A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex - Chapter 24

The heavy snow outside showed no sign of stopping, the streetlights casting chaotic, refracted shadows. Luo Mijin clutched the takeout bag tightly in her hand, at a loss over Rong Qingyao’s invitation.

She couldn’t help but overthink Rong Qingyao’s actions. What if they could mend their broken relationship…

No. Luo Mijin painfully suppressed such baseless thoughts.

The moment she recalled what Rong Qingyao had said that day, the sharp pain surged through her again and again.

She couldn’t bear it. The only remedy was not to think about it at all.

Don’t delude yourself, she warned herself silently.

“You don’t look well. Come in for a cup of hot coffee and wait until the snow eases up,” Rong Qingyao said, her gaze indifferent, like a distant, cold star.

Sitting on the soft leather sofa, Luo Mijin stared blankly before realizing she had actually stepped over the threshold and entered Rong Qingyao’s home.

The woman took her windbreaker and hung it on the coat rack by the fireplace. She was only wearing a white knitted cardigan.

The air was filled with the snow-like scent she knew so well soft and clean, enough to make her eyes sting.

This shouldn’t be happening.

But she knew she was afraid. They had never truly said goodbye, only broken up abruptly without warning.

Perhaps it was because she knew it was beyond repair, that the past could never be reclaimed, that she desperately sought closeness, doing futile things just to prove that what they once had wasn’t an illusion to convince herself that she still had some faint connection to the past.

What was this called? A trapped beast’s struggle.

Like a parched plant begging for a drop of dew, as long as the rain hadn’t completely stopped, she wouldn’t lose all hope. She could still cling to that sliver of longing, someone to remember, to secretly yearn for.

As long as nothing was said outright, this fruitless love seemed like it would never truly end.

Rong Qingyao returned from the kitchen with two cups of warm coffee. The soft fabric of her clothes carried her fragrance perfectly, gently teasing Luo Mijin’s fragile nerves.

“It’s Panama Geisha beans, lightly roasted with a sweeter profile,” Rong Qingyao set the coffee down, the tear mole by her narrow eyes exuding a quiet warmth. “If you want sugar, you can add it yourself.”

Snapping out of her daze, Luo Mijin glanced around, taking in Rong Qingyao’s elegant and poised demeanor. It seemed she had finally achieved everything she wanted, which brought Luo Mijin a faint sense of relief.

See? Even without Luo Mijin, Rong Qingyao could live just fine.

Noticing Luo Mijin’s distraction, Rong Qingyao lifted her coffee cup, masking the sharpness in her gaze as she guessed the other woman was worrying about that kind and beautiful Miss Lan.

“The snow will probably last all night. This city has always been like this, hasn’t it?”

Hearing this, Luo Mijin slowly turned her head toward the window. The glass greenhouse outside the villa was dusted with snow, looking as beautiful as a fairy tale.

“Your takeout cake, eat it before it loses its freshness.”

“Is your friend coming to pick you up?”

“No, driving would be too dangerous. I told her to stay home.”

“How considerate. It must be nice being your friend,” Rong Qingyao leaned lazily against the sofa, a few loose strands of hair falling gracefully. The thin straps of her robe traced the delicate lines of her collarbones, every movement exuding a languid, captivating charm.

Uncertain of the meaning behind those words, Luo Mijin opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again.

“Drink your coffee before it gets cold,” Rong Qingyao said with darkened eyes, handing over the other cup. Her slender, pale fingers suddenly released, spilling the coffee all over Luo Mijin.

It took several seconds for Luo Mijin to react, flustered as she apologized to Rong Qingyao.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

A faint ache rose in Rong Qingyao’s chest. Lowering her head and biting her lip, she replied softly,
“There’s no need to apologize. It was my fault. Go clean up quickly.”

Seeing Luo Mijin standing frozen like a guilty child, trembling, Rong Qingyao sighed lightly and took her ice-cold hands from behind her back.
“Come with me. It’ll be alright.”

Turning on the warm bathroom light, Rong Qingyao took out laundry detergent and murmured instructions,
“This is the hot water, the dryer is over there press the red button. If you want to shower, there’s a bathtub and a shower. Do you need my help?”

“N-no! I’m fine.”

“Take your time. No rush.”

“Th-thank you.”

“I’ll be right here. Call me if you need anything,” Rong Qingyao whispered gently before closing the door.

Steam filled the room, forcing Luo Mijin to shut her eyes against the liquid threatening to spill.

Her ability to take care of herself had always been poor. It was the same back then, she often made mistakes, broke lightbulbs, couldn’t figure out how to turn on the hot water…

Yet Rong Qingyao patiently taught her, tidied everything up for her.

Standing before the mirror, Luo Mijin even hallucinated the coldly beautiful woman gently buttoning her shirt, chiding her with playful exasperation, “So clumsy.”

Whether it was the warmth of the lights or something else, her eyes burned unbearably.

After struggling for a long time, she still couldn’t wash out the coffee stain or perhaps she didn’t want to.

Knowing that staying any longer would push things toward an unpredictable direction, Luo Mijin hastily finished up and prepared to say goodbye.

Just as she opened the door, she heard the doorbell ring, followed by a foreigner’s heavily accented Chinese calling out, “Qing!”

“M-Miss Rong, I should go now. My friend is waiting for me at home. She’ll worry if I’m too late,” Luo Mijin said haltingly after steadying her breath.

“Miss Lan certainly cares deeply for you,” Rong Qingyao remarked, arms crossed, her smile ambiguous as she gazed at Luo Mijin.

The next moment, Luo Mijin was startled to see a handsome, slender, fashionably dressed almost flamboyant, young man standing beside Rong Qingyao.

When Scott turned and spotted Luo Mijin, his face lit up with delighted surprise.

“Riddle! Never thought I’d see you here, what a happy coincidence!” he exclaimed in broken Chinese.

Luo Mijin couldn’t process it, but her body trembled instinctively, as if something terrible was about to happen.

She could only nod mechanically in response.

“Qing, this is the amazing drummer I’ve been telling you about! I was mesmerized watching her perform at the bar and specially invited her to play at our engagement party.”

“Riddle” was the stage name Luo Mijin used as the drummer for a local band.

Too excited to notice the undercurrents, Scott, aware of his fiancée’s usual cold reticence in private took the initiative to play the hospitable host.

“Riddle, this is my fiancée Qing. You probably know her, a famous actress and investor. We’d be honored if you could perform at our engagement ceremony.”

The cold wind, laced with snow, blew through the window, tousling the hair on Luo Mijin’s forehead. A ringing filled her ears, her breath grew labored, and her fingers clenched tightly.

Past and present intertwined, the threads of memory slicing through her like knives. Luo Mijin stared at the breathtaking yet icy, cruel face before her.

Her ex-girlfriend. Someone else’s fiancée.

“Qing, why is Riddle at your place? Do you two know each other?” Scott noticed Rong Qingyao’s unusually pale complexion, yet her eyes burned with an inferno of emotion.

“I just enjoy the coffee from her shop.”

Scott found this even stranger, since when did Rong Qingyao ever drink coffee?

A smirk curled Rong Qingyao’s lips, the shadows in her eyes deepening as her gaze drifted indifferently over Luo Mijin.

Humans were truly despicable. It didn’t matter how much she suffered, as long as that person suffered more.

With a faint smile, she said to Luo Mijin, “Hello. It’s an honor to have you at my engagement ceremony.”

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