On the Wedding Night, I Transmigrated to After the Divorce – Chapter 41
by Little PandaCalling Someone Else Jiejie
She is deceiving you!
“Yunqing? What are you thinking about?”
“Why so absentminded? Not happy to welcome me back?”
At a high-end coastal club, beneath floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sea, a woman with long chestnut hair slouched lazily into the soft sofa. She wore a gray suit with an incredibly relaxed air. Tilting her head, she looked at her jiejie sitting upright beside her.
Fu Mingya was Yunqing’s cousin, younger by only a year. The two had grown up together under Granny’s wing, no different from blood sisters. However, Mingya’s personality was the exact opposite of Yunqing’s. Flamboyant and competitive since childhood, she refused to accept being younger, so she never called her ‘jiejie’. Though it didn’t affect their relationship, her constant use of ‘Yunqing’ made strangers assume she was the elder of the two.
She had just returned from abroad yesterday after negotiating a project for Fu Corporation. Today, she had gathered some friends to throw a welcome-back party. Everyone was having a great time, but she noticed her jiejie seemed somewhat distracted.
Fu Yunqing leaned against the sofa and raised her eyes. The woman before her looked no different from when she had left the country a few months ago: curly hair, red lips, and having had a bit to drink, her slightly tipsy face was both radiantly beautiful and decadent. Her expression was languid, and her body seemed boneless as she curled up on the sofa and slumped right onto her shoulder.
Fu Yunqing smiled. “It’s only been a few months, yet you’re acting like you’ve been gone for years.”
Fu Mingya sighed. “So, you didn’t miss me at all these past few months? Who are you thinking about then?” She dragged out the syllables, feigning grievance for a moment, before turning her head and pointing out bluntly, “While everyone was hanging out earlier, I kept seeing you glancing at your phone. What’s wrong? Waiting for a message from someone? Do you have a new lover?”
Fu Yunqing offered no answers, deflecting with a question of her own: “Granny actually asked me about you. ‘Mingya is thirty-two this year, how can she still not have a partner?'”
“So Granny isn’t worried about you at all? Do you have a partner? Yunqing, there is no one in this world who worries about your happiness more than me,” Fu Mingya said. “If I hadn’t been in a relationship back then and refused the arranged marriage, Granny wouldn’t have gone to you, dooming you so miserably. And in the end, after all that dating, that woman just dropped a ‘we’re not suitable for each other’ and evaporated from the human world1. What a father’s root2.”
Fu Yunqing said, “Watch your language.”
“Oh please, I’ve been dignified enough fighting for Fu Corporation out there. Let me relax a bit.”
Fu Mingya was under a lot of stress and had a smoking habit. Not to mention, she had just brought up her ex. She casually picked up a slim cigarette from the table, lit it, and offered one to Fu Yunqing.
Over the past year, her jiejie—who used to only taste wine, never touch smoke, and possess a tranquil temperament—had picked up the bad habit of smoking. But the way she smoked was beautiful, lacking any expression of enjoyment. Her appearance was too cold and elegant; she simply didn’t look like someone who would rely on nicotine. It gave her a contradictory kind of beauty. A little melancholic, a little fallen, yet fiercely sober.
Unexpectedly, Fu Yunqing refused this time. “I’m not smoking.”
“If you’re going to smoke, don’t lean on me.”
“So repulsed by it? Looks like the other party doesn’t like the smell of smoke?”
“So whose message are you waiting for? I’m genuinely curious.” Fu Mingya sat up straight, shifting her hips slightly. “Is it someone new, or someone old?”
The difference between a new flame and an old flame was vast. Seeing that Fu Yunqing’s expression remained completely still, the answer in Fu Mingya’s heart tilted toward one side. “Oh, someone old.”
“Your Baby Yanyan came back looking for you?” No sooner had she asked than Fu Mingya stated bluntly, “To be honest, I’ve watched her livestreams.”
Her tone was very strange when she said this. Fu Yunqing turned her head to look at her.
