After Secretly Marrying the Top Celebrity, I Fell in Love - Chapter 33

The car cabin was very quiet, and the air conditioning temperature inside the car was set quite low.

The driver was a young girl with purple hair, constantly chewing gum. When she unintentionally overheard the passengers’ conversation, she instantly realized that they were “comrades.”

The driver glanced at the two female passengers in the back seat through the rearview mirror, but only for a moment before looking away and continuing to drive attentively.

“…” Bo Yiyan’s heart thumped in her chest, and she was momentarily speechless.

She never expected Xu Xing to speak such direct words, and a searing heat crept up Bo Yiyan’s cheeks.

Bo Yiyan adjusted her breathing, turned her head, and met Xu Xing’s eyes, which were filled with a longing for confirmation. Blushing, she softly answered with a faint “Mhm.”

Xu Xing looked at Bo Yiyan with a silly grin, constantly muttering, “Hehe, it’s so nice to have a wife.”

“So nice.”

In City Z, at a five-star hotel in the city center. In the banquet hall, where cups clinked and glasses were raised, the rich aroma of red wine permeated the air.

Ye Manqing was wearing an absolutely eye-catching black evening gown, her makeup exquisite. The woman stood tall in a relatively quiet corner, making a phone call.

“…” Ye Manqing’s knuckles tightened on her phone; she was stunned by the sentence that came from the other end of the line.

After a brief moment of surprise, a smile brimming with sweetness blossomed on Ye Manqing’s lips.

“Yanyan, who was that speaking…?”

“My friend, Xu Xing. She drank too much, I’m taking her home.”

“Did you drink?”

“A little, but I’m not drunk.”

“Will you be returning later?”

“She’s quite drunk, and I’m a little worried. I won’t be coming home tonight; I’ll stay at her place.”

“Then, remember to text me once you arrive at your friend’s place.”

“Mhm, okay.”

The call ended. Ye Manqing leisurely raised the slender champagne flute in her hand, lightly touched the rim to her red lips, and took a small sip of champagne.

The woman’s gentle, shimmering eyes gazed straight ahead, a faint, genuine smile gracing the corners of her mouth.

Ye Manqing savored the champagne while recalling the conversation she had just overheard on the phone.

“Is that your wife?”

“Mhm.”

The night was deep.

In the Presidential Suite, Ye Manqing stood before the floor-to-ceiling window in a black, backless long dress, bathed in the snow-white moonlight.

The fishtail design of the skirt trailed on the floor; her high heels had been removed at the door upon entering the room. At this moment, Ye Manqing was padding across the carpet with her bare, jade-like feet.

The gown accentuated the woman’s tall and graceful figure. A cloud of dark hair cascaded down her back, partially covering her smooth, exposed bare skin.

Her innate noble and gentle temperament, paired with a rose-black tea matte lipstick, exuded an elegant yet cool demeanor.

Ye Manqing removed all her jewelry and carelessly tossed them onto the coffee table.

The woman gazed out at the city’s twinkling lights. Her fair, jade-carved fingers held a stemmed glass, sipping the red wine within as she waited for someone.

The wall clock emitted a rhythmic “tick-tock” sound. Time slipped through her fingers, minute by minute.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, the sound of a doorbell suddenly rang outside the suite door.

Hearing the sound, Ye Manqing slowly turned around. Holding the red wine in one hand and lifting the hem of her skirt with the other, she walked towards the door.

“Coming,” Ye Manqing said, standing behind the door, her eyes gentle as she looked at the person.

Outside the door, Yu Tang stood in the hallway with a stern expression, an unidentifiable emotion suppressed in her dark eyes, making her inscrutable.

She wore a finely tailored apricot-colored small suit and towering stilettos. Only with the addition of the ten-centimeter heels was she barely the same height as Ye Manqing, who wasn’t wearing shoes.

Height had always been a sore point for Yu Tang; why were all the young people nowadays so tall? In their generation, a girl being $160 text{ cm}$ wasn’t considered short, alright!

The black high heels paired with a striking red sole were just like Yu Tang’s personality. Outwardly, she seemed gentle and always smiling, a standard image of a friendly big sister next door. In reality, she was a smiling tiger.

Yu Tang didn’t speak, brushed past Ye Manqing, and walked briskly towards the suite’s living room in her high heels.

“…” Ye Manqing slowly blinked her thick lashes, her faint smile still intact. She took a step forward and closed the room door.

Turning around, Ye Manqing slowly walked towards the open kitchen.

Standing at the island counter, Ye Manqing took a clean stemmed glass from the rack, then picked up the bottle of red wine that had been opened earlier on the counter. Raising her wrist, she brought the bottle’s mouth close to the glass’s wall.

Tilting the bottle slightly upward, the dark red liquid flowed “glug-glug” into the glass along the inner wall.

A moment later, Ye Manqing walked to the living room, holding a stemmed glass in each hand, and went straight to her manager, handing her one of the red wines.

“Here.”

Yu Tang hesitated, but finally took the glass, yet still maintained a stern face and didn’t speak. Her heart was still burning with frustration. Tipping her head back, she sought to drown her sorrows by taking a large gulp of red wine.

Ye Manqing quietly sat on the opposite sofa, her eyelids slightly lowered, intently observing the red wine in her hand, patiently waiting for Yu Tang to speak first.

Sure enough, after taking another large gulp of wine, Yu Tang finally lost her patience and spoke first.

“President Ye, if you have nothing to say to me, I’ll leave now.” Yu Tang deliberately addressed Ye Manqing as “President Ye,” intentionally separating their private relationship and discussing purely their superior-subordinate dynamic.

