After Faking My Death, My Iceberg Ex-Wife Went Crazy for Me - Chapter 20

X.Lady was deserted at midday. Xue Jiqing sat on a high stool, a row of colorful cocktails lined up before her.

The wind chime at the entrance jingled. Without turning her head, she said, “You’re here?”

A shadow fell beside her. A hand with distinct knuckles picked up a glass, and Ye Ling tilted her head back, draining half the drink in an instant.

Xue Jiqing glanced at her, her tone coolly mocking. “Drinking on a weekday? Big CEO Ye must be so overjoyed she’s forgotten who she is.”

Ye Ling remained silent, slamming the empty glass down heavily.

Xue Jiqing had deliberately set out the strongest liquors, but Ye Ling seemed oblivious, reaching for another glass.

Mixing drinks is the quickest way to get drunk and the worst for your stomach. When Ye Ling lifted her fourth glass, Xue Jiqing finally snapped.

“Stop! Don’t you know what your body can handle?” Xue Jiqing clapped her hand over the glass. “If you get a stomach bleed, don’t expect me to call an ambulance.”

“A bleed would be perfect,” Ye Ling said, her long arm sweeping back to grab another glass, which she drained in one gulp.

“Are you crazy?!”

Xue Jiqing tried to pull her hand away, but ice cubes slipped from the glass, landing on her with a bone-chilling cold.

The spherical ice cubes rolled to the floor. Ye Ling stared at the stain on her white shirt, her brow furrowing slightly. As she blinked, a flicker of confusion momentarily softened her usually icy gaze.

“Enough. What’s the point of putting on this act for me?”

Having grown up together as close friends, Xue Jiqing refrained from harsh words. “What did you come here to talk about today? Don’t tell me it’s just to drink.”

Ye Ling lowered her gaze and murmured, “Xiaoxiao said she wants a divorce.”

“I could have guessed. Xiaoxiao isn’t impulsive. If she said that, it means she’s already… already made up her mind.”

Seeing Ye Ling’s expression, Xue Jiqing quickly backtracked. “You know, relationships are unpredictable. Try coaxing her, reminding her of the good times. There might still be hope. Besides, divorces are such a hassle these days—you can always stall for a while, right?”

Ye Ling pressed her lips together, silent.

A sudden sense of foreboding washed over Xue Jiqing. “There’s something else you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”

After a moment of silence, Ye Ling said, “Xiaoxiao has a divorce agreement. She hid it, and I’ve searched everywhere in the house but can’t find it.”

“…”

“???”

“!!!”

“You gave her a divorce agreement?!” Xue Jiqing nearly shouted. “When?”

“The day we got married,” Ye Ling replied.

“Signed?”

“I signed it. She didn’t.”

“……”

Xue Jiqing fell silent, then clapped like a seal and gave Ye Ling a thumbs-up.

“Well, you’re screwed. You totally deserve this!”

She couldn’t understand what Ye Ling was thinking, still sitting here. It was clearly out of necessity—

After last night’s punch, her family had immediately frozen her credit cards. Xue Jiqing decided to recoup some losses from Ye Ling.

Muttering “She’s the client” three times, Xue Jiqing patted her cheeks and asked, “So, what do you want to do now?”

“I don’t know… I never wanted her to find out about the fake engagement,” Ye Ling murmured. “But she overheard it anyway.”

“Overheard?” Xue Jiqing sneered. “Don’t pretend you didn’t see through their act. They deliberately lured us there yesterday. You know exactly why.”

Ye Ling pinched the bridge of her nose. “I never imagined Mi’er would be so bold.”

Xue Jiqing pressed on relentlessly. “And who do you think emboldened her? You did.”

Before Ye Ling could respond, she continued, “Don’t give me that ‘she saved you’ nonsense. How old were you when you were kidnapped? Eight. And Shang Mi’er? Just six!”

