A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex (GL) - Chapter 5
Several weeks later, the investor dinner was held in the so-called ancestral family mansion of Rong Qingyao.
The sprawling estate in the suburbs was illuminated by streetlights that cast a glow on the milky-white stone bricks of the eaves and the thin layer of snow in the corner.
The path to the banquet was long and opulent. Rong Qingyao donned gold-rimmed half-frame glasses and wore a black velvet evening gown. When she casually brushed her hair aside, the elegant curve of her snow-white neck was revealed, utterly mesmerizing.
In the eight-meter-high atrium banquet hall, the murmurs of the guests gradually quieted. Old Master Cen paused and stopped his conversation as well.
The crowd, puzzled, followed his gaze and turned their heads.
In their line of sight, a refined and beautiful Eastern woman walked gracefully toward them. Her figure was striking, her demeanor aloof yet noble, exuding an unforgettable, poised elegance.
Looking at Old Master Cen in his tailored suit, Rong Qingyao suppressed the disgust in her heart and politely lowered her head in greeting:
“Father.”
Seeing that his illegitimate daughter was at least respectful, Old Master Cen nodded in satisfaction:
“Though you bear your mother’s surname, you are still my child and must abide by the Cen family’s rules. Go and greet everyone.”
“My apologies for my discourtesy.”
“The dessert tonight is mousse cake, the same one I bought for your birthday that year.”
At these words, Rong Qingyao lowered her eyes, swiftly concealing the storm of shadows that surged within. In an instant, her stunningly cold face resumed its controlled, flawless polite smile.
“Yes, Father.”
The banquet hall was filled with elites, all dressed in luxurious attire. The once-arrogant tycoons who had looked down on her years ago now greeted her with enthusiastic smiles.
They lined up to clink glasses with Rong Qingyao, each wearing the same identical smile warm, amiable, and impeccable.
She had arrived late on purpose, yet no one dared to criticize her.
But Rong Qingyao had not forgotten their cold indifference from before.
“My apologies, I was delayed before setting off and arrived late.”
“No worries, everyone knows you’re a notorious workaholic, Qingyao,” the CEO of a biopharmaceutical company on her left said with a laugh. “But you’ll have your hands full tonight, there’s a whole line of people waiting to discuss film investments with you.”
Accepting a warm towel from a waiter to wipe her hands, Rong Qingyao took a symbolic sip of aperitif before seating herself gracefully at the head of the table.
Tonight’s gathering was a constellation of high society. Anyone else in her position might have felt the chill of isolation, but Rong Qingyao remained composed, chatting and laughing effortlessly.
Because deep down, she believed the seat of power had always been meant for her.
The flattery around her was ceaseless, praising the aristocratic grace she had supposedly cultivated in the grand family, even though her life had been anything but noble.
As these people engaged in lofty discussions and playful banter, Rong Qingyao maintained a faint smile, her inner sneer hidden from all.
She knew all too well that behind their fawning faces, they whispered about her the illegitimate daughter with shrewd tactics, climbing the social ladder by any means necessary.
That was how she had supposedly coaxed Old Master Cen into handing over the Cen Group’s hotel and entertainment businesses to her.
The malicious rumors were endless, but she had heard them all before and always dismissed them with a laugh.
Ambition and desire might be her crimes.
Soon, she was deep in conversation with several investors, discussing plans, markets, philosophies, and future developments.
Strangely enough, though she was usually energetic and passionate about work, today her mind kept wandering to Luo Mijin for some reason.
Under the dim glow of the streetlights, her flawless, beautiful face seemed drained of all vitality.
She wondered if Luo Mijin was doing poorly these days and if so, maybe she could.
“President Rong, here’s my business card. Would you like to go out sometime?”
A well-dressed young man flashed what he thought was a charming smile.
This scene had played out too many times before. The cold, aloof woman’s eyes were filled with nothing but faint weariness.
It wasn’t until halfway through the banquet that a familiar figure appeared in Rong Qingyao’s line of sight.
“Miss Rong, I never expected you to be Elder Cen’s daughter,” Lan Mingyu said, dressed in a champagne-colored gown, her figure graceful and her face stunning, her tone laced with pleasant surprise.
Who would have thought that Rong Qingyao, already an award-winning actress at such a young age, was also one of the heirs to such an elite family?
“Miss Lan, what a coincidence.” Rong Qingyao curved her lips slightly at the mention of “Elder Cen’s daughter” but offered no further response.
“Did your friend not come today?” she added after a pause.
“You mean Luo Luo?” Lan Mingyu’s face softened with affection. “She doesn’t like these kinds of events. She said she’d be waiting at home with grilled meat for me when I got back.”
Rong Qingyao froze for a long moment before finally forcing out stiffly,
“You’re very lucky, Miss Lan.”
“So many talented young men and women are smitten with you, Miss Rong,” Lan Mingyu remarked, glancing around at the many admirers gazing at Rong Qingyao. “You’re the truly fortunate one.”
“You flatter me.”
Lan Mingyu noticed Rong Qingyao’s pallid complexion distracted, disinterested, as if nothing in the world held her attention, as if everything had lost its appeal.
She wanted to say more, but Rong Qingyao had already drifted to the other side of the ballroom.
By the end of the banquet, Rong Qingyao hadn’t touched the desserts.
