A Washed-up Movie Queen's Divorce Strategy [Rebirth] - Chapter 46

As soon as the words left Ming Lang’s mouth, she sensed something was off. She had intended to praise Ji Chenli for looking much healthier—finally free of that sickly thinness—but the words took on a different flavor the moment they hit the air. Ming Lang wanted to explain, but spoken words cannot be retracted, so she gave up and lapsed into silence.

Although Ming Lang received daily updates regarding Ji Chenli from her subordinates, static photos and cold data were never as intuitive as seeing her in person. When they parted, Ji Chenli had been bedridden with severe injuries, her mood gloomy, her cheeks so sunken she looked ashen. It had been a long time since Ming Lang had truly seen her. She missed her terribly; every time she closed her eyes, Ji Chenli was in her dreams. She had carved every detail of Ji Chenli’s features into her mind, but seeing her today, Ji Chenli looked many times more beautiful than the sickly image in her memory.

The unhealthy hollows in her cheeks had filled out, and her pale face had regained a sense of fullness and color. Perhaps due to the excessive nervousness upon arrival, her cheeks were tinged with a slight flush. Even under the harsh, stark white lights of the hospital, she was indescribably beautiful. Ming Lang’s longing for her was so vast that her clasped hands fidgeted, thumbs pressing against one another. She didn’t dare provoke Ji Chenli’s resentment again, so she only stole glances out of the corner of her eye. But a glimpse wasn’t enough; she wanted to see more. She turned her head slightly too far, then quickly snapped it back as if terrified of being caught. This cycle repeated several times until even Ming Lang mocked herself in her heart.

Truly, a person who has lived nearly eighty years across two lifetimes is acting like a green young girl. How embarrassing.

Ji Chenli held her cup and drank water, staring straight ahead at the wall, her face almost buried in the paper cup.

Ming Lang’s gaze was practically blinding; how could she not notice it? Ji Chenli couldn’t stand this suffocating scrutiny and instinctively wanted to flee. But considering how much Ming Lang had helped her recently—and the fact that it was Ji Chenli herself who had flagged down Ming Lang’s car to get to the hospital—she couldn’t bring herself to kick Ming Lang out.

The disposable cup couldn’t hold much water. After finishing, Ji Chenli crumpled the cup into a ball and tossed it casually toward a nearby trash can. It landed perfectly. The two sat in silence for a while, and since sitting there forever wasn’t an option, Ji Chenli cleared her throat and said softly, “About the orphanage… thank you.”

Ming Lang shook her head. “Don’t mention it.”

“I know these are trivial matters for you, but for my sister and me, they were monumental.” Ji Chenli curled her lip, thinking self-deprecatingly that after vowing never to have anything to do with Ming Lang again, she had still ended up relying on her when there was no other way. Her words were prettier than her actions; even she was starting to look down on herself.

Ji Chenli gave a cynical light laugh, sighed, and added, “Ming Lang, I owe you a huge favor, but to be honest, I have nothing to pay you back with.”

Ming Lang didn’t speak. Her gaze was entirely drawn to Ji Chenli’s feet.

Ji Chenli had been in such a rush that she hadn’t changed her shoes; she was still wearing a pair of open-toed flip-flops. With only two thin straps for support and no other covering, the vast expanse of her snowy-white insteps and rounded toes were completely exposed. Her toes were delicate and full, the nails gleaming with a pearly pink luster. They were flawless.

Following Ming Lang’s gaze downward, Ji Chenli noticed her frayed flip-flops and felt a flash of discomfort. She quietly tucked her feet beneath the chair, and only then did Ming Lang retract her gaze.

Ming Lang felt a sense of lingering regret, and her brow furrowed deeply.

Ji Chenli sensed the shift in Ming Lang’s mood and assumed she was disgusted by her appearing in public in flip-flops. Little did she know that Ming Lang’s heart was filled with remorse and heartache.

It turns out every part of this person is so beautiful. In all that time in my previous life, I never noticed.

“What were you doing in West City in the middle of the night?” Ji Chenli asked.

“A project is starting in the neighboring city; the mayor is an old friend of my father’s,” Ming Lang explained succinctly. Ji Chenli thought about it—taking the exit from the highway toll station would indeed mean passing through West City. She gave a small “oh” and fell silent again.

Ji Chenli didn’t truly subscribe to the conspiracy theory that Ming Lang was staking out her house to corner her. After all, only a god could foresee a child getting sick. No matter how powerful Ming Lang was, she couldn’t predict that Ji Chenli would be flagging down cars at 3 AM. Ji Chenli had only asked to find a topic of conversation so they wouldn’t sit there awkwardly all night, but Ming Lang had killed the conversation in two sentences.

It hadn’t been like this before.

The “before” Ji Chenli referred to was a time even earlier than those seven years in her past life.

Back then, the time they had known each other was neither long nor short. Every time she saw Ming Lang, her heart overflowed with joy and an inexhaustible energy. Whenever she was with Ming Lang, she could always find various topics to discuss. Usually, it was Ji Chenli talking while Ming Lang listened quietly. On warm sunny afternoons, Ji Chenli would chatter away like a sparrow. She would talk for a while and then, fearing Ming Lang was bored, turn to check her expression—only to find that Ming Lang’s gaze had been on her the whole time. Turning her head, she would fall straight into those deep, fathomless eyes.