“My cousin’s daughter is also six this year. When I visited her last time, she was crying because she didn’t want to go to school. I’m just curious—how could a six-year-old possibly have saved you back then?”

A series of blurry images flashed through Ye Ling’s mind: a girl even shorter than herself walking ahead, her hair bouncing, but her face remained indistinct.

Ye Ling rubbed her temples and said, “Mi’er and I were kidnapped together back then, and we were rescued together. Who else could it have been?”

“Fine, let’s say she really was some six-year-old prodigy who pulled off some miraculous feat. But you’ve been protecting her for over a decade!”

Xue Jiqing had been holding back these words for far too long, waiting for the right moment to unleash them.

She crossed her arms, her words firing out like a machine gun: “Shang Yangheng is a brainless idiot, a useless waste of space. Without you, how could Shang Mi’er have lived so comfortably as the Shang Family’s pampered heiress? She never has to worry about anything, doing whatever she pleases, knowing someone will always clean up her messes.”

“Ye Ling, even if you owed her anything, you’ve long since repaid it.”

“……”

“I only see Mi’er as a younger sister,” Ye Ling said.

“Don’t give me that ‘sister’ nonsense. It sounds so fake.” Xue Jiqing rolled her eyes. “Enough about that. Has Xiaoxiao blocked you yet?”

“No,” Ye Ling replied, “but she hasn’t replied to my messages either.”

“Two possibilities,” Xue Jiqing said, holding up two fingers.

“One: Xiaoxiao is waiting for you to win her back.”

“Two: She’s given up completely. Not even eight horses could drag her back. Alas, you’re doomed.”

“……”

“I’m leaning towards the latter, though~”

Having finished her yin-yang routine, Xue Jiqing felt completely refreshed. She casually picked up a glass of wine and took a sip. “Tsk, cheap wine really does taste awful.”

After waiting a moment for Ye Ling to respond, Xue Jiqing realized she had nothing more to say. She grabbed her bag and patted Ye Ling on the shoulder.

“Remember to transfer the ‘relationship coach’ fee to my account. I’m a bit short on cash lately. Bye-bye~”

At five o’clock in the afternoon, a thunderclap was followed by a torrential downpour.

The shop assistant hummed a tune as she put down her umbrella and reached for her keys. Her eyes widened when she realized the door was unlocked. “No way… did I forget to lock up yesterday?”

Startled, she hurried inside.

The dimly lit bar was dark, but she could make out a figure in a white top and black skirt near the counter.

“Who’s there?” she called out.

The woman turned her head at the sound.

A flash of lightning illuminated her cold, elegant features. Her unnaturally pale skin was tinged with a faint purplish hue, lending her an eerie, melancholy air.

The shop assistant’s breath caught in her throat. “Um… may I ask who you are?”

“Ye Ling.”

“Ah?”

The woman rose to her feet. “A friend of Xue Jiqing.”

“Ah, okay, okay.” The shop assistant nodded vigorously, watching her walk toward the door.

The woman’s slender figure was framed by her wind-whipped skirt, which left damp streaks on the floor as she moved.

She hadn’t brought an umbrella.

By the time the thought occurred to the shop assistant, she had already dashed behind the counter and grabbed a green umbrella with a black handle.

“The rain won’t stop anytime soon,” she said, catching up to the woman. “This is a spare umbrella. Please take it.”

The woman turned her head, her chin tilting slightly. The shop assistant braced herself for a refusal, but somehow mustered the courage to press the umbrella into her hand.

“Thank you.”

Relieved to hear the words of gratitude, the shop assistant stole a glance upward.

The woman’s jade-white fingers traced the bamboo leaf pattern on the umbrella handle, her touch almost reverent.

Moments later, the shop assistant emerged again to take down the wind chimes, which were clattering wildly in the storm. The woman had already stepped into the rain, umbrella raised.

Thousands of heavy raindrops crashed down, as if determined to wash the world away.

