Goddess Strategy GL - Chapter 26

“I’ve still decided to stay with Zhao Xin. Actually, everything you’ve said to me today is unnecessary. I don’t know how much you know, but I can make it clear that when I signed the contract, it wasn’t as an artist, and I’ve never thought about taking advantage of Zhao Xin’s fame. Sister Susan made it very clear to me that Zhao Xin won’t support me much, and I’ll have to rely on myself if I want to win awards, record songs, or release albums. In fact, the reason I came here isn’t just to be a singer; I’m also looking for someone, someone I want to sing for.”

“Very good.” Ren Xi’s face looked a bit strained. She turned away, pulled out her compact powder to conceal her failed embarrassment, and said, “Just don’t regret it later.”

Too many people had said this to her, but once Ye Ruoqing had set a goal, she had never regretted it.

Three days later, Ye Ruoqing carried her small bundle and moved into Zhao Xin’s house.

She went with Xiao Yuan. Zhao Xin’s home was in a villa area halfway up a mountain, with excellent scenery. Ye Ruoqing hadn’t expected such a tranquil and elegant place to exist within the Third Ring Road of B City.

Zhao Xin lived in a detached villa. Before entering the door, Xiao Yuan gave her instructions again.

“Boss lives alone, and not many people usually visit. Two aunties come every day to cook and clean. You actually don’t have to do much work, just arrange her daily life.”

“Got it, got it, I know, it’s a housekeeper.”

“No, no, no, not just a housekeeper, you’re also responsible for her psychological well-being… Tell her jokes when you have time, encourage her to go out more, make more friends, and, ideally, find a boyfriend soon.”

“…Xiao Yuan, I think you sound like her mother.”

Xiao Yuan poked her shoulder: “Haven’t you noticed she has something on her mind? She won’t talk about these things to anyone else, so of course, she needs someone who can listen to her confide.”

Ye Ruoqing thought about it and decided to ask Xiao Yuan: “Are you sure Zhao Xin needs a boyfriend, and not a girl… girlfriend?”

Xiao Yuan froze for a moment, then bumped Ye Ruoqing’s chest with such force that it almost knocked Ye Ruoqing against the wall: “What nonsense are you talking about? Has watching those fan-fiction news stories every day ruined your brain?”

Ye Ruoqing rubbed her forehead: “I was just asking! She and Ren Xi are being so ambiguous… She even deliberately sent me away that day, and the two of them were chatting inside.”

“Ren Xi? What does she have to do with it? Let’s not talk about that. Forget about the boyfriend for now. Just try to cheer her up. She’s taken on a film that’s aiming for an award, so the psychological pressure must be really big lately.”

The two of them huddled under the eaves, whispering secrets, when the door suddenly opened, and Zhao Xin walked out, giving them both a huge fright.

“What are you two doing outside the door? Why don’t you come in?”

“Coming in, we’re coming in.”

Feeling guilty, the two quickly changed their shoes and entered the house.

Ye Ruoqing’s room was on the first floor, with a large balcony leading directly to the backyard garden. It was currently summer, and the flowers in the garden were blooming profusely, quite intoxicating.

Zhao Xin led the two into the room, knocked on a cabinet, and said, “Go through your luggage. Throw away anything useless. I’ve prepared new toiletries and towels. I don’t know your exact size for clothes, so I’ve prepared some for the current season. Try them on first, and if they don’t fit, tell me, and I’ll have someone exchange them. As for skincare products, I’ll take you to the beauty salon tomorrow to test your skin type before we decide. I’m going upstairs. Call me if you need anything.”

Ye Ruoqing drew the curtains and tidied up with Xiao Yuan. She opened the cabinets one by one and saw tops, pants, shoes, and socks neatly stacked inside, even including underwear. The mouthwash cups and towels in the bathroom were also sterilized and hung neatly. There was even a small refrigerator in the room, stocked with fruits and drinks. She took out two bottles of juice, opened one, handed the other to Xiao Yuan, and sighed, sitting on the floor: “How come I feel like I’m not an assistant, but being kept?”

“Isn’t that good? If my mom didn’t make me live at home, I would want to move here too.” Xiao Yuan was unconcerned.

Ye Ruoqing wore a troubled expression: “It doesn’t feel right.”

Xiao Yuan said: “Don’t stress yourself out too much. Aren’t you a rich second generation?”

“You still don’t believe I’m a rich second generation?”

“Is there a rich second generation wandering the streets hugging a rice cooker?”

“…Alright, fine, don’t believe me. I’ll tell you a little secret, don’t laugh at me.”

“Go on.”

Ye Ruoqing vaguely recounted how she had heard Ren Xi and Zhao Xin’s conversation, only saying that she heard Zhao Xin was invited to a night party by a pervert (Ren Xi) and, worried about her, decided to go and give her a heads-up. Then, how she saved Ren Xi, how she knocked out the pervert, was invited by a group of rich kids to drink and play cards, and finally, how she accidentally stayed with Zhao Xin.

“Actually, I… I was planning to keep those pills as evidence, so I put them in my embrace without thinking. I have a habit of chewing two pieces of gum after a late-night snack to clear the taste. Then that night, I drank too much, and I… I mistook the pills for… for the Mentos… and swallowed them all…”

Xiao Yuan’s eyes widened as she listened to Ye Ruoqing, and when she heard that she had swallowed them all, she slapped her thigh: “You swallowed them all?”

