Taking Advantage of Her Vulnerability [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 15

Gu Rongqing saw that Wen Ling didn’t answer, and realizing from her reaction that she might have said the wrong thing again, she clenched her hands tightly. She turned her head away, not daring to look at Wen Ling anymore.

Seeing Gu Rongqing’s flustered state, Wen Ling burst into laughter. Gu Rongqing tried to ignore her, but as the laughter grew louder, she couldn’t help but turn back and glare. To her bewilderment, Wen Ling only laughed harder.

“………”

“Are you quite finished laughing?”

Wen Ling wanted to say “no,” but she shook her head and then nodded, forcing herself to stop because she saw that Rongqing was genuinely getting annoyed. Scratching her head, Wen Ling said, “I just think you’re cute.”

Gu Rongqing glared at her and uttered what she thought was a very stern command: “Then you’re not allowed to laugh!”

To Wen Ling, Gu Rongqing looked like a little lion cub—acting “fierce” but actually being incredibly adorable.

Since it was her own goddess, she had to coax her. Wen Ling apologized in a soft, soothing voice. At first, Gu Rongqing found it quite pleasant, but then she felt embarrassed. Why is Wen Ling talking to me like she’s talking to Wennuan? She wasn’t a child, and given their current relationship, it felt inappropriate.

“Alright, stop talking.” Gu Rongqing gave Wen Ling a nudge, her face flush. Wen Ling stopped teasing, realizing that Gu Rongqing was actually quite thin-skinned. Pushing further would only make her more uncomfortable. Wen Ling pivoted the conversation back to Xiao Nuan.

“When filming is over, let’s take Xiao Nuan to the amusement park.”

“Huh…?” Gu Rongqing was stunned. She thought Wen Ling hadn’t been paying attention to the video call, but it turned out Wen Ling had heard every word Xiao Nuan said. Gu Rongqing nodded sheepishly.

Seeing her agree made Wen Ling’s day. Their family of three had never actually gone out to play together. Fearing Gu Rongqing might change her mind, Wen Ling quickly added, “Then it’s a deal. We’ll take her out once we’re done.”

Gu Rongqing hadn’t expected Wen Ling to be this excited, so she gave a firm nod. “Okay.”

After leaving the suite, Liang Mei didn’t really have anywhere to go, so she wandered around near the hotel. To her surprise, she ran into Lin Xu at a snack street.

“Sister Liang Mei~”

Liang Mei had intended to walk past quickly, but Lin Xu called her out. Since “that incident,” Liang Mei had tried to act as if nothing happened, but Lin Xu frequently messaged her on WeChat. Liang Mei viewed it as an accident; Lin Xu, however, had taken it seriously.

Watching Lin Xu jog toward her, Liang Mei decided it was time to be clear.

“Huff… huff… Sister Liang Mei.” Lin Xu was out of breath; she had run fast, fearing Liang Mei would pretend not to see her and slip away.

“What’s the rush?”

“Sister… I…” Lin Xu wanted to say she was afraid Liang Mei didn’t want to see her, but she didn’t dare.

“Is there something you want to say?” Liang Mei actually felt a lot of regret. How had she failed to control herself that night? Was it because it had been too long since she’d been with anyone…?

“Sister Liang Mei, I can take responsibility for what happened.”

“There’s no need.” Without waiting for a reply, Liang Mei turned and walked away.

Watching Liang Mei’s retreating back, Lin Xu felt the snacks she just bought lose all their flavor. Why was falling in love for the first time so painful?

By the time Lin Xu returned, Wen Ling was already in bed and seemed to be in high spirits. Lin Xu checked her breathing and forced a smile; she actually felt like crying. First love was far too bitter.

Wen Ling noticed Lin Xu’s mood was off. She put down her phone and asked, “What’s wrong?”

That simple question broke Lin Xu’s dam. Her tears began to fall uncontrollably, which panicked Wen Ling. She remembered her mother’s instructions to look after Lin Xu. She scrambled out of bed to get tissues and patted the girl’s shoulder.

“What happened? Talk to me.”

Wen Ling’s gentle voice only made Lin Xu sob harder. She turned and hugged Wen Ling. “Jie… is love always this bitter? Waaaaah…“

Wen Ling’s hand paused. Love was indeed a bit bitter, but if it went well, it was mostly sweet. Looking at Lin Xu, she assumed things definitely hadn’t gone well.

“What happened between you and Sister Liang Mei?”

