A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex - Chapter 51.1

On the other side, Bai Jinhuai, who had been eating heartily, only caught the last part of Rong Qingyao’s words and asked:

“What do you mean there’s nothing left to lose? What kind of literary nonsense are you writing?”

Scott immediately spilled everything like a tattling child, “Now Qing doesn’t even know if Riddle still loves her, yet she wants to call off the engagement. Don’t you think she’s crazy?”

Biting through his spaghetti, Bai Jinhuai suddenly lost his appetite. “Qingyao, canceling your engagement to chase after Luo Mijin again, this completely goes against your,  your, let me think, your current status and what someone of your standing should do.”

Rong Qingyao shook her head with an amused smile:

“What exactly is my status now? If I don’t ask, then all those past years would become worthless.”

She had once been cherished, loved with ardor and sincerity. All she wanted now was a final answer to decide how she would love in the future.

Bai Jinhuai had witnessed Rong Qingyao wasting away for that “nameless” person, seen her crying and laughing through nightmares day and night, watched her cling stubbornly to memories of the past, observed her rejecting every possibility for that person’s sake.

She couldn’t understand what was so lovable about someone who hadn’t appeared for seven years. Even now, she still believed Luo Mijin wasn’t worthy of Rong Qingyao’s lifelong devotion.

What possible justification could there be for someone who disappeared for seven years and initiated the breakup?

“By the way, Qingyao, what kind of gift would you like?” Bai Jinhuai suddenly asked out of the blue. “I happen to know many people have already prepared birthday presents for you, even though your birthday is still far away.”

“It doesn’t matter. Anything is fine.” Rong Qingyao paused briefly, adjusting her silver-rimmed glasses.

“Others would empty their pockets for you, and all they get is an ‘it doesn’t matter’,” Bai Jinhuai sighed dramatically. “Actually, if you wanted, you could have so much wealth, fame, love. You lack nothing.”

“I don’t want what others give me,” Rong Qingyao replied succinctly.

Truthfully, how many people in this world are truly rich in life? Most are paupers, caring only for a handful of people and things, easily ending up with nothing.

“Why do you insist on loving someone who has no connection to you anymore, relying only on memories?”

A faint smile appeared on the woman’s pale, cool features. “Why not?”

“You made one mistake already, if waiting seven years for her counts as a mistake. Why are you still refusing to wake up?”

“A second mistake?” Rong Qingyao’s gaze drifted distantly. “Making it a second time means it’s not a mistake, it’s a choice.”

She had always been Luo Mijin’s choice.

So she had always chosen Luo Mijin.

Finally, she dared to look forward. The person she wanted to love was right across the shore. She no longer wished to be torn between illusion and reality alone.

Over those seven years, she had stood countless times on the rooftop looking down. The city’s brilliant lights, the dazzling reflections from glass skyscrapers flowing like liquid gold and honeyed wine, created the illusion that they could ward off the cold.

And it was true, the flames from burning banknotes were warmer.

In such a place of debauched luxury, feeling lonely while watching couples whisper sweet nothings was commonplace.

She kept thinking of Luo Mijin, every single day, her bright expectations withering into decay.

The person who could dispel that loneliness never appeared, so of course she had no choice but to wait.

There were even several times when she was caught spacing out on set or at other events. Once a private sorrow is noticed by others, it ceases to be private, it becomes glaringly obvious.

Perhaps because she had loved too vividly and passionately in her youth, she could never love anyone else again.

Rong Qingyao’s calm tone stunned the other two people in the cabin. Bai Jinhuai was so exasperated by her stubbornness that he couldn’t speak for a long while.

Scott still didn’t quite understand Rong Qingyao’s train of thought, so he tried to sort out the logic of the whole situation.

“Qing, calling off the engagement means going against Old Master Cen and defying the Cen family, right?”

Rong Qingyao nodded, her expression as unshakable as ever. “It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“Then Qing, do you know what you’re playing with right now?”

“What?”