When Geng Xiaoxiao finished work, the rain had eased slightly.

Taxis were scarce in such weather. After waiting five minutes, she bought a clear umbrella for ten yuan from an auntie selling them.

The subway ride from the office to Jiang Yuheng’s home took an hour. As she exited the station, Geng Xiaoxiao immediately spotted the old Santana.

“Grandma,” Geng Xiaoxiao said, shaking the water off her umbrella as she got into the car. “Didn’t I tell you not to pick me up? It’s just a short walk.”

“In this downpour, even a short walk will soak you,” Jiang Yuheng replied, handing her some tissues. “Wipe yourself off.”

As the car started moving, Jiang Yuheng casually asked, “Did you and Xiao Ye have a fight?”

Geng Xiaoxiao’s heart skipped a beat. “Xiao Ye?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I may have failing eyesight, but I’m not blind.” Jiang Yuheng harrumphed. “Last time you suddenly came over, Xiao Ye showed up the very next day. Wasn’t that to find you? And that ‘ordinary colleague’ you were texting that night—the profile picture was clearly Xiao Ye’s.”

“……”

“Still trying to fool me?” Jiang Yuheng’s voice sharpened.

“Fine,” Geng Xiaoxiao relented. “There was a little… a tiny disagreement.”

“Disagreements need to be resolved. Young couples need to communicate more. Communication solves problems, you know?”

“……We’re not a couple,” Geng Xiaoxiao murmured.

A car horn blared behind them, drowning out her words.

Jiang Yuheng didn’t press further, and Geng Xiaoxiao didn’t offer any explanation. She simply stared blankly at the rain-streaked window, lost in thought.

She and Ye Ling… had they ever really been a couple?

What exactly was their relationship?

Jiang Yuheng’s educational philosophy was rooted in the principle of “teaching without discrimination, letting those with the affinity find their own way.”

In simpler terms: offer a few words of advice, and whether they listen or not is up to them.

Regarding Ye Ling, she only mentioned it briefly.

After dinner, Geng Xiaoxiao repeated to Jiang Yuheng exactly what she had said to Xiao Miao earlier.

Studying abroad was considered further education, so Jiang Yuheng had no objections, though she admitted to feeling a little reluctant to let go.

Geng Xiaoxiao offered some comforting words, and noticing Jiang Yuheng looked tired, they retired to their rooms.

At ten o’clock that night, after ensuring Jiang Yuheng was sound asleep, Geng Xiaoxiao quietly slipped out of her room and opened the door to the adjacent room.

The windows were tightly shut, and the air felt stale from prolonged disuse.

As the bright incandescent light flooded the room, colorful posters of celebrities from two or three decades ago adorned the pristine white walls.

The bed, made of solid wood in an outdated style, was covered with pale pink sheets. Two plush toys sat on the headboard, their glossy black eyes staring as if their owner had only stepped out briefly and would soon return.

But neither they nor she could wait any longer.

Geng Xiaoxiao walked up to the poster, carefully pried open a gap, and fished out an A4 sheet of paper from behind it.

Repeating the process, she quickly gathered a small stack. On one of the sheets, a flamboyant signature sprawled across the bottom:

Ye Ling.

This was the divorce agreement Ye Ling had given her before their wedding, saying she could end things at any time if she ever regretted it.

Geng Xiaoxiao had never regretted it, but she simply couldn’t continue any longer.

Turning off the lights, Geng Xiaoxiao returned to her room, stapled the A4 sheets together, and signed her name on the other signature line.

Ding! The System’s notification tone suddenly rang out, causing her pen to slip and nearly misspell her name.

【Timeline alteration detected. Time remaining until Geng Xiaoxiao’s death scenario: three days.】

Three days? How had it shortened again…?

Remembering something, Geng Xiaoxiao unlocked her phone and opened the message Ye Ling had sent that afternoon:

Saturday, Yuexin Club, Haicheng.

Let’s talk.