Ch. 81..90
Chapter 81: What’s Your Ex-Boyfriend’s Last Name? One o’clock in the early morning.
Variety show recording site.
Soon, Qiao Ruoxin and Song Yingying are going to play a word guessing game.
She, looking slightly pale, leaned in close to Song Yingying’s ear, “Let’s make it quick later. I think I’m about to start my period, and it’s kind of painful.”
Song Yingying looked surprised, “Why does this have to happen at such an inconvenient time?”
“I don’t want it either…”
The host on stage said, “Alright, next up is our adorable Song Yingying and Mortal Princess Qiao Ruoxin’s game time.”
Qiao Ruoxin stood with her back to the big screen, fighting hard against the cramps.
Song Yingying looked at the two characters displayed on the big screen: cuttlefish.
Oh my God!
How is she supposed to guess this?
Song Yingying’s first reaction in her mind was, “What’s the surname of your ex-boyfriend!”
Immediately, the whole place erupted in screams, and the audience, far from sleepy, was now wide awake.
Who doesn’t know that Qiao Ruoxin’s ex-boyfriend is Mo Chen!
“Mo?”
The screams intensified below.
Song Yingying continued to ask, “That, that… the first character is right, it’s a kind of food we eat, the first character is ‘mo’!”
“Cuttlefish!”
“Right!”
Qiao Ruoxin felt a bit helpless.
Now she would be linked with Mo Chen in trending searches again. The show’s producers wouldn’t let go of such hot material.
…
Two o’clock in the early morning, the recording of the program finally ended.
Everyone started their journey back to the training camp.
Kong Ling looked at Qiao Ruoxin beside her, harboring a growing resentment.
She had wanted to perform well this time, but everybody had been distracted by that ‘What’s the surname of your ex-boyfriend’.
The car slowly stopped.
Qiao Ruoxin looked fragile as she was helped down from the car by Song Yingying.
The bodyguard who had been secretly protecting Qiao Ruoxin immediately called Mo Chen to report.
“Boss Mo, Miss Qiao doesn’t look too good after coming back from recording the show and seems very weak, needing someone to support her as she got out of the car.”
“…”
…
After returning to her room, Qiao Ruoxin took a shower and went straight to bed.
Every time she got her period, she had to suffer through one day, in agony.
Fine cold sweat emerged on her clean, fair forehead, and she furrowed her brows.
The door to the room quietly opened and a tall figure entered, sitting by her bed in the darkness.
The man used a tissue to wipe away the cold sweat appearing on her forehead.
Looking at her in pain, writhing, his warm, large palm covered her lower abdomen, gently massaging it.
Gradually, Qiao Ruoxin fell into a stable and comfortable sleep.
At that moment, her phone received a message.
Mo Chen picked up her phone and glanced at it: [Your period is coming soon, remember to drink ginger sugar water in advance.]
It was from an unfamiliar number.
Anger invaded his dark eyes immediately, his handsome face tense, and a sense of oppression began brewing.
He looked at the number again and then memorized it.
Mo Chen glanced at her peaceful sleeping face and then stood up to leave.
As though he had never been there at all.
——The next day, early morning.
Qiao Ruoxin opened her eyes and stretched, then picked up her phone to check it. After seeing that message, she directly deleted and blocked the number.
She sat up and dialed Mo Chen’s number.
It connected quickly.
“Mo Chen, did you come over last night?”
“No.”
She frowned slightly, “Really? Why do I feel like someone was helping me massage for a long time?”
“That was your illusion.”
“…” Qiao Ruoxin chuckled, “I thought you lost on the very first day.”
A scornful laugh came through the phone, “I don’t lose!”
Chapter 82: What Exactly Did He Forget?! “Only six days left.”
“I fucking know! You don’t need to remind me!”
Qiao Ruoxin couldn’t help but glance at her phone, why so irritable early in the morning?
“Another sleepless night, is that why you’re so irritable?”
“…” The other end of the phone was silent for a long time, then suddenly shouted angrily, “Qiao Ruoxin! If you dare let me find out you have betrayed me, I swear I’ll kill you! I mean what I say!”
Beep… Beep…
She didn’t even have the chance to retort before the call was disconnected.
Absolutely inexplicable!
Throwing a temper so early in the morning, men are really getting more irritable.
…
Meanwhile, at the same time.
At Residence Number One of the Jiang Family, within the study, a mess was everywhere.
Mo Chen sat behind his desk, his face dark and brooding as impatience filled his brows.
He stared at the computer screen which had tracked that phone number; it was from the United States.
