Goddess Strategy GL - Chapter 2

Xiao Yuan was soft-hearted, and she hoped that Zhao Xin could subtly remind the girl in front of her, even if it was just a single sentence. To her surprise, Zhao Xin simply reached out and took the slip of paper from her hand: “Ye Ruoqing, a very nice name.”

“Thank you,” Ye Ruoqing smiled. “Are you feeling a bit better? I guessed you were thinking about something unhappy, so I deliberately sang a few children’s songs to cheer you up. Don’t laugh at me, I’m actually good at singing other songs too.”

What keen observation!

The most fundamental skill in the entertainment industry is to hide one’s emotions, and coupled with Zhao Xin’s personality, few people could figure out her current thoughts and psychological activities. Yet this girl saw right through her psychological state.

“Are you from C City?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you want to come here to participate in the competition? C City also has a few good programs.”

Ye Ruoqing turned her head to look at the TV station building not far away: “I want a higher starting point.”

“Is that all?”

“Just… that.” Even through a pair of sunglasses, Zhao Xin’s gaze was sharp. Ye Ruoqing felt a little guilty, but she didn’t want to tell others that her other purpose for coming to B City was to find someone—that was her own wound and secret.

“Have you thought it through?”

Ye Ruoqing nodded: “I have.”

Zhao Xin looked down at the memo paper again. For a moment, Xiao Yuan thought Zhao Xin was going to reveal her identity and introduce an entertainment agency to the girl in front of her. Unexpectedly, Zhao Xin folded the memo paper, returned it to Ye Ruoqing, and said to Xiao Yuan: “Give her the money.”

Xiao Yuan took out her wallet, thought for a moment, and pulled out a one-hundred-yuan bill.

Zhao Xin said: “One thousand.”

Xiao Yuan took out ten banknotes and handed them to Ye Ruoqing: “Here you go.”

Ye Ruoqing looked at the money in Xiao Yuan’s hand in confusion: “I don’t understand what you mean?”

Zhao Xin said: “This money should be enough for you to buy a high-speed train ticket home.”

Ye Ruoqing realized something and immediately flushed with anger: “What do you mean! I don’t need your charity!”

“This is not charity. You can ask my assistant if I usually speak this directly. I respect your dream and I really like your songs. However, you can sing them to your parents, your friends, but there is absolutely no need to gamble away your youth, or even some of your precious things.”

Xiao Yuan was stunned again. Zhao Xin usually spoke with plenty of tact, but tonight she hit Ye Ruoqing head-on with such directness. Xiao Yuan almost suspected her boss had been possessed.

“Ah, miss… actually, my boss didn’t mean it that way…” Xiao Yuan opened her mouth, trying to comfort the girl whose eyes were now red-rimmed. Ye Ruoqing, however, wiped away her tears, and generously took the money from Xiao Yuan’s hand.

“No matter what you’re thinking, I accept the gesture. Thank you for the money, and thank you for listening to me sing. I will still be singing here for the next two weeks, and you are welcome to visit again, but I won’t accept your money anymore.”

Ye Ruoqing put the money in her pocket, picked up her guitar and travel bag, and turned to leave: “As for the rest… I can only say that no stranger has the right to comment on my choices and life. I won’t give up. That’s it, goodbye.”

She waved her hand at the two of them with her back turned, then crossed the intersection and gradually disappeared.

Xiao Yuan shook her head helplessly: “What a shame.”

Zhao Xin watched Ye Ruoqing’s retreating back and said: “She has something on her mind.”

Xiao Yuan turned her head to look at Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin also had something on her mind. Xiao Yuan could even be certain that this matter had troubled Zhao Xin for a long time, and it was only tonight, upon meeting this girl named Ye Ruoqing, that the long-accumulated thoughts burst out, causing Zhao Xin’s unusual behavior tonight.

This situation was actually very bad. The entertainment industry was full of invisible, bloodless battles. Any emotional outburst could potentially lead to negative consequences. Zhao Xin needed someone who could listen to her concerns, and she lacked such a person in her life.

Her significant other had not yet arrived, and close friends were few and far between. Yet, even with these friends, some things were hard to talk about. Xiao Yuan tentatively asked: “Boss, why did you say those things to that girl tonight? We could have just given her the money directly.”

Zhao Xin withdrew her gaze and sighed: “Don’t you think she’s very much like Ren Xi ten years ago?”

Ren Xi was one of the actresses who lost the C brand endorsement this time, and also Zhao Xin’s biggest rival in today’s film industry. At thirty, she had a highly oriental charming appearance and superb acting skills, yet she had struggled to gain fame, hovering around the second and third tiers. It wasn’t until she switched management companies and had four consecutive commercial blockbusters that she was finally elevated to the Best Actress throne, subsequently moving up and becoming a regular on the silver screen.

Unlike Zhao Xin’s overnight success, Ren Xi belonged to the “late bloomer” category, and her success became a template for many actresses to replicate. After all, luck is rare, but opportunities are frequent. As for how these opportunities came about, it was not for outsiders to know.

Ren Xi and Zhao Xin were of similar age, and both came from the same city. They had even been classmates, and their relationship was reportedly quite good. Thus, after Ren Xi became famous, the two were often compared. Those who supported Ren Xi would criticize Zhao Xin’s success as having more to do with luck than effort. Those who supported Zhao Xin, however, disdained Ren Xi’s methods and her way of moving up.

