Three Sentences That Made My Ex-Wife Spit Blood (LILY, ABO) - Chapter 11

When Wen Huaxi boldly kissed her ear, Yan Qinglan’s first instinct was to push her away.

Hands were one thing, but lips crossed the line. It felt far too intrusive.

Without meaning to, Yan Qinglan tightened her grip on Wen Huaxi’s waist. But instead of stopping her, it only made the bite on her earlobe sting more.

And itch more.

The gentle scrape of lips over her earlobe, the overly wet sound of the kiss, and the warm breath cutting through the air—all of it mixed with that tingling sensation and slipped right into Yan Qinglan’s heart.

She had never been teased like this before. Her nerves tightened all at once.

Even though she had been the one to ask Wen Huaxi to act, this level of ambiguity had clearly gone too far.

When had Wen Huaxi become this bold?

Yan Qinglan instinctively leaned back, unintentionally exposing the vulnerable curve of her neck. Wen Huaxi reached out and touched the spot just above her collarbone.

Yan Qinglan blinked repeatedly, trying to shake off the overwhelming sensations. But every time she tried to clear her head, Wen Huaxi’s next move would freeze her in place.

This could not go on. Yan Qinglan bit her lip, forced herself to snap back to her senses, grabbed Wen Huaxi’s waist, and pinched her chin tightly before leaning in.

Wen Huaxi fell back slightly. She didn’t resist, simply letting herself be supported by Yan Qinglan. Her hands tugged gently at Yan Qinglan’s sleeves as she smiled faintly.

Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out. Only a silent mouthing of words.

How did I do? Good girl, right?

She was acting. There was no doubt about it. Yan Qinglan stopped caring whether things had gone too far.

Wen Huaxi had started this fire.

Yan Qinglan lowered her head.

There was no kiss. What she gave Wen Huaxi was a series of bites.

Too many to count, each one either light or sharp.

She treated Wen Huaxi like prey, slowly wearing down her strength and will.

It was exactly like their past life. Despite claiming to be a germaphobe, this was the sort of thing Yan Qinglan loved the most.

Wen Huaxi had picked up on that. Though she wasn’t quite as practiced, she had learned enough to use it now to throw off Yan Qinglan.

She still remembered how their intimacy used to be.

It had been like this too. She would tease a little, and Yan Qinglan would return it tenfold. She would leave marks, then pretend to be the victim and manipulate Wen Huaxi’s guilt to take things even further.

Wen Huaxi turned her head slightly, a bit nostalgic for those tangled, bittersweet days—equal parts honey and sting.

Now, only a faint bitterness remained. And even when she tried to taste it deeply, it was all just bland.

“You’re impressive, Xiaoxi.” The emotionless words slipped quietly into Wen Huaxi’s ear.

Her smile grew wider, but her heart grew colder.

To be toyed with by someone she had loved for nearly a decade was something she could no longer describe.

All she knew was that hearing Yan Qinglan speak that way made her want to retaliate. She wanted to watch Yan Qinglan lose control, fall apart, or fail—using the very methods she knew would strike hardest.

Even if she knew she would never win in the end.

She had tried before, and the result had been so terrible that she never dared to try again.

“I can do more,” Wen Huaxi said, sniffing slightly as she tightened the space between them. From a distance, it looked like they were kissing.

“Would you like to try, Sister?” Her voice was teasing, carefree. Her eyes shimmered with a fake, deliberate affection.

Yan Qinglan brushed aside a strand of her hair near her ear. “Let’s save that for another time. You’ve already done very well today.”

She had done so well, in fact, that it left Yan Qinglan overwhelmed. Her long-dormant heart stirred restlessly, wanting to break the terms of their agreement.

She had the sudden urge to do something she had never allowed herself before.

Like kiss her. The kiss Wen Huaxi had implied again and again.

As soon as Yan Qinglan became aware of that desire, she pulled away from Wen Huaxi. She ended their performance and returned to her usual self—calm and composed, calculating in silence, hiding her fangs like a harmless little snake.

