A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex - Chapter 23

Luo Mijin had never been fond of birthdays, the endless stream of guests, the fake smiles, and the noisy small talk formed the backdrop of these occasions.

As Luo Anbang’s granddaughter, celebrating her birthday was mandatory, because this day didn’t truly belong to her but to the entire Luo family.

Yet this birthday was different from all the others. When Luo Mijin spotted Rong Qingyao among her classmates, she silently told herself so.

The woman’s thick, raven-black hair was tied into a ponytail, her cool, stubborn face as clear and sharp as ice and snow. Even the cheap clothes she wore somehow became eye-catching on her.

The invited classmates all wore cheerful smiles, inwardly marveling at the grandeur of the luxurious standalone villa while presenting Luo Mijin with birthday gifts.

Among them were many expensive, glittering presents of considerable value.

Dressed in an elegant, noble gown, Luo Mijin stood politely beside the butler, greeting guests.

From a distance, she looked like a black swan forced to dance.

Rong Qingyao was the last to approach with a gift. Luo Mijin took the heavy bag, a glimmer of light flashing in her eyes.

The housekeeper ushered everyone to the garden for tea while they waited for the banquet to officially begin.

They didn’t get a chance to exchange a single word before one had to head to the beautiful garden filled with roses and peonies, while the other hurried to the other side of the villa to receive the guests her grandfather valued.

Luo Anbang occasionally glanced at her from beneath the crystal chandelier, quietly instructing the servants to keep an eye on Luo Mijin. When he saw her obediently listening to the elders’ conversations, a satisfied smile would appear on his face.

The Luo family didn’t need her they needed a refined doll, Luo Mijin thought.

Once all the guests were seated, she endured the discomfort to cut the cake. After accepting the blessings, she fled back to her bedroom like an escape.

She had already hidden Rong Qingyao’s gift under her bed, a bag of honey mustard-flavored fried chicken, paired with a lemon-slice-topped cola.

She never expected that an offhand remark months ago about craving fried chicken would be remembered by Rong Qingyao.

The chicken had gone cold, and the cola’s fizz had vanished, but their taste was infinitely better than the three-tiered cream cake beneath the chandelier.

After just five minutes, Luo Mijin hurried back to the banquet, resuming her role as the doll her grandfather desired.

“Little Mijin, is that girl your classmate?” A suited uncle stopped her, pointing at Rong Qingyao, who stood quietly and beautifully among the hydrangeas and roses.

The slice of birthday cake assigned to her remained untouched, clearly uneaten.

Luo Mijin pressed her lips together and answered cautiously, “She’s a senior, a little older than me.”

“I just thought she looked familiar. Over a decade ago, the newspapers reported that a little girl’s mother committed suicide on her birthday. A few days later, she was cast by some production team to act out a happy birthday scene in a TV drama and she performed it brilliantly. What an ironic piece of news.”

Luo Mijin’s mind stalled, like a poorly lubricated gear grinding unpleasantly under pressure.

She couldn’t understand how these adults could speak of such a thing as if it were mere gossip.

“Doesn’t she resemble that family, the Cens…” The uncle turned to whisper to another adult.

The group of adults chatted merrily, their conversation peppered with terms like “illegitimate child” and “stepmother” when they got carried away.

Luo Mijin frowned at them, but they mistook it as her expecting birthday wishes and compliments.

“Mijin, you really should spend less time with people like that.”

“Indeed, the Luo family’s child has a bright future ahead.”

Ignoring their flattery, Luo Mijin walked away without a word.

Eventually, she found Rong Qingyao by a red rose bush in the courtyard. “Senior, I really like the birthday gift you gave me,” she said. “Thank you for remembering.”

She thought to herself that in this world, no one but Rong Qingyao would remember the things she’d said.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Today, Rong Qingyao spoke even less than usual, carrying a quiet, melancholic beauty. She gazed at Luo Mijin in silence, occasionally smiling, occasionally wordless.

Bizarre, pessimistic thoughts kept surfacing in her mind would there even be another chance to meet this person again?

Most likely not. And there shouldn’t be.

“Senior, don’t you think this place feels like a birdcage?” Luo Mijin leaned against the wall, looking up at the sky before glancing at the ornate wrought-iron railings surrounding them.

“Why do you say that?”

“They don’t want me to know the world,” Luo Mijin murmured, her bright eyes fixed on Rong Qingyao with a dazed yet focused intensity, as if trying to understand the world itself. “Senior Qingyao, has anyone ever told you your hair looks like a spirit-summoning banner?”

Rong Qingyao laughed at that, the aloof chill around her dissipating somewhat, her gaze softening like spring blossoms.

In truth, she was radiant yet distant, like a glowing fluorescent stick brilliant to behold but cold to the touch.

Yet she fulfilled all of Luo Mijin’s fantasies of dazzling brilliance.

“Junior, do you still want to hear about me?”

