The Movie Queen's Beloved Crybaby Alpha - Chapter 77

Ning Yunshu cradled the weighty scrapbook in her arms, her eyes already brimming with tears. She wanted to smile, yet feared bursting into tears. She wanted to cry, yet worried Ye Qinglan would fret over her.

This was the most precious gift she had ever received.

“Xiao Shu?” Noticing her unusual silence, Ye Qinglan called softly.

Snapping out of her daze, Ning Yunshu turned to see Ye Qinglan’s concerned expression and quickly forced a smile. “Thank you, Jiejie. I love it.”

The audience erupted into teasing cheers. Ning Yunshu shot the host a meaningful glance before grabbing Ye Qinglan’s hand and pulling her offstage into the lounge.

The lounge was empty everyone was still in the main hall. Both exhaled in relief.

Still clutching the scrapbook, Ning Yunshu refused to let go. Just as Ye Qinglan was about to speak, a knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” she said instead.

Zhou Tiantian entered, carrying a jewelry box, which she handed to Ye Qinglan.

“Ye-jie, would you like something to eat?” Zhou Tiantian asked.

Ye Qinglan glanced at Ning Yunshu before replying, “It’s fine. Tiantian, go ahead and eat. Don’t worry about us.”

Zhou Tiantian hesitated but, sensing Ye Qinglan wanted to speak privately with Ning Yunshu, nodded. “Alright. Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.”

Once Zhou Tiantian left and closed the door, Ye Qinglan turned to Ning Yunshu. “Are you okay, Xiao Shu?”

“Hmm? Yeah.” Ning Yunshu nodded, then eyed the jewelry box. “Jiejie, why don’t you try them on?”

Ye Qinglan looked between the box and Ning Yunshu’s eager expression before agreeing. “Alright.”

She opened the box, and Ning Yunshu immediately offered, “Let me help you.”

“Okay.” Ye Qinglan didn’t refuse.

Ning Yunshu carefully took out each piece and adorned her with them, all except the tiara. Seeing Ye Qinglan wearing the jewelry she had designed herself, Ning Yunshu’s eyes curved into crescents of joy.

“See? This set suits you best.”

Ye Qinglan smiled, then asked, “Are you hungry? Should we go out for a bite?”

Ning Yunshu studied her before suggesting, “Jiejie, why don’t we go out somewhere?”

“Huh?” Ye Qinglan blinked in confusion.

“Let’s eat out. There are a few places I really want to try,” Ning Yunshu pressed.

“But…” Ye Qinglan hesitated, thinking of the crowd still in the hall.

Yet under Ning Yunshu’s pleading gaze, she couldn’t resist. “Fine. I’ll let Ke-jie know.”

“Shh, don’t tell anyone. It’s our birthday. Let’s do things our way. Trust me, it’ll be fine,” Ning Yunshu insisted.

Ye Qinglan naturally trusted her. “Okay. I’ll follow your lead.”

After packing the jewelry box and scrapbook, Ning Yunshu took Ye Qinglan’s hand. “Let’s go. We’ll slip out quietly.”

Ye Qinglan couldn’t suppress a grin, an unprecedented thrill surging through her.

Following Ning Yunshu, they sneaked out through the hotel’s back door and sped away in Ning Yunshu’s car leaving everyone behind in the banquet hall.

In the banquet hall, after Zhou Tiantian came out and mentioned that the two just wanted to rest for a while, the crowd didn’t pay much attention and continued socializing, mingling among themselves.

Ke Ying had been dealing with various guests but hadn’t seen Ye Qinglan and Ning Yunshu emerge for a while. Knowing Ye Qinglan as she did, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Still, since Ning Yunshu was with her, she shouldn’t have been this worried.

But Ning Yunshu had always followed Ye Qinglan’s lead, so that wasn’t entirely reassuring.

With that thought, she politely excused herself from the conversation and headed to the lounge, knocking on the door.

“Qinglan, President Ning, are you in there?”

No response came.

Ke Ying frowned unconsciously and knocked again, but the room remained silent.

Finally sensing something was wrong, she instinctively turned the doorknob. The door wasn’t locked, so it opened easily.

Inside, the lounge was empty.

A vein throbbed at Ke Ying’s temple. She should have known when Ye Qinglan was this quiet, she was definitely up to no good.

Now, both key figures of the banquet had vanished into thin air.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled out her phone and dialed Ye Qinglan’s number.

The other end picked up obediently, but the words that followed made Ke Ying’s stomach churn.

“Oh, Ke-jie, so you’ve finally noticed we’re gone, huh?”

Suppressing her anger, Ke Ying gritted her teeth. “Where the hell are you right now? Is Little President Ning with you?”

Ye Qinglan chuckled softly. “Of course she is. If we’re eloping, where else would she be?”

“Eloping?” Ke Ying let out a disbelieving laugh.

“You little brat, all the guests are waiting for you two outside. Where are you? Get back here now.”

As she spoke, she noticed Qin Yun approaching clearly, she had also realized her boss was missing.

Qin Yun had indeed sensed something amiss, but the sight of Ke Ying’s darkened expression and clenched jaw as she spoke into the phone told her everything.

Great. Her boss and her boss’s wife had sneaked off.

