After the Breakup, the Crazy Movie Queen Clings to Me Every Day (GL) - Chapter 8

“For me? Lan Jingli’s mind went blank again, seeing such a brilliant and unique gem, like a multitude of stars…”

*****

“For me?” Lan Jingli’s mind went blank again. She looked at the dazzling, one-of-a-kind jewel—like a galaxy of stars, vibrant, and resolute.

She didn’t recognize the gem, but for a moment, she felt like she was back in the wilderness she used to run through. She saw the mountaintop she had looked up at a thousand times, and she felt the free-flowing wind on her fingers.

Tan You dangled the necklace, the clinking of the metal a pleasant sound. Her cool, pristine face had an air of almost condescending grace.

“For you. Don’t you want it?” The corners of the woman’s lips subtly tightened when she said “don’t want,” but they relaxed just as quickly.

“But it’s not my birthday yet.”

Lan Jingli felt like a child who had stumbled into a fairy tale world, so overwhelmed she didn’t know how to react.

In truth, she had never received a birthday gift, even on her birthday. She had only ever seen birthday cakes on TV.

She didn’t really care about gifts. A life without gifts was her normal life, and she had always expected to live this way.

The love and unease in the girl’s clear, innocent eyes made Tan You’s mood lift slightly. “Does it have to be your birthday for me to give you a gift?”

“No,” Lan Jingli said, lowering her head to hide the sudden moisture in her eyes.

Tan You moved closer to Lan Jingli, her breath on her skin like the fragrance of orchids. She carefully fastened the clasp of the necklace around Lan Jingli’s neck. “I’ll give you something else for your birthday, okay?”

The silver metal delicately encircled the girl’s slender, pale neck. Beneath the chain, she could feel the faint, fragile beat of a vein.

“You don’t have to, thank you, Sister,” Lan Jingli said. She understood the importance of knowing when to stop. She didn’t dare to be greedy because she wasn’t entitled to it. Her life had never allowed her to have too much.

Tan You said softly, “Whether I give you something or not is my decision to make.”

Lan Jingli’s thoughts were in a whirlwind at Tan You’s seemingly unreasonable words.

“Do you like the gift?”

“Yes, I love it,” Lan Jingli said, nodding her head vigorously, afraid that her joy and affection would lose their potency in the air.

Tan You curled her lips. “There’s a GPS tracker in the chain so I can find you anytime. Do you still like it?”

“It’s hidden in this little fish?” Lan Jingli’s eyes lit up.

“Mhm.”

Watching the necklace on Lan Jingli, the out-of-control, almost unsettling passion she had shown earlier vanished, making it seem as if it had all been an illusion.

“Sister, can I give you a gift with a GPS tracker, too?”

Tan You glanced at her and then laughed softly, lowering her eyes. “Next time.”

“Okay.”

Lan Jingli quietly calculated the value of the necklace. While a gift’s meaning wasn’t measured in price, Tan You had always been accustomed to the very best, and she didn’t want Tan You to have to settle for less because of her.

She glanced at the time. It was almost nine o’clock. Lan Jingli knew Tan You’s routine and was about to leave on her own when she heard Tan You ask plainly:

“Do a lot of people like you at school?”

“Huh?” Lan Jingli hadn’t expected such a question. She shook her head honestly. “I don’t know.”

The woman carefully observed Lan Jingli’s beautiful, delicate face and smiled gently. “What should you do the next time someone gives you chocolate?”

“I should… politely refuse?”

“Good girl,” the woman said with a soft smile, stroking Lan Jingli’s hair. “Li-Li, you’ve never been with anyone, right?”

“Only… you,” Lan Jingli said, her eyes shifting away.

“Then let’s stay a little longer tomorrow night.”

******

The next day, Lan Jingli left the mountain villa early. She spent her time singing, practicing her dance, and memorizing lines, barely resting at all.

The company had set her debut date for April 1st of next year, about six months away. They required her to film several web dramas and write a dozen songs for them to choose from.

She sat down in the practice room and took a bottle of medicated wine from an old cabinet. She rubbed it on her bruised knees from dancing, wincing in pain as she worked it in.

She had taken on more gigs from the company to earn some extra money so she could buy a gift worthy of Tan You.

Just thinking of Tan You made the pain in her legs seem to vanish. She touched the necklace, then carefully hid it under her collar, grinning like a fool.

She had to go to a backup dancing gig in an hour. Lan Jingli quickly opened the fridge and took out a bag of frozen dumplings that were about to expire. She put some water on to boil and cooked them.

The dancing gig would end at 6:30 p.m. Afterward, Aunt Wan would pick her up and take her to the mountain villa. Lan Jingli’s heart raced as she thought about Tan You’s suggestive words from the night before. All she really wanted was a little more time with her.

Just then, her phone vibrated. She rushed over to answer, assuming it was Wei Yixi or her manager.

“Lan Jingli, I heard you’ve made it big. You’re going to be a star and make a lot of money.”

The caller was He Yuyao, Lan Jingli’s half-sister.

Lan Jingli’s face immediately turned cold. “What do you want?”

