Why Did My Ex-Wife’S Aunt Treat Me Like That? Chapter 8
byChapter 8 She Loves Me So Much.
After handling the matters at hand, Yuan Yi returned to the dorm to pack her things.
She needed to move everything to her single dorm room. By dedicating herself fully to perfecting this game project, she would be more confident when reporting to Peng Cheng.
As soon as she stepped through the door, her phone received a text message confirming a bank transfer. The account name this time was He Xun.
He was quite trustworthy.
Now that the balance in her phone had suddenly surged and she had changed her bank card password, there was no way Sun Xueyu could get money from her online.
But she wasn’t in a good mood.
Staring at the pinned chat box named “Ripple” on her phone, Yuan Yi spaced out for a moment, then stopped her presumptuous fingers from typing.
She wanted to say to Peng Cheng: Director Cheng, would it be convenient for me to go with you to inspect the car tomorrow?
Presumptuous, too presumptuous. She was one question away from being blocked by Peng Cheng.
Yuan Yi had no choice but to visit her advisor’s office again. After showing the modeling results from the past two nights, Wu Ting finally became amiable and told her to keep up the good work.
Yuan Yi certainly would.
She was currently waiting for an opportunity.
Li Yujun had already revealed to her when she was at the company before that a new investor had taken an interest in her project and was preparing to collaborate on developing it into a larger game.
It was just that the investor was extremely busy and hadn’t yet had a chance to sit down and talk with her.
Qi Sheng, of course, intended for Yuan Yi to handle the negotiations. As the game’s creator, only she truly understood how to integrate new elements later on.
Yuan Yi already knew that this investor was Peng Cheng, so her efforts hadn’t stopped since returning; she continued working even if it meant staying up late.
It was impossible to create 3D models for ten cats all at once, so Yuan Yi had to find another method. She first drew sketches for the remaining models she didn’t have time to complete, as well as some scenes she thought could be used in the game later, compiling them into a booklet.
During this week, Yuan Yi also found an agent to list her small apartment for an urgent sale.
She had bought it for 180,000 yuan with a loan, which Yuan Yi had frantically paid off through part-time jobs during college. Now it had appreciated and could sell for 250,000 yuan. Yuan Yi claimed she had bought it for 300,000 yuan and was willing to drop the price to 200,000 yuan for a quick sale.
The agent said the response was good, and people were constantly asking to view the apartment.
She wasn’t worried at all about what Sun Xueyu might try to do to her.
Sun Xueyu must have other money, so Yuan Yi had to push her to the brink.
During this time, Yuan Yi paid close attention to He Xun’s social media posts.
That person couldn’t hide anything. After helping Peng Cheng retrieve her car that day, He Xun even posted a photo on his feed. It was clearly a bid for praise.
Got Aunt’s car back, perfectly revived! Happy!
Yuan Yi compared the car in the photo with the one in her memory and confirmed it was the same vehicle.
Part of Peng Cheng’s schedule was public, and part was private. Yuan Yi had searched but couldn’t find which car Peng Cheng was using during this period.
She could only wait for an opportunity, waiting for a chance to talk more with Peng Cheng under the guise of discussing the collaboration.
The very next day, as soon as she arrived at the company, Li Yujun looked terrible and called her into the office.
“The person meeting with the investor tomorrow has been changed,” Li Yujun pinched the space between her eyebrows. “Send all the materials you need to present to Wei Xu today.”
Yuan Yi didn’t ask anything, only saying, “Can you let me know where they are having dinner? I’d like to go smell the food.”
Li Yujun had expected Yuan Yi to make a scene, or show resentment, or fight for herself.
She hadn’t expected such a simple request.
Only now did Li Yujun slowly realize that Yuan Yi seemed very different from before.
Yuan Yi handed over the data on her computer to Wei Xu, but she kept her hand-drawn drafts.
Wei Xu took the materials and rolled them into a tight scroll, tapping the thick paper roll on the desk. “Are you trying to annoy me? I heard you broke up with Little Director He. Should I congratulate you or feel sorry for you?”
Yuan Yi was unmoved by Wei Xu’s provocation.
“I wish you a pleasant time negotiating with the investor. Don’t mess up the project.”
Wei Xu scoffed, slapping the roll of documents against Yuan Yi’s face. “Don’t blame me. Who told you that your backer is gone? Who’s going to give you face now? Yuan Yi, your mother is truly embarrassing. Someone like you, who damages the company’s image, shouldn’t even be here. You might as well resign yourself.”
Yuan Yi turned and left.
She didn’t go to the company in the afternoon; she had already completed her required internship hours for the day, and the company didn’t enforce attendance.
Before going to sleep, Yuan Yi only checked the weather for the next day.
A cold snap was coming, with temperatures dropping ten degrees.
It would be even colder at night.
This day should have been irrelevant to her, but Yuan Yi walked out the door at six o’clock.
From Li Yujun, she already knew where Peng Cheng would be having dinner with the company staff. Coincidentally, it was only a ten-minute walk from here.
Very close.
She decided to take a walk and coincidentally run into Peng Cheng.
After the matter was settled, she could even eat some hot spicy soup outside before going back. That would be truly wonderful.
The working people on the street hadn’t expected the temperature to drop so quickly. They were all hugging themselves, rushing against the wind into the subway station, constantly brushing past Yuan Yi.
Peng Cheng was sitting in the car, continuously receiving text messages from He Xun.