Ye Qinglan, still amused, replied, “Sorry, Ke-jie, but just for today, I’m going to be selfish. You’ll have to handle things there.”

“As if you haven’t been selfish enough before! Hey? Hey?!” Before Ke Ying could say more, the call was abruptly cut off.

Her blood pressure felt like it was skyrocketing.

“That absolute menace!” she spat through gritted teeth.

Qin Yun sighed helplessly beside her. “Seems like they have no intention of coming back.”

Ke Ying shot her a look. “Why do you look so accepting of this? Aren’t you going to call your boss and ask?”

Qin Yun shrugged. “If your call didn’t work, mine won’t either. Besides, ever since my boss returned to the country, she’s been doing unexpected things, all related to Miss Ye. I’m used to it by now.”

“Your adaptability is impressive,” Ke Ying muttered sarcastically before exhaling in resignation.

“Whatever. There’s no way I can hunt them down across the city. S City is huge, who knows where they’ve run off to? I’d better warn PR to keep an eye on online chatter.”

With that, she made another call to brief the PR department.

Qin Yun, seeing no other option, also contacted her own PR team to coordinate monitoring efforts.

In short, it was all due to these two people’s sudden whims that the PR departments of both companies were in for another round of headaches.

On the other side, after hanging up the phone, Ye Qinglan sat with Ning Yunshu at a small street stall, enjoying a bowl of spicy hotpot.

“How was it?” Ning Yunshu asked with a smile, watching Ye Qinglan.

“Not great. Just brace yourself for a scolding tomorrow,” Ye Qinglan replied, picking up a skewer of fried snacks to munch on.

“Even after all these years, the taste here still brings back so many memories,” Ye Qinglan mused.

At that moment, the two of them were sitting at a street food stall. To avoid drawing too much attention, they had even gone home to change into casual outfits.

Ning Yunshu chuckled softly as she handed her a napkin. “You’re right. It still tastes just like before.”

Back in their high school days, the two of them would often sneak here after school to share a plate of fried skewers or a bowl of spicy hotpot before wandering around for a while before heading home.

It had become an irreplaceable part of their shared memories.

They had worried that the stall might have closed or been replaced, but to their delight, it was still there when they arrived. Naturally, they had to relive those old times properly.

Once they had eaten their fill, Ye Qinglan rubbed her stomach contentedly while Ning Yunshu paid the bill. They then decided to take a stroll down the street.

After buying ice cream and sharing a stick of cotton candy, Ye Qinglan looped her arm through Ning Yunshu’s and hummed a tune.

She had only made minimal efforts to disguise herself, so occasionally, she was still recognized. Sometimes, she would grab Ning Yunshu and make a quick escape; other times, when there was no avoiding it, she would oblige with a photo, gently reminding the fan not to post it online.

All in all, despite the constant dodging, Ye Qinglan was thoroughly enjoying herself.

Seeing her so happy, Ning Yunshu couldn’t help but smile as well.

Once they had their fill of fun, the two finally headed home.

The moment they stepped inside, Ye Qinglan kicked off her shoes and flopped onto the couch.

“I’m exhausted,” she groaned, sprawling ungracefully before beckoning Ning Yunshu with a lazy flick of her fingers.

Ning Yunshu approached, only for Ye Qinglan to loop her arms around her neck and whine, “I’m so tired. I don’t want to move.”

Ning Yunshu gazed at her fondly. “Then rest for a bit, jiejie?”

“No,” Ye Qinglan murmured before suddenly leaning in to whisper in her ear, “How about you carry me to the shower instead?”

Ning Yunshu’s breath hitched. She turned her head slightly, only to find Ye Qinglan grinning mischievously, with no intention of letting go.

Unable to resist, she pressed a kiss to Ye Qinglan’s forehead. “You asked for this, jiejie. Don’t beg for mercy later.”

With that, she scooped her up and carried her toward the bedroom.

Ye Qinglan giggled but didn’t struggle.

Once they reached the bathroom, the warm spray of the shower cascaded over their skin. A kiss, long overdue, ignited the atmosphere between them. Steam rose as the sound of running water mingled with soft moans and breathless murmurs of each other’s names.

“Jiejie…”

“Xiao… Xiao Shu…”

A night of passion unfolded.

The next morning, the soft glow of dawn filtered through the curtains, casting light across the room. Ye Qinglan instinctively turned over, curling deeper into Ning Yunshu’s embrace.

Ning Yunshu, in turn, instinctively tightened her arms around her. Pressed close, the two slept soundly, wrapped in warmth.

After a while, Ning Yunshu finally woke up. Gazing tenderly at Ye Qinglan still sound asleep in her arms, she gently kissed her forehead before carefully slipping away, wrapping herself in a bathrobe as she left the bedroom.

Moments later, Ye Qinglan was still asleep when her phone rang. Groggily rolling over, she grabbed the phone and answered without even checking the caller ID.

“Hello?”

Hearing the thick sleepiness in her voice, Ke Ying’s eyebrow twitched.

“Little ancestor, still sleeping? Get up quick, ‘Ten-Day Operation’ has been scheduled for release!”

Ye Qinglan’s eyes flew open as she bolted upright.

“What did you say?!”

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