A Washed-up Movie Queen's Divorce Strategy [Rebirth] - Chapter 23

Ji Chenli and Ming Lang sat across from each other at the dining table in a dry, silent standoff. She wanted to ask Ming Lang if she had done anything to her last night, but the words felt stuck in her throat. Ming Lang was naturally a woman of few words, and she spent the entire time staring at Ji Chenli without speaking, making the scene incredibly awkward.

This won’t do, Ji Chenli thought. Guessing blindly isn’t the answer; it’s better to just ask. Steeling herself, she spoke up: “Last night…”

To her surprise, Ming Lang spoke at the same time: “You…”

Their voices overlapped, and they both stopped simultaneously to let the other speak first, which only made it more embarrassing.

Ming Lang gave a soft chuckle. She finished the last sip of milk in her glass, wiped her mouth, and said, “You go first.”

Ji Chenli had used up all her courage just to say those two words. Being interrupted by Ming Lang caused all her momentum to leak out. She felt a bit unable to say it now and could only tuck a strand of hair behind her ear uncomfortably. “You should speak first.”

“You drank too much yesterday. Does your head hurt this morning?”

“I’m alright.” Ji Chenli wasn’t used to chatting with Ming Lang so peacefully, let alone face-to-face at the same table. The scene felt bizarre no matter how she looked at it.

However, the bystanders nearby found it quite pleasing to the eye. Both were beauties; Ming Lang’s looks, in particular, were top-tier even in the beauty-saturated entertainment industry. They looked like a painting.

Ming Lang continued, “Yesterday you were drunk. Feng Cai handed you to me and ran off. I… I helped you change your clothes… but I did nothing else!”

She looked a bit nervous as she spoke, her facial muscles twitching slightly. Like a child who had made a mistake, she actually looked a bit cute.

To use the word “cute” to describe Ming Lang—Ji Chenli felt she probably hadn’t sobered up from last night’s wine. She picked up the juice she had brought over and used the glass to hide her face, giving a few dry coughs as cover. Her eyes darted guiltily toward the table. “That… I didn’t… didn’t… last night…”

The rest of the sentence was too quiet for Ming Lang to hear, so she leaned forward slightly. “Hmm?”

Ji Chenli had no choice but to say it again. “I didn’t do anything to you, did I?”

Ji Chenli had some understanding of her own behavior while drinking; the drunker she got, the better her memory usually was. But she feared those moments of being “half-drunk” like last night. Although she had no desire to provoke Ming Lang anymore, Ming Lang had a natural physical attraction for her after so many years of infatuation. Ji Chenli was truly afraid that liquid courage had made her do something to Ming Lang. If that were the case, she’d be tied to Ming Lang for the rest of her life—who could she even complain to?

Ming Lang seemed to find Ji Chenli’s words unbelievable. Her pupils dilated slightly in surprise, then she leaned back in her chair and laughed.

“No,” Ming Lang said. She actually wished Ji Chenli had lost control and done something; then she could keep her by her side legitimately. But Ji Chenli’s drinking manners were excellent; once drunk, she fell asleep immediately and didn’t wake up until morning.

“Really?” Ji Chenli asked, still uneasy.

Ming Lang clasped her hands loosely, her forearms resting on the table as she leaned closer to Ji Chenli with a serious expression. “If I said yes, would you not divorce me?”

Ji Chenli fell silent.

Actually, Ji Chenli’s values were quite traditional; if she had done “that” to someone, she would feel obligated to take responsibility for life. But if that person were Ming Lang, it seemed it had to be an exception. After all, Ming Lang didn’t love her, and she wanted so desperately to escape her—to excise Ming Lang cleanly from her life so the future pain wouldn’t happen.

Ming Lang understood. She gave a self-deprecating smile. “Don’t worry. Truly, nothing happened.”

Ji Chenli breathed a sigh of relief and showed a relaxed smile. Thinking about it, it made sense—that was Ming Lang. Even if she wanted to do something, could she even handle her? She was no match for her while awake, let alone while drunk.

“Then your face…”

Ming Lang touched the faint palm print on her cheek, her smile turning a bit teasing. “While I was changing your clothes last night, I probably hurt you, and you accidentally slapped me.”

“…” Couldn’t you use some foundation to cover it up? Do you have to leave it there just to annoy me? As soon as Ji Chenli remembered that her clothes last night were changed by this woman, she felt uncomfortable all over. “Our marriage is just a deal. You don’t have to look after me in the future.” She finished her sandwich in a few bites and drained her juice in one gulp. “Enjoy your meal, President Ming. I’m going to work.”

“Chenli!” Ming Lang called out.

Ji Chenli had already pulled back her chair and stood up. “Does President Ming have something else?”

“In the past… was I very bad to you?”

Ji Chenli thought for a moment and smiled. “No, the President was very good to me.”

If it were the Ming Lang of this age, she really was quite good—repairing the orphanage, starting a charity fund, and solving the children’s schooling issues. Of course, those were things the Ming Lang of the previous life had done as well. Before the marriage happened, Ming Lang could even be considered a decent boss. Ji Chenli often thought later that she wished the Ming Lang of that time hadn’t been so mercifully generous as to give her those needless illusions, making her naively believe there was a possibility between them.

