Everyone Is Spending Money to Push Me Into A Center-Position Debut - Chapter 2

“What did you say? Ruirui!” Tang Haimei was the first to lose her composure. “You were cyberbullied by her fans for so long, and you’re still speaking up for her! Now you’re even joining some variety show for her. When the time comes… when the things that happened before happen again, what is Mom supposed to do?”

No matter how capable they were, the one thing they could not block was the overwhelming abuse hurled at their precious daughter by keyboards connected behind millions upon millions of internet cables. The period when Chi Rui was hated by the entire internet had also been the most powerless moment for the couple. Apart from finding better psychologists to persuade and comfort her, they had no other way. Tang Haimei never wanted to see her daughter looking so gloomy and helpless again.

“Mom, just like you said, I’m already grown up.” Chi Rui gently placed her hand on Tang Haimei’s shoulder. Her manner was so natural that she seemed more like the elder persuading someone not to throw a tantrum. “I know what I want, and I know even better what I need to do. I absolutely didn’t make this decision on impulse, and I’m not sacrificing myself for anyone either. Can you have a little confidence in your daughter?”

Of course Chi Rui was not acting on impulse. For eight whole years, she had poured more than half of her youth into this. It was not as if no one had laughed at her or mocked her. Every time, she had held on, because she knew that anyone could look down on her—except herself.

Countless times, she had stood in front of the mirror, repeating movements that were already perfect enough over and over again, letting her body form muscle memory. She knew that opportunities only came to those who were prepared.

And now, at this very moment, National Girls was the opportunity she had to seize.

“Ruirui…” Tang Haimei held her daughter’s warm, soft hand in return. Her heart was filled with countless suppressed words, yet after seeing the girl’s firm, bright gaze, she could not say any of them. “Are you serious? You’re not throwing a tantrum?”

At this moment, Bai Chang had also put down the chopsticks in her hand and was observing Chi Rui with an unreadable gaze.

Was it her imagination, or had it simply been too long since they last met? She kept feeling that her wife had become a little different from before. That kind of firm, spirited look had not appeared on Chi Rui in a very long time.

“I won’t allow it!” The metal soup spoon was slammed forcefully into the bowl, splashing up quite a bit of soup. At this moment, Chi Chengxiong’s eyes were red with anger. He stretched out his hand and pointed at Chi Rui. “I raised you with my own hands. Do you think I don’t know your personality? No matter what you do, your enthusiasm only lasts three minutes. I spoiled you and doted on you, but not so you could go and trample on yourself like this!”

The servant who had just brought over a new soup spoon was frightened by the master’s furious appearance. Her footsteps stopped in place, and she did not dare come any closer.

Chi Rui raised the back of her hand and gently wiped away the soup that had splashed onto her cheek. Under Chi Chengxiong’s anger, she straightened her back and replied, “Dad, thank you for always supporting me and encouraging me. But just this once, please believe in me once. This time, I absolutely won’t give up halfway.”

“I’m not listening to any more of your nonsense. Today, I’ll leave one sentence right here. If you’re still thinking about returning to the entertainment industry, still dreaming about becoming an idol, then get out. Don’t come back ever again!”

Chi Rui closed her eyes briefly. She knew this was Father Chi’s final “last resort,” but this time, “Chi Rui” would not soften her voice and go up to him to act spoiled and ask him to calm down like before.

“Dad, if I lower my head to you now, that would be what you call enthusiasm that only lasts three minutes. That would be what you call not even having the courage to take the first step.”

“Ruirui?” Tang Haimei seemed to realize something and abruptly stood up, walking in her direction.

Chi Rui moved one step ahead of her. After giving Chi Chengxiong a deep bow, she picked up the bag she had already packed and prepared to leave.

“Stop right there.” Chi Chengxiong’s voice was somewhat hoarse. “Since you have so much backbone, then don’t take a single thing from this house.”

Chi Rui’s steps stopped at the doorway. She turned back and saw that all three people at the dining table had their gazes on her. Bai Chang was no exception.

“Be good, Ruirui. Let’s not act willful anymore, okay? Mom will buy you the things you like most. Clothes? Bags? Or do you want something delicious? Mom will buy all of it for you.”

Chi Rui raised her chin and looked toward the woman sitting quietly. At the dining table tangled in chaos, only Bai Chang, with her upright posture, looked especially calm and composed, as though all the farce around her had nothing to do with her.

But even the usually steady Bai Chang furrowed her beautiful brows and looked at her with disapproval. “Chi Rui, stop doing things that make Uncle and Auntie sad.”

“Yes, yes, Ruirui. Look, even Bai Chang is saying this. You usually listen to her the most, don’t you…”

“Mom.” Chi Rui interrupted her. “Eat properly at home. Eat fewer sweets. Your teeth aren’t good. Also, try to persuade Dad to get angry less often. After I join the show, it won’t be convenient for me to call you often. I’ll take good care of myself. Don’t miss me too much.”

