Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 49

“Woof woof woof!” “Woof!”

Li Yue raised her right hand, palm pressed to her forehead, standing in the stairwell. She tilted her head, listening to the cacophony of barking coming through her phone. Behind the closed door, guests or waiters passed by occasionally, their movements triggering the motion-sensor lights. These lights cast the silhouette of the woman standing quietly with a back full of question marks onto the steps and the wall.

“…”

Li Yue blinked.

At the entrance of the Tapula flagship store in the Beijing business district, a row of impeccably made-up and sharply dressed sales assistants stood face to face with professional theater actors from the Beijing Grand Theatre. Both sides shared looks of mutual, polite awkwardness.

To accommodate a VIP guest, the store was closed and appeared empty from the outside. But further inside, in the VIP lounge, it was utter chaos, human and canine alike.

“Woof woof!” “Woof~”

A Bichon Frise in a little pink dress was sprawled on its back in front of Luo Mingzi, its tail spinning like a propeller. Beside it, a Maltese with a top-knot secured by a diamond encrusted clip rested its front paws on Luo Mingzi’s calf. Its clean, silky fur reflected the bright lights of the VIP room as it let out a whimpering bark, seemingly begging her to pick it up.

In addition to these two, a white Pekingese with floppy ears sat squarely between Luo Mingzi’s legs. It wore a pink and blue vest pinned with a cartoon diamond dog brooch, happily panting with its tongue out.

But Luo Mingzi was clearly in no mood to greet them. She was extremely busy hands on her hips, she had no time to hold a dog. She was too occupied having a shouting match with the elegant, wealthy, and stunningly beautiful woman in front of her, whose age was impossible to guess due to her flawless maintenance.

“Why hasn’t she left! Why is she still here while I’m talking to you!” The beautiful woman, one hand on her own hip, pointed a finger at Wu Xuezhen, who was wearing a look of “Who am I? Where am I?”

“Awoo awoo awoo!” The dogs cheered for their owner, howling at Wu Xuezhen.

Luo Mingzi’s temper flared instantly. Directing her ire at the beautiful woman, she shouted, “Where are your manners! Do you think having money gives you the right to point at people? It’s laughable that someone like you thinks they can lecture others!”

The dogs instantly wilted: “Awoo…”

The beautiful woman’s eyes widened, her chest heaving with rage. She was being held back by two people on either side.

Indeed, she had two “guardians.” If Li Yue were there, she would have recognized one of them as Yan Qian, the assistant to Mu Linsen whom they had met in the underground garage. The woman on the other side was just as elegant and wealthy as the first, every strand of her perfectly styled hair screamed “rich.”

The “refined woman” patted the “beautiful woman’s” back, saying in a gentle, thin voice, “Don’t fight… don’t fight, let’s talk nicely…”

But her voice was too soft and delicate to penetrate the beautiful woman’s wall of fury. The beautiful woman’s eyes were fixed solely on Luo Mingzi as she shouted, “What kind of attitude is that! What did I even do to her? What are you saying, does being louder make you right?”

The dogs: “Woof woof woof!”

Luo Mingzi shouted even louder: “Then don’t be so loud yourself!”

The dogs: “Awoo…”

Even louder: “You’re the one who started shouting first!”

“Woof woof woof!”

Super loud: “You started this trouble!”

“Awoo…”

“I started it? Did your upbringing teach you to turn and walk away without saying hello when you see someone!”

“Woof woof woof!”

“Fine! So what if I have no upbringing? What about it!”

Luo Mingzi howled, the beautiful woman howled back. The dogs went “///” one moment and “” the next.

Wu Xuezhen felt like the top of her skull was about to fly off, her lips trembled, and her soul shuddered. She gripped one of Luo Mingzi’s arms tightly, terrified she would charge forward and start a physical brawl with the woman across from them.

That beautiful woman clearly had a significant background. If they actually fought. Wu Xuezhen glanced at her again. Setting aside the rest of her outfit, the jadeite “peace pendant” around her neck was worth at least eight figures. Whether they could afford the damages was one thing; it was better not to have to pay them at all.

