On the Wedding Night, I Transmigrated to After the Divorce – Chapter 68
by Little PandaCall Me Jiejie
She Thinks She’s Quite Cute
“You…” Xiao Jing didn’t even know what to say. “Why did you take it to heart?”
How could she be so fragile? Did she really listen to whatever people said about her? Couldn’t she just let it go and stop draining herself with internal friction1?
Yu Yan turned her face back, murmuring, “But I did take it to heart.”
Seeing her like this, Xiao Jing felt a bitter pang in her chest. After all, spoken words were like spilled water; her image in the other girl’s heart was probably already irretrievably mean and cutting.
She suddenly felt incredibly frustrated, annoyed, and deeply powerless.
She didn’t know how to salvage her image in Yu Yan’s eyes.
“Y-You and Teacher Fu haven’t made up?”
“No,” Yu Yan whispered. “That’s why I didn’t dare sit in the front. I was afraid she’d scold me.”
Hearing this, Xiao Jing quickly asked, “Why haven’t you made up yet?”
Yu Yan made up a lie on the spot: “Because I threw a tantrum, and she thought I was too high-maintenance3.”
Xiao Jing grew anxious. “Why on earth did you throw a tantrum at her?”
She really was incredibly gossipy.
“Because of you, of course.”
For some reason, seeing how awkward and conflicted Xiao Jing looked made Yu Yan desperately want to tease her.
“What did I do?” Xiao Jing instantly tensed. “Didn’t I ask Teacher Fu to apologize to you on my behalf? Didn’t she pass it on?”
Yu Yan raised her eyebrows slightly. Seriously? She actually asked her to pass on an apology? Oh, right. It seemed she did. Yu Yan recalled that she had indeed told Fu-jiejie about how she had cried in front of Xiao Jing due to her tear incontinence4, which had made Fu-jiejie’s heart ache for quite some time.
Before Yu Yan could say anything, Xiao Jing rushed to explain, “Besides, I’m not the kind of person who engages in female competition5, steals someone else’s partner, or knowingly plays the third party6! I lost interest in her a long time ago. That’s why I’ve been sitting in the back, and I won’t even register for her classes next semester.”
Yu Yan was taken aback, and Xiao Jing continued, “You think I’m that kind of person, don’t you?”
Her voice was low, laced with a sense of self-loathing, as if she had committed some terrible deed. Yu Yan had not expected her to react this way. “What? Which kind of person?”
“The kind I just mentioned.” Xiao Jing no longer had the courage to repeat those words.
“Not at all!” Yu Yan quickly protested. “I never thought that.”
Xiao Jing fell silent, refusing to look at her. Fearing the girl would truly dwell on it, Yu Yan anxiously grabbed her wrist, leaning in close to break it down for her. “How on earth did you engage in female competition with me? You didn’t belittle or slander me, and you didn’t try to compare who was prettier. You were just misunderstanding things, weren’t you?”
“You just thought I was a bad ex-wife harassing your teacher, and you warned me to stop. There’s nothing wrong with that, so how’s it female competition? Plus, you didn’t actually try to steal her away, did you? Ever since you realized our relationship was… complicated, haven’t you been sitting all the way in the back? And you certainly didn’t knowingly act as a third party, so why talk about yourself in such harsh terms?”
With her wrist held in Yu Yan’s grasp, Xiao Jing’s breathing grew erratic. She wanted to pull her hand away but feared Yu Yan would think she hated her, so she remained stiffly in place. “But I told you that if you had the ability, you should get into Yuncheng Drama Academy before auditing classes… That was so mean…”
Yu Yan explained, “But you only said that because you misunderstood the situation! And that wasn’t a put-down, it was motivation. Thanks to your little push, I’m actually preparing to sign up for prep classes. I’m going to take the entrance exam for the graduate program here at Yuncheng Drama Academy.”
Because she had harbored malice and lashed out with harsh words that day, resulting in a self-inflicted joke, Xiao Jing had always felt like a vicious female supporting character7 from a web novel—brainless and spiteful. A heavy stone had been weighing on her chest; every time she remembered it, she found herself utterly detestable and maddening. This was especially true after she watched Yu Yan’s livestreams and realized Yu Yan was far better, funnier, cuter, and kinder than she had imagined, which only made her dislike herself more.
She hadn’t expected Yu Yan to say something like this—to actually turn around and console her after being driven to tears by her.
“You’re going to take the graduate entrance exam for Yuncheng Drama Academy?”
