Goddess Strategy GL - Chapter 15

Ye Ruoqing couldn’t laugh anymore.

Not only could she not laugh, but she also really wanted to cry. She had initially thought her reaction was quick enough and her response was good enough. When Ren Xi breathed on her, Ye Ruoqing understood that Ren Xi had just been playing with her, and the real show was yet to come.

If Ren Xi’s age on Baidu Baike was true, then Ren Xi was a full eight years older than her. This eight-year age gap was enough for Ren Xi to utterly defeat her in this confrontation.

“It seems I guessed correctly.” Ren Xi chuckled. “You, like Zhao Xin?”

No one would like a creditor, even if this creditor was a bit unconventional. Ye Ruoqing decided to tell Ren Xi the truth: “Actually, I was just thinking about Little Round Face. She said she was going to get me food and hasn’t come back yet. I estimate she got lost, hahahaha.”

The implication was that Little Round would be back soon, so Ren Xi should leave quickly.

As Ye Ruoqing expected, this sentence did not scare Ren Xi away. Instead, she familiarly reached out, opened the drawer on her right, and took out a Snickers bar.

Ren Xi, holding the Snickers bar, carried a threat level no less than the ‘I-Zhi-Hong’ (a kind of execution punishment) she was used to holding in her movies.

Ye Ruoqing swallowed. She wasn’t hungry; she was frightened. Ren Xi’s charming smile sent shivers down her spine.

So, she began to politely refuse Ren Xi with the same skill used when declining drinks at a banquet: “I’m not hungry, really not hungry. You’ll be busy later, you eat it.”

Ren Xi didn’t hesitate, tearing the wrapper with a siiila sound. Ye Ruoqing sighed in relief and then eagerly hoped for someone to come in.

She still had to continue pretending to be a brainless fan. She hadn’t seen enough of the stars on the big screen, and she had to peek at every aspect of the star’s private life. Ye Ruoqing turned her head, only to see Ren Xi elegantly taking a bite from the tip of the Snickers bar, a slight crunching sound, and suddenly, her own stomach growled in response.

It’s over! Ye Ruoqing despaired. Little Round wasn’t cooperating with her, and now even her own stomach had begun to betray her.

Ren Xi gently scraped her nose and teased: “Little rascal, you only tell lies.”

Damn it, who are you calling a little rascal!

Ye Ruoqing wanted to run. In the past few months, she had hugged Zhao Xin, slept in the same bed as Zhao Xin, and just accidentally kissed her on the cheek. So many intimate contacts hadn’t given her such a strong desire to flee as she felt now. The brighter and prettier the mushroom, the more poisonous it is. Someone like Ren Xi was definitely the best among poisonous mushrooms.

She didn’t want intimate contact or an indirect kiss with a poisonous mushroom. Her palms were sweating. Ye Ruoqing stared straight at the Snickers bar without blinking, an expression of conflict on her face.

Ren Xi handed her the Snickers bar: “Do you mind that I took a bite?”

Ye Ruoqing was overwhelmed with gratitude. She took the Snickers bar, opened her mouth wide, and without hesitation, gnawed the entire bar into a zigzag shape from the other end.

Ren Xi watched her with a smile, then reached out and wiped the peanut butter from her lips.

“You didn’t wear much makeup before, did you? Look, your lip gloss is almost swallowed.” Ren Xi lowered her head again, and her bright red fingernail pointed at Ye Ruoqing’s lip.

“I’m afraid you need to reapply your lip gloss…”

Ye Ruoqing held the Snickers bar and watched Ren Xi’s head slowly move closer.

If it were anyone else trying to take advantage of her, let alone a beautiful woman about 1.7 meters tall, even a 1.9-meter tough woman would be knocked down with one punch. But this was a true beauty. Little Ye girl, who was a sucker for beauty, never attacked a pretty woman.

What to do! I’m about to be harassed! Zhao Xin, come back quickly!

Little Round couldn’t hear the screams in her heart, so she could only call out to her creditor. How much she wished her creditor could kick the door open right now, point at her with a cool, arrogant, and domineering look, and say: “You owe me money, so you are mine.”

Ren Xi’s face was getting closer, her red lips slightly parted. Ye Ruoqing’s legs were shaking.

“One… one… two-two-two… three… four…”

“Counting heartbeats?” Ren Xi’s lips were only one centimeter away from Ye Ruoqing’s. She spread her hand and placed it on Ye Ruoqing’s chest, her words full of seduction, “Shall I listen?”