But this was too loud! Was Mingzi’s voice always this booming? Well, a loud voice is good, it means she has strong breath control for the stage… Amidst the chaos, Wu Xuezhen’s thoughts drifted aimlessly.

Opposite them, the equally overwhelmed refined woman was also holding her companion back, repeating, “Stop fighting, stop…” Realizing her persuasion was useless and the two were only getting louder, the refined woman took a deep breath and exploded.

“EVERYONE STOP! SHUT UP!!”

The thunderous roar from the refined woman was so loud it reached the people standing guard at the store entrance two walls away, making them turn back in shock.

The VIP room fell instantly silent. Even the dogs tucked their tails and huddled shivering by Luo Mingzi’s feet.

Yan Qian, who hadn’t dared to speak, moved to support the refined woman, who was nearly stumbling after her outburst. She led her to the sofa to sit and consoled her: “Ms. Lin, don’t get worked up. Sit for a moment, I’ll go get you some water.”

The refined woman grabbed Yan Qian’s hand and said immediately, “No, you can’t leave. I’m not thirsty. Make them sit down and talk properly.”

Yan Qian’s lip twitched: Me? You want me to do it?

“Hmph.” Luo Mingzi crossed her arms, pulled Wu Xuezhen down onto a nearby sofa, and crossed her legs. She looked incredibly arrogant, completely lacking “upbringing!”

Seeing the beautiful woman about to erupt again, Yan Qian quickly “invited” her to her own sofa. The personal assistant, who earned a million dollar salary from Mu Linsen, dutifully poured water for everyone present especially for Luo Mingzi and the beautiful woman, lest they lose their voices if another round started.

Sigh.

Luo Mingzi first handed her cup to Wu Xuezhen. Her tone suddenly shifted into a “good little girl” mode, soft and sweet: “Mom, have some water.”

Across from her, the beautiful woman’s eyes bulged as she roared, “Who are you calling Mom!”

Luo Mingzi turned her head and spat back fire, “I’m calling my mom.”

“Is she your mother?” The beautiful woman slammed the table.

“How is she not my mother! Don’t you recognize your own mother?” Luo Mingzi yelled back.

Just as the second round of the “Who is Louder” competition was about to begin, Wu Xuezhen cried out, “The phone!”

She pressed the answer button and shoved the phone against Luo Mingzi’s ear, whispering a plea for calm.

Wu Xuezhen’s voice and the voice on the phone overlapped. “Baby / Mingzi, don’t fight with Mom.”

Luo Mingzi pulled her own phone from her pocket. Seeing that the call had been disconnected at some point, she gave a huff of grievance and whispered, “She’s the one being unreasonable.”

Across from her, the beautiful woman, who was being calmed by her two companions, pricked up her ears suspiciously. “Whose phone is that?”

Luo Mingzi huffed loudly. “Stop pretending. As if you don’t know who it is.”

The beautiful woman took a deep breath. “Hmph!!”

“Alright, alright. Talk to Yiyi properly. There’s nothing that can’t be cleared up,” the refined woman mediated again. “Yiyi, you too. Don’t upset your mother. At least don’t…”

She glanced at Wu Xuezhen sitting next to Luo Mingzi and gave an apologetic smile.

Wu Xuezhen smiled back gently and patted Luo Mingzi’s back.

Luo Mingzi simply turned her phone onto speaker, set it aside, and resumed her crossed-arm, crossed-leg pose. With her chin tilted up, she said, “Since we’ve met, let me make this clear. Since we’ve already broken ties, stop tripping us up! Your methods are childish and pathetic, just like they’ve always been!”

The beautiful woman choked on her rage.

The three pretty little dogs jumped onto the sofa. The Maltese was the first to squeeze into Luo Mingzi’s arms. The other two, unable to find a spot, rested their heads on her legs, their round black eyes darting back and forth.

Luo Mingzi grumbled under her breath. Without looking at the woman she had just infuriated into silence, she reached under a dog’s belly to retrieve her phone.

Watching the three dogs surrounding Luo Mingzi, Wu Xuezhen couldn’t resist patting the rear of the dog right in front of her. Finding the fur incredibly soft, she gave it another stroke.