Indeed he hadn’t slept all night, the crystal ashtray on the desk was full of cigarette butts.
Just thinking about the content of that text message made him incredibly restless, filled with an urge to kill.
Was it a man?
Even remembering Little Ghost’s menstrual cycle so clearly???
Mo Chen started to feel a headache coming on, and images of the car accident from two years ago suddenly flooded his mind.
A splitting headache…
And then there was the man and woman entangled together in that video, injecting into his thoughts, shattering his sanity.
Back then, he had raced his car to find Qiao Ruoxin with only one thought in mind, that was to kill her!
But why?
He seemed to have forgotten something very important!
The man’s face was pale as he closed his eyes, seeing himself trapped inside the car, blood flowing from his forehead, staining the contours of his profile red.
At that moment, only one thought supported his desire to live.
That was to find Qiao Ruoxin, to kill that Little Ghost!
What exactly had he forgotten?!
In an instant!
Mo Chen suddenly opened his eyes, feeling like his head was about to explode, his breathing rapid.
He flung the laptop onto the carpet, creating a loud noise.
Looking at the disarray in the study, he seemed to feel a bit better.
A depressive aura lingered stubbornly around him.
…
Evening.
Qiao Ruoxin had finished a day’s filming, and the crew was preparing for a dinner gathering.
Instead, she went back to her room and made a phone call to Mo Chen.
It rang for a long time before being answered.
“Speak.” The man’s voice sounded somewhat languid and annoyed.
She hesitated for a moment, then called out with a soft voice, “Brother Mo Chen, have you had dinner?”
“No.”
“Why haven’t you eaten?”
“I have no appetite.”
Qiao Ruoxin became somewhat angry, “You just won’t eat if you have no appetite? What an attitude. Here’s what, let Secretary Jiang order some dinner for you, then turn on the video, I want to see you eat with my own eyes!”
Laughter came from the man on the phone, “Fine.”
“Okay, I’m hanging up now.”
After hanging up, she immediately made a video call and then saw Mo Chen’s handsome face.
He seemed to still be in his office.
“The dinner Secretary Jiang ordered for you hasn’t arrived yet?”
“Hmm.”
After a while, Secretary Jiang set several boxes of dinner on the coffee table in the visitor’s area, then left.
Mo Chen walked over, sat on the couch, and placed the phone beside him.
“Start eating, finish it all, or I’ll consider it your loss! Then you’ll have to mimic a Tibetan Mastiff’s bark.”
…
Mimic a Tibetan Mastiff’s bark?
The man’s eyes darkened and he began to eat elegantly.
Qiao Ruoxin, watching him start to eat, nodded in satisfaction, “That’s more like it. Eat well and sleep well.”
Mo Chen’s eating was elegant and noble, but it looked like he had no appetite at all, as if he was consuming medicine.
Chapter 83: I Like Watching You Cry for Me “Idol 101” took a half-day break on the third day of seven consecutive days of filming.
Qiao Ruoxin had her bodyguard take her to Hengzhong Group, she wanted to give Mo Chen a surprise.
Upon arrival at the company, Secretary Jiang informed her that Mo Chen was in a high-level meeting.
So, she quietly hid in the office.
Alone, she walked around, looking here and there out of boredom.
Until she heard a deep sound of footsteps coming from outside.
Qiao Ruoxin’s eyes lit up, and she hid behind the door, ready to launch a surprise attack on that bastard.
Suddenly!
The office door was pushed open.
The man’s tall figure walked in, holding a document in his hand.
Like a thief, she lunged at the man’s tall back, shouting, “Brother Mo Chen!”
Mo Chen’s body trembled slightly, and a clear flash of joy quickly passed through his dark eyes.
Turning around to look at this childish Little Ghost, he said in a deep voice, “Are you here to admit defeat?”
Qiao Ruoxin humphed lightly and let go of the man’s arms, walking around to face him.
“Our bet was that you wouldn’t enter my room, not that we couldn’t see each other for seven days.”
Today, Qiao Ruoxin still radiated the vitality of a youthful girl.
She was wearing a peach-colored short-sleeve T-shirt, paired with a white pleated mini skirt, and plain white shoes without any adornment.
Her straight, slender legs were quite pleasing to the eye.
Her ash-brown hair color was fresh, natural, and soft, with a delicate makeup on her small face, clearly just finished with a show.
Mo Chen stared at her from top to bottom for three seconds, then his large palm clasped her waist and lifted her up.
He carried her to the sofa in the reception area to sit down, placing her on his lap.
