Goddess Strategy GL - Chapter 32

Zeng Jiarou could not answer and remained silent.

The auntie knocked and entered, bringing tea for both of them. Her arrival provided Zhao Xin an opportunity to continue with the problem Zeng Jiarou was unwilling to face.

“Ye Ruoqing is living with me now.”

“Mhm, when did she arrive?” Since the secret had been discovered, Zeng Jiarou no longer intended to hide it. She believed she couldn’t hide anything from the sharp-eyed and quick-witted actress in front of her.

“Last year, she’s been here for more than half a year.”

Zeng Jiarou lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought. The teacup rotated restlessly in her palm, making her appear somewhat lonely and pitiful.

“I… I don’t know why this is happening. When I heard her name, I was already dumbfounded. I didn’t expect her to come to City B to find me…”

Zeng Jiarou’s voice was a bit hoarse. She spoke slowly, and Zhao Xin did not interrupt, just waited for her to finish.

“I saw that newspaper last week, and I knew that one day I would have to face her. I also thought that part of my past had been buried in my heart, and even if I met her again, I wouldn’t have any lingering feelings.”

Her tears finally fell into the cup. Zhao Xin handed her a tissue and did not press her on her vague words. Whether it was Zeng Jiarou or Ye Ruoqing, their past was not of great interest to her.

“So what are you planning to do now?”

“I don’t know… I really don’t know…”

Zeng Jiarou cried beautifully. Zhao Xin admitted that she had the potential for great success. The public always demands that celebrities are flawless from every angle, eating, drinking, and using the restroom all with an aesthetic sensibility. In the present situation, a bare-faced actress with a bandage on her head, who could cry in such a delicate, tear-streaked, and pitiable way, was a skill in itself.

“My only advice is that I hope you can relax and deal with this as soon as possible. I don’t know how much of what you did the other day was genuine feeling, and how much was because you were worried about your career. Regarding the former, I have nothing to say. As for the latter, I can give you advice—Little Ye is going to participate in the singing competition audition in a few days. With her appearance and personality, if she advances, she is bound to attract a large number of fans. She’s also a person who can’t keep things hidden. If you drag this out until then, and if she suffers any blow that affects the competition, the media will have plenty of material to write about. At that time, the reputation your former agency hyped up for you will become the stone thrown back at you.”

Zeng Jiarou raised her tear-filled eyes, looking at her with some confusion.

Zhao Xin placed the teacup aside and stood up: “You might think it’s cruel, but this industry is indeed that cruel. As far as I know, Little Ye’s family is quite wealthy. If you don’t want this past to be written about as the same kind of transaction as you and Boss Li, go and persuade Little Ye to let go sooner rather than later.”

Having said this much, Zhao Xin believed Zeng Jiarou understood. Zeng Jiarou did not speak again. Zhao Xin gave her a final few instructions, asking her to take care of herself, and then left the hospital.

It was July. The evening breeze of summer could no longer be associated with coolness, but Zhao Xin suddenly wanted to take a walk on the street.

The car drove halfway and stopped in a shopping mall parking garage. Zhao Xin got out of the car, put on her sunglasses, and slowly walked forward along a plane tree-lined road not far away. After dinner, people who had been hiding indoors with the air conditioning on all day started coming out. Although this place was quiet, there were quite a few people walking along the road. There were elderly people holding palm-leaf fans, chasing a small child who was only two or three years old and still wobbly when walking. There were couples walking arm-in-arm, counting the green trees planted along the side of the lane. She walked through this area, as if passing through the lives of countless strangers, acting as a quiet passerby, a quiet observer.

This had always been her mindset. Her mother was deceased, leaving behind only the old house in Jiangnan, which had been gathering dust for a long time. That was her root, where she had been waiting for decades, hoping that one day she would return wearing a wedding dress. Zhao Xin knew she could not go back. Her heart had died the moment Ren Xi had her accident, and it also died in her deep guilt towards Ren Xi.

For ten years, she had been alone, without spiritual connection, without contact.

Except for that one night.

Ye Ruoqing’s strength was truly immense. She was buried in Zhao Xin’s neck, mumbling something. Her hot body pressed against Zhao Xin’s, and her young heart was pounding. That night, Ye Ruoqing stopped at the boundary, but the remaining passion was entirely vented onto Zhao Xin’s body. Zhao Xin didn’t tell Ye Ruoqing that there were marks on her body that didn’t belong to her.

A girl who barged into her life like this, a girl with whom she had had intimate contact, yet Zhao Xin took her in and even worried about her ex-girlfriend problem.

Zhao Xin felt she was crazy, she must be crazy.

“Little Ye, your owner is going to abandon you~”

Brother Pi Dan came to Zhao Xin’s house to visit and saw Ye Ruoqing home alone again. He did not hesitate to spill some gossip to her.

This wasn’t her own home. When she was alone at home, Ye Ruoqing usually wouldn’t specially ask the auntie to cook. So when Brother Pi Dan walked into the living room, he happened to see Ye Ruoqing holding a small milk pot, squatting on the floor, eating noodles.

“What did you say…” Ye Ruoqing slurped the noodles loudly, her speech a little unclear. Brother Pi Dan, however, was drawn to her bowl of noodles. To get a closer look, he deliberately dragged a small stool over to her.

