A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex - Chapter 37.2

During this time, Luo Mijin also gifted her an extremely well-insulated little yellow duck thermos cup.

“This is a practical birthday gift. You can just keep that chess piece as a collectible.”

Perhaps because she wanted to own more things related to Luo Mijin, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

One day, after they finished breakfast, Luo Mijin hurried off to her first morning class. Rong Qingyao had originally planned to accompany her to the teaching building, but unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance just as they stepped out of the cafeteria.

Madam Cen, dressed in a deep purple gown, stood under the shade of a tree, elegant and dignified, waving at Rong Qingyao with a pleasant smile.

“Senior, that person is looking for you,” Luo Mijin frowned slightly, instinctively moving to shield Rong Qingyao.

“It’s alright, you go ahead to class,” Rong Qingyao quietly held Luo Mijin’s pinky finger, giving it a subtle shake. “I’ll come find you after class.”

Seeing Rong Qingyao’s calm and composed expression, Luo Mijin hesitated but obediently complied. “Then I’ll go to class. Call me if anything comes up.”

“Mm, pay attention in class.”

“Okay.”

Luo Mijin grabbed her backpack strap with one hand and hurried past Madam Cen, neither party showing any intention of greeting each other.

Rong Qingyao remained composed, standing firm as a mountain. It was Madam Cen who took the initiative to approach, her face full of condescending impatience.

“I’ll be returning to M Country soon.”

Rong Qingyao’s dark eyes showed no ripple of emotion as she replied indifferently, “Have a safe trip.”

“Hmph,” Madam Cen felt a pang of discomfort seeing Rong Qingyao’s unperturbed demeanor. “Your personality isn’t like your mother’s at all. You’re quite cunning for someone so young.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” Rong Qingyao remained unruffled, not a trace of change in her expression. “If there’s nothing else, Madam Cen, I need to go study at the library.”

“Wait, you seem quite close with the Luo family’s young lady?”

The well-dressed noblewoman waved her hand, signaling her bodyguards to wait aside as she walked to a more secluded spot to speak with Rong Qingyao alone.

“That seems to have nothing to do with you,” Rong Qingyao’s expression cooled, yet she remained poised and unyielding. Though compared to the glamorous noblewoman before her, her poverty and youth were starkly evident.

“The Luo family’s eldest daughter has quite a few stories. I suppose you know nothing about them?” Madam Cen examined her meticulously manicured nails with a smile. “Has she ever told you any of her secrets?”

“Madam Cen, let me reiterate this has nothing to do with you.”

“So she hasn’t told you. You’re so close, how could she keep things from you? Tsk tsk, what if something happens again that you can’t accept?”

“Madam Cen, I trust my… friend. If you’re so suspicious and doubtful, perhaps you should reflect on yourself, what makes you so insecure?”

“You’re just putting on a brave face. I look forward to the moment you learn the truth. It’ll surely be quite the spectacle.”

Rong Qingyao lowered her eyelids slightly, her demeanor unshaken. “You’re welcome to wait and see.”

The noblewoman chuckled softly again, studying Rong Qingyao as if probing. “You seem quite guarded against me?”

“Not particularly. There’s hardly any connection between us, is there?” Rong Qingyao’s dark eyes held a startling calmness.

“After your father returned to Country M, he flourished and has now become the undisputed next heir of the Cen Group, with a fortune in the billions and a boundless future. I always knew I wasn’t wrong about him back then. Your mother may have countless flaws, but there’s one thing she shares with me, an eye for judging people.”

“What a pity. The true value of a person lies in self-awareness. Before choosing a husband, one must not only see what kind of man he is but also recognize one’s own worth.”

The noblewoman had fully expected Rong Qingyao to react with shock, distress, or indignation. Never could she have imagined that this mere twenty-year-old student would respond with nothing more than a faint “Congratulations.”

Seeing Rong Qingyao’s composure, the noblewoman’s gaze sharpened. “Your mother is dead, isn’t she? Dead for many years now.”

“Chen Qingye and I are deeply in love. Our marriage is perfect, he adores me. Don’t even think about coming between us. Our son is exceptional, a true prodigy. You could never surpass him never!”

Rong Qingyao had initially had no desire to speak, but at this, she couldn’t help but let out a quiet, mocking laugh. Her cool, composed features faintly revealed an intimidating aura of solemnity.

“You think he loves you?”

“What did you say?” The noblewoman began to tremble almost hysterically at these words, her previously haughty demeanor giving way to something bordering on madness. “Are you implying he doesn’t love me? That he loves you and your pathetic, abandoned mother instead?”

Seemingly finding the topic tedious, Rong Qingyao wearily left a final remark before turning to leave with elegant calm.

“He only loves himself,” she said with a faint smile. “Excuse me, Mrs. Chen.”

“Stop right there!” The noblewoman’s eyes bulged with rage as she reached out to grab Rong Qingyao. “How dare you, you little bastard! You’ll pay for this! Everything in the Chen family belongs to me and my son, don’t you dare entertain any delusions, you illegitimate wretch! Look at how lowly you are!”

