Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 87
by Little PandaAmusing Ourselves to Death
Manager 24
Queen
“You have no right to do this!”
Shen Yun struggled a couple of times, but the strength difference between her and Ah Kun was too great, and she couldn’t break free at all.
“Yun-jie, Lan-jie is doing this for your own good.”
When Xin Lan told her about preventing Shen Yun from contacting the outside world, she was still confused.
Then Xin Lan told them that Shen Yun had been secretly meeting with some investors and was taught a lesson by someone’s primary wife, and last time someone even sent those kinds of photos to the company demanding money.
Zhou Qinqin was first shocked upon hearing this, and second, realized her own dereliction of duty.
After the assistants discussed among themselves, they realized there were indeed several days when they weren’t by Shen Yun’s side.
Zhou Qinqin couldn’t understand – for all these years, Xin Lan had been wholeheartedly devoted to Shen Yun, such responsible managers were rare in the industry, yet Shen Yun still acted this way.
Hadn’t Shen Yun looked down on Lan Rui for sleeping her way up? Now she was doing the same thing? Rushing to become a high-class mistress?
Seeing that she couldn’t break free, Shen Yun took a deep breath to calm herself down.
She was a celebrity, and it was already humiliating enough in front of these assistants. These people had obviously believed Xin Lan’s words, and she had no way to explain herself.
“Call Xin Lan, I need to talk to her.”
“Lan-jie said there’s no need to talk to her. You just need to focus on reading the script. She’ll come to pick you up the day before the audition.”
“Is she planning to keep me under house arrest here forever?”
Shen Yun was shocked.
She started to panic again. She was being led by the nose by Xin Lan, but she wasn’t willing to accept this.
She knew she should pretend to be compliant, but she could barely stand it.
“Of course not. Lan-jie said that Yun-jie will still attend scheduled appearances, but we’ll be following you to prevent any unauthorized trips.”
“Is her word like an imperial decree to you?” Shen Yun sneered, “Can’t you tell who your real employer is?”
Zhou Qinqin and the others remained silent – since Xin Lan was the one who paid their salaries, they would do whatever she said.
“Fine, alright, I got it.”
Shen Yun nodded, suppressing her anger.
She had to stay calm. The current situation was disadvantageous for her – Xin Lan had leverage over her. Stay calm, she must stay calm.
While Shen Yun kept working on her mental state, Zhou Qinqin and the others saw that she no longer showed signs of resistance. Ah Kun released her and closed the door.
With Shen Yun’s movements under her control, Xin Lan didn’t worry too much.
Shen Yun was very good at playing obedient, attending commercial performances and appearances without stepping out of line.
Xin Lan avoided direct contact with her, having all orders delivered through the assistants. With Ling Jiu keeping watch, she felt completely at ease.
In this seemingly normal routine, Shen Yun’s guard gradually lowered.
Perhaps Xin Lan truly wouldn’t shelve her career, and she could continue being popular.
She still harbored thoughts of breaking free from Xin Lan, but before she could make any move, she would receive warnings from Xin Lan.
Shen Yun felt some fear, sensing Xin Lan’s omnipresent surveillance, those nets woven so tightly that she could barely breathe.
In her dreams, she would occasionally relive that day’s scene – sitting amidst chaos, with Xin Lan’s hand around her throat, Xin Lan’s eyes dark as ink, reflecting her struggling face.
She couldn’t sleep well, yet during the day she had to maintain a carefree appearance under the spotlight, smiling and laughing as if nothing was wrong.
In this daily torment, she quickly became haggard, relying only on makeup to maintain her beautiful appearance.
Xin Lan naturally saw her suffering, but Shen Yun’s discomfort was her comfort.
Ling Jiu was also happy, finding it amusing how Shen Yun clearly felt wronged but couldn’t tell anyone about it.
Shen Yun was in the wrong, and her host had leverage over her. To make an inappropriate comparison, it was like someone who bought milk powder from a drug dealer – if they wanted to report to the police, they’d suffer consequences themselves; if they wanted to reason with the dealer, they couldn’t win in a fight. However, her host was much more righteous than any dealer, after all, nothing illegal was done, and from any perspective, held the commanding position.
After things proceeded in order, Xin Lan rarely felt such leisure.
She didn’t need to worry much about Shen Yun’s side, and Cheng Zhi was filming smoothly, leaving her with little to manage.
As for Qin Yuyan… Xin Lan felt somewhat moved remembering Qin Yuyan’s request to visit her on set.
But that feeling was only momentary.
She knew the saying “the one who flirts first loses dignity”. Although Qin Yuyan had initiated things, she had never shown clear intentions. Xin Lan had reminded herself not to cross boundaries – if she visited now, wouldn’t her previous thoughts become a joke?
Not wanting results yet still wanting to flirt – Xin Lan laughed at herself, wondering when she had become such a person.
In the end, Xin Lan didn’t go, and even when Qin Yuyan finished filming her scenes, she didn’t pick her up at the airport.
She truly couldn’t get away – when Qin Yuyan arrived, she was having afternoon tea with someone.
The other person was her friend in the circle, a fashion magazine’s editor-in-chief.
Speaking of which, Qin Yuyan’s aunt [嬸嬸 | shěn shen | father’s younger brother’s wife] was also in this field, being the chief editor of a certain weekly publication, but not in the entertainment circle – she published official content unrelated to entertainment.
This time, Xin Lan’s invitation was to seek a photoshoot opportunity for Qin Yuyan.
“I thought you were going to request it for Shen Yun, but for Qin Yuyan… aren’t you being a bit too hasty?”
