Taking Advantage of Her Vulnerability [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 3

Wen Ling didn’t sleep well. In the middle of the night, she had been groggily awoken by her phone. She picked it up and answered without even looking at the screen.

“Xiao Ling… are you coming to pick me up?” It was Gu Rongqing’s voice, sounding drunk—much softer and more fragile than usual.

Then, Wen Ling hung up.

Thinking back on it now, it felt impossible. Was I dreaming? Why would Gu Rongqing call her in the middle of the night? It had happened a few times in the past when Gu Rongqing got drunk at a social gathering and asked for a ride, but she had never sounded that “soft.” It sounded more like Wennuan acting spoiled. Checking her call logs, it was an unknown number.

Forget it, it doesn’t matter.

What mattered was that today was a workday—and a school day for Wennuan. They had taken a week off to visit East City, but life had to go on despite the divorce. Wennuan needed to go to kindergarten, and Wen Ling needed to get back to writing.

She got out of bed quietly to avoid waking the child. The place they lived in was their “marital home”—a two-bedroom apartment Wen Ling had bought herself. Originally, she and Gu Rongqing lived here together, but after Wennuan was born, Wen Ling took over the childcare, and it became her and Wennuan’s space.

When they divorced, Wen Ling asked for the house and nothing else. The rest wasn’t important.

Once, when they first moved in, Wen Ling had been full of hope that her “Goddess Gu” would live happily with her here. And they were happy, in a way; they welcomed Wennuan into this home. Even though Gu Rongqing was busy, her presence filled the space. They celebrated every holiday, anniversary, and birthday. But looking back, Wen Ling realized that perhaps Gu Rongqing only showed true warmth and genuine joy when it involved Wennuan.

For breakfast, she made “egg burgers” and milk. Wennuan loved them—a childhood favorite of Wen Ling’s that she’d made once by chance, only for the child to become obsessed with them. By the time she finished, it was nearly 7:30 AM. Time to wake the little sleepyhead.

“Nuan-Nuan baby, time to get up.”

“No… don’t want to, Mommy~” Wennuan’s habit of lounging in bed was something Wen Ling suspected she inherited from Gu Rongqing, though she couldn’t be sure since she’d rarely seen the actress relax.

“Be a good girl~ Mommy made your favorite egg burgers. If you don’t get up, I’ll eat them all.”

“Mommy’s so mean~ don’t eat them!” Wennuan was a little foodie; threatening her with food always worked.

After dropping Wennuan at kindergarten and returning home, Wen Ling received a call from a film production company. Her novel, The Lost Path, had reached the casting stage. The male lead, Jin Nanfeng, was already set. A few days ago, she’d been invited to the casting session for the female lead, Fang Cao, which was happening this afternoon.

If not for the reminder call, Wen Ling truly would have forgotten.

As a “third-rate writer,” Wen Ling mostly wrote online to earn enough pocket money for daily expenses. In reality, she actually had a family inheritance to fall back on…

Specifically, shares in Yiyang Entertainment. Yiyang Group had started in East City and was her mother’s family business. Her mother, Xu Yun, was a true heiress who had married for “youthful love.” Back when Yiyang was founded, her mother received 20% of the shares, making her a silent partner. Later, the group moved its headquarters to the capital.

When Wen Ling turned eighteen, her mother gave her 5% of the shares. Originally, Xu Yun wanted to give her 10%, but Wen Ling refused, only accepting 5% under pressure. Today, Yiyang was a giant; nearly half of the current top stars came from their stable. Gu Rongqing was Yiyang’s “Top Sister,” and rumors said International Movie Queen Ji Chenxi was planning to sign with them too. Since her mother was a hidden shareholder, Wen Ling was one as well.

Technically, she was her ex-wife’s boss—though her ex-wife had no idea.

Before the divorce, Wen Ling had been writing a novel called The Female Prime Minister, a story set in a matriarchal world. Since the divorce, she had been in a state of “hiatus.” She couldn’t write. She spent the morning staring at her computer screen in the study with zero progress. She had no heart for it—especially not after the news about The Lost Path‘s casting.

She had high hopes for The Lost Path. It told the story of two childhood friends whose lives diverged sharply as adults. Fang Cao meets her childhood crush, Jin Nanfeng, again when her life is a mess—she’s a delinquent, poor, and “dirty”—while Jin Nanfeng’s life is stable and perfect, with a good job and a fiancé of equal social status. Fang Cao doesn’t want Nanfeng to know the truth, but Nanfeng witnesses her most pathetic side. What follows is a story of redemption and entangled emotions.

Wen Ling had a secret: when she first wrote Jin Nanfeng, she had modeled the character after Gu Rongqing. Back then, she hoped Gu Rongqing would play the role. Now, she didn’t want that anymore.

Gu Rongqing arrived at the company early to wait for her manager, Liang Mei. She had already accepted the offer to play Jin Nanfeng in The Lost Path. It was actually Ji Chenxi who had invited her. Since returning to the country, Ji Chenxi hadn’t taken any acting roles; instead, she had become a producer and recruited the famous director Li Xin to helm the project. She recommended Gu Rongqing, and since Gu was a perfect fit, the deal was sealed.