He threw the document from his other hand onto the coffee table, then grabbed her slender waist and began to caress it back and forth.
“Little Ghost, did you come to see me for something?”
“Can’t I miss you?” she toyed with the tie below the collar of Mo Chen’s shirt.
Mo Chen replied indifferently, “Hmm…”
But his gaze on Qiao Ruoxin grew ever deeper, the meaning unclear.
“Who is as cold-blooded as you? I am so good to you, and yet you actually enjoy seeing me cry? What kind of fetish is that?”
She really couldn’t understand Mo Chen’s thought process—why did he like to see her cry?
The man laughed out loud, his long fingers moving from her waist to her hair, gently stroking it.
Mo Chen’s deep, cold voice slowly began, “It’s not that I like to see you cry, it’s that I like to see you cry for me.”
Qiao Ruoxin paused slightly.
“Why?”
“It makes me feel like you really love me, that you care about me a lot,” the man spoke coldly and dispassionately.
Her thick eyelashes trembled slightly.
Mo Chen thought that a woman crying for a man was because of love?
Why was this bastard’s mindset always so peculiar?
Suddenly, Qiao Ruoxin placed her cool hand over the man’s eyes and whispered in his ear, “Brother Mo Chen, you’re really twisted…”
The grip on her waist tightened a notch.
Mo Chen’s voice became a little hoarse, “Little Ghost, take your hand away.”
“I won’t!”
“Then I won’t be polite.”
“What are you going to do… mmh!”
The bastard’s large hand gripped the back of her head, his lips precisely meeting hers, and they couldn’t be pulled apart.
Suddenly!
Just at that moment, the office door was pushed open!
Assistant Liu barged in, “President Mo, there’s trouble! I…”
Assistant Liu saw the scene before him, standing dumbfounded in place, at a loss for what to do.
Chapter 84: So Embarrassing! Amidst Qiao Ruoxin’s panic, she burrowed into the man’s suit jacket to shield her head.
So embarrassing!!!
On the other hand, Mo Chen appeared quite calm, his large hand cradling her head, a flash of irritation showing on his handsome face.
The man’s deep voice mixed with anger, “Are you now trying to treat me as an equal, not even knocking on the door?”
Assistant Liu stood there with an embarrassed expression, stammering, “President Mo, I’m sorry, I… I didn’t know Miss Qiao was inside, I…”
“Now you know? Still not leaving? Waiting for me to kick you out?” the man’s tone was filled with displeasure.
The Qiao Ruoxin hiding in his embrace couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“Oh, yes, yes! Sorry, President Mo! Sorry, Miss Qiao!”
Assistant Liu backed out of the door and carefully closed it behind him.
After hearing the door close, Qiao Ruoxin peeked up and finally, he was gone.
Then, she unceremoniously slapped the man’s shoulder, “It’s all your fault! This is an office! Can’t you behave less like an animal! How embarrassing!”
The man chuckled lowly, his laughter filled with indulgence as he watched her with angry little eyes and pinched her cheek.
Qiao Ruoxin slapped away his hand, got down from him, and sat on the nearby sofa.
“Are you angry?” Mo Chen glanced sideways at her pouting little mouth.
She snorted haughtily, “Assistant Liu must have something urgent for you, go deal with it.”
The phone vibrated.
The man picked up the phone to answer, “Go ahead.”
Whatever was said on the other end of the phone, Mo Chen’s expression darkened for a moment before he hung up the call.
He looked at Qiao Ruoxin beside him, “Go to the rest room, my mother is here.”
“…”
Jerk!
Is she that unbearable to be seen?
Forget it, better to hide, she didn’t really want to confront Mrs. Mo, especially not in this office.
Qiao Ruoxin stood and walked towards Mo Chen’s private rest room.
Sitting on the sofa, Mo Chen frowned slightly, a faint irritation shrouding his handsome face.
Then, the office door opened.
Mrs. Mo arrived in a black dress, entering the office and sitting on the couch across from him.
“Mom, what brings you here?”
“You haven’t visited the estate once in fifteen days, so I had to come to you,” Mrs. Mo spoke elegantly and slowly, with a dignified grace.
Mo Chen, “Work’s been busy.”
“Enough with the excuses. How about meeting Uncle Li’s daughter tonight? The girl is very pretty.”
A trace of annoyance appeared on the man’s handsome face as he looked up at his mother across from him and said in a deep voice, “I’ve met her at the last banquet, too ugly.”