Fu Mingya asked, “Do you think she came back to find you because she can’t let go of you, because she can’t forget you?”
Fu Yunqing’s expression didn’t change, but the atmosphere stiffened. She stayed quiet and didn’t utter a word. Fu Mingya continued, “I don’t think so.”
“Even though she once said on her livestream that she misses you… everything that comes out of her mouth carries this feeling of being a joke, just firing off mouth cannons3. You can’t trust a word she says, haven’t you realized that? I’ve watched a few of her streams. Hmm… I even sent her a gift. Do you know how she thanked me? Her tone was so incredibly sweet.”
Unafraid that saying such things would anger her jiejie, Fu Mingya continued: “She streams to make money. She’s sweet to anyone who showers her with gifts, saying things like how she really wants to be kept by a sugar mommy… Don’t you really think she only turned back to look for you because she ran out of money to spend, and just so happens to have a wealthy ex-wife like you?”
She exhaled a plume of smoke and smiled faintly. “Her enthusiasm isn’t reserved just for you. It seems like as long as someone is pretty and willing to spend money on her, anyone will do?”
Fu Mingya never interfered in other people’s relationship matters, but her jiejie had already stumbled over that little butterfly once. When little kids stay together for a long time, they get bored; they say they’re unhappy, demand a divorce, and then turn around and get together with someone else.
Yunqing loved her and still hadn’t let her go. That was a fact everyone probably knew. If the other party’s return was sincere, that would be one thing, but with Yu Yan’s heartless and highly purpose-driven attitude and behavior, it was truly hard to feel at ease.
Hearing her words, Fu Yunqing lowered her eyes and stared ahead, lost in thought.
She did not agree, nor could she refute Fu Mingya’s words. Obviously, she couldn’t give herself an answer that completely convinced her.
Realizing she seemed to have punctured the doubts lingering in Yunqing’s heart, Fu Mingya offered some familial advice. “I think you should be a little more cautious, or at least don’t take it too seriously. Keep the initiative in your own hands. Don’t let yourself get played and treated like trash by that little girl again. That would just be too humiliating.”
“…”
The atmosphere was too cold, making one instinctively want to skip the topic. Fu Mingya said no more. Leaning against her, she idly fiddled with her phone, and as coincidence would have it, she swiped right onto the subject of their conversation.
“She posted a new video.” Mingya handed the phone to her jiejie.
Fu Yunqing looked over.
“The girl truly is enchanting. She definitely knows she’s beautiful.”
She was referring to Yu Yan in the video.
A pair of cat ears, a set of eyes as innocent and sly as a kitten’s, staring at the camera with feigned obedience and deep affection. She exuded temptation, absolutely determined to win—If I become a kitty, can I get head pats from jiejie?
Many times in the past, on many comfortable nights or mornings, Yu Yan would lie in Fu Yunqing’s arms just like this, looking at her with those same eyes, acting spoiled and saying how much she loved her jiejie, how much she loved Mommy. Or she would complain about not wanting to go to class. Or, quite simply, she would suddenly become clingy like a kitten, incredibly proactive, wanting intimacy, wanting Fu Yunqing’s coaxing and caresses, wanting to see the way Fu Yunqing was mesmerized by her.
No matter what little schemes she was plotting in her heart, Fu Yunqing always found her adorable, special, and precious. Often, Fu Yunqing felt so incredibly happy—so happy that she became hyper-vigilant, seeing danger everywhere. She desperately wanted to hide her away, yet she couldn’t bear to deprive her of the world that brought her joy. So, she would constantly remind her to come home on time, to report where she was going, to rely on her whenever anything happened, to remember to miss her.
She always had so many wicked little ideas, always breaking the rules. Fu Yunqing was thankful that she wasn’t a particularly rigid adult; she could catch Yu Yan’s bizarre trains of thought, could always mingle effortlessly with her, and could accept her in any form.
In truth, she really liked it when Yu Yan called her Mommy. After all, everyone knew that wherever a mother was, there was home. This flesh-and-blood-like connection was much more solid than that of ordinary lovers, wasn’t it? It gave her a profound sense of security—the security that Yanyan belonged to her, no matter what.
