My Wealthy Ex-Girlfriend Knelt and Begged Me to Come Back [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 35

It had been a long time… really a long time—more than three years.

When they reunited, in the instant of their embrace, their eyes became moist.

Ji Jiayu leaped forward.

Ji Chen’s body swayed slightly; he moved his left foot before stabilizing himself, then gently patted her shoulder. “Did you miss me that much?”

Ji Jiayu let out a soft “Hmm” and had not expected herself to be so emotional, actually rushing forward like that.

She released her hold on Ji Chen, her cheeks turning a faint red, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“I missed you so much. Will you still avoid me in the future?”

Ji Chen pressed his lips into a smile. “I haven’t been avoiding you. I was abroad before, dealing with other matters.”

Ji Chen’s features bore some resemblance to Qiu Miao Ran, especially the high bridge of his nose and the brow bones, as well as his somewhat thin lips. The biggest difference was in their eyes. Qiu Miao Ran’s gaze was empty, giving off a cold, icy impression, while Ji Chen’s smile reached his eyes, making them dark and moist, the corners curved, full of warmth.

Time had left few traces on Ji Chen’s face; instead, it gave him a warm aura, like sunlight, infectious to those around him.

This was the gift of time to Ji Chen.

“Tonight my mother is coming back from Nancheng and wants to host a dinner,” Ji Jiayu asked, “she wants to see you too. Would you like to come?”

“Of course. I also want to meet your family, Xiaoyu.”

The two stood by the roadside, and before long, they hailed a car.

In a corner of the airport arrivals plaza, a slender, long-legged woman stood in a position that allowed her to clearly see the moment Ji Jiayu had rushed into Ji Chen’s arms.

Qiu Miao Ran watched everything unfold. At first, he saw Ji Chen, then the thin girl with a mask. The back of her figure was familiar.

When the girl spoke and called “Sister,” he immediately recognized her as Ji Jiayu.

Qiu Miao Ran stopped in his tracks, not approaching to greet Ji Chen, but stood silently, watching the two women embracing from afar.

A heavy feeling pressed on his chest.

As if a craving for a cigarette had struck.

Click—the sound of a lighter opening.

The plaza’s wind was mild. Perhaps his hands trembled; the lighter shook, the flame flickering.

After two attempts, he finally lit the cigarette.

Qiu Miao Ran inhaled deeply, smoke filling his nose and stinging his eyes, making them water.

He watched the two embrace until they got into a taxi.

He stood frozen, lost in thought, the cigarette clutched between his fingers. The falling ash burned his fingers, leaving a red mark.

“Ow…”

He inhaled sharply, then went to the nearest restroom, running cold water over his hand while still holding the cigarette, the water gushing loudly.

The pain mingled with a strange tingling sensation.

“This is a no-smoking area!” came a middle-aged woman’s voice.

The cleaning lady shook her mop in disapproval. “What kind of manners do young people have these days!”

Qiu Miao Ran was scolded, his long eyelashes drooping, the corners of his lips sinking. Coldly, he muttered, “Sorry,” stubbed out the cigarette, and left the restroom, his figure looking inexplicably defeated.

…

“Ji Chen,” Ji Jiayu tugged at Ji Chen’s sleeve, turning her phone screen toward her. “Look at this… I want to give it to you.”

It was a motorcycle from Italy, entirely black with subtle red patterns, part of the Monster series—renowned in niche circles, priced in the six- to seven-figure range.

“No need,” Ji Chen shook her head gently. “Xiaoyu, I don’t need you to buy this.”

“I’ve earned money now, sister…” Ji Jiayu’s lips curled into a smile, her soft cheeks forming shallow dimples. “I want to give it to you. I can afford it. I have my own performance fees now~”

Ji Chen lowered her head slightly, her hair falling from her temples, casting dark shadows across her face. Her warm eyes were partially hidden, adding a hint of melancholy. “It’s not that. I can’t ride a motorcycle anymore.”

“My left leg is the one for shifting gears…” Ji Chen whispered, lowering her head, her hand brushing over her thigh, fingers tugging at the fabric.