“Yep! Thank you for the motivation!”
“You…”
“Do you really think that?” Xiao Jing looked at her, meeting her eyes. This girl was sitting far too close, completely invading her usual personal bubble. Why did she have to be so close? She really had no sense of boundaries.
“Mhm! I never thought you did anything wrong, and there’s absolutely no need to apologize to me.”
“Then why did you say you argued with Teacher Fu because of me?”
“Oh, that…” Yu Yan let out a couple of awkward chuckles. “Actually, it wasn’t because of you. We have our own issues to begin with—otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten divorced, right?”
Xiao Jing pressed, “What kind of issues?”
“Sigh.” Seeing that she had successfully soothed the girl, Yu Yan let go of her hand and slid back into her own seat. Resting her chin on her hand, she put on an act of dramatic melancholy. “It’s hard to explain in a single sentence.”
Xiao Jing had never liked owing anyone anything. Since Yu Yan had just comforted her, she naturally had to offer some comfort in return. After agonizing over her words for what felt like ages, she blurted out, “I don’t think you’re too high-maintenance.”
Yu Yan burst into laughter.
Xiao Jing instantly grew annoyed. “What are you laughing at?!”
Yu Yan quickly suppressed her giggles. “Really? I can actually be incredibly difficult. No one can stand me.” No one can endure my hot violence8. Even Fu Yunqing will surely find it unbearable soon.
But Xiao Jing didn’t know what she was thinking. She wondered, Just how difficult can she be? Based on the few livestreams she had watched, Yu Yan only seemed a little flirtatious, a little money-minded, a bit spoiled, and somewhat stubborn, but nothing worse than that. Well, except for the first point. Xiao Jing imagined having a partner like that; while the first trait was indeed hard to stomach, the rest weren’t really intolerable. They were just human nature, hardly even flaws.
Besides, those flaws actually looked quite cute on her…
She didn’t know how to put it. Tell her to stop being so flighty and stay loyal to Teacher Fu? Xiao Jing couldn’t bring herself to say it; coming from her, those words would sound incredibly bizarre.
She asked stiffly, “Then… what do you plan to do?”
Yu Yan sighed, “Sigh, I don’t know. I’ll have to see if Teacher Fu pays any attention to me today.”
Xiao Jing turned her head toward the front door of the classroom. The teacher hadn’t arrived yet.
After a while, the classroom gradually filled up, and a few moments later, the teacher walked in. For some reason, Xiao Jing felt exceptionally nervous, while Yu Yan looked entirely at ease. Resting her cheek on her hand, Yu Yan gazed at the podium, her eyes curved in a faint, gentle smile.
With two minutes left before class, Teacher Fu walked briskly up to the podium. Spotting the white thermos on the desk, she paused for a fraction of a second, then gently set her bag down. She swept her eyes across the lecture hall, quickly locking onto a certain target. A soft smile played on her lips as she picked up the thermos, tested its warmth, and immediately took a sip.
Clearly, this gesture was meant to soothe a certain someone who had been scolded, pushed away, and had her newly bought thermos ruined before.
Fu Yunqing was truly so sweet.
“Did you put that thermos there?” Xiao Jing had also noticed the teacher’s action.
“Yep!” With her eyes curved like crescent moons, Yu Yan let out a mock-proud sigh. “It seems… Teacher Fu has forgiven me.”
Forgiven her…
A swirl of complex emotions rushed into Xiao Jing’s heart as she looked at her, a wave of sourness rising within. She was absolutely certain she no longer harbored any obsession with Teacher Fu—in fact, she couldn’t avoid her fast enough. She had literally just been worrying about Yu Yan and Teacher Fu arguing. Yet now that they were on the verge of making up, she felt unhappy again. What on earth was she doing?
Xiao Jing was about to be driven mad by her own thoughts.
【Delicious】
With less than a minute left before the bell, Yu Yan felt her phone vibrate, receiving the brief review from Teacher Fu. Up on the podium, Fu Yunqing took another sip of the Tangerine Pear Tea, then gently set the thermos aside, placing it next to her bag as if reclaiming it as her own personal property.
To think she would actually message her first just to say it was delicious. When Fu Yunqing chose to take the initiative, she was incredibly direct.
Having been ignored during the previous two classes, Yu Yan felt slightly unaccustomed to this sudden warmth.