Ming Lang’s hair was longer then, roughly shoulder-length, scattered softly. A light breeze would catch the ends of her hair, making them dance slightly, brushing against Ji Chenli’s heart one stroke at a time. Ming Lang seemed painted in a layer of gold under the setting sun; her habitually cold eyes melted into a pool of water under the warmth, her features softening until even Ji Chenli melted into them.

“Why did you stop?” Ming Lang had asked, a very faint smile rippling at the corner of her mouth.

Ji Chenli, drowning in that rare warmth, had dazed for a long moment before coming back to her senses. Seeing that ghost of a smile and a hint of playfulness, Ji Chenli’s face quickly flushed deep red, which, against her fair skin, looked more beautiful than the evening clouds.

Back then, Ji Chenli was always eager to find interesting things to tell Ming Lang. She always thought that since Ming Lang didn’t like to talk, she must be very lonely when no one was with her. To ensure she had topics, she specifically read many anecdotes from ancient and modern times, memorizing them all—true or false—just so she would have something to say the next time she saw Ming Lang.

Thinking of it now, Ji Chenli only felt incredibly stupid.

When Ming Lang was with her, she was likely thinking of how to get rid of this noisy woman as quickly as possible to spend more time with her Han Xinyuan. Poor Ji Chenli hadn’t known her place and actually believed something was possible between them.

Now that she saw through it, Ji Chenli no longer had the mindset of her past life. She and Ming Lang just sat side-by-side, no longer wasting effort on topics to avoid awkwardness. Two people in the dim light, silent as ghosts.

“Let’s find a time to finalize the divorce procedures.” Suddenly, Ji Chenli heard Ming Lang say this.

In that instant, Ji Chenli almost thought she had misheard.

“What did you say?” Ji Chenli turned, asking in disbelief.

“A divorce… isn’t that what you wished for?”

Ji Chenli’s mouth hung open, her whole body frozen. It took a long time for her to recover. Her lips trembled unnaturally as she asked in a quivering voice, “Are you serious?”

“I am.”

“No other conditions?”

“None.”

“Truly… truly…” Ji Chenli simply could not believe this reality.

Ming Lang had helped her solve the massive trouble at the orphanage; Ji Chenli assumed she would use it as leverage. She was prepared for a long, drawn-out battle, but she hadn’t expected happiness to arrive so suddenly. Ming Lang had proposed it so simply. The wire that had been tightening around Ji Chenli’s neck these past few days suddenly went slack.

Ji Chenli was so excited she almost jumped up. Her reason remained just enough for her to remember she was in a hospital. She didn’t dare be too wild; she could only tightly grip Ming Lang’s hand, repeatedly saying thank you.

“Thank you, thank you…” Ji Chenli’s throat choked up uncontrollably. “Thank you for setting me free.”

Ming Lang held back the hand that Ji Chenli had proactively reached out for the first time since her rebirth, feeling a sense of desolation in her heart. Clutching Ji Chenli’s long, soft fingers, she thought sorrowfully: It turns out Ji Chenli wanted to leave me this much—she doesn’t want to spend even one more second by my side.

But once, a long time ago, there was a vast stretch of time where Ji Chenli’s heart and eyes held only her.

And Ming Lang had personally ground that time into dust.

“Then you set the time,” Ming Lang heard herself let out a long sigh. “Chenli, I only want you to believe that in this life, I sincerely wish you well.”

“Thank you,” Ji Chenli nodded. “I wish me well, too.”

“Ming Lang, I hope we both fare well in the places where we cannot see each other. Although I don’t care for Han Xinyuan, she really is quite good and loves you. You two should live well together.”

After saying this, Ji Chenli couldn’t help but laugh. There was no need for her to remind her; Ming Lang had lived much longer than she had in their previous life. She must have known Han Xinyuan’s virtues long ago.

The child stayed on an IV drip for the night, and Ming Lang stayed with Ji Chenli the whole time. By the next day, the fever finally subsided. However, acute pneumonia is contagious and doesn’t heal easily, so he had to remain for observation for a few days. During this time, Ji Chenli cared for him at the hospital, and Ming Lang came by almost every day. She was the child’s savior, and since she had brought such good news, Ji Chenli felt it wouldn’t be right to stop her.

Although Ming Lang looked cold, her appearance was simply too good. Standing there with her icy demeanor, she looked like a celestial fairy. Children have a natural lack of resistance to beautiful things. At first, the boy was afraid of her, but once they became familiar, he not only wasn’t afraid but played well with her. When Ming Lang didn’t come, he would miss her and ask Ji Chenli when the “Fairy Sister” was coming.

“What ‘Fairy Sister’? ‘Fairy Auntie’ is more like it. Based on age, calling her ‘Fairy Grandma’ would be enough.” Ji Chenli thought that everyone truly suffered from the disease of valuing looks over everything. If she hadn’t been blinded by beauty back then, she wouldn’t have ended up in this state.

A beautiful face brings disaster—indeed, it was true.