The beautiful woman opposite them, who was currently plotting her rebuttal, narrowed her eyes and snapped, “Don’t you dare touch my dogs.”

“I’m sorry,” Wu Xuezhen hurriedly said, raising her hands in apology.

“Could you please stop being so childish!” Luo Mingzi looked utterly exasperated with the beautiful woman. She took the Maltese she was holding and stuffed it into Wu Xuezhen’s arms, saying, “I’ll pet them if I want to. This one is called Princess.”

She then shoved the Bichon Frise toward Wu Xuezhen. “This one is Pea.”

Finally, she lifted the largest one, the Pekingese, measured it against Wu Xuezhen’s lap, and struggled to tuck it in. “And this is Cookie.”

The dogs, who had been barking bravely moments ago while backed by their owner, instantly turned into cowards once placed in a stranger’s arms. They huddled together, peeking at Wu Xuezhen with wide eyes. Wu Xuezhen stroked each of them, saying softly, “How cute.”

“You’ve raised them so well,” she said to the beautiful woman, adding a compliment, “And you have such a beautiful daughter like Mingzi. I really envy you.”

Just as a look of pride began to surface on the beautiful woman’s face, Luo Mingzi sneered immediately. “I’m not her daughter. She’s the one who said to my face that raising dogs was better than raising me. I could never live up to being her daughter.”

“Yiyi!” The refined woman beside the beautiful woman gasped, looking at the beautiful woman, whose eyes were now rimmed with red.

Luo Mingzi refused to let it go. “Who is Yiyi? I don’t know a Yiyi! If you don’t believe me, ask the person sitting next to you if that’s exactly what she told me back then.”

“Fang Lele, speak up!”

Memories of the past, combined with everything that had happened this year, filled Luo Mingzi with a mixture of rage and grievance. She was in full attack mode, her words sharp and unsparing. Hearing her call her mother by her full name caused the air in the room to freeze. Those surrounding them were at a loss for how to intervene.

Luo Mingzi’s mother looked like she was on the verge of tears.

She was the one who should feel wronged! Luo Mingzi also looked like she was about to cry. Right then, a calm and clear voice drifted from the phone she had discarded on the side.

“Mingzi, apologize.”

Luo Mingzi kept her neck stiff, locked in a tearful glare-off with her mother. But upon hearing Li Yue’s voice, her tears began to fall in earnest.

Li Yue called her name again.

Luo Mingzi bit her lip. After waiting for Wu Xuezhen to wipe the tears from her face, she turned her head away and said reluctantly, “I’m sorry, Ms. Fang. I shouldn’t have called you by your name.”

Ms. Fang still looked furious and remained silent.

Li Yue spoke calmly. “Auntie, I didn’t expect to speak with you under these circumstances. It has been more than three years since we last spoke. As you can see, Mingzi and I are still together.”

Ms. Fang immediately glared at the phone. Luo Mingzi wiped her eyes, pulled the phone onto her lap to protect it, and pushed away a puppy trying to lick her face. She said in a thick voice, “Don’t lick me, we’re in the middle of a fight.”

“Whimper.” The puppy gave a pitiful cry.

In the phone, Li Yue let out a soft laugh. The sound was light, like a gentle breeze passing over a bright moon, instantly calming the tangled emotions of everyone in the VIP room.

Li Yue said, “When Mingzi left home in a fit of pique and made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, it might not have been the future you planned for her. But seeing her achievements today, surely you are happy for her, Auntie?”

Fearing that Ms. Fang would respond with sarcasm, the refined woman beside her quickly chimed in, “Yes! She doesn’t say it out loud, but she’s so proud. She often tells us about what awards Yiyi won or what brands she’s endorsing. She only buys things Yiyi endorses when we go shopping!”

Luo Mingzi’s lip twitched upward. She glanced at her mother and whispered, “Is that true?”

Ms. Fang’s face flushed. She stayed stubborn. “What is there to be proud of! If she had just been obedient back then and didn’t get involved in all this mess, she would have been in the company waiting to take over her father’s position. Does the money she made these past few years even equal the pocket change our family makes in a year?”

