Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 50

Li Yue’s words rang out with such force that the others in the VIP lounge were left speechless, falling into a fourth heavy silence.

Yan Qian instinctively reached out to support Ms. Fang Lele, fearing she might faint from the shock. Having worked for Fang Lele for many years, Yan Qian understood this mother and daughter pair perfectly. Setting aside Luo Mingzi for a moment, Fang Lele herself was a pampered heiress who had been cherished since childhood, a status she maintained even after marriage. It was a case of “like mother, like daughter” their temperaments were cut from the same cloth.

However, in Fang Lele’s life, nothing seemed more devastating than her daughter falling in love with a woman and breaking ties with the family. Hearing them discuss which country to marry in, what kind of wedding to have, and which designer to hire for the dress right in front of her finally shocked her brain back into gear.

“No!” Fang Lele shouted. “I do not agree!”

Luo Mingzi shot back immediately, “I don’t care whether you agree or not regarding who I marry!”

“You…you!” Mrs. Fang was so livid she nearly toppled over again. Yan Qian’s anticipation paid off as she quickly steadied her, while the elegant woman beside her tried to calm her down from the other side.

The elegant woman initially wanted to say, “They’re just saying this to spite you, how could they possibly run off to marry abroad on a whim?” But then she remembered this was Luo Mingzi. The long lecture died in her throat, replaced by a soft, “It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t worry, just stay calm.”

Being more familiar with the mother and daughter than Yan Qian was, the elegant woman said gently, “Yiyi, your girl. Li Yue just debuted six months ago. Her career is just taking off and requires hard work. In this age of instant information, if news of a marriage suddenly leaks, it could severely impact both of your careers.”

Seeing Luo Mingzi’s look of indifference, the elegant woman smiled, her voice growing even more tender and persuasive: “Yiyi, your mother and I have been following your news. Although the internet is currently teasing you and Li Yue, how many of those people truly believe in you? Most are just following the trend for a laugh. If you actually admit it, those who treat it as a joke now might change their tune.”

Luo Mingzi’s expression softened, though she remained stubborn: “It’s not a joke between us. Let them say what they want, I don’t care.”

The elegant woman laughed and said, “Look at you, defending her so fiercely. You should understand how we feel. You defend her because you love her and don’t want her to suffer, we feel the same way. We love you, and we get angry when anyone says a word against you. Please try to understand the heart of a parent, especially your mother. How could she not hurt for you?”

Luo Mingzi fell silent, her eyes shifting to steal a glance at Fang Lele. Fang Lele sat leaning against Yan Qian, looking aggrieved and sighing deeply. Luo Mingzi pouted, saying with equal grievance, “If they hadn’t been so out of line in the beginning, things never would have come to this. Godmother, don’t just lecture me, tell her that.”

The “her” in question gave a huff, and Luo Mingzi immediately huffed back. The mother and daughter’s tone was identical.

Wu Xuezhen, who had been holding onto Luo Mingzi, only now realized that this elegant woman was Luo Mingzi’s godmother.

“And just because she ‘hurts’ for me, does that give her the right to interfere with our work? The things she did!” Luo Mingzi was still indignant, specifically referring to the attempt to cut Li Yue’s footage from Late Village.

Regarding the events of the past six months, the godmother found it hard to speak up, they were indeed in the wrong there.

The atmosphere in the VIP lounge turned awkward as everyone stopped talking. Fang Lele, remembering Luo Mingzi’s pained expression and heartbreaking words from earlier, felt a pang of sorrow. She wiped away a tear, but there was one thing she wouldn’t budge on.

“You cannot get married right now!”

Luo Mingzi replied again: “Hmph!”

I’ll marry her anyway!

Li Yue, whose presence had been somewhat diminished because she wasn’t physically there, suddenly spoke up: “Auntie, Mingzi has always been busy with work. She’s only recently had some time to rest.”

“I know there is a lot of negative criticism online regarding her career, but Mingzi hasn’t given up because of it. She is far stronger than you imagine,” Li Yue said in a serious tone. “The woman beside her is a household name in China, a drama professor at Beijing Media University, and Mingzi’s future mentor in her acting career. As her mother, you know Mingzi’s learning ability better than anyone. I believe that with Sister Xuezhen’s help, Mingzi will surely become a qualified actress.”

Wu Xuezhen leaned against Luo Mingzi and asked playfully, “Sister Xuezhen?”

Li Yue’s clear voice sounded somewhat helpless as she called out: “Mom.”

Mom?

The three women opposite them immediately fixed their gaze on Wu Xuezhen. They certainly knew who she was, and Fang Lele remembered that Luo Mingzi had been calling her “Mom” throughout the show.

She stared straight at Wu Xuezhen.

Though Wu Xuezhen was dressed simply, her aura was no less impressive than theirs. She smiled and said, “Hello to both of you. I am her mother-in-law.”

Fang Lele and her best friend: “?”

The biological mother, the godmother, and the mother-in-law, all three mothers were now gathered.

