Chapter 20

Wen Ling looked at Lin Xu’s tearful face and couldn’t bear it…

How was she supposed to explain that she had indeed known about this for some time?

Lin Xu wiped away her tears and forced a smile.

“It seems Sister Rongqing already told you.”

“Lin Xu… I…”

Wen Ling wanted to comfort her, but Lin Xu waved her hand.

“It’s fine.”

She hugged the blanket tightly, turned [unauthorized copy]her face away, and gritted her teeth to keep herself from crying.

But then her emotions suddenly spiraled out of control.

“Sister Wen Ling, how could she do something like this? She made me… She made me… Waaah… I feel as though I was turned into the other woman!”

Wen Ling embraced her and patted her back.

“That isn’t what happened… None of this is your fault.”

Wen Ling hadn’t expected the situation to develop this way.

Although she wasn’t close to Liang Mei, she remembered that when they first met many years ago, Gu Rongqing had told her that Liang Mei had a girlfriend.

Wen Ling had never asked how they eventually broke up, but Liang Mei definitely liked women.

That was why Wen Ling had also been shocked when Gu Rongqing told her about the boyfriend.

Still, Wen Ling was partially to blame. She had become so preoccupied with Gu Rongqing that she had forgotten all about Lin Xu.

Wen Ling comforted Lin Xu for a long time.

Eventually, Lin Xu exhausted herself from crying and fell asleep again.

Wen Ling rose, intending to confront Liang Mei. But when she reached the door, she stopped.

What right did she have to interfere?

Was she supposed to say, You hurt my future stepsister?

After thinking about it repeatedly, she decided to ask Rongqing first.

Gu Rongqing was somewhat distracted during filming that afternoon.

After several failed takes, she signaled to the director that she wanted to rest for a while.

She had only just sat down when Ji Chenxi approached.

“Rongqing, why didn’t Liang Mei come today?”

Gu Rongqing smiled.

“She isn’t feeling well, so she’s resting at the hotel.”

Ji Chenxi sat beside Gu Rongqing and placed a hand on her thigh.

“If she isn’t here, how will you take care of yourself? You don’t even have an assistant with you.”

Gu Rongqing looked at Ji Chenxi’s hand on her leg and suddenly felt uncomfortable.

She raised her head and looked at Ji Chenxi.

Noticing her gaze, Ji Chenxi asked, “What’s wrong, Rongqing?”

Gu Rongqing didn’t answer.

She stared into Ji Chenxi’s eyes, momentarily lost in thought.

The way Ji Chenxi looked at her was somewhat similar to Wen Ling…

Apart from certain moments when Wen Ling’s thoughts became less than innocent, her eyes were usually filled with tenderness and indulgence. Whenever Wen Ling looked at her, Gu Rongqing was the only person she saw.

Ji Chenxi’s eyes were also filled with Gu Rongqing.

But her gaze overflowed with possessiveness.

Gu Rongqing thought she might genuinely have been too slow.

For so many years, she had failed to notice Wen Ling’s feelings—and Ji Chenxi’s as well.

That meant whenever she interacted closely with Ji Chenxi without the slightest attempt to avoid her, Wen Ling must have felt unhappy.

Pretending it was accidental, Gu Rongqing shifted her leg and caused Ji Chenxi’s hand to slide away.

Then she answered, “It’s fine. She’ll only be absent today.”

Ji Chenxi looked at her empty hand.

Something about Rongqing seemed different…

She suddenly felt as though Gu Rongqing were about to slip from her grasp.

The feeling made her panic.

She had always believed that Rongqing held feelings for her. Otherwise, why would she never reject Ji Chenxi’s attempts to get close?

Ji Chenxi urgently caught Gu Rongqing’s arm.

“Rongqing, you know that I’ve always—”

“Sister-in-law~”

At some point, Xu Mengmeng had run over.

She sweetly called Gu Rongqing “Sister-in-law,” then greeted Ji Chenxi.

Ji Chenxi smiled at Xu Mengmeng.

Only Ji Chenxi knew how forced that smile was.

She had been about to confess her feelings to Gu Rongqing, only to be interrupted by that cry of “Sister-in-law.”

Then she noticed that Gu Rongqing’s face had actually turned slightly red.

Ji Chenxi felt bitter but couldn’t express it.

Xu Mengmeng wasn’t someone she could afford to offend.

Uncomfortable with the way Xu Mengmeng addressed her, Gu Rongqing helplessly said, “I already told you last time not to call me that.”

Xu Mengmeng giggled.

“All right, Sister Rongqing. I won’t do it again.”

But Gu Rongqing had a feeling she wouldn’t listen.

She was about to say something else when her WeChat notification sounded.

Gu Rongqing took out her phone and saw a message from Wen Ling.

Can I come and see you tonight?

Gu Rongqing didn’t realize that she smiled upon reading it.

Ji Chenxi and Xu Mengmeng, however, saw it clearly.

The former became furious, while the latter was obviously enjoying the gossip.

The delighted spectator asked, “Was that my sister?”

Gu Rongqing’s smile immediately vanished.

She nodded expressionlessly, then replied to Wen Ling.

Is something wrong?

A response arrived soon afterward.

Something seems to be going on between Lin Xu and Liang Mei. I wanted to talk to you about it.

Gu Rongqing abruptly became angry.

She had thought Wen Ling wanted…

Gu Rongqing replied with a single Mm and put down her phone.

Even after responding, she didn’t understand why she was upset.

Recently, her emotions seemed increasingly controlled by Wen Ling.

It was an indescribable feeling.

When Gu Rongqing returned that evening, Wen Ling was indeed waiting outside her room.

She opened the door and gestured for Wen Ling to enter.

Gu Rongqing poured her some water, then the two sat on the sofa.

