Three Sentences That Made My Ex-Wife Spit Blood (LILY, ABO) - Chapter 7
Before the video call was cut off, the weak woman’s eyes visibly dimmed.
Yan Qinglan didn’t notice.
Or maybe she simply didn’t care.
She was just a companion for idle conversation, nothing more.
She didn’t stir Yan Qinglan’s emotions nearly as much as Wen Huaxi did.
She hadn’t expected that after what she said yesterday, Wen Huaxi would actually go check into a hotel with someone.
Yan Qinglan had said she wouldn’t interfere in Wen Huaxi’s personal life.
But the irritation she now felt was real and strong enough to make her grab her keys and head straight to Yunding Hotel.
She told herself she just wanted to confirm that the girl was safe.
Wen Huaxi was only twenty, still a college student, and hadn’t fully stepped into society. She might not know how to judge people yet.
She was stunningly beautiful, with her fiery red hair and pure, deer-like eyes.
What if she was taken advantage of or tricked by someone?
Yan Qinglan liked to think of herself as a responsible and principled Alpha. Just imagining such possibilities made her feel uncomfortable.
After all, this girl was still her wife by contract.
And frankly, if this sort of thing got out, it wouldn’t reflect well on her either.
She would go check. Just a glance. As long as Wen Huaxi hadn’t chosen someone shady or disgusting, she’d leave.
Yan Qinglan pressed down on the gas pedal.
But then again, what did it matter who Wen Huaxi was with?
Wen Huaxi had no right to question who she talked to either.
Just like that time she secretly followed her into a bar.
That had been a serious breach of their agreement.
By all rights, Yan Qinglan should have been furious and confronted her about it.
But she had considered herself generous. Even though it had bothered her, she let it go without a fuss.
And now here she was, about to do the exact same thing.
She slammed the brakes.
Wen Huaxi was the one who had messed up first.
She had followed her, locked her out of the house.
Wasn’t it fair for her to retaliate by interrupting Wen Huaxi’s one rare night out?
She hit the gas again.
But seriously, she was already twenty-nine years old. How could she stoop to the level of a kid just to get even?
She was supposed to be the warm, understanding, composed big sister type.
Caught in honking traffic, Yan Qinglan finally pulled over to the side of the road.
She dialed Meng Qingzhou, one of her flirtatious regulars.
She thought maybe a change of focus would help.
If she could distract herself by chatting with someone else, she might stop obsessing over why Wen Huaxi had used her card to check into a hotel.
Her card.
Yan Qinglan’s fingers curled into a tight fist, and pain pulsed faintly through her knuckles.
No, she couldn’t let that go. It wasn’t just checking into a hotel. She had used her card.
Didn’t Wen Huaxi have her own allowance card? Why did she have to use hers?
It had to be intentional. A deliberate jab.
Considering the dessert incident from last time, Wen Huaxi’s image in Yan Qinglan’s mind was shifting rapidly toward that of a mischievous, clingy brat. No wonder she suspected this was another act of petty revenge.
She wasn’t even home tonight. Yet she still managed to create drama.
Unfortunately, Yan Qinglan fell for it every time. She was genuinely angry.
“Hello? Qinglan?” Meng Qingzhou answered, her voice warm and soothing.
But it didn’t ease Yan Qinglan’s frustration in the slightest.
“Qingzhou, come to Shiye Road. I need to go somewhere, but I can’t drive right now.”
Yan Qinglan tried her best to maintain her usual calm tone.
To her surprise, it was incredibly difficult to pretend she didn’t care. Even faking detachment was exhausting.
“You’ve been drinking?” Meng Qingzhou’s voice came through, along with the sound of keys jingling.
She didn’t press for details. She simply headed out.
That kind of trust, that quiet care—it was full of subtle affection.
“Not really. It’s hard to explain. Thanks for this. I’ll treat you to dinner next time.”
Yan Qinglan’s voice was relaxed and familiar, reflecting the close rapport they shared.
Meng Qingzhou arrived quickly. She slid into the driver’s seat, and Yan Qinglan shifted into the passenger seat, closed her eyes, and leaned back after giving her the address.
Meng Qingzhou gave her a quiet glance.
Her feelings might have been calm on the surface, but her gaze was fixed on Yan Qinglan, as if she truly liked her.
If it weren’t for the fact that Yan Qinglan had reportedly just gotten married, she wouldn’t have agreed to come out this late to act as her chauffeur.
Unfortunately, Yan Qinglan didn’t even look her way.
Meng Qingzhou sighed and kept her eyes on the road.
Her driving was exceptionally smooth, matching her gentle and composed nature.
As the car hummed along quietly, Yan Qinglan gradually drifted into a light sleep.
In her dream, Wen Huaxi’s bright almond eyes fell from the sky like shooting stars, crashing through the horizon and glowing briefly before vanishing into darkness.
A single falling star. One person fading away.
That point of light looked like Wen Huaxi completely disappearing.
Yan Qinglan’s heart seized in her chest, and she started running.
But no matter how fast she chased, that star-like gaze disappeared into the abyss.
She jolted awake, her chest tight with the lingering sorrow of watching that star fade.
“What’s wrong?” Meng Qingzhou handed her a tissue.
Yan Qinglan took it, but didn’t use it.
She realized she had been thinking about Wen Huaxi far more than she should.
Now parked outside Yunding Hotel, she hesitated.
Meng Qingzhou was clearly surprised by the location.
“Through a thousand flowers, not a single leaf clings” had always been Yan Qinglan’s motto.
Even she had never gotten more than a passing glance from Yan Qinglan.
So now she couldn’t help but wonder.
Had someone finally caught her attention?
