A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex - Chapter 31.2

On the clean, neatly made bed, Luo Mijin had one hand stretched out from under the blanket, her brows tightly furrowed from the high fever.

Plugging in the heating pad to warm it up, Rong Qingyao returned to the bedside and sat down, unable to resist gripping Luo Mijin’s hand, the one not hooked up to an IV.

The night passed slowly in silence and worry. Nurses came in periodically to change Luo Mijin’s IV drip, and Rong Qingyao reheated the heating pad several times to keep her hands warm.

By dawn, the anxiety and desolation in her heart had only grown. Luo Mijin would wake soon, and no matter how unwilling she was to leave, she had no choice.

Like Cinderella forced to flee the prince at midnight, she knew the consequences of staying, she’d be exposed, stripped of the borrowed time she had stolen.

Who was she to occupy a place that was never hers to begin with?

Seizing the moment when a nurse entered for rounds, Rong Qingyao stood and gently called out to her.

“Excuse me, could I borrow your phone? I need to make a call.”

After a sleepless night, the woman’s eyes were bloodshot, her face pale and delicate under the light, looking even more fragile than usual.

The nurse, who had been jotting down the patient’s vitals, glanced up at Rong Qingyao and immediately brightened, blushing as she asked,

“You—you’re… you’re Rong Qingyao!”

The woman lowered her dark lashes, pressing a slender finger to her lips in a “shh” gesture. “Quietly, please. I’m just here accompanying a friend.”

“I know, I know! I’ll call this Miss Yan right away,” the nurse said, scribbling down the number with visible excitement. “Um… could I get your autograph?”

“Of course,” Rong Qingyao replied, her gaze flickering briefly to Luo Mijin, still unconscious on the bed, as she carefully masked the emotions in her heart.

Once the call connected, the nurse handed the phone to Rong Qingyao.

“Jinhuan, bring my spare phone and come pick me up at the hospital,” Rong Qingyao said succinctly.

Bai Jinhuan detected the urgency in her tone and didn’t ask questions, simply agreeing before hanging up to head straight to the hospital.

After deleting the call history, Rong Qingyao returned the phone to the nurse with a quiet word of thanks.

Seeing that Rong Qingyao was preparing to leave, the nurse eagerly added,

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your friend. When she wakes up, I’ll let her know you visited.”

Rong Qingyao’s tall, elegant figure paused for a long moment before she finally turned back, her expression calm and detached as she instructed,

“No need to tell her I was here directly. If she asks, just say it was a friend.”

Rong Qingyao couldn’t shake the thought, what if Luo Mijin, upon learning it was her who had brought her to the hospital, chose to leave just to avoid seeing her again?

The young nurse was momentarily confused. Rong Qingyao’s concern for the patient had been so evident, so why was she being so distant now?

But the power of idol worship was overwhelming. Before she could ponder the reasons behind this, she was utterly dazzled by Rong Qingyao’s bare-faced beauty at such close proximity.

“Oh, I get it, doing good deeds without leaving a name,” the nurse quickly said. “But I’m about to go on leave, so I might not be around when your friend wakes up.”

“How about this? You take care of her for two more days, and I’ll pay you five times your overtime rate.”

“Could I also get a signed physical copy of one of your movies?”

“Sure, I’ll have my assistant bring it to you later.”

“Great! Actually, I think I’ve seen your friend before. Does she often play drums at Tinkle Tea Bar? That silver hair of hers is unforgettable.”

Hearing this, Rong Qingyao smiled slightly, politely thanked her, and left the hospital, leaving the starstruck nurse admiring the autograph.

After waiting downstairs for fifteen minutes, Bai Jinhuai arrived with a fully charged phone.

“Why are you at the hospital so early? Are you sick, or is someone else?”

“Luo Mijin,” Rong Qingyao replied flatly.

Bai Jinhuai covered her face. “What a fate. Are you never going to escape her in this lifetime?”

“Drive to the nearest home,” Rong Qingyao said, getting into the passenger seat and opening her phone to order fresh ingredients from a high-end supermarket.

“Fine, fine, I’ll drive right away. Why didn’t you call Yansi?”

“She’s on a business trip.”

“So you’re just using me as your errand girl, huh? I didn’t expect you two to progress so quickly, already at the stage of taking care of each other when sick. Are you getting back together?”

Rong Qingyao, still looking at her phone, answered tersely, “No.”

“You’re really terrible at this. You should seize this opportunity,” Bai Jinhuai said, braking abruptly as she parked the car in the underground garage.