Xiao Yuan knew that Ren Xi and Zhao Xin had a past. She even guessed that Zhao Xin’s recent low mood was related to Ren Xi. But she didn’t ask, and Zhao Xin wouldn’t tell. No one knew what had happened in the past, and though some had questions, they were ultimately denied by both parties.

But, was this girl tonight like Ren Xi? Xiao Yuan pouted, feeling deeply sorry for Ye Ruoqing. If she could vote for the most hated celebrity in the industry, Xiao Yuan would definitely cast all her votes for Ren Xi. Ren Xi never hesitated to use various underhanded tactics to harm other actresses, and Zhao Xin was one of the biggest victims. The online rumors about Zhao Xin’s sugar daddy scandals, plastic surgery scandals, and family scandals, were largely attributable to Ren Xi’s team.

Ye Ruoqing was clearly different. Although those few children’s songs made Xiao Yuan feel a bit awkward, the moment she got close to her, Xiao Yuan could feel a kind of sunny energy.

Cheerful, optimistic, resilient.

A person like this, even if later influenced by the entertainment industry, could not possibly become like Ren Xi. Ren Xi was someone who knew how to use pseudonyms to cyberbully Zhao Xin back when the internet was not yet advanced, and everyone was using dial-up connections fifteen years ago.

There are no pure-hearted newcomers in the entertainment industry, and Ren Xi was definitely the most unique black lotus.

After that night, Xiao Yuan and Zhao Xin never encountered Ye Ruoqing again. Once, when passing by the night market, Xiao Yuan specifically went to look but didn’t see Ye Ruoqing. A nearby vendor told Xiao Yuan that Ye Ruoqing had left a few days ago. Xiao Yuan calculated the dates—the “Voice of the Heart” auditions were fast approaching—and she guessed Ye Ruoqing must be preparing for the competition. Later, Zhao Xin took on another major movie, and Xiao Yuan was busy with arrangements, gradually forgetting Ye Ruoqing’s existence.

But Ye Ruoqing hadn’t forgotten them. She would never forget the person who, on her first day arriving in B City to perform and sell her music, spent a thousand dollars to pour a bucket of cold water on her.

Especially on a cold winter night, one of them was wearing large sunglasses, constantly mentioning ‘my assistant,’ ‘my driver,’ acting aloof and condescending—the memory was vividly fresh.

“Tell me, what kind of people are those?” Ye Ruoqing asked her roommate while doing laundry. The winter in B City was truly too cold, and rent was expensive. With the thousand yuan Zhao Xin gave her, she rented a flat in a shared house with another working girl. There was no heating, no electrical appliances, and even burning one extra coal ball for hot water would earn a long lecture from the landlord. Washing clothes outside in the sub-zero winter with tap water made her hands completely red.

“What kind of people could they be? Tycoons, I guess.”

“Psh, a tycoon wouldn’t just give a thousand.” Ye Ruoqing wrung out the clothes and hung them up, looking at the gray sky with some worry. “I need to buy a thick down jacket, the clothes I brought aren’t warm enough.”

“You clearly look like a rich girl who didn’t worry about food or clothing at home. Wouldn’t it be better at home? Why insist on coming to B City to suffer?” The co-renting girl was named Bai Xiaoli, who came out to work with most people from her village. Unlike Ye Ruoqing, she had been in B City for seven or eight years, having progressed from a delivery girl to a store manager with a decent income. However, she still chose to rent this kind of small flat, saying her parents were in poor health and she needed to save more money.

“My parents and I had a falling out, they won’t let me go back.” Ye Ruoqing rubbed her hands, boiled some water on the stove, preparing to fill a hot water bottle. Bai Xiaoli finished her laundry too, and they pulled two stools around the stove to chat.

“Hey, sis, there’s no lasting feud between parents and children. What could be so serious that they would kick you out of the house?”

Ye Ruoqing spread out her hands and said: “In my opinion, it’s not a problem at all, but to some people, it seems like a huge deal.”

“Is it really that big of a deal? Bigger than floating around out here and not getting married?”

Ye Ruoqing gave a bitter smile: “Much bigger than that.”

Bai Xiaoli looked confused, and Ye Ruoqing shook her head, seemingly not wanting to continue on this topic. To the majority of people in China, homosexuality is still seen as a disaster, and many people still don’t know that sexual orientation, just like gender, is determined by genes before birth.

Ye Ruoqing’s family was in business, her parents were highly educated, and the family atmosphere was liberal. When many parents were still panicking over puppy love, Ye’s mother was already jokingly telling Ye Ruoqing to start dating early.

Ye Ruoqing was at the dinner table at the time, and hearing this, she almost fed the rice into her nostrils. She did indeed have a partner at the time, but that partner was a girl, just like her.

Zeng Jie was a girl she met at the art school. Ye Ruoqing was taking an amateur guitar class, while Zeng Jie was studying a full-time media course. At that time, Ye Ruoqing already knew her sexual orientation. Having never experienced setbacks since childhood, she still held great fantasies about the future and never realized that she was different from others.