A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex (GL) - Chapter 6

A gust of wind swept through, dispersing the night mist. Under the bright moonlight, Yan Si could see the faint impatience hidden beneath Rong Qingyao’s aloof expression.

It wasn’t the kind of impatience born of annoyance, but rather a delicate balance between control and something teetering on the edge.

“Director Rong, if we’re ordering a cake, which of your homes should we deliver it to?”

“The one farthest from here.”

Yan Si swallowed dryly. The farthest one was practically a deserted villa estate, the kind where you could ferment wine in peace.

Sending it there was this some golden house to hide a lover, or a setup for a no-survivors horror story?

Her imagination ran wild, nearly painting her boss as a deranged serial killer.

“Even in this heavy snow, you want it delivered all the way there?”

“Mhm.”

“Honestly, if you’re trying to pursue someone, you could just ask them out to dinner directly,” Yan Si ventured bravely, her tone earnest. “It might sound unethical, but with your looks, Director Rong, even if they had a boyfriend or girlfriend, they’d probably choose you without hesitation.”

Without hesitation, really? Rong Qingyao’s lips, full and glossy, curled into a faint, mocking smile.

Seven years ago, she hadn’t been chosen so decisively. Seven years later, how could she expect it now?

Yan Si continued coaxing, hoping Rong Qingyao would make a straightforward move. After all, there were only two outcomes, acceptance or rejection.

Even if Director Rong got her heart broken a little, there’d still be hordes of people lining up for her. What was there to worry about?

“Director Rong, why not just go to the shop and eat the cake there? Luo Mijin might even ask for your number herself.”

Yan Si had seen this scenario play out dozens of times on set and elsewhere. The chances of Luo Mijin rejecting Rong Qingyao were practically zero.

“I don’t want to.” Rong Qingyao lowered her gaze, studying the lines on her palm.

“Don’t want to what?” Yan Si was momentarily confused.

“I don’t want to pursue her.”

“Wait, you don’t like her?” The words slipped out before Yan Si could stop herself, and she quickly covered her mouth.

After a brief silence, Rong Qingyao replied with a half-smile,

“I don’t like her anymore.”

Yan Si nearly tumbled out of the car. What?

If you don’t like her, why are you making her deliver takeout to your place in the middle of the night? What exactly are two women alone supposed to do?

Plenty of people speculated about Rong Qingyao’s sexuality, but her boss never attended parties, never went to bars, and never spared a second glance at anyone, no matter how attractive.

The running joke was that Rong Qingyao wasn’t just sexually indifferent, she was practically a robot, the kind that didn’t even like humans.

“Oh, so should I go ahead and order the cake for delivery?” Unable to make sense of it, Yan Si decided to just follow instructions.

“Mhm.”

As Yan Si got out of the car and headed into the café, Rong Qingyao followed to the entrance. Only then did she notice the photos plastered across the café walls.

With a single glance, she recognized that most of them were taken by Luo Mijin.

The photograph titled “Imprisonment” was framed at the very center.

Lush green weeds wove together under a misty sky, forming an emerald cage. Inside the cage, there was nothing but a blurred shadow.

For some reason, a thought flashed through Rong Qingyao’s mind:

That wasn’t imprisonment it was the imprisoned yearning for freedom.

“Hi, I’d like to order a cake and coffee for delivery,” Yan Si had already stepped inside. “Is the girl with the teardrop mole not here today?”

“You mean Luo Luo?” The barista on duty asked, as if used to the question.

“Yes, that’s right,” Yan Si replied slightly guiltily, feeling like a stalker.

“Many people come to our shop just to see her,” the clerk said with a knowing expression. “What cake and coffee would you like? Today we only have White Forest, Chocolate Lava, Blackberry Parfait, Cappuccino, and Macchiato left.”

Outside the café, Rong Qingyao turned back to her car.

She saw Luo Mijin walking through the snow from the corner of the street, dressed in a fluffy gray turtleneck sweater and a long overcoat. Her small, sharp chin was nearly buried in the collar, her beauty unmistakable.

The streetlights and light snow blurred the entire scene, giving Rong Qingyao an illusion like a mirage.

For a moment, it felt as if she had returned to that winter day when Luo Mijin had walked toward her.

Then the illusion vanished. The woman lowered her eyes with a faint smile since when would Luo Mijin ever walk toward her again?

Even back then, Luo Mijin’s so-called unwavering choice had likely just been the capricious whim of a wealthy young lady.

There was still some distance to the café. Occasionally, passersby would walk by, and Luo Mijin would shy away like a startled animal until she spotted Lan Mingyu, and then a subtle smile appeared.

Beneath the café’s warm yellow sign, “Harmony,” they looked perfectly matched.

Watching this scene, Rong Qingyao narrowed her eyes, feeling like a specimen submerged in pale blue seawater utterly lifeless.

She had once naively wondered if Lan Mingyu was just Luo Mijin’s friend or boss.

But here was this young, accomplished café owner from a prestigious family, someone who had watched the aurora with Luo Mijin, knew her dietary preferences, even adjusted her hat for her. They even lived together.

Rong Qingyao couldn’t help but wonder was she just being old-fashioned? Did bosses and friends really need to go that far?

She wanted to drive away without a second thought. After all, she had no right or reason to stand here, watching from afar.