But later, she still left.
She had deceived her. She couldn’t fulfill the promises she had spoken. She was like a drifting, erratic cloud. She got together with someone else.
Sorrow welled up in Fu Yunqing’s heart; just the thought of it brought her agony. She clicked open the comment section. The top trending comment was from a female star who had retreated behind the scenes to become a director.
Her comment had been replied to by Yu Yan—
An Qiu: 【Makes me really want to take you home.】
“Don’t be deceived by women anymore” replied: Jiejie, I’m willing! 【Heart jpg.】【Heart jpg.】【Drool jpg.】【Heart jpg.】【Drool jpg.】
Yu Yan finally realized she might be sick.
She felt worse by the minute. The dryness in her throat was far more severe than when she had just woken up at noon, showing a strong trend toward feeling like swallowing razor blades4. Her head throbbed, her body felt top-heavy, and she was drowsy.
Lu Yu wasn’t home, and there was no one around. Upholding the traditional attitude of drinking more hot water when catching a cold, she continuously poured hot water down her throat, but it was already to no avail.
Yu Yan felt like breaking down. Every time her body experienced this sensation, it meant she would have to endure nearly two weeks of grueling symptoms: cold, fever, nasal congestion, and very likely a runny nose.
“Yuncheng has recently started entering winter. This season is the peak period for colds and fevers. You probably didn’t wear enough when you went out a couple of days ago and caught it.”
When Lu Yu finally came home, she dug out the Banlangen from the household first-aid kit and brewed it for Yu Yan.
Yu Yan especially hated taking medicine. It was a deep-seated repulsion toward the smell of medicine. Even though Banlangen wasn’t particularly bitter and even had a sweet taste, its inescapable medicinal scent still caused Yu Yan to physically gag. Brows furrowed tightly, she finished drinking it, dry-heaved slightly, and hurriedly gulped down half a glass of water.
She had obediently taken her medicine, so she really shouldn’t get any sicker; Yu Yan hoped her immune system would put up a fight. By evening, it started raining and the temperature dropped again. She changed into fleece-lined pajamas and filled her thermos with hot water, hoping to chase the virus away.
She thought the Banlangen could rescue her body, which was on the verge of falling ill, but heaven did not grant her wish. This early winter was dead set on making Yu Yan suffer. A little later into the night, Yu Yan began to feel dizzy and lethargic, and the sensation of swallowing razor blades fully set in. After eating a few bites of porridge and listlessly chatting with Lu Yu for a bit while nursing her hot water, she went back to her room to lie down.
She unlocked her phone and tapped into her chat with Fu Yunqing.
Yu Yan had sent her a message to say hi this afternoon, but what was going on? The sky was already dark, yet she still hadn’t replied.
Yu Yan: 【Good afternoon, jiejie~】
Yu Yan: 【I slept for nearly fifteen hours today and am only eating breakfast now. The temperature dropped so much today, it really is perfect for sleeping. Are you resting today, Fu-jiejie? Or do you have other things to busy yourself with?】
Later, as Yu Yan gradually felt worse, she didn’t have the energy to check on her. But Fu Yunqing had started ignoring her messages again. They had clearly just been on a video call last night! Yu Yan didn’t know what she was thinking, so she could only carefully and gently remind her: 【Did jiejie accidentally forget about me?】【Kitty poking jpg.】
Fu Yunqing continued to ignore her.
What did Fu Yunqing mean by this?
Had she said something she shouldn’t have? Yu Yan scrolled up through their chat history. She had been incredibly well-behaved the entire time, not stepping out of line in the slightest.
A dull ache started to throb in Yu Yan’s head.
Yu Yan: 【Fu-jiejie clearly promised to reply to my messages when she had free time.】
She gave a tiny reminder. Propping up her frail, sick body, she waited for over half an hour but still received no reply. Her headache worsened, and her eyes ached, too. She pressed a hand to her forehead. Her skin was burning up. Sure enough, she hadn’t escaped it—she was really running a fever now.