Luo Mingzi’s lips twitched upward. Realizing it, she tried to keep a straight face and whispered, “Why have you become the mother-in-law? We’re not doing the matrilocal ‘marrying-in’ thing anymore?”

Was Li Yue no longer “marrying into” her family?

Wu Xuezhen patted her and whispered back, “We’ll marry you into ours, we’ll marry you.”

That works too! Luo Mingzi was happy again.

Fang Lele’s voice sounded sour. “So what if she’s a qualified actress? She shouldn’t have taken this detour in the first place.”

“Stop repeating those useless words!” Luo Mingzi sneered.

The moment this mother and daughter spoke, sparks flew. Li Baiyun, who had been standing in the stairwell for a long time, felt like she was about to “rain” (tears), but her mood was actually quite good, rising and falling gently like the waves in the distance outside the window.

Her gentle voice still carried a calming magic as she said unhurriedly, “Auntie, Mingzi will be studying in Beijing for the next six months. She is very diligent and often forgets to eat when she’s busy. If you have time, please go and visit her.”

Luo Mingzi was about to say something like “I don’t want her to visit,” but Wu Xuezhen was quick to press her hand down.

Seeing that Luo Mingzi didn’t “object,” Fang Lele felt a surge of joy, but she quickly pursed her lips with restraint and said in a reluctant tone, “If I have the time.”

“Then you’d better stay busy,” Luo Mingzi muttered softly, though her heart felt lighter. She looked at her phone.

Across the screen and across the vast distance, she couldn’t see Li Yue’s expression. But even with the miles between them, an indescribable joy rose in both their hearts. Even if Luo Mingzi and her mother were still trading barbs, and even if there were still barriers between her love and her family, through their persistence over time, they finally saw the hope of being accepted by those of their own blood.

But Luo Mingzi remembered every single previous argument and conflict with crystal clarity. She folded her arms, adopting a haughty stance. Her eyes scanned the display cabinets of the KAPULA VIP lounge before she curled her lip downward and said coldly, “Since you called us in here and made my teachers wait for so long, you ought to compensate us… buy a bag for every one of them.”

Fang Lele gave a cold snort. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

She shot a glance at Yan Qian, who nodded with a smile and stepped out to invite the others in to pick out their bags.

Luo Mingzi pulled Wu Xuezhen over to sit on the sofa and pet the dog. Seeing her daughter acting so close to Wu Xuezhen, Fang Lele felt a surge of jealousy bubbling up inside her. Consequently, when Yan Qian brought in the bewildered actors and the KAPULA staff, they were greeted once again by the sound of bickering…

That night, on a certain social media platform, someone couldn’t resist posting a few group photos. In the photos, the poster had blurred their own face, but the un-makeuped Luo Mingzi beside them was still breathtakingly beautiful. Besides Luo Mingzi, the blogger also showed photos with other beautiful actresses, including big names like Wu Xuezhen, along with their autographs.

This was the blogger’s personal account and didn’t tag anyone. The caption mentioned that after working for six months, they had finally hosted heavyweight VIP guests for the first time, encountered many celebrities, and even managed to get some “tea”!

The people following this account were all friends of the blogger, and soon someone commented excitedly: “Oh my god! You actually met Luo Mingzi! And got an autograph! Is she really as good-looking as the fans say?”

The blogger replied immediately: “Extremely good-looking! Even better than imagined! She literally glows! And she was very kind in person; she’s nothing like what the marketing accounts say about her being a diva or difficult to serve. When our staff went for autographs, she spoke very gently, even apologized to us, and treated us to milk tea.”

The friend asked curiously: “Why did Luo Mingzi apologize to you guys?”

The blogger hesitated: “…I can’t really say.”

The friend egged them on: “Tell me, tell me! Anyway, hardly anyone follows your account except me. Just delete it right after you tell me, or DM me?”

Perhaps out of a desire to show off, the blogger couldn’t help but say: “Okay, I’ll delete it right after. Basically, today we hosted two extremely wealthy guests, wealthy beyond your imagination. Let’s just say, when she goes shopping with a friend, the entire street of luxury stores on Lanyuan Road closes down just to wait for them. While hosting them, we ran into Luo Mingzi and Wu Xuezhen. I and the others didn’t know what happened, but we were escorted outside by the bodyguards.”

Friend: “Huh? I don’t get it.”

Blogger: “How do I describe it… anyway, one of the VIP guests and Luo Mingzi clearly don’t get along. They looked like they were going to fight the moment they met. Maybe they didn’t want to argue in front of us, so the guest called Luo Mingzi into the VIP room. Luo Mingzi looked upset and dragged Wu Xuezhen in with her. Once inside, they started fighting and fighting hard. I couldn’t hear the specifics, but I know it was a fierce argument, we stood at the door for quite a while.”

Friend: “So that happened? Did Luo Mingzi offend someone powerful?”

