Daddy CEO's Beloved Wife

Ten minutes could pass quickly. Ran Xueyi knew that there's not enough time to say or do anything but still, she wanted to make her thoughts known to the person that got themselves reconnected with her again.

Ellaine went out of the hall where everyone was still making a lot of exciting praises and conversations. Ran Xueyi did not waste this chance to go out too.

As she opened the door of the hall, she saw Ellaine's figure disappearing in a corner. She followed her without raising any suspicions to the few people outside of the hallway. And when she finally reached that corner, she heard someone speak to her side.

"Do you also want an autograph?"

The voice came from Ellaine, who had her back leaning against the wall.

"Yes, I would like to have your autograph..." Ran Xueyi turned her head at her. Looking around, there were only a handful of people in the hallway and they were all heading towards the hall where they came from. When she was absolutely certain nobody could see them in that corner or hear them, she asked, "Why are you here?"

Ellaine's lips turned into a small smile, "To tutor some kids how to paint?"

"Really? That's all? I thought you quit teaching and painting years ago?"

"As you've just said, it was years ago. Now, I want to teach again. Is there something wrong with it?" Ellaine placed her two fingers in front of her lips, a habit when smoking. Realizing there was no cigarette in her hand, she sighed.

"That's not what you told me..." Ran Xueyi's voice turned softer and lower. "Are you now able to smell the scent of paint?"

"...Yes," Ellaine nodded and lowered her hand to hide the tremors from Ran Xueyi.

Unfortunately, Ran Xueyi had already noticed it and snatched her hand towards her. The hands of the old lady were still the same. The skin was wrinkly and dry, but it was the signs of aging. Ran Xueyi, however, focused on the scar and trembling of the hand that she was holding.

Sighing, she said, "Did Xie Xing ask you to come? He didn't know what happened back then so he must have thought it's alright for you to come near a painting. But still, you shouldn't have come here."

Ellaine knew that Ran Xueyi was only saying this out of concern for her. She pulled her hand away from her. "That's not for you to decide. Well, if you accepted my offer to be my successor 12 years ago, you would have the right to tell me to stop."

Hearing this, Ran Xueyi felt a pang in her heart. 12 years ago, Ellaine asked her to be her successor. Ran Xueyi didn't want to become a painter nor did she pursue the world of arts instead chasing the dream of being the most popular actress. Naturally, she would reject Ellaine's offer.

But who knew that on the same day she rejected her offer, an accident would happen to Ellaine. An accident that rendered her traumatized and unable to smell the scent of paint. Ellaine's sense of smell was okay according to the doctors, but the accident left a shadow on her ability to paint.

But Ellaine could not announce her condition for fear that the family would take her parents' inheritance from her, which was given to them from their grandparents. And so, she hid the fact that she couldn't stand the smell of paint to the point of having seizures and nightmares when she sleeps.

Though she was not present during the accident, Ran Xueyi blamed herself and felt guilt towards Ellaine due to her rejection.

Seeing Ran Xueyi's face turning dark and her eyes shaking with guilt, Ellaine patted her shoulder and said, "Sorry, I was just kidding. I didn't know you'd still blame yourself with what happened to me 12 years ago. Honestly, it's not your fault. It was that bastard in our family who did this. So don't blame yourself too much."

Ran Xueyi paused and nodded. "I know..."

...

After the ten minutes break ended, Ran Xueyi and Ellaine were already in their places. One was sitting on a chair behind the easel and canvas covered with a cloth and the other was standing next to Mr. Liu, who was making light jokes to make the live broadcast lively for the fans after the short break.

"Now, let's show what everyone's been waiting for! Are we finally seeing a break in Ran Xueyi's overall perfect image? Or are we seeing the birth of another one of her many talents?"

"Miss Ran Xueyi, can you please give us a hint or a spoiler of what we'll see in your painting?"

Ran Xueyi laughed, "There's no spoiler. What I painted isn't anything special. I think I'm not born to paint in this lifetime."

"Don't tell me, Miss Ran painted hers like I did?" One model asked while presenting his already revealed painting of a human stick and some strange creature.

Ellaine showed slight disgust in her eyes which she quickly covered with a blink. In her opinion, the model's painting was more of a sight of sore eyes. But everybody should have their own way of interpreting what they wanted to draw.

"I have a feeling that Miss Ran painting will be mystical," Ellaine commented mysteriously.

Mr. Liu arched his eyebrow and asked, "And why do you think so?"

"Just a hunch." Ellaine winked before diverting her attention to Ran Xueyi and her covered painting.

Ran Xueyi did not say anything while the two interacted with each other. When it was time for her to uncover her painting, she was not nervous at all, which made everyone think a lot of things. Could she have painted something mystical like Miss Ellaine said? Will Ran Xueyi show another talent of hers and become the public's favorite again?

The cover to her painting was finally uncovered with a low rustling sound of fabric rubbing.

Adelle was standing in a blindsight where she couldn't see what Ran Xueyi painted. Because of that, the emotions she was feeling were going haywire. She prayed that Ran Xueyi should at least draw something. It doesn't have to be beautiful. For as long as it's something pleasing to the eyes.

God, please help her!

However, soon after the cover was taken away, there was a deafening silence across the hall. Even Mr. Liu was mum as he stood next to Ellaine, who was standing next to him with a frown.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ellaine's expression showed a little bit of anger. Everyone could feel it and sense it. Somehow, some people who envied Ran Xueyi's current popularity couldn't even stop themselves from grinning.

Ha, will Ellaine humiliate Ran Xueyi in front of everyone because of her ugly painting?

It was possible with how her face looked so unnatural.

Mr. Liu was in an awkward position as he asked, "Um, did we make a mistake? Miss Ran, did you hide your painting so we won't see it? Otherwise, why is there a blank canvas in front of you?"

On the live comment section, the viewers also showed their confusion.

[??????????]

[I think I see something, but I also think I don't.]

[Uh... I'm a Ran Xueyi fan, but honestly, I'm extremely embarrassed to say that she might not be good at painting.]

[It's good to know that she's not a perfect goddess. She's actually a human like us!]

[Maybe we can see something if we use a microscopic camera? Should we zoom in?]

[Upstairs, I think you're crazy. It's better to look for a ghost than find whether Ran Xueyi drew something or not.]

At the same time, several lines of words and stars falling from the sky appear on the screen.

[TheWhiteSyberianHusky has sent 100 Falling Stars.]

[TheWhiteSyberianHusky has sent 100 Falling Stars.]

[TheWhiteSyberianHusky has sent 100 Falling Stars.]

[TheWhiteSyberianHusky has sent 100 Falling Stars.]

Another day, and a money tyrant appeared!

However, nobody inside the hall could see this and only the live viewers could see it and they immediately went crazy.

[???????]

[Ex-f*cking-cuse me? Did I just see some insane tyrant showering stars?]

[Wah, so many torpedoes. This tyrant, are you trying to drown all our comments?]

Inside the hall, the deafening silence was broken by Ran Xueyi, herself.

She shook her head at Mr. Liu's question and answered, "It's not blank. I placed a dot on the center of it."

A what? A dot?

Ellaine narrowed her eyes and moved closer to the painting. After a close inspection, there was indeed a small dot in the middle of the white and clean canvas. It was like a wall of white sky then suddenly, a storm was forming in the center of it. Why did Ran Xueyi paint this?

"Earlier, I thought of leaving it alone and not painting anything to keep its purity and innocence. But I changed my mind." Ran Xueyi stared in front and continued to explain, "Even the purest color white could be tainted with a tiny stain and lose its uniqueness."

"That's my message and inspiration when I drew the dot."