My Wealthy Ex-Girlfriend Knelt and Begged Me to Come Back [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 73

“Tell the director I’m not going to the luncheon this afternoon.”

Leaving only this sentence behind, Ji Jiayu grabbed her bag and walked down the stairs alone, her steps swift as the wind.

Her assistant, Xiao Yao, stared blankly at Ji Jiayu’s hurriedly departing back, not understanding why she suddenly seemed so anxious.

“Huh? Xiaoyu, careful… don’t run so fast!!”

Down the mountain, into a taxi.

Forty minutes later, Ji Jiayu arrived at the designated location, beneath an office tower of Runtai Medical in the western district.

She half-ran over and stood before the elevators, already panting.

Bending down slightly, she pressed the elevator button. But no matter how many times she tried, the display screen stayed frozen on one floor, unmoving.

She pressed again, only to notice that the elevators to floors above the fifteenth now showed “false”—

Elevator malfunction.

Ji Jiayu’s brows drew together. She pressed the button for the elevator that could at least reach the twelfth floor. Since the conference hall was on the seventeenth, she would have to ride the elevator partway, then take the stairs the rest.

With a “ding,” the doors slid open.

Conference hall, high floor.

On stage, the speaker had just finished their report.

Applause thundered.

“Clap, clap, clap—”

From below came a slow, deliberate clapping.

A man raised his head, brows arched with arrogance, voice dripping with mockery as he spoke:

“President Qiu, that was quite the impressive proposal…”

“But where is your data source? What about your acquisition method, the follow-up experiments…? Without any supporting evidence, how can you claim our project is legal and compliant?”

“If there’s nothing to show, then this project shouldn’t be launched at all. It would damage the group’s reputation! Hahaha…”

The man, tall and long-legged, dressed in a black suit, oozed the slickness of a so-called “high-quality overseas returnee.”

He was none other than Qiu Changsheng.

Guests began murmuring in the audience, and faintly, objections to the project could be heard.

On stage, Qiu Miaoran stood tall and cold, her figure like a pine tree—straight and unyielding. Her gaze fixed icily on the man trying to impeach her.

She had already anticipated this.

Lips pressed tight, her eyes like still water, she switched the big screen from the presentation interface, preparing to pull up original data and authorization files.

Suddenly—

The control console jumped on its own, a video window popping open.

On screen appeared a woman with bruises on the corner of her eye and lip, bloodstains and scratches on her arm—Song Tingyu.

Her swollen lips curved into a feral smile, teeth flashing as she narrated alongside photos displayed in split-screen.

“Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to reintroduce Runtai Medical’s President Song, and Shengfu International’s legal representative, Qiu Changsheng—two shining ‘young entrepreneurs’ of our era…”

“First, Song Zheng—my second brother. A married man cheating, attending sex parties, finding joy in abusing women…”

“Second, Qiu Changsheng—the younger son of the Qiu family. Domestic violence, overseas smuggling, illegal foreign futures trading, tax evasion…”

“And together, they laundered money overseas. Oh, and five years ago—wasn’t it you two who hired someone to kill me?”

“Too bad, Zheng-ge, you didn’t manage to kill me. You hit the wrong car.”

“Oh, and thanks to Lin Qiaoxuan, heiress of the Lin family, for providing testimony~”

—

Qiu Changsheng glared furiously at Song Zheng.

Lin Qiaoxuan—she was supposed to cooperate with him on this bid. Yet instead, she had stolen internal data and turned the tables!

That bitch dared set them up!!

Song Zheng’s scalp went numb, his mind on the brink of collapse.

Qiu Miaoran did not touch the console again. Instead, she lowered her gaze toward the audience. Her elegant brows lifted slightly, phoenix eyes narrowing coldly, fixing on the man who had just attacked her.

“Go on.”

“Smuggling, tax evasion… Victory-bro, what’s the sentence for that? Ten years? Or decades?”

Flashes erupted—reporters snapping madly at the disgraced men in the front row.

When Song Zheng saw himself starring in those obscene photos, his eyes turned bloodshot.

Rationality shattered.

“Fuck you!!” he roared, shoving aside his assistant and charging at the stage to rip out the power cord.

Qiu Miaoran’s face remained icy. She stepped forward and, with a sharp sweep of her leg, kicked him off stage.

—God knew how she had such strength!

Song Zheng, weakened by years of reckless indulgence, staggered back and fell hard on his ass, like a fat pig tossed in the dirt.

He scrambled up, looking for Qiu Changsheng to fight back together—only to find his seat empty.

—Where was Qiu Changsheng? What kind of brother abandons him like this?!

“Fire!!” someone screamed from outside. Footsteps thundered, shrieks echoing:

“Run! The basement and the fifteenth floor are on fire!!”

Song Zheng’s eyes widened in horror. His scarred cheek twitched violently.

The basement stored goods. The fifteenth floor—accounting books, private ledgers…

Qiu Changsheng ran off—and burned it all? To destroy the evidence?

Fuck, that lunatic was worse than him!!

The conference hall erupted in chaos, people surging toward the exits.

Song Zheng tried to crawl to safety—

Only for a leather shoe to stomp on his face, grinding mercilessly.

His cheek was crushed flat against the floor.

Above him, Qiu Miaoran stood like the rumored “Jade-faced Asura,” her gaze ice-cold as she pressed him down.

“So… the car crash back then,” she said evenly,

“Was it your men?”

As Song Tingyu had revealed—

Because her flight had been rescheduled, she and Ji Jiayu missed the trip.

The car crash victim had been Ji Jiayu.