Ye Ruoqing nodded painfully: “Swallowed them all. I was even wondering why there was no mint flavor…”

“Pfft—” Xiao Yuan didn’t know whether to sympathize or lament, but she really wanted to laugh when she saw Ye Ruoqing’s distressed look, especially her expression when recounting her tragic ordeal—it couldn’t be more comical.

“Don’t ‘pfft’ yet, I haven’t finished.”

“And then?”

“And then, I had a… spring… that kind of dream. The song ‘Dancing Girl’ kept playing in the dream, and I kept dancing, and somehow, I ended up pressing down on someone…”

“Pressed down on whom? Your boyfriend named Zeng Jie?”

These master and servant really kept each other informed every day. Ye Ruoqing took a deep breath and decided to tell the truth: “Zhao Xin. That night, she was the only one next to me.”

“You little sister!”

Xiao Yuan swung a hand towards Ye Ruoqing, but Ye Ruoqing dodged it and held Xiao Yuan’s hand: “Don’t get agitated, let me finish.”

“Zhao Xin told me later that I rolled around with the quilt all night, and I vaguely remember some of that. But in the very beginning, I was truly muddled. I grabbed someone and held on to them. Even though nothing major happened between us, when the effect of the pills first kicked in, I’m sure things like kissing and whatnot were unavoidable.”

“…”

“Can you understand my misery now?”

Xiao Yuan held her forehead: “Why do you always do such idiotic things?”

Ye Ruoqing was on the verge of tears: “I didn’t do it on purpose either! Do you know how much mental torment I went through during the time I was wandering? As long as someone whispered about me on the street, I felt like they were pointing at my spine and calling me a XX criminal…”

“In any case, you should go up and apologize to Boss later. That night, you were drunk and swallowed pills. You must have caused her a lot of trouble. Once you resolve this issue, work seriously. There’s another audition in a few days. Sort out things here early, and you can take time off to participate in the competition.”

“Hmm, that makes sense too…”

After she and Xiao Yuan briefly tidied up her luggage, Xiao Yuan went home. Ye Ruoqing took a shower in the bathroom, changed into loungewear, and went upstairs to find Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin was reading on the balcony. She was wearing a cotton dress, lying on the rattan chair, with a pot of tea and a plate of snacks beside her.

Seeing Ye Ruoqing come up, she didn’t even lift her head, pointed to the spot next to her, and said: “Sit. Help yourself to the tea.”

“I came up to ask you if we’re going out for dinner tonight or if we should call the aunties to cook.”

“Come and sit. The weather is hot, so we’ll just have some porridge and side dishes. Tell the aunties what you want to eat, and let them come and buy the groceries.”

“Oh, okay.”

Ye Ruoqing sat cautiously by the side, neither going downstairs to make the call nor daring to look at Zhao Xin. Zhao Xin lifted her head from her book and asked, “Is there anything else?”

“Well… there’s something I don’t know how to bring up.”

“About that night?”

As soon as Zhao Xin spoke, Ye Ruoqing’s heart pounded. She really did know! Ye Ruoqing mustered her courage and asked, “Did I press down on you that day?”

“Yes, and you were quite strong. Slapping you didn’t even work.”

Zhao Xin turned a page in her book, her tone calm, as if that night’s incident hadn’t happened to her at all.

“Did I… did I also… kiss you?”

“Yes.”

“Where did I kiss you?”

Zhao Xin put down her book and looked at Ye Ruoqing: “Does it make a difference where you kissed me? Do you think I would fuss over a drunk person who took the wrong medicine?”

“But I kissed you…”

“I don’t care, and you don’t need to dwell on it. You have to kiss even the most disgusting people when acting. It’s a small matter.”

Although Zhao Xin sounded unconcerned, somehow, being lumped together with the disgusting people she had to kiss while acting made Ye Ruoqing a little disheartened.

She went downstairs, finished the phone call, and passed a large full-length mirror in the entryway, where she examined herself carefully. Although her skin was a bit poor recently due to bad diet, she was still a young, healthy girl. How could she be compared to those wrinkled actors in the movies?

She turned around and looked at herself all over, then felt that her former spoiled rich second-generation demeanor had been completely worn away by life’s hardships, and she couldn’t help but sigh for a long time. After looking in the mirror, she tidied up the entryway and caught sight of the news article “Strong girl sings for money but doesn’t sell the rice cooker” on the console, which made her feel even more dejected.

Life together, thus, quietly began.

Zhao Xin was too quiet, and Ye Ruoqing was too down recently. Ye Ruoqing felt it was necessary for her and Zhao Xin to have a spiritual cleansing. She moved a pile of self-help books from the office, researched all night, and bought a few crabs.

Zhao Xin returned from outside and immediately saw the basin in the center of the living room. Ye Ruoqing was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, seemingly meditating.

“You’re back?”

“I’m back.”

Zhao Xin went back to the bedroom to change her clothes, then brought a book downstairs and sat on the sofa. Seeing Ye Ruoqing staring motionlessly at the basin of crabs, she couldn’t help but wonder, “What are you doing?”