“Wealth, status… reputation. In short power. You’re playing with power.”

Rong Qingyao responded as if joking:

“If it’s power, I think I’ve played it pretty well.”

“Hmm, that’s true… Then I support you,” Scott said with a knowing smile. “Where’s Riddle now? Should I drive you over to see her? You can even nap in the car… Oh, and the confession ceremony should be grand, let me think.”

As Scott began pacing excitedly around the cabin, brainstorming ideas for Rong Qingyao, he rambled, “Qing, for long-lost lovers like you two, the best thing is to recreate some romantic scenes from the past, drink a little more, I’ll give you all the vintage wine from my cellar and maybe hire a violin ensemble to play in the background.”

Having recovered, Bai Jinhuai shoved Scott aside. “Stop fooling around. You’re never serious. This isn’t just about whether they get back together or not.”

“But it is about getting back together,” Scott said, his expression turning serious. “We have to make Riddle change her mind and fall for our Qing again. I’m willing to be Qing’s love consultant.”

Bai Jinhuai pushed Scott even farther away and looked at Rong Qingyao solemnly before raising the next question.

“Qingyao, you’re not even sure if Luo Mijin still loves you. Why take such a risky gamble? You haven’t even calculated the risk rate, return rate, or investment ratio.”

“I don’t need to calculate those,” Rong Qingyao reassured her two friends. “It’s fine even if I lose. I won’t regret it.”

Once the chess piece is placed, there’s no taking it back, isn’t that how it goes?

She had made up her mind long ago.

Besides, she had climbed so desperately to gain greater power and status not to further bind herself.

In her youth, she had been trapped because she lacked the freedom to choose, no money, no independent thoughts, no experience. She had done many things she didn’t want to do, even things she despised, but had no choice but to endure.

She had fought so hard to escape that fate precisely so she could choose freely, no matter how difficult the path.

“Aren’t you afraid of losing everything in the end?” Bai Jinhuai’s voice was deafening as he laid out the cold, hard truth. “You’ll lose the massive financial backing of the Scott family, you might not win back your love, and in the worst case, you’ll end up with nothing no fame, no fortune, no love.”

“Yes, that’s a possibility,” Rong Qingyao admitted without evasion, making it clear she understood the consequences.

Perhaps the consequences could be even more severe, but nothing could be worse than seven years ago.

“Qingyao, isn’t your collaboration with Scott a win-win situation? It was just a fake engagement to boost stock prices temporarily. There’s no need to cancel it at all. If you want to confess everything to Luo Mijin, just go ahead.”

Hearing this, Rong Qingyao lowered her head, glanced at the black chess piece in her palm, then lifted her gaze with cold indifference in her eyes. “No, it’s just that I’m bored. Truthfully, from the beginning, I only wanted to see the look of disappointment on my father’s face after his initial joy. Now I’m just collecting the results a little earlier.”

Scott felt the depth of Rong Qingyao’s hatred for her father for the first time. The woman was cold, ruthless, shrewd, skilled in restraint, and proud.

Such a proud person never focused on others. He realized he might have misjudged Rong Qingyao before.

Beneath her icy, untouchable beauty like a femme fatale, she was actually bloodthirsty and arrogant.

Bai Jinhuai opened her laptop to check the stock situation. “Since you know what you want to do, why not continue? We’ve already succeeded. We can acquire more stocks, place more people in the Cen Group, dismantle them more easily, and extend our success further. Why give up a massive capital backer like Scott?”

Rong Qingyao nodded slightly. “Jinhuai, that was the original plan, but now…”

“What’s wrong now? If Luo Mijin loves you, if she comes to you and says she wants to be with you, then I have no objections. Even if you bankrupt yourself, I won’t say a word.”

She had always held this view, when it came to loving someone like Luo Mijin, three parts affection were enough.

“But she’s more important,” Rong Qingyao made a small gesture with her fingers, “more important than the most important things.”

