Goddess Strategy GL - Chapter 25: Going To A Meeting Alone

Since things had come to this, Ye Ruoqing had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree. She was going to move into Zhao Xin’s house in a few days. Zhao Xin’s house needed a room tidied up and some furniture added, so for these few days, she would be staying alone in a hotel. Fortunately, Ren Xi had arranged to meet tonight. If it were a few days later, she probably wouldn’t have the nerve to sneak out and attend the meeting alone. Ren Xi would absolutely take the liberty of personally taking her home; Ye Ruoqing had no doubt about this.

If someone saw them, she would be branded with the label of being “physically present but mentally elsewhere” (a person serving one side while their heart belongs to another), which would be such an injustice.

That evening after work, after greeting Zhao Xin, she specifically returned to the hotel to change clothes. She put on thick autumn jeans, a long-sleeved shirt buttoned so high the first button was practically choking her, canvas shoes, a pair of twenty-yuan large sunglasses bought from a street stall, a mask, and a large sun hat.

As she walked on the street, everyone around her looked at her as if she were a crazy person. A wave of heat struck her, the shirt clung to her skin, and the stuffiness made Ye Ruoqing feel frantic.

I don’t want to be like this either… Ye Ruoqing had unspeakable difficulties. To avoid being harassed by Ren Xi, she had to nip this behavior in the bud, or, to put it simply, she was guarding against a certain pervert named Ren.

This pervert, relying on her stunning looks, committed all sorts of mischief, flirting with every young girl she saw. Yet, she couldn’t be hit or avoided. Ye Ruoqing recalled the scene when she was queuing and felt like she could vomit three mouthfuls of bl00d.

This was one of the most humiliating moments in her life. After being molested by a female monkey many years ago, she was now being molested by a devastatingly beautiful female celebrity.

The high-end Japanese restaurant where the pervert Ren invited Ye Ruoqing to eat was small, with a bar counter occupying half the space. Ren Xi was sitting by the bar, chatting with the owner in Japanese.

Ye Ruoqing took off her sun hat and sunglasses, revealing a sweaty, smiling face.

The Japanese owner saw Ye Ruoqing and enthusiastically greeted her.

“Good evening, kin-chan.”

Ye Ruoqing sat down at the bar, deliberately leaving one seat between herself and Ren Xi: “Konbanwa, Shiitake Mushroom-chan.”

All the customers at the bar counter looked at her in surprise.

Ye Ruoqing was displeased: “What’s wrong? I’m also a former rich second-generation, and I also speak Japanese!” She hated it when strangers gave her nicknames, kin-chan (mushroom-chan). What kind of a mushroom kin-chan are you talking about! She didn’t look like a Matsutake mushroom!

Ren Xi suppressed a laugh and handed a drink to Ye Ruoqing: “What shiitake mushroom-chan or mushroom-chan, it’s Jun-chan. The owner says you look like Junko Ozaki (the main character from the famous Japanese volleyball anime Attack No. 1).”

“…” Ye Ruoqing had been in B City for half a year and had been told she looked like countless people, from this dazzling superstar in front of her to the handsome military man Cai Guoqing, and then to a certain writer whose height probably only reached her chest. They were Chinese and foreign, tall and short, male and female—a complete sweep.

The owner leaned down and said something to Ren Xi again, then smiled sweetly at Ye Ruoqing. Ren Xi stood up and moved to the seat next to Ye Ruoqing, saying: “The owner said you’re even cuter than Junko Ozaki. He saw the video of you squatting on the roadside arguing with someone and thinks you’re a very spirited girl.”

“Wait, what video of me squatting on the roadside arguing with someone? How do I not know about that?”

The owner pointed to a bookshelf. Another customer took a scrapbook from there and handed it to Ye Ruoqing. Ye Ruoqing opened it and was shocked by the nine prominent, bold words on the newspaper clipping—Strong Girl Sings for Money, But Won’t Sell Her Rice Cooker.

Who the heck is so unethical? They didn’t even tell her they were secretly filming.

This was her first experience of being the center of attention, and it happened at a time like this. Ye Ruoqing’s heart was again trampled by ten thousand grass mud horses (a Chinese internet meme equivalent to f***ing hell), and she almost spat out a mouthful of bl00d. She became famous before getting her pass into the music scene, and even more, she was posted in a Japanese owner’s scrapbook as an inspirational idol.

Ren Xi saw the look of shock on Ye Ruoqing’s face, took the scrapbook from her hand, and admired the photo of Ye Ruoqing squatting and arguing with someone: “You didn’t know? Your video was quite viral a few days ago, it was everywhere on B City’s print media, web media, and portals, even suppressing my news.”

Who wants to become famous this way? Ye Ruoqing mumbled and popped a sea grape into her mouth, subtly increasing the distance between herself and Ren Xi.

The old method—eat more, talk less—was always correct.

Ren Xi, however, didn’t plan to let her off the hook. She put her arm around Ye Ruoqing’s waist and asked her: “What do you want to eat? Tell me.”

Ye Ruoqing turned her face away and asked the owner: “Do you have a menu here?”

The owner shook his head.

“Menu, doko, iru.” (Where is the menu.)

The owner shook his head again.

Fine, Ye Ruoqing attributed the owner’s head shaking to her poor Japanese, so she switched to English: “Where’s the menu?”

