Taking Advantage of Her Vulnerability [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 10

After Liang Mei finished speaking, she noticed that Gu Rongqing’s expression wasn’t great, so she dropped the subject.

“By the way, where’s Xiao Hang? I haven’t seen her.”

Xiao Hang was Gu Rongqing’s personal assistant. She was supposed to pick Gu Rongqing up this morning, but Ji Chenxi had intercepted her. Just as Gu Rongqing was about to call her, Xiao Hang called first, explaining that an elder in her family was sick and she wouldn’t be able to work for a while.

After Gu Rongqing explained the situation, Liang Mei smirked. “How about I look after you instead?”

Before Gu Rongqing could respond, Liang Mei continued, “I won’t have much work once you start filming anyway. I’d have to come visit you occasionally regardless, so I might as well stay here. I’ll only head out if a specific job pops up.”

“Perfect. It’s settled then.”

“That’s it for today. I’ll bring my luggage over tomorrow.” Liang Mei thought it would be good to be there to poke at Gu Rongqing occasionally—and to keep a wary eye on Ji Chenxi.

Knock, knock. Someone was at the door. Liang Mei opened it to find Ji Chenxi again. “Teacher Ji, is something the matter?” Liang Mei blocked the doorway, making it clear she wasn’t inviting her in.

“Oh, nothing much. Just checking if Rongqing was back yet,” Ji Chenxi smiled.

“Rest assured, Teacher Ji, I will take excellent care of her.”

“Good. Director Li Xin is hosting a dinner at 6:00 PM so everyone can get acquainted.”

“Understood. Our Rongqing is resting right now, so I won’t invite you in.” Liang Mei felt she was getting quite good at this. Ji Chenxi was an international Movie Queen—beautiful and wealthy—yet Liang Mei had been blunt with her several times now. She gave herself a mental thumbs-up.

In the past, she wouldn’t have dreamed of acting this way toward Ji Chenxi. She hadn’t known the history between the three of them because Gu Rongqing rarely spoke of it. Now she realized that even if Gu Rongqing had explained it, she wouldn’t have seen it as clearly as Liang Mei did: Ji Chenxi was using her “best friend” status to harbor ill intentions toward a Gu Rongqing who didn’t know how to say no.

Ji Chenxi left reluctantly. She had hoped to sit in Gu Rongqing’s room for a while, get close, and then appear at the dinner together to provoke Wen Ling. She hadn’t expected Liang Mei to intercept her. Returning to her room, she took her temper out on her own assistant, leaving the poor girl trembling in silence.

Ji Chenxi saved all her “good temper” for Gu Rongqing. She had liked Gu since college and assumed the feeling was mutual because Gu was with her nearly every day, ignoring everyone else. Even when Ji Chenxi made ambiguous moves, Gu Rongqing never refused. When rumors spread that they were a couple, Gu never denied them. So, when Wen Ling appeared, Ji Chenxi hadn’t cared at all.

Ji Chenxi was beautiful and possessed a stunning figure, often using her looks to entice Gu Rongqing. Having been close for years, she viewed Gu as her personal property. Gu could be cold to anyone—but not to her.

At graduation, Ji Chenxi wanted Gu to go abroad with her. When Gu refused, Ji Chenxi left in a fit of rage and cut off contact. A year later, Gu reached out. Ji Chenxi thought she was coming to find her; instead, Gu told her she was marrying Wen Ling.

Later, Ji Chenxi had other girlfriends, but it never felt right. She couldn’t forget Gu Rongqing… so she decided to return home.

“So, you divorced Gu Rongqing just because Ji Chenxi came back?” Lin Xu found it hard to accept Wen Ling’s reasoning. Even as a Ji Chenxi fan, this… made no sense to her.

“It wasn’t just because she came back,” Wen Ling said, hesitating.

“Then what was it? You managed to marry a wife as beautiful as Gu Rongqing and had a daughter as cute as Wennuan.”

“Do you know the feeling… of two people living a ‘single’ life together?” Wen Ling’s voice was low. Lin Xu grew quiet as Wen Ling continued.

“I was the one who pursued her. Back in school, Rongqing was a goddess to everyone, especially to me. I’ve loved her for nearly ten years. Back then, everyone assumed Rongqing and Ji Chenxi were a couple. They were both so dazzling, and I was just an invisible nobody. I looked for every chance to ‘accidentally’ run into her.”