Ji Chen wore a khaki thin shirt and light beige long trousers. She lifted her pant leg slightly, revealing her left leg.

Where her left leg should have been, a glimmering metallic surface simulated the joints of a human leg.

“I can’t touch motorcycles anymore…” her voice was a soft sigh.

She was no longer the Ji Chen she had been. The landslide had taken her healthy body.

She was incomplete…

When Ji Chen fell off the cliff, she lost everything—phone, passport. After lying in the hospital for so long, she naturally lost contact with her homeland.

Ji Chen didn’t want to contact Ji Jiayu, but she simply couldn’t.

—Her sister had struggled to survive, and Ji Jiayu had even once resented Ji Chen for not coming to her.

Ji Jiayu turned her head, avoiding her gaze, her eyes flickering with discomfort. Her fingers tightened over her knee. “I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t know you…” Ji Jiayu pressed her lips, her eyelashes drooping, lips sinking slightly. She let out a quiet sigh, her voice hoarse. “You must have been in so much pain at that time?”

“No…” Ji Chen shook her head slightly. “They gave me anesthesia. It didn’t hurt much.”

What did anesthesia feel like?

Ji Jiayu knew clearly. During her own accident that year, the initial pain was excruciating, the bone drilling outward, blood flowing copiously, vision blurring into red and black.

Time seemed to freeze.

Eventually, she was taken to the operating room, and under anesthesia, she felt nothing—as if her body no longer belonged to her.

Just like Ji Chen said, “It didn’t hurt.”

Ji Jiayu didn’t want to talk about that accident with Ji Chen either.

They had both suffered, but now everything was fine. Everything was moving toward something better.

Ji Chen turned her head, looking at Ji Jiayu’s profile. The girl looked slim, her lips slightly downturned, eyes lowered, blinking rapidly. Her eyes were slightly red around the rims.

The little girl had grown up—but she still liked to cry…

“I can live normally,” Ji Chen suddenly said, her left hand lightly brushing over her knee through the pants.

“Walking daily isn’t a problem. But my sensitivity and precision are insufficient. I can’t do intense activities.”

With a prosthetic leg, she couldn’t even drive a regular car, let alone ride a motorcycle.

“Hmm,” Ji Jiayu lowered her gaze to Ji Chen’s left leg. The trousers hid it well; visually, it didn’t look much different from a normal leg. “That’s good then.”

“It’s just harder to maintain,” Ji Chen continued joking.

“When I used to ride motorcycles, I had to wear a ‘mechanical leg’ too—knee pads made of carbon fiber, which were easier to use than this one.”

“Oh,” Ji Jiayu nodded. “This is metal—it looks cooler. Sister, you’ve upgraded.”

“Yes,” Ji Chen smiled softly, seeing the sparkle in the little girl’s eyes. “I’ve upgraded.”

Twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped at a Cantonese private kitchen in the northern new district of downtown Nancheng.

Ji Jiayu glanced at her phone; Lin Wan had sent her the reservation details.

“Hello, do you have a reservation?” the front desk attendant asked with a smile.

“Yes.” Ji Jiayu showed the phone screen to the attendant.

“Please follow me. Your table is on the 17th floor, Yan Shui Tao Hua Pavilion, near the left side.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The two took the elevator up. At the door of the private room, Ji Jiayu knocked.

“Xiaoyu, the door’s open. Come in yourself,” Lin Wan’s voice came from behind the door.

Ji Jiayu pushed the door, walking in first, not noticing the slight look of surprise on her face at Ji Chen following behind.

Ji Jiayu pulled out a chair, leaning in beside Lin Wan.

Ji Chen sat a few steps away, nodding slightly to Lin Wan and the others. “Qiao Xuan… Aunt Lin…”

“I didn’t expect…” Ji Chen sat, smiling, “So Aunt Lin… you are Jiayu’s family?”

Lin Wan raised her brow. “Xiaoyu’s sister… so this is Miss Ji Chen.”

“Why?” Ji Jiayu looked around. “You know each other?”

“Of course, we’re acquaintances,” Lin Qiao Xuan, seated diagonally opposite Lin Wan, said.