“Why aren’t you sitting on the stool?”

“The apartment I used to rent didn’t have a stool, so I got used to squatting to eat. Go pour yourself some water. I’m eating noodles, so I won’t entertain you.” Ye Ruoqing bit into a poached egg, and the soft, liquid yolk flowed into her mouth, making Brother Pi Dan envious.

Ye Ruoqing ate while watching TV. After a long time, she heard no movement beside her, so she looked back and saw Brother Pi Dan’s eyes glowing green, staring at the noodles in her hand like a wolf.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“What kind of noodles are you cooking? Why does it smell so good?”

“Instant noodles.”

“You eat something so unhealthy?”

“It’s delicious.” Ye Ruoqing couldn’t be bothered with Brother Pi Dan. She picked up a slice of fatty beef, chewed it with a smacking sound, and with a flick of her chopsticks, she dug out a large shrimp from the noodles.

“Seriously, Little Ye, do you want to make a deal with me?”

“…What do you want to do?” The short film collaboration project hadn’t officially started yet, and now a “deal” popped up. Ye Ruoqing couldn’t help but suspect it was related to Brother Pi Dan’s new work.

For example, helping him write reviews, helping him manage his fan group (Note: He had a group but no fans), or enthusiastically screaming at his book signing events (which hadn’t happened yet)… In short, acting as Brother Pi Dan’s loyal bookworm.

“No.”

“It’s about Zhao Xin.”

“Deal.”

Ye Ruoqing finished the noodles in the pot in a few mouthfuls and got up to go to the kitchen. Brother Pi Dan followed behind her, directing her on how to cook the noodles.

“Add more shrimp, three slices of fatty beef are enough, two stalks of baby bok choy, no cilantro…”

Since he had a rare opportunity to not be criticized by her, Brother Pi Dan naturally doubled down on bossing her around. Ye Ruoqing became especially obedient whenever something related to Zhao Xin came up, which was an inexplicable mystery even in the office. It was well known that even with Susan, the most serious person in the studio, Ye Ruoqing showed fear, not obedience.

Brother Pi Dan had privately asked his cousin, Little Yuan. Little Yuan first laughed for a long time, and then apologized, saying it was a private matter and she couldn’t explain. In short, Zhao Xin was Ye Ruoqing’s nemesis.

For Ye Ruoqing, the shadow of being a sexual assault perpetrator still lingered, because according to her instinct and what Zhao Xin said, she felt she should be classified as attempted sexual assault perpetrator.

She had to be good to the victim.

The noodles were in the pot. Ye Ruoqing put on the lid, turned around, and asked Brother Pi Dan: “Speak, what is it.”

“Zhao Xin is dating.”

“What?!”

“Zhao Xin is dating, a rising star in the financial world. It’s been several days.”

“Damn it!”

Ye Ruoqing’s hand trembled, and half a packet of instant noodle seasoning spilled outside the pot. Brother Pi Dan looked at the seasoning with a pained expression and said: “You spilled my seasoning packet!”

Ye Ruoqing frowned and picked up the salt shaker, sprinkling two spoonfuls of salt: “How do you know?”

“Of course I know, everyone in the office knows… Speaking of which, do you want to add some water? I think it will be very salty…”

“Then why don’t I know!”

Brother Pi Dan watched helplessly as Ye Ruoqing added two more spoonfuls of salt to his cooking noodles.

“I told you not to take your anger out on my noodles…” Brother Pi Dan was heartbroken. He snatched the spoon from Ye Ruoqing’s hand, scooped out the salt chunks, turned off the heat, added water, and continued to cook.

“How can I not be angry? She’s been incredibly strange lately. If I just sit a little closer to her, she insists on moving. I used to joke around and blow air on her hair, and she didn’t react, so do you think she’s gone crazy?”

“It’s summer, she’s wearing less, it’s normal not to like physical contact.”

“Then why doesn’t she avoid Little Yuan when she puts her arm around her shoulder?”

“Uh… this… maybe Little Yuan is cuter…”

“Shoot! Do I look that much like a sexual assault perpetrator?”

As Ye Ruoqing said this, Brother Pi Dan’s right eye twitched. He exerted force on the switch, turning off the fire.

The noodles were ruined…

“Come, come, Little Ye, let’s talk about life.”

The two walked to the living room, sat cross-legged on the floor, and stared at each other.

“Actually, I can understand this, it’s called maintaining distance…”

“…”

Brother Pi Dan said: “You probably don’t know, but Zhao Xin has never dated, and the media started writing nonsense—stuff like being kept, or lesbian rumors. Although it’s not a big deal, Zhao Xin is protective of her reputation, so she usually temporarily cools down relationships. Look, you two have been so close lately. You pick her up and drop her off every day, and you live together. Keeping a distance from you will avoid media speculation. Plus, hasn’t she gotten a boyfriend? That man comes from an incredible family background, and he will probably look into Zhao Xin’s situation.”

Ye Ruoqing became upset: “Is having a boyfriend a big deal?! Is being rich a big deal?! Can he just ignore my efforts?! It’s me who picks her up and drops her off every day, wakes her up, and cooks for her! It’s me! Is it that man?”