A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex - Chapter 34.2

Luo Mijin didn’t know how to answer. After all, she’d spent a year or two in complete isolation even if she’d wanted to watch, she couldn’t have. Now, there was indeed some truth to avoiding Rong Qingyao.

“I… suppose you could say that.”

Bai Jinhuai felt a pang of unworthiness for Rong Qingyao and said lazily:

“Well, I think there are some limited edition physical discs in the car that the studio sent. I’ll find them later and give you a few to watch when you go back.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Luo Mijin agreed.

“Miss Luo, have you never followed celebrities before? What kind of life have you been living?” Bai Jinhuai asked with a friendly smile while driving. “Don’t be nervous, I’m just bored and making conversation.”

“My life?” Luo Mijin followed the question into memory.

What surfaced were vast blank spaces, silent towers, the isolated sounds of lectures forming the backdrop of recent years. Further back was an unfinished university era. Her teenage and childhood years weren’t exactly blank, but they were gray nonetheless.

In over twenty years of living, she had pitifully few memories worth treasuring, and even fewer people worth cherishing.

The only colorful memories had turned bittersweet, equal parts pain and joy.

Noticing Luo Mijing’s distant expression, Bai Jinhuai realized she might have touched on something sensitive and quickly turned on the car stereo, asking what music Luo Mijin wanted to hear.

“There’s lots of anime songs here, and albums from the rock band Eve. President Rong listens to them sometimes, though I don’t know if you’d like them.”

Luo Mijin froze. During those few months living together, Rong Qingyao had also loved watching anime and listening to Eve’s rock music.

That this habit had persisted so long perhaps this was the only connection to the past she’d found in Rong Qingyao.

“I like listening to them, I really do,” she said, closing her eyes as they stung unbearably.

“Seems you two share similar hobbies,” Bai Jinhuai remarked casually, stealing a glance at Luo Mijing’s expression. “Quite a coincidence, really.”

“Yeah.” Luo Mijin smiled naturally, the dimples at the corners of her lips visible.

Bai Jinhuai had been observing her the entire ride but couldn’t discern anything, growing increasingly curious about the history between these two.

Who had wronged the other more?

Downtown L City was unbearably congested at night, the car lurching forward in stops and starts. A sudden brake sent several bottles and containers tumbling out from the glove compartment.

Just as Luo Mijin reached to pick them up, Bai Jinhuai beat her to it.

Noticing Luo Mijing’s puzzled look, Bai Jinhuai recalled Rong Qingyao’s instructions and quickly fabricated an excuse: “These are just my vitamins and supplements. Office workers like us are always in some state of suboptimal health, it’s pretty common.”

Luo Mijin nodded understandingly. Most of her café colleagues had minor health issues, and taking medication had become routine for them.

“By the way, I forgot to ask, why don’t you just stay at Rong’s place?” Bai Jinhuai rested her hands on the steering wheel as the traffic worsened. “It’d be so much more convenient, and closer to the hospital too.”

Unable to reveal the real reason, Luo Mijin forced a smile and offered an excuse. “I don’t want to trouble her too much.”

“But she doesn’t mind the trouble,” Bai Jinhuai coughed twice, eager to speak on Rong Qingyao’s behalf. “I really think you should stay there. Like right now, this traffic is exhausting, don’t you think?”

Luo Mijin smiled but said nothing more.

“Miss Luo, do you have any close friends right now? Even Qing, I mean, Rong is about to get engaged,” Bai Jinhuai continued probing.

Luo Mijing’s expression remained blank. “I don’t have many friends.”

“Why is that? Not interested in relationships?”

Luo Mijin was taken aback by Bai Jinhuai’s directness and found herself at a loss for words, lapsing into an awkward silence.

Bai Jinhuai shrugged inwardly, thinking Rong Qingyao was truly something pining to this extent while the other party remained completely indifferent.

Forty minutes later, Bai Jinhuai finally dropped Luo Mijin off at her place and immediately connected her Bluetooth earpiece to call Rong Qingyao.

“Qingyao, I’ve safely delivered your first love home.”

On the other end of the line, Rong Qingyao, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, absently murmured an acknowledgment. The documents on her desk remained untouched on the first page, her face weary.

“Did you take your medicine on time today? The doctor said you need a follow-up this year. I’ve scheduled an appointment for you next week.”

“I’ll take it later.”

“Also,” Bai Jinhuai hesitated but decided to confess her unsolicited advice, “I suggested to your first love that she should just move in with you.”

The woman’s wandering gaze sharpened instantly. “What did she say?”

“Politely declined. Said she didn’t want to inconvenience you.”

Rong Qingyao let out a cold laugh, her emotions indescribable as if she’d suddenly been transported from a warm room to a desolate snowfield.

Thinking of Luo Mijing’s rejection of Lan Mingyu, her heart churned. Yet Luo Mijin had rejected and shut her out in the same way.

No! Luo Mijing’s resistance toward her was even stronger than toward Lan Mingyu…

A sense of helpless frustration washed over her. Often, this powerlessness would transform into seething resentment.

