Chapter 40: I Want Part 1

Jiang Ruoning got in the car and immediately protested her innocence. “She’s talking nonsense.”

Qin Zheng sat in the passenger seat and turned to look at her.

Jiang Ruoning held up her fingers. “Really, how could I possibly have left anything at her place?”

Qin Zheng noticed the house key still clutched in her palm and nodded. “I believe you.”

Jiang Ruoning let out a sigh of relief.

Qin Zheng asked, “What time did you get back this morning?”

Jiang Ruoning quickly covered her mouth.

Yun An turned to glance back.

Jiang Ruoning’s face flushed red.

Yun An asked, “Did you stay over at Shi Sui’s last night?”

Jiang Ruoning stubbornly denied it. “Bullshit!”

She had lost. She had planned to play the ultimate third wheel in front of Qin Zheng and Yun An, but now she was the one on display like a monkey.

It was all Shi Sui’s fault!

Jiang Ruoning desperately wanted to pull her out of the blacklist, give her a good scolding, and shove her right back in.

Suddenly, she remembered the night before when she had pushed Shi Sui away, but Shi Sui still held onto her and whispered in her ear, “Can’t handle this already?”

Then she had shoved that little toy back inside.

Jiang Ruoning’s face burned with heat.

Damn it!

She held her breath and stayed silent.

Yun An glanced at her flushed face through the rearview mirror, then turned to look at Qin Zheng.

Seeing an unreadable mix of emotions—perhaps joy or displeasure—in Qin Zheng’s eyes, Yun An reached out and grabbed her hand. Qin Zheng turned, and Yun An’s gaze hooked into hers as she curved her lips into a smile.

Qin Zheng felt her fingers rubbing heavily against the web of her thumb.

Rubbing insistently.

Qin Zheng turned her head away, her face burning hot.

No less intense than Jiang Ruoning’s flush.

The three of them harbored different thoughts in the car. Qin Zheng asked, “Should I just drop you at the company? Want me to wait?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “No need. You could wait for me, but you can’t wait for Yun An.”

Qin Zheng: …

Shi Sui still hadn’t tried hard enough.

She hadn’t managed to shut Jiang Ruoning’s mouth completely.

Yun An was delighted and floored the accelerator. Soon, the car pulled up steadily outside Jiang Ruoning’s company. She turned back. “We’re here.”

Jiang Ruoning grabbed her bag with a huff.

Outside the car window, Zhao Miaomiao stood waiting. When she saw Jiang Ruoning get out, she hurried over. “Ning-jie!”

After Jiang Ruoning exited, Yun An lowered the window. Jiang Ruoning waved at them. “Drive safe.”

Qin Zheng leaned over from Yun An’s side. “Call me when you’re done.”

Jiang Ruoning nodded.

She watched them drive away.

Zhao Miaomiao said, “Miss Yun is back?”

Jiang Ruoning turned and saw Zhao Miaomiao patting her small chest. She laughed. “Why are you so afraid of her?”

Zhao Miaomiao replied, “Just looking at her makes my heart race.”

Jiang Ruoning asked, “Did you do something guilty?”

Zhao Miaomiao shook her head. “Not that kind of racing. It’s like the natural authority you feel from cops or doctors…”

She said it with complete seriousness.

Jiang Ruoning had never felt that way.

Every time she spent time with Yun An, either she was pissed off or Yun An was.

Jiang Ruoning skipped past Zhao Miaomiao. “Where’s Wu-jie?”

Zhao Miaomiao said, “She’s inside in a meeting. She told me to come pick you up first.”

Jiang Ruoning nodded and followed Zhao Miaomiao into the company. After her fallout with Del, few modeling agencies were willing to sign her—nobody wanted to offend Del. Back then, Jiang Ruoning had considered going independent without signing anywhere, but Ye Yu had recommended this company to her.

It was a new agency, established less than five years ago, with fewer than thirty models under contract. They focused on a boutique route. Though new and small, their signing standards were high. The boss was a top model from the industry in the past, so the requirements were strict.

Jiang Ruoning had come for an audition on a whim and had been selected at first sight, signing smoothly.

But her development hadn’t gone entirely smoothly, with Del—a major company—putting pressure on her. Over the past six months, she had worked half a month and rested the other half, which was better than expected. If she had gone solo, just building connections would have taken a ton of time, not to mention choosing her path, trying on clothes, selecting gigs—each one gave her a headache.

Now, Wu-jie handled all that for her.

Jiang Ruoning felt lucky. Wu-jie treated her like her own child, so sometimes Jiang Ruoning wished she could be more ambitious to live up to it.

