After Faking My Death, My Iceberg Ex-Wife Went Crazy for Me - Chapter 10

That one sentence made Geng Xiaoxiao avoid Ye Ling for an entire day.

The next day, she couldn’t avoid her anymore; she had to go to work.

Having not eaten a meal at home with Ye Ling for over two months, Geng Xiaoxiao felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.

She hadn’t expected Ye Ling to be so perceptive, and she regretted her impulsive question.

Time travel or reincarnation were clichés in literature and entertainment. If Ye Ling’s mind wandered even slightly further, she would surely suspect Geng Xiaoxiao.

Although the System’s technology far surpassed current capabilities, making its fabricated surveillance records undetectable to both human eyes and advanced equipment, fiction remained fiction. If someone were to investigate thoroughly—by questioning the individuals who appeared in the same surveillance footage from four years ago—they would discover that “Geng Xiaoxiao” had materialized out of thin air.

If exposed, could she still complete her mission?

But if Ye Ling really discovers the truth, could we finally…?

Ding—Detected an increase in favorability. Current favorability: 89 points.

Having not heard that notification in so long, Geng Xiaoxiao’s hand trembled, spilling milk down her wrist and onto her pants.

“So clumsy?”

Ye Ling pulled out a few tissues, her slender swan-like neck tilting slightly as she helped wipe the wet patches from Xiaoxiao’s arm and pants.

Soft strands of hair slid down with her movements, the jasmine-scented shampoo mingling with the distinctive bitter fragrance of medicinal herbs.

Geng Xiaoxiao sniffed the air. “Is your stomach acting up again?”

Ye Ling glanced at her and shook her head gently. “Just some regular tonic. Can you smell it?”

Xiaoxiao nodded.

“Little dog nose,” Ye Ling teased, tossing the damp tissues aside and playfully flicking Xiaoxiao’s nose. “You can still smell it even half an hour after I took it.”

“Actually, it’s not an unpleasant scent,” Xiaoxiao said earnestly.

Ye Ling remained noncommittal.

Xiaoxiao didn’t press the matter further and quietly finished her milk.

Ye Ling was different from most people. When she was eight years old, she had been kidnapped. After a miraculous escape, she fell seriously ill and had been a semi-invalid ever since.

Xiaoxiao was fascinated by the occasional medicinal aroma that clung to Ye Ling, but for Ye Ling, it represented her frail health and inescapable pain.

Setting down her cup, Geng Xiaoxiao stood up to bid Ye Ling farewell. “I’m off to work.”

“Wait,” Ye Ling called out, stopping her. “I’m heading to the office too. Let’s go together.”

“But…”

“I’ll drop you off five hundred meters away. No one will see us.”

This was the very request Xiaoxiao had made to Ye Ling on the day they left her grandmother’s house for the office. She never expected it would be used against her now to silence her objections.

Xiaoxiao lowered her head and murmured, “Okay.”

Today, the driver was behind the wheel. Just before leaving, Xiaoxiao hurried back inside for a moment.

Ye Ling, engrossed in a foreign book, glanced up when she heard the car door open. “Got everything?”

“Yes,” Xiaoxiao replied, settling into the back seat.

Ye Ling nodded to the driver. “Let’s go.”

The car glided smoothly into motion. Xiaoxiao pulled a small metal ring from her pocket and repaired the phone charm that had been broken for days.

Once fixed, she held her phone above her head and shook it.

The black-haired doll girl grinned wildly, its cotton stuffing slightly askew around the mouth, forming a mocking curve.

Maybe that’s it, Xiaoxiao thought.

She was a brave little witch fighting imaginary monsters. And her master was a “monster” who wanted to live in fantasy.

“You really like it, don’t you?”

Ye Ling had put down her book without Xiaoxiao noticing. Sunlight streamed through the car window, casting a hazy golden halo around her.

Xiaoxiao’s eyelashes fluttered as she nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

Ye Ling said, “I remember you wrote so many stories for it—about friends, cats, a whole world. Why didn’t you get someone to illustrate them?”

