A Washed-up Movie Queen's Divorce Strategy [Rebirth] - Chapter 31

Ji Chenli’s sleep was far from comfortable. With such heavy injuries, moving hurt, and staying still made her whole body ache with a sour stiffness. In short, she was a hundred percent dissatisfied. Fortunately, there was someone in her dream constantly turning her over, which made things a bit more bearable. However, when she woke up and found Ming Lang still in her ward, she immediately felt depressed again.

“Why haven’t you left yet?” Ji Chenli asked helplessly.

“I…” Ming Lang started, paused for a second, and then said, “The company’s branch in Songhu City suffered heavy losses. I need to stay here for a while.”

Ji Chenli marveled at how vast Ming Lang’s business empire truly was—to have a branch even in a third-tier small city like Songhu. “Then what are you doing sitting here? Are you just ignoring the branch office?”

“Luyang is here; she can handle it.”

Ji Chenli sneered upon hearing this. “Your life as a President is certainly easy. You use your assistant like an all-purpose nanny.”

Ming Lang remained silent.

When it came to having a sharp tongue, Ming Lang was no match for Ji Chenli. She was a master at the negotiation table, but this wasn’t a negotiation with Ji Chenli, and there was no need for that kind of confrontational hostility. Ming Lang hadn’t understood this before, but she had slowly learned that yielding a little was no big deal. As long as the person was still there, matters of pride and “face” weren’t as important as she had once imagined.

In her past life, Ji Chenli was used to bickering with Han Xinyuan; the more you argued with her, the more fired up she got. But if you proactively admitted defeat, her momentum would actually drop instead. Since Ming Lang endured her mockery, Ji Chenli found it boring and shut her mouth as well.

Ji Chenli felt she was forgetting something. Her head had been foggy with pain when she first woke up, but after sleeping, she felt better and began to slowly piece together what she had missed.

“Right!” Ji Chenli suddenly shouted. That single shout tugged at her back, making it hurt again. She hissed in pain, but ignoring the ache, she struggled to lift her arm toward Ming Lang. “President Ming, do me a favor. Let me use your phone.”

Seeing Ji Chenli flailing in pain, Ming Lang didn’t even stop to ask why. She handed over her phone immediately, terrified that something urgent might be delayed.

The moment Ji Chenli raised her arm, it pulled on a muscle somewhere in her back, making it feel as if her flesh were being torn. Her features contorted, and she squinted through the slits of her eyes to see the numbers on the screen. She pressed them one by one and finally dialed a number.

“Sister Tao Yuan…” As soon as the call connected, Ji Chenli’s voice immediately took on a somewhat fawning, cheerful tone. Her face was still twisted in pain, but her voice sounded as if she had encountered something wonderful.

“You little brat, you finally thought to call! Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?” Tao Yuan started crying the moment she heard Ji Chenli’s voice. “If it weren’t for this group of kids needing care, I would have gone to find you long ago!”

“Am I not perfectly fine right now…?” Hearing the sob in Tao Yuan’s voice, Ji Chenli’s heart clenched. “Don’t be so anxious, okay? I’m fine… really, really! The communication lines were just cut for the past few days, and they only just got them repaired…”

“Stop lying to me!” Tao Yuan snapped. “The disaster relief has been live on TV 24 hours a day. They said communications were restored on the first day! Chen-chen, tell me the truth—did something happen to you? No, I still have to come over there…”

“Don’t! Sister, don’t come!” Ji Chenli’s scalp tingled with panic. “What about the kids at the orphanage if you come? Several of them haven’t even been weaned yet!”

“If it really comes down to it, I’ll ask Auntie Li across the street to help for a few days. I know she’s kind-hearted; she won’t mistreat the children…”

“People’s hearts are hard to read, Sister! What if she isn’t good to the kids? What if she hits them?” Ji Chenli knew Auntie Li was kind; in her past life, Auntie Li had taken care of the orphanage for a long time after Tao Yuan died. But right now, she couldn’t care about that. She apologized to Auntie Li in her heart while continuing to terrify Tao Yuan. “Beating them with brooms! Whipping them with feather dusters! Sister, you’d better think carefully!”

Tao Yuan was indeed intimidated, caught in a dilemma. “But your side…”

“I’m really fine!” Ji Chenli’s brain was short-circuiting from anxiety, unsure how to explain further. Just then, a note appeared before her eyes. The handwriting was bold and elegant, like fine calligraphy. Ji Chenli understood immediately and followed the script on the note: “Sister, well… I didn’t reply to your messages for so many days because of the earthquake. They’re short-staffed here, so I’m helping with the rescue efforts. Think about all those lives; how could I not help?”

This explanation sounded reasonable enough. Tao Yuan was still suspicious. “You’re not lying to me?”

“I swear! It’s true! If it isn’t true, I’ll…” Mmph… mmph… Before Ji Chenli could finish her extravagant oath, Ming Lang stepped in and covered her mouth.

What are you doing? Ji Chenli questioned Ming Lang with her eyes. Ming Lang pursed her lips and shook her head, signaling her not to say that sentence.

“Chen-chen?” Tao Yuan asked, puzzled. “What’s happening on your end?”

