Taking Advantage of Her Vulnerability [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 14

Lin Xu had noticed that Wen Ling had been acting quite strange lately. On set, she was constantly spacing out during conversations and would steal glances at Gu Rongqing—looking exactly like a young girl in the throes of a first love.

She wasn’t normal at night, either. For instance, right now, she had slipped into another daze immediately after finishing her video call with Wennuan…

“Wen Ling-jie, what is up with you lately?”

“………”

As expected, she didn’t hear a word.

For the past two days, Wen Ling’s head had been entirely occupied by Gu Rongqing and the words she had whispered that night on the bridge.

“I might… like you.”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t like Chenxi.”

They had said more after that, but Wen Ling couldn’t recall the specifics anymore; her brain was stuck on loop, replaying the part where Gu Rongqing said she liked her.

Seeing Wen Ling spacing out again, Lin Xu grew exasperated. She climbed from her own bed onto Wen Ling’s and stared her right in the eyes.

Wen Ling was startled, recoiling instinctively. “What are you doing? You scared me!”

“Jie, you’ve been daydreaming all day, and just now, your face turned red.”

Wen Ling touched her cheeks, asking if it was true. Lin Xu nodded emphatically, adding, “Not only are you daydreaming, you’re practically staring a hole through Movie Queen Gu every day!”

Wen Ling’s face burned with embarrassment as she fell back into a pensive silence.

“………”

“Wen Ling-jie, are you having a ‘second spring’ (new romance)?”

This time Wen Ling heard her. She swatted Lin Xu and shot her a glare. What second spring? Gu Rongqing has always been my only spring.

Wait, no. She’s my goddess!

Lin Xu decided Wen Ling had finally lost her mind and ignored her to go take a shower.

Left alone, Wen Ling picked up her phone, wanting to send a WeChat message to Gu Rongqing. She opened the chat box but shrunk back. She looked at their last exchange from over three months ago—a message she had sent.

“Rongqing, let’s get a divorce.”

Gu Rongqing hadn’t replied then. Since Gu often ignored her messages, Wen Ling had simply prepared the divorce papers in silence and waited for her to return to hand them over.

And Gu Rongqing hadn’t disappointed her; when she presented the papers, Gu had agreed without a hint of hesitation.

Holding the phone, Wen Ling looked at that old message and lost her nerve again. She didn’t dare send anything. But while she was staring at the chat box, a message suddenly popped up from Gu Rongqing.

“Come up. Xiao Nuan wants to video call us.”

Wen Ling rubbed her eyes and read it again. The message was real. She scrambled out of bed, tidied herself up quickly, and headed out.

In the bathroom, Lin Xu heard the door slam and yelled, “Wen Ling-jie, are you going out?”

There was no response.

Gu Rongqing had finished work early today. After a quick dinner with Liang Mei, she had returned to her suite, showered, and was planning to rest when her mother called.

On the screen, Wennuan called her “Mami” in her soft, sweet voice. Gu Rongqing hadn’t felt it as strongly before, but lately, every time Wennuan acted spoiled, her heart felt like it was melting.

Little Wennuan babbled about things at kindergarten, mentioning how other kids’ parents took them to the amusement park. She whispered longingly, “I want to go to the amusement park with Mommy and Mami too.”

A complicated feeling welled up in Gu Rongqing’s heart. She hadn’t been very old when she had Wennuan; she simply felt a family needed a child, so she had her. Afterward, she became so consumed by her career that she barely spent time with the girl, let alone took her out to play.

Liang Mei, standing nearby, couldn’t hear the conversation, but she saw Gu Rongqing’s expression darken before she hung up. She wanted to ask, but knew Gu might not answer.

She walked over to Gu Rongqing and said, “Wen Ling has been stealing a lot of glances at you lately.”

Gu Rongqing didn’t answer, but her face suddenly flushed. Liang Mei found it hilarious—Was this still the cold Gu Rongqing? She actually had a reaction to being teased?

Feeling self-conscious under Liang Mei’s smirk, Gu Rongqing decided to confide in her about what had happened on the bridge.

“Rongqing! You finally saw the light?” Liang Mei was excited. This was so sudden! Ten days ago, she had been totally indifferent.

“No…” Gu Rongqing said, flustered by the manager’s intensity. “It was the question you asked me. I thought about it later, and since I wasn’t sure myself, I told Wen Ling.”

“What did you say?!” Liang Mei was genuinely curious about how this block of wood had expressed herself.

“I told her I wasn’t sure if I liked her.”