Qin Yuyan didn’t have any representative works yet and couldn’t be considered popular. Although she had fame as a child star, for Su Li [蘇麗 | sū lì], it wasn’t enough to warrant their magazine’s cover or a feature interview.
Their magazine typically invited currently popular celebrities for interviews, extending invitations to actors, models, and singers.
“I won’t be asking for too much [獅子大張口 | shī zi dà zhāng kǒu | literal: lion opening its mouth wide]. I’m not asking for a main feature in your column now, but surely one of your magazine’s smaller features would work? Just to warm up the field – she will become popular.”
Xin Lan spoke with certainty. She checked the time – Qin Yuyan had messaged her an hour ago, and given the distance to the neighboring city, she should be leaving the airport by now.
Sure enough, a message from Qin Yuyan came through.
Xin Lan saw it but didn’t reply, turned off her phone, and continued talking with Su Li.
In the private car, Qin Yuyan wore sunglasses, staring intently at her phone.
Even by the time she reached home, there was still no reply from the other person.
Qin Yuyan felt somewhat dejected, consoling herself that Xin Lan might be busy and hadn’t seen her message.
But she clearly knew this consolation wouldn’t work.
Xin Lan knew she was coming back because she had replied to her earlier message, even saying she would send a car to pick her up.
The car did come, but the person she wanted to see didn’t.
“Yan-jie, should I go in with you?”
Tuzi’s question interrupted Qin Yuyan’s constant phone-checking, and she nodded.
She hadn’t been home for nearly two months. Yesterday, she had called the familiar housekeeping company to clean her home, so it should be clean now, but the kitchen would be empty. She planned to buy some things from the neighborhood supermarket, and she might need help carrying everything back alone.
Actually, the movie wasn’t finished yet, but her scenes were all completed. Xin Lan hadn’t arranged any follow-up work for her, so she should have time to cook for herself.
Of course, Qin Yuyan silently added Xin Lan’s portion to that meal in her heart.
After finishing her talk with Su Li, Xin Lan finally replied to Qin Yuyan, calling her.
“Are you home?”
Xin Lan wore a Bluetooth earpiece as she started her car.
“I’m already home,” Qin Yuyan’s voice carried a hint of excitement, “I just bought lots of groceries, would you like to come over for dinner tonight?”
“Probably won’t have time.”
Xin Lan refused instinctively, then thought about her schedule – she should have a dinner appointment tonight.
“Oh… alright then…”
Qin Yuyan’s voice dropped, the last words barely audible.
Xin Lan inexplicably felt uncomfortable. Qin Yuyan had rushed back right after finishing filming, and thought of this immediately upon returning. Her refusal must have made Qin Yuyan feel very upset.
However…
Xin Lan gripped the steering wheel tighter, somewhat hating her own indecisiveness.
“I can skip the dinner appointment,” Xin Lan said after an internal struggle, “but don’t you need to rest?”
“Is it really okay to skip it?”
Qin Yuyan’s voice became cheerful again, her happiness evident even through the phone.
Xin Lan found herself smiling unconsciously.
“It’s fine, I’ll prepare the ingredients now and then take a bath and rest. When I wake up, it’ll be about dinner time, and then I can start cooking!”
Qin Yuyan happily washed the vegetables, her mood soaring.
Actually, as long as you’re by my side, I don’t feel tired at all.
Of course, this thought could only circle in her mind – Qin Yuyan didn’t dare say it out loud.
“Alright, let me know when it’s time, I’ll check the timing and head back.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up, Xin Lan pinched between her eyebrows.
Ling Jiu: Host, you don’t need to be so troubled. Just do whatever makes you happy.
Xin Lan certainly knew this point, but she had never been someone who acted on impulse. The self-discipline of being a soldier had become part of her core, and even after so long, she was still habitually overthinking before acting, making it difficult to let go.
Willing to act, willing to bear the consequences – but the problem was, if she found joy, the one who might have to bear the sorrowful consequences could be Qin Yuyan.
Did she like Qin Yuyan?
She didn’t know.
But undoubtedly, she enjoyed the feeling of being with Qin Yuyan.
If she were to find a partner, she hoped for someone who was well-organized, highly executive, self-disciplined, and passionate about life.
It was precisely because she thought Qin Yuyan was so good that she didn’t want her to fall into her pit.
The pleasure-seeking homebody AI couldn’t understand the host’s worries, so decided to stay quiet.
AIs didn’t quite understand emotions, but they knew that once committed, they would continue down that path.
But humans were different from AIs, especially the people in the mission world and the host – the distance between them was billions of light years.
She lost track of time in her busy state, until Qin Yuyan’s call pulled her out of that busyness.
When she knocked on Qin Yuyan’s door, Qin Yuyan greeted her with a smile, wearing an apron.
“You’re here! Just wash your hands and we can start eating. Today I made spicy stir-fried shrimp, fish-flavored eggplant [魚香茄子 | yú xiāng qié zi | popular Sichuan dish], and red wine oxtail. I’m not sure if you’ll like them.”
Qin Yuyan walked toward the kitchen while talking, muttering like a young wife welcoming her spouse home.
“It’s so troublesome for you to knock every time you come. Next time, let me add your fingerprint to the system.”
LP: Re-translated on March 08, 2025
Seeing Qin Yuyan sad makes my heart ache 🥺 I’m glad Xin Lan coaxed her and joined her for dinner.
It’s also nice watching Xin Lan’s character development grow more as she allows her heart to be open more is rlly warming to see
Seeing Qin Yuyan sad makes my heart ache 🥺 I’m glad Xin Lan coaxed her and joined her for dinner.
It’s also nice watching Xin Lan’s character development grow more as she allows her heart to be open more is rlly warming to see