“N-No, no, no… it’s not… I-I-I am counting… counting the acne on your face…”

Ren Xi’s face instantly changed.

No matter how good the foundation and concealer were, they couldn’t hide the decay of the body. Thirty years old, living a life inseparable from alcohol and tobacco, leading a day-night-reversed existence. How much of the vibrancy on the screen was real, only she knew in her heart.

“You really have good eyesight.” Ren Xi abruptly pushed her away. “Do you think Zhao Xin doesn’t have any?”

She really doesn’t. I’ve kissed her. Ye Ruoqing thought to herself. She lives like a nun; let alone acne, she doesn’t even have an extra hair.

“You said, what do I have?”

The door suddenly opened. Zhao Xin stood at the entrance, holding a small cake box: “Perhaps I went to the wrong lounge?”

“You didn’t go to the wrong one! You didn’t go to the wrong one!” Ye Ruoqing pounced over like a puppy seeing its owner come home, hugging her legs: “You finally came back, I was almost starving to death…”

Ren Xi’s face became even uglier seeing Ye Ruoqing’s undisguised enthusiasm for Zhao Xin.

Ye Ruoqing felt she was being generous, so she offered Ren Xi a graceful way out: “Fortunately, Ren Xi gave me a Snickers bar.”

Zhao Xin looked at Ren Xi: “Is that so? Thank you.”

She handed the cake to Ye Ruoqing and said: “Go eat it outside. When you’re done, go to the work station next to the media area on the second floor and find Little Round. Have Little Round take you to touch up your makeup.”

“In that case, I’ll be going too. I was just curious about the newcomer you are strongly supporting… quite interesting.” Ren Xi glanced at Ye Ruoqing out of the corner of her eye. Ye Ruoqing was clutching Zhao Xin’s arm, the 1.77-meter tall woman shrinking into a small ball. Zhao Xin patted her hand, signaling her to go out first.

It was a strange interaction. Zhao Xin and Ye Ruoqing seemed like family, every move full of affection. Yet, Zhao Xin’s gaze never truly rested on Ye Ruoqing; her dark eyes were full of Ren Xi’s fiery reflection.

“Why don’t we stay and talk? We have a collaboration later; it would be better to communicate in advance.”

“If you put it that way, why would I refuse?”

Ye Ruoqing, knowing when to leave, walked out with the cake, her mood complex. She didn’t want to get involved between Zhao Xin and Ren Xi, but having someone else’s secrets in her mind made her a little curious.

The cake in the box emitted a sweet and tempting aroma. Ye Ruoqing opened it and saw that it was from the restaurant they went to for afternoon tea last time. Feeling a surge of emotion, she decided on an important matter to repay this dinner.

She was going to investigate the person she saw on the balcony just now.

The party was about to start, and to prevent paparazzi from taking unauthorized photos, outdoor leisure areas like the balcony would be temporarily closed. Ye Ruoqing found a staff member and said she had lost an important notebook, hoping to check the surveillance to see if it had been left on the balcony or in the garden.

A staff member led Ye Ruoqing into the monitoring room. Countless staff members were busy coming and going, forming a sharp contrast with the relaxed celebrities and socialites on the screen. The staff member found the team leader in charge of security measures and obtained the authorization and footage.

“Miss Ye, what time period did you lose your item?”

“About an hour ago.”

“Excuse me, I want to confirm, which places did you visit?”

“The corridor and balcony of the lounge area, the sky garden, and the furthest corner restroom on the first floor.”

“Okay, please wait a moment.”

The staff member helped her open the footage. Ye Ruoqing seemingly casually scanned through the frames—the garden, the restroom… and the corridor…

The dense green plants covered most of that person’s body, but the fluttering skirt hem, Ye Ruoqing was one hundred percent sure, that woman was Ren Xi!

Bad news!

Ye Ruoqing stood up in a panic: “I’m sorry, I suddenly remembered, I left the item in the car! Oh dear, look at my memory. I’m so sorry to have bothered you, I have to go get my notebook. The performance is about to start.”

After hurriedly apologizing to the staff, she ran toward the lounge. Ren Xi definitely had an agenda today for seeking out Zhao Xin. Her target was never herself!

A sign saying “Unoccupied” hung on the lounge door. Ye Ruoqing gently pushed the door and found it was locked. She put her ear to the door to listen to the activity inside. The room was very quiet, but the sound of high heels hitting the floor told her someone was definitely inside.

What to do?