The owner shook his head again, lowered his head, and said something to Ren Xi in Japanese. Ren Xi rested her head on her hand, nodding as she listened, while her hand kept stroking Ye Ruoqing’s waist, making Ye Ruoqing furious.

Being able to speak English was too important. Seeing the owner shake his head like a rattle-drum, Ye Ruoqing couldn’t help but wonder if the decline of the Japanese economy was related to their citizens’ poor English.

She swept the delicate hand off her waist with a wave and became impatient: “How exactly am I supposed to communicate with this Shiitake Mushroom-chan owner?”

Ren Xi looked at her playfully: “If you want to eat here, you have to listen to me. There is no menu here; all the dishes are ordered by the guests and made fresh by the owner.”

Ye Ruoqing had initially thought Ren Xi was just a pervert, but she hadn’t expected her to also be a cunning fox, choosing a place like this to eat, which left Ye Ruoqing stumped.

She had sweated a lot and expended a lot of energy squeezing onto the bus wearing such thick clothes. Now she could only stare longingly as Ren Xi chatted with the owner in Japanese while constantly flirting with her.

She couldn’t take it anymore; she needed to bring in a savior. Ye Ruoqing hardened her heart and said: “Can you hurry up? I have to go see my boss tonight.”

“Your boss, who?”

Ye Ruoqing puffed out her chest: “Zhao Xin. I just signed a contract with her studio the day before yesterday.”

“Oh, is that so.” Ren Xi wasn’t surprised. She moved the Tai sushi the owner had just prepared in front of Ye Ruoqing. Just as Ye Ruoqing was about to pick it up, Ren Xi held her hand.

“How about considering a job change? Come to my studio.”

She spoke directly, her beautiful eyes constantly roaming over Ye Ruoqing: “Haven’t you always wanted to break into the music scene? I have plenty of friends. If you want to sign a contract or win awards, these are small matters that can be settled in minutes. My studio has also recently signed several artists. If you join, I can arrange professional teachers to train all of you together. I only pick carefully selected people, and when I decide to promote someone, I use everything I have.”

Speaking such generous terms right away, Ren Xi was certain Ye Ruoqing would be tempted. She had watched Ye Ruoqing’s wandering video several times. What others saw was joy and positive energy, but she saw Ye Ruoqing’s struggles.

She understood this feeling deeply. Back when she was a marginal celebrity, she was struggling and couldn’t find an opportunity. She had also eaten steamed buns, drunk cold water, lived in basements, and suffered scorn. Failure wasn’t scary; what was scary was continuous failure. During those days, she nearly succumbed to despair and suicide several times, but on the surface, she still had to greet people with a smile, not even having the chance to cry.

“I used to be a small star, too, you know? The role of Wu Zetian that Zhao Xin got back then was actually chosen for me.”

Ren Xi flipped her hair, speaking of the past without any emotional fluctuation: “I never expected that the one who stabbed me in the back would be her. I was truly foolish back then, just like you, trusting her so steadfastly. In the beginning, she failed her audition and couldn’t even get the role of a palace maid. I even planned to stick up for her, but… but after the crew was formed, I didn’t find my name on the list.”

“We completely swapped roles. I wasn’t even a palace maid, and she, as a newcomer, starred as the female lead in a blockbuster film full of big names.”

“I think there must be a misunderstanding between you two.”

“Misunderstanding?” Ren Xi smiled, “People disguise themselves, Ye Xiaoqing. I know you all think Zhao Xin is a good person, and that I’m indecent, chasing fame and fortune. But who doesn’t fight for their own benefit? I’m an overt villain; she’s a hypocrite. That’s the only difference between us.”

Ye Ruoqing remained silent. It was someone else’s story, and there was no room for her to interject.

“Let me tell you one more thing about Zhao Xin’s studio. Her studio was established early, but it’s affiliated with Xinghuo Agency. Logically speaking, she shouldn’t be allowed to sign artists, but guess why she signed Pi Dali? Why does she still spend so many resources on him and personally go all out to promote him, even though he’s a lost cause?”

“Why?”

“Because Pi Dali is the source of her fashion resources. Pi Dali’s mother, you must have heard of her, the famous Chinese-American designer, Li Sharou. The contract you signed might as well be a blank piece of paper. To put it plainly, you are useless to Zhao Xin, and Zhao Xin won’t spare resources to promote you.”

Ren Xi returned the small notebook to Ye Ruoqing. Ye Ruoqing opened it and saw a sticky note with a contact number tucked into the last page.

“I am not a person who likes to use coercive methods. Nor do I judge a person’s value to me based on background resources. Promoting an artist is a win-win situation for me. I am thirty now, and age waits for no one. Maybe I will retire after ten more years of acting. That time will be your era, and your talent and effort, combined with my current investment, will be my status and capital in the entertainment industry in the future.”

The owner finished serving the food. Hearing this, he made a gesture of encouragement to Ye Ruoqing: “Kin-chan, ganbatte. Ren-san is a very capable person, I admire her very much.”

The Japanese owner spoke surprisingly fluent Chinese this time. Ye Ruoqing rolled her eyes at him, lowered her head, and flipped through her small notebook from beginning to end.

This was her notebook for recording original songs; every single note was a song she wrote for Zeng Jie.

“You don’t need to rush today. Think about it, and call me.”

Ye Ruoqing closed the notebook, straightened her body, and said: “I truly appreciate your interest.”

“What do you mean?”