If Luo Mijin saw her, she’d probably just find it bizarre and a little ridiculous.

“Director Rong, I used three other phone numbers to order delivery coffee to different locations. Now the café is short-staffed, so Luo Mijin will be the one delivering your cake.”

Yan Si ran out of the café with a cheerful smile, hopping into the car and reporting in a rush.

Rong Qingyao’s expression was icy. She didn’t say a word, even considering telling Yan Si to cancel this foolish cake delivery idea.

“Director Rong, why did you insist on Luo Mijin delivering it?” Yan Si couldn’t suppress her curiosity and muttered the question.

“I wanted cake.”

Yan Si: “…”

Her boss’s thoughts were truly hard to decipher.

**

The silver bicycle leaned low as Luo Mijin rode through the snow-swept street corner.

Upon reaching her destination, she braced one long leg against the ground, removing her beanie, her silver hair tousled and wild.

The delivery address was a mansion far from the city center. Lan Mingyu hadn’t wanted her to make the trip, but she had refused the concern.

Truthfully, she enjoyed cycling. Besides, she was an employee of the café, it was her responsibility to complete the job.

Her spatial reasoning and memory were good, so she quickly found the place, an L-shaped building with wrought-iron streetlamps casting alternating light and shadow along its sides.

In Luo Mijin’s opinion, the mansion owner had excellent taste. A bamboo fence surrounded a lush, wild garden inside the glass structure, pale blue petals reflecting the hazy moonlight.

Several butterflies fluttered beneath the moonlit sky.

She gazed for a long time, marveling at how beautiful the glass greenhouse truly was.

Approaching the front door, Luo Mijin pressed the doorbell.

“Please wait a moment.”

The low, pleasant voice from the intercom made Luo momentarily lose focus. Through the surveillance monitor, Rong Qingyao observed the girl standing at her doorstep.

As the snowstorm intensified, the girl in her windbreaker resembled a lost little creature. So Rong waited, waiting for the storm to grow fiercer.

Five minutes later, the door clicked open. Luo caught a whiff of snow in the air, reminiscent of that intoxicating sweetness she’d once tasted during passionate moments with someone, when tongues had met in intimate entanglement.

Her thoughts drifted again to Rong Qingya. Biting her tongue sharply to mock her own fantasies, she looked up and saw the very subject of her imagination standing before her.

The woman who opened the door had striking, elegant features. Her porcelain skin appeared flawless against the dark night, like ink brushed across jade. Dressed in a loosely tied bathrobe, her delicate collarbones bore a faint blush as she smiled languidly at Luo, a vision of sensual allure.

“You… you ordered the cake delivery?” Luo lowered her head, not daring to meet her gaze.

“Mmm, what a coincidence,” Rong Qingyao murmured. Her narrow, deep-set eyes were dark as still water, softened only by the beauty mark at their outer corners.

“Quite the coincidence indeed.”

The woman’s casual demeanor and indifferent tone left Luo momentarily dazed, as if this truly were just chance.

Meeting twice in a distant foreign land within mere weeks this kind of fate felt like expired pineapple canned goods.

Rong’s damp black hair cascaded down, the contrast of black and white simple yet harmonious. Her complexion was so pale that the faint blue veins along her jaw and neck were visible, inviting imagination.

“It’s snowing.”

The woman breathed lightly, the curves beneath her collarbones rising and falling as she spoke these ambiguous words.

This city was fragile, a single snowstorm could bring it to a standstill.

Luo found herself speechless, like a mortal bewitched by an exquisite enchantress, unable to move.

Just then, the jarring ring of her phone snapped her back to reality. “Luo Luo,” came Lan Mingyu’s worried voice, “the weather forecast says there’s a severe snowstorm tonight. Where are you now?”

“I just arrived!” Luo instinctively glanced at Rong Qingya. The woman’s cool features were still misted with moisture from her bath, like a peach so ripe it might drip at the slightest touch.

“What?” Lan Mingyu couldn’t hear clearly.

“Just delivered to a customer’s place. I can make it back. The bike’s fast.”

“You didn’t even wear gloves, you’ll freeze. Let me drive over.”

“No, Mingyu, driving in this snow is too dangerous,” Luo turned away, avoiding Rong Qingyao, avoiding all her current fantasies of sensual entanglement.

As Lan Mingyu continued speaking on the phone, Rong Qingyao leaned casually against the doorframe, her lowered eyes flickering with an elusive beauty.

Hanging up and turning around, Luo nearly collided with Rong. The woman’s flushed face, her moist red lips brushing against Luo’s temple, the soft curves pressing against her arm, it all brought back memories of Rong panting and pleading in her ear.

[Luo Mijin, no more…]

Rong’s slightly parted lips and half-undone robe seemed like silent invitation.

“Are you leaving now?”

Her orchid-scented breath carried a husky, tantalizing note.

Luo Mijin lowered his head, watching the woman’s cool and elegant face draw closer to his, his heartbeat uncontrollable.

The next moment, Rong Qingyao suddenly stepped back, refastening the two undone buttons on her shirt, her expression aloof and detached.

In an instant, the intimate and alluring atmosphere froze into the polite courtesy of strangers meeting for the first time.

“The snow is so heavy, why not come inside for a while?”