Noticing their mistress’s erratic behavior, the bodyguards swiftly stepped in, expertly escorting Mrs. Chen away with practiced discretion.

“Don’t touch me!” The noblewoman pointed a diamond-ringed finger at Rong Qingyao. “She’s trying to harm me! She wants to steal my husband, take everything that belongs to my son, arrest her now!”

“Madam, please calm down.”

“Miss Rong isn’t trying to take anything from you. There’s no need to worry.”

“That’s right, the little bastard can’t take anything no, no, I have to kill her! She can’t threaten me or my son help me!”

“Madam, Miss Rong doesn’t even know the young master. There’s no way she could threaten him.”

Another tall, well-trained bodyguard efficiently guided Mrs. Chen back to the car while quietly instructing someone to fetch her medication.

“We must inform the master her condition is worsening,” the bodyguard muttered, tapping his temple.

Their mistress had long suffered from mental illness. This trip back to the country was meant to be a relaxing getaway, and they had been carefully monitoring her to avoid any incidents.

Though her son was born into privilege, receiving the finest education and lifestyle, he was somewhat of a wastrel. Seeing how accomplished Miss Rong had become, it was only natural for Mrs. Chen to feel threatened.

As long as she didn’t do anything extreme, it would be fine.

The silver Mercedes sped out of the campus.

The commotion had taken place in the crowded cafeteria, witnessed by many who now speculated about the relationship between the two women.

Throughout it all, Rong Qingyao had merely watched coldly before walking away with composed grace, the faintest trace of mockery lingering at the corners of her lips.

She couldn’t help but reflect on what a shameless man her biological father truly was.

So when this Mrs. Cen flaunted this so-called love as if to provoke her, Rong Qingyao couldn’t help but find it laughable.

She had never witnessed love that lasted a lifetime only love that was abandoned halfway, devoid of kindness and loyalty, swayed by nothing but money.

Originally, she had no intention of recalling her parents’ story in full, but today, she couldn’t help but think of everything her mother, Rong Yixin, had once told her.

Speaking of which, Cen Qingye’s background was rather unusual. He was an abandoned infant, taken in by adoptive parents. Left beside a trash bin on a freezing cold day, he was rescued by a kind-hearted couple who brought him home and saved him with a bowl of rice soup.

Though frail since childhood, he was naturally intelligent, diligent, and hardworking, eventually gaining admission to a prestigious university.

There, he met and fell deeply in love with her mother, Rong Yixin. They married immediately after graduation, had a child, and became the envy of their peers and professors a fairy-tale couple whose love story lingered as campus legend for years.

But as it turned out, tales of gifted scholars and beauties rarely have truly happy endings. More often than not, they end in ungrateful, disgraceful ruin.

And as it also turned out, fate sometimes does favor certain individuals. Cen Qingye’s biological parents found him. It turned out he had been born into a wealthy merchant family, and his abandonment had been shrouded in complicated circumstances.

What mattered, however, was the olive branch no, the overwhelming wealth and power his birth family extended to him.

The Cen family’s conglomerate was in the midst of a turbulent generational transition. His return to the family naturally positioned him as a legitimate “heir,” with a mutually beneficial arranged marriage awaiting his wise decision.

A union that would consolidate power, backed by massive investments, securing his position in the upper echelons of the conglomerate before gradually expanding his influence.

Cen Qingye didn’t hesitate for a second before choosing the marriage. Before leaving, he wept bitterly before her already-pregnant mother, claiming it was a decision forced upon him and vowing to return for her once he had achieved success.

Her mother believed him, never once standing in the way of her husband’s pursuit of a better life.

But no decent, sincere person can outmaneuver those who are worse than beasts.

Now, the facts proved that Cen Qingye had won fame, status, wealth, and power, all within his grasp.

Naturally, he never spared another thought for the woman and daughter waiting for him in that remote mountain village.

For someone like Cen Qingye, who grew up hearing the taunts of being a “stray wild child,” ambition was like a ravenous beast insatiable, with eyes only for profit.

Her mother’s life seemed to mirror her own name, every decision made with sincerity, from falling in love with Cen Qingye, defying her family’s objections, to ultimately choosing to leave this world.

The dappled light beneath the trees was surreal, casting shifting shadows over Rong Qingyao’s dark, inscrutable eyes.

How could someone be so heartless, so utterly devoid of conscience?

How could someone throw everything away for love?

How could someone willingly spend a lifetime waiting for someone who wasn’t worth it?

Back then, Rong Qingyao couldn’t understand it but she swore she would never become so pitiful.

Now, however, she felt as though fate had seized her by the throat. Not only was she just as ambitious, willing to claw her way up by any means necessary, but she was also sinking helplessly into obsession with another person.

Only now did she realize that, like her mother, she was someone who would accept the consequences of her own gamble.

**

The summer internship arrived swiftly, beginning at the peak of the scorching season.

Before leaving, Luo Mijin had an argument with her grandfather. While her teachers and classmates had all booked economy class tickets, Luo Anbang was uneasy and wanted to charter a private jet for her, even reserving a five-star hotel as her dormitory.

