After the Breakup, the Crazy Movie Queen Clings to Me Every Day (GL) - Chapter 1

Beneath the dark green bodhi tree ahead, the slender, frail figure of a woman was veiled in drifting mist, precious and distant as if she had stepped out of a thousand-year-old painting.

******

“This girl is pure, barely twenty. She has excellent grades and a good temperament She lead a hard life, as an orphan. You’ll definitely like her once you meet her.”

Lan Jingli heard her agent’s voice, dripping with flattery or perhaps more accurately, selling her off.

“Lan Jingli, quickly show Mr. Shu your academic scores from the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center…”

The woman beneath the tree turned her head with calm elegance, and the agent’s chatter cut off instantly.

“Tan… Director Tan? How—how is it you? I’m sorry, we’ve mistaken you for someone else. We’ll leave right away.”

The agent was sweating profusely in the cold weather. He did not expect that such a money-for-s3x transaction would be witnessed by Tan You.

She knew that this exorbitantly priced villa in the mountains belonged to Tan You and Mr. Shu who had just returned from China had borrowed it for a small banquet. But wasn’t it said that Tan You rarely went out and didn’t like to see other people? Why is she here?

This was bad. She had heard that Tan You was moody and aloof and disturbing her peace could have lead to a number of consequences.

The agent hurriedly drag Lan Jingli away until a voice, crisp as jade, called out.

“Wait.”

Lan Jingli turned her head instinctively. Mist hung thick and damp, hiding the woman’s features, yet she had an unmistakable beauty, like a poppy left behind in the mountains, bone-deep coldness laced with shimmering allure, that can draw passersby in.

“Weren’t you going to show me your grades on the Academic Records site?”

The tone wasn’t a question, despite the phrasing. Paired with her low, subtle voice, everyone would understood that it was an order.

Recalling the veiled threats her agent had made before they came, Lan Jingli sighed inwardly, lowered her head, and walked toward the woman while pulling up the site on her phone.

“They’re all here.”

Her delicate, boneless fingertips brushed against Lan Jingli’s palm, making her shiver. When she looked up, she caught sight of the tiny crescent-shaped mole on the pale shell of the woman’s ear and a face she would never forget.

“Jiejie…” Lan Jingli’s heart pounded wildly. Her voice softened to a feverish murmur and memories surging up like a tide in her mind:

Blurred nights, a cool, fragrant embrace, soft sighs, and fleeting kisses.

So many times she’d thought it was a dream.

So many dark nights, she had thought she would live like this forever.

Forever alone.

Until she met her.

******

Lan Jingli’s fingers tightened around the old MP3 player in her pocket.

The agent, still nervous moments ago, now saw Tan You regarding Lan Jingli with a cool, faintly amused look, and quickly chimed in.

“Director Tan, Jingli is perfectly clean. If you’re interested, she can be yours.”

“Interested?” Tan You’s lips curved faintly. Her features were refined and noble, her whole presence as if sheathed in frost.

The agent’s mind raced. This meeting had been meant to set Jingli up with Director Shu, but the Tan family was the pinnacle of high society. Compared to that, following Tan You promised far more… “future.”

“Our Jingli is quite the beauty. She can act, sing, and dance, and she’s sweet and well-behaved.” Her voice faltered slightly at that last part.

Lan Jingli’s chest tightened. The last thing she wanted was for the woman she had been longing for to think she was the kind to sell her body.

“Jiejie, I’m not here for—”

“Director Tan, I’ll be going now. You two talk.” The agent yanked Jingli aside before leaving, leaning close to whisper;

“This Director Tan is even less someone you can afford to offend. Put away that high-and-mighty act—learn how to serve someone, you’ll manage.”

Lan Jingli lowered her eyes, jaw tight, swallowing her anger. When she turned back, she found the woman’s flower-petal lips just a breath away from hers.

Close enough that if she leaned in, she could taste the scent she had dreamed of.

“Jiejie.”

“Quiet.” Tan You brushed a fallen leaf from Jingli’s shoulder, then stepped back.

“Thank you.” Jingli didn’t know whether to be relieved. Her racing heart had gone unnoticed, or disappointed by the other woman’s indifference. 

“You’ve studied hard—over ninety in every subject.”

Her eyes lit up. She remembered promising Tan You she would work hard, to keep climbing and never give up on herself.

They stood at the edge of the sprawling mountain estate. In the distance, clouds and mist wound around the high pines. The air was rich with the scent of plane trees, camphor, wild orange, celosia, and dayflowers.

“You really want to follow me.” Tan You’s voice was languid, but it wasn’t a question.

Draped carelessly in black velvet, her beauty was almost inhuman, sharp-boned and cold.

Lan Jingli’s breath caught under that misty gaze. “No, I don’t.”

“Then you dislike me?”

“That’s impossible—how could I dislike you?”