He Xun: Really, really, Aunt, I’ve figured everything out. Please don’t deactivate my other cards, I beg you…
He Xun: I’ve been so well-behaved lately, boo-hoo. We’re family, don’t you trust me? You know how Yuan Yi and I got along; you’ve seen how much she loves me, right? She’s just having a temporary tantrum; she hasn’t really broken up with me.
He Xun: She just wants me to spend more time with her. These are all her silly ideas. Before, she used to threaten to kill herself, saying she couldn’t live without me. Sigh, I know she loves me a lot, but I got tired of it. A delicious meal can’t be eaten every day. This time, I’m just teaching her a lesson, nothing else. I didn’t cause her any trouble.
He Xun: You know Yuan Yi’s personality, right? A bit fake. I noticed it the first time she came to our house, but her love for me is real, so I let it go.
He Xun: When she calms down, she’ll definitely try hard to win me back. She might even come to you to be a mediator, Aunt, but please don’t agree. We need to really make her work for it this time.
He Xun: Auntie~ You’re the best~ I still want to marry Yuan Yi later. After all, I’m the person she’s loved since she was eighteen, I’m so responsible, right! You must support us then. It’s a deal! You have to give us a wedding gift!
Peng Cheng scanned the messages, her eyes catching He Xun’s claim about how much she loves me.
She loves me so much.
She is the one who loves me the most.
She would even threaten to kill herself to prove her love for me.
Even if she comes to you to curry favor, it’s because she loves me too much.
It seemed the card deactivation wasn’t severe enough; it hadn’t managed to clear He Xun’s head.
Assistant Nian said, “Director Cheng, the people from Qi Sheng Company have arrived.”
Peng Cheng collected her thoughts. “Mhm.”
“Is the air conditioning temperature alright? Are you feeling unwell again?” Assistant Nian noticed the poor tone in Peng Cheng’s voice.
Peng Cheng: “No need.”
If this chronic ailment could truly be cured by simply raising the temperature, it would be the eighth wonder of the world.
The pain, like ant bites, was ever-present whenever the weather turned cold. She had access to the best medical care, yet she couldn’t cure this persistent illness.
Doctors had hinted delicately: “Director Cheng, perhaps you should consult a psychiatrist?”
Peng Cheng was a smart person; she knew the doctor was implying she had a mental illness.
She was certainly aware of it herself.
The minor chronic illnesses that modern medicine couldn’t cure were all rooted in psychological distress, beyond the reach of medicine. If she didn’t want to get better, no one could help her.
The weather was very cold.
Even sitting inside the warm car, she felt cold.
In such cold weather, everyone just wanted to quickly run indoors to warmth.
She glanced out the window and suddenly saw Yuan Yi struggling to walk along the street, carrying a laptop bag.
She didn’t know what was in the bag today, but it looked exceptionally heavy.
It made Yuan Yi’s steps falter, like an old tortoise carrying a heavy burden.
She wasn’t wearing much—just a regular overcoat, likely with only a short-sleeved shirt underneath. Jeans and sneakers.
Why was she walking outside in such cold weather?
Because the wind was too strong, Yuan Yi was walking against it, making her unable to open her eyes. She stumbled backward two steps, nearly falling, and she didn’t know if she had twisted her ankle. Then she stopped in front of an ice cream shop.
The light from the shop fell into her eyes. In that instant, Peng Cheng even felt she could see the longing in Yuan Yi’s eyes.
She wants to eat ice cream in this cold weather?
She knew Yuan Yi came from a difficult background and had endured a long period of hardship. But after getting together with He Xun, things should have improved significantly.
Peng Cheng thought again of He Xun’s words about how much she loves me, and she frowned.
When you stake your entire life on another person, just as she could easily deactivate He Xun’s cards now, He Xun could also stop supporting Yuan Yi at any time.
Peng Cheng knew that Cat Companion was Yuan Yi’s creation. If this collaboration succeeded, let alone ice cream, Yuan Yi could buy the entire ice cream shop and still have money left over.
He Xun had already given her a heads-up, half-jokingly, half-seriously, asking Peng Cheng to prepare a wedding gift for him.
If He Xun truly married Yuan Yi, then—this collaboration would be her gift.
Knowing Yuan Yi would come to have dinner with her, Peng Cheng hadn’t had the car stop.
But when she walked into the reserved location and found that the person sitting there wasn’t Yuan Yi, her expression immediately darkened.
Outside the ice cream shop.
Yuan Yi was sweating profusely, feeling the blasts of cold air coming from the ice cream parlor.
So hot!
Anyone carrying 300,000 yuan in cash on the street like her would feel hot. She knew it was cold and had stuck warm patches all over herself, only to find it completely unnecessary.
After walking with the heavy load, she was a steaming air conditioner herself.
She really wanted a bite of ice cream to cool down, but she was afraid of messing up her plans. Peng Cheng should be discussing the collaboration with Wei Xu by now, right?
She didn’t know when they would come out. Should she just run up to Peng Cheng and pretend to fall, or tug on Peng Cheng’s sleeve again, or just stage a minor car accident by her car?
Any of those would be fine, as long as she could get into the car with Peng Cheng.
She decided to eat some ice cream first while waiting. Yuan Yi lowered her head in thought, and considering the balance in her bank account, she felt like treating everyone.
She wished she could host a grand feast, inviting everyone she disliked, and killing them one by one after they ate.
Just then, someone opened the door of the ice cream shop for her.
“Thank you,” Yuan Yi replied cheerfully. She looked up, and her eyes froze.
The person who should have been at the dinner table was standing right in front of her, staring into her eyes, and answering, “You’re welcome.”