When Chu Wen connected the video call with her laptop in hand, the first thing she saw on the screen was a face practically radiating peacock-like vanity. “Springtime bliss” was probably the best way to describe it.
Like a cat that had just stolen the cream.
Modern high-definition screens were far too clear. Even without her glasses, Chu Wen could easily spot the faint bruise and small cut on the other woman’s lip.
What had happened was beyond self-explanatory.
Chu Wen kept her eyes strictly forward, running through her standard work report before tossing in a few polite pleasantries. Just as they were wrapping up, she subtly pivoted the conversation. “It’s been raining heavily in Hexin City lately. A few times when I went to the development zone at night, the wind was so strong the rain soaked right through my umbrella.”
Ruan Li glanced at her with nonchalant amusement. “You’ve been working hard. I’ll send a bonus your way…go buy yourself a few new suits.”
Chu Wen immediately beamed. “You really are in a good mood, aren’t you? Poor Director Xu, though…a little lamb swallowed whole by the big bad wolf.”
Ruan Li merely picked up her teacup with refined grace, took a slow sip, and said unhurriedly, “In the future, address me as ‘Mrs.’ Make sure you don’t get it wrong.”
A smug little villain getting her way. That was the exact image she projected. If Ruan Li weren’t the boss paying her salary, Chu Wen would have spat at her twice right then and there.
Bragging without a care in the world.
Honestly, the weight of that title, “Mrs.,” was pretty much like a human calling their cat “my master”…the cat genuinely believes it’s the head of the household, but only the human knows who actually calls the shots.
Once she hung up the video call, Ruan Li lightly caressed the diamond ring on her ring finger. She pressed the intercom button again to summon her secretary inside. “Look into the current situations of the actors Director Xu has worked with before. Flag anyone who is unassigned or currently in conflict with their agency. I want to see the list this afternoon.”
“The construction on the island is moving too slowly. It must be finished within a month.”
“Find the contact information for Xunfei Tech’s former Chief Technology Officer and send it to me as soon as you have it.”
The secretary walked in empty-handed and walked out empty-handed, yet carrying a mountain of invisible assignments on her shoulders.
Because of Xu Mengzhou, Ruan Li had gained a certain level of insight into the entertainment industry. Given her wife’s preferences, this new production company would ideally need its own in-house visual effects team and martial arts coordinators. The scripts, too, would best be bought outright.
Xu Mengzhou hated being micro-managed or ordered around. With her family background and status, other investors usually gave her a baseline of respect, but there were still moments when compromise was unavoidable.
If… everything from script selection and casting to the final wrap was completely under her own control?
If Ruan Li could provide her with those exact conditions…well, in the entire entertainment industry, Ruan Li was the only one capable of offering that kind of absolute freedom.
Once someone gets used to tailor-made fine dining, could they ever go back to eating scraps?
Ruan Li reached out with her fingertip, gently stroking the blood-red petal of a moth orchid. “Let’s buy two scripts first. The appetizers should be prepared properly, shouldn’t they?”
The moth orchid offered no reply.
It was growing quite healthily in its pot.
Ruan Li arrived home a little late that evening…about half an hour behind schedule. As soon as she swapped her shoes and stepped through the entrance, the figure on the couch turned her face toward her. Xu Mengzhou’s features were scrunched up tight, like a piece of newspaper that had been crumpled again and again.
She gave Ruan Li a quick, resentful up-and-down glare before turning away, refusing to utter a single sound.
She was so wonderfully transparent, like a display screen eager to broadcast every single thought inside her head.
There was a well-protected innocence about Xu Mengzhou…not a naive ignorance of the world, but rather the bold, confident spirit of a growing tigress with the backing to support her reckless behavior. The world had gifted her the courage to express herself fully without the fear of getting hurt.
She was meant to be a fire…requiring no firewood, capable of burning on air alone.
Ruan Li used to think of herself as a moth drawn to that flame.
Now, she wanted to be the glass shade that protected it.
She walked over at her usual pace, stepping closer until she stopped right before the couch. Sinking onto her knees beside the cushions, she reached out to cup Xu Mengzhou’s cheek and leaned in, kissing her without any warning.
A gentle kiss is a falling leaf, a drifting petal, a stray feather, or a graceful snowflake.
Her kiss, however, was like a sudden downpour…cool, soaking, relentless…seeping right into the cracks of the window, regardless of whether the window sill was ready for it.
Evidently, it was.
The window opened wide, eager to swallow every single drop of rain inside.
Xu Mengzhou simply reached out and tugged, pulling Ruan Li…light as a chiffon dress…straight into her arms.
Their lips melded together, their tongues tangling like two intertwining vines. If anyone tried to pull them apart now, one would inevitably drag the other right along with it.
The second hand felt as though it had ticked only once…or perhaps it had spun three thousand six hundred times. Ruan Li finally tore herself away, swerving her head to avoid the lips that eagerly chased after hers, placing an index finger firmly against them to stop the pursuit.
She gasped for air…gasping as if an entire year had passed in that single breath…before slumping back into Xu Mengzhou’s embrace, pressing a kiss onto her own finger.
“Shall we keep kissing, Mrs. Xu?”
Without a word, Xu Mengzhou took both Ruan Li’s finger and her lower lip into her mouth.