Yu Yan replied with a meme: 【Love youjpg.】【If Fu-jiejie likes it, I’ll make it for you every day】
Yu Yan: 【I really want to make Tangerine Pear Tea for Fu-jiejie every single day】【Waaaahjpg.】
Fu Yunqing: 【Okay~】
Though Teacher Fu was incredibly sweet, her professional dedication was absolute. Once class began, she focused entirely on delivering her lecture and stopped paying attention to her. It didn’t take long for Yu Yan to grow drowsy. With nothing to do, her mind began to wander. Glancing at Xiao Jing next to her, she discovered the girl was also zoning out, her textbook not even open. Who knew what she was actually listening to?
Yu Yan remembered that Xiao Jing was usually a highly diligent student. Poking her, she asked curiously, “Why aren’t you paying attention to the lecture?”
Still feeling irritable because of her, Xiao Jing naturally didn’t give her a pleasant look. “Why do you care?”
Compared to her, Yu Yan was far more compliant, not minding the sharp attitude at all. She said with a good-natured smile, “I was just reminding you. Why so fierce?”
Xiao Jing replied coldly, “I don’t feel like listening.”
It was entirely normal for a college student to tune out during a lecture.
“Oh, all right.” This gave Yu Yan peace of mind to continue bothering her. “Your necklace is so pretty. Where’d you get it? What brand is it?”
“I didn’t buy it anywhere,” Xiao Jing replied. “It was custom-made by a friend for my birthday.”
“Your friend has really great taste.”
“…”
“Your style is amazing too.”
“…”
“You’re really beautiful too. You just look a little fierce when you don’t smile, but you’re still gorgeous.” As Xiao Jing kept her head down, Yu Yan rested her upper body on the desk, looking up at her with a beaming smile.
“…”
Xiao Jing took a deep breath. “What’s any of that got to do with you?”
Yu Yan blinked, looking bewildered. “I’m paying you compliments! Is it a crime to pay someone a compliment?”
“Who needs your compliments?”
Yu Yan pouted, letting out a soft huff. “Fine, I’ll shut up then.”
“…”
With that, Yu Yan sat back up, resting her cheek on her hand as she quietly pretended to be dejected. Her ears, however, were perked up high. After hearing the girl beside her take several deep, hesitant breaths as if wanting to speak but stopping, she finally heard Xiao Jing say, “I have a mountain of necklaces at home. If you like them so much, I can give you one.”
Yu Yan’s eyes curved in a smile as she looked at her. “Really?”
Possessing plenty of wealth, Xiao Jing was utterly dismissive of her skepticism. “Why would I lie about something like that? It’s just a necklace, why would I trick you? Consider it my apology to you.”
Yu Yan appreciated the gesture but found the girl increasingly adorable and easy to tease. “No need~ but thank you.”
Why didn’t she want it anymore? Hadn’t she seemed to want it just a moment ago?
Xiao Jing didn’t lack money, but she understood the principle that money couldn’t buy everything.
Would Yu Yan think she was insulting her? Who would want a secondhand piece someone else had already worn?
Xiao Jing felt a pang of frustration. She was worried Yu Yan might misunderstand, but she had no idea how to explain herself. While she spent ages agonizing over it, Yu Yan suddenly leaned in close again, acting as if nothing had happened. “When do your winter holidays start?”
“…”
“Late January,” Xiao Jing replied.
“That’s so soon! In just a few days, it’ll be Christmas.”
Xiao Jing said coldly, “What’s there to celebrate about Christmas?”
“I don’t know either, just to experience the holiday atmosphere.”
“…”
“Have you never celebrated Christmas in your entire life? Don’t you want to visit Finland and see Santa Claus’s home?”
“I’ve never thought about it. And we don’t get a holiday for Christmas.”
“Oh, but you can always go after graduation.” She truly was relentless. Xiao Jing had never seen anyone so thick-skinned; even when met with such cold indifference, Yu Yan still kept pressing forward.
“…”
“Speaking of which, I’ve really been reminiscing about my university days lately.” Unfortunately, those wonderful times were gone forever. Yu Yan propped up her cheek, her smile exceptionally radiant. “I’m so jealous of you, xuemei9.”
Xuemei?
Xiao Jing couldn’t quite accept this form of address. For some reason, she found the reality of being younger than Yu Yan particularly hard to stomach.
“Don’t call me that,” she objected.
“Why? Don’t tell me you’re older than me? Let’s see… you’re a junior now? Twenty? Twenty-one? In that case…” Yu Yan did the math. “I’m a good three or four years older than you. You really ought to call me jiejie.”