Could it be… that rumored newlywed wife?
“Do you want me to go up with you, or should I wait in the car?” Meng Qingzhou gathered her thoughts, then asked gently.
She only needed to copy a little of Yan Qinglan’s demeanor, paired with her naturally soft and gentle features, and it came off as perfectly sincere.
“I’ll go alone. Thanks for today, Qingzhou.” Yan Qinglan gestured that Meng Qingzhou could head home.
Meng Qingzhou nodded and turned to leave.
Yan Qinglan took several deep breaths just to keep her smile in place.
The thought of seeing Wen Huaxi with someone else filled her with a strange discomfort.
The feeling had come on so suddenly that even she didn’t understand it.
It couldn’t be that just because Wen Huaxi had teased her a few days ago, she had somehow developed feelings for her, right?
If that were true, her affection would be far too cheap.
She had gone twenty-nine years without giving a single part of herself away, and now, just after exchanging a few words with a contract wife, she was falling for her? That didn’t make sense.
Besides, Wen Huaxi was impulsive, moody, and full of schemes. The only thing she had going for her was that face, which happened to match Yan Qinglan’s aesthetic preferences.
Why would she like someone like that?
Yan Qinglan pulled out her phone and, at the very least, sent Wen Huaxi a message to ask which room she was in.
Wen Huaxi, currently in a single room watching an old film directed by Qin Shuyue and practicing by mimicking the acting, hadn’t seen the message.
She hadn’t meant to make a scene or alert Yan Qinglan. Using her card had been purely instinctive.
Of course, she figured Yan Qinglan had probably messaged her a few times asking whether she was coming home.
But just like Yan Qinglan had said—whether she came home or who she spent time with had nothing to do with her.
So when someone knocked on her hotel room door, Wen Huaxi was genuinely caught off guard.
She thought it was housekeeping and was already feeling annoyed, but the moment she saw Yan Qinglan’s face, she froze on the spot.
Yan Qinglan looked around the modest single room. There was no place for anyone to hide. The TV was playing a movie. There was a fruit platter and some drinks on the table. Her ears began to warm.
Wen Huaxi had only booked the room because she’d been locked out of the house. With nowhere to go, she just needed a place to sleep.
She really had come alone.
“What are you doing here? How did you know I was here? Were you following me?”
Wen Huaxi finally snapped out of it and immediately picked up her bag, throwing it at Yan Qinglan.
The hotel staff who had brought Yan Qinglan up quietly stepped out and shut the door behind them, leaving the stage to the two of them.
“I…” Yan Qinglan caught the bag, which wasn’t heavy, but facing Wen Huaxi’s clearly angry expression, she didn’t know what to say.
She took a deep breath and quickly spoke before Wen Huaxi could erupt into a full tantrum.
“I’m sorry, Xiaoxi. I saw the hotel charge on my card and got worried… that someone might have tricked you.”
“I was wrong. I really was just worried.”
Yan Qinglan brushed aside all her mixed thoughts from earlier and presented only the cleanest version of her concern for Wen Huaxi to see.
As if to say she was entirely innocent and had only been thinking about Wen Huaxi’s well-being.
With her lashes lowered and expression sincere, she actually looked more convincing than Wen Huaxi, a literal film queen.
She even managed to fool Wen Huaxi a little.
Because, in her understanding, Yan Qinglan had no reason to think she was cheating or meeting someone in secret. So to come all the way here and track down her room, just out of jealousy, didn’t quite make sense.
But worrying about her? That explanation wasn’t much better. It still felt strange.
“You don’t believe me, Xiaoxi? But we’re married, aren’t we? Isn’t it normal for spouses to worry about each other?”
Seeing that Wen Huaxi’s expression had softened a bit, Yan Qinglan quickly added another line.
The tone she used, paired with that seemingly affectionate but subtly manipulative phrasing, finally convinced Wen Huaxi.
This was the Yan Qinglan she knew—neither possessed nor reformed. Still the same cool, composed woman with a silver tongue.
As for her “concern,” it was probably just an excuse to keep up appearances for their visit to the Yan family in two days.
“You say it like you actually mean it.” Wen Huaxi snorted softly through her nose.
“How could I not mean it? If you don’t believe me, I’ll be heartbroken.” Yan Qinglan could tell the situation had passed. Wen Huaxi seemed willing to go home now.
Tonight had been a failure.
Not only had she failed to leave Wen Huaxi locked out for forty minutes like revenge for her own experience, but she had ended up going to all this trouble just to fetch her.
It almost felt like she had been begging Wen Huaxi to come back.
When had Yan Qinglan ever stooped so low? Not even in front of her cold stepfather and that sarcastic stepbrother.
She let out the tiniest sigh and looked on as Wen Huaxi began tidying up the leftovers and packing everything into a bag, which she then handed to her.
“This is…?” Yan Qinglan was surprised.
It wasn’t enough that she’d come all the way here to retrieve her. Now she was expected to carry things too?
“Didn’t Aluan-jie say she was worried about me? Then helping me carry my things home should be no problem, right? Otherwise, where’s the sincerity?” Wen Huaxi looked innocent.
Yan Qinglan gritted her teeth and took the bag with a tissue between her fingers, as if holding something contaminated.
“I’ll help you,” she said through clenched teeth.
From her tone, you’d think she’d just been humiliated in public.
Wen Huaxi rolled her eyes internally.
The two of them went downstairs together, and Wen Huaxi easily found Yan Qinglan’s car.
She opened the door and was about to get in when she saw a woman sitting inside.
A woman who looked oddly familiar.
Meng Qingzhou was sitting in the passenger seat, smiling right at Wen Huaxi.