After bidding farewell to the guests, she left directly, leaving several hopeful suitors, both men and women stunned in her wake.
They had thought meeting her would give them a chance, only to inwardly lament that they’d never encountered such an unapproachable ice queen.
Inside the black Bentley, Yan Si casually slid in a CD. “President Rong, how do you want to celebrate your birthday this year? There’s still some time, but your fans have already proposed five or six different plans.”
Rong Qingyao skimmed through the options before replying indifferently, “I like them all. Choose the one the fans prefer.”
From the rearview mirror, Yan Si saw the woman’s serene, elegant gaze, devoid of any joy, lonely as a fallen star.
As if possessing the whole world still couldn’t make her happy.
“So, where to now?”
“Home.”
“So many people invited you to gatherings,” Yan Si said, feeling her boss’s life was too monotonous, revolving only around work. “But you’ll just go back and stare at the claw machine. Don’t tell me there’s still only that one robotic sheep plushie inside?”
“It’s not a robotic sheep, it’s an electric sheep,” Rong Qingyao corrected with a faint smile. “I forgot to buy new ones.”
Yan Si: “…”
After all these years.
Rong Qingyao lowered her lashes, her beautiful face shadowed with gloom, as if she had been struggling in quicksand for too long. Softly, she murmured a few words.
“Drive to the café.”
No need to mention which café it was the image of that silver-haired girl with a dazed expression and dimpled smile immediately surfaced in Yan Si’s mind.
Could the agent have been right? After all these years of abstinence, had President Rong suddenly developed feelings and wanted to keep someone as a mistress?
**
“Here to see your sister again?” The doctor greeted Luo Mijin warmly while studying her curiously.
This woman had appeared out of nowhere, fully covering the expenses for her sister’s critical condition and coma.
One could still see the refined demeanor cultivated by her privileged upbringing, yet at the same time, an aura of withering despair clung to her.
There had been moments when the patient’s life hung by a thread most people might have given up, but she never stopped begging the doctors to save her sister.
“Because I was picked up by my sister.”
The doctor only remembered this baffling statement from Luo Mijin. What a strange person.
“Yeah, Zhiwen would miss me, but I’ve been too busy,” Luo Mijin muttered, nervously twisting her fingers, afraid the doctor might deliver bad news.
The doctor smiled. “Then you should go see her. Visiting hours are only two hours.”
The sterile white room hummed with the cold rhythm of machines, the vase of flowers by the bedside the only splash of color.
She had brought fresh sunflowers, arranging them in a pale blue vase.
Luo Zhiwen, lying on the hospital bed, bore a faint resemblance to Luo Mijin. Tubes snaked across her body, the aftermath of the car crash leaving her as thin as paper.
Luo Mijin sat down beside the bed out of habit, pulling out a warm water bottle to soothe the hand receiving the IV drip.
“Zhiwen, I’ve been happy lately, so don’t worry about me. You need to wake up soon so we can eat sunflower seeds together.”
“I can even take international flights by myself now, and I can sign consent forms for your surgeries. I’ve been happy lately,” she rambled, her words jumping without logic.
“Because I met her again, you’ve seen her before.” A distant ripple flickered in Luo Mijin’s glistening eyes. “That year in college, she came with me. Do you remember?”
“She’s doing well. She’s even become a big star.”
Rong Qingyao shone like a star in places Luo Mijin didn’t know about. Now, so many people loved Rong Qingya, so many surrounded her, so many followed her.
She probably wasn’t lonely anymore.
“Zhiwen, you’re asking how I am?” Luo Mijin’s face took on a dreamlike glow against the sterile white backdrop. “You know me, I’m just a hopeless case. Lately, someone invited me to play drums at a wedding gig. They’re paying a lot.”
She wanted to be outstanding, perfect, to make everyone she loved proud, to shine with grace but she couldn’t.
She was just a wreck clinging to old dreams, barely surviving.
“Of course I’m fine. I have you, and so many memories to keep me company.”
“It’s not like I was ever that great anyway,” Luo Mijin murmured, staring blankly at the nearly invisible stars in the sky. “Otherwise, why would you all have left and gone so far away?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you treated. I’ll work hard to earn money. You’ll wake up one day, won’t you?”
**
The café had been open all day, but neither Lan Mingyu nor Luo Mijin were in sight.
“President Rong, if we’re not getting coffee, should we leave?” After waiting half an hour, Yan Si couldn’t help but ask.
[She didn’t like such occasions, saying she’d make barbecue for me when I got home in the evening.]
Lan Mingyu’s words surfaced in her mind, sharp enough to make her eardrums ache.
Rong Qingyao felt that suffocating sensation in her chest again, like an incurable patient.
“Yan Si, order a cake to be delivered to my house under your name,” she added nonchalantly, “have Luo Mijin deliver it.”
Yan Si turned back nervously to look at the composed woman shrouded in shadows, wondering if her boss had been possessed by some unspeakable entity.
Her behavior was becoming increasingly outrageous, nothing like the usual ascetic workaholic.
“But you never eat cake on your birthday.”
Rong Qingyao removed her gold-rimmed glasses and wiped them slowly, lowering her eyes as she said:
“Yan Si, look there’s going to be a blizzard tonight.”
“Tell Luo Mijin to arrive at my place early.”