After Rebirth, the Cold and Aloof Film Queen Always Wants to Cuddle with Me - Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“No.” Lin Ruijiao answered firmly.
“Really? Do you even know who I meant by ‘her’?”
“…” Lin Ruijiao pressed her lips together and said nothing.
The surrounding white mist dissipated slightly, and colorful bubbles began to rise out of thin air. As each bubble popped, images of Ye Ruihuan appeared. She was kneeling humbly on the ground, crying miserably.
Lin Ruijiao frowned. A flood of complex, unnamed emotions surged in her heart. Her composed expression vanished, and her naturally hanging hands clenched tightly without her noticing.
“How dishonest.”
“What does it matter? I’m already dead.”
“You two will end up together.” The crisp voice echoed in the space without emotion, devoid of any ripple.
“No, we won’t.” Lin Ruijiao’s translucent hand clenched into a fist.
“Really?” As the words fell, more bubbles began to float up again, glowing with a holy light. With each one’s pop, beautiful, happy scenes unfolded before Lin Ruijiao’s eyes.
Bright sunshine—she and Ye Ruihuan joyfully shopping hand in hand. Soft warm lights—she and Ye Ruihuan laughing together while watching a movie. A sacred altar—their happy wedding ceremony. Each frame gradually faded away. Crystal-clear tears silently slid down her face.
“These are all fake…” Lin Ruijiao said coldly, her moist eyes filled with determination and a hint of mockery.
“Child, go back.” The crisp, childish voice grew fainter and farther away. “Cherish…”
“Go back? To where? Cherish? What?” Lin Ruijiao couldn’t help shouting. But in the vast whiteness, no voice answered her anymore.
A wave of dizziness overtook her, and Lin Ruijiao lost consciousness. She didn’t know how much time had passed before she slowly woke up, her senses gradually returning. A strange joy stirred within her chest.
Before she could understand where this emotion came from, her eyes fell on the contract on the coffee table, where the large signature “Lin Ruijiao” stabbed into her vision like a blade.
She knew this contract all too well. The old her had foolishly treated these “contracts of servitude” as tokens of love. She never expected that later, when she tried to escape from Ye Ruihuan, the same contract would become her cage.
“Go back” —so this was what it meant? Lin Ruijiao looked down at her fair, delicate hands. She had returned to that moment?
“Since you’ve signed it, then everything will proceed according to the contract. You’ll stay here tonight,” Ye Ruihuan said breezily, her voice full of the aloof arrogance of someone used to being on top. She was admiring her new manicure, completely unaware of Lin Ruijiao’s inner turmoil.
“Hmph, Ye Ruihuan is as hateful as ever…” Lin Ruijiao sneered inwardly.
“No objections? Then I’ll be going.” Ye Ruihuan stood up and headed for the door. Her eyes briefly glanced at Lin Ruijiao’s determined gaze—she paused for a second but continued walking indifferently.
Wearing light makeup and a pale long dress, Ye Ruihuan looked sweet and gentle, but the slight arch of her brows and her haughty eyes gave her a cold and arrogant aura. She was the very image of a wealthy heiress—proud, elegant, and untouchable.
But that face, so exquisitely beautiful, was filled with indifference, even condescension. At first glance, Lin Ruijiao couldn’t help but be stunned again by her beauty, but as the memories returned, that face only made her heart ache. How did she ever think this arrogant film queen, CEO of Huahui Entertainment, loved her?
A bitter smile curled at Lin Ruijiao’s lips, full of icy disdain.
Not until Ye Ruihuan’s proud figure disappeared did Lin Ruijiao shift her gaze away from the contract. She looked around. The villa’s luxurious, minimalist style was exactly as she remembered. From the placement of the furniture to the smallest vase, she knew this house better than Ye Ruihuan herself—it had been their “home” for years.
Her heart filled with complicated emotions. She had really come back.
If so, then this time she would rewrite her story. She would erase Ye Ruihuan from her life completely.
As memories of their past began to resurface, Lin Ruijiao ruthlessly shoved them back down, locking them away without a trace of sentiment. She grabbed her suitcase and left, clutching the signed contract in hand.
From today on, she was no longer the naive, foolish Lin Ruijiao of the past. She would no longer be infatuated with Ye Ruihuan, and she would not walk the path that led to ruin in her past life… She would forge her own glorious future.
This “contract of servitude” would be troublesome, but at least her old manager Wang Jie was still around. As she lay in bed back home, Lin Ruijiao began typing a message to Wang Jie on her phone but eventually deleted it all.
The moon outside was large and round, like a glowing bulb hanging against the star-strewn navy sky.
The brightness kept Lin Ruijiao awake. Her mind unwillingly flashed back to that stormy night—Ye Ruihuan sobbing at her bedside, heart-wrenching cries that seemed to echo still. She frowned. That was not something she should be thinking about.
