The Iceberg Ex-Wife Doesn't Want to Take My Tragic Ending Script (BE Script) - Chapter 6

After leaving the school grounds, the car sped up. The bustling city gradually rose around them. Ning City ten years ago was still under development and construction, vibrant with life everywhere.

Shi Xiu was moving forward, so she couldn’t see Shang Jinyue’s melancholy.

The driver took Shi Xiu into the familiar villa area. Her memories slowly became clear as they approached the unique, mixed-style villa.

The house seemed empty. Shi Xiu pushed the door open, and the whole place felt quiet and deserted. Just inside the living room was a trendy Chinese-style family portrait from that year. Shi Xiu stood behind her father, with her stepmother and stepsister on the other side.

That’s right. Shi Xiu’s family was a blended one. Her father and stepmother each brought a daughter, having just married at the beginning of the year. Shi Xiu was home early today; her stepsister, who attended the same high school and was in the sophomore year, hadn’t returned yet.

Shi Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, she wasn’t prepared for a confrontation with these three. She decisively grabbed a bucket of instant noodles, hobbled back to her room, and shut the door.

Hot steam rose from the noodle bowl, immediately covered by a math textbook Shi Xiu casually grabbed. It had been a long time since she had eaten instant noodles. To be honest, she was quite craving it, especially since she had just added a packet of corn kernels, two slices of cheese, and three crab sticks.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz.”

Just as Shi Xiu was staring at the clock counting down, her phone vibrated. The caller ID showed an overly otaku-style avatar, with the name “Feng Xinyang” bouncing across the screen. Shi Xiu had almost forgotten that Feng Xinyang used to be a Chūnibyō, or ‘Eighth Grader Syndrome’ girl.

Thinking about how Feng Xinyang had been on her mind several times today, Shi Xiu picked up the instant noodles and answered Feng Xinyang’s video call: “Oh, what are you doing calling me today?”

“Don’t even mention it! I’ve been sneezing all day. I almost thought I caught a cold. Then I thought, aren’t they saying sneezing means someone is thinking of you? I immediately thought it must be you, A-Xiu.”

“Tell me, were you thinking of me? Did you suddenly realize you were worried about me going to the art studio alone?”

Feng Xinyang was a chatterbox, and the moment she saw Shi Xiu, she wouldn’t stop talking. Shi Xiu watched her vibrant appearance and finally felt a sense of truly being back at age seventeen. She listened patiently until Feng Xinyang got to the point: “I heard that you almost gave up on your crush today just to be my deskmate.”

“A-Xiu, I’m genuinely touched, really.”

Feng Xinyang’s acting was instant, and she began wiping tears at Shi Xiu. However, there was thunder but no rain. Shi Xiu looked at her dry hand and commented: “If you’re really touched, treat me to a meal when you get back.”

Feng Xinyang put her hands on her hips: “Shi Xiu, don’t go too far! You still owe me a meal. I still remember how you made me go to the art studio alone for Shang Jinyue. Wait until I get back, and see how I settle the score with you!”

“What if I said I don’t like Shang Jinyue anymore? From now on, I am me, and Shang Jinyue is Shang Jinyue?”

Shi Xiu’s voice was light, and the eyes lifted toward the screen looked serious.

Feng Xinyang was stunned. Then, her previously furious eyes instantly lit up. She jumped two meters high on the spot: “A-Xiu, are you kidding me? Did you lose a bet? Or did you hit your head?”

“Sister, you don’t have to go that far just to avoid me beating you up.”

“I’m serious,” Shi Xiu emphasized more seriously amidst Feng Xinyang’s string of questions.

“But why?” Feng Xinyang tilted her head.

There was no overwhelming celebration, no ecstatic joy. Feng Xinyang’s confusion exceeded Shi Xiu’s expectations. Shi Xiu didn’t know if twenty-seven-year-old Feng Xinyang would ask the same question or if her reaction would be the same as her seventeen-year-old self.

But her friend seemed to always understand her. Shi Xiu looked at her old friend, who hadn’t changed much over the years, and suddenly had a lot to tell her. But the words got stuck in her throat. She couldn’t tell seventeen-year-old Feng Xinyang her twenty-seven-year-old story; Feng Xinyang wouldn’t understand.

But perhaps Feng Xinyang could understand.

“There’s no particular reason. I just feel it’s not worth giving up ten years of my life for one person,” Shi Xiu’s voice was low, conveying her emotion across the screen.

Feng Xinyang had put on her headphones just before Shi Xiu confessed her true feelings. So, the sentence Shi Xiu spoke, “Why can’t I be myself first?” exploded in Feng Xinyang’s ear like fireworks.

“Oh my heavens, you finally understand!”

Feng Xinyang’s eyes were filled with excitement. Her gaze at Shi Xiu was one of great relief that her love-struck friend had finally come to her senses.

“I wasn’t saying you couldn’t sacrifice anything for liking Shang Jinyue; after all, you like her and you’re willing, right?”

“But sacrificing something you love for it, I think that’s not worth it.”

“You’re so talented. The art studio teachers keep lamenting your decision to give up this path. I think the impact isn’t just ten years; it could be twenty, thirty years—a lifetime.”

…

“A-Xiu, do you remember when you came to my house during the summer, and my mom told us that you have to be yourself first before you can be someone else’s friend or lover?”

“I’ve always believed people are equal. I shouldn’t be inferior to you just because I like you.”

