Chapter Fifty-Seven: A Brief Romance
Yun Yao's direct approach caught Qin Rao off guard.
Her face stiffened, then she smiled nonchalantly and said, "Ha, Yun Yao, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
"Qin Rao," Yun Yao said coldly, her dark eyes devoid of emotion, "Although I hate to admit it, we have indeed known each other for many years. Haven't you had enough of your manipulative games of flattery?"
Qin Rao's pupils contracted sharply. She opened her mouth, but before she could defend herself, Yun Yao said calmly, "To be honest, those tricks are quite boring. And..."
As Yun Yao finished speaking, her eyes turned as cold as icy blades, carrying a chilling intent that could pin someone to the spot. She said, "Qin Rao, you'd better understand that I'm no longer the boy you can toy with at will. If you can't abide by our contract, then there's no point in continuing anything."
The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Qin Rao stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. She shrugged, seemingly very regretful, and said, "Yun Yao, you're always so smart and perceptive. But this time, I'm truly sincere towards you. Look, since you joined the company, I've assigned you top-tier agents who are best at securing resources. Even President Zhang Sheng treats you with utmost respect, and his capable assistant, Xiao Lin, has also been assigned to you, hasn't he?"
Qin Rao popped the champagne with a "snap," poured two glasses, and handed one to Yun Yao. Seeing that he didn't take it, she wasn't embarrassed. Instead, she smiled slightly, drank the other glass in one gulp, and then looked at Yun Yao with a slight buzz, saying, "I don't know what I did to upset you, Yun Yao?"
She sighed again, "And I'm truly innocent. You can ask anyone you want. When have I, Qin Rao, ever been so devoted to anyone? I've had a few celebrity lovers, but none of them have received this kind of treatment and resources. In my heart, they're not even worth a hair on your head..."
Yun Yao frowned as he listened. He interrupted Qin Rao and looked at her, saying, "Qin Rao, I've already stated my purpose for coming here. But I really don't understand what benefit it brings me to have your people so blatantly flaunting my privileges in front of everyone?"
Qin Rao's eyes deepened, but she still put on a misunderstood look and said in a low voice, "Yun Yao, these people are all seasoned veterans in the industry. They probably like to flatter the powerful and fawn over the weak. They saw that I value you, so they did these self-righteous things. It's my fault for not judging people well. I didn't expect to cause you so much trouble. Don't worry, I'll transfer them away right away."
Qin Rao spoke with heartfelt sincerity, but Yun Yao still looked at her coldly and said, "Qin Rao, according to our contract, these are things you should be responsible for. My current career path seems too aggressive. I think your Wangyue Media can arrange some more pragmatic and professional staff for me. I don't want to see this kind of situation, where I'm used as a target, happen again."
"Moreover, I wasn't a professional actor to begin with. The company should have arranged more acting training courses for me in the early stages, instead of rushing to give me all sorts of big resources. I can start by honing my acting skills with supporting roles and then gradually move on."
Hearing Yun Yao say this, Qin Rao laughed. "Yun Yao, you're not in this industry, so you might not understand. It's better to become famous sooner rather than later..." She glanced at the young man meaningfully and swirled her empty wine glass. "Just like you back then, you were already the champion of a dance competition at the age of sixteen... This industry really changes very quickly, and your goal is to make a name for yourself as soon as possible. Overwhelming resources is the key."
Seeing that Yun Yao was silent for a moment, she changed the subject and said softly, "However, your concerns are valid. How about this, I'll have Zhang Sheng find you a more reliable agent with a longer-term vision, and hire a few assistants. You can personally re-interview them, and only those who pass will be assigned to your side. What do you think?"
At this point, Qin Rao looked at Yun Yao with gentle eyes and said meaningfully, "I've always been devoted to you..."
Yun Yao turned his head away and said, "Then let's leave it at that." He understood that he had no experience and couldn't act arbitrarily. He left the professional work to the professionals.
