, she wouldn’t step foot into a hospital unless absolutely necessary. Looking back at the situation that day, there didn’t seem to be any reason for her to be there.

Ye Yichi tilted her head, studying Xin Ning.

Xin Ning was looking back at her; as their eyes met, tiny ripples began to radiate from the depths of Xin Ning’s dark pupils. Then, her earlobes turned a faint red, contrasting beautifully with the brilliant rubies hanging from them.

Is the Clam Girl being shy? The memory of Xin Ning’s flushed face from the day before flashed through Ye Yichi’s mind, making her heart flutter erratically.

“What did you come here for that day?” Ye Yichi asked.

“I was driving by and saw you at the main gate. I didn’t know why you were coming to the hospital, so I followed you inside to check.” Her voice was cool; at first listen, it sounded no different than usual.

But if one listened closely, there were delicate nuances hidden in every word like a cat cautiously extending a paw to tap, then tap again. It was an itchy, sweet sensation, like the scent of roses.

Ye Yichi licked her canine tooth. “Want some coffee? My treat.”

“Okay,” Xin Ning chuckled softly. “Then I’ll treat you, your sister, and Grandma to milk tea.”

After the three day New Year’s holiday ended, the director sent a message saying the start date for filming was pending due to weather conditions.

Ye Yichi was quite happy to have a few more days of rest.

Previously, when they had taken Grandma Su to the hospital, she and Xin Ning had stopped by to visit Guo Guo. The little one’s complexion was even paler than before, her cheeks so thin they were almost sunken, yet those eyes remained bright comparable to the most brilliant stars in a silent night sky.

Upon seeing Xin Ning and Ye Yichi, those twin stars flickered with joy.

Guo Guo said she had previously misjudged “the one named Ye,” and that it turned out there were good people in the Ye family after all.

Sister Weilan had told her everything: it was thanks to Sister Ningning and Sister Yichi signing the foster-support agreement that she was able to be rescued this time. After resting for a few more days to get her strength up, the doctor would schedule her surgery. If it succeeded, she would be able to cry, laugh, and run around with the other children.

Ye Yichi comforted the little girl with a few words and promised to visit her again when she had time.

Since she was off work, she figured she might as well head into the city with Xin Ning to see Guo Guo again.

Lin Weilan had told Guo Guo a lot, but she had also hidden a lot. The success rate for that surgery was only 20%; none of them were certain if Guo Guo would make it off the operating table alive.

Before heading to the hospital this time, Xin Ning made a special trip back to her villa to pick up an amulet.

It was a small, rectangular piece of white paper encased in plastic, featuring black characters, red seals, and drawn incantations.

Ye Yichi had seen similar things back when she was slacking off while following Old Man Ye; the general meaning was a blessing for the health and safety of the sick.

“My mother had a similar illness. The success rate for the surgery was less than 20%. She risked her life to give birth to me, and she struggled on until middle age when she couldn’t delay it any longer. She decided to give it one last shot after I finished my college entrance exams.” Xin Ning’s jade-like fingers gripped the steering wheel as her cool gaze rested on the water-slicked road ahead.

Raindrops pattered loudly against the windshield.

Ye Yichi watched her silently for a few seconds before turning her head toward Xin Ning.

“On the day the exams ended, I went to a temple to pray for this. My father passed away very early; I couldn’t lose my mother too. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to give it to her right away.”

Xin Ning took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “That day, she suddenly told me something else. She said that before the surgery, she wanted to fulfill one wish, she decided to finally reciprocate Ye Shijin’s feelings.”

Was this… the melodramatic backstory suddenly appearing out of nowhere?

Ye Yichi’s heart tightened.

She fell silent for a moment, and upon snapping back to reality, realized she had instinctively been holding her breath.

“Later, there was no chance to use this,” Xin Ning said. “So I’ll give it to Guo Guo. If it really can protect her and keep her safe, then the prayer wasn’t in vain.”

The rain grew heavier.

Through the misty haze, the white light of the car’s headlamps fell upon the puddles, mixing with the bright red of the taillights from the cars ahead, shattering and splashing.

The pitter-patter of the rain gradually solidified into sharp, angular shapes.

They hit the glass with a ding-dong sound, echoing with a cold, hard resonance.

“Xin Ning, turn on the hazards and pull over for a second,” Ye Yichi said softly. “There are ice crystals in the rain. You haven’t driven in conditions like this. Let me take over.”

They exchanged seats under the cover of an umbrella.

In the moment they brushed past each other, Ye Yichi tilted the umbrella away and gave Xin Ning a gentle hug.

For the second half of the trip, Xin Ning didn’t speak again. Ye Yichi drove slowly to the hospital and found a spot in the parking lot. Not far away, several ambulances sped toward the emergency entrance. Medical staff in white coats sprinted out, pushing stretchers as they hurried back inside.

In the passenger seat, Xin Ning’s breathing suddenly became rapid.

Ye Yichi quickly took her hand. “Relax. Freezing rain causes accidents easily, they’re just injured, they’ll be fine once they’re in the hospital.”

Xin Ning gripped Ye Yichi’s hand back, looking up with a storm swirling in her dark eyes. “I thought everything would be fine once we got to the hospital back then, too.”

Ye Yichi didn’t know how to respond, she could only hold her hand tighter.

A moment later, Xin Ning’s cool voice sounded again.

“My mother… she finally held on until I grew up, finally made up her mind. That day… you and Ye Shijin don’t know this, but because she wanted to confess her feelings, she specifically hid a camera in her coat button.”