The accident meant for Song Tingyu had nearly killed Ji Jiayu instead.

—

In the stairwell.

Ji Jiayu climbed quickly, nose stinging from the thickening smoke.

What was happening?

Just then, a tall man brushed past her, hurrying downward.

“Excuse me—” she called.

He shot her a cold glance and continued down.

Ji Jiayu frowned but kept climbing. The acrid smoke grew thicker, the air choking.

“What’s going on?” she asked a group of office workers rushing down.

One woman stopped briefly, frowning. “The building’s on fire! Why aren’t you running down?!”

“Did you see President Qiu of Qiushui Venture?” Ji Jiayu asked anxiously.

“No…” the woman shook her head, then saw Ji Jiayu stubbornly running upward.

“Are you crazy? The fire’s blocking the way—soon you won’t get out at all!!”

But Ji Jiayu kept going. The woman clicked her tongue, gave up, and fled downstairs.

Ji Jiayu’s eyes burned, tears streaming from the smoke. Her chest heaved, dizzy from lack of oxygen.

The green exit signs blurred in her vision.

Stumbling, she crashed into a tall, slim figure.

It was Qiu Miaoran.

Her suit jacket was soaked, hair damp, but her arms wrapped firmly around Ji Jiayu’s trembling frame.

“What are you doing here?”

“Still running around?”

“Cough—cough…” Ji Jiayu doubled over coughing.

A wet jacket covered her head, enveloping her in Qiu Miaoran’s faint sandalwood scent.

“Cover your mouth and nose with the sleeve,” Qiu Miaoran instructed firmly.

Hand in hand, they ran downward together.

Though the smoke stung, Ji Jiayu’s heart steadied—no longer afraid.

She thought, better the two of us face this fire together than her alone.

But soon, flames roared up from below.

“We can’t go down!” Ji Jiayu choked, eyes squeezed shut. “The fifteenth floor is burning—it’s blocked!”

Sweat slicked their interlaced fingers.

“Then to the roof,” Qiu Miaoran said. “The rooftop!”

Upward they ran, lungs searing, until finally daylight blazed at the end of the stairwell.

The rooftop door burst open.

Qiu Miaoran shoved Ji Jiayu out into the open.

Her head spun, vision blackening from smoke inhalation. Her knees buckled, body collapsing backward toward the stairs.

“Miaoran!!”

Ji Jiayu lunged, clutching her arm with all her strength, dragging her back from the edge, hauling her onto the rooftop.

The soaked jacket slipped off her shoulders.

Only then did she realize—Qiu Miaoran had shielded her with the jacket, but had nothing for herself.

Kneeling beside her unconscious form, Ji Jiayu trembled violently.

Her mind raced. What to do… cardiac arrest? CPR?

Hands shaking, she pressed down on her chest—again and again.

Then, prying her lips open, she sealed her mouth over hers, breathing air into her lungs.

Tears streamed unchecked down her face.

She repeated desperately—until at last, Qiu Miaoran coughed violently, air rushing back into her lungs.

“Cough—cough…”

Relief crashed over Ji Jiayu like solid ground beneath her feet.

She realized then just how terrified she had been—terrified of losing her.

—

Later, on a hospital bed.

Qiu Miaoran stirred awake, vision blurry, light painful against her eyes.

Through the haze, she saw a figure leaning over her, bathed in golden sunlight—like an angel about to kiss her cheek.

Blinking hard, her sight cleared. It was Ji Jiayu.

Just like years ago, when their positions were reversed—

A circle, finally complete.

“You’re awake?” Ji Jiayu asked softly. “Want something to drink?”

“…Thirsty,” Miaoran rasped, her voice low and broken. Her hand lifted weakly to her throat. “What… happened to me?”

“Upper airway injury from smoke inhalation. Nothing serious. You just need rest.”

“And them?” Miaoran pressed.

“Qiu Changsheng and Song Zheng?” Ji Jiayu paused. “Song Zheng’s leg got burned off. As for Qiu Changsheng—he didn’t escape. The police caught him.”

“The trial will come. A fire can’t erase all the evidence.”

She took a thermos, pouring out warm carrot juice.

“Drink this.”

Miaoran sipped, the sweetness flowing down her scorched throat.

Then Ji Jiayu offered vegetable porridge in a lunch box.

“More vegetables. Doctor’s orders.”

Miaoran frowned. “I’m not a rabbit.”

Ji Jiayu chuckled softly. “Still need me to feed you?”

Miaoran closed her lips, fixing her dark eyes on her, silently demanding.

“…Fine.” Ji Jiayu sighed, lifting the spoon, blowing gently before feeding her bite by bite.

When the porridge was gone, Miaoran wiped her lips and murmured, “Reward.”

Ji Jiayu’s ears turned red. She leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, pulling back instantly.

“There. Done.”

Miaoran shook her head. “Not that. I want… a girlfriend.”

Ji Jiayu’s eyes curved with a smile, heart fluttering. She took her hand, fingers intertwining tightly.

“Is the porridge your girlfriend made good?”

“…You made it?” Miaoran asked.

“Of course. I cooked it myself,” Ji Jiayu said proudly.

For a moment, Miaoran was dazed. After so many years, she was finally eating Ji Jiayu’s porridge—made with sincerity this time.

“It’s good,” she whispered.

Ji Jiayu leaned close, brushing stray porridge from her hair. “You’ve really become a child now, huh?”

The touch of her slender fingers sent tingles through Miaoran’s scalp.

She thought, almost deliriously—

This fire… was worth it.

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