Chapter 21
Wen Ling agreed and prepared to pay. But just as she took out her phone, she noticed two WeChat messages from Gu Rongqing. The first had probably been sent shortly after she left.
“I didn’t go out to dinner with Chenxi. Let’s have dinner together.”
The second had arrived five minutes ago.
“Where are you? Have you eaten?”
Only after paying did Wen Ling reply to Gu Rongqing.
“I’ve eaten.”
Gu Rongqing replied almost instantly.
“What did you eat?”
Seeing that message, Wen Ling gave a self-mocking smile.
How desperately had she once longed to have this kind of interaction with Gu Rongqing?
So desperately.
She’d wanted to tell Gu Rongqing about everything she loved.
But now she’d awakened from that dream.
She even felt that her behavior over the past few days had been rather ridiculous.
She didn’t reply again and went straight back to the hotel.
After Wen Ling left, Gu Rongqing had turned down Ji Chenxi’s dinner invitation.
Then she’d sat alone on the bed, lost in thought.
Remembering the unhappy expression on Wen Ling’s face when she left, Gu Rongqing felt a sense of guilt for the first time.
What exactly had she missed throughout all those years?
The truth was, she didn’t know.
She’d always believed that their life together had been relatively happy.
She’d thought a family needed a child, so she’d given birth to Wen Nuan.
Suddenly, she remembered how delighted Wen Ling had been when Wen Nuan was born.
She’d felt happy at the time too.
She’d thought that perhaps this was simply what marriage was supposed to be like.
But why had everything turned out this way?
She’d thought about it after their divorce as well.
At first, she’d assumed Wen Ling no longer loved her.
But what happened yesterday had made her uncertain.
Gu Rongqing got up, intending to find Wen Ling.
Yet when she reached the door, she retreated.
She didn’t even know where to look for her.
She picked up her phone and sent Wen Ling a WeChat message, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea. There was no response.
Gu Rongqing felt a little aggrieved.
But she didn’t know what to do.
Left with no other choice, she sent Mother Gu a WeChat message.
“Wen Ling seems to be angry. What should I do?”
Not long afterward, Mother Gu initiated a video call.
“Rongqing, what’s wrong?”
Mother Gu sounded rather anxious.
She’d been utterly astonished when she received the message.
Was this really her daughter?
She was actually concerned about Wen Ling’s feelings?
That was why she’d hurriedly started a video call.
“Mom…”
Gu Rongqing felt a little uncomfortable.
Sending a message had been fine, but discussing it face-to-face made her rather embarrassed.
“What exactly happened?”
Gu Rongqing told Mother Gu everything that had just happened.
After listening, Mother Gu remained silent for quite some time before asking, “Do you want to remarry Wen Ling?”
Gu Rongqing said nothing.
She didn’t know.
Seeing her daughter remain silent, Mother Gu asked another question.
“If Wen Ling became very close to someone else right now, going out to dinner with them or doing other things together, how would you feel?”
Hearing this, Gu Rongqing immediately felt uncomfortable.
If Wen Ling did something like that…
She would probably feel rather hurt.
But they were already divorced.
What right did she have to feel hurt?
Looking at her expression, Mother Gu knew she’d gotten through to her.
In truth, Gu Rongqing’s personality was partly her parents’ fault.
When she was little, they’d been so busy with their careers that they’d practically neglected her.
Afterward, Gu Rongqing sent Wen Ling another WeChat message.
Then she continued chatting with Mother Gu.
Mother Gu asked where Little Nuan was and how much longer filming would take.
“Little Nuan is with her maternal grandmother. I should be finished in less than a month.”
Wen Ling replied during their conversation.
Mother Gu noticed that Gu Rongqing seemed distracted, so she ended the video call and told her to have a proper conversation with Wen Ling.
After Gu Rongqing asked what she’d eaten, Wen Ling hadn’t replied again.
Gu Rongqing didn’t know what else to say.
She thought Wen Ling might still be angry.
Gu Rongqing also felt that she needed some time to calm down.
Everything that had happened lately had left her rather confused.
Gu Rongqing was the sort of person who simply stopped thinking about something when she couldn’t figure it out.
