My Wealthy Ex-Girlfriend Knelt and Begged Me to Come Back [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 19

She had once looked forward so much to a future with Song Tingyu.

But now, the heart that once loved her had already died.

That year, in the car accident, it had died completely…

Ji Jiayu’s fingers slid across her screen. She deleted the notification of the message—read but not replied.

Chen Yiying was walking slightly ahead. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Ji Jiayu, who was busy on her phone, and a small thought suddenly stirred in her mind.

As they walked, Chen Yiying subtly shifted her body and “accidentally” kicked a plastic prop ball.

Ji Jiayu paused—her foot suddenly stepped on something soft.

On the narrow path beside the pool, out of nowhere, a plastic ball rolled into her way, clearly kicked over by someone.

Her foot slipped, and Ji Jiayu’s body swayed with it.

But she wasn’t the type to suffer silently, nor was she the type to swallow grievances after being messed with.

Her mind raced, quickly judging the situation—

Ji Jiayu pressed her lips together, reached forward, and grabbed a piece of soft chiffon fabric.

Chen Yiying hadn’t expected Ji Jiayu to grab at her, and her own body was pulled along with the motion, dragged toward the pool.

Splash—!

Splash—!

Water splashed high. Two figures, one in red and one in white, tumbled into the pool one after the other.

Ji Jiayu could swim.

She flailed a bit, but still choked on water. Her foot cramped, muscles spasming—she couldn’t kick properly…

Her chest tightened, water rushed into her nose,

Her eyes and nose stung; it was unbearable.

A loud buzzing filled her ears.

And she suddenly thought—when Song Tingyu had abandoned her and gone abroad two years ago,

should she have just… died then?

Very soon, a face surfaced in her mind—Ji Chen’s.

Back in the orphanage, Ji Chen hugged little Ji Jiayu tightly.
“We don’t have parents, so your sister will love you. From now on, you’ll take my surname.”

“You love studying, so I’ll pay for your university tuition. You can study whatever major you like.”

Ji Chen had a tall nose bridge, deep eyes, handsome features that carried a cool sharpness,

but her gaze was always gentle and soft.

During a mock exam in high school, when Ji Jiayu didn’t do well,

Ji Chen took her out for a ride to cheer her up. The pitch-black motorcycle roared,

dust billowing in the wind as they sped all the way to the end of the road.

Behind them was a cloud of dust, ahead the sinking sunset.

Ji Chen took off her helmet, slung one arm over Ji Jiayu’s shoulder, and said:

“This time you didn’t do well, then work harder next time. Later, when you go to university, I’ll come visit you at your school, alright?”

Ji Jiayu’s cheeks burned. She smiled and said, “Alright.”

Ji Chen had always only seen her as a little sister.

——But Ji Jiayu wanted to stand on the screen one day,

so that Ji Chen could see her as a grown woman worthy of standing by her side.

During her third year of university, after the Alpine road collapse incident, Ji Jiayu lost contact with Ji Chen.

Her sister… disappeared.

…

The water gradually closed over her head.

Her dark hair fanned out in the current, floating with the ripples.

Ji Jiayu shut her eyes; everything around her was black, suffocating pressure swallowing her whole.

Then—splash! Someone leapt into the pool.

A woman’s voice called out, hoarse, gasping for breath—

“Ji Jiayu!”

Through her blurry vision,

a woman’s shoulder-length hair was drenched, strands plastered to her cheeks, dripping. Her face looked so familiar.

Was it her sister?

Her wet lashes clumped, and those fox-like eyes—narrow, dark, deep-set, but never cold. No,

the expression carried sharpness, shadowed with anger.

No… it wasn’t her sister.

It was Qiu Miaoran’s face.

That usually composed, controlled face was twisted in fury.

Qiu Miaoran had jumped into the pool fully dressed, all grace abandoned.
“Ji Jiayu!!”

“Do you have a death wish? Who allowed you to die?!”

Her voice trembled with rage.

Ji Jiayu choked, coughing violently. “Cough, cough…”

Her waist was suddenly lifted by a pair of hands.

Qiu Miaoran’s fingers clenched tightly around her waist, knuckles turning white, as if the moment she let go, Ji Jiayu would sink back into the water,

like a little mermaid dissolving into foam, vanishing forever.

…

Ji Jiayu was wrapped in a white bath towel, held in Qiu Miaoran’s arms. She kicked her legs, struggling, “Let me go, I can walk on my own.”

“Don’t move.”

Of course, her struggle was useless. Qiu Miaoran carried her from the pool to a nearby lounge chair.

Qiu Miaoran crouched naturally, her long fingers holding Ji Jiayu’s delicate ankle.

Her ankle was so slender, like a fragile snow-laden branch that could snap with the slightest force.

Her toes were round, nails pale pink. After soaking in the water, her skin looked even more translucent. Droplets trailed down from her toes.

Qiu Miaoran held her breath, pressing her thumb against the arch of Ji Jiayu’s foot, gently massaging it.

“Why did you cramp up… does it still hurt?”

Ji Jiayu sniffled, nose pink, shaking her head. Water clung to her lashes, making her look pitiful and aggrieved.

Chen Yiying’s almond eyes widened in shock, her brows furrowed in anger, fists clenched tight.

She had never seen… this side of Qiu Miaoran.

Qiu Miaoran had never carried any woman like this, never massaged any woman’s feet. Even Qiao Xuan—her elder sister—never received such treatment.

The way Qiu Miaoran looked at Ji Jiayu in that moment—

it was indescribably strange.

Miaoran-jie was acting strange.

It wasn’t like Qiu Miaoran at all,

as if she had been bewitched, like a scholar entranced by a fox spirit, losing her senses in that instant.

Ji Jiayu’s whole body was soaked, a towel draped over her head as her wet hair dripped. Another towel covered her legs, wrapped around her knees.

The back of her dress was cut low, the red chiffon clinging wetly to her skin, showing her fair, translucent back. Her butterfly bones and spine stood out clearly.

Qiu Miaoran lifted her hand, almost touching her back, but stopped herself, fingers hovering, restrained.

Ji Jiayu’s nose was red, and she sneezed. The wind on the rooftop was harsh, chilling her wet body and making her shoulders shiver—making her seem all the more delicate and fragile.

Her back was thin, her shoulders snowy white.

Droplets dripped slowly from the ends of her hair…

Qiu Miaoran’s fingertips trembled, catching one bead of water that fell from her hair. She rubbed it lightly between her fingers,

desperately suppressing the urge to ruffle the crown of her head.

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