Transmigrating As The Scummy Ex-Wife Of The Cold And Aloof Tycoon - Chapter 4

“Why wasn’t it a bug that got on her?” Ye Yichi thought mischievously.

In the middle of a desolate wilderness, a refined and icy beauty is terrified by a tiny insect, the “Little Sunshine” hero steps in to save the day, and then… this, that, and the other. It’s a classic romantic trope.

Hmph.

Heh.

Next time she transmigrates, she might as well become a bug. At least then she’d catch Xin Ning’s eye and stir some ripples in that pond of frozen water.

Xin Ning buckled her seatbelt and noticed Ye Yichi staring at her ankle. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ye Yichi turned to stare out the window.

The rain had started up again at some point. Crystal droplets tapped against the glass patter. She wondered whose “deep emotions” had moved the weather to tears. Heh, Ye Yichi curled her lip and poked the glass with her fingertip.

Separated by the cold glass, her finger shouldn’t have felt any moisture, but the human sense of touch often fails to distinguish between “wet” and “cold.”

And so, Ye Yichi felt a sense of dampness anyway.

It seemed to flow along her skin, merge into her blood, and reach her heart. Her heart gave two sharp, dissatisfied tugs she couldn’t tell if it was bitterness or pain.

Ye Yichi pressed a hand to her chest.

“What is it?” Xin Ning’s voice rang out again, clear and cold, like the droplets rolling down the window.

“I’m hungry,” Ye Yichi said.

She hadn’t eaten breakfast and had survived the whole day on a lunch box. Now that the sky was turning dark, she was genuinely starving.

Xin Ning frowned and fished a candy out of her pocket this one had an orange cellophane wrapper.

“Do you always carry candy with you?” Ye Yichi took it and peeled it open. A sweet scent of orange drifted out, though it still couldn’t mask the piercingly fresh fragrance emanating from Xin Ning.

Ye Yichi had observed her before.

As long as she wasn’t being interviewed by reporters, Xin Ning basically didn’t wear makeup, let alone perfume. Yet that sharp, fresh scent was always there a mix of dominance and elegance that seemed to radiate from every inch of her snow-white skin: her cheeks, her fingertips, her neck. Oh, wait, except for the tips of her hair.

The tips of her hair smelled different.

It was also a cool scent, like winter sunlight hitting a cedar forest.

Ye Yichi had once sneaked into Xin Ning’s bathroom and discovered it was the scent of her shampoo. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she had secretly taken that bottle and replaced it with her own rose-scented shampoo.

Consequently, the cedar scent on Xin Ning’s hair had turned into a sweet rose fragrance.

Ye Yichi twitched her nose, sniffing cautiously.

There was only the sweet orange and that sharp, fresh natural scent.

That bottle of shampoo must be finished by now, she thought. Just like me, I can only linger on Xin Ning for a fleeting moment.

She popped the orange candy into her mouth and gave Xin Ning a small smile. “Thanks. That’s two candies I owe you now.”

“Do you want to pay me back?” Xin Ning asked.

Seriously? She wants me to pay her back for two pieces of candy? Ye Yichi wondered if her ears were playing tricks on her.

“Just kidding.” Xin Ning’s lips curved slightly into a very faint smile.

She was beautiful, truly beautiful.

Like moonlight breaking through a gap in the clouds to illuminate a frozen wasteland.

But it was also unbelievable.

Ye Yichi couldn’t wrap her head around it. After not seeing her for half a month, had Xin Ning’s “Icy Goddess” persona crumbled this much? Carrying candy, hiking through mountains, stepping in grass, and cracking jokes with someone she’d only met twice? Was this the legendary “power of love”?

Ye Yichi ground her teeth in a fit of bitterness, making the orange candy crunch loudly.

“Teacher Ye, where should I drop you off?” the staff member driving the car handed over a phone.

Ye Yichi entered “Huawan Pavilion” into the navigation.

Aside from her designer bags, this courtyard was one of her few assets. To be precise, Huawan originally belonged to her “cheap” aunt, Ye Shijin. Ye Shijin didn’t like the courtyard, and she liked the residents Grandma Su and Su Fanxing even less, so she had dumped the whole package onto Ye Yichi.