Wen Huaxi lost her balance and fell to the ground.

“A Lan…” Tears sprang to her eyes from the sudden jolt, and the dull pain in her abdomen flared up again.

Yan Qinglan reacted immediately.

“I’m sorry, Xiaoxi. I didn’t use much force just now,” she said gently, smiling as she pulled Wen Huaxi back up. They laced their fingers together again and headed toward Yan Mingzhu.

Neither of them knew how many people had watched their nearly too-convincing performance.

Yan Qinglan’s thoughts drifted far away.

She kept thinking of the images that appeared whenever she and Wen Huaxi got too close.

This time, the picture was clearer than before. But all she could gather was that they showed her and Wen Huaxi being intimate.

She had no such memories. She didn’t know where those images came from.

But she couldn’t deny that the Wen Huaxi in those fragmented visions was just as charming as the one in front of her now. Perhaps even more mature, more alluring.

And even more captivating.

It couldn’t be a dream. Yan Qinglan never considered herself a romantic, certainly not the type to dream about someone she loved.

Could just those images change how she felt about Wen Huaxi?

It sounded ridiculous.

But the hand she was holding was burning hot.

It was beginning to make her feel uneasy.

“Well, look who finally came back to visit her mother. Took you long enough.”

Just as Yan Qinglan was about to let go of Wen Huaxi’s hand, Yan Mingzhu came out of her room in a wheelchair.

She gave her daughter a disapproving look, clearly itching to scold her.

“Mom, A Lan rarely has time to visit you. Isn’t it nice that she’s here today?” Wen Huaxi smiled as she let go of Yan Qinglan’s hand and stepped forward to help push the wheelchair.

“See, only Xiaoxi knows how to talk properly. Here, I’ve got a red envelope for you,” Yan Mingzhu’s face lit up with a smile. She pulled out a red envelope from inside her coat and handed it to Wen Huaxi.

Wen Huaxi looked slightly helpless. “Mom, you don’t need to give me anything. I’m just going to school. I have money.”

She knew very well that Yan Mingzhu’s fondness for her came from her status as Yan Qinglan’s wife.

Wen Huaxi sighed silently.

She liked money, but not this kind. It weighed on her with guilt. It burned in her hands.

She still wanted a divorce. She couldn’t keep accepting favors forever.

“Don’t say that. School costs money. Xiaoxi is so beautiful. She needs a new bag, some clothes. The money disappears quickly. My useless daughter is so stingy. I have to give you more myself,” Yan Mingzhu insisted, placing the red envelope into her hand.

Wen Huaxi couldn’t argue too hard with an elderly woman in a wheelchair. She reluctantly accepted the envelope and began thinking about how she could return the money later.

“Take it, Xiaoxi,” Yan Qinglan finally seemed to come back to herself and offered a quiet nudge.

“You think I need you to tell me that? Xiaoxi already accepted it before you even opened your mouth. Do you even care about your wife?” Yan Mingzhu grabbed a cane from the side of her wheelchair and gave Yan Qinglan a whack on the shoulder.

“Of course I do,” Yan Qinglan caught the cane with one hand. Her tone and expression were filled with resignation.

As if she were the doting parent and Yan Mingzhu the rebellious child.

“Xiaoxi is so lovely, smart and kind. She’s, my wife. Of course I care about her deeply.”

She didn’t even blink while saying the lie.

Wen Huaxi had to admire her acting.

She had trained at the film academy, a professional in her field.

But Yan Qinglan? She was self-taught, and yet she could lie with a straight face like this.

If she did not know Yan Qinglan so well, she might have actually believed what was said.

Right now, Wen Huaxi just got a wave of goosebumps, but she still had to keep a calm expression and play along.

“Don’t worry, Mom. Lan treats me really well. She even shares her desserts with me.”

Yan Mingzhu, being her biological mother, did not doubt it for a moment.

