After Faking My Death, My Iceberg Ex-Wife Went Crazy for Me - Chapter 17

Ding—Affection level detected. Current affection level: 91 points.

The System’s notification was utterly flat, devoid of any inflection, which, given the current situation, felt absurdly comical.

Geng Xiaoxiao’s lips twitched, and for a moment, she wanted to laugh.

System 823 had assigned her two tasks: to complete Geng Xiaoxiao’s storyline and an additional mission—

to raise Ye Ling’s affection level to 100.

Upon completion, she could choose to return to her original world after the mission ended.

This reward held little appeal for her, but driven by some childish, ridiculous notions, she had once tried to achieve it, though with minimal success.

Now, a single slap had increased the affection level by two points.

Her palm tingled slightly from the recoil. Geng Xiaoxiao glanced down at it.

Never mind.

The surging emotions had subsided somewhat, leaving behind a slow, persistent torment.

She was tired.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”

Without waiting for Ye Ling’s reaction, Geng Xiaoxiao headed straight for the elevator button.

Behind her, the urgent ringing of a phone call resumed.

Ye Ling didn’t answer. The call automatically disconnected after a prolonged silence, and five seconds later, the caller tried again.

“…Hello?” Ye Ling answered, holding the phone to her ear, her other cheek still flushed.

“President Ye, General Manager Zhang and the others have arrived. Are you—”

Ye Ling stared fixedly at the elevator, even though the person inside had long since changed.

“President Ye? Are you listening?”

“…”

“Understood. Please wait.” Ye Ling hung up.

As Geng Xiaoxiao descended in the elevator, she opened the company’s internal work app and submitted a three-day leave request, copying Zhou Cheng.

The day Ye Ling returned to China, Meng Lianqiu had specifically asked Zhou Cheng to grant Geng Xiaoxiao compensatory time off.

Zhou Cheng, ever the smooth operator, would never make things difficult now that he saw her name again.

Sure enough, the moment Geng Xiaoxiao returned to her workstation, she saw the notification that her leave request had been approved.

A head popped up beside her, and Geng Xiaoxiao instinctively flipped her phone over.

“Xiaoxiao—” Xiao Miao, oblivious to her gesture, drawled, “Where did you run off to just now?”

“The restroom,” Geng Xiaoxiao replied, her deception skills honed to perfection. “My stomach suddenly cramped up really badly. I didn’t have time to tell you.”

Xiao Miao bought it immediately. “I was wondering! I turned around after getting off the elevator and you were gone. I thought President Ye had taken you away.”

Geng Xiaoxiao’s heart skipped a beat, but she maintained her composure. “How could that happen?”

“I guess not. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Xiao Miao glanced around furtively, then lowered her voice. “But Xiaoxiao, do you know Ye Ling? I noticed her staring at you all morning.”

“…Probably just your imagination,” Geng Xiaoxiao said.

“That’s impossible. My radar is always accurate,” Xiao Miao insisted, but before she could press further, a hand tapped her shoulder.

The two girls turned to see Chen Ruhong standing there. “Five minutes to pack up,” she said. “We’re heading to the recording studio. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

“Okay,” Geng Xiaoxiao and Xiao Miao replied in unison.

With nothing much to pack, Xiao Miao hurried to the restroom. Four minutes later, they were waiting outside the company building, right on time.

Chen Ruhong had gone to the underground parking garage to get the car. While they waited by the roadside, the sky remained overcast and oppressively humid. Dark, churning clouds massed on the horizon, as if brewing a storm.

Geng Xiaoxiao glanced away, but a gray shadow caught her eye in her peripheral vision. Before she could get a good look, the car had vanished from sight.

It looked like the same car that had nearly hit her yesterday.

An inexplicable sense of unease washed over Geng Xiaoxiao. Before she could process it, Xiao Miao nudged her arm.

Xiao Miao pointed toward the company entrance and whispered, “What a coincidence! We’ve run into President Ye again. Her lip looks injured—was that there earlier?”

