After Taking Advantage Of An Opening [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 3

Wen Ling hadn’t slept very well the previous night.

Sometime after midnight, she was roused from a hazy sleep by her ringing phone. She picked it up and answered without even checking the screen.

“Xiao Ling… Will you come pick me up?”

It was Gu Rongqing’s voice after drinking, much softer than usual…

Then Wen Ling hung up.

Thinking back on it now, that seemed rather impossible.

Had she dreamed it?

Why would Gu Rongqing still call her in the middle of the night? It had happened a few times before, when Gu Rongqing went to an evening gathering, got drunk, and asked Wen Ling to pick her up.

But she had never sounded that soft and sweet before.

She had almost sounded like Nuan Nuan when she was acting spoiled.

Wen Ling took out her phone and checked her call history.

It had been an unfamiliar number.

Forget it. That wasn’t important.

What mattered was that today was a weekday, which meant Nuan Nuan had kindergarten. She had taken a week off when they returned to Dongcheng City, but so what if Wen Ling had gotten divorced?

Life still had to go on as usual.

Nuan Nuan had to attend kindergarten, and Wen Ling had to get back to writing…

Wen Ling climbed out of bed as quietly as possible, afraid of waking Nuan Nuan.

The apartment where she currently lived had been their marital home, purchased by Wen Ling herself. It had two bedrooms and a living room. At first, she and Gu Rongqing had lived there together. After Wen Nuan was born, however, Wen Ling became the one caring for the child, so it gradually became a home shared by Wen Ling and Wen Nuan instead.

When she divorced Gu Rongqing, Wen Ling only asked for the apartment. She didn’t want anything else.

None of it was particularly important.

When they first moved into this apartment, Wen Ling had been filled with anticipation for the future. She had dreamed of living happily here with her goddess, Gu Rongqing.

In a way, they had been happy.

They welcomed Wen Nuan into this home. Although Gu Rongqing was busy, her presence could still be found everywhere inside it. She never missed any of the important occasions—their wedding anniversary, Wen Ling’s birthday, Nuan Nuan’s birthday, and Gu Rongqing’s own birthday.

But looking back now, perhaps Gu Rongqing had only ever shown genuine warmth and happiness when Wen Nuan was involved.

For breakfast, Wen Ling made egg burgers and milk.

Wen Nuan loved egg burgers. They had also been one of Wen Ling’s favorite foods as a child. Once, when Wen Ling couldn’t think of anything else to prepare, she happened to make one for Wen Nuan. The child loved it so much that she frequently clamored for more.

By the time breakfast was ready, it was almost seven thirty.

It was time to wake the little sleepyhead.

“Baby Nuan Nuan, it’s time to get up.”

“No… I don’t want to get up, Mama~”

Wen Nuan loved sleeping in. Wen Ling thought she must have inherited that habit from Gu Rongqing, because Wen Ling herself almost never stayed in bed.

Then again, she couldn’t be sure that Gu Rongqing liked sleeping in either.

After all, Wen Ling had never seen her do it.

“Be good, Nuan Nuan~ Mama made your favorite egg burgers today. If you don’t get up, Mama is going to eat all of them.”

“Mama is so mean~ Don’t eat them.”

Wen Nuan was a tiny glutton. Food was all Wen Ling needed to threaten her with.

“Come on. Mama will carry you out of bed.”

Wen Ling helped Wen Nuan wash up, then they ate breakfast together. By the time they finished, it was almost eight. They got dressed and prepared to leave.

“Be good at kindergarten today. Mama will pick you up this evening.”

After dropping Wen Nuan off at kindergarten, Wen Ling returned home and received a call from the production company.

The adaptation of her novel Lost had already reached the casting stage. The role of Jin Nanfeng had been finalized, and several days ago, someone had called to inform Wen Ling that auditions for Fang Cao would be held that afternoon. They had invited her to attend.

If they hadn’t called again today, Wen Ling truly would have forgotten.

Although Wen Ling described herself as a third-rate little novelist, she simply wrote online to earn some pocket money—enough to cover her everyday living expenses.

After all, she also had a family business waiting for her to inherit…

Granted, all she had was a small number of shares.

But those shares belonged to Yiyang Entertainment.

Yiyang Entertainment was a subsidiary of Yiyang Group, which had been founded in Dongcheng City. The group belonged to her mother’s family.

That was right. Xu Yun was a genuine heiress.

Her mother had married Wen Ling’s father for the so-called innocent love of her youth. At the time, Yiyang Group had only just been established, and her mother received twenty percent of its shares, becoming a silent shareholder.

Later, Yiyang Group moved its headquarters to Jingcheng City.

When Wen Ling came of age, her mother transferred another five percent of the company’s shares to her. Xu Yun had initially planned to give her ten percent, but Wen Ling refused. In the end, after Xu Yun insisted, they compromised at five percent.

