A Washed-up Movie Queen's Divorce Strategy [Rebirth] - Chapter 42

Ming Lang had pressured her time and again, and this time she had actually involved Tao Yuan and the children as leverage. Ji Chenli could no longer endure it. After taking her leave from the reporter, she didn’t even consult with Tao Yuan; sitting on the subway, she dialed Ming Lang’s mobile number directly.

When it comes to things etched into one’s bones, they truly become instinct. Ji Chenli dialed Ming Lang’s number without a second thought or a moment’s hesitation. As she pressed the call button and waited for the connection, she cursed herself for being so pathetic—claiming she wanted to forget, yet remembering everything. No wonder everyone could laugh at her; even that reporter, who was barely a common acquaintance, spoke with veiled mockery about her “climbing the high branch” of Ming Lang, a sparrow turning into a phoenix.

In her previous life, Ji Chenli’s entire world revolved around Ming Lang; she hadn’t paid attention to the gossip outside, though she could guess some of it. But in this life, facing these rumors head-on, she realized clearly how she appeared to outsiders. Then again, if even Ji Chenli looked down on herself, what could she expect from others?

After a moment, the call connected. Before the other side could react, Ji Chenli unleashed the fury she had been suppressing. “Ming Lang, are you sick in the head? You’re the head of the prestigious Ming family, and yet you’re so obsessed with making life miserable for us commoners? Did I dig up your ancestral graves or something? Why won’t you let me go? You—”

Before Ji Chenli’s machine-gun-like tirade could finish, a weak, interrupting voice came from the other end. “Um… Miss Ji… I’m Xu Luyang…”

Ji Chenli’s fire was instantly extinguished. The remaining rage stuck in her throat, impossible to swallow or spit out. She remained silent for a long time.

“Miss Ji, do you have an urgent matter for President Ming? Please wait a moment.” After a long pause on the line, it seemed the phone was handed over. Sure enough, Ming Lang’s familiar, cool voice reached Ji Chenli’s ears, carrying a hint of unbelievable joy: “Chenli? You… you’re calling me?”

Ji Chenli had calmed down by now. She let out a long sigh and rested her forehead against her hand, leaning back on the subway bench. “Ming Lang, can you delay the demolition in West City for a bit? At least give us some time to move. I thank you on behalf of those children.”

“West City?” Ming Lang coughed several times, sounding quite surprised. “Chenli, don’t be anxious, speak slowly.”

Ji Chenli knew every inflection of Ming Lang’s voice by heart. Even though Ming Lang was intentionally suppressing her voice, Ji Chenli caught the raspiness. She asked hesitantly, “Are you sick?”

“A bit of a cold,” Ming Lang said softly. “I’m not in the country right now. I’ll send someone to investigate this matter immediately, don’t worry.” After speaking, she couldn’t help but cough a few more times.

The anger had been directed at the wrong person, and the following interrogation felt like a soft punch into a pile of cotton. Ming Lang truly seemed unaware of the situation and behaved with perfect propriety—as if they were just acquaintances with no deep history. This left Ji Chenli feeling at a loss, only able to reply awkwardly, “Oh, okay.”

“Chenli, is… is there anything else?” Ming Lang actually wanted to ask how Ji Chenli’s recovery was going. She monitored her condition every day, but she just wanted to hear her voice a bit longer. However, asking directly seemed too intimate. Ming Lang felt that her current interactions with Ji Chenli were like crossing a river of thin ice—it wasn’t thick, and there was a risk of it cracking at any moment. So, she had to be extremely cautious to avoid falling into an abyss.

“Nothing else. I won’t disturb you further. Thank you,” Ji Chenli said.

“Alright.” Ming Lang lowered her eyes, a trace of undetectable disappointment escaping from the corners.

But Ji Chenli then added, “Don’t try to tough out a cold. Take your medicine on time, keep a regular schedule, and drink more hot water.”

Ming Lang’s eyes lit up instantly. She answered hurriedly, the joy in her tone obvious even to Xu Luyang.

Xu Luyang had rarely seen Ming Lang lose her composure in the past, but ever since she married Ji Chenli, it happened far too often—so much so that Xu Luyang couldn’t help but criticize her boss in her heart. If you knew it would be like this, why were you so indifferent before? It’s all your own doing. You deserve it.

Ming Lang handed the phone back to Xu Luyang and lay back down to sleep. It was currently midnight in Paris. After a day of haggling with foreigners, she had just fallen asleep when Ji Chenli’s call disturbed her. She likely wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep for the rest of the night.

Xu Luyang took the phone out of Ming Lang’s room. Seeing the line was still active, she said quickly, “Miss Ji, are you still there?”

“Mhm.” Ji Chenli felt a bit embarrassed for shouting at Xu Luyang earlier and apologized, “I’m sorry, just now…”

“It’s fine, I understand,” Xu Luyang smiled good-naturedly. “By the way, Miss Ji, based on what you said, I think you probably have a misunderstanding of President Ming. She’s been traveling through several countries these past few days and falls asleep the moment she returns to the hotel. She hasn’t had time to look into domestic affairs.”

