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"Have you forgotten how to speak? Who are you to her?"
Facing Ruan Qin's questioning, Tang Ruoyao looked down and said nothing. Still, her shoulders were pulled back and she was standing straight; she was not ashamed.
She was always like this. Ruan Qin really hated it, and there was a trace of disgust in her eyes. Even when she didn’t have any backing, she would look proud and tall without exception. It was as if there were mud below her feet, and if she looked down it would stain her icy clear eyes.
Technically, Ruan Qin was Tang Ruoyao’s agent, and now that Tang Ruoyao had received the title of Best Actress, her value had increased even more. Ruan Qin shouldn’t have had such an attitude, but she couldn’t help being angry when she saw Tang Ruoyao. She, who had sold herself, who knew how she was getting toyed with in private, what kind of person was she to pretend to be clear as ice and pure as jade in front of her?
"You are so reluctant to part, do you miss Qin Yinong's skills in bed that much?" She stood up, walked over, and leaned close to Tang Ruoyao's ears, breathing coldly like a poisonous snake. Said viciously, “It was great, wasn’t it?"
Tang Ruoyao suddenly clenched her fists with both hands and looked up at her angrily, with her jaw clenched shut.
"Mad at what I said?" Ruan Qin smiled lightly, stretched out her hand, and wanted to pat Tang Ruoyao's face, but in the end it was avoided and she patted thin air.
"You--" Ruan Qin was furious. She raised her hand high, but it fell halfway, unable to move.
A white hand was firmly grasping her wrist.
Tang Ruoyao looked thin, but because she was diligent in fitness, her hands were by no means weak. Not to mention that Ruan Qin was already over forty, and spent most of her days sitting in an office. Her limbs were not working, and the difference in strength between the two women was clear.
Ruan Qin tried to twist her wrist free, but she could not. She glared at her: "Let go!"
Tang Ruoyao gazed at her coldly.
This expression again.
Ruan Qin remembered back when she first signed Tang Ruoyao, there was a social event, and there were other newcomers attending, not just the ones from their company. At the wine table were men with big flopping stomachs, for whom the shrewd managers all ordered their own artists to pour wine. Fighting their way in this industry, who doesn’t have two faces? No matter how disgusting these men are, the artists still have to pretend to humor them.
At the banquet table, the artists just waved, conversed, and coaxed those fat, ugly men to laugh.
Tang Ruoyao was born with a beautiful face and appearance, considered especially gorgeous even within the entertainment circle. Beyond that, she also had an innate noble temperament. At this special occasion, she was like a princess fallen from grace, which particularly roused other people’s urge to meddle with her.
There was a round man with hot eyes, who, ignoring the two beautiful female entertainers beside him, had only been staring at Tang Ruoyao. To this Tang Ruoyao turned a blind eye. The man smiled and called Ruan Qin over, asking for Tang Ruoyao's name. He had implied something along the lines of--if Tang Ruoyao was willing to go home with him, everything would be easy to negotiate.
Ruan Qin winked in her direction, but Tang Ruoyao was unmoved. Ruan Qin pinched her gently under the table, and Tang Ruoyao reluctantly poured him a glass of wine. She stood up to pour the drink, and the man placed his hand on hers, all the while undressing the rest of her body with his eyes.
Tang Ruoyao put the bottle down and walked away.
The man’s face paled.
Ruan Qin hurriedly smiled with him and went out to find Tang Ruoyao.
"What’s so bad about a touch of the hand? It’s just a small part of your body. Look at the other entertainers, why won’t you cooperate like them?" Ruan Qin scolded her in the women's bathroom.
"They are them, and I am me." Tang Ruoyao said coldly while she stood at the sink, rinsing the back of her hand where the repulsive man had touched her. "I won’t sell myself."
"Is even pouring a drink too much for you? Director Liu didn’t mean it; he was just being impulsive." Ruan Qin rolled her eyes and coaxed her with kind words.
"Do you think I don't understand what you are talking about?" Tang Ruoyao said dryly. After speaking, she turned off the faucet and strode outside, "Next time, don't call me for something like this."
Ruan Qin’s face changed and she sternly threatened: "If you dare to leave today, don’t even think about receiving new roles in the future!"
Tang Ruoyao paused slightly, passed by her with her chin raised, and left without looking back.
At that time, she was so noble and invincible.
