After Faking My Death, My Iceberg Ex-Wife Went Crazy for Me - Chapter 16

Geng Xiaoxiao rarely dreamed when she slept, but last night was an exception.

A jumbled, indistinct dreamscape had raged through her mind all night, leaving her with a lingering throbbing in her temples even long after she woke up.

A Didi dropped her off at the company entrance. Geng Xiaoxiao stepped out and stood on the sidewalk, pressing her thumb and forefinger firmly against her temples.

“Xiaoxiao—”

Hearing someone call her name, Geng Xiaoxiao turned around as calmly as she could. It was Xiao Miao.

“Don’t just stand there!” Xiao Miao jogged over, grabbed Geng Xiaoxiao’s arm, and pulled her forward. “Hurry, it’s almost 9:30! If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late!”

Geng Xiaoxiao didn’t have time to resist. Her body lurched with each step, the throbbing in her temples radiating to her forehead, yet somehow, she found it strangely captivating.

With just ten seconds to spare, they successfully scanned their faces to clock in.

Xiao Miao sighed in relief and stood there, finishing the remaining half of her steamed bun.

Geng Xiaoxiao pressed the elevator button and stared up at the descending floor numbers.

She found it difficult to multitask, which meant it was easy to suppress irrelevant thoughts.

As she silently counted down to one, the elevator doors slid open. Geng Xiaoxiao’s gaze dropped, then froze.

Those familiar peach blossom eyes were as beautiful as ever, yet veiled by a layer of gloom.

Geng Xiaoxiao swiftly averted her gaze, but it was too late. The emotions she had suppressed surged like a tidal wave, dragging her into an endless abyss.

After a prolonged stillness, the elevator doors automatically closed and then reopened with a ding.

Xiao Miao swallowed her steamed bun and looked up, saying, “The elevator’s here? Xiaoxiao, why aren’t you—”

Her voice trailed off mid-sentence, dropping eight octaves as she continued, “Good morning, President Ye.”

“Hmm,” Ye Ling acknowledged with a slight nod, her gaze remaining fixed on Geng Xiaoxiao.

Ye Ling stared at her, while Geng Xiaoxiao kept her head bowed.

Even the oblivious Xiao Miao sensed the awkward tension between them, her hesitant gaze darting back and forth.

Finally, Ye Ling broke the silence.

Pressing the door-open button, she asked, “Want to come up?”

“Yes,” Xiao Miao replied, steeling herself when Geng Xiaoxiao remained silent. “But President Ye, weren’t you heading out?”

“I forgot something,” Ye Ling said, glancing at Xiao Miao before quickly looking away. “Come on, let’s go together.”

“Okay, okay.”

Xiao Miao tugged Geng Xiaoxiao into the elevator.

The floor had already been selected. Xiao Miao was surprised that Ye Ling remembered which department they worked in. Flattered, she said, “Thank you, President Ye.”

Ye Ling replied coolly, “You’re welcome.”

After that, the elevator fell silent.

An awkward atmosphere filled the space. Xiao Miao stared intently at the tightly closed elevator doors, praying for them to open faster, faster.

Though she often secretly admired Ye Ling’s beauty, being in such close proximity made her feel like a mouse cornered by a cat—no, a tiger. All she wanted was to escape.

Under the weight of her anxiety, the elevator seemed to move slower than usual, as if she’d been waiting for half a century. Finally, the doors slid open.

“Goodbye, President Ye!”

Xiao Miao darted out, not daring to look back.

Rounding the corner, she patted her chest, still shaken. “That was terrifying! Good thing I didn’t buy a tea egg today. I was afraid President Ye would fire me for the smell.”

“Xiaoxiao, do you know President Ye from before? I keep feeling like she’s staring at you.”

“Xiaoxiao? Hey, where did you go?”

The elevator continued its ascent, and Geng Xiaoxiao stared at her wrist, still held in Ye Ling’s grip.