Yiyang had since grown into a vast and powerful company. Nearly half the most popular celebrities in the industry had come from Yiyang. Gu Rongqing was the company’s top female star, and according to recent rumors, internationally renowned Best Actress Ji Chenxi was also planning to sign with them.

However, her mother was a silent shareholder, so naturally, Wen Ling was one as well.

In other words, Wen Ling could technically be considered her ex-wife’s boss.

Her ex-wife simply had no idea.

Before the divorce, Wen Ling had been writing a novel titled The Female Chancellor. It was set in a society where women reigned supreme and told the story of a woman from an impoverished background who gradually rose to the highest ranks of officialdom.

Ever since the divorce, the novel had been left on indefinite hiatus.

Wen Ling couldn’t write.

She spent the entire morning sitting in front of her computer in the study, staring blankly at the screen without making any progress.

She couldn’t focus.

She hadn’t been able to focus since the divorce, and now that she had been reminded about the casting for Lost, she was even more distracted.

Wen Ling actually had high hopes for Lost.

The story followed two childhood friends whose lives took completely different paths after they grew up. Later, Fang Cao encountered her childhood companion and longtime crush, Jin Nanfeng, once again.

Fang Cao’s life was a complete mess. She was a delinquent—poor, filthy, and struggling to survive.

Jin Nanfeng, however, lived a stable and fulfilling life. She had a good job and a successful fiancé from a family of equal social standing.

Fang Cao didn’t want Jin Nanfeng to know what her life had become, but Jin Nanfeng happened to witness her at her absolute worst.

What followed was Jin Nanfeng’s attempt to save Fang Cao, along with the tangled, inescapable feelings between them.

Wen Ling had naturally thought about the casting before.

When she first wrote the novel, Jin Nanfeng had been modeled after Gu Rongqing. In the past, Wen Ling had certainly hoped that Gu Rongqing might play the role.

But now that things had come to this, she no longer wanted her to.

Gu Rongqing arrived at the company early that morning and waited for Liang Mei in her small office.

She had previously received an invitation from the production team of Lost to play Jin Nanfeng.

In truth, it was Ji Chenxi who had invited her.

Ji Chenxi hadn’t accepted any acting projects since returning to the country. Instead, she had become a producer. She brought in the famous director Li Xin to direct Lost, then recommended Gu Rongqing for the role.

Gu Rongqing was genuinely well suited to the character, so her casting was soon finalized.

Today, they were auditioning actresses for Fang Cao. The production team had invited Gu Rongqing to attend and offer her opinion.

Liang Mei had originally said she would pick Gu Rongqing up. But after the divorce, Gu Rongqing had moved into a small apartment by herself. Whether she stayed at home or came to the office made little difference—she would be alone either way.

So Gu Rongqing came to the company early on her own. This way, they could leave sooner and finish sooner.

Nuan Nuan had called yesterday and said she missed her.

Only then did Gu Rongqing realize that she truly hadn’t seen Wen Nuan in quite some time. The last time had been before the divorce.

She genuinely missed the child a little.

In truth, she didn’t quite understand why Wen Ling had wanted to divorce her.

They had been married for so many years and had always lived together without conflict. Gu Rongqing hadn’t felt much for Wen Ling at first, but after they had Wen Nuan, she began to think that living this way was rather nice.

Last night, Gu Rongqing had drunk some alcohol and wanted Wen Ling to pick her up and take her home.

Yet Wen Ling had actually ignored her.

“Rongqing, did you see the news this morning? The report about Wen Ling.”

Liang Mei had arrived.

“What happened to Wen Ling?” Gu Rongqing asked, looking up at her.

Liang Mei was helpless.

When would Gu Rongqing finally start paying attention to the things happening around her?

“Reporters surrounded Wen Ling yesterday and questioned her about your divorce. Right after you said your relationship had broken down, Wen Ling told them there had never been any relationship between you and that she had merely taken advantage of an opening.”

Gu Rongqing frowned.

Wasn’t a breakdown in the relationship the reason people got divorced?

Wasn’t that why Wen Ling had asked for one?

And what did she mean by taking advantage of an opening?

What opening had she supposedly taken advantage of?

“She really knows how to turn things around and blame me.”

For once, Gu Rongqing lost control of her expression.

Liang Mei stared in astonishment at the rare sight of Gu Rongqing becoming so angry. After watching her for several moments, she finally asked, “Do you have feelings for Wen Ling?”

Her question plunged Gu Rongqing into deep thought.

Did she have feelings for Wen Ling?

She probably did. After all, they had been together for so many years.

But perhaps she didn’t.

It seemed as though nothing much had happened between them all these years…

Liang Mei noticed that Gu Rongqing had drifted off again and sighed helplessly. She checked the time and saw that it was almost noon, so she reminded Gu Rongqing that they needed to leave.

When Gu Rongqing arrived at the audition venue, Director Li Xin and Ji Chenxi were already there, accompanied by a man in his thirties who was presumably the investor. The three of them were seated in a row.