“For someone more important, even if they might not love you, would you still give up the career you’ve painstakingly built?”

“Fair point, Qing. Do you really not need my support anymore?” Scott chimed in.

Only after asking did he feel foolish. For someone like Rong Qingyao, support was optional, she wouldn’t insist on it either way.

Rong Qingyao gave a bitter smile. “You’re worrying too much. I’m not giving up my career, just canceling the engagement.”

Bai Jinhuai shook her head, still troubled. “Qingyao, I still think you don’t need to cancel the engagement. Just confess your feelings to Luo Mijin, that should be enough.”

“I know. I want to go to her as my true self. I don’t want to waste any more time with tests or words.” Rong Qingyao looked at Bai Jinhuai with certainty. “I’m not choosing between options.”

“I don’t want her to suffer even the slightest grievance. I want to give her the whole of me.”

“But maybe she wouldn’t feel wronged.”

“But I don’t want her to feel wronged.”

In this life, she had known very little true happiness. Even though she had escaped her impoverished past, her heart still seemed trapped in that unhappy childhood.

So she yearned desperately for joy. Life was about moments and she lived for the fleeting happiness she found with Luo Mijin.

“Jinhuai, you don’t understand. She’s worth it, worth more than the whole world.”

The two of them were stunned by Rong Qingyao’s resolute departure, lacking the strength to dissuade her further as they watched the woman disembark.

Having grown up in the world of fame and fortune, Bai Jinhuai had seen too many who sought empty prestige, but he admired those with ideals, convictions, ambition, and strong initiative which was why he had befriended Rong Qingyao in university.

Scott walked over and patted Bai Jinhuai’s shoulder in consolation. “Don’t worry. This is the path Qing chose for herself. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Bai Jinhuai’s eyes were full of concern. “But what if she isn’t loved?”

“Didn’t we discuss before whether the wise should fall in love? I think now that Qing has the heart of a lover genuine and warm.”

Bai Jinhuai, exasperated, retorted bluntly, “You sure changed your stance quickly. Now you’re praising love-struck fools?”

“Not at all,” Scott countered, shaking his head. “How can someone who’s never truly loved be called wise? To see through love, one must first experience it. True enlightenment comes from navigating the entanglements and sorrows of love, not standing at a distance and pontificating.”

At this, Scott shot Bai Jinhuai a glance. “Don’t get worked up. You’ll understand once you’ve been in love yourself.”

“I don’t believe it. Even if I do fall in love, I’ll definitely stay rational.”

“Only those who have lived through it, who’ve felt it firsthand, can move past it, overcome it, and let it go. Those who take detours aren’t heroes,” Scott said with a philosopher’s smile. “I get why you think that way now. Not everyone is lucky enough to encounter love.”

Feeling as if Scott had just looked down on him, Bai Jinhuai stomped hard on his foot. “Shut your damn mouth. One more word and I’ll kick your head like a soccer ball.”

“Ah, the fury of the single,” Scott teased, nodding. “Besides, it’s good that Qing confronted her father. You didn’t really think she’d stoop to his level, did you?”

“Of course not. We’ve already secured most of the Cen Group’s shares anyway. It’s just… whatever. As long as Qingyao is happy. The news of the broken engagement might cause a dip in stock prices, but that’s it.”

“That’s the spirit. At worst, it’ll just be Qing getting dumped a second time. No big deal.”

**

After leaving the yacht, Rong Qingyao quickly called Yan Si.

“Yan Si, leak it to the media, Scott and I have called off the engagement.”

It was just past seven in the morning, but Yan Si didn’t sound surprised. To her, the engagement’s cancellation had always been a matter of time.

“Got it. I’ll handle it right away. But what about Old Master Cen? How should we deal with him?”

“Call and tell him directly,” Rong Qingyao said, lips curling. “I’m looking forward to seeing his reaction.”

Yan Si nodded on the other end of the line. “Guess the aquarium and golf course he wanted to buy at full price will end up as sunk costs now.”

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