My Wealthy Ex-Girlfriend Knelt and Begged Me to Come Back [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 37

Looking at the door that Ji Chen had just opened and then locked again, Qiu Miao Ran recalled what Ji Chen had said to her that morning in the office—

“So?” Ji Chen looked at Qiu Miao Ran, her fingers lightly tapping on the computer screen, pointing to line after line of tracked data. “You violated someone else’s privacy without their consent?”

“She’s the person I mentioned to you before. I’m sorry, Auntie, you might have already guessed who she is… Over these years, while you were absent, she went through a lot. I didn’t protect her well…”

Qiu Miao Ran explained, her heart tangled like a knot of rope, confused and helpless as never before.

“At that time, I thought she loved me very much and wouldn’t get angry over such a small matter. I thought she was only temporarily upset. I didn’t know how to make her happy again. But she had already told me she wanted to break up—how could it happen like this…”

For the first time, she encountered something that left her completely at a loss. Qiu Miao Ran hadn’t even had the chance to confess properly before being unexpectedly rejected.

“She loves you,” Ji Chen suddenly asked, “but do you love her? Would you marry her?”

Three years ago, Qiu Miao Ran’s engagement to the Lin family’s daughter, Lin Qiaoxuan, had almost spread throughout all the elite circles of the capital.

“I…” Qiu Miao Ran rubbed her fingers together, her palms sweating slightly, her voice carrying an inexplicable sense of panic, “I don’t know if I love her…”

Ji Chen shook her head slightly, full of helplessness as she looked at her only niece—

Qiu Miao Ran had excellent upbringing; every gesture and movement reflected the dignity of her wealthy family. She was refined, a perfect reflection of her background.

Yet as a living person, she had been trained to become a precise instrument, capable of calculating every gain, loss, and risk.

She seemed to understand everything but was so cold, as if devoid of human warmth, so strange.

Externally exquisite, but internally hollow, like a bamboo shoot stripped of its layers; after peeling away everything, there’s nothing left in the heart.

It was simply that her older sister had passed too early, and clearly, the Qiu family’s upbringing of Miao Ran had gone wrong.

“I won’t marry Lin Qiaoxuan. I’ll tell Grandfather this week that I’ve broken off the engagement with the Lin family,” Qiu Miao Ran said, finally seeming to release some emotions; she spoke more than usual.

“As for marriage, if she wants the Qiu family status, I can give it to her, though I still don’t know if I truly love her…”

“That’s not love,” Ji Chen interrupted, furrowing her brow slightly. This expression made her look less gentle and warm than usual—almost strict, carrying the weight of a senior family member.

“You never asked her whether she wanted it from start to finish.”

“Miao Ran, love is about respect. Both sides are equal. It’s not issuing orders and obeying them, nor is it acting first and informing later. Every time you act first and report later… do you really love her?”

—Love is respect, and both sides are equal.

Ji Jia Yu had said the same thing at the time of their breakup.

It felt as if something struck the top of Qiu Miao Ran’s head, sending a faint pain through her nerves.

She seemed to understand, yet also didn’t.

Qiu Miao Ran removed her gold-rimmed glasses and rubbed the corners of her eyes. “I’m really sorry, Auntie… I don’t know what to do.”

“Then don’t touch her anymore,” the voice said softly.

Qiu Miao Ran froze for a moment. In that instant, it was as if she saw Ji Chen slightly lowering her eyes, a strange emotion flickering in them—like a fire burning inside.

Sometimes, an unintentional microexpression reveals true feelings.

But the next moment, Ji Chen’s eyelashes drooped, and when she opened her eyes again, her gaze was calm and gentle.

“What I mean is, since you’ve broken up, don’t force her anymore. Give each other some space, alright?”

Qiu Miao Ran hesitated for a long while before answering slowly, “Alright.”

Ji Chen said no more. Her breathing was heavier than usual.

—Sorry, Miao Ran,

I’m not a god; I have my own selfish desires too…

…

“If I didn’t save you, you would have died. That was out of humanitarian reasons. But the subsequent observation was just to measure the stability of the project results and evaluate investment risks.”

Ji Chen didn’t tarnish Qiu Miao Ran’s image. She selflessly and honestly told Ji Jia Yu the truth, including everything Qiu Miao Ran had done.

“Privacy violated… would you sue her?”

Ji Chen’s voice was gentle.