So she took a relaxing shower and went to sleep.
Wen Ling, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep.
And neither could her roommate, Lin Xu.
Wen Ling turned over and sighed.
Lin Xu turned over too and let out another sigh.
In the end, Wen Ling was the first to speak.
“Are you still thinking about what happened?”
Lin Xu switched on the bedside lamp, yawned, and said, “Not really. Maybe I just slept too much during the day.”
Wen Ling was a little surprised.
She’d assumed Lin Xu couldn’t sleep because of what happened with Liang Mei.
“What’s wrong with you, Sister Wen Ling?”
Lin Xu was rather curious.
Over the past few days, she’d noticed that Wen Ling and Gu Rongqing seemed to be growing closer.
She’d even thought the two might be getting ready to remarry.
Wen Ling opened her mouth, not knowing how to explain.
Seeing her hesitation, Lin Xu urged her, “I already know everything I should know, Sis. Just say what’s on your mind.”
“A few days ago, I thought things between Rongqing and me might finally change. She told me she might like me…”
“But what happened with Ji Chenxi today made me realize that the problem between us isn’t just about Ji Chenxi. And it isn’t simply about whether she might like me either. It’s…”
Wen Ling stopped, finding it difficult to continue.
Lin Xu didn’t rush her.
She simply waited quietly.
After a while, she heard Wen Ling say, “I feel like, during our seven years of marriage, Rongqing never once tried to get closer to me.”
Lin Xu could hear the disappointment in Wen Ling’s voice.
But even more than that, she felt Wen Ling resembled a child who’d become upset after a disagreement.
She wanted to comfort her.
But clearly, what Wen Ling needed right now was for Gu Rongqing to coax her.
Unfortunately, Gu Rongqing probably had no idea how to comfort someone.
The following morning, Gu Rongqing didn’t have any scenes to film, so she hadn’t set an alarm. She’d planned to sleep until she woke naturally.
Who would have thought that she’d be awakened early in the morning by Liang Mei knocking on her door?
Still wearing her pajamas, Gu Rongqing went to answer it.
She was puzzled.
She didn’t have any scenes that morning, so what could be so urgent that Liang Mei hadn’t even called before coming to knock on her door?
But when she opened it, she saw that Liang Mei’s expression was rather unpleasant.
Gu Rongqing thought Liang Mei might still be feeling unwell and was just about to ask what was wrong.
Instead, she heard Liang Mei say angrily, “You and Ji Chenxi are trending again. Go take a look.”
Gu Rongqing was bewildered.
She opened Weibo and discovered that her name and Ji Chenxi’s occupied two spots on the trending list.
The hottest topic was:
#JiChenxiMeetsGuRongqingLateAtNight
When Gu Rongqing opened it, she discovered that someone had photographed Ji Chenxi visiting her room yesterday.
Wen Ling wasn’t in the pictures.
Only Gu Rongqing and Ji Chenxi appeared.
Below it was another newly trending topic:
#BeijingFilmAcademysMostBeautifulCPJiChenxiGuRongqing
Opening this topic left Gu Rongqing even more bewildered.
Someone had revealed that she and Ji Chenxi had been inseparable ever since their student days.
According to the exposé, it was only because Ji Chenxi had gone abroad that Wen Ling had been able to take advantage of Gu Rongqing’s vulnerable state and marry the goddess she’d admired.
Gu Rongqing hadn’t felt much when she saw the first trending topic.
But the second one made her furious.
She was angry that these people were portraying Wen Ling as though she were completely worthless.
Gu Rongqing asked Liang Mei, “What’s going on?”
Liang Mei rubbed her forehead.
She wanted to know that too!
Ever since joining this production, she’d been taking every possible precaution against Ji Chenxi.
Yet during the single day she’d taken off yesterday, Ji Chenxi had somehow managed to drag Gu Rongqing onto the trending list again.
“You and Ji Chenxi were photographed together yesterday.”
“I’m asking about the second topic. Who leaked that information?”
Liang Mei was taken aback.
The second topic?
She’d only noticed the trending topic about Ji Chenxi visiting Gu Rongqing late at night.