Mrs. Mo frowned, “Apart from Qiao Ruoxin, who do you not find unattractive? I know she’s your type, but she’s too thoughtless, just like two years ago, when you were so busy, and she wanted to break up…”
Frustration showed in Mo Chen’s eyes as he retorted angrily, “Mom!”
“Two years ago, my son was so promising, an AI research engineer, but ever since that car accident, you haven’t stepped foot in the lab again, you…”
At this point, tears welled up in Mrs. Mo’s eyes.
Mo Chen’s handsome face tensed, expressionless as he stared at the documents on the coffee table, deadly silent.
He might never enter the lab again.
The car accident caused such severe headaches whenever he overexerted his brain.
Mrs. Mo stood up sharply, her voice cold, “Mo Chen, you better keep her by any means necessary this time, otherwise what’s the point of wasting this time? You don’t need a marriage alliance, for the Mo Family has climbed to the peak in Asia, but you must take good care of your health because you’re an only child.”
Having said her piece, Mrs. Mo turned and left the office.
Chapter 85: Behave for me! The cold sound of the door closing rang out.
Mo Chen leaned against the sofa, expressionless, as if he were in a world of ice and snow.
The door to the rest area slowly opened, and Qiao Ruoxin walked out, her long eyelashes adorned with teardrops.
She approached the man with slow steps, her voice carrying a faint sob, “When did you have the car accident? Why have you never told me!”
If it weren’t for overhearing their conversation in the rest area just now.
This damn man might never have told her about the car accident for the rest of his life.
Mo Chen looked up, gazing into her teary eyes with a deep voice, “Two years ago.”
“Why did the accident happen?”
The man spoke nonchalantly, “Fatigued driving.”
Qiao Ruoxin wanted to say more, but suddenly, her body was fiercely pulled down, and she fell onto the sofa.
“Little Ghost, don’t forget what you told me. After the match, you’d tell me the truth,” he said, dark emotions hiding in his black eyes.
She blinked, then nodded, “Mhm.”
She had always been thinking about how to disclose the truth of what happened two years ago so that it wouldn’t upset Mo Chen.
Mo Chen let out a laugh without sound, pulling her into his embrace as if to meld her into his bones and blood.
His deep, sexy voice suddenly became agitated, “Damn it! Behave yourself! Everyone is waiting to see the joke!”
Qiao Ruoxin laughed, her slender arms wrapping tightly around his body.
“Mo Chen, this time I definitely won’t let you down.”
In an instant, the restlessness within Mo Chen quieted down, and he responded softly, “Hmm…”
“Big brother Mo Chen, I’ll accompany you to the rest area to sleep for a while.”
She guessed that this man was probably still unable to sleep through the night.
Mo Chen released her, holding her chin and looking into her tear-reddened eyes, “Crying? Because of me?”
“Yes, don’t you like to see me cry for you? I was crying just now because of you.”
Sure enough, the next second, the damn man actually chuckled, his voice low and indulgent, “Cry a little longer for me to see, hmm?”
“…” She was really speechless.
This damn man really was a dog!
What kind of fetish was this!
“Let’s go to sleep, we need to make the most of the time, I have to be back at training camp by five.”
She was pulling the man towards the rest area, but Mo Chen pulled her back into his arms, trapping her slim waist, making her immobile.
“Just cry for five minutes?”
“…”
“Three minutes.”
Mo Chen’s languid, deep voice seemed to beguile her, as he kissed her earlobe, “Finish crying in three minutes, and then I’ll go to sleep.”
Such an infuriating request!
Damn man!
Qiao Ruoxin stared into the man’s deep, oceanic eyes, and then, in the next instant, her tears spilled over, filled with grievance and pitifulness.
But watching her cry, the damn man’s smile grew even more intense.
“Mo Chen! You’re a complete pervert through and through! You like watching me cry!”
Unable to take it any longer, she stood up to leave.
Unexpectedly, Master Mo directly scooped her up around the waist and headed towards the rest area.
“Little Ghost, you’re always better behaved when you cry for me.”
“Big brother Mo Chen, when did you start to like me?”
Qiao Ruoxin had always wanted to ask this question.
She remembered when she met Master Mo at the age of 14, politely calling out ‘Big brother Mo Chen’, yet he hadn’t even spared her a glance.
So, when Mo Chen confessed to her at the age of 18, she found it utterly baffling.
Chapter 86: Perverted and Paranoid… Mo Chen carried her into the rest room and replied nonchalantly as he casually answered, “The first time I saw you.”
Qiao Ruoxin looked at him with disbelief, her eyes filled with shock.