Today was the audition for the role of Fang Cao. Gu Rongqing was invited to give her input. Since the divorce, she lived alone in a small apartment, so being at the office felt no different from being at home—she was solitary either way. She decided to go early to get it over with.

Yesterday, Wennuan had called saying she missed her. Gu Rongqing realized it had been a long time since she’d seen the child. She truly missed her.

She still didn’t quite understand why Wen Ling wanted a divorce. They had lived in peace for years. Initially, she had no feelings for Wen Ling, but because of Wennuan, she felt their arrangement was quite good.

Last night, she’d had a bit to drink and wanted Wen Ling to pick her up, but Wen Ling had ignored her.

“Rongqing, did you see the news this morning? About Wen Ling.” It was Liang Mei.

“What about her?” Gu Rongqing looked up.

Liang Mei sighed. When will she ever pay attention to the world around her? “Reporters cornered her yesterday. You said the reason was ‘broken relationship,’ but Wen Ling said there was no relationship to begin with—that she just took advantage of your vulnerability.”

Gu Rongqing frowned. Wasn’t a divorce naturally a “broken relationship”? Wasn’t that why Wen Ling initiated it? And what was this about “taking advantage”? Whose vulnerability?

“She’s really shifting the blame,” Gu Rongqing muttered, her composure slipping for once. Liang Mei stared at her in surprise before asking, “Do you actually have feelings for Wen Ling?”

The question gave Gu Rongqing pause. Do I? They had been together for years, so there must be something. But then again, had anything actually happened between them all those years?

Noticing Gu Rongqing staring into space again, Liang Mei checked the time—it was nearly noon—and reminded her it was time to leave for the casting.

When Gu Rongqing arrived, Director Li Xin and Ji Chenxi were already there, along with a man in his thirties—likely the investor. Ji Chenxi was the most striking person in the row, dressed in a sharp black suit with her long, curly hair down. If Gu Rongqing was a cold, refined beauty, Ji Chenxi was “stately”—someone who looked grand in anything she wore. The beauty mark at the corner of her eye added a touch of seduction to her dignified air.

Being the last to arrive, Liang Mei immediately apologized for the traffic. Gu Rongqing greeted everyone with a polite, apologetic nod before taking her seat.

Ji Chenxi smiled and said it was no problem since they hadn’t started yet. Director Li Xin, being very fond of Gu Rongqing, didn’t mind either.

Only the investor looked displeased. He ignored Liang Mei’s apology and didn’t even look at Gu Rongqing, saying sarcastically, “Movie Queen Gu certainly has a big ego, acting like such a diva.”

Ji Chenxi’s smile faltered, but she didn’t want to offend the investor. She smoothed things over: “Rongqing, this is Mr. Xu from Yiyang…”

“Sorry, I’m late.”

Everyone turned toward the door. Director Li Xin looked normal, but Gu Rongqing, Liang Mei, and Ji Chenxi were stunned.

Wen Ling?

The investor stood up, looking at Wen Ling with a half-smile before glancing at Gu Rongqing. “Did you two plan to be late together?” he asked Wen Ling, though his eyes were on Gu Rongqing.

Wen Ling had never expected to run into Gu Rongqing. She didn’t know the lead had been cast as Gu, nor did she expect the investor to be Xu Zhe—her cousin.

Ji Chenxi was the first to recover, introducing her to the group: “This is Wen Ling, the author of The Lost Path and our screenwriter.”

Gu Rongqing was still in shock. Out of everyone, she was the most bewildered. She had been with Wen Ling for seven years and had a child with her, yet she had no idea Wen Ling was an author.

The auditions began. The first few candidates were disappointing. Fang Cao needed to be someone who looked decadent and impoverished, yet harbored a mix of despair and longing for life—someone who came from a once-wealthy family but was broken by her mother’s death and her father’s alcoholism.

When Xu Mengmeng appeared, Wen Ling’s eyes lit up. She had imagined Fang Cao’s face before, but only as a silhouette. Xu Mengmeng, in a white shirt and faded jeans with slightly messy hair, carried an air of world-weariness mixed with a flicker of hope.

She performed the scene where Nanfeng catches her promoting alcohol at a bar and getting groped by a customer—their first big argument.

“I’m not like you, with a glamorous job and a successful fiancé,” she spat. “I need money. A lot of money.”

Xu Mengmeng didn’t look at “Nanfeng”; she stared at the wall and her feet. Her delivery was so raw that everyone in the room felt her sorrow. Eventually, even Gu Rongqing couldn’t help herself and stood up to act out the scene opposite her.

In the end, everyone except Xu Zhe agreed on Xu Mengmeng. Wen Ling realized the girl was actually her younger cousin—Xu Zhe’s own sister. She suspected Xu Zhe had no idea his sister was even auditioning.

As Wen Ling prepared to head home, Gu Rongqing stopped her.

“I want to pick up Nuan-Nuan from school, take her to dinner, and have her stay with me tonight.”

“Oh. Okay.” Wen Ling didn’t even look at Gu Rongqing as she walked away.

She wondered: What excuse can I use to keep Nuan-Nuan in contact with Gu Rongqing? And why did Gu Rongqing only take Nuan-Nuan? Why didn’t she take Wen Ling along too?

And that phone call last night… was it really Gu Rongqing? Should she ask?