She hurriedly took out her phone and skimmed through the second one.
After reading it, she became angry too.
Although she didn’t know exactly what had happened between the three women during their university years, Wen Ling was nowhere near as terrible as these people claimed.
They accused Wen Ling of taking advantage of Gu Rongqing when she was emotionally vulnerable.
They claimed that while Ji Chenxi was around, an ugly duckling like Wen Ling hadn’t dared make a move.
But the moment Ji Chenxi went abroad, Wen Ling had supposedly started showering the goddess with attention and concern.
Liang Mei immediately contacted the public relations department and instructed them to find someone to clarify the situation.
Ideally, they should also identify whoever had leaked the story.
Gu Rongqing felt exhausted and irritated.
She’d never imagined that this was how other people believed she and Wen Ling had gotten together.
Why would anyone say something like that?
Suddenly, she remembered the interview Wen Ling had given shortly after their divorce.
During that interview, Wen Ling had said that she’d taken advantage of Gu Rongqing’s vulnerable moment.
Gu Rongqing interrupted Liang Mei, who was busy making arrangements.
“Why does the person who leaked this think Chenxi and I were together?”
Liang Mei glanced at her and replied, “I’ll ask around for you.”
But inwardly, she muttered, How would I know what happened between you during your school days?
When Wen Ling woke up that morning, she found Lin Xu playing with her phone.
She casually asked what she was looking at.
Lin Xu immediately jumped in surprise and began stammering without giving an answer.
A thought occurred to Wen Ling.
She took out her phone and opened Weibo.
Sure enough, there were two trending topics, both marked as explosive.
#JiChenxiMeetsGuRong
#BeijingFilmAcademysMostBeautifulCPJiChenxiGuRongqing
She opened the topics and read the comments.
[As expected, the Ji-Gu CP is unbelievably sweet~]
[Another day of being overwhelmed by the absolutely beautiful love story between Best Actress Ji and Best Actress Gu! Aaaaah!]
[Wen Ling really doesn’t deserve Best Actress Gu.]
[In love, isn’t the person who isn’t loved the real third wheel?]
After reading them, Wen Ling thought that these fans really did have a twisted sense of right and wrong.
“Sister Wen Ling, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Lin Xu was a little worried.
But judging by Wen Ling’s expression, she seemed to be handling it reasonably well.
Then she suddenly heard Wen Ling say, “The person who leaked that story is right. I really did take advantage of the situation.”
Hearing this, Lin Xu thought that perhaps Wen Ling wasn’t fine at all.
Maybe she’d been driven senseless by anger.
She wanted to comfort Wen Ling, but Wen Ling waved her off, indicating that it wasn’t necessary.
Instead, Wen Ling told her, “We still have work. Hurry up and get ready.”
Then she actually got out of bed and began preparing for the day.
When they arrived on set, Gu Rongqing was nowhere to be seen.
She probably didn’t have any scenes scheduled for today.
Wen Ling sat off to one side, busy with her own work.
There was a romantic scene between Jin Nanfeng and Fang Cao that had never felt quite right to her.
She wanted to revise the script.
She wanted a BE—a bad ending!
Absorbed in studying the script, Wen Ling didn’t notice Ji Chenxi approaching.
“During the argument, Li Ye accidentally stabs Jin Nanfeng with the knife…”
Standing directly behind Wen Ling, Ji Chenxi read aloud the scene she’d just rewritten.
The moment Wen Ling recognized Ji Chenxi’s voice, she thought, How annoying.
Nevertheless, she turned around, smiled at Ji Chenxi, and said, “Teacher Ji, you seem to have a lot of free time.”
Ji Chenxi smiled.
“Not really.”
Then she continued, “About what happened yesterday—I ended up getting Rongqing onto the trending list. I was just about to find her and apologize. And I’m terribly sorry for dragging you into it too.”
Ji Chenxi smiled as warmly as a spring breeze.
She looked as though the whole affair had given her something to celebrate.
Wen Ling thought that Ji Chenxi certainly had reason to be pleased.
Most of those fans with their twisted values were probably Ji Chenxi’s supporters.
Their comments must have been exactly what Ji Chenxi wanted to hear.
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