Ji Chenli nodded vigorously at Ming Lang. Only then did Ming Lang release her hand. Ji Chenli hurriedly explained to Tao Yuan, “It’s nothing! Sister, I’m really helping with the relief efforts. Don’t worry anymore. How about I call you every night at a set time to let you know I’m safe?”

“Alright,” Tao Yuan conceded, seeing no better option. Furthermore, saving a life is a great merit; since Ji Chenli was doing a good deed, Tao Yuan couldn’t truly stop her. “Then be careful. You must call me; I need to hear your voice!”

“I know, I know. I’ve gotta go, I’m busy. Sister, I’m hanging up!”

Ji Chenli let out a long breath after hanging up. That was close; she almost exposed herself.

Then, she glared fiercely at Ming Lang. “Are you crazy? I almost blew my cover with my sister just now, do you know that?”

Ming Lang looked at Ji Chenli with an expression of extreme seriousness—so serious it actually made Ji Chenli a little afraid. “In the future, you are not allowed to swear oaths on your own life.”

“I wasn’t…” Ji Chenli tried to argue, but seeing Ming Lang’s “I know everything” gaze, her confidence withered, and the rest of the words wouldn’t come out.

At the end of the day, Ji Chenli was still a bit afraid of Ming Lang. It was a weakness etched into her bones, something a single rebirth couldn’t change. It was for this very reason that Ji Chenli wanted to stay away from her even more.

“Chenli, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Ming Lang said with a touch of regret and annoyance at seeing Ji Chenli shrink back. “If you really want to make a solemn oath, use my life to do it in the future, alright?”

Ji Chenli found this ridiculous. What’s the big deal? You’re acting like you’re actually going to die. She didn’t want to dwell on such trifles with Ming Lang and said dismissively, “Fine, I got it. You should go, I’m sleepy.”

“I’ll stay with you.”

“Please don’t. I don’t want to have nightmares again.”

There seemed to be a hurt emotion in Ming Lang’s eyes, but it was also possible Ji Chenli was misreading her. Ming Lang’s eyes were shadowed with dark circles and bloodshot; it was impossible to tell how long she’d gone without sleep.

Just then, Xu Luyang knocked and entered. She glanced at Ji Chenli and gave her a smile before leaning in to whisper something in Ming Lang’s ear.

Xu Luyang seemed like a very approachable person. No matter who she smiled at, she gave off the illusion that you were close friends—a typical “caring older sister” type. However, because she was Ming Lang’s person, Ji Chenli had never had much contact with her.

Ji Chenli didn’t know what Xu Luyang said, but seeing Ming Lang’s gaze darken, she guessed it wasn’t good news. Sure enough, Ming Lang turned to her and said, “Then get some rest. I’ll come back later.”

Then the two of them hurried out.

Ji Chenli couldn’t move and had no entertainment, so she simply closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

As she was drifting off, a thought flashed through her mind—it seemed very dangerous. But when she tried to capture it, the thought vanished instantly.

Ji Chenli’s heart felt heavy. she tried desperately to remember what she had just thought of, but she couldn’t figure out what she had missed.

“President Ming, you’ve changed quite a bit recently,” Xu Luyang remarked on the way to another ward.

Ming Lang just kept walking with her head down, saying nothing. Xu Luyang had followed her for many years and knew her personality; even if she didn’t speak, she was certainly listening. She added carefully, “I remember President Ming didn’t seem to… care about Miss Ji before?”

Ming Lang finally reacted, lifting her eyes to look at Xu Luyang.

Xu Luyang asked, “President Ming, could it be that you… toward Miss Ji…”

Ming Lang didn’t hide anything and nodded frankly. “I love her.”

Hearing this, Xu Luyang gave a gratified smile. “It’s good that you’ve finally realized it. Congratulations.”

They stopped outside another ward and knocked. This was where Han Xinyuan was staying. Ming Yan was there chatting with her. When Ming Lang entered, she saw Han Xinyuan—her arm wrapped in a cast—struggling to get out of bed, with Ming Yan unable to stop her.

“What are you doing?” Ming Lang walked over with a cold face, and the two immediately froze.

Han Xinyuan murmured, “I… I want to go see Ji Chenli…”

Before Ming Lang could speak, Ming Yan saw her sister’s expression and lectured Han Xinyuan first: “Just stay put. With Chenli’s current injuries, don’t go over there and add to her stress.”

“I’m not!” Han Xinyuan countered. “A-Lang, I’m not looking for trouble with Ji Chenli. I just want to thank her!”

“She’s sleeping,” Ming Lang said. “You don’t need to go. Rest.”

Ming Yan looked at her sister and couldn’t help but shake her head. It had only been a few days; how did she end up looking like this?

In the past, even if Ming Lang didn’t do much maintenance, she was the eldest miss of the Ming family; she used high-quality products and led a disciplined life. Her face was as clear as white jade even without makeup. With her temperament and looks, she easily outshone the crowd of “fair-weather friends” Ming Yan knew in the entertainment industry.

Now, looking at this woman with her hair tied back with a plastic string, her skin sallow and rough, and her clothes dirty and torn—if it weren’t for those same features, Ming Yan truly wouldn’t have believed this was her sister.

“Sister, how long has it been since you slept?”