Tang Ruoyao was left alone for a while, but it didn't take long before she took the initiative to find her and apologize, saying that she wanted to attend those socializing events again. She seemed to be a completely different person at the dinner table, dealing with everything calmly and smoothly.
Ruan Qin realized her intentions. After the meeting, she asked her with great interest: "Are you looking for a sponsor? Why did you suddenly change your mind?"
Tang Ruoyao had no expression on her face: business as usual.
"That's wise. You have no power or influence at this point; it's too difficult to get discovered. I'm doing this for your own good." Ruan Qin took a mouthful of cigarettes and slowly exhaled the white smoke ring onto her face, "I can introduce one to you."
"A generous one?" Tang Ruoyao stared at her closely.
"Of course."
Ruan Qin saw Tang Ruoyao’s facial expressions morph just as she had expected, and the corners of her lips smiled deeper.
But who Ruan Qin introduced to her at the time was not Qin Yinong at all, but an investor in the film and television industry. Getting with someone at Qin Yinong’s level? Dream on.
How did Qin Yinong become her sponsor? Ruan Qin was still puzzled.
The only thing she knew was that not long after Tang Ruoyao became involved with Qin Yinong, Tang Ruoyao became an ancestor she had to worship, and exhausted herself running errands for her. Tang Ruoyao’s an indifferent person, and there are many things she didn’t mind. When Ruan Qin did something low, who knew if Tang Ruoyao truly didn’t see it or just pretended not to, but Qin Yinong's assistant would surely take note of it.
Tang Ruoyao's first film was with a well-known director, for which she won the Golden Rose Award for Best Newcomer later that year. With this new fame, she had many new opportunities to find endorsements, advertisements, and new scripts. At the time, Ruan Qin was Tang Ruoyao's agent, and the contract stipulated that she would get commissions based on Tang Ruoyao's income. So, the more Tang Ruoyao earned, the more commissions she would get.
Ruan Qin smiled. During that time, she was representing Tang Ruoyao sincerely, and cared for her wellbeing. After all, who would reject money? But she woke up from that dream just two days later when Qin Yinong’s assistant called. She wasn’t allowed to take on those third and fourth-tier advertisements or endorsements, and bad dramas wouldn’t cut it either. She had to coddle Tang Ruoyao like a golden treasure, cultivate her character and skills. But she was still a newcomer, and she hadn't got a firm foothold… it wasn’t her turn to such good resources.
Ruan Qin felt that either she was crazy or the world was crazy. Even if they didn’t let her sign Tang Ruoyao up for anything, Tang Ruoyao had already signed a contract, and senior management wouldn’t let her be so free. She reasoned with Qin Yinong’s assistant that this wasn’t up to her to decide alone.
She didn't know what method Qin Yinong used, but she then had the senior management completely wrapped around her finger.
Then, Tang Ruoyao lived a life unbothered with things in the outside world, focusing only on studying and performing at school. She occasionally had opportunities, and they were all high level jobs that didn’t have any dirty work at all. Ruan Qin was holding the money tree in her hand, yet she couldn't do anything but obey orders and work herself to death. Never mind her anger, she was already foaming at the mouth. But because she didn't dare to challenge Qin Yinong, she could only cast her anger on Tang Ruoyao instead.
She was scared at first, but her bad attitude did not reach Qin Yinong's ears. She became bolder, and ridiculed Tang Ruoyao from time to time to relieve her depression and anger.
Fearful of Qin Yinong, Ruan Qin didn't dare to go too far; definitely not anything physical. Today was the first time this happened.
Tang Ruoyao's five fingers on her wrist tightened.
She had fallen out of favor, what was she still proud of?
"Let go!" Ruan Qin pulled her hand back vigorously.
Tang Ruoyao let go. The other woman was unprepared and fell back, staggering behind her, and tripped over the coffee table. She had just barely caught herself before falling to the ground.
Tang Ruoyao instinctively gave her a hand, and Ruan Qin used her support to stand up firmly, didn’t think much and slapped her.
Tang Ruoyao was hit hard on the side of her head, and when the tip of her tongue touched the inside of her lips, she tasted the salty, metallic tang of blood. Her eyes lowered, making her emotions indiscernible.