“Then Ji Chenxi went abroad. Rongqing was always alone after that—eating alone, going to class alone. I don’t know where I got the courage, but I started striking up conversations, eating with her, and walking her to class when I could. Finally, I confessed my secret crush. Rongqing didn’t say no. I started treating her even better… more gently… until I proposed. She didn’t say no then, either.”

Lin Xu saw tears glimmering in Wen Ling’s eyes and wanted to tell her she didn’t need to hear more, but Wen Ling looked at her and said, “Let me finish.”

“I felt truly happy then. Can you imagine the feeling of the unreachable becoming your wife? I thought I was the luckiest person on earth. Later, Rongqing said she wanted a child. I thought we would be even happier. But we weren’t.”

“After Wennuan was born, I think I changed. I quit my job to take care of the home. I hoped Rongqing would stay home as much as possible, or I’d take Xiao Nuan to see her on set. But… I felt like a single mother. Gu Rongqing was always distant and polite. She only showed warmth to Xiao Nuan; to me, it was rare. Then Ji Chenxi returned. I felt Rongqing change. Every time she came home, I could feel her joy. She’d talk to Ji Chenxi on the phone without any reservations.”

“Lin Xu… if she could be like that at home, what was she like when she wasn’t home?”

Lin Xu didn’t know how to answer. She ventured tentatively, “Maybe… things aren’t the way you think?”

“Heh…” Wen Ling laughed, but it was a forced, hollow sound.

“Wen Ling-jie…”

“I’m going to wash my face.”

Wen Ling locked herself in the bathroom. The tears she had been holding back finally fell. She was miserable, yet she loved Gu Rongqing so much that even seeing her like this brought a twisted sense of satisfaction. Looking in the mirror, she felt a profound sense of pity for herself.

Shortly after, there was a knock. Lin Xu opened it to find a staff member reminding them of the 6:00 PM dinner. Lin Xu agreed. Hearing Wen Ling sobbing in the bathroom, she pulled her hand back from the door and waited on the sofa.

Five minutes later, Wen Ling emerged. “Was that someone at the door?”

“Yeah, the crew reminding ‘Teacher Wen’ about the dinner.”

“Oh, what time?”

“It’s 6:00. It’s already past 4:00. Why don’t you rest? I’ll call you when it’s time.”

Wen Ling, currently drained of words, went to lie down.

An hour later, they headed down to a nearby restaurant. It seemed the whole crew was there. Director Li Xin said it was his treat, but seeing Xu Zhe there, Wen Ling suspected her cousin would be the one footing the bill.

“Wen Ling-jie!” As soon as they sat down, Xu Mengmeng came over.

“Mengmeng, it’s been a while.”

“I’m so happy to be in your project, Jie. After I told my dad, even he praised you for being impressive!” Xu Mengmeng said with a hint of playfulness.

“You’re the impressive one. I didn’t expect you to perform so well at the audition.” Xu Mengmeng beamed at the praise, grabbing Wen Ling’s arm affectionately. Since Mengmeng was only 22, Wen Ling reached out and fondly ruffled her hair.

This was the scene Gu Rongqing walked into: Wen Ling sitting next to a beautiful, cute girl, ruffling her hair with a doting expression.

“Rongqing?” Ji Chenxi noticed the pair too, but she was surprised to see Gu Rongqing staring blankly at Wen Ling.

Meanwhile, Liang Mei stifled a laugh. Rongqing really just slapped Ji Chenxi in the face, she thought. Recalling how “enchanting” Ji Chenxi looked when she came to get Rongqing earlier, Liang Mei felt a surge of satisfaction.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.” Gu Rongqing snapped out of it and walked in. She was dressed sexily tonight in a long black dress that accentuated her slender waist and long legs. Beside her, Ji Chenxi was even more provocative in a deep-V red dress, her skin looking snow-white against the fabric.

Everyone was stunned by their beauty. Director Li Xin stood to welcome them to the main table, where Xu Zhe sat. Xu Zhe watched the two approach, then looked over at Wen Ling and winked.

“What is my brother doing with his eyes?” Mengmeng asked.

“Your brother is being an idiot. By the way, shouldn’t you go over there? That table is for the leads.”

Mengmeng declined, looking at the two stars. “Wen Ling-jie, Movie Queen Gu and Movie Queen Ji are so beautiful~”

“You’re very beautiful too, little sister.” Liang Mei had sat down next to them at some point. Lin Xu was struck by her—while the two Movie Queens were stunning, Liang Mei exuded a mature womanly charm. Even without showing as much skin as Ji Chenxi, every gesture she made radiated sexiness.

Lin Xu decided right then: it was time for a new goddess.