“And this beautiful lady?” the driver asked Xin Ning.

“The same,” Xin Ning said.

It’s not the same at all, Ye Yichi retorted inwardly. I’m going home; you’re staying at a hotel. Tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that, I’ll be living at Huawan as long as I haven’t transmigrated back. But your room reservation expires tomorrow, and then you’ll be off to fly away with your official love interest.

By the time they reached Huawan, the sky was pitch black.

Su Fanxing was waiting outside the courtyard with an umbrella. Seeing Xin Ning get out first, she habitually handed her one.

“Thank you.” Xin Ning opened the umbrella and turned to look at Ye Yichi.

Su Fanxing pushed past her, holding her umbrella high as she skipped over to Ye Yichi. “Sister, please exit the vehicle. Your loyal servant is honored to be at your service.”

It seemed she was very satisfied with the bag she chose yesterday.

Ye Yichi pinched Su Fanxing’s cheek and ducked under the umbrella. “I gave you the bag, but don’t go showing it off at school. You’re a ninth-grader, it’s bad enough your grades aren’t great, but if you get a reputation for being materialistic, your homeroom teacher will definitely call your parents.”

“Let her,” Su Fanxing said nonchalantly. “If she dares to call them, I’ll just bring Grandma along.”

“Anyway, let’s not talk about that. Sis, you’ll never guess what I bought today.” As they walked into the corridor, Su Fanxing closed the umbrella and mysteriously pulled out a bundle of flowers.

It wasn’t a curated bouquet from a florist.

It was just a bunch of ten roses.

The protective cardboard hadn’t even been removed yet. The deep red heads were lined up against the white cardboard in two neat rows. The stems were long at least Grade B quality.

“Pretty, right? Last time, I saw you staring at someone else’s roses for ages, so I figured you must like them.” Su Fanxing looked up, her youthful face wearing the innocent expression unique to teenage girls.

“Thank you.” Ye Yichi took the roses into her arms.

She began wondering where she could find a tall bucket to hydrate them.

If this were at home…no, at Xin Ning’s house it would be simple. She had bought almost every size and type of flower soaking bucket imaginable. Whether it was grade A, B, C, D, or E, she could always find the right fit.

Later, however, after the roses she planted herself filled the courtyard with blooms, those buckets were left to gather dust.

Was it because she loved flowers? Ye Yichi thought about it. There was certainly some affection there who wouldn’t love beautiful, delicate blossoms? But that wasn’t the whole reason.

In the early days of their arranged marriage, Xin Ning was in poor health and spent most of her time lying alone in her room.

Ye Yichi remembered that when she was sick as a child, Old Man Ye would always go to the wasteland to pick flowers for her yellow, white, red, pink. A cluster of wild blossoms in a mineral water bottle could brighten even the gloomiest mood.

So, she thought, if she bought more flowers, Xin Ning’s mood would improve too, right? And if her mood improved, the warmth might return to those icy eyes…

Unfortunately, even when the courtyard was overflowing with roses, Ye Yichi never saw the ice in Xin Ning’s eyes melt.

Instead, she received only a flat, emotionless remark: “Just China Roses (Yueji), that’s all.”

Just China Roses. Everything she had planted in the yard were merely Yueji they weren’t “true” roses. No matter how delicate or brilliant they were, they could never become real roses.

What a perfect “stand-in” drama.

But who decreed that only roses were worthy of love? Haven’t you seen the waters of the Yellow River coming from the sky? Haven’t you seen that the scientific name for almost all florist “roses” is actually Rosa chinensis the modern China Rose? It’s not that she didn’t see it; she was just blind to it.

Ye Yichi gave Xin Ning a secret glare and carried her bouquet toward the stairs.

“These are ‘Red Lady,'” Xin Ning said suddenly.

“What ‘Red Lady’?” Su Fanxing asked, bewildered.

“Red Lady is a true red with a high center. ‘Explorer’ is a bright scarlet ‘Cherish’ is a vivid red with orange undertones; ‘Adoration’ is a deeper red with a velvety texture.” Xin Ning’s gaze moved from the flowers to Ye Yichi’s cheek, then traveled upward, looking coldly into Ye Yichi’s slightly rounded eyes.