“That’s impossible! The first time you saw me, you clearly looked like you couldn’t stand me, and you call that liking?”
The man sat down with her on the soft, plush bed, looked up at her and said, “You must be blind.”
“What? I remember when I was 14, Lan Ke took me to Bai Junyan’s house to play, and then I saw you. I called you brother, and you ignored me. Was that liking?”
“…”
Mo Chen fell silent for three seconds, then coldly said, “That was the first time you saw me, not the first time I saw you.”
So, did Little Ghost run past him at the age of 12 without remembering who he was???
And at 14, Qiao Ruoxin called him brother, but all he could do was to be cold.
Otherwise, what?
Could he make a move on a little girl?
His inner world was always struggling. Reason told him it was impossible!
So, when Qiao Ruoxin turned 18, he finally couldn’t stand it and made his move.
“That time wasn’t the first time you saw me? When was the first time then?”
Qiao Ruoxin widened her eyes in surprise, her sparkling and enticing gaze.
The man forcefully laid her down on the bed, holding her as he lay down and closed his eyes, his voice lazy and sexy, “When you were 12.”
He clearly felt the Little Ghost in his arms stiffen for a second.
“Mo Ye, you’re really something, obsessing over a 12-year-old me who was still in elementary school!”
Mo Chen, with his eyes closed, corners of his mouth lifting, his voice husky, said, “Who told you to grow so big.”
Qiao Ruoxin was both angry and amused, “Don’t make excuses for your perverse psychology! Is it wrong for me to have developed well?”
“Mhm…”
The man chuckled lowly. His first reaction back then was the same: She really developed well.
Then she heard the man’s even breathing.
He fell asleep so quickly?
Damn man!
But she had always thought they met for the first time when she was 14. Turns out it had been two years earlier.
Because when she was young, every time she saw Mo Chen and called him brother, he ignored her, so she deliberately made things difficult for him when Mo Chen confessed.
Pushing him to eat two big boxes of strawberries, and then he had a severe allergy and was hospitalized for a week.
Qiao Ruoxin couldn’t help but laugh.
What a damn man!
Both perverse and paranoid…
She looked at Mo Chen’s face before her, which had a kind of abstinent sexiness.
It was the face all women wanted to be conquered by.
But his temper was so explosive, few could stand it.
Suddenly echoing in her ears were the words Mrs. Mo had just said.
Car accident…
After the accident, Mo Chen could never enter a lab again, nor could he participate in high-tech research projects?
As she thought about it, she too fell asleep and entered a dream.
In the dream, a pitch-black forest, she saw a luxury car smashed to pieces, and Mo Chen’s body lying in a pool of blood.
She wanted to go over, but she was unable to move an inch.
“Mo Chen!”
She woke up startled from the dream.
Qiao Ruoxin suddenly opened her eyes and saw the man beside her staring at her.
“Did you dream about me?” A smile curled on Mo Chen’s lips.
“Yeah, I dreamed you died.”
The next second, the man’s handsome face lost all traces of a smile, and he clutched her slim waist, his voice through gritted teeth, “I really want to kill you! Even your dreams are about me dying! Damn!”
After saying that, Mo Chen got up violently and left the rest room without looking back.
“…”
Such a petty damn man.
Chapter 87: Things nobody wants, no matter how beautiful, are still trash! Inside the office.
Mo Chen sat on the swivel chair behind his desk with an irritable expression, a cigarette perched between his lips.
His slender fingers picked up a lighter and he lowered his gaze to light the cigarette.
A hint of roguishness pervaded his handsome features.
The door to the break room slowly opened.
Qiao Ruoxin came out, carefully glanced at the man, and said, “Brother Mo Chen, I’m leaving.”
After speaking, she turned to leave.
Suddenly, the man’s deep and icy voice came from behind, “You think you’re leaving just like that? Get the fuck back here!”
Her silhouette stiffened slightly, before she turned and walked over to Mo Chen.
“What do you want?”
The man snuffed out the cigarette in the ashtray and abruptly pulled her into his embrace.
Qiao Ruoxin couldn’t help but widen her eyes, a trace of fear evident.
She could clearly smell a hint of mint mixed with the tobacco scent.
Mo Chen opened the bottom drawer of his desk, retrieving a black velvet jewelry box.
Upon opening it, a stunning sapphire bracelet lay inside.
Qiao Ruoxin was taken aback.
The man took out the bracelet and adorned her delicate wrist with it, accentuating her skin’s snowy whiteness.
The bracelet was exquisitely designed, studded with tiny diamonds, and a sapphire cut into the shape of a tear.