The two took the elevator to the third floor of the luxury apartment.

This property belonged to the Cen family, but Rong Qingyao had acquired it through some maneuvering in her first year.

The view was excellent, and during the renovation, she had specifically added a rooftop balcony for stargazing.

However, due to her busy schedule, mostly filming domestically, she only visited once or twice a month and didn’t live there for convenience.

Fortunately, the kitchen was fully equipped, complete with an oven and an air fryer.

Washing the delivered ingredients one by one, Rong Qingyao expertly handled the knife, cutting the cod into bite-sized pieces for steaming, despite not having cooked in a long time.

Bai Jinhuai sat nearby, dumbfounded, as if she didn’t recognize Rong Qingyao at all.

“Find a physical copy of one of my movies,” Rong Qingyao said while washing vegetables.

“Which one?”

Only then did Rong Qingyao realize the nurse hadn’t specified which movie. After a moment’s thought, she sighed.

“Bring the one from my debut.”

“Got it, I’ll go now.”

Rong Qingyao remembered Luo Mijin was a picky eater, especially when sick, with little appetite and no tolerance for greasy food.

The washed rice and barley simmered slowly in a clay pot, with a few slices of dried tangerine peel added at the right time to thicken the porridge.

Several types of greens were blanched, then lightly drizzled with oil to preserve their color, seasoned with just a touch of soy sauce and fish sauce for a light, refreshing taste.

By the time Bai Jinhui woke from another nap and emerged, he saw several dishes laid out on the redwood dining table of the luxury apartment, each carefully stored in blue-and-white porcelain thermal containers.

There was steamed cod, barley and rice porridge, stir-fried shrimp with yam, and a shimmering pear soup.

She stared at the dishes on the table, the enticing aroma making her hungry stomach twitch. “Qingyao, are you some kind of magical house fairy? You cooked all this in just two hours? We should just have you handle all our gathering meals from now on.”

As long-time friends, Bai Jinhuai had no idea the woman could cook and cook so well at that. The dishes were a feast for the eyes and nose, perfectly balanced in color, aroma, and taste. With a few more years of culinary training, she could definitely become a master chef.

“Deliver these dishes to Room 702 in the inpatient department of Central Hospital. The sooner, the better.”

“Why me? Shouldn’t you go yourself?”

“I have a company meeting soon. There’s a very kind nurse at the hospital who promised to look after her. Just hand the food to the nurse,” Rong Qingyao said distractedly as she packed the meals. “And make sure Luo Mijin eats everything.”

“If the nurse asks who sent the food, I should tell the truth, right?”

After a brief silence, Rong Qingyao steadied herself against the table to fight off a wave of dizziness from exhaustion. “Yes, you can tell the truth. But wait outside the room to ensure Luo Mijin doesn’t run off before I get there.”

“That’s a bit excessive, isn’t it? Even if your ex finds out you sent her food, she wouldn’t just bolt.”

Rong Qingyao lowered her eyes, long lashes casting a faint shadow. “Let’s hope not.”

“If she does run, maybe you shouldn’t chase her. It’s not worth it.”

Rong Qingyao shot Bai Jinhuai a cold glare.

Bai Jinhuai was burning with curiosity about Rong Qingyao and Luo Mijin’s past. What on earth had driven them to this state?

Suddenly, she remembered the first time she met Rong Qingyao.

Back then, she was just a clumsy, carefree freshman entering university. Before even reaching the dorm, she’d heard rumors that her roommate was the illegitimate daughter of the Cen family, who had lived in obscurity before crawling back to the family for power and status.

Before meeting her, Bai Jinhuai had assumed such a person would be difficult to get along with.

During a lunch break, she secretly complained to old classmates, sure, the new roommate was stunningly beautiful and academically brilliant, but cold as ice, never smiling, meticulous to the point of obsession in lab work and reports, rigid and boring, never joining gatherings. She was especially fanatical about maintaining absolute silence in study and work environments, no loud noises when opening the lab door, even placing folded towels in corners for sound absorption, which had to remain spotlessly clean.

Later, while filming, Rong Qingyao kept to herself except for necessary interactions, leaving Bai Jinhuai to handle all the social butterflies. At the time, Bai Jinhuai was certain they’d argue enough to demand a room change within a year.

Yet surprisingly, despite her seemingly unapproachable demeanor, Rong Qingyao patiently tolerated Bai Jinhuai’s mistakes, taught her workplace etiquette, offered generous benefits, and occasionally helped in daily life. It was strange, someone who could clearly choose more capable, less troublesome friends still stubbornly kept her around.