Look at that. Back then, no matter how much Ye Yichi tried to teach her, Xin Ning couldn’t be bothered to listen. Now that she’s met her “official match,” she knows it all. What, has she finally noticed the beauty of this variety and wants to get a bouquet for her true love?

Then again, “Red Lady” is the “Empress” of red roses it fits the main couple perfectly.

“Sorry, I don’t know any ‘Red Lady’ or ‘White Lady,'” Ye Yichi said lazily, looking at Xin Ning. “Anything else?”

“What about ‘Athena’?” Xin Ning asked. “Do you know that one?”

“I only know the Venus de Milo,” Ye Yichi rolled her eyes irritably. Athena and Red Lady pure white paired with orthodox red, the classic red and white rose combo. It was her favorite. What was this hateful woman trying to do? Scouting where to buy these flowers so she could give Miss Lin Weilan a rainy night surprise?

In her dreams.

Wait, speaking of which, where was Miss Lin? In this wilderness, hopefully she hadn’t gotten lost while driving.

“Xingxing, is the other guest back?” Ye Yichi asked.

“She’s back,” Su Fanxing pointed toward the room.

“Your friend is back. If you’re done here, why don’t you go find her? I’m in a hurry to soak my flowers, so I won’t chat with you.” Ye Yichi waved the flowers in her hand toward Xin Ning. She wanted to toss out a line like “Flowers are like beauties; they are too delicate to be neglected,” but before the words could leave her mouth, the sheer “greasiness” of the sentiment made her chest feel tight.

Sigh. A supporting character should just stay in their lane.

By the time Ye Yichi finished tending to her flowers and came back downstairs, Su Fanxing had disappeared somewhere. The light in Lin Weilan’s room was off, but the light in Xin Ning’s room was still on.

However, Xin Ning wasn’t in her room.

She was standing under the corridor eaves, watching the night. Clear raindrops gathered along the tiles and fell, one after another, almost forming a continuous string.

Seeing Ye Yichi come down, Xin Ning turned her gaze. she watched her for a short while before looking back at the falling rain.

“The rain is very heavy right now,” Xin Ning said. “But not as heavy as the night you left half a month ago.”

Ye Yichi instinctively reached for her face.

That shouldn’t be possible? The mask is still on.

Was Xin Ning talking to her? Could she be sleepwalking and talking to herself? No, that didn’t make sense either. Even if she were sleepwalking, she shouldn’t be dreaming of Ye Yichi. In Xin Ning’s heart, she likely hoped they would never meet again, in dreams or reality.

“Stop touching it,” Xin Ning’s voice was cold. “Wearing a mask isn’t the same as getting a head transplant.”

Ye Yichi’s movements froze, and her heart seemed to stiffen for two seconds. When she snapped out of it, she realized her heart hadn’t actually hardened she had simply been so startled she’d held her breath, causing a temporary lack of blood flow to her organs.

Taking a sharp breath, Ye Yichi could faintly hear the thump-thump-thump of her own heartbeat.

What did Xin Ning mean? Could she have recognized her the moment they met yesterday? If she recognized her and still pretended not to know, what was her game? Was she afraid her ex-wife would interfere with her sweet happiness with her new lover?

“You’re the one who came to Huawan, it’s not like I’m stalking you,” Ye Yichi decided to strike first.

Being an “ex” was miserable enough; she wasn’t about to carry the extra burden of being labeled a “lingering stalker.” Her heart wasn’t big enough for that.

Xin Ning frowned. “I didn’t say that.”

“Good.” Since she had been found out, Ye Yichi simply took off the mask and swung it slowly by its strap.

After a few swings, her heartbeat gradually settled, but a delayed sense of bitterness washed over her as if someone had pried her mouth open and forced down a few gulps of black coffee. “Well, anyway, you carry on. I’m going back to my room.”

“Wait a moment.”

“Is there something else?”

“Yes.” Xin Ning paused for a few seconds, then said softly, “The roses you planted have bloomed again.”