“Just because you came to the big city, you don’t need your little sister anymore?” He Yuyao said in a flippant tone. “Don’t forget, my mom is your mom, too, and you have to take care of me. Hurry up and send me some money so my girlfriend and I can get a hotel room.”

He Yuyao was a master at reading people and playing up to them. She was charming but also knew how to lie and bully.

At home, she would always make Lan Jingli do all the dirty and hard work. She would clap her hands with joy when she saw Lan Jingli get punished and scolded because of her accusations.

Lan Jingli knew that He Yuyao was a favorite among the elders. She was cheerful and sweet-talking, and even when she was spoiled and willful, the elders still loved and doted on her.

When she was picked up to go to her mother’s house for holidays, He Yuyao was loved by everyone. Lan Jingli, on the other hand, was an unwanted, forgotten burden.

She was quiet and didn’t know how to smile or say a few pleasant words.

After her mother died, she became a complete orphan, adopted and abandoned several times.

But she thought to herself, she would not waste a single ounce of her energy on those insincere people.

She only wanted to be remembered and cherished by the person she loved.

And she only wanted to pour her heart and soul into the person she loved. She was always worried about whether she was doing it well enough, whether it was enough, whether she would disappoint the person she loved.

Maybe no one would like a personality like that, but after ten years of disappointment and low self-esteem, Lan Jingli had built a suit of armor. She would only show her vulnerability to the person she loved.

“I don’t have any money. Have you even seen me in a show?” Lan Jingli’s long hair was tied up today, and the upward curve of her eyes had a wonderfully dangerous look to it. That natural aggression was well-hidden for the time being.

He Yuyao scoffed. “Don’t act so innocent. You’re with a management company now. One night on the street, and you’ve probably made ten thousand.”

Even though she didn’t like Lan Jingli, she had to admit that she was very beautiful—unforgettably beautiful.

Hearing this, Lan Jingli’s eyes flashed with a dark intensity. “He Yuyao, you better watch your mouth. You know what happens when you run your mouth.”

He Yuyao cursed her under her breath, calling her a little psycho. When she was a child, she had called Lan Jingli names like “burden” and “bastard” and said her father was a short-lived ghost. Lan Jingli had then beaten her to within an inch of her life, and it took several adults to pull her off.

But she still acted tough. Lan Jingli couldn’t reach her through the phone, after all.

“Who are you to be so cocky? You’re a toad trying to eat swan meat. The person I have a crush on is rich and powerful and will be with someone else sooner or later. You’ll be a clown for the rest of your life.”

She quickly hung up and turned off her phone, terrified that Lan Jingli would come through the phone line and beat her up.

*****

The wind was strong tonight. The thick clouds were blown away, and the moonlight was distant but bright.

Aunt Wan rushed Lan Jingli to the mountain villa without explaining the situation, only vaguely describing that Tan You was very ill.

Even though she was frantic, Lan Jingli had to be fully sanitized, showered, and changed before she could enter Tan You’s bedroom.

“Sister, what’s wrong?”

On the cloud-soft bed, the woman lay on her side, her expression one of cool, unbearable discomfort. Her hair, black as a siren’s, cascaded down, and her skin was as luminous as moonlight.

“Li-li.” She bit her lip, her voice as soft as a spring stream, melting into Lan Jingli’s bones.

Lan Jingli didn’t care about feeling shy or anything else. She quickly sat on the edge of the bed to check on Tan You.

“Sister, are you sick again? What’s wrong? What can I do?”

Seeing the girl’s frantic state, as if she would go through hell and high water for her, Tan You’s eyes were a captivating, fiery red, and her beautiful features were breathtakingly radiant.

“Just do as I say.”

She gripped the collar of Lan Jingli’s shirt, pulling the girl down inch by inch. Their lips were so close they were almost touching.

Feeling the delicate scent of Tan You’s body, Lan Jingli was completely entranced, her heart skipping a beat.

“Li-li, are you wearing the necklace?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Will you wear it forever?”

“Yes.”

Tan You’s eyes shone with an impossibly beautiful glimmer. Her voice, pure and cold, was alluring and seductive. After hearing Lan Jingli’s answer, her graceful face was filled with an undisguised look of contentment.

“Li-li, I need you.”

Lan Jingli’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t believe what Tan You meant. She had only ever used her mouth before. Were they going to take it a step further now?

“Come inside.”

The seductive, soft voice was intermittent in the faint moonlight. It went on for a long time before slowly subsiding.

“Sister, can I stay here tonight?”

Lan Jingli asked, gathering her courage. She didn’t want to think too deeply about why Tan You always made her leave immediately after they were intimate.

But she couldn’t help feeling that sometimes, she was more like a tool to satisfy a desire.

The woman’s expression was playful, a half-smile on her lips. “Li-li, you want so much.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant…”

“If behaved a liitle, I’ll think about it.”

Aunt Wan knocked respectfully. “Miss Wei is here. Will you see her?”

Tan You’s eyes shifted. Her eyelashes were still wet with tears, but she said coldly to Lan Jingli:

“You can go back now.”