Chapter 56 Part 2

“That was her first time performing formally onstage—only once in a lifetime!” Liu Ran didn’t even know how to explain it to Ming Siyu. “There’s nothing between us. We didn’t even exchange contacts. I haven’t even gone to school these past few days…”

“You’ve been throwing tantrums at me this whole time because of her.”

“I’m not!”

“Then why?”

“I—” Liu Ran faltered. She couldn’t say it was because of Shen Yunhe.

She was truly glad she hadn’t told Ming Siyu about Bai Yu and Shen Yunhe back when she liked her most. Otherwise, knowing Ming Siyu’s ways, she’d probably cheer Shen Yunhe’s death first, then lock down Bai Yu and withhold her meds if she disobeyed.

Ming Siyu sneered coldly. “Cat got your tongue? Or are you going to quibble that it’s your gland acting up? If it’s really the gland, go cut it out at the hospital and be done with it.”

“What tantrum have I thrown at you?” Liu Ran shot back. She’d been a bit distant, sure, but nowhere near “throwing a tantrum.”

Ming Siyu was stumped.

In truth, Liu Ran had only been cooler lately, nothing outrageous—just diligently going to work and coming home each day. Ming Siyu’s sense that Liu Ran was “throwing a tantrum” stemmed mostly from her panic at feeling Liu Ran slipping away and her aversion to losing control. Unwilling to blame herself, she pinned it on external causes—on Liu Ran.

If pressed to list specifics of how Liu Ran had misbehaved, she couldn’t.

While they were at a standoff, Ming Siyu’s phone rang. She originally didn’t want to answer it, but when she saw it was He Qiange calling, she hesitated and picked up.

He Qiange cried as she explained that her sister had gotten into an argument with Xiao Yue Nong for some unknown reason. Her place had been smashed to pieces, her mother had fainted from anger and had just been rushed to the hospital. Having been pampered by her family since childhood, He Qiange had never witnessed such a scene, and with her pregnancy, she was completely at a loss. After racking her brains, she could only turn to Ming Siyu for help.

By the time Ming Siyu finished taking the call, Liu Ran had already turned and run off without a trace.

Ming Siyu was always adept at handling everything, but at that moment, she felt a profound sense of helplessness. Everything had gone to hell starting from the first time she had softened toward Liu Ran.

For the moment, she couldn’t find Liu Ran. Out of habit, she called Secretary Wen to have her follow up, but the instant she hit the call button, she remembered that Secretary Wen was on leave—her wife was ill and in the hospital.

She settled for the next best thing and called Secretary Lin.

Secretary Lin called back shortly. “President Ming, Liu Ran is on her way to the airport. I’m sorry, President Ming. I arranged for Liu Ran to go out of town to handle the film and TV base crew matter. I was supposed to report it to you, but I got busy and forgot.”

Ming Siyu no longer had the energy to blame Secretary Lin.

“What time is her flight?”

“Eight in the morning.”

“Stop her. Send someone else.”

After hanging up, Ming Siyu started the car. She set Liu Ran’s matter aside for now and headed to deal with the trouble at He Qiange’s house.

When she arrived at He Qiange’s home, He Qiange’s sister and Xiao Yue Nong were on the verge of a physical fight. The usually calm and composed eldest daughter of the He family had completely lost her poise, and Xiao Yue Nong wasn’t faring much better. Both looked utterly disheveled. The house was a wreck, and He Qiange huddled on the sofa, sobbing. Ming Siyu listened to them argue for a few sentences. Though the quarrel was fierce, every line seemed to skirt around some key point—they clearly had something they didn’t want He Qiange to know.

Only someone as dense as He Qiange couldn’t pick up on it.

Ming Siyu had no interest in the He family’s domestic affairs. She mediated a few words, and for her sake, the two stopped clashing. He Qiange’s sister went to the hospital to see their mother, while Xiao Yue Nong hung her head and apologized to He Qiange, full of regret and helpless dejection. She was driven out amid a barrage of “Get out.”

Ming Siyu patted He Qiange’s shoulder reassuringly.

After calming down a bit, He Qiange said, “Sorry, Si Si. It’s so late, and you still had to come handle my family mess. Your health isn’t great either…” At that, tears streamed down her face again.

Ming Siyu sighed. “Don’t cry.”

That night, several people had cried. Zhu Xinghan cried, Liu Ran cried, and now He Qiange was crying. Did she need to join in with a good cry herself?

She added, “Forget it, cry it out. It’ll make you feel better. It’s not convenient for you to ask anyone else anyway.” After all, few people knew He Qiange was pregnant, and Xiao Yue Nong was a public figure—any scandal would be bad.

“Get someone to clean up this mess tomorrow.” He Qiange stared at the wreckage, exhausted.

“Can you manage alone? If so, I’ll head out.”

“You’re in such a rush? Something come up?”

Ming Siyu ground her teeth. “Catching someone.”

He Qiange immediately pressed, asking who. Ming Siyu gave a brief rundown of Liu Ran’s “rebellion,” and He Qiange fell silent before hesitantly asking, “Si Si, don’t you think you’re a bit too invested in Liu Ran?”

“She’s mine—I bought her. Of course I have the right to control her.”