Ruan Qin panicked immediately: "I’m s--"
The words "I’m sorry" rushed to her mouth, but she tamped it down forcibly. She looked down at the five bright red fingerprints on her wrist from Tang Ruoyao’s grip. She swallowed slowly and looked at Tang Ruoyao stubbornly.
Tang Ruoyao didn't say anything, and sat down, still with a red handprint on her face. She asked, "Did the results of the last audition come out?"
She previously auditioned for a movie under a famous director. The competition for the female lead was fierce, so she deliberately did three months of preparation. The director was very satisfied with her on the day of the audition, and afterwards invited her and Ruan Qin to dinner personally. The decision then was almost certain.
Ruan Qin knew she was at fault and no longer wanted to push her luck. She leaned back into her seat and said dully: "It did, you’ve been cast aside."
Tang Ruoyao was slightly surprised: "Why?"
Ruan Qin lit another cigarette, and her voice was mixed with irritation: "Why else? People have backing, and the biggest investor has requested to choose her. What can the director do? The director said, if you want the second lead, he can leave it to you."
Tang Ruoyao already thought of someone in her heart: "Is it her?"
Ruan Qin took a deep breath and nodded.
Tang Ruoyao was silent.
Seeing her like this, Ruan Qin couldn't help but take a jab at her: "If you go to Qin Yinong, she will definitely help you get the role back. But is she willing to pay attention to you?"
Tang Ruoyao raised her eyelids and glanced at her calmly, but she was frigid to the bone.
Ruan Qin shuddered involuntarily and closed her mouth.
Tang Ruoyao stood up and said, "About the second lead, I will give you an answer when I’ve finished considering. I'm leaving."
Ruan Qin didn't keep her, and did not move an inch in her seat.
Tang Ruoyao's assistant saw the palm print on her face, and took two large, rushed steps to meet her. Her eyes were red: "Tangtang, you..."
Tang Ruoyao smiled indifferently: "It's okay, go back and continue your work."
"I'm going to talk to Sister Qin!" The little assistant rushed towards the closed office door.
There was no movement behind her, and the assistant turned her head: "Why don't you stop me?"
"Could I stop you?" Tang Ruoyao raised her eyebrows.
"You can." The assistant whispered, ran back swiftly, and followed Tang Ruoyao.
Tang Ruoyao patted her head lightly, handed her the phone, and said, "Take a picture for me."
"Of what?"
Tang Ruoyao pointed to the palm print on her face.
The assistant was puzzled, but she took the picture obediently and returned the phone.
There were not many people in the company. Tang Ruoyao asked her assistant for a hat and she got into the car to go home in a low-key manner. She politely refused the assistant's request to go upstairs to help. Tang Ruoyao took an ice pack from the refrigerator and put it on her face. After sitting for a while, she decided to pull up her message history with Guan Han.
***
Qin Yinong pursed her lips and asked, "What did she say?"
She avoided answering Guan Han’s question if she wanted to talk to Tang Ruoyao.
"It's not easy to translate." Guan Han said, showing her the phone screen directly.
There was a digital sticker on the screen. (T/N: In China, it’s super super common to send stickers instead of text in WeChat and other message platforms, especially when you’re not sure what to say or you really don’t want to say anything)
There were no words, and Qin Yinong really could not figure out what she meant by this sticker. Just then, the sticker disappeared and the system message popped up: “This message has been recalled.” (T/N: In WeChat, you can recall a message within two minutes of sending it, and the message will no longer show up in the chat (for all people). However, the message saying that you’ve recalled it will show up in its place)
Qin Yinong: "..."
Guan Han looked at her, waiting for instructions.
Qin Yinong said silently, "...Did she send that by mistake?"
Guan Han said flatly: "I don't know."
"How will you respond?"
"If she doesn’t say anything, I just won’t reply."
Qin Yinong, “Oh.” She didn’t say anything else.
The two got out of the elevator and got in the car together. Qin Yinong took the top script in her hand and gazed at it absently.
Guan Han pulled up her phone contacts. After finding Tang Ruoyao's name, she put the phone down and quietly looked at the scenery outside the window.
After a long time, Qin Yinong flipped through a page of the script and said casually: "Call her and ask."
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The author has something to say:
Tang Tang was bullied, will my sister know? How will it be handled?
What kind of sparks will they make~
Foresee what will happen, continue tomorrow night~
Thanks to the little angel who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angel [a crazy long list of readers, deserved]
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
translated by mooie, edited by noba