In her past life, after getting together with Ye Ruihuan, she did gain many opportunities in the entertainment industry. But she had been a caged canary. She abandoned her dreams just to stay by Ye Ruihuan’s side. But in the end, it was nothing more than an illusion…
Ye Ruihuan only kept her because she resembled her “white moonlight,” Dong Yulan—a beloved, respected actress known for her beauty and virtue. Lin Ruijiao had loved Ye Ruihuan with all her heart, gave up everything for her, and what did she get? Just a game of pretend love. Ye Ruihuan never loved her—she loved Dong Yulan.
She, Lin Ruijiao, had been a joke.
A tear slid down her cheek. She was surprised she could still feel this heartache after all this time. But she had truly loved her—Ye Ruihuan had once been her teenage idol.
But not anymore. That version of Lin Ruijiao had died. The perfect Ye Ruihuan she had loved had died with her.
Lin Ruijiao carefully recalled the timeline of her past life and all the events that had unfolded in the industry. She hoped to avoid some of the traps this time.
Meanwhile, even in the pitch-black room, Ye Ruihuan found herself unable to sleep.
“How strange… Why was tonight’s dream so different?” she murmured, pressing her hand to her racing heart, breathing heavily until she calmed down.
She switched on a small, elegant bedside lamp. The soft golden glow filled the room, but her heart still couldn’t settle.
She couldn’t recall the exact details of the dream. Only that the same extra who looked like Dong Yulan had appeared again—and that bittersweet, stirring feeling still lingered.
“Could she have cast a spell on me or something?” Ye Ruihuan joked as she poured herself a glass of water.
She’d met that background actress, Lin Ruijiao, on a set she had visited to do a cameo. Some investor’s pawn had been repeatedly slapped in a scene, clearly being bullied.
Ye Ruihuan, tired of waiting, walked up and slapped the offender herself. “Do you need me to show you how to act? Can’t even do a slap scene properly?”
The bully immediately backed down, groveling and apologizing. In the industry, everyone knew not to cross Ye Ruihuan—even investors tread carefully around her. Besides, she was capital herself.
The pitiful extra being bullied? That was Lin Ruijiao. Ye Ruihuan’s actions had indirectly helped her.
After the shoot, Lin Ruijiao, makeup removed, walked into Ye Ruihuan’s lounge and thanked her: “Thank you, Ye-jie!” Her big, watery eyes shone with gratitude and shyness.
That was when Ye Ruihuan really looked at her. Her face bore a faint resemblance to Dong Yulan—three parts pure, three parts gentle, three parts similar. But most of all, her eyes—vulnerable, yet resolute—were exactly the same.
That one look, and Ye Ruihuan remembered her. From that day, she began dreaming of her often—romantic, intimate dreams.
It was almost as if she had become obsessed. But tonight’s encounter had brought her no emotional or physical reaction. Perhaps… she really needed a girlfriend?
Ye Ruihuan took a sip of water, trying to remember the dream. But it was all shrouded in mist, gray and hazy.
Then those resolute eyes flashed before her again. That dazed expression from earlier also replayed clearly in her mind.
“She seemed so happy signing the contract, why did she look so lost after?” Ye Ruihuan only now noticed something was different about her.
With those contract terms, what wasn’t there to be happy about? Ye Ruihuan felt a vague irritation. She couldn’t even place where the emotion came from.
The industry was full of pretty faces—plenty resembled Dong Yulan. Lin Ruijiao was average at best. Ye Ruihuan had offered her a golden opportunity, better than anything out there. And she wasn’t satisfied?
Frustrated, Ye Ruihuan picked up her phone and called her half-sister, Ye Zhi.
“Ye Zhi, what was that extra’s name again? Lin something?”
“It’s almost 3 a.m.! You’re calling me for that?! Call me tomorrow!”
“Wait—Lin what?”
“Ye Ruihuan! You signed her! You should at least know her name!”
“Lin what?” Ye Ruihuan pressed on, ignoring her sister’s complaints.
“Lin Ruijiao!” Ye Zhi snapped and hung up. “Crazy woman… Calling at 2:30 a.m. like I’m not drowning in work already.”
“Lin Ruijiao…” Ye Ruihuan repeated to herself. So that’s her name. Getting old—memory’s slipping.
Mumbling the name under her breath, Ye Ruihuan curled back into bed, slowly drifting into sleep with “Lin Ruijiao” echoing in her mind.
At 8 a.m., Ye Zhi stormed into Ye Ruihuan’s room, ready for revenge over last night’s interrupted sleep.
“Get up! Didn’t you ask me about something last night?” she smirked, sitting by her bed.
“What the—leave me alone!” Ye Ruihuan mumbled into her pillow.
“Get up! Weren’t you asking about Lin Ruijiao?”
Ye Ruihuan grumbled and sat up, ruffling her hair.
“Oh, so you remember her name now?” Ye Zhi said sarcastically.
“Lin Ruijiao… check if there are any decent projects lately. Give her one. We can’t just sign someone and then ignore them.”
“Well, well, our dear Ye President has finally grown a conscience?” Ye Zhi snorted, flipping through her tablet. Ye Ruihuan, after founding Huahui Entertainment, dumped everything on her and spent her days stirring up chaos. And now this.