Resentment toward Luo Mijin for so easily ending their relationship, for vanishing without a trace, for reappearing just as effortlessly before her now.

But she didn’t hate herself for still loving Luo Mijing, she simply couldn’t bring herself to hate.

After all, it was someone she loved. What could she possibly blame her for?

Only, the pain didn’t lessen with time.

In truth, when Luo Mijin asked if she wanted to sleep together, she’d felt the impulse to say yes. If Luo Mijin and Lan Mingyu had nothing between them, then why couldn’t she?

Behind the silver-rimmed glasses, a flicker of dark, feverish light danced in her eyes. Rong Qingyao suddenly realized she didn’t always have to be so restrained, she could even cast aside that excessive pride of hers.

How long could she keep watching from her high window, observing the roses she’d planted on the moon through a telescope?

Could she guarantee no one else would pluck them?

“Jinhuai, send more people to keep an eye on Luo Mijing,” Rong Qingyao murmured, her petal-like lips curving into a faint smile. The tear mole at the corner of her eye, paired with her pale, delicate features, gave her an almost sickly appearance.

“You’ve already assigned ten people. Isn’t that enough?”

“No,” Rong Qingyao sighed. “I’m afraid she’ll do something reckless.”

After hanging up, her slender fingers tapped lightly on the desk before she called Scott, engaging in a detailed conversation that lasted nearly an hour.

“You’re playing with my reputation here. What will people think of me? I may be gay, but I have principles, you know.”

“That vintage car you’ve been eyeing, I bought it back from Jinhuai. I can give it to you.”

“My god, you moved so fast. How long have you been scheming this?” Scott couldn’t shake the feeling that Rong Qingyao’s calculating, strategic demeanor sent chills down his spine.

No wonder Bai Jinhuai had always described her as relentlessly obsessive. He hadn’t seen it before her cold, detached exterior had fooled him.

“Not long.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re terrifying. If those admirers of yours, lined up one after another, knew how unhinged you are, they’d probably stop being so infatuated.”

Rong Qingyao adjusted her glasses. “Good.”

Scott: “…”

Madness. Absolute madness.

**

Luo Mijin returned to the small attic she rented, took a hasty bath, and collapsed onto her bed, her gaze hollow.

At some point, Lan Mingyu called to check in on her. After some hesitation, Luo Mijin brought up her intention to resign.

A long silence stretched on the other end before Lan Mingyu forced a laugh and said,

“Can’t we just pretend I never confessed?”

“Mingyu, we’re not kids anymore. And I think this might be better for you. You should meet new people, not stay stuck in place.”

Lan Mingyu instinctively wanted to argue, but her intuition told her it was pointless. She simply smiled faintly. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. But surely you’re free this weekend for coffee and a slice of cake?”

“Of course. We’re still friends.”

“Good. I’ll come find you this Saturday.”

After quitting her job at the café, Luo Mijin spent her days either visiting her sister in the hospital or searching for new work, though “hitting walls” didn’t even begin to describe her situation.

No college degree, an Asian face, communication difficulties, and no standout skills to speak of.

Since she needed to care for her sister frequently, she couldn’t take on jobs with long hours. Instead, she urged her band to increase their performances at bars.

By the time Saturday rolled around and she met Lan Mingyu for their meal, her distraction was so obvious that Lan Mingyu kept glancing at her in concern.

After they finished eating, Lan Mingyu insisted on walking Luo Mijin home, worried about her. The two strolled along the lively streets, slowly making their way to Luo Mijing’s attic.

As a gesture of thanks, Luo Mijin bought them both vanilla ice cream cones along the way.

Little did they know, the sight of these two strolling and chatting on the street was completely captured by the woman sitting in the Bentley.

Rong Qingyao had just attended a business banquet and had drunk quite a bit due to the celebratory atmosphere, her usually pale and clear face now tinged with an intoxicating blush.

Seeing Rong Qingyao’s solemn and gloomy expression, Yan Si drove nervously, cautiously asking:

“President Rong, are we still meeting with Miss Luo? Should we call her first?”

Rong Qingyao’s long lashes lowered, her eyes veiled with a faint mist as she watched the two walking side by side. It felt as if deep pools of spring water were gathering in her heart, ready to boil over.

After waiting a while with no instructions from Rong Qingyao, Yan Si suggested again:

“You’ve had quite a bit to drink today. It would be better to rest early. I can keep an eye on Miss Luo for you nothing is likely happening between her and Miss Lan.”

Rong Qingyao’s profile was hidden in cool shadows, the moonlight draping over her like a sheer veil, desolate and cold.

Watching Luo Mijin and Lan Mingyu chatting happily, Rong Qingyao removed her glasses and put them back on, unable to suppress the restlessness in her heart.

She had indeed said she wouldn’t usually force Luo Mijing, but this clearly exceeded what she defined as “usual.”

At her signal, several bodyguards slowly approached the pair.

“Excuse me, are you Miss Luo?”

The towering black-clad bodyguard stopped in front of Lan Mingyu and Luo Mijing, greeting them politely.