Wen Ling studied Gu Rongqing and felt that her mood was particularly gloomy tonight.

“What’s wrong? Did filming not go well?”

“No. It went perfectly well.”

Gu Rongqing added, “Didn’t you have something to discuss?”

“Oh, right.”

Wen Ling told Gu Rongqing everything that had happened between Lin Xu and Liang Mei.

After finishing, she couldn’t resist asking, “What exactly is the situation with Liang Mei’s boyfriend?”

“They started dating about a year ago. I don’t know the precise details, but Liang Mei told me they might get married.”

Wen Ling didn’t understand.

“Didn’t she have a girlfriend before? Their relationship seemed quite good.”

Gu Rongqing frowned and hesitated.

This was Liang Mei’s private business.

But since Wen Ling had asked, Gu Rongqing didn’t want to hide anything from her.

“That girlfriend got married.”

Wen Ling froze.

Before she could ask anything else, Gu Rongqing added, “She married a man.”

Wen Ling couldn’t understand.

This wasn’t several decades ago, when same-sex marriage had still been illegal.

How could that have happened?

Gu Rongqing understood what Wen Ling was thinking from her expression and explained, “It wasn’t what you’re imagining. Her ex-girlfriend fell in love with that man and married him.”

Wen Ling curled her lip.

What was so good about men compared to women?

“Besides, she cheated on Liang Mei with him.”

Gu Rongqing delivered that final sentence lightly, but Wen Ling immediately exploded.

“Scumbag!”

Gu Rongqing watched her furious expression.

Something stirred inside her, and she suddenly asked, “When you divorced me, was it also because you thought I was a scumbag?”

Wen Ling’s anger instantly vanished.

She looked at Gu Rongqing without answering.

Gu Rongqing, however, had no intention of letting the matter go.

“Then why did you divorce me?”

Wen Ling took a sip of water and looked at her.

She was curious.

Why had Gu Rongqing begun caring after so much time had passed?

“Have you ever thought about why?”

Gu Rongqing’s expression stiffened.

She answered uncertainly, “Because of Chenxi?”

Before Gu Rongqing said those words, Wen Ling had also believed Ji Chenxi was the reason.

But after hearing Gu Rongqing say it aloud, Wen Ling realized it might not only have been because of Ji Chenxi.

The deeper reason was Gu Rongqing herself.

Seeing Wen Ling remain silent, Gu Rongqing continued, “You asked me for a divorce not long after Chenxi returned. I thought the two things must be connected.”

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked twice.

Then Ji Chenxi’s voice came from outside.

“Rongqing, are you in your room?”

Gu Rongqing looked at Wen Ling.

Wen Ling’s expression had visibly darkened. She turned away and stopped looking at her.

Ji Chenxi continued calling from outside.

Left with no choice, Gu Rongqing went to open the door.

“Rongqing… I—”

The moment Ji Chenxi began speaking, she saw Wen Ling sitting inside.

Her expression changed.

“Chenxi, is something wrong?”

Ji Chenxi smiled. She glanced at Wen Ling before looking back at Gu Rongqing.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I wanted to invite you out for dinner.”

Wen Ling noticed Gu Rongqing’s hesitation.

She took another sip of water, then rose.

“Since Teacher Ji has invited Teacher Gu to dinner, I won’t disturb you.”

Even someone as emotionally slow as Gu Rongqing could tell Wen Ling was angry.

She was about to speak, but Wen Ling didn’t give her the opportunity.

Wen Ling slipped past her, smiled at both Gu Rongqing and Ji Chenxi, then left.

Wen Ling had originally planned to invite Gu Rongqing to dinner after their conversation.

She hadn’t expected Ji Chenxi to appear halfway through.

Perhaps this was a lingering shadow from their university days.

Whenever Ji Chenxi appeared before Gu Rongqing, Wen Ling instinctively wanted to retreat.

So she fled.

She didn’t return to her room and instead wandered around downstairs.

Her mood was terrible. Lin Xu had also been in an awful state all day.

If Wen Ling returned, were the two of them supposed to comfort each other?

She considered visiting Wen Nuan, but if her sharp-tongued mother saw her like this, she would undoubtedly mock her again.

After thinking about it, Wen Ling decided against it.

Instead, she went to the nearby food street for dinner.

She found a small malatang shop that members of the production crew had previously recommended.

The restaurant was small but crowded.

Wen Ling ordered an exceptionally numbing and spicy bowl of malatang, then found somewhere to sit.

When the food arrived, she didn’t immediately begin eating.

She stared at the bowl, lost in thought.

It had been a long time since she last ate malatang.

When she was a student, she had desperately wanted to bring Gu Rongqing out for malatang.

Even now, that wish had never come true.

Gu Rongqing couldn’t eat spicy food, while Wen Ling loved it.

At the beginning of their marriage, Wen [bailiantales.com]Ling would secretly eat it. She also ate it whenever she was alone with Wen Nuan.

But as long as Gu Rongqing was home, Wen Ling cooked dishes suited to her tastes.

Yet Gu Rongqing had never even known that Wen Ling liked malatang.

Lately, Wen Ling had probably allowed herself to become intoxicated by something called Gu Rongqing’s beauty once again.

But today, when Gu Rongqing said the divorce was connected to Chenxi, Wen Ling realized the problem between them might not have been Ji Chenxi at all.

It was the two of them.

The things Wen Ling liked rarely appealed to Gu Rongqing.

Their preferences were worlds apart.

In the past, Wen Ling had always accommodated her.

But now, staring at the bright-red bowl of malatang, Wen Ling’s eyes began to sting.

She suddenly no longer wanted to be the only one making compromises.

Love couldn’t survive through the accommodation of only one person.