Qin Rao curved her red lips into a smile. She leisurely refilled her glass with champagne, picked up a glass, and handed it to Yun Yao. "So, shall we once again wish each other a pleasant collaboration?"
Just then, Yun Yao's phone rang urgently. He picked it up and saw it was an unmarked number from R country. If it wasn't his uncle, then it must be that woman. Yun Yao frowned slightly, sighed, and hung up the phone.
Qin Rao watched intently from the side. Her expression softened a bit after Yun Yao hung up the phone, but she still sneered, "What, it's that Miss Bai again? She's really persistent. Yun Yao, I advise you to block her."
Yun Yao looked out the window at the azure sky, where clumps of white clouds resembled tangled balls of yarn. "I've already blocked them."
Qin Rao immediately added, "So Bai Luo has changed her number again and is still pestering me? You should continue to block her. I never thought that the eldest daughter of the prestigious Bai family in R Country would be so shameless."
Yun Yao looked at Qin Rao speechlessly, "What right do you have to say such things?" Back when Qin Rao contacted him while he was still in R country, she was blocked in the same way, but she still persistently changed her number and called him.
As if recalling this past event, Qin Rao smiled awkwardly, but soon she felt a little smug. In the end, she was the one who succeeded, and Bai Luo would never be seen by Yun Yao again.
Yun Yao ignored what Qin Rao was thinking. He looked at the swirling clouds in the sky outside the window and thought back to a sunny day when he met the woman named Bai Luo at a sanatorium in R country.
At that time, he was still receiving psychological treatment in R country. When he passed by the sanatorium next to the hospital, he met Bai Luo. She was helping an old woman wearing a woolen hat walk slowly. The hem of her light blue trench coat was lifted by the wind, revealing a beige knitted sweater underneath. When the old woman coughed, she immediately took out a thermos from her bag, twisting the cap so gently as if afraid of disturbing the tranquility of the sanatorium.
"This is Ms. Bai Luo. She accompanies the old lady to her rehabilitation every week," a Chinese nurse explained to Yun Yao in a low voice as she pushed the medicine cart past. At that moment, Bai Luo was squatting down, tidying the old woman's loose shoelaces. Sunlight streamed through the glass, falling on the top of her hair and gilding it with a soft golden edge... Yun Yao suddenly stopped in his tracks. He didn't know why at that moment, perhaps it was because he had been lonely for too long, or perhaps his wounded heart subconsciously craved some kind of warmth, but that scene was finally imprinted in his eyes.
For the next three days, he saw her at the same time every time.
On the first day, she fed the pigeons in the garden. When breadcrumbs slipped through her fingers, she would first smile and watch the pigeons peck at them before turning to talk to the old woman in the wheelchair. On the second day, she sat in the reading room, frowning at a newspaper as if solving a difficult problem. Today, she had a fountain pen in her hand and was writing in her notebook with her head down. The old woman's hand rested on her wrist and swayed gently, like an old vine clinging to a tendril.
Seemingly sensing his gaze, the woman looked up. In the instant their eyes met, he saw the reflection of the sycamore tree branches in her pupils, and the fallen leaves clinging to his sleeve. She remained stunned for a long time, until the old lady beside her coughed, at which point she politely curved her eyes into a smile, a smile like morning mist that suddenly reminded Yun Yao of the moon outside his window, mostly obscured by clouds, during his sleepless night last night.
"It's getting windy." He heard himself speak, his voice sounding somewhat abrupt in the empty corridor. Sure enough, the woman stood up and helped the old woman into the room. As they passed by him, the old woman suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse from illness: "This young man is really handsome, just like the person in my A Luo's paintings."
The woman's ears suddenly flushed red, and she whispered "Grandma," but her steps slowed a beat. At that moment, the old woman's withered hand suddenly grabbed Yun Yao's sleeve. "Young man, are you here to recuperate too? You don't look too well. You should get more sun. A Luo brings me to the garden every day, saying that sunshine is the best medicine."
