Transmigrated as the CEO's Top-Tier Stand-in - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

An unlit cigarette was clamped between red lips.

Wang Luoshui leaned against the cold wall of the emergency stairwell, the cigarette between her lips, her hand in her pocket rubbing the metal cover of the lighter. She was seriously contemplating:

Why did I choose this moment to step out for a smoke?

Because Chasing Dreams 100 was holding its auditions in this building, the production team had rented both this floor and the one below. The lower floor was for the contestants’ performances, and the upper floor was for the directors and staff to work and meet. To prevent unauthorized entry, the building’s property management had specifically stationed personnel at the ground floor and near the emergency exits of these two floors.

This meant that anyone making noise in this stairwell must be part of the program staff, so she felt no psychological burden about sneaking out for a relaxing cigarette.

This moment of relaxation allowed her to overhear something terrible.

However, the two people downstairs were unaware that their conversation had reached a third party’s ears. After a moment of silence, Meng Rendong tried to find a spark of former passion in Ji Yu’s eyes, or perhaps something else she hoped to see.

But, there was none.

Those almond eyes, when looking at her, still gave a feeling of focused deep affection, but upon closer inspection, Meng Rendong noticed that the deep feelings were all in the past. Now, those eyes coldly reflected only her own image, devoid of any other emotions.

This caused her grip on Ji Yu’s arm to suddenly loosen.

Ji Yu took the opportunity to withdraw her hand, stepping back half a pace. She gave Meng Rendong a detached look, then turned to leave again.

As she reached the stairs, Ji Yu heard a low, hoarse voice, somewhat restrained and suppressed:

“Ji Yu, today is the last chance I’m giving you.”

Don’t go any further.

If you are willing to turn back now, I can overlook everything that happened before.

We can still be like we were for the past four years.

She understood Meng Rendong’s implicit message, but in the end, she only smiled back at Meng Rendong and replied softly, “I’m sorry.”

“CEO Meng,” Ji Yu maintained her gentle demeanor, but her words were devastatingly cruel: “We are already over—”

“May you have a safe and smooth life, and may we never meet again.”

The sound of footsteps gradually faded. Meng Rendong stood rooted to the spot, surrounded by the cold, lightless gloom, relying only on her hearing to discern that Ji Yu had gone far, moved to the lower floor, opened the fire door, and engaged in conversation with others…

Until all movement vanished, and only her own breathing could be heard in the stairwell.

Meng Rendong stood there, head lowered. Though she was impeccably dressed in expensive brands, with not a wrinkle on her collar or cuffs, and her expression was the usual air of inviolable dignity, somehow, she gave off the desolate air of a beaten dog.

After a long time.

A crisp “click” sound came from nearby.

Meng Rendong’s fingertips, hanging by her side, moved slightly. She heard the sound of high heels tapping on the concrete steps approaching from above. Lazily, she looked up and saw the red-leather-clad, heroic Wang Luoshui standing at the stair landing, looking down at her with crossed arms.

Wang Luoshui gently bit the cigarette in her mouth, a flickering light emanating from the tip of the slender smoke stick. As she spoke, wisps of smoke escaped from her red lips:

“I’m sorry.”

She raised her hands helplessly in a gesture of surrender: “My addiction kicked in. I really didn’t mean to stumble into your business.”

Meng Rendong silently looked up at her, offering no words.

Wang Luoshui was unnerved by her extreme quietness. She vaguely felt she was seeing her friend as she was years ago, right after Meng Rendong pulled Chu Jianyu out of the water. For a long time after that, Meng Rendong hadn’t spoken a word to anyone, as if she had instantly become deaf and mute, losing her perception of the outside world, completely withdrawn.

She didn’t want to see her friend, who had just managed to recover a bit, be devastated by the matter with Ji Yu. After much hesitation, she tentatively asked:

“Want to go for a drink?”

Ji Yu took a taxi back to the hotel.

After returning to the room, she took off her hat and collapsed onto the bed, completely motionless, as if all her strength had been drained. This continued until the Corgi nudged her with its head, pretending to be excited: “Yuyu! There seems to be a swimming pool in this hotel! Let’s go play in the water together!”

Ji Yu had been forcing herself to listen, but when she heard the Corgi mention the pool, her pupils contracted. After a long pause, she said apologetically, “I… I don’t like water.”

The Corgi’s ears twitched. It crouched beside her, thinking with a serious dog face, and then said again: “Then, let’s go eat something good! I think there’s a Cantonese restaurant on one floor. Shall we go try it?”