After saying that, Chi Rui took the National Girls invitation letter she had placed into the inner compartment of her bag not long ago and gestured with it in Chi Chengxiong’s direction. “This is my thing. Everything else, I’m returning to you.”

The front door was opened forcefully, then gently closed again. By the door, only Chi Rui’s clean, neatly packed suitcase remained.

Chi Rui had left. Only Bai Chang remained seated between the two elders with dark expressions, accepting the slow execution of their gazes. The air was so quiet it felt a little thin.

Bai Chang sighed and met Tang Haimei’s hopeful gaze. “I’ll call her.”

Ring… ring…

The three of them tacitly lowered their eyes and looked toward the backpack its owner had abandoned behind the door. The ringtone was coming from the outermost layer of that bag.

……

Chi Rui admitted that she had acted a little impulsively just now. Fortunately, it was not the dead of winter in December. Otherwise, if she had rushed out like this wearing only a thin short-sleeved shirt, she definitely would not have lasted ten minutes in the brutal north wind.

“At the very least, I should’ve brought my phone with me.” Chi Rui kicked a roadside stone and crouched down under a street sign somewhat dispiritedly.

The Chi family villa was built in A City’s famous wealthy district. The environment was beautiful, the neighbors were of high quality, and the security was complete. The only bad thing was… the transportation was inconvenient.

Who among the families living here did not own three or four luxury cars? Residents always either drove themselves or hired drivers when going out, so there was naturally no “thoughtful” bus route that included this stop in its route planning.

Right now, forget finding a stable place to stay—whether Chi Rui could even get out of here was a problem.

“All right, it’s probably twelve-thirty noon now.” Chi Rui forced herself to calm down. “The nearest bus stop is seven kilometers from here. Walking there should take about an hour and a half.”

An hour and a half. That was not too bad. But the problem was, after she reached the bus stop, then what?

Chi Rui lowered her head and searched all the pockets on her body, but she could not even find a single coin. That made sense. In this era where everyone had Alipay, who still carried loose change when they went out?

She turned the bracelet on her wrist and thought in self-abandonment, If I tell the driver I’ll use this as fare, he probably won’t beat me up, right?

“Don’t worry. He’ll only ‘politely’ ask you to get off.” A cool, clear voice pressed down from above her head.

After discovering that Chi Rui had not even taken her phone, Bai Chang had gone out to look for her. She had thought she would be able to pick her up right at the front gate. In the end, she had driven past several street signs before finally seeing that pitiful little bundle curled up under a utility pole.

It would be a lie to say she was not worried. After all, before Chi Rui’s personality had changed drastically, they could still be considered to have shared a stretch of decent memories. Even now, in Bai Chang’s understanding, Chi Rui was still a younger sister who needed tolerance and care. Of course, that was under the condition that Chi Rui did not test her patience too excessively.

Chi Rui twisted her head around in an extremely awkward posture. “Why are you here? Finished eating?”

Bai Chang tapped the top of her head with a finger. “Stand up. What do you look like crouching on the ground?”

“What I look like has nothing to do with you.”

Bai Chang was choked speechless by her words and became even more certain that Chi Rui was throwing a tantrum right now.

“What exactly is your purpose in making this scene?”

Chi Rui quickly understood what Bai Chang meant. She still thought Chi Rui was using this kind of action to threaten her into withdrawing the idea of divorce.

“It seems your ears don’t work very well.” Chi Rui stood up and tilted her head, pointing at her temple. “Or is it your memory that’s bad?”

“And I’m not throwing a tantrum, nor am I trying to use this method to get your attention. If that’s why you stopped, then you can drive away now.” Chi Rui made a “please” gesture toward Bai Chang’s car.

“Chi Rui, I know you entered the competition because of Xike. You’ve already done so many excessive things to her, and you still aren’t willing to stop? I’ve explained to you countless times that there’s nothing between me and her.”

The original owner’s possessiveness toward Bai Chang had indeed been somewhat extreme. Chi Rui knew this. But now that the person inside this body had changed to her, someone who had read the ending of the novel and knew that Bai Chang and Wei Xike were the protagonists, why would she still want to get involved?

Even if the two of them were still innocent now, they would not stay innocent for long. According to the book’s timeline, they would start dating a year later—which meant there was also only one year left until her death.

“Stop?”

“Believe in my innocence. Don’t spread rumors outside to smear me and Xike. I’ve said before that as long as my marriage with you exists for one day, I will not do anything to betray you for that day. I can guarantee that with anything.”

Was this truly worthy of being called a legend lifted to the peak by tens of millions of fans? Even when she was angry, Bai Chang did not flush with urgency and lose her composure like others would. She only looked down at you from above with a gentle yet reproachful gaze, as though she were using this silent method to blame you for being an ignorant child.

If it had been the former Chi Rui, she probably would have quickly lost under this gaze, lowered her head, and begged for the other person’s forgiveness.