Because it’s not my creation, Xiaoxiao silently replied in her heart.

Shortly after transmigrating, she realized this world shared an identical history with her original one, like two branches of the same river, diverging only in minor details.

For example, her favorite work, Little Witch Mona, didn’t exist here.

So, she commissioned someone to draw Mona’s three-view sketches based on her descriptions and had a crocheted doll custom-made.

She treated it as an anchor to her original world.

Xiaoxiao lowered her hand, shielding Mona’s overly bright eyes. “It’s too much trouble.”

Ye Ling sensed she was hiding something, but her impeccable manners prevented her from pressing further.

The ride was silent, punctuated only by the occasional rustle of turning pages.

Geng Xiaoxiao gazed absently at the scenery outside the window. As they neared the office, the car pulled over to the side of the road. Turning her head, she instinctively glanced at Ye Ling first.

Ye Ling had just closed her book, the bookmark dangling from its spine—a tiny Möbius strip.

Geng Xiaoxiao made out the title:

The Universe in a Nutshell.

Geng Xiaoxiao walked along the sidewalk, head down, and searched for the book Ye Ling had been reading.

It was about the universe, black holes, and time travel. It seemed Ye Ling had noticed something was off that day, but hadn’t suspected her.

Geng Xiaoxiao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The light turned green. She stepped onto the crosswalk, heading to the other side of the street. Halfway across, a sudden, forceful tug on her arm yanked her stumbling backward.

At the same moment, an inconspicuous gray car sped past, nearly grazing her waist.

“Can’t you drive? Don’t you see the red light?!” Xiao Miao yelled at the car’s retreating tailpipe, then turned to check on Geng Xiaoxiao. “Are you hurt? People these days… driving such beat-up cars.”

“I’m fine,” Geng Xiaoxiao said, pulling Xiao Miao to safety and thanking her.

Xiao Miao circled her, still worried. “Next time you cross the street, even with a green light, look around for cars. There are always distracted drivers and people who want to take it out on society. It’s terrifying.”

“Okay,” Geng Xiaoxiao replied, nodding.

As they walked toward the office, Xiao Miao asked, “I saw you getting out of a car earlier. Did you take a taxi? Why didn’t you come all the way to the office?”

“A friend gave me a ride, but we weren’t going the same way after that,” Geng Xiaoxiao said, blinking innocently and quickly changing the subject. “Why didn’t you ride your scooter today?”

Xiao Miao’s rented apartment wasn’t far from the office, only a ten-minute bike ride away. She usually commuted by electric scooter, taking the subway only when the weather was too hot, too cold, or when it was windy or raining.

“My helmet was stolen,” Xiao Miao gritted her teeth. “I knew they stole batteries, but I never thought they’d steal helmets too. What’s he going to do with it? Sell it for scrap metal?”

Geng Xiaoxiao offered a few words of comfort, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the office.

Swiping her card at the turnstile, Geng Xiaoxiao felt a sharp pain in her side as she raised her arm. She frowned slightly and pressed a hand to her abdomen.

Behind her, Xiao Miao tugged at her sleeve and whispered urgently, “Ahhh! Look who’s there!”

“Who…?”

Geng Xiaoxiao followed her gaze, the words catching in her throat.

Ye Ling was still in the lobby.

Their eyes met, and those exquisitely beautiful peach blossom eyes curved into a barely perceptible smile.

Xiao Miao hid behind Geng Xiaoxiao, muttering, “I can’t handle it. President Ye is so stunning I can’t even look at her. Did she see us? Should we go say hello?”

Before Geng Xiaoxiao could reply, the elevator doors opened, and Ye Ling stepped inside.

Just before the doors closed, Geng Xiaoxiao saw Ye Ling’s hand, hanging at her side, flick her phone in her direction.

Making an excuse to use the restroom, Geng Xiaoxiao went to the bathroom alone and opened her phone in a stall.

There was indeed an unread message on WeChat, from xx.

Come to my office.