It just didn’t want Ji Yu to sink into negative emotions.

Ji Yu nodded, said yes, and then reached out to pet the Corgi, asking with a smile, “Why don’t you ask me about the audition?”

The Corgi tilted its head: “Why would I need to ask? You definitely passed!”

“Why?” Ji Yu curved her eyes.

The Corgi stuck out its tongue, rolled its eyes, and smartly replied: “Because the fact that Ji Yu is extremely talented is something even a dog knows!”

Inside the noisy Dream Isle Bar.

Meng Rendong was pulled by Wang Luoshui near the bar. Her ears were assaulted by the high-impact beats. Her brows were furrowed tightly, as if they could tie a knot. She spoke up: “Why didn’t we go to the fifth floor?”

Wang Luoshui hadn’t heard clearly, but guessed roughly from her mouth shape. She leaned close to her ear and shouted the answer: “Because! Heartbreak! Should be in this! Atmosphere!”

Meng Rendong stopped arguing. She sat on the high stool and silently ordered a bunch of drinks. She didn’t speak, just waited for the bartender to serve them, and then drank one glass after another.

Wang Luoshui was taken aback. After a moment, she shook her head with a wry smile. She clinked her glass against the one in Meng Rendong’s hand and brought her own drink to her lips.

She watched Meng Rendong drink herself under the table in ten minutes.

Meng Rendong usually didn’t drink much when she went out with them, and her tolerance was low. After just a few Long Island Iced Teas, her face flushed, and soon after, she passed out on the bar with no further movement.

Wang Luoshui poked her. Taking advantage of the music switching to a slower tune, she leaned in and said with a laugh, “Rendong, you can’t drink like that.”

Meng Rendong’s clear black and white eyes were fixed on the glass in front of her, as if looking at an object of profound hatred. She didn’t blink and ignored Wang Luoshui’s words.

Wang Luoshui figured she had sobered up enough. She sighed and asked, “Tell me, what happened?”

“Ji Yu… didn’t she always like you a lot? How did it come to a breakup? What did you do to her?”

Meng Rendong maintained her original posture, not looking at her.

Wang Luoshui had to approach from the side: “Oh, right, she came to the show audition today. She wrote a full list in the skills column: arrangement, lyric writing, instruments, vocal performance, dancing… she can do everything. Were you aware of this?”

Meng Rendong’s eyes moved.

After a long pause, she whispered, “No.”

Wang Luoshui had intended to make a joke, to tell Meng Rendong that Ji Yu actually had star potential even without her backing, but seeing her friend like this, she felt a pang of pity. She could only ask, “Then why did the two of you break up?”

Meng Rendong shook her head: “I don’t know.”

Wang Luoshui choked slightly. “There must be a reason, right? Did you argue? What did you argue about? Or did you do something that upset her?”

She rattled off examples, clearly worried that Meng Rendong, due to her low emotional intelligence, had unknowingly angered her little lover. But halfway through, Meng Rendong suddenly interrupted her:

“Luoshui.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you have someone you like?”

Wang Luoshui: “…”

She hesitated for a second. Fortunately, Meng Rendong’s intention wasn’t to pry, but to ask the follow-up question: “If you like someone, would you wish never to see her again?”

Wang Luoshui lowered her eyes, listening to the inexplicably cheerful tune playing in the background. She casually twitched the corner of her lips. Her lowered voice carried a hint of melancholy: “How could I bear to?”

Meng Rendong also smiled with her, looking genuinely drunk, the corners of her eyes slightly red.

She looked intensely at the wine glass in front of her again, as if looking at another person through the glass, and echoed: “Exactly, how could she bear to…”

How could she bear to never cross paths with me again in this life?

If Ji Yu truly liked her, how could she annihilate all their past affection overnight and say such words?

But if Ji Yu didn’t like her…

Meng Rendong shook her head and raised her hand, slightly knocking the glass aside.

The glass tilted on the table. Wang Luoshui reached out to steady it, opening her mouth to say something more, but heard Meng Rendong repeatedly whisper: “I don’t know, I don’t know…”

“What?” Wang Luoshui was afraid she would fall off the stool, so she got down and stood next to her.

Meng Rendong lay on the bar, looking down at the tabletop beneath her arms. She closed her eyes and uttered hoarsely:

“I don’t know anything.”

“Now, I don’t even know if she liked me at all.”

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