“No. After all, she saved me,” Ji Jia Yu shook her head. “Besides, I don’t want to have too many entanglements with her anymore.”

Qiu Miao Ran wasn’t completely useless either. At least Ji Jia Yu no longer needed to constantly “refresh life points.”

The previous symptoms—tinnitus, hallucinations, chest tightness, memory decline—caused by the car accident, rarely appeared anymore…

Merits and demerits balanced each other. They were always in a mutually utilitarian relationship.

Ji Chen lifted her hand, her fingers white and delicate, lightly tapping on the blinking cursor on the computer screen.

“There’s another IP moving around. The other party set interference to deliberately prevent tracking their exact location.”

Ji Jia Yu looked at the screen and lightly hummed.

“This isn’t urgent. You haven’t told me… why are you at the Qiu family’s company? Aren’t you going back to the research institute?”

“This doesn’t conflict with the research institute… I have work here too,” Ji Chen gestured toward her, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Come a little closer.”

Ji Jia Yu leaned forward, her hair slipping down her shoulders. As it fell, the strands brushed against Ji Chen’s hand holding the mouse, tickling slightly.

Ji Jia Yu leaned even closer, her round almond-shaped eyes blinking slowly as she focused on the screen.

Ji Chen’s hand holding the mouse curled slightly, catching a hint of her sweet scent—delicate and pleasant.

“Press the Enter key.”

Ji Jia Yu gently tapped the key with her fair index finger.

The screen, previously only black and white, suddenly glowed with a faint golden light. The light gathered like mist, gradually forming a goldfish, which swished its tail across the screen before slowly dispersing into a photo.

—In the photo, the girl wore a graduation cap, her lips forming a small smile that revealed shallow dimples, her eyes curved into crescents.

She smiled so purely; the wind lifted her hair into a perfect arc.

It was Ji Jia Yu’s graduation photo.

“Belated… congratulations on graduating.”

“I’m sorry I missed your graduation ceremony; here’s my gift now.”

“You are my little sister, Xiaoyu, always.”

Ji Chen’s voice was like the warm sun in spring, gentle and approachable. “All those hardships are over now. You will never suffer again. Xiaoyu, you must be happy…”

Be happy… my little sister…

All suffering will eventually pass, like a fish leaping through the dragon gate, like a phoenix’s rebirth.

Ji Jia Yu would gain a new life in her own way.

…

Much later.

“Ding—” The elevator doors opened.

Qiu Miao Ran walked out. She went to the end of the hallway, took out her keys, and locked Ji Chen’s office door.

A figure hurried over, seeing Qiu Miao Ran locking the door, and stopped.

“I guess I’m late,” Song Ting Yu sighed.

Ji Jia Yu had left, and she couldn’t meet her.

“Why bother, Director Song…” Qiu Miao Ran pulled out the key and glanced at the newcomer with a hint of sarcasm.

“Just live happily with your foreign husband. Isn’t that enough? Someone like Director Song… really laughable…”

Qiu Miao Ran’s expression remained calm, her brows serene, her eyes emotionless. One hand gripped the key tightly, her knuckles whitening from pressure.

She seethed internally—some person, already married, still unable to behave properly, always coveting someone else’s girl, like a frog staring at a swan in a well. Disgusting.

Song Ting Yu snorted lightly. “If you knew who my deadbeat husband is, you wouldn’t be laughing.”

“None of my business.” Qiu Miao Ran pocketed the key and turned, brushing past Song Ting Yu. “I don’t want to know either.”

Having missed meeting the beauty, Song Ting Yu was about to leave.

“Ding,” the elevator doors opened. Both entered.

“Qiu Miao Ran,” Song Ting Yu said, turning to look at her profile. Suddenly she spoke: “I really envy your face. You’re really beautiful…”

“Director Song looks good without heavy makeup too,” Qiu Miao Ran replied perfunctorily, frowning slightly, pressing her lips, stepping half a step away from Song Ting Yu.

Song Ting Yu, however, moved half a step left, not avoiding Qiu Miao Ran at all. She stared directly at her face, her red lips parting, eyes half-closed, her gaze challenging. “You look so much like Ji Chen… so much…”

“You’re really beautiful…”

“Don’t you get it yet, Director Qiu…”

That was why Qiu Miao Ran could stay by Ji Jia Yu’s side for so long, even accomplish more—

All thanks to a face like this.

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