Once Feng Xinyang started talking, she couldn’t stop. She spoke eloquently, and as Shi Xiu listened, her heart hammered against her chest in rhythm with Feng Xinyang’s words.

Yes, people are equal. Shang Jinyue’s one-sided silence and demands were fundamentally unequal. Why should she have to guess what Shang Jinyue was thinking? Why did she always have to compromise, give up, and sacrifice herself?

Shi Xiu learned this lesson too late. Fortunately, fate had eyes and reset everything to a time when it could still be salvaged.

“Do me a favor.”

“Tell me.”

Shi Xiu made a request to Feng Xinyang. Feng Xinyang agreed without hesitation.

“Could you ask the art studio if they can still accept new students? I want to complete the procedures and return to the studio as soon as possible,” Shi Xiu said firmly. “I want to paint again.”

Shi Xiu didn’t know why, but upon hearing this, Feng Xinyang almost felt like crying. She looked at her friend on the screen as if they had been separated on the path of painting for ten years, not just ten days. This inexplicable emotion made her heart ache, but it also strengthened her previous promise: “Leave it to me! I’ll definitely get you a transfer spot!”

“A-Xiu, you have no idea how often the color teacher talks about you. He keeps saying you have a good sense of color and solid fundamentals. The art studios are competing to get talented seedlings like you!”

Feng Xinyang thumped her chest, promising Shi Xiu and wishing she could drag Shi Xiu to report tomorrow. Shi Xiu didn’t know if Feng Xinyang was exaggerating, but hearing it did make her feel a little more secure.

“However, the studio courses are very intensive now. I’ll send you the daily practice schedule. You should practice at home, too, so you don’t come here and can’t even beat me.”

Feng Xinyang didn’t let Shi Xiu be happy for long, immediately giving her a warning. Shi Xiu nodded, knowing how much effort she would have to put in to make up for her previous naive abandonment.

The background noise on Feng Xinyang’s end was a bit chaotic, making it seem like she was at the art studio. Shi Xiu placed her clean hand next to Feng Xinyang’s paint-stained hand. Her calluses were still there, and her slightly deformed middle finger looked more beautiful than ever.

The sense of emptiness she felt when dragging her suitcase out the door disappeared, step by step, as she talked with Feng Xinyang. Shi Xiu held the hot instant noodles in front of her, feeling that her life was truly beginning.

“Will you be happy for me?”

Shi Xiu finished a bucket of instant noodles and stared blankly at the moon outside the window.

The room suddenly became frighteningly quiet after the call ended. The pitch-black night was merging with the glass, swallowing the person inside. Even as Shi Xiu passionately embraced her new life, the ten years that had yet to happen in this timeline hadn’t vanished.

She couldn’t let go. If she just forgot about it so easily, wouldn’t it make her ten years of affection seem too shallow?

Shi Xiu twirled the glass cup on the table, listening to the grating sound it made. Her own sneering laughter interspersed with it. Serves me right.

The moon quietly watched the girl by the window, seeing her hand gripping the glass cup tremble uncontrollably. Shi Xiu had removed the person originally etched into her life, and the emptiness in her heart needed to be filled. The withdrawal symptoms were more severe than any alcohol. It clawed at Shi Xiu’s throat, repeatedly playing her past with Shang Jinyue in her mind. Their intimacy, set against the backdrop of the night, occupied most of her memories.

It was no longer knowing the taste. It was drilling into the bone marrow, causing agonizing pain.

But Shi Xiu was more stubborn than anyone. She forcefully suppressed the feeling, blocking it, discarding it, intentionally not allowing herself to feel the pain. Even her tears had nowhere to go, collecting inside her body, threatening to drown her.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz.”

Just then, her phone rang again with an incoming video call. Shi Xiu instinctively thought it was Feng Xinyang. She urgently needed a distraction now. The look of pain was upside down, contorted into a smile, and she answered enthusiastically: “I knew you missed me! Tell me, what’s up?”

“I’m just calling to ask how your ankle injury is.”

The moment Shi Xiu’s enthusiastic voice dropped, a cold, clear explanation came from the other side.

Shi Xiu paused, staring intently at the screen. Shang Jinyue’s signature cold face appeared on her phone, seemingly trying to clarify her opening statement.

Tonight was exceptionally quiet, just like every past night Shi Xiu spent alone at home. Shi Xiu never expected Shang Jinyue to call her voluntarily. However, Shi Xiu clearly knew that her pain belonged to her and had nothing to do with Shang Jinyue. It wouldn’t intensify with Shang Jinyue’s absence, nor would it be relieved by her presence.

Heartbreak is a very personal thing. She had chosen not to love her anymore. So, the best thing was to avoid even the slightest misunderstanding between them.

Shi Xiu’s eyes turned cold, and she addressed the recent blunder without hesitation: “Don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t talking to you.”

The wind by the window suddenly quieted, making Shi Xiu’s words sound particularly distant. The stark contrast between the enthusiasm when she answered the call and her current coldness made it hard for Shang Jinyue not to wonder who Shi Xiu had mistaken her for, prompting her to probe: “Was it Feng Xinyang?”

Shi Xiu narrowed her eyes, her tone distant: “That’s my privacy.”

Author’s Note:

Oi, guess if our Human-Machine Miss (Shang Jinyue) is also reborn, or not? OvO