The woman tried to gently pull the old man's hand away, but Yun Yao stopped her with a tender look in his eyes. Looking at the silver hair peeking out from under the old man's hat, he suddenly thought of his own grandparents who had also stayed in a nursing home, and a corner of his heart softened.
“My name is Bai Luo,” the woman said, extending her hand, her palm warm. “This is my grandmother.”
"Yun Yao." As he took her hand, the wind swirled the sycamore leaves between them... What happened next was the romantic scene found in love stories. One day, under the brilliant starry sky of R country, Yun Yao found a new lover.
This should have been a wonderful start, if it weren't for what happened later.
Their relationship had become more stable by then, and Yun Yao took Bai Luo home to meet his aunt and uncle. His family was very happy that he could start a healthy relationship again. It was at this time that Bai Luo revealed her family background to Yun Yao.
Yun Yao never expected that Bai Luo, who looked so warm and simple, was actually the eldest daughter and heir of the Bai family, a top Chinese business family in R country.
The Bai family migrated to R country two generations ago, and their business empire has expanded across the continent, making them a highly sought-after Chinese-American family. However, their family tradition has always been very strict and low-key, and little is known about their heirs.
When Yun Yao first learned about his lover's family background, he was worried. He was truly afraid of the people in this circle and all the gossip and trouble. However, he didn't pursue the matter too much about his lover's previous concealment. After all, he himself still had many past experiences that he hadn't been honest with Bai Luo about. He wanted to wait for a suitable opportunity to have a proper talk with Bai Luo.
Yun Yao was surprised to learn that Bai Luo had secretly sent people back to China to investigate him.
When he heard about this from Xing Yu, he felt a sense of disorientation. Bai Luo's image in his mind was completely unlike someone who would use such methods. However, considering Bai Luo's status as the heir of the Bai family, it was understandable that she might have some scheming and manipulative tendencies. But afterwards, when Bai Luo hugged him and shyly buried her head in the crook of his neck, he would become somewhat distracted.
At the time, his relationship with Bai Luo progressed rapidly. With the support of his uncle and others, they had already moved out and lived together for some time. Yun Yao didn't know how much Bai Luo had investigated, but every time they were intimate, Bai Luo's enthusiasm was different from her outward appearance.
Yun Yao sometimes wonders if all love is inseparable from these desires. He was also infatuated when he had his first love at seventeen, but after so many things, he seems to have been able to detach himself from those out-of-control desires and calmly observe without becoming addicted. This has also helped him avoid a lot of hurt later on.
Their relationship was also discovered by Qin Rao, who came to meet Yun Yao. Qin Rao, naturally, wouldn't let it go easily; she lurked like a venomous snake between the already fractured couple. Until one day, she finally uncovered a huge secret about Bai Luo and couldn't wait to tell Yun Yao.
Bai Luo had already secretly gotten engaged under the arrangement of her family; it was a marriage between people of equal social standing.
Seeing the heartbroken look in Yun Yao's eyes, Bai Luo knew she could no longer hide it. The usually simple and gentle woman uttered words that utterly broke Yun Yao's heart: "Yun Yao, I know about your past. I love you, so I don't mind. But my family won't allow me to marry someone like you. There are too many things involved. You can understand me, right? I can't go against my parents' decision, but my marriage is just a loveless arrangement. I only love you. Whether I get married or not, we can still be together. I'll do anything for you..."
Yun Yao couldn't believe Bai Luo was this kind of person. She actually wanted him to continue being her extramarital lover! It made him so disgusted he felt like vomiting. He thought of his father, who had another family, and of the sordid past at Liuyun Residence in Muxi Garden…
How could he possibly accept that! The lover he thought was beautiful and warm has now become unrecognizable. She's actually just like those disgusting people; she only wants to play with him. She thinks he doesn't deserve a relationship that can be made public.
Heartbroken, Yun Yao resolutely broke up with Bai Luo, ending their brief relationship.
Later, no matter how much Bai Luo pleaded and begged, Yun Yao ignored him. He took Bai Luo's contact information, returned to China, and shifted his attention to the plan he had already prepared...
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