Blogger: “Probably… anyway, when they came out after the fight, both Luo Mingzi and the VIP looked terrible. When I and the others went back in to serve them, I heard the guest say something disdainful about Luo Mingzi, something about her being ‘unpresentable.’ Luo Mingzi shot back that our brand’s designer was going to design a collection inspired by her, but the guest just sneered and had to be held back by the person next to her.”

Blogger: “But this guest was very generous. While we were waiting outside, our store manager and supervisor were actually panicking, fearing we’d be blacklisted by the guest. To our surprise, after the guest came out, she gave everyone except Luo Mingzi a bag and a bracelet, basically forced them on us.”

The friend immediately pried: “How much would that cost? I remember you work at KAPULA, it must be expensive!”

Blogger: “Sigh, the diamond hairclip on that rich person’s pet dog is worth more than my annual salary. That guest swiped her card casually, the gifts alone were worth a small seven-figure sum, and she bought a lot more with her friend afterward.”

Friend: “Must be nice… but giving gifts to everyone right in front of Luo Mingzi except her? Luo Mingzi’s face must have looked awful, right?”

Before the blogger could reply, a stranger suddenly commented under the post: “Is this for real? Why don’t I believe it? Spending millions on designer gifts just to slap Luo Mingzi in the face? And those people were with Luo Mingzi?”

As soon as the account owner refreshed the page, they found several more comments. Panicking, they deleted the post without hesitation. However, they didn’t realize that the chat with their friend had already been screenshotted and leaked. It was then forwarded by marketing accounts that thrived on drama, and within a short time, it spread everywhere.

Anything involving Luo Mingzi was bound to hit the trending searches.

While Luo Mingzi was happily eating with Wu Xuezhen and the other actors in a private dining room, the hashtag #LuoMingziOffendsSomeone was climbing the charts.

Before the blogger could hide their old posts, people had already used the information from the chat to dig up a lot of details. They confirmed the blogger was indeed a KAPULA employee on Lanyuan Road and even identified the “VIPs.” This was because the luxury brands in the Lanyuan Road district of central Beijing had indeed closed their doors to host these two guests, and curious onlookers had snapped photos and posted them online.

Socialite, dog, store closure.

Every piece of information matched. Although Fang Lele and her best friend were usually low-key, they had attended cocktail parties and company annual meetings, so their identities were quickly uncovered.

Fang Lele: The only daughter of the controlling shareholder of Fangsheng Real Estate Co., Ltd. her husband is Jiang Lixin, the current chairman of the established Chinese conglomerate, Mu Lin Sen. The other lady, Lin Qiong, is a shareholder of the famous Chuangyuan Medical and the wife of the executive director of Yonggang Machinery.

Whether it was Fangsheng Real Estate, Mu Lin Sen, Chuangyuan Medical, or Yonggang Machinery, these were all prestigious, long-standing Chinese enterprises with immense strength. In particular, the Jiang family, which controls Mu Lin Sen, has consistently topped domestic economic power rankings since expanding into new industries. However, the Jiang family is extremely low-key, and the company has never faced a major scandal, so many people had heard of Mu Lin Sen but not the names of the couple.

But now, everyone knew.

The habitually “arrogant and triumphant” Luo Mingzi was finally going to crash!

She had offended someone she shouldn’t have!

Amidst the online circus of worry, excitement, suspicion, and doom-mongering, someone sat behind a glowing screen, brows arched, carefully reading the information on Mu Lin Sen, Fangsheng Real Estate, Fang Lele, and Jiang Lixin over and over. A flame seemed to burn in her eyes.

Suppressing her excitement, she picked up her phone with trembling hands.

“No wonder Mu Lin Sen helped me snatch the female lead role from Luo Mingzi. She must have offended Mrs. Jiang a long time ago! To think Mrs. Jiang wouldn’t even give her a polite face in front of so many people, it looks like Luo Mingzi is going to take a huge fall this time!”

“If I had known Mrs. Jiang didn’t like her, I would have helped Mrs. Jiang deal with her long ago. I wouldn’t have had to suck up to her for so long. Pretending to be her best friend was exhausting. Luo Mingzi is so dramatic and high-maintenance. I coaxed her for so long only to gain a few fans, and I lost them all recently. Truly ridiculous, it was just one lead role. She’s a terrible actress and has plenty of resources anyway, why couldn’t she just give it to me?”

The phone screen was filled with text. The woman stared at the words “female lead” for a long time before typing.

“Don’t say that, she did help you, after all.”

The person on the other end seemed disdainful: “Stop acting with me, Min Xueren. We both know who the other is. I saw your previous livestream. Tell me, who do you want to target this time?”

Min Xueren’s lips curled into a smirk, her eyes flashing with unconcealed malice and ambition: “I didn’t intend to make a big scene, but I suddenly thought of something… ‘When a whale falls, ten thousand things are born.’ Think about it: how many opportunities will open up if she’s gone? Plus, you’ve already latched onto the titan that is Mu Lin Sen.”

“Since she offended someone she shouldn’t have, she can’t blame us for kicking her while she’s down.”