Standing in the opulent solemnity of Luo Mijin’s villa, Rong Qingyao became acutely aware of the gap between them. This awareness urged her to make a clean, final farewell.

Twenty years of poverty and hardship had shaped her into a solitary wilderness, yet Luo Mijin had nurtured within her a surge of roses.

But she knew these roses could never survive, they were destined to wither inside her.

“Mm, but I have a gift for you too.”

“It’s not a complicated story, really,” Rong Qingyao said, her back turned to Luo Mijin, her sharp, cold features narrating in an even tone. “I grew up in a small mountain village full of jujube trees. I was an illegitimate child. Without a father and with such a shameful background, everyone looked down on our family.”

“I used to fantasize that my father was some great hero who would return one day to protect my mother and me. Then, on one birthday, a man claiming to be my father came to see me. He brought an enormous cake and had his secretary take me out to play.”

The cake was huge, its cream fragrant and sweet.

Rong Qingyao’s voice was so calm it hardly sounded like she was talking about herself. “When I got home, my mother had killed herself.”

Her lashes lowered, her beautiful face glowing under the light, veiled in mist.

“That’s all. Do you still want to give me that gift?”

The story, told in so few words, carried too much anguish. Luo Mijin didn’t know what to say.

Perhaps nothing would make a difference anyway.

Seeing Luo Mijin remain silent for so long, Rong Qingyao softly wished her a happy birthday once more and turned to leave.

“Senior, when we play chess from now on, you can keep this black stone with you. The Chess God will bless you to win against me.”

Gazing at Luo Mijin’s innocent and sunny smile, Rong Qingyao turned back in surprise, her expression dazed. It took her a moment before she carefully tucked the chess piece into her embrace.

But she knew there would be no future.

“Alright.”

Another stretch of silence followed.

“Senior Qingyao, you don’t have to do this,” Luo Mijin’s voice was soft, as roses climbed upward beside her, their mysterious fragrance filling the air.

“What?”

“You’re tired of everything, yet you force yourself to fit in, to pretend you care,” Luo Mijin’s words were blunt and fervent, carrying the fearless honesty of youth. “But with me, you can just be yourself.”

She spoke loudly, as solemnly as if making a vow.

“I’ll hate what you hate, and I’ll learn to love what you love.”

In the warm breeze, a gentle, clean scent softly permeated the air.

“I understand. Thank you,” Rong Qingyao looked deeply at Luo Mijin, not angry at having her cold core seen through, but filled with a joy that had nowhere to land like a ship adrift for too long finally finding harbor.

She finally advised, “Junior, in the future,  try to be happier.”

“Senior, I know today is also your…”

Luo Mijin wanted to say more, but was interrupted by her grandfather calling from the villa.

“Mijin, have you forgotten all your banquet manners? Hiding in the garden when guests are leaving, what kind of behavior is that?”

“Yes, Grandfather,” Luo Mijin reluctantly turned back, glancing repeatedly at Rong Qingyao, her eyes brimming with deep longing.

Luo Anbang stood on the ornate balcony, his gaze sweeping over Rong Qingyao for less than a second but it was enough for her to see the scrutiny and disdain in his eyes.

As the banquet wound down, after Luo Mijin bid farewell to a few important guests, Luo Anbang urged her upstairs to rest.

“Grandfather, I still want to talk to my classmates.”

“Which one?”

Sensing danger, Luo Mijin quickly amended, “I wanted to ask our class monitor about the group assignment.”

“You can ask at school. You’d best not associate with unsavory characters, I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”

The housekeeper and secretary had already gestured for Luo Mijin to return to her room.

In the garden, Rong Qingyao didn’t leave immediately. Luo Mijin’s lingering look had unsettled her; she wondered what the girl had wanted to say.

She kept opening and closing her game console screen, checking for messages from Electric Sheep, until the Luo family’s housekeeper politely reminded her that the guests had nearly all departed.

Apologizing, she followed the path indicated to leave.

The night breeze was cool. As she walked, she laughed at herself for overthinking, having the game console, the chess piece, and so many experiences was already tremendous luck.

In the moonlit darkness, she heard strange sounds behind her.

Turning, she saw Luo Mijin descending the ivy-covered wall like a fairy-tale princess before sprinting toward her.

“Senior,” Luo Mijin panted, her silver hair gleaming like sunlight under the moon’s glow. “Let’s go to the bar to see the cats and dogs, and play some games?”

Rong Qingyao was utterly bewildered. She couldn’t understand why Luo Mijin would risk breaking her legs to come down for this?

The truth was, she’d already made it clear they were from different worlds, and after this brief encounter, they should know to let go.

“This is too dangerous.”

“Not at all, senior. I’m an electronic sheep that can scale walls and leap rooftops.” Luo Mijin’s smile was radiant and warm.

“I know today is your birthday.”

“I know you don’t like celebrating birthdays.”

“So, from now on, please let me spend them with you.”

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