Liang Mei had expected some grand progress, but hearing this, she thought: Typical Gu Rongqing. She had just dumped her internal confusion directly onto the poor woman.

“So, what do you plan to do now?”

“What do you mean ‘what do I do’?”

“………” Liang Mei sighed. She shouldn’t have expected Gu Rongqing to truly “see the light.”

“Xiao Nuan just told me she’s jealous of the other kids whose parents take them out to play.”

Liang Mei saw the opportunity. “You and Wen Ling really should spend more time with Xiao Nuan. Why not call Wen Ling over now for a video call with her?”

And so, Gu Rongqing sent the message. She was too embarrassed to say she wanted to see Wen Ling herself, so she used Wennuan as an excuse.

Wen Ling had been standing outside Room 503 for five minutes, performing deep-breathing exercises. Just as she was about to knock, the door opened and Liang Mei walked out.

“Oh, if it isn’t Teacher Wen? That was fast.” Liang Mei’s eyes were full of mischief.

Wen Ling didn’t know how to respond. Could she say she was in a hurry to see Gu Rongqing? That was too embarrassing. “Haha… I just happened to be free, so…”

“It’s fine, I understand,” Liang Mei said, patting her shoulder. “I’m the one who came out too slowly.”

“Liang Mei, didn’t you have things to do?” Gu Rongqing’s voice drifted from inside. Liang Mei said “Understood” one last time and left.

Wen Ling entered to find Gu Rongqing sitting on the sofa in her pajamas. It had been a long time since she’d seen her like this. In loungewear, Gu Rongqing looked softer and more approachable than she did in public—reminding Wen Ling of the brief time Gu had stayed home after giving birth.

“Why are you staring?” Gu Rongqing noticed Wen Ling had been dazed since entering.

“Nothing. Weren’t we going to call Xiao Nuan?”

Gu Rongqing noticed Wen Ling’s face was a bit red, which made her own face feel warm. She signaled for Wen Ling to sit down. Wen Ling didn’t hesitate.

Since Wen Ling was slightly taller, her downward gaze fell right onto Gu Rongqing’s neck as she sat. Her pajama collar was a bit loose. As if possessed, Wen Ling leaned in and sniffed. She must have just showered; why else would she smell so good?

Gu Rongqing felt a tickle on her neck and dodged. Realizing what Wen Ling had done made her face heat up even more, the tips of her ears turning red under her hair. “You can’t… we have to video call in a second,” she whispered, pushing Wen Ling back.

“What do you mean ‘can’t’?”

Wen Ling was confused. She sat up straight, then realized Gu Rongqing’s cheeks were flushed with shame, making things even more awkward.

Gu Rongqing kept her head down, but Wen Ling started spacing out again while looking at her. Her mind drifted back to Gu Rongqing in bed. She realized that Gu Rongqing had never actually refused her; she would cooperate with anything Wen Ling wanted, no matter how embarrassing the position. The thought made her pulse quicken—the cold, perfect Movie Queen Gu could be handled and posed however she liked at home…

Gu Rongqing looked up and saw Wen Ling staring intensely at her. Following the line of sight, she realized her loose collar was revealing her chest. She hurriedly covered herself with her hands. “You rogue!”

With the view blocked and being called a “rogue,” Wen Ling felt awkward. She tried to change the subject. “Cough… well… the video call?”

Gu Rongqing shot her a glare and dialed her mother.

As soon as the call connected, Wennuan’s face filled the screen. She cheered for “Mommy and Mami,” sounding even more excited than before.

“When are Mommy and Mami coming back? I miss you so much.”

“Can I go see you?”

“Will you take me to the amusement park when you come back?”

Gu Rongqing answered her, saying they would be back soon and told her to ask “Mommy” if she would take her. Gu Rongqing turned to Wen Ling for an answer, only to find Wen Ling staring at her again. Gu reflexively tightened her grip on her collar and gave Wen Ling a flirtatious, scolding look.

“Mommy and Mami are so shy~” Wennuan covered her eyes in the video. She thought Mommy had looked at Mami so much that Mami’s face turned red. “So shy!”

Mother Gu joined in with the teasing, which made Gu Rongqing’s face turn an even deeper shade of red. She told her mother to stop and hung up.

She turned to Wen Ling. “I didn’t know before that your head was full of… those things.”

“Until I’m sure whether I like you or not, we… we can’t do that anymore.”

Wen Ling was momentarily petrified. She had actually been quite innocent, just wanting to look at Gu Rongqing…

How could Gu Rongqing’s thoughts be so impure?

Wait… is she actually ‘men sao’ (closet pervert)?