Mysterious, regal, yet radiating a sense of distance.
Mo Chen stared at her wrist and said coldly, “Don’t you dare take it off! Or I’ll kill you!”
She smiled faintly, “When did you buy it?”
It couldn’t have been during this time, right?
The current Mo Chen was close to hating her completely, how could he possibly be preparing a gift for her?
“Two years ago.”
Qiao Ruoxin’s heart felt as though it had plunged into the deep sea, saddened.
“Brother Mo Chen, this bracelet is beautiful.”
The man’s elongated fingers brushed back and forth over her slender wrist, his tone harsh as he said, “No shit!”
Two years ago, he had flown to Paris and spent a fortune at an auction to purchase this bracelet.
With the bracelet, he had waited for Qiao Ruoxin in his car on a frigid snowy night, all night long.
Then, he saw Qiao Ruoxin being dropped off at home by another man.
In that moment, his reason fled, and he indeed felt an urge to kill.
Mo Chen looked intently at her delicate and pretty face, his tone cold and disdainful, “It was meant for you originally, so take this piece of trash and get out! I don’t want to see you now!”
After saying that, he roughly pushed her away.
Qiao Ruoxin stood up straight, unable to help but retort, “What ‘piece of trash’? This bracelet is so beautiful, and you’re calling it trash?”
Mo Chen let out a disdainful snort, “No matter how pretty it is, it’s trash if nobody wants it!”
“Who says nobody wants it? I want it!”
“Take it and get the hell out!” he snapped, looking exasperated as though hiding something.
Qiao Ruoxin thought he was still angry about the nightmare she had.
With a sweet smile and a soft voice, she said, “Brother Mo Chen, maybe I was sleeping in a weird position, that’s why I had a nightmare. I really didn’t mean to dream about you dying…”
Mo Chen raised his eyebrows slightly, “So you’re saying the way I held you while sleeping was wrong? Who the fuck do you want to hold you while you sleep?”
“…”
Why does this bastard have to be so nitpicky?
She felt it was better to keep her mouth shut.
“Brother Mo Chen, I really don’t have much time, I have to go now, we’ll talk on the phone!”
With that, she turned and quickly fled the office.
If she stayed any longer, it seemed like Lord Mo was on the verge of losing control again.
Chapter 88: Brother Mo Chen, I Can’t Sleep Inside the “Idol 101” training camp.
Finally back, Qiao Ruoxin felt even more tired after having slept in Mo Chen’s office.
Just as she was about to enter her room, Song Yingying suddenly grabbed her, “Accompany me to eat, I’m hungry.”
So, Song Yingying dragged her to the cafeteria.
Quite a few people were dining, including Kong Ling.
Qiao Ruoxin didn’t have much appetite and picked up a box of yogurt.
Just as she inserted the straw, she noticed that Song Yingying kept staring at her hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“Qiao Ruoxin! I’ve said before that you must have a hidden identity! You can even afford to wear this bracelet, you’re really something!”
Song Yingying grabbed her wrist and stared intently at the bracelet.
“What about this bracelet?” she was a bit puzzled.
Song Yingying excitedly said, “This bracelet is called ‘Mermaid’s Tears,’ a masterpiece by the world-famous jewelry designer Blu! Two years ago, it was auctioned off in Paris to a low-key billionaire for a hundred million, and it’s been with you all this time!”
Qiao Ruoxin was slightly startled.
As expected, it was Mo Chen’s style.
She continued drinking her yogurt while biting the straw and listened to Song Yingying speak.
“Mermaid’s Tears… That’s a pretty name.” She smiled, thinking the dog of a man had finally shown some romance.
Song Yingying said, “Legend has it that Blu’s lover died from an illness, and he was heartbroken, so he designed this bracelet and poured all his emotions into it, even engraving ‘Loving Strangers’ on the inside, meaning to fall in love with a stranger.”
She frowned slightly, “Fall in love with a stranger? What does that mean?”
“It’s said that shortly after Blu designed this bracelet, he passed away. He cast a spell on it, which makes any man who gives this bracelet to a woman fall irreversibly in love with her, even if they’re strangers.”
Qiao Ruoxin’s mouth twitched involuntarily, “Isn’t that too far-fetched, could it be possible?”
Song Yingying shrugged, “Who knows? This legend adds to the mystery and value of the bracelet, that’s why it’s so expensive!”
She subconsciously flipped over the inside of the bracelet and saw, indeed, ‘Loving Strangers’ was engraved in English.
“Be honest, who gave you ‘Mermaid’s Tears’?”