Lu Yu had bought her fever cooling patches and fever medication, placing them on her desk. Yu Yan crawled out of bed and slapped a patch onto her forehead. She set an alarm for seven o’clock tomorrow morning, deciding that even if her fever reached forty degrees Celsius, she would go attend Fu Yunqing’s class. She had to let her know just how much she wanted to see her, and just how sincere she was.
When the time came, seeing her sickly appearance, Fu-jiejie would definitely be heartbroken for her. How could she bear to keep up the cold violence5?
She would definitely feel guilty for her actions, right?
Perfect.
This illness had come at the perfect time. With that thought, Yu Yan let go of her frustration and embraced it. Closing her eyes, she began to envision Fu Yunqing’s heartbroken expression and gentle scolding upon seeing her feverish state.
A cold front swept in, and Yuncheng’s temperature dropped seven or eight degrees Celsius overnight.
On streets where people had been wearing vastly different styles of sweaters and shirts just days prior, everyone now tacitly swapped into overcoats and jackets. Overcast skies and mist blanketed the city, hiding behind them a bitter winter that was unlikely to see any snow.
Yuncheng Drama Academy’s underground parking lot was even colder and damper than above ground. Fu Yunqing stepped out of her car just as a woman in a woolen overcoat, who had also just parked, walked over from the opposite space.
The woman had her hair tied in a neat bun. She had a gentle appearance, and her eyes brimmed with a bright smile. “Teacher Fu, what a coincidence.”
Fu Yunqing greeted her, “Good morning.”
The two walked side by side toward the exit as the woman struck up a conversation. “Which building are you teaching in, Teacher Fu?”
“Building h.”
“I’m in Building h this week too, teaching their theory class. Are you giving two major lectures, Teacher Fu?”
“Yes.”
“Me too. It’s quite tiring; my voice is always hoarse after class… By the way, I heard a female student gave you water recently? And you accepted it?”
Gossip spread fast on campus, let alone gossip involving a highly prominent teacher like Fu Yunqing, who normally never accepted gifts from any student. She shook her head. “She’s not a student.”
“Not a student? Did she come specifically to listen to your lecture? A suitor? I heard she’s a very beautiful young girl.” The woman feigned a gossipy tone but didn’t dare look at her directly, merely stealing glances at Fu Yunqing’s soft, elegant features in the winter light.
Her complexion didn’t look great; it seemed she hadn’t rested well.
Fu Yunqing didn’t respond to her, lowering her eyes and gazing straight ahead.
Fu Yunqing was a gentle person. Because she was so gentle, the inherent sense of boundaries and distance within her gentleness was something the woman had never found an effective way to cross.
This was the first time Fu Yunqing had chosen to ignore her during their conversations.
Was that girl someone she refused to talk about?
The woman twitched the corners of her lips, imperceptibly tucking away whatever emotions had surfaced.
The two parted ways at the elevator, and Fu Yunqing got off at the fifth floor. She hadn’t left herself much time to wait; when she stepped out of the elevator, there was less than half a minute until class started. The moment she walked into the classroom, the bell rang. The chaotic chatter of the students came to a sudden halt, and their scattered gazes converged on her. Her eyes calmly swept over the crowd, brushing past pair after pair of eyes.
Her heart dropped.
She hadn’t come.
Footnotes
- To vanish without a trace; to ghost someone.
- 'Bà le ge gēn de' is a humorous minced oath, twisting traditional profanity into nonsense to express frustration.
- 'Zuǐpào' (mouth cannon) is slang for someone who is all talk without substance.
- 'Swallowing razor blades' (tūn dāopiàn) is common Chinese slang for the agonizing throat pain accompanying a severe respiratory infection or flu.
- 'Lěng bàolì' (cold violence) refers to emotional abuse through silence, withdrawal, and neglect — ignoring someone or giving them the cold shoulder instead of direct confrontation.
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