“That’s me. Is there something you need?”

“Our President Rong would like to invite you to her car for a detailed discussion. It’s urgent.”

“Please tell her I don’t want to go live with her,” Luo Mijin replied.

Beside her, Lan Mingyu was instantly shocked. “Luoluo, what are you saying? Rong Qingyao wants you to live with her?”

“Yes.”

With this confirmation, Lan Mingyu grew furious. “If I recall correctly, Rong Qingyao is about to get engaged. Even if she cancels it, as long as Luoluo doesn’t want to, she has no right to demand this.”

Lan Mingyu believed Rong Qingyao was trying to have it both ways unwilling to give up the benefits of the arranged marriage while also trying to win Luo Mijin back.

Trying to have her cake and eat it too? How outrageous. This was clearly bullying.

The bodyguard, like a well-trained robot, neither answered nor denied, simply carrying out orders.

“Miss Luo, President Rong is waiting in the car to speak with you. Would you kindly oblige?”

The bodyguards had an air of not taking no for an answer. Helpless, Luo Mijin said to Lan Mingyu:

“Mingyu, go home and rest first. I’ll go talk to her.”

“Don’t go. She clearly has ill intentions.”

“It’s fine. My place is nearby. I’ll head straight back after we talk.”

Lan Mingyu wanted to persuade her further, but Luo Mijin had already followed the bodyguards toward the sleek, elegant Bentley.

The rear door opened. Luo Mijin bent down to enter and saw the cold-faced woman with her hair elegantly pinned up, idly toying with something.

“Miss Rong, what do you want?”

“What do I want? I’ve already made myself quite clear before.”

Her silver-rimmed glasses glinted faintly as the woman reclined gracefully against the leather backseat.

The form-fitting crimson silk slip dress accentuated her curves, her snow-white skin flushed a tempting cherry hue from the alcohol.

Luo Mijin thought this might just be Rong Qingyao’s personality never allowing the slightest deviation from her goals, determined to obtain what she desired and accomplish what she set out to do.

From an ordinary student at S University to pursuing graduate studies abroad, then entering the entertainment industry and rising to the top, she had been equally unstoppable in the business world.

Whether it was academics, career, or personal life, she demanded nothing less than one hundred percent perfection.

Thus, Rong Qingyao had indeed climbed from being a penniless student to her current status of fame and success.

And she, Luo Mijing, was the only flaw in that perfection. Adding her into the equation would push the ninety-nine percent progress bar to the coveted one hundred.

The woman was a tyrant of perfectionism, demanding absolute submission from everyone.

Perhaps this was Rong Qingyao’s punishment for her binding her, suppressing her at the closest distance, forcing her to watch unblinkingly as the woman reveled in the happiness she now possessed.

“Where’s your key?”

Luo Mijin instinctively reached into her pocket, only for the woman to snatch the small brass key from her the next moment, holding it in her palm where the lingering warmth of Luo Mijing’s touch still remained.

The woman had peach-blossom eyes, their inner corners sharp and outer edges upturned, tinged with a bewitching cherry-red hue that should have been alluring. Yet now, they were cold and indifferent.

“No key, no going home.”

“Give it back.” Luo Mijin never expected Rong Qingyao to still be this childish. “It’s an electronic keypad door. I can get in without a key.”

Hearing this, the half-drunk woman curled her lips into a smile, her eyes shimmering with uncontrolled emotion as she arrogantly locked the car door.

“And now?”

“You drank too?” Alarm bells rang in Luo Mijing’s mind. The last time they were in this state, she and Rong Qingyao had crossed a line they shouldn’t have.

Tonight, she had also had a bit of fruit wine. Though the alcohol content was low, her tolerance was worse, and her bodily control had already dropped by thirty percent.

Before she could react, the woman grabbed the tie of her performance outfit, rendering her immobile.

Performance attire in bars was always sleek and fitted, easy to undo and even easier to control.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to sleep with me?”

The woman’s slender back arched into a fragile, tempting curve, her deep red dress cascading to the floor, revealing a pair of snow-white, delicate calves.

Luo Mijin felt terribly wronged. “That’s not what I meant.”

But soft, damp lips were already pressing against hers. In an instant, the enclosed space behind the raised partition was filled with the sounds of tangled breaths and the woman’s muffled, delicate gasps between flushed lips.

“Rong Qingyao, you’re getting engaged,” Luo Mijin had no choice but to steady the woman’s slender, supple waist, her mind suddenly flashing back to the times she had coaxed Rong Qingyao into swallowing everything this way.

Every time, just a little was enough to make the woman melt.

“Mhm, you’ll find out when the time comes.” Rong Qingyao’s voice was coy and husky, her answer completely unrelated.

Luo Mijin was equally disoriented now. The confined space was thick with humid heat, as if urging them to abandon all reason.

“I don’t understand… We broke up. You’re getting engaged.”

Hearing the word “broke up,” Rong Qingyao’s emotions spiraled further out of control. Coldly, she straddled Luo Mijing, as if intent on recreating the very scene playing out in Luo Mijing’s mind.

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