“I do have something,” Ye Manqing lightly raised her cool, pale eyelids, shifting her gaze away from the wine glass.

“What is it?” Yu Tang’s expression was cold, and her tone was icy.

“Thank you, Yu Tang.” Ye Manqing looked at Yu Tang, sincerely expressing her gratitude.

“…” Yu Tang suddenly froze, her eyes widening.

“It’s not just because of the Ruan Yun matter,” Ye Manqing explained. “You’ve worked hard following me all these years. Besides giving you a certain amount of material compensation, I feel it’s necessary to personally say ‘thank you’ to you.”

“Don’t play the emotional card; that doesn’t work on me.” Although Yu Tang said this, her facial contours had noticeably softened.

Just yesterday afternoon, twenty-four hours after the “Ruan Yun and Xia Xinglu Kissing Incident,” Ruan Yun posted a photo of two pairs of hands clasped together on her Weibo, accompanied by a simple and clear line of text.

Ruan Yun: [Official announcement @XiaXinglu]

Almost simultaneously, Xia Xinglu also posted on Weibo, the photo being the same one.

Xia Xinglu: [Let me introduce my girlfriend to everyone, the sister I love most and who loves me most @RuanYun]

It was obvious that this was their response to the kissing incident. They did not deny the rumor but openly acknowledged their romantic relationship.

As soon as their Weibo posts were published, related topics successively topped the Weibo hot search lists within half an hour.

The top three Weibo hot searches were, respectively: #RuanYunXiaXingluOfficialAnnouncement#, #RuanYunXiaXinglu#, #IntroducingMyGirlfriend#

Netizens were all taken aback, especially Xia Xinglu’s fans, who were practically going crazy. In comparison, Ruan Yun’s fans were much more mature and composed, stating they would continue to support Ruan Yun’s career.

[Teacher Ruan is so A, she truly is the woman I love most!]

[Wuwuwu I’m gonna cry, Teacher Ruan, you must be happy (crying emoji)]

[I’ll state my personal stance: I will forever and resolutely support Teacher Ruan’s film and television works. I hope everyone pays more attention to an actor’s work rather than their private life.]

[Sister is so hot! I want a sister too! Sister truly is at the top of the food chain in the queer women’s circle!!]

Outside the window, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. A large swath of moonlight poured in from the window, the watery moonlight flowing onto the highly reflective floor.

Ye Manqing fell silent, stretching out her arm and lightly resting it on the sofa armrest. Her slender fingers, like early spring bamboo twigs, held the stemmed glass, occasionally gently swirling the red wine within.

She was very patient, quietly waiting for Yu Tang to gradually calm down, waiting for the other person to speak again.

Indeed, as Ye Manqing expected, Yu Tang wasn’t as angry as before.

“Since President Ye is so sincere in thanking me, I’ll grudgingly accept,” Yu Tang said, raising her hand to tuck a smooth strand of hair that had fallen onto her chest behind her back.

“However, I must be clear about one thing,” Yu Tang’s tone suddenly shifted. “Moving forward, you are not allowed to interfere with whatever I decide to do. Don’t worry, I won’t unilaterally terminate the contract with Ruan Yun. It took so much effort to cultivate a Ruan Yun; I can’t bear to let her go.”

“Until she has earned enough money for me, she can forget about leaving!” Yu Tang’s expression hardened, revealing her nature as a businesswoman.

“Good, I agree,” Ye Manqing said calmly. “I’ve said that except for the ‘power of life and death,’ all matters concerning the company’s artists are under your full authority.”

Ye Manqing took a sip of the red wine in her glass, seemingly casually asking, “What do you plan to do next?”

Yu Tang instantly became serious, coldly saying, “Stop all the announcements on her hands and send her abroad for further studies.”

“Acting so recklessly and following her impulses without regard for the consequences. If I don’t teach her a lesson, how am I, the Artist Director, supposed to maintain my position in the company!”

“President Ye, what do you think?”

Ye Manqing had anticipated Yu Tang would do this; she understood her nature better than anyone. Leaning forward, the woman gently placed the wine glass on the coffee table.

“You’ve done very well,” Ye Manqing said, leaning back against the sofa with an unhurried, lazy posture. Her slender, snowy fox eyes narrowed slightly, not hesitating to offer a word of praise.

The important business was thus concluded.

Yu Tang put down her empty red wine glass, placing it on the coffee table, and got up from the sofa with a yawn. Yu Tang looked at Ye Manqing with a sleepy expression, her eyelids heavy with fatigue, relying entirely on willpower to stay awake.

“It’s getting late. I’ll head back now.”

For the past two days, Yu Tang had been running around exhausting herself to clean up Ruan Yun’s mess, only just managing to minimize the impact of the public opinion.

Just as the manager left, the phone charging by the bedside suddenly “dinged,” signaling a WeChat notification.

Ye Manqing collected her thoughts, quickly walked to the bedside, bent down to pick up her phone, and unplugged the charging cable connected to the phone’s port.

Bo Yiyan: [We’re home. I’m going to take a shower and then sleep.]

Bo Yiyan: [Teacher Ye, you should also go to bed early.]

Ye Manqing: [I’ll return tomorrow morning and take you to the airport in the afternoon.]

Bo Yiyan: [Okay.]

Ye Manqing: [Goodnight (moon emoji)]

Bo Yiyan: [Goodnight.]

Ye Manqing sat sideways on the edge of the bed, staring at Bo Yiyan’s “Goodnight” in the dialogue box for a full minute before finally exiting WeChat.

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