Having always been around jie in the past, Yu Yan rarely had the chance to be a jie herself. Feeling a spark of excitement, she nudged Xiao Jing. “Call me jiejie.”
Xiao Jing pressed her lips together, ignoring her.
Yu Yan watched her closely, noticing that her ears had flushed red.
Making someone blush filled her with sheer delight. Taking it a step further, she lowered her voice and coaxed with a spoiled whine, “Come on, please? I really want someone to call me jiejie.”
“…”
“Pretty please? No one has ever called me jiejie before.”
“…”
“Consider it making amends for driving me to tears. Is calling me jiejie really too much to ask? You’re being so insincere.”
“…”
“Hmm?”
“…”
“Xuemei?”
Xiao Jing took a sharp breath, unable to take it anymore, her entire neck burning red.
Yu Yan stifled her giggles, finally stopping her teasing.
“Alright, alright, I’m just joking.”
She nudged her again. “Don’t be mad~”
“…”
Yu Yan no longer felt bored at all. With Xiao Jing by her side, regardless of whether the girl was truly angry or not, she found her thoroughly entertaining. She kept coaxing her into conversation, chatting about this and that. Though Xiao Jing never took the initiative, she still huffed and responded to every single sentence, relieving Yu Yan’s boredom. Of course, the only exception was calling her jiejie—that, Xiao Jing absolutely refused to answer.
During the ten-minute break between classes, many students got up to stretch or head to the restroom. Fu Yunqing sat on the wooden chair beside the podium, holding the thermos in her hands. After taking a couple of sips of the sweet, soothing Tangerine Pear Tea, she raised her eyes to look toward the back rows. Yu Yan was still sprawled across her desk, chatting and laughing merrily with the student beside her.
“Bye-bye~” By the end of the two class periods, Yu Yan had somehow become familiar enough with Xiao Jing to say bye-bye, even though Yu Yan was typically this friendly with almost everyone.
Still, Xiao Jing only offered a frosty response: “Goodbye.”
While everyone else was packing up their things to leave, Yu Yan remained rooted in her seat, showing absolutely none of the typical student urgency to rush off for a meal. She waited until the classroom had gradually emptied and the teacher on the podium had finished packing her bags before finally rising from her seat and jogging up to the front—now showing quite a bit of urgency.
“Teacher Fu~” Standing beside the podium with her hands tucked behind her back, she beamed at Fu Yunqing, looking for all the world like an innocent student. Then, she suddenly produced a pink rose from behind her back—though perhaps a student with rather special designs on her teacher.
Bold and passionate, she was the rose growing towards the sun.
Fu Yunqing didn’t take the rose immediately.
Looking down at her, the gentle curve of her eyes remained mild, but she exuded a silent pressure that made Yu Yan feel an inexplicable weight.
The author has something to say:
Once our Yanyan grows up, she’ll also be an incredibly flirtatious and highly charismatic jie!
Footnotes
- 'Nèihào' (internal friction) is a popular Chinese psychological slang term representing emotional exhaustion, overthinking, or draining oneself through anxiety.
- The term used here is 'bāguà' (eight trigrams), which is common Chinese slang for gossip, being nosy, or digging into someone's private affairs.
- The character 'zuò' (often translated as high-maintenance or dramatic) refers to someone who deliberately acts up, throws tantrums, or makes unreasonable demands to test their partner's affection.
- 'Lèi shījìn' (tear incontinence) is modern Chinese internet slang describing a physical reaction where one uncontrollably bursts into tears when angry, frustrated, or under intense stress.
- 'Cíjìng' (female competition) is modern Chinese internet and feminist slang describing rivalries between women, typically over a romantic partner or societal approval.
- 'Zhī sān dāng sān' (knowingly acting as a third party) is modern Chinese internet slang for willingly engaging in an affair with a partnered person, acting as a homewrecker.
- The 'vicious female supporting character' (èdú nǚpèi) is a common trope in Chinese web novels, referring to a flat, jealous antagonist who exists solely to create conflict for the leads.
- 'Rè bàolì' (hot violence) is modern Chinese internet slang, playing on 'cold violence' (the silent treatment). It refers to smothering a partner with intense, aggressive affection and high-control demands as a form of reverse psychology.
- 'Xuémèi' is a traditional Chinese academic term used to address a female junior or underclassman at school or university, here used playfully by Yu Yan.
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