She first looked down, then glanced at Ji Chen, then at Ji Jiayu’s reaction.

“Ji Chen is my ex-fiancée’s… aunt,” Lin Qiao Xuan said softly.

Ji Jiayu’s lips parted slightly, repeating the last two words slowly: “A…unt?”

Lin Wan didn’t yet know the relationship between Ji Jiayu and Qiu Miao Ran. She nodded in agreement.

“When the Qiu and Lin families arranged the engagement, Ji Chen was present. We know each other.”

What did this mean? Qiu Miao Ran was her sister’s niece?!

It drove her crazy… What had she done in the past two years?

Qiu Miao Ran had indeed been despicable… and what about herself?

She had used her sister’s niece as a tool, as a substitute…

In that instant, it was like a lightning bolt struck her head, as if her lungs were being scorched, as if her heart was on fire.

It was suffocating. Even though it was early spring, and the weather in Nancheng was perfect, her heart felt heavy.

She couldn’t sit still anymore.

Ji Jiayu’s hand trembled as she held the water glass. She could barely grasp it; it slid against the table edge, scraping and making a sharp crack, spilling water and leaving wet marks on the tablecloth.

As the glass tipped over completely, a hand reached out, clean and pale, steadying it.

Ji Chen withdrew her hand and asked, “Are you okay?”

Ji Chen didn’t yet know… at least not now. She didn’t know what Ji Jiayu had done.

“It’s nothing…” Ji Jiayu shook her head slightly, her voice low and hoarse. “I just slipped… sorry.”

Ji Jiayu cleared her throat, standing up. The chair scraped against the floor with a harsh crack. “I might not feel well.”

Everyone turned to look at her.

Lin Wan frowned, gripping her glass. “Xiaoyu, what’s wrong? Should I take you to the hospital?”

“No, it’s okay,” Ji Jiayu shook her head repeatedly, waving her hand. “Mom, you take care of Sister Ji Chen.”

“I’ll go first then.”

Ji Chen stood, the chair scraping against the floor with a piercing sound. “I’ll go see you off…”

“No, this meal is your mother’s treat for you,” Ji Jiayu waved her hand, looking at Ji Chen seriously. “If you don’t eat and come see me off, I won’t go to the hospital…”

“Okay, then. Be sure to check the hospital yourself, see if you’ve caught a cold.”

Ji Chen smiled helplessly. How could such a grown girl still act like a child…

They took the elevator down.

Ji Jiayu walked out of the Cantonese kitchen.

It had been raining in Nancheng. Even on a sunny day, there was a chance of rain. At that moment, a few raindrops fell on her face, cool to the touch.

Ji Jiayu reached out her hand; her knuckles were wet. The rain was light. She didn’t know how long it had been raining.

A front desk attendant walked over. “Do you have an umbrella?”

Ji Jiayu shook her head. “No.”

The attendant pulled a transparent plastic umbrella from the stand. “Would you like a disposable one?”

This private kitchen, also called Delicacy, was known for service and food quality throughout Nancheng.

Ji Jiayu accepted the umbrella, lips pursed into a small smile, her soft cheeks dimpling. “Thank you.”

With a click, the umbrella opened. Raindrops fell on its surface, producing a soft tap, tap sound.

Ji Jiayu walked into the rain.

Along the blue-stone path of the small courtyard, she walked out.

Just as she was about to cross the street, a figure blocked her path.

The person wore a shirt, a light beige thin coat over it, and a black high-waist skirt that accentuated a narrow waist.

Judging by her figure, tall and slender, she was very elegant.

Qiu Miao Ran’s shoulders and chest were wet from the rain. The shirt, soaked, darkened, becoming slightly transparent, revealing the contours of a delicate black bra strap beneath.

She must have been waiting here for a long time, certain Ji Jiayu wouldn’t eat the dinner.

Qiu Miao Ran stopped her, her dark phoenix eyes brooding. Her hair was loosely tied at the back, wet and clinging to her neck.

Her skin, soaked with water, looked even paler. Hair strands were disheveled.

She looked a bit like a drowned dog. Her voice was low and hoarse.

“Can we talk now?”

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