Actually, Wen Ling didn’t entirely approve of the match. Lin Xu was too young, just out of college, while Liang Mei was seven or eight years older. It would be hard for them to have a future. But seeing Lin Xu go from excited to silent over the last few days, Wen Ling hadn’t dared to say much.

“Since that day, she’s been ignoring me,” Lin Xu sniffled. “I knew you were out, so I went to get some snacks and ran into her. I told her I could be responsible, but she said ‘no need.'”

“I don’t understand, Jie. She seemed to have feelings for me before. Why did she change after it actually happened?” Lin Xu cried even harder.

Wen Ling didn’t know how to comfort her. Her own love life was a mess; it had taken nearly ten years for Gu Rongqing to even say she “might” like her. She wasn’t exactly an expert.

Failing to get a helpful answer, Lin Xu eventually let go, trying to soothe herself. “Forget it. Everyone encounters a few scumbags when they’re young. It’s fine, Wen Ling-jie.”

Lin Xu went to the bathroom to wash her face, leaving Wen Ling feeling like a failure for not being able to comfort her younger “sister.”

Wen Ling couldn’t let it go. “How about I ask Rongqing about it tomorrow?”

Lin Xu waved her off. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear something I can’t handle.”

Wen Ling fell silent, and Lin Xu went to sleep. However, Wen Ling tossed and turned, eventually deciding to text Gu Rongqing anyway.

“Asleep?”

“Almost. What’s up?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to ask you something.”

Wen Ling started to type, asking why Liang Mei was acting this way toward Lin Xu. Then she paused—Rongqing might not even know they had… you know.

“Lin Xu likes Sister Liang Mei. I wanted to ask if she has a girlfriend.”

Gu Rongqing felt a twinge of disappointment. She thought Wen Ling was going to ask about them.

“No.”

Wen Ling saw the reply and thought, Good, good. But then Gu Rongqing’s second message arrived:

“She has a boyfriend. They’ve been together for many years.”

The next morning, Lin Xu’s eyes were swollen. She must have cried more in secret during the night. Wen Ling told her to rest at the hotel instead of coming to the set.

Lin Xu insisted on going, but Wen Ling pointed to her eyes. Wen Ling felt that while the swelling was an issue, Lin Xu mainly needed some “buffer” time. Even Wen Ling found the news of Liang Mei having a boyfriend hard to swallow; seeing Lin Xu this miserable, she couldn’t bear it. Eventually, Lin Xu stayed behind.

When Wen Ling arrived on set, she saw Ji Chenxi talking to Gu Rongqing. She couldn’t hear them, but she saw Ji Chenxi grab Gu Rongqing’s arm excitedly. Gu Rongqing’s expression was even colder than usual. Wen Ling watched curiously until Gu Rongqing shook off Ji Chenxi’s hand, said something, and walked away.

Ji Chenxi turned and saw Wen Ling. Her eyes practically spat fire, her usual “Movie Queen” poise completely gone. She marched straight toward Wen Ling.

Since the day Ji Chenxi claimed to be Gu Rongqing’s girlfriend, the two hadn’t spoken. Now, Ji Chenxi’s anger was boiling over. She couldn’t understand what Gu Rongqing saw in this woman. Last night, seeing Wen Ling walk out of Rongqing’s room had infuriated her. This morning, she had told Gu Rongqing that since they were divorced, Wen Ling shouldn’t be clinging to her anymore. To her shock, Gu Rongqing had snapped back that Wen Ling wasn’t “clinging.”

Ji Chenxi grew more enraged the more she thought about it. Wen Ling wasn’t as talented or as beautiful as her—yet after the divorce, Rongqing was still taking her side? If she hadn’t gone abroad, Rongqing would never have married this woman. In her eyes, Wen Ling was a despicable person who had taken advantage of her vulnerability.

However, Ji Chenxi caught herself. She shouldn’t speak to Wen Ling with such obvious rage; it made her look inferior. She smoothed her expression into a haughty mask.

“In the future,” Ji Chenxi said as she reached Wen Ling, “stay away from Rongqing.”

After she left, Wen Ling thought to herself: I must have been out of my mind before. How could Gu Rongqing and a person like Ji Chenxi ever be together? Judging by that exchange, Gu Rongqing’s attitude toward Ji Chenxi… seemed even worse than her attitude toward Wen Ling.

They were a terrible match. Gu Rongqing was emotionally slow, and Ji Chenxi was far too arrogant. Someone like that wouldn’t have the patience to wait for Gu Rongqing to wake up.