Ji Chenxi was undoubtedly the most eye-catching among them.

She wore a fitted black suit, her long, curled hair cascading loosely around her shoulders.

Gu Rongqing was the aloof, exquisitely beautiful type. Ji Chenxi, by contrast, possessed a poised and dignified beauty. Whether she wore a dress or a suit, she always looked elegant and gracious. The beauty mark at the corner of her eye added a hint of seductiveness to her composed demeanor.

Since Gu Rongqing was the last to arrive, Liang Mei immediately apologized and explained that they had been delayed by traffic.

Gu Rongqing greeted everyone with a trace of apology before taking her seat.

Ji Chenxi smiled and told her it didn’t matter. The auditions hadn’t begun yet, so she had arrived at just the right time.

Director Li Xin was very satisfied with Gu Rongqing and naturally didn’t mind either.

The investor alone looked displeased. He gave Liang Mei a cold expression in response to her apology and didn’t even glance at Gu Rongqing.

“So Best Actress Gu truly is a big shot,” he remarked sarcastically.

Even Ji Chenxi, who had been trying to smooth things over, looked somewhat embarrassed. But she didn’t want to offend the investor, so she could only maintain a polite smile.

“Rongqing, this is President Xu from Yiyang—”

“I’m sorry. I’m late.”

Everyone turned toward the doorway.

Director Li Xin’s expression remained unchanged, but Gu Rongqing, Liang Mei, and Ji Chenxi were all stunned.

Why was it Wen Ling?

The investor rose to his feet and gave Wen Ling a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Then he glanced back at Gu Rongqing.

“Did the two of you arrange to be late together?”

His words were directed at Wen Ling, but his eyes flicked toward Gu Rongqing.

Wen Ling had never imagined she would encounter Gu Rongqing here. She hadn’t known that Gu Rongqing had already been cast as Jin Nanfeng.

Nor had she expected the investor attending today to be Xu Zhe—her older cousin.

Ji Chenxi was the first to recover. She introduced Wen Ling to everyone.

“This is Wen Ling, the author of Lost and the screenwriter for the adaptation.”

Gu Rongqing still hadn’t recovered from her shock.

Of everyone present, she was undoubtedly the most astonished.

She and Wen Ling had been together for seven years. They had even had a child together.

Yet she had never known that Wen Ling was a novelist.

The auditions began.

None of the first few candidates was particularly satisfactory.

Fang Cao was supposed to be worn down and impoverished—a woman who had lost hope in life yet still yearned for something better.

She had once come from a relatively well-off family, but then her mother died unexpectedly. Her father became a long-term alcoholic and eventually ruined his health with drink. From the moment Fang Cao reached adulthood, the burden of supporting the family fell entirely on her shoulders.

There was little hope left in her life, yet she still longed for the day she might finally escape it.

Then she encountered Jin Nanfeng again.

She wanted Nanfeng to see her as the person she had once been, while simultaneously fearing that Nanfeng would discover how ugly her life had become.

When Xu Mengmeng appeared, Wen Ling’s eyes lit up.

Wen Ling had imagined Fang Cao’s appearance before, but only as a vague outline.

Xu Mengmeng stood before them in a white shirt and a pair of jeans faded nearly white from repeated washing. Her medium-length hair was slightly disheveled. Her entire body carried a world-weary air, yet her eyes still revealed a trace of hope for the future.

She performed the scene in which Nanfeng discovered Fang Cao selling alcohol at a bar and being groped by customers.

It was the first time the two characters argued.

“I’m not like you. You have a glamorous job and a successful fiancé.”

“I need money. I need a lot of money.”

Fang Cao didn’t dare look at Jin Nanfeng.

She faced the wall, her head lowered as she stared at her feet.

As Xu Mengmeng delivered her lines with her head bowed, she drew everyone’s attention toward her. They couldn’t help feeling sorrow on her behalf.

In the end, even Gu Rongqing couldn’t resist joining Xu Mengmeng to act out the opposite role.

Ultimately, everyone except Xu Zhe agreed to cast Xu Mengmeng.

Unexpectedly, the role of Fang Cao had gone to Wen Ling’s younger cousin—Xu Zhe’s own younger sister.

Wen Ling had a feeling Xu Zhe hadn’t even known that Xu Mengmeng was auditioning.

As Wen Ling prepared to leave, Gu Rongqing stopped her.

“I want to pick Nuan Nuan up from kindergarten and take her out for dinner. She’ll stay at my place tonight.”

“Oh. All right.”

Wen Ling didn’t even look at Gu Rongqing before walking away.

She found herself wondering how she could use Wen Nuan as an excuse to remain in contact with Gu Rongqing.

Why had Gu Rongqing only taken Nuan Nuan away?

Why hadn’t she taken Wen Ling along with her?

And had that call last night really come from Gu Rongqing?

Should she ask her about it?