“Can you let go of my hand now?”

“You didn’t go home last night,” Ye Ling evaded the question, asking instead, “Where did you go?”

Geng Xiaoxiao replied calmly, “I don’t believe there’s any clause in my employment contract requiring employees to report their private lives to their superiors.”

Ye Ling fixed her with a piercing gaze, her brow furrowing. “I’m not speaking to you as your superior right now, but as your legal spouse. Where did my wife go last night?”

“…Legal spouse?” Geng Xiaoxiao repeated the words softly, sighing. “That won’t be the case for much longer.”

Ye Ling frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“President Ye, you must have forgotten. Before we got married, you gave me a signed divorce agreement.” Geng Xiaoxiao smiled. “I think it’s about to come in handy.”

Ye Ling’s eyes flashed with anger. As the elevator doors opened, she dragged Geng Xiaoxiao out without another word.

“Where’s the agreement?”

“……”

“I asked you, where’s the agreement?!”

“If President Ye is in such a hurry, it can be on your desk before the lunch break.”

“…That’s not what I meant,” Ye Ling’s voice softened. “Last night was an accident. I didn’t expect Mi’er to say those things…”

“So what?” Geng Xiaoxiao interrupted. “Did you scold Shang Mi’er for making that decision on her own? Did you trap her in the elevator and interrogate her like a criminal?”

Ye Ling fell silent for a moment before speaking again, her voice strained. “Xiaoxiao, Mi’er saved me. I can’t…”

“You can’t scold her? You can’t refuse her? So I’m just supposed to bear the consequences?” Geng Xiaoxiao cut her off, her emotions threatening to boil over. “You know, Ye Ling, you know better than anyone that she’s in love with you.”

Ye Ling protested, “I never reciprocated…”

“But you never rejected her either. You agreed to a fake engagement. What’s next? Don’t pretend you don’t know what Shang Mi’er wants.”

“…”

Geng Xiaoxiao gave a bitter laugh. “Tell me, what am I to you?”

“Xiaoxiao…”

“Never mind. Don’t bother. I’m too weak to handle the truth.”

Geng Xiaoxiao closed her eyes briefly, then spoke each word with deliberate emphasis: “Years ago, I didn’t force you to marry me. I didn’t demand responsibility. You offered it yourself. Ye Ling, you shouldn’t have provoked me.”

“…Weren’t you the one who provoked me first?”

Geng Xiaoxiao’s arm was gripped so tightly it ached. She opened her eyes to find Ye Ling’s face inches from hers, the corners of her eyes flushed crimson.

“Do you regret it?” Ye Ling lowered her voice, as if whispering a lover’s secret, yet her tone was icy. “What are you doing now? Digging up old grudges?”

“I never asked you why you arrived so quickly, so perfectly timed that day. Geng Xiaoxiao, you’ve been keeping secrets from me too, haven’t you?”

Geng Xiaoxiao fell silent, a chill spreading through her body. “You think I set you up that day?”

“No, you don’t have that kind of power,” Ye Ling leaned closer, nipping at her earlobe. “But you had help. My mother has always favored you, hasn’t she?”

The warmth of Ye Ling’s breath against her ear made Geng Xiaoxiao’s heart sink inch by inch, as if she were falling into an icy abyss.

She had always thought the expression “heart aching until you can’t breathe” was an exaggeration. Now she understood it was painfully real.

The sudden ring of a phone shattered Geng Xiaoxiao’s near-suffocating state.

Ye Ling hung up without glancing at the screen, cupped Geng Xiaoxiao’s face, and moved to kiss her lips.

“I didn’t pursue this before, and I won’t now. Let’s just call it even, okay? I’ll handle Mi’er’s situation…”

Slap!

The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the corridor. Geng Xiaoxiao stumbled back two steps, shaking her wrist.

“Too bad, Ye Ling. I’m not as despicable as you think.”