“Yes,” Geng Xiaoxiao replied, staring down at her feet.

Xiao Miao, still convinced she was being discreet but actually being quite bold, continued her eavesdropping. “Hiss, there’s a slap mark on President Ye’s face! It wasn’t there this morning, right? Oh my god, who would dare… Oh no, she’s looking this way!”

Xiao Miao instantly fell silent, wanting to bury her face in her chest, muttering frantically, “What do I do? What do I do? Did President Ye hear me? Am I finally going to get fired?”

Geng Xiaoxiao remained silent. They were standing downwind, and the familiar, clean, bitter fragrance wafted over, growing stronger.

Cream-colored square-toed leather shoes gradually came into view—the gift she had chosen for Ye Ling on May 20th.

She had once eagerly anticipated seeing Ye Ling wear them. Now that she was finally witnessing it, it seemed… ordinary.

Just ordinary, as unremarkable as she herself.

Ye Ling was about to reach them. Xiao Miao weakly greeted, “Good morning, President Ye.”

Geng Xiaoxiao mumbled a greeting as well, barely aware of what she had said.

“Mm, what are you two up to?” Ye Ling replied.

The cream-colored shoes stopped directly in front of her, the toes shifting slightly.

Geng Xiaoxiao heard Xiao Miao say, “Xiaoxiao and I are participating in Echo’s testing. Sister Chen is taking us to the recording studio.”

“Echo? You’re interested in that?”

You, not you all.

As Ye Ling spoke, she looked at Geng Xiaoxiao, while Xiao Miao also watched her, their expressions a mix of surprise and suspicion.

Geng Xiaoxiao lifted her head, her eyes burning with anger.

If they had been alone, she would have demanded to know what Ye Ling was up to. But with others present, she could only force herself to maintain a neutral expression and reply, “Yes.”

“Xiao Miao, Xiaoxiao, get in the car.”

“A-Ling, if you don’t hurry, Aunt Chen will be getting impatient.”

The two voices rang out almost simultaneously. Chen Ruhong lowered the car window for a careful look before quickly getting out.

“President Ye, Miss Shang, what’s going on here?”

“We’re just here to flatter A-Ling, of course.” Shang Mi’er’s gaze lingered on Geng Xiaoxiao for an extra second before she warmly reached out to take Ye Ling’s arm.

Ye Ling sidestepped her. “Who told you to come?”

“I told myself to come. Aunt Chen dotes on me—having me here is definitely better than not.”

Undeterred by the cold reception, Shang Mi’er pleaded softly, “I was wrong about yesterday. I promise it won’t happen again. Please forgive me? Please?”

The tone was so saccharine that Chen Ruhong, standing awkwardly to the side, rubbed her nose in embarrassment.

Seeing that she was no longer needed, Chen Ruhong gave a subtle nod and led the two others, who had been standing awkwardly to the side like “third wheels,” away.

Once they were in the car, Chen Ruhong cautiously rolled up the windows and drove a short distance before speaking. “You both saw what happened just now, right?”

Xiao Miao nodded, while Geng Xiaoxiao stared blankly at her phone charm, motionless.

Chen Ruhong glanced in the rearview mirror. “Miss Shang’s great-aunt must be General Manager Zhang of Huagong Enterprise. I’ve heard that only Huagong can produce the materials President Ye needs.”

“I can’t believe Miss Shang would pull strings for President Ye. I always thought marriages in families like theirs were just about alliances and business deals. I never imagined they could have genuine feelings for each other. They seem quite…”

Chen Ruhong paused, searching for the right word. “What’s that word you young people use to describe couples?”

Xiao Miao hesitated, then offered, “Sweet?”

“Yes, that’s it,” Chen Ruhong continued. “Quite sweet.”

Xiao Miao glanced at Geng Xiaoxiao with a complicated expression before replying, “Yeah.”

For the rest of the drive, she didn’t say another word to Geng Xiaoxiao.