That’s so condescending! Is your “pocket change” really that much?

Luo Mingzi was angry again, but realizing she couldn’t refute that specific point, she took a different route: “Ms. Fang, is your husband about to retire? Tell him to exercise more!”

“How can you talk about your father like that!” Ms. Fang snapped back.

Though they were both angry, they weren’t screaming as they had been before. Perhaps they were tired. Consequently, Li Yue’s laughter remained clearly audible.

For some reason, whenever Li Yue spoke, everyone instinctively went quiet. However, Li Yue’s next words weren’t as soft as her tone.

Li Yue: “Auntie, no matter how much you deny it, Mingzi’s professional success is obvious to everyone. She has proven her capability. I understand your anger toward me, but I believe that family, those connected by blood should not become stumbling blocks in their own child’s career.”

Hearing this, Wu Xuezhen suddenly remembered the “unpleasant” fallout between Luo Mingzi and the crew of A Dream of Southern Heaven earlier this year. She looked at the guilt-stricken Ms. Fang in shock. She never realized the truth behind why Luo Mingzi left the show halfway through was this.

The “Fire” in Luo Mingzi flared up. She clutched the phone and said “Exactly!” twice. She had almost forgotten, besides that incident, there was something else she had to clear up with her mother.

Luo Mingzi said indignantly, “Because you were so mean before, Li Yue wasn’t even thinking about debuting, she was just writing songs to get by. Now that she finally has some career ambition, you’re still trying to interfere. You’re so mean!”

Ms. Fang would not accept this accusation. She even stood up and said, “I’m interfering? If I really wanted to stop her, would she have even had the chance to release songs or debut? It’s all because of that show of yours! It’s one thing to date a woman, but making it known to the whole world? You are a public figure now, don’t you know the situation in this country? Do you only feel happy when people are gossiping and pointing fingers at you?”

The two women listening from a thousand miles away both froze.

The lady continued her tirade: “If I hadn’t had people keep an eye on things, she’d be tied to some other man on the trending searches right now. Would you be happy if she was on the trending list with someone else every day? Is that what you like?”

“And!”

She pointed at Luo Mingzi. The dazed Luo Mingzi instinctively puffed out her chest and gave a “Hmph.”

“Don’t be so proud. Look at the comments under your performances, do you know how many people curse you every day?” Mentioning this made Ms. Fang’s heart ache. She said sadly, “You could have chosen the widest, most beautiful path, but you insisted on going against your family. Every time I see your name on the trending list, my heart trembles. When I click in and see countless people insulting you, how do you think your father and I feel? We can’t even sleep. Even in our dreams, we hear people cursing you!”

Luo Mingzi’s eyes reddened again, but she remained stubborn. “Who told you to force me back then!”

“Why must you be with a woman!” Ms. Fang countered.

Luo Mingzi lifted her head and said loudly, “Because I just like her!”

In the stairwell of the hotel in Panshan City, the motion-sensor light suddenly clicked off. Moonlight spilled through the window, the glow dimming in the depths of Li Yue’s eyes.

Li Yue listened quietly. Through the phone, her dear girlfriend said in a tearful voice, “I like her. I’ve liked her since the first time I saw her. I worked so hard to pursue her before we got together. Why can’t you just understand?”

“I’ve told you so many times that I like her. Why do you treat it as a joke? Why do you have to hurt us…” Luo Mingzi cried, “Aren’t you my family?”

The VIP room fell silent for the third time. Ms. Fang leaned against the refined woman’s shoulder, silently covering her eyes with a handkerchief.

Luo Mingzi was being held by Wu Xuezhen. In the silence, she sniffed and whispered, “I don’t care what others say. So what if they gossip? What era is this? If people in this country really want to curse us, we’ll just go abroad and get married!”

Ms. Fang: “…” Wu Xuezhen: “…”

The refined woman: “…” Yan Qian, pretending to be invisible: “…”

In this third silence, Li Yue chuckled for the third time.

This time, her voice was incredibly tender.

“Alright. I’m with you whenever you’re ready.” Just after saying that, she paused for a second, seemingly checking her schedule. She added unhurriedly: “I have time tomorrow.”