“I won’t tell you.” Qiao Ruoxin hummed proudly, planning to stand up and leave.
Song Yingying narrowed her eyes speculatively, “Could it be Mo Chen? If you calculate the time, you broke up with him two years ago, and this bracelet was exactly auctioned off then. Is it really him?”
She immediately covered Song Yingying’s mouth, “Keep it down! Don’t spread the word!”
However, unbeknownst to them, their entire conversation had been overheard by Kong Ling.
A tinge of jealousy was quietly spreading in the depths of Kong Ling’s eyes.
…
Late at night.
Qiao Ruoxin lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
Staring at the bracelet on her wrist, she whispered softly, “Mermaid’s Tears…”
After hearing the legend about the bracelet, she felt even more shaken.
She picked up her phone and after a few seconds of hesitation, dialed Mo Chen’s number.
It rang for a while and then connected, a man’s lazy and husky voice came through, “Hmm?”
“Brother Mo Chen, I can’t sleep…”
“What would you like to do about it?”
She stared at the ‘Mermaid’s Tears’ and said, “Brother Mo Chen, do you know the legend about this bracelet?”
“Hmm.”
She was surprised, “You actually know?”
She had thought Mo Chen had just bought it because it was pretty.
“…” There was silence for three seconds on the other end of the phone, “Do you fucking want to die!”
She chuckled softly, “No, no, I just didn’t expect you to understand such romance…”
Chapter 89: Look at His Behavior “…”
Qiao Ruoxin sat up, her expression tender as she stared at the bracelet, “Mo Chen, I really like this bracelet, and I’ll cherish it.”
“Hmm…”
The man’s voice was low and husky, sexy and charming.
“Are you smoking again now?” She guessed that Mo Chen must be suffering from insomnia and emotional irritability.
“No, I’m at No. 7 Mansion.”
She smiled gently, “Oh… then you should go to sleep early, and don’t drink too much, okay?”
“Hmm, you go to sleep.”
“Good night, Mo Chen.”
Beep… beep…
After hanging up the phone, she lay down, took one last look at the bracelet on her wrist, and then closed her eyes.
…
At the same time, in the private room of No. 7 Mansion.
After Mo Chen hung up, he lit another cigarette and held it between his lips, smoking and letting the smoke curl around him.
“You’re so gentle with Qiao Ruoxin on the phone, but as soon as it’s over, your face changes. Are we just destined to see your cold face?” Ji Haochuan couldn’t hold back his complaints.
Bai Junyan, “Mo Chen’s greatest hobby in life is Qiao Ruoxin.”
Lu Siheng, “Only after Qiao Ruoxin appeared did I realize that he’s also a lecher.”
Gu Mocheng, “And now he can’t even touch a woman?”
The brothers, “…”
Mo Chen, “Get lost!”
He slowly rose to his feet, glancing coldly at the lot, his tone full of disdain, “I’m leaving.”
At that moment, the third episode of “Idol 101” started playing on the big screen.
The performance of the theme song began with Qiao Ruoxin standing right in the center, at the very front in the coveted C position, dazzling like a fairy-tale princess come to life.
Bai Junyan, “Don’t go, don’t go! Look at Qiao Ruoxin, stay for a while! Sit down and watch her!”
Upon seeing Qiao Ruoxin on the screen, Mo Chen indeed sat back down expressionlessly.
Then, he completely ignored the four human light bulbs, staring intently at Qiao Ruoxin on the big screen without blinking, her smile sweet, her expression perfectly managed.
The brothers, “…”
Gu Mocheng, “Look at him, he calms down the moment he sees that Little Ghost.”
Bai Junyan, “He’s completely forgotten about our existence.”
Ji Haochuan, “He’s as focused as I was when I was three years old watching cartoons.”
Lu Siheng, “I feel like it’s us who should be leaving.”
The brothers, “…”
…
The next day, early morning.
Qiao Ruoxin opened her eyes and stretched lazily, then got up to wash and freshen up.
After breakfast, she went to get her hair and makeup done.
Kong Ling was sitting right next to her, always stealing glances at the bracelet on her hand.
It was really beautiful—the tear-shaped blue sapphire was almost blinding.
Kong Ling looked at herself in the mirror, wondering why life was so unfair.
The things she strained to obtain came so easily to Qiao Ruoxin.
This time, she had to debut in the C position!
But with Qiao Ruoxin there, it was too hard for Kong Ling to get the C position.
Suddenly!
Song Yingying walked in, coming up behind Qiao Ruoxin and exclaiming in surprise, “Ruoxin!”