Recalling the man’s lewd laughter, the unease in Ye Ruoqing’s heart gradually spread. But the door was clearly locked. Knocking wouldn’t help, and she couldn’t force her way in. She wasn’t sure what was happening inside, and she couldn’t convey the message of Ren Xi’s premeditated action to Zhao Xin. In her helplessness, her eyes caught sight of the fire escape plan next to her, and she suddenly had an idea.

Paparazzi weren’t as professional as Ye Ruoqing. Ye Ruoqing climbed over the blocked sky garden on the second floor, and then, using the pipe supports, she climbed up to the outside of the lounge on the third floor. There were some small ledges on the third-floor exterior wall for vines to grow, which conveniently gave Ye Ruoqing a place to put her feet.

Like a gecko, she pressed her entire body against the outer wall, secretly opening the window of Zhao Xin’s lounge a little.

Fortunately, nothing seemed to have happened. Ye Ruoqing secretly glanced inside. Zhao Xin was sitting on a chair, and Ren Xi was leaning against the coffee table. The two were speaking in hushed voices.

It was good that nothing was wrong. Ye Ruoqing squatted on the ledge, quietly guarding her creditor, until her own name appeared in their conversation.

“You brought that girl Ye Ruoqing to sing the song we sang back then. What does that mean? Do you want to reminisce about the past? Ha, Zhao Xin, you are really naive.”

“If you still remember, it proves that everything I did was worth it.”

“Worth what? Worth you climbing into Director Wang’s bed and stealing my role? Zhao Xin, your sacrifice to Director Wang was really worth it. You got the role you wanted, and I saw clearly what kind of person you are. You really taught me a good lesson. The entertainment industry, well, you have to approach it with an entertaining attitude, don’t you think?”

“I’ll say it again, Director Wang and I don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“Not that kind of relationship, yet you cried coming out of his room in the middle of the night? Director Wang looks at you with such passionate eyes? Don’t think I’m the only one who knows this. The entire film crew knew back then.”

“I apologize for that incident with Ren Xi, but one thing is one thing. Director Wang also showed you kindness; you can’t ruin his reputation.”

“A straight body fears no crooked shadow. Zhao Xin, did you take on another script preparing to win an award? Who did you sleep with among the investors this time? Or was it recommended by Director Wang again? Director Wang never sees anyone and postpones everything when he edits films, but you are really capable; you even went back to his hometown with him last week. He has a wife and children. Is this the rhythm of becoming the ‘main wife’?”

“Ren Xi!”

“Which of my statements isn’t true?”

“They are true, but…”

Ye Ruoqing couldn’t listen anymore. Her mind was filled with Director Wang’s face and Zhao Xin’s face. She was both upset and angry, not knowing whether it was because of Ren Xi’s words or the kind of person Zhao Xin was.

“It’s about to start, so I won’t talk to you anymore. If you are sincere about apologizing, we’ll meet tonight at eleven at the Night Club.”

Ye Ruoqing heard only this sentence as she jumped off the ledge.

She went to the media area on the second floor to find Little Round, who was chatting with some familiar media friends. Seeing Ye Ruoqing’s distraught look, she quickly asked: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I came to find you to touch up my makeup.”

“Why are you only coming now? I can’t find the makeup artist right away… Come, come, I’ll do your makeup. Just the lip gloss, it’s no problem.”

Little Round pulled her to a corner. Ye Ruoqing sighed and said: “You need to tell Zhao Xin to be careful of Ren Xi.”

“You saw Ren Xi?”

“Yes.”

Little Round covered her mouth and laughed: “Then did you pretend to be a brainless fan and ask her for a rice cooker?”

Ye Ruoqing said: “I’m not in the mood for jokes, I’m serious.”

Little Round patted her shoulder reassuringly: “Relax, I know all about Ren Xi’s messy stuff. Seriously, if Sister Susan didn’t stop me from going online, I’d expose all of it.”

Ye Ruoqing said seriously: “I’m telling the truth, especially recently, be careful of Ren Xi.”

Little Round then noticed the rare seriousness in Ye Ruoqing’s expression: “Did… did you learn something?”

Ye Ruoqing immediately denied it: “No, I just saw Ren Xi just now, and I had a very bad feeling…”

Little Round said: “She just has that look of a wicked concubine. Ignore her. Stop frowning. You are the attractive, popular Miss Ye girl.”

Ye Ruoqing sighed again and said: “I’m going to do something that will upset you all.”

Little Round asked: “What is it?”

Ye Ruoqing opened her hand. A light smoky-colored tulip lay quietly in her palm.