Ming Lang assumed Ji Chenli was being sarcastic and lowered her head. “I see.”

Ji Chenli looked at Ming Lang and felt a momentary pang of pity. Having lived again, her mind was always filled with the pain that made it hard for her to go on, to the point that she almost forgot that there were actually some beautiful memories between her and Ming Lang. Though brief and faint, they did exist.

As for those beautiful memories, in the end, they were ruined by Ji Chenli herself. Ji Chenli thought: Ming Lang isn’t actually a bad person; she just didn’t love her. That wasn’t her fault.

But whose fault it was no longer mattered. Ji Chenli recognized her mistakes and had learned her lesson. She had tasted enough of the bitter fruit and only wanted to leave each other alone from now on, giving each other peace.

“Ming Lang, in all this time, I’ve never formally apologized to you,” Ji Chenli said. “Though this isn’t very formal either, I still want to say I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry for threatening you with something as serious as a life. I’m sorry for disrupting your life. I’m sorry for causing you trouble for so long.” It was the first time she truly faced the mistakes she had made. After apologizing, she felt only shame and used the excuse of being late for the set to run off.

Ming Lang tilted her head to watch Ji Chenli’s departing back. She watched for a long time until Ji Chenli disappeared around the corner of the hotel entrance before she let out a cynical laugh. “Ji Chenli, you owe me much more than an apology.”

She held the glass Ji Chenli had used for juice, her fingers caressing the smooth surface as if stroking a lover. “What you owe me is a vibrant, living lover.”

“But I owe you even more.”

“I owe you so much I can’t pay it back in a lifetime…”

Ignoring the strange looks from people around her, Ming Lang solemnly pressed her lips to the spot where Ji Chenli had drunk her juice and let out a sigh with her eyes closed.

Walking on the road, Ji Chenli felt that Ming Lang was a bit strange today.

Or rather, not just today—ever since she was reborn, Ming Lang had been acting weird. In all those years before, Ji Chenli had rarely seen Ming Lang smile. It had only been a few months since she came back, and yet how many times had Ming Lang smiled? Even if most of them were mocking, sarcastic, cold, or fake smiles… at the very least, there were far more expressions on her face than before—so many that Ji Chenli almost didn’t recognize her. Was this… was this still the “iceberg face” from her memory?

At the set, she first greeted Fang Shi. Fang Shi was likely still angry about yesterday and was acting a bit indifferent. Ji Chenli had her own things on her mind and couldn’t attend to her; she thought she’d find a chance to explain to Fang Shi later and entered the dressing room absently.

“Sister Ji is here? We’ve been waiting for you.” Several makeup artists were sitting together chatting. When they saw Ji Chenli enter, they immediately got to work. As Ji Chenli approached, the lead stylist responsible for her look gave a sudden cry: “Oh my, Sister Ji! What did you do yesterday?”

Stylists usually loved to use Western names. Ji Chenli didn’t know this man’s real name, only that he was called Andy. His skills were excellent and he was a nice person, though he loved to act young. Ji Chenli had heard Feng Cai gossip that he was in his thirties yet insisted on acting like a “little fresh meat,” calling everyone “Brother” or “Sister.” But in all fairness, Andy’s maintenance was excellent; he looked about the same age as the current Ji Chenli and didn’t look thirty at all.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Chenli touched her face, bewildered. “Is there a problem?”

“A huge problem!” Andy opened his mouth exaggeratedly. “Look at these dark circles! Look at this sallow skin! Oh my, Sister Ji! Even with good skin as a foundation, you can’t misuse it like this. What will happen when you reach thirty…”

Andy’s voice was of the exceptionally soft variety for a male. Ji Chenli wanted to laugh at his nagging but held it in, letting him apply various skincare products to her face. Gradually, his nagging faded into the distance as Ji Chenli began to daydream again.

She began to fantasize. There were fewer and fewer children at the orphanage now, as they were being adopted by kind people one after another. Once all the children were gone, Ji Chenli would likely have long since divorced Ming Lang and regained her freedom. At that time, she would move with Tao Yuan to a small county with blue skies and white clouds—preferably in the south, where it was warm and humid and housing prices were low. She’d buy a small building with a storefront; the upper floor would be for living, and the first-floor storefront would be a breakfast shop. She’d inherit her parents’ old craft and sell Jianbing Guozi. If Tao Yuan met a sweetheart, she’d give her a grand wedding. If she didn’t… that was fine too; at worst, she’d look after her for a lifetime.

Ji Chenli thought: a life without love is actually a lucky thing.

Right, I should also get a cat. I’ll feed it until it’s fat and round. It’ll be so much fun to hold.

“Sister… Chenli, what are you thinking about that makes you so happy? The corners of your mouth are almost touching the sky.”

Ji Chenli’s fantasy was interrupted. Her eyes regained their focus, and she saw it was Ming Yan, who had slipped away during breakfast.

“It’s nothing.” Ji Chenli wiped the expression from her face. She only viewed Ming Yan as an ordinary work partner and had no intention of sharing such private plans with her.

“Fine, if you won’t say it.” Ming Yan curled her lip, then immediately smiled again. “What did my sister say to you?”

“Nothing much,” Ji Chenli said. She remembered something and asked Ming Yan, “Have you noticed that your sister has changed?”