She knew exactly what kind of personality her daughter had.

When Qinglan was five, her cousin secretly ate one of her jellies. She almost got into a fight over it and held a grudge for three years. Even now, her cousin still avoids her.

As she grew older, Qinglan only became more possessive about food. During her teenage years, she even avoided eating in front of others because she was afraid someone might take her favorite dishes.

Now that she was almost thirty, she had improved a little, but when it came to desserts, she still would not share. If she really did not want to give someone a piece, she would just send them a link to the store and tell them to buy their own.

Letting Wen Huaxi have her dessert clearly meant she truly loved her.

A few steps away, Yan Qinglan, who suddenly felt like an outsider in her own family, twitched the corner of her mouth.

Let her have it? Was that even true?

That dessert had been snatched away by that clingy troublemaker Wen Huaxi.

She had even taken advantage of Qinglan’s obsession with cleanliness and forced it from her.

“I feel so much better now,” Yan Mingzhu said gently. She had not even looked at Yan Qinglan, completely unaware of the change in her daughter’s expression.

Yan Qinglan felt utterly embarrassed. But unfortunately, she was the one person who could not leave right now.

If you are going to act, you have to commit. If she walked away early, her mother would definitely pull her aside and give her another long lecture.

“My Qinglan is almost thirty. My health has not been good for years. Who knows when my time will come,” Yan Mingzhu said with a quiet sigh. “As a mother, all I want is to see my daughter happy, with a home, a partner, and a life she can depend on.”

By the time Yan Qinglan pulled herself out of her awkward state, she realized the conversation had gone completely off track.

“Mom,” she said, frowning as she interrupted.

She had a very bad feeling.

Yan Mingzhu had given birth to her later in life, but she was still not even sixty. She should have been strong and healthy.

But in the past few years, her condition had worsened. Both physically and mentally, she was not doing well. They had visited many hospitals, but no one could find the cause. All they could do was prescribe herbal remedies and supplements to keep her going.

Yan Mingzhu probably had some sense of her condition. Otherwise, she would not be pushing Qinglan so hard to get married.

Though she was unhappy about being interrupted, Yan Mingzhu did not continue the topic in front of Wen Huaxi and turned her attention back to more pleasant conversation.

The two women walked through the old Yan family house, chatting with her along the way.

Yan Mingzhu’s eyes briefly filled with quiet sorrow.

She knew she would not be able to protect her daughter for much longer.

All the way until lunchtime, it was mostly Wen Huaxi keeping Yan Mingzhu company.

When needed, Wen Huaxi had the kind of personality that elders loved. She was sweet, respectful, obedient, and had a natural way of making people feel happy.

Yan Mingzhu smiled the entire time, except when she looked over at Qinglan who was distracted and lost in thought.

Occasionally, Qinglan would overhear parts of their conversation. It was hard to blame her mother for being so fond of Wen Huaxi.

Wen Huaxi really knew how to connect with elders.

Which made the idea of divorce even less realistic.

Losing such a lovable daughter-in-law might push Yan Mingzhu to throw Qinglan out of the family entirely.

Thinking about all the pros and cons, Yan Qinglan quietly moved closer to Wen Huaxi and wrapped an arm around her.

Wen Huaxi casually reached out and pinched her waist.

They looked so affectionate that even the family butler felt touched.

“The young lady and her wife seem to have a really loving relationship,” Butler Chen said softly to Yan Mingzhu as Qinglan took Huaxi to wash their hands before lunch.

“Is that what you think?” Yan Mingzhu asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Butler Chen had been with the Yan family longer than Qinglan had been alive. He immediately understood what she was thinking.

“Are you suspecting that they are in a fake marriage, Madam?” he asked, not sounding the least bit surprised.

If this was all an act, their performance was remarkably convincing. Wen Huaxi was just a sophomore in college, after all.

Yan Mingzhu closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again with the same gentle and kind expression. “Just a suspicion.”