“Then you can rest assured. I didn’t enter the competition because of her.” Chi Rui spread her arms. “And you don’t need to guarantee anything to me. I have absolutely no objection to the divorce. You might not believe me now if I say this, but I no longer have feelings for you. Even if you and Wei Xike start dating right now, I won’t have any opinion.”

“And regarding the smearing…” The rumors had indeed been spread by paid internet trolls hired by the original owner. Chi Rui pondered for a moment. Since she had taken advantage of the original owner’s body, she might as well help clean up the mess. After thinking it through, she raised her head. “Don’t worry. I absolutely won’t do that kind of thing again in the future. I can also guarantee that with anything.”

Bai Chang’s brows pressed very low. Clearly, she had misunderstood and thought Chi Rui was deliberately saying these words to mock her.

“You don’t need to deliberately say that kind of thing to anger me. I won’t be like you and have no spirit of contract at all.”

What Bai Chang was referring to was Chi Rui withdrawing from the entertainment industry one year ago. At that time, she had been at the peak of her career. With the selling point of being a sweet-song little diva and the persona of a rich young lady, she was very popular with young fans. Even after she later used clumsy acting skills to appear again and again in the various television dramas and movies Bai Chang participated in, and even after all kinds of unbearable scandals spread about her, her fans still looked at her through a filter.

But that filter was shattered by Chi Rui’s own hands. Without any warning, she held a press conference and announced that she was withdrawing from the industry.

However, this decision had been made completely on impulse, without thinking. Many variety shows, advertisements, and endorsement deals that were currently cooperating with her had to discuss compensation matters. Most importantly, there were her fans. Before this, they had not received even the slightest hint of it. One second, they were happily voting and charting for their idol, and the next second, the live television broadcast dealt them a blow straight to the head.

At the press conference, one of the reporters asked, “Do you have anything you want to say to the fans who have supported you all the way until now?”

Chi Rui’s answer: “I’m very grateful to my fans for accompanying me all this time, but now I have someone more important. I want to spend all my energy and time on her.”

Once these words were spoken, they undoubtedly confirmed the previous rumors. Very soon, someone compiled all the previous news about Chi Rui clinging desperately to Bai Chang and chasing after her, then published it with an eye-catching headline—Chi Rui: Fans Are Only Tools for Me to Pursue Happiness.

Those words were actually not wrong. Chi Rui’s purpose in entering the entertainment industry had indeed been Bai Chang. Once that purpose was achieved, she had no reason to stay in the circle and play the singer game with her fans anymore.

But her fans’ love for her had been sincere. In the end, they were treated so lightly. So after the retirement incident, a large number of fans turned into anti-fans.

But what truly made Chi Rui despised by thousands upon thousands of people was not only this matter. Not long after she and Bai Chang married, a video began circulating online.

In the video, a furious Chi Rui raised her hand and gave Wei Xike a hard slap. Even though the person secretly filming had not been close, the crisp sound could still be heard. And Wei Xike, whom Chi Rui kept calling a mistress, had at that time merely been working on a song with Bai Chang.

Wei Xike was about to release a new album and had finally managed to invite Bai Chang to help write lyrics.

It was Bai Chang’s first time participating in music production after five years. Fans on both sides had been very excited and happy, only to be suddenly splashed with such a huge bucket of cold water by Chi Rui.

But if Chi Rui and Bai Chang’s marriage had been public, then at the very least, she could still use the identity of “Bai Chang’s wife” to reprimand Wei Xike.

So in the eyes of anti-fans and passersby, Chi Rui was merely an irritable person who one-sidedly clung to Bai Chang and begged for love, even venting groundless anger on an innocent person.

This incident was called the “Slapgate Incident” by the media. After that time, little Princess Chi fully entered the stage of being hated by the entire internet.

Chi Rui ran through the book’s description of the retirement incident in her mind. After sorting out the logic, she replied to Bai Chang, still with that open and upright attitude, “That’s why I’m now going to fulfill the contract spirit that I hadn’t completed.”

Chi Rui did not want to keep talking to her. With Bai Chang’s previous fixed impression of her, even if she wore out her mouth talking now, Bai Chang would not believe a single word. She might as well stay out of sight and out of hearing.

Bai Chang returned to the driver’s seat and followed the girl’s stubborn back bit by bit at a controlled speed. She knew that Chi Rui might be stubborn, but she was not someone who could endure hardship. Wearing high heels on those pampered, delicate feet and walking along the road under this fierce afternoon sunlight, she would collapse from exhaustion in less than ten minutes. When that happened, Bai Chang could simply go up and pick her up back to the villa, which would count as reporting back to the Chi couple.

But this time, Chi Rui’s endurance exceeded her expectations. For an entire half hour, not only did she not stop and complain about being tired, she even walked faster and faster, looking as though she were extremely eager to shake Bai Chang off.

Bai Chang pressed her lips into a straight line, then suddenly stepped on the accelerator and drove up beside Chi Rui. She lowered the car window.

“Get in.”