Seeing her flustered denial, Tan You’s lips curved faintly.

“You haven’t told me your name yet. Lan Jingli—what jing, what li?”

“Jing as in mirror, li as in carp,” she said cautiously.

“Koi carp?”

“No, just carp. Ordinary carp.” Jingli shook her head. “You’re Jiejie Tan You.”

“Tan You.”

So simple, without even an “I am,” it carried a kind of innate weariness—as though such a woman was never meant to be touched by the dust and vexations of the world.

Jingli just realized then: she didn’t… remember her?

She didn’t want her to think she was here to curry favor, much less to trade her body. So she reined in her impulsive warmth, letting her clear, melancholy features show a touch of pride.

Tan You watched her quietly, the corners of her eyes were still calm, until a familiar ache swept her body and her already pale face turned even paler.

“Excuse me.”

The departure was so sudden that Jingli almost reached for her wrist.

“Will I see you again?”

Tan You smiled gently, but her voice stayed cool and unreadable. “Perhaps.”

Jingli froze. She understood without knowing why—perhaps Tan You didn’t think she was worth remembering.

Remembering someone required judgment. Some people were worth a place in your heart. Others weren’t.

They were separated by a chasm of birth and status. Those few days they had met had been sheer luck.

She turned to leave, but couldn’t shake the heaviness in her chest.

******

The butler, Aunt Wan, draped a coat over Tan You’s shoulders and led her toward the warm interior.

“You seemed to know that young lady?” Aunt Wan had looked after Tan You since she was a child.

Tan You thought of Jingli’s mix of wariness and stubborn pride. “She’s interesting.”

Whether or not she actually remembered the girl, Aunt Wan couldn’t tell. But she knew Tan You—when it came to people, her whims decided their fate.

A moment later, Tan You was reviewing quarterly reports on a tablet when Aunt Wan murmured,

“It’s raining. That young lady is still waiting outside.”

“If I didn’t come, would she wait all night?” Tan You’s voice was languid, her breath steaming her lashes with a faint flush in her cheeks.

She found Lan Jingli’s eyes like mirrors—pure, and if they focused on only her, it would be… intriguing.

Without waiting for a reply, she added, “Not ideal. Give her an umbrella.”

Noticing the unnatural flush in Tan You’s pale face, Aunt Wan took out a white pill bottle. “The illness again? Take this. I’ll bring the umbrella.”

Tan You eyed the pills with distaste. They did little for the episodes she loathed.

Outside, rain fell in fine threads. Jingli stood with her head bowed as she clutched the MP3 in her palm, until a pure black umbrella appeared before her. The bearer was a gentle-eyed woman in her fifties.

“She asked me to tell you,” the woman said, without naming her, “even a carp should know to seek shelter from the rain.”

Jingli looked up toward the tall windows, catching a blurred silhouette. Tan You sat with one knee crossed over the other, eyes half-closed, a faint crease in her brow—as if silent, yet faintly impatient.

“Will I see her again?”

Aunt Wan was surprised by the girl’s persistence. “That depends entirely on her mood.”

“I didn’t mean to disturb her,” Jingli said, biting her lip. “But I’m not that kind of person. I’m not here to sleep with anyone.”

“Rest assured. She doesn’t care.”

“I know. I’m the one intruding.” Jingli gripped the umbrella handle and turned away.

Even from the outer grounds, the estate was vast. It took her over forty minutes to reach the towering black gates.

A cluster of dolled-up young starlets loitered nearby, chattering excitedly.

“I heard Tan You’s here today. If I can just meet her, maybe…” one whispered, eyes gleaming with ambition.

“As if she would look twice at you,” another scoffed. “She’s got more beauties than she can count. Look in a mirror before you dream.”

“She only looks at people with both talent and looks. I hear you need at least a master’s degree just to catch her eye.”

Someone snorted. “What’s the point? All that for a warm bed?”

They bickered, dragging up old grudges over stolen roles.

Jingli’s brow furrowed. Hearing them slander Tan You—calling her a flirt and saying she kept countless lovers, made her want to march over and set them straight.

A discreet luxury car pulled up in front of her. The driver stepped out politely. “Miss Lan? My Seventh Miss would like to see you.”

*****

The car passed seven black guard posts. The dense green of the mountains surrounded a marble-walled compound, its gates guarded with cold precision.

“This way. She’s waiting in the room upstairs.” Aunt Wan’s voice was calm as she led Jingli toward the half-moon window on the third floor.

The corridor was serene, faintly scented with something clean and pure. Jingli wandered in a daze through the door, around a black-and-gold screen and froze.

Tan You was half-reclined on a soft bed and silk sheets tangled around her body, revealing long expanses of white skin.

Her lips parted, moist and full, the crimson against the ivory of her teeth forming a sound both alluring and commanding.

“Li Li, come here.”