“No, it’s not like you’re her owner anymore. You seem like a girlfriend gone mad with jealousy.” He Qiange quickly added a disclaimer. “I’m pregnant, so even if you disagree with me, you can’t curse or hit me.”

Ming Siyu almost laughed. What was Liu Ran even? Worth her jealousy? Others were always the ones jealous of her—she’d never stoop to jealousy herself.

“Si Si, if you just want Liu Ran to obey, whether willingly or by force, I support you dragging her back and punishing her harshly to teach her a lesson. If you don’t want her running around meeting people you dislike, lock her up. But Si Si,” He Qiange looked at her friend helplessly, “if you want her by your side as a living person with emotions, don’t push her too hard. Honestly, Liu Ran has a pretty mild temper. Isn’t it usually her yielding to you?”

Ming Siyu huffed.

“What do you mean yielding? I was right to begin with.”

“Fine, fine. Anyway, Liu Ran is a living person at the end of the day, not some dog that can’t understand human speech. You have to give her a little space. Take tonight, for example—I believe Liu Ran had no interest in that dancer. If she did, with it being her first major stage performance, wouldn’t Liu Ran have found a way to go watch? Did she go on her own? No. You dragged her there.”

Ming Siyu had calmed down by then. She nodded, conceding that He Qiange had a point. But she still didn’t think her handling of Zhu Xinghan was wrong. Zhu Xinghan knew Liu Ran belonged to her yet kept pushing closer— she deserved what happened.

And Liu Ran was completely blameless? Liu Ran had gotten so worked up defending Zhu Xinghan tonight, even fighting with her outright rather than letting her continue hurting Zhu Xinghan.

At that thought, Ming Siyu’s heart ached again.

He Qiange continued persuading her. “Liu Ran’s conveniently going on that out-of-town trip. Why don’t you both use this time to cool off?”

“I’m heading back.” Ming Siyu stood to leave.

He Qiange’s eyes widened in shock. She was still going after her? All that talking had been for nothing?

“Calm down!”

“I’m very calm.” Ming Siyu said tiredly. “I can’t sleep in your guest bed.”

He Qiange slapped her forehead. She’d almost forgotten Ming Siyu had that quirk about sleeping in unfamiliar beds.

Downstairs, Ming Siyu sat in her car for a while, then called Secretary Lin and told her not to replace Liu Ran after all. Back home, Qi Zhen greeted her and glanced behind her. “Miss Liu, she…”

“She’s on a business trip. Get me some water.”

While waiting for the water, Ming Siyu caught sight of the dried flower arrangements in the living room with her peripheral vision. The living room hadn’t had these before. After Liu Ran arrived, these little unassuming trinkets had appeared in every corner, and even the houseplants seemed lusher than before. She hadn’t noticed at the time, but with Liu Ran gone, the changes stood out starkly.

Ming Siyu irritably lit a cigarette.

Because Liu Ran disliked the smell of smoke, she hadn’t smoked in the living room for a long time.

Now, she could finally smoke freely, without worrying if Liu Ran would cough.

***

Liu Ran received Zhu Xinghan’s call just before dawn.

She had sat in the airport waiting lounge for most of the night. Fortunately, to avoid forgetting her ID on the plane, she’d left it in the car ahead of time—otherwise, she’d have had to go back for it to get in.

Once she’d calmed down, Liu Ran felt quite sorry toward Zhu Xinghan. Because of Shen Yunhe, she’d distanced herself from Ming Siyu, and Ming Siyu had mistakenly blamed Zhu Xinghan, leading to this mess. At the same time, she felt some helplessness. Ming Siyu had made it clear to Zhu Xinghan at the year-end gala, and she’d told Zhu Xinghan several times afterward. If Zhu Xinghan had listened early and cut off contact, Ming Siyu wouldn’t have fixated on her.

“Are you okay? That woman…” Even over the phone, Zhu Xinghan’s congested voice was obvious. “President Ming. What’s your relationship with President Ming, exactly?”

Ming Siyu’s madness had scared Zhu Xinghan. She couldn’t believe Ming Siyu was just Liu Ran’s boss—no boss interfered in an employee’s private life to that extent. Tonight, Ming Siyu had seemed like she was dragging Liu Ran there to declare ownership.

Liu Ran didn’t know how to respond.

From her silence, Zhu Xinghan guessed it was a relationship that couldn’t be made public.

“Do you like her? Are you forced into it? She doesn’t respect you at all. Don’t you want an equal, normal relationship?”

“This is a private matter between her and me.” Liu Ran said gravely. “I’m sorry. I bear a lot of responsibility for ruining such an important performance in your life.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t think you’d come, but you did. That made me happy.”

After hanging up, Liu Ran thought Zhu Xinghan probably wouldn’t contact her again. Ming Siyu did things decisively.

Ming Siyu.

Just thinking of the name made Liu Ran feel like she was being slowly sliced apart. She couldn’t stop wondering if He Qiange’s matter had been handled, if Ming Siyu had gotten home safely, if she could sleep soundly, or if insomnia would force her to take sleeping pills again.

Liu Ran felt she was hopelessly pathetic—worrying about Ming Siyu’s sleep at a time like this.

She’d just run off like that; Ming Siyu was probably furious right now, plotting how to deal with her.

In Ming Siyu’s eyes, what exactly was she?