Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 37

The cold voice mingled with the sounds of ice and rain.

It struck heavily against the tip of her heart, damp and freezing.

Ye Yichi pursed her lips, feeling the sharp sting of the impact.

Two or three days after visiting Guo Guo, the director sent a message notifying Ye Yichi to prepare to join the film crew the following day.

Xin Ning wanted to drive her there, but Ye Yichi refused.

The filming location was deep in the mountains, and the crew was staying in self-built houses owned by local residents. After exiting the highway, there was still a long stretch of mountain road to navigate. A few days ago, freezing rain had turned everything to ice. While the temperature in the city had warmed up and the roads were mostly clear, it was hard to say what the conditions were like in the mountains.

She was worried.

After failing to convince Ye Yichi two or three times, Xin Ning took off the necklace from her neck and handed it over: “Then can you wear this? I was wrong before. I shouldn’t have said those things. Please forgive me.”

Ye Yichi looked down; a rose ring was threaded through the necklace.

“We didn’t buy wedding rings when we got married. I’ve always looked at this as my wedding ring,” Xin Ning’s voice was clear and soft. “Later, when we were divorcing, I was happy to see you still wearing it. Later still, when it was returned to me, I couldn’t bear to put it back in the jewelry box, so I’ve been wearing it close to my skin ever since.”

The ring, away for so long, returned to her fingers.

It was warm, carrying the temperature of Xin Ning’s neck.

No, this atmosphere… it felt more and more wrong. How could two people who were already divorced be more flirtatious than they were during their marriage? On the way to the set, Ye Yichi touched the ring from time to time.

Was she happy? Certainly.

Was she conflicted? Indeed.

Xingxing and Grandma talked about some “pursuit of wife crematorium” (a trope where the regretful party suffers to win back their ex), saying they should abuse her first and then Xin Ning. In her opinion, those words were a bit problematic.

During those three years, although her pain was the unrequited kind, Xin Ning likely didn’t have a single good day either. Later, they divorced, and she thought it was over, but Xin Ning chased after her. Facing her repeated, cold rejections must have been painful. Then the truth surfaced the moment she saw the video, she could no longer remain hardened.

Yet, the truth could not be spoken aloud.

Wasn’t this also painful? To hell with the “crematorium” why did both of them have to suffer together?

But, whatever.

Forget the light flickering past the window or the flower shadows creeping across the table. Even the four seasons can cycle, let it be a little painful for now. Sooner or later, she would find a way.

Upon arriving at the scene, the director and stage manager arranged the accommodations first.

It was a one-story, self-built flat house, nowhere near as fancy as a hotel. The walls were a dusty gray, and the roof was flat concrete bordered by a black wooden frame.

The windows were also wooden, nearly half the size of normal windows and painted black. Ye Yichi guessed that since the mountain winds were strong, smaller windows helped with insulation.

After putting down her luggage, Ye Yichi took a photo of the room and sent it to Xin Ning.

Ye Yichi: This is where I’ll be living for the next month or so.

Xin Ning replied quickly.

Xin Ning: Is it a bit bigger than the previous color-steel prefab house?

Xin Ning: Are you living alone? I don’t want you sharing a room with anyone. Not at all.

Look at that the “Clam Girl” was getting better and better at picking out the important points. Ye Yichi smiled and replied “Yes,” chatted idly for a few more sentences, and then slowly began to unpack. Honestly, she wasn’t fond of this chore; she was naturally lazy, unlike Xin Ning, who insisted on keeping rooms, offices, desks, and wardrobes perfectly organized.

Speaking of which, where did Xin Ning store that big jar of candy?

She had walked back and forth in Xin Ning’s room several times and hadn’t caught a glimpse of it.

“If only Xin Ning were here.” Licking her tiger tooth, Ye Yichi pulled a grape-flavored candy wrapped in purple cellophane from her bag. With the sour-sweet candy in her mouth, she worked until dinner time before the room was finally tidy.

At dinner, the director gave a general outline of the schedule.

8 AM to 8 PM, with a two hour lunch break, six days a week. Sunday was a day off, but due to plot confidentiality, leaving the site was generally not allowed, and visits were strictly forbidden.

It was much stricter than previous crews.

It was understandable, though. Ye Yichi chose this drama because the script was excellent and the director was very driven.

Life is strange like that a “salted fish” (someone who prefers to be idle) can always be drawn to a “king of scrolling” (an overachiever).

The script-reading days were tedious and long. Between reading and blocking scenes, Ye Yichi memorized lines, caught up on dramas, and spent the rest of her time chatting with Xin Ning.

The internet signal in the mountains was erratic. When it was good, they could video call; when it was bad, a single message would take three to five minutes just to send, and the reply would take even longer. They’d only exchange a dozen or so sentences in an entire evening.

Fortunately, the waiting itself was wonderful especially waiting for a message from the person she liked.

Half a month passed like this. One night before bed, they were chatting as usual.

Before the video hung up, Xin Ning hesitated for a few seconds: “Yichi, your aunt’s people are almost ready. I suspect they will make their move in the next few days.”

“Do you need me to come back and help?” Ye Yichi grabbed a calendar to calculate.

These next few days weren’t her heavy scenes. If she discussed it with the director, it wouldn’t be impossible to swap her readings for later.

“No need.” The corners of Xin Ning’s mouth curled up. “I’m almost ready too. We will win. I just want to confirm with you no matter what happens, you won’t be angry with me, right?”

Uprooting the remnants of her “cheap” aunt’s faction what was there to be angry about?