Then one day, noticing the same old but clean towel still being used to cushion the wall corner, Bai Jinhuai suddenly realized Rong Qingyao was someone who clung fiercely to the past. This nostalgia was both her strength and her weakness. Bai Jinhuai had a gut feeling Rong Qingyao would one day be trapped by that “past.”

“What if your ex’s new lover is there when I arrive at the hospital?”

Rong Qingyao narrowed her eyes slightly. “Call me immediately.”

**

At around three in the afternoon, Luo Mijin woke from her high fever in an extremely weakened state, her thoughts sluggish, her body drained of strength.

Her vision filled with a snow-white ceiling and fluorescent lights, not the aged pendant lamp from her attic loft.

The unfamiliar surroundings put her on high alert, but the moment she turned her head, dizziness washed over her, nauseating in its intensity.

“Little drummer, you’re awake?” The nurse on duty, watching TV, turned with a warm smile at the sound of movement. “Feeling any better?”

Last night’s events were blank and hazy. Luo Mijin only remembered agreeing to a video call with Mr. Scott before her memory dissolved into fragments.

“What happened? Is this a hospital?”

She sat up and noticed a bouquet of Scottish green roses by the bedside,their delicate, fresh green hue like a clear pool of water, breaking through the dull monotony of the hospital room.

“You had an allergic shock from eating something wrong, then your wound got infected and caused the fever. It was your friend who found you and brought you here.”

“My friend?”

Luo Mijin sat upright in bed, gazing through the pale blue blinds. The sunset’s glow filtered through the slats, surrounding her like a prism.

In her blue-and-white-checkered hospital gown, she looked almost ethereal.

“That’s right. You have quite a few friends, and they’re all very concerned about you. They just stepped out to reheat some food they’ll be back soon.”

“I… have many friends?”

The nurse, taking in Luo Mijin’s frail state, felt a pang of sympathy. “Oh, and your friends brought plenty of meals for you. You should eat while it’s still warm. One of them came looking for you last night in the middle of a snowstorm, covered in snow, frantic and disheveled.”

“My friend… do you know their names?”

Recalling Rong Qingyao’s instructions from that morning, the nurse tactfully replied, “One of them is surnamed Lan. Another will be here shortly.”

Lan Mingyu… She had helped her too much. Guilt weighed heavier in Luo Mijin’s heart, leaving her unsure how to repay her.

The nurse pointed to the warm milk on the bedside table. “This was brought by Miss Lan. She said you always drink a cup when you wake up.”

Luo Mijin nodded and reached for her phone to call Lan Mingyu, just as the door to the ward creaked open.

Without thinking, she said,

“Mingyu, really, I’m fine. You should go to the café.”

“Lan Mingyu is still parking in the garage.”

Luo Mijin looked up to see a woman in a black trench coat standing at the doorway, her gaze fixed intently on her.

As Luo Mijin’s expression shifted from surprise to indifference, the flames of bitterness and resentment in Rong Qingyao’s heart flared instantly.

“What, you really don’t want to see me?”

“No. But I don’t need your care. You can go attend to your work.” Luo Mijin lowered her eyes. The moment she caught the woman’s crisp, clean fragrance, that suffocating feeling began to spread.

Why did this person keep appearing precisely when she least wanted to face her?

“Scott’s food caused your allergic shock. It’s only natural I’d come to take care of you.”

Luo Mijin curled her lips in what might have been a sneer, but numbness left her without the energy for even that.

“Thank you for your kindness, but I don’t need your care. Mingyu is enough for me.”

Rong Qingyao’s pitch-black eyes seemed soaked in icy rain, sharp and intimidating. “Miss Lan isn’t a doctor.”

Originally, Rong Qingyao had intended to discuss matters gently with Luo Mijin, but jealousy had nearly burned away her reason.

“To express my apology, I’ve decided to transfer you to a private hospital with better medical facilities.”

Lan Mingyu, who had just come up from the garage, heard Rong Qingyao’s almost coercive words before she even approached.

“Miss Rong, what do you mean by that?” she demanded, rushing forward.

Thinking of Luo Mijin’s completely different attitude toward her when ill versus when sober, Rong Qingyao allowed that cold, controlling desire to surge through her chest.

“Are you trying to force Luoluo to stay by your side?”

Rong Qingyao’s faint smile and calm, elegant demeanor seemed like silent confirmation.

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