Unwilling to stand out so conspicuously, Luo Mijin nearly got banned from going.

In the end, it was Madam Cen, a guest at their home, who smoothed things over.

With a warm smile, Madam Cen reassured her grandfather, explaining that Yuncheng was a safe city and that the Cen family had a branch office there. If anything happened, the managers and supervisors at the branch could assist convenient and reliable.

Only then did Luo Anbang’s anger subside.

The flight was at nine in the evening, but Luo Mijin woke up early at 5:30 a.m. and even received a caring call from Luo Zhiwen.

Though the call lasted only five minutes, her excitement deepened.

As a result, she arrived at the airport’s departure hall much too early, gripping her suitcase, wearing a mask and a baseball cap, with a bandage on the bridge of her nose, standing unnoticed in a corner.

The injuries from her last fight had healed, this time, she had fallen while taking care of caterpillars.

Rong Qingyao arrived at just the right time, neither too early nor too late, surrounded by several upperclassmen.

The moment the woman appeared, Luo Mijin spotted her, dressed simply in a white shirt and blue jeans, standing tall and graceful among the crowd.

In the brief gaps between being swarmed by others, Rong Qingyao looked at her intently, the corners of her lips curling slightly, a secret exchange meant only for the two of them.

Luo Mijin lowered the brim of her cap, the faint dimple on her lips well-hidden beneath the black mask.

She remembered how the cicadas had screamed relentlessly that day, how the stars in the sky had shimmered generously, and how, despite the clamor of people around, the scene had been breathtakingly beautiful from every angle.

For a time, it made her love airports, the wind around her seemed capable of carrying her anywhere she wanted to go.

While lining up to board, somehow, Rong Qingyao ended up behind her, sending Luo Mijin’s joy to another peak.

“Senior, this afternoon I had a fruit platter. Just like you said, I brought a tiny plastic bag and hid all the cherry tomatoes I didn’t like inside.”

“And what did you do with them afterward? Did you get caught?” Rong Qingyao played along, pretending to look out the window as she whispered back.

“I fed them to the caterpillars. There’s one species that loves them, I made sure to wash them first.”

“Electronic Sheep, you’re so clever.”

Rong Qingyao praised her like a child, her lips curved in fondness and Luo Mijin, of course, ate it up.

However, once on the plane, seating was arranged by class and grade. Not only were she and Rong Qingyao not seated together, they were far apart, forming a straight diagonal line.

So as the plane cut through the clouds, she put on her headphones, passing the few hours by gaming, listening to music, or watching movies.

When the plane landed, Yuncheng was already lit by nightlife, bustling with pedestrians. The coastal city’s strong winds carried the energy of its vibrant streets.

The company where the internship was held was close to the seaside. Under the thick veil of night, the dark sea surface occasionally flickered with boat lights and the bioluminescence of plankton not exactly a breathtaking view, but the students seemed to enjoy it immensely.

Luo Mijin, wearing a hat, alternated between glancing at the shops along the street and hiding in corners to fiddle with roadside plants. She stood out as the odd one among her classmates, but there was another odd one waiting for her.

The teacher had already announced that dorm assignments were now open for students to decide among themselves. Luo Mijin stubbornly remained on the outskirts of the crowd, unwilling to share a room with any of her peers.

Even when several female classmates approached her with friendly invitations,

“Luo Mijin, we can room together. I go to bed early and won’t disturb you.”

“Yeah, me too. You remember me, right? We were lab partners once.”

Luo Mijin only smiled and slowly shook her head, like a fostered kitten waiting only for its destined owner.

Most students grouped together by age and class, but Luo Mijin knew she and Rong Qingyao shouldn’t be too conspicuous, lest certain people start gossiping behind their backs.

“Miss, why haven’t you moved your luggage yet?” the teacher called out, noticing Luo Mijin. “During internships, you must follow instructions. No individualism here.”

Forced to comply, Luo Mijin began moving her belongings, like a small boat helplessly drifting with the current.

Then, at last, she received Rong Qingyao’s message.

[Number Two Ranked Nine-tailed Fox: Electronic Sheep, come to 402.]

Without hesitation, Luo Mijin dashed up to the fourth floor. The solid wood door at the end of the hallway was slightly ajar, warm, fragrant light spilling through the gap.

Stepping inside, Luo Mijin called out, “Senior,” and saw Rong Qingyao leaning languidly against the doorframe, her curves alluring, her usually cool face flushed.

The woman gripped Luo Mijin’s wrist and pressed it against her own soft, feverish cheek.

“Senior, you… what’s wrong?”

“Wanted to sleep early, so I had a little wine.”

Rong Qingyao gazed at Luo Mijin, her eyes glazed and misty, then suddenly turned her face, letting her damp, warm lips brush faintly against the back of Luo Mijin’s hand.

A tender, pink tongue lingered between the other’s slender, bony knuckles, the touch soft and scorching.

“Luo Mijin,” she murmured, “I think I have a fever. Will you help cool me down?”

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