Qiao Ruoxin trembled with fright, “What are you doing? You scared me!”
“Haha… Today is outdoor filming, are you ready?”
Her period was almost over, but it shouldn’t affect her much.
“It should be fine, but I’m counting on you to cover for me.”
Song Yingying, “I’m not looking out for you; they say today’s tasks are all hard, I can’t even save myself!”
“Ah? There won’t be strenuous activities, will there?” Qiao Ruoxin’s face paled slightly, her eyes filled with concern.
Chapter 90: Kong Ling Picked Up Her Bracelet “Idol 101” field shooting location.
This episode featured a physical fitness test.
It was Qiao Ruoxin’s turn, and she took off the bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Song Yingying, “Please look after this for me, I’m afraid it might get knocked during the test.”
Song Yingying caught the bracelet and looked at her worriedly, “If you can’t do it, don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Mm.”
She didn’t want to play the sympathy card or be ridiculed by everyone for seeking special treatment.
Kong Ling watched Song Yingying holding ‘Mermaid’s Tears,’ her thoughts unknown.
The next second!
“Ah!”
Qiao Ruoxin let out a scream, startling everyone on site, who quickly gathered around her.
In the chaos, Song Yingying pocketed the bracelet and headed towards the crowd, but the bracelet fell out from the edge of her pocket onto the grass.
Kong Ling witnessed this scene, bent down, and picked up the bracelet worth a hundred million: Mermaid’s Tears.
Holding it in her palm, it felt almost too hot to handle.
But it was truly beautiful; the exquisitely carved sapphire gleamed blindingly in the sunlight.
…
While crossing a prop obstacle, Qiao Ruoxin accidentally twisted her ankle.
The on-site medical staff attended to her promptly and then sent her back to the training camp to rest.
Inside the room.
Qiao Ruoxin lay on the bed, applying ice to her ankle.
“I told you not to overdo it. We’re all girls here; it’s not like we can’t understand,” Song Yingying muttered under her breath.
“I didn’t know I would twist my ankle.”
She looked at Song Yingying, “Where’s the bracelet?”
Song Yingying reached into her pocket, “It’s here… Eh? Where did it go? I remember putting it in my pocket!”
Song Yingying’s face turned pale in an instant as she stood up and began searching through her pockets.
Nothing!
This was bad!
Disaster had struck!
Qiao Ruoxin’s eyes widened in surprise, “Are you sure you put it in your pocket?”
“I’m sure! When you screamed, I got nervous and put the bracelet in my pocket before heading over,” Song Yingying said, nearly in tears.
“Could it have fallen on the grass over there?”
Song Yingying, “Possibly! You keep applying the ice; I’ll go and look for it!”
Having said that, she left the room without looking back.
…
An afternoon had passed, and Song Yingying hadn’t returned.
Qiao Ruoxin felt that her ankle wasn’t as painful anymore, so she decided to go and look for the bracelet herself.
When she arrived at that patch of grass, she saw Song Yingying still squatting there, searching inch by inch.
“Yingying, get up. You’ve looked so thoroughly and haven’t found it; it’s probably been picked up by someone,” she said.
Hearing her voice, Song Yingying stood up abruptly, looking guilty, “I’m sorry, I lost your bracelet, I…”
“I will find a way to get it back. It’s probably been picked up by someone from the production crew,” Qiao Ruoxin reassured.
Right now, Qiao Ruoxin was more afraid of Mo Chen finding out about this.
If Mo Chen learned that she had lost the bracelet, he might actually strangle her.
She took out her mobile phone, opened the “Idol 101” trainees’ group chat, and sent a message: [Sorry to take a moment of everyone’s time, but I’ve lost a sapphire bracelet if anyone has picked it up, can you return it to me? There will be a reward!]
Meanwhile—
Kong Ling, holding the bracelet and hiding in her room, was sweating profusely with nerves.
She felt like she had turned into a thief, even though she had just accidentally found it!
Carefully, Kong Ling took out the bracelet, deciding to return it to Qiao Ruoxin later that evening, pretending to have just found it inadvertently.
Before that, could she wear the bracelet for a while?
Kong Ling placed the bracelet on her wrist.
Instantly, she felt like an indulged and pampered little princess.
This was the confidence money bestowed.
She suddenly remembered the legend of the bracelet that Song Yingying had recounted that day.
Kong Ling wondered if she kept wearing this bracelet, whether Mo Chen would also fall irretrievably in love with her?
She quickly dismissed the thought, even finding her own idea ridiculous.