Ye Yichi remained puzzled for two days.

On the third day at lunch, Ye Yichi sat at the same table as the director as usual. Not far away, a few young actors were whispering. When Ye Yichi finished her meal and stood up to leave, one of them, acting as a representative, stopped her.

“Sister Ye, Sister Ning the one who used to visit you and bring everyone snacks she’s the President of the Xin Group, right? Something seems to have happened to her. The hot searches are exploding.”

Ye Yichi quickly pulled out her phone.

The little gray circle spun and spun, failing to load. Something happened? What could happen? Was it something Xin Ning planned? Or did her aunt’s remnants do something?

“Sister Ye, don’t worry.” The actor hurriedly handed over her own phone.

There were several “Explosive” tags in dark purple and red.

Scanning through the headlines, none were related to physical safety. Ye Yichi breathed a slight sigh of relief. From the look of the trends, the Xin Group was just being besieged by the media and the remnants of the Ye family.

The spinning circle on her own phone finally disappeared.

“Thanks, it shouldn’t be anything major.” Ye Yichi returned the phone and tapped into the details on her own device.

It was similar to the last situation. The Ye family people wanted to use the video recorded by Ye Shijin before his death as evidence.

At that time, Ye Yichi had shown up, used her status as Ye Shijin’s niece, and explained it as a delirious hallucination at the end of his life. The doctors and nurses at the hospital could testify to that.

Since the situation had already been explained once, how could it be making waves again?

Clicking on the second trending topic, Ye Yichi found the answer. The video was just a bait, they wanted to use it to expose Xin Ning’s “unfairness” toward her the divorce and the fact that she left with nothing.

Those two things were indeed hard to defend. Ye Yichi stared at the screen for a moment before sending a message to Xin Ning.

Ye Yichi: You sure you don’t need help?

Xin Ning didn’t reply for a long time. After thinking for a bit, Ye Yichi called Xin Ning’s assistant.

The assistant picked up quickly: “President Ye, the ‘luring the turtle into the jar’ trick you and President Xin pulled is truly brilliant.”

The “turtle” was easy to understand the Ye Shijin people but where did the “jar” come from?

However, that wasn’t important.

“What’s Xin Ning’s status right now?” Ye Yichi asked. “I sent her a message, but she didn’t reply.”

“President Xin is in a press conference. Besides the media brought by the Ye family, we invited several media outlets ourselves. It’s being live streamed in real time. Didn’t she tell you the details?”

Not only did she not tell her, she hadn’t breathed a single word of it.

The Clam Girl, who had finally learned human language, had suddenly become a mute again regarding this matter. Ye Yichi didn’t have time to complain; she hung up and searched for the live stream.

A person who looked like she was carved from ice and snow appeared on the phone screen.

Even through the screen, she was still beautiful, noble, and impossible to look away from.

The voice… it wasn’t Xin Ning speaking; it must have been a reporter, shouting a question, demanding an explanation from Xin Ning.

The camera flipped, and a photo of Ye Yichi appeared.

She was in full makeup, her brow slightly furrowed.

This was…? Ye Yichi narrowed her eyes, remembering after a few seconds. This overly exquisite makeup… was this taken when she was waiting at the Civil Affairs Bureau for 20 minutes?

Back then, she wasn’t famous. Who would be bored enough to take a photo of her? The image zoomed out, revealing a pair of beaming newlyweds. Behind them were the words “Civil Affairs Bureau.” That was it. Ye Yichi realized she must have accidentally stepped into their commemorative photo.

“This photo was taken a few months ago, shortly after President Ye Shijin passed away. Why was Miss Ye Yichi at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau? Had you already secretly processed a divorce?”

The reporter threw out the viewpoint rapidly, causing an uproar.

“That is our private matter, there is no need to make it public, is there?” Xin Ning’s cold voice rang out, like a deep, tranquil pool. Her gaze was also an unfathomable depth.

Who would have thought that such a strong and sharp person would turn completely red in the face after a single light kiss?

Ye Yichi licked her tiger tooth.

“Since President Xin says so, let’s talk about business. When you and Miss Ye Yichi married, the Xin Group was jointly controlled, right? Why is it that since President Ye Shijin’s passing, there is no trace of Miss Ye Yichi left in the Xin Group? We have investigated; all shares of the Xin Group are now in your name alone.”

Honestly, it was worrying.

Unlike a divorce, which is personal privacy, corporate shareholding can be legally investigated. This reporter or the person behind them had clearly done their homework.

Ye Yichi didn’t know how Xin Ning planned to respond.

“Back then, when the Xin Group suffered a sudden catastrophe and your parents passed away one after another, it was President Ye Shijin who kept helping you. He even let you marry the sole heir of the Ye family. Instead of being grateful, you seized power immediately after his death and pushed his niece out of the circle of power. Isn’t that a bit too cold-hearted?”

Shut up, Ye Yichi glared at the screen.

Ye Shijin was the culprit who ruined Xin Ning’s family; how did he suddenly transform into a benevolent philanthropist?

The phone buzzed twice.

Two unread messages. Ye Yichi kept the live stream running and checked them, they were from Su Fanxing and Lin Weilan, both asking what was going on with Xin Ning.

Ye Yichi: It should be fine, she knows what she’s doing.

After a quick reply, Ye Yichi switched back to the live stream. That’s how people are even when they know things are likely fine, they can’t help but worry.

In the live stream, the reporter gripped the microphone aggressively: “President Xin, regarding Miss Ye Yichi’s shares and her removal from the company, we hope you can give everyone a reasonable explanation.”