Ji Chenli knew Xu Luyang was being tactful. Bluntly put, she was saying: “President Ming is too busy with official business to have the time to go out of her way to cause trouble for you. Stop having a persecution complex.” Ji Chenli felt a wave of embarrassment, her face turning red and then pale. she could only apologize repeatedly. “I’m sorry, this was my fault. Truly sorry.”

Xu Luyang sighed again. “You shouldn’t be saying this to me, Miss Ji. President Ming has had a low-grade fever for several days and was just woken up by you. You know her sleeping habits; she likely won’t be able to sleep for the rest of the night.”

Ji Chenli naturally knew. In her past life, when Ming Lang occasionally stayed at the Ming family residence, Ji Chenli often snuck in to watch her sleep. But no matter how late it was, Ming Lang’s eyes would always be open the moment she entered, her gaze clear as if she hadn’t slept at all. Initially, Ji Chenli thought Ming Lang was waiting to catch her red-handed, but after pestering the butler for over a week, she found out through subtle inquiry that Ming Lang had practiced under her master since childhood. Her hearing was much sharper than a normal person’s, and she couldn’t sleep if there was the slightest noise. Once woken mid-sleep, she wouldn’t be able to sleep for the rest of the night. Therefore, her room was made of custom soundproof materials and didn’t even have a bedside clock.

Ji Chenli had only felt heartache for Ming Lang then and never snuck in again. She searched everywhere for folk remedies, experimenting on herself, and finally came up with a recipe. Ming Lang never ate anything Ji Chenli made personally, so she gave the recipe to the Ming family chef, having him make a drink for Ming Lang according to the recipe every night. Later, according to the butler, Ming Lang’s insomnia had improved significantly. Ji Chenli had felt a great sense of relief and happiness.

Thinking back, she was so foolish then. The person clearly loathed her, yet she worried for her with unrequited passion. To her, sharing even such a small burden was heavenly happiness.

Ji Chenli mocked herself in her heart, then turned to Xu Luyang on the phone. “Miss Xu, do you have dried longans and red dates there?”

“Yes, why?”

“Please heat up a cup of milk, add two longans and one red date, and stir in half a spoonful of honey. Give it to Ming Lang once it’s warm. It helps with insomnia.”

“Alright, I’ll go make it right now. Miss Ji, you’re really attentive to President Ming to have such a recipe.”

Ji Chenli felt a tightness in her chest. She said nothing and hurriedly hung up.

I’m not caring for Ming Lang, Ji Chenli told herself. It was wrong of me to make that call today; I was too judgmental without investigating. Telling her assistant the recipe is just to compensate her.

Xu Luyang prepared the warm milk according to the recipe. When she brought it into the room, Ming Lang was indeed awake, sitting up against the headboard reviewing materials for the next day’s case. Xu Luyang handed the milk to Ming Lang. Ming Lang took just one sip and smiled. “Did Chenli teach you this recipe?”

“Mhm.” Xu Luyang wanted to ask how she knew, but then she realized: this was a recipe Ji Chenli had specifically tailored for Ming Lang’s insomnia. How could Ming Lang not know? Xu Luyang thought that this couple was truly dramatic—they clearly loved each other to the bone, yet they were so stubborn. Either Ming Lang was being stubborn or Ji Chenli was. She didn’t understand how they ended up at the point of divorce. Honestly, was this fun?

“Too much honey was added, it doesn’t taste like the one Chenli makes.” However, it was somewhat similar. Even as she criticized it, Ming Lang finished the milk entirely and even licked her lips. “Is there more?”

Xu Luyang had followed Ming Lang for many years and had never seen her express such great interest in any food. This cup of milk was just milk with some longan, red dates, and honey—it was quite ordinary and likely didn’t even have any actual medicinal effect for insomnia. Why did it have such magic? Seeing Ming Lang’s greedy look, even Xu Luyang couldn’t help but swallow. “Is it really that good?”

“It’s alright, but it’s far from what Chenli makes,” Ming Lang said.

In the past, Ji Chenli often boiled this milk for Ming Lang. She told the butler to keep it a secret, but the butler was the Ming family’s butler—how could he listen to Ji Chenli? He had told Ming Lang everything long ago. It wasn’t some miracle cure, but after drinking it, Ming Lang felt she truly slept much more soundly than before.

Xu Luyang thought: It’s good enough that you have something to drink. If you’re so picky, just have your wife boil it for you. She didn’t dare say this to Ming Lang’s face, only criticizing silently. She poured a glass of water for Ming Lang to rinse her mouth, cleaned up, and left.

The scent of longan, red dates, and milk still lingered in Ming Lang’s mouth. she smacked her lips and looked up at the moon hanging in the old tree outside the window.