She wasn’t one to retaliate tenfold against mistreatment, but if someone was good to her, she remembered it deeply in her heart and wanted to repay it whenever possible. Wu-jie would poke her forehead and say her soft personality was why Ai Wen had bullied her before.

Jiang Ruoning wanted to argue but knew Wu-jie was right.

When she first joined Del, she knew nothing. Ai Wen had mentored her. Back then, with her poor health, Ai Wen covered for her at drinks, booked hotels on business trips and made sure she was settled first. When brands threw tantrums, Ai Wen stood in front of her and handled it.

So when she discovered Ai Wen secretly funneling resources to Du Youran in her name, she didn’t make a big fuss but turned a blind eye.

Until she couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

Ai Wen got more outrageous, and she finally broke ties.

Zhao Miaomiao poured her a cup of warm water and stared at her neck. “Ning-jie, that scarf you’re wearing today is really pretty.”

Jiang Ruoning touched the scarf with her fingers and checked it in the mirror. It did look nice.

Shi Sui had good taste.

She hummed in acknowledgment.

The office door clicked open. Wu-jie walked in while on the phone. Spotting Jiang Ruoning, she signaled for silence. Jiang Ruoning started to stand but sat back down. Wu-jie smiled into the phone. “How could it affect Ruoning? You know her—she’s weathered all kinds of storms. Don’t worry, her mindset is rock-solid.”

“Not at all concerned, of course not.” Wu-jie grinned. “Alright, that’s settled then. Thanks, Director Li. We’ll treat you to a good meal later.”

She hung up and turned to Jiang Ruoning. “You’re here.”

Jiang Ruoning nodded.

Wu-jie said, “Fengshang reposted our lawyer’s letter.”

The mess with Ai Wen and the wrong brand outfits back then—everyone knew Jiang Ruoning had gone to complain and that Ai Wen was in the wrong, but Ai Wen never publicly apologized, and Del suppressed it. So the issue stayed murky.

The murkiness led to all sorts of rumors.

Especially since Jiang Ruoning had terminated her contract with Del.

Fans believed she had been bullied into leaving, but haters claimed Del had kicked her out for screwing up the clothes. Without closure, it lingered.

Now, closure came.

Fengshang reposted Wu-jie’s lawyer’s letter with the caption: [We will fully cooperate if needed.]

Very official template.

But when Jiang Ruoning’s fans asked the official Fengshang account in the comments—without expecting a reply—the account thoughtfully responded: [It was a manager’s arrangement error. Miss Jiang bears no fault.]

Once replied, the comment shot to the top. Every viewer of the repost could see it.

[So after all that, Jiang Ruoning was innocent?]

[If I were her, I couldn’t swallow this either.]

[Okay, I can spill now: Jiang Ruoning was set up when she quit, and some Del exec suppressed it. Check out the model Ai Wen’s managing now for clues on that exec.]

One stone stirred a thousand waves.

At first, Ai Wen had just vented, hoping to manipulate public opinion and force Less to end their collaboration with Jiang Ruoning.

That was her usual playbook—brands would weigh the impact and mostly drop Jiang Ruoning.

But this time, it backfired.

Not only did it fail to sabotage Jiang Ruoning’s Less deal, it put Ai Wen and Du Youran in hot water. She had just cleared her name and dropped the Lin Wei contract to gain some goodwill, but now Jiang Ruoning’s agency’s lawyer’s letter plus Fengshang’s repost thrust the past half-year’s drama back into the spotlight.

Unlike before, when she could squash bad press with connections, this time it wouldn’t die down no matter what.

Newcomers asked: [Who’s Jiang Ruoning? She looks kinda familiar.]

Then someone dragged in a bigger backdrop: [Ye Yu’s backup dancer.]

Jiang Ruoning might not ring bells for everyone, but Ye Yu did.

Ye Yu’s airport pics could top multiple hot searches. Linking her name kept the topic burning with eerie persistence.

Ten minutes later, even stranger: Ye Yu’s studio reposted the lawyer’s letter from Jiang Ruoning’s work account.

Jiang Ruoning stared at the online controversy in shock and immediately messaged Ye Yu: [What are you stirring up now?!]

Ye Yu could picture her expression through the screen.

“Why not give it a try? Confess, take the initiative—maybe Ruoning will accept you.”

Why?

Because every private meeting with Jiang Ruoning came with strict orders: no work-related favors, no backdoors, no using her resources to help.

Jiang Ruoning drew lines too clearly.

Like the Chu-Han River boundary.

A river separated them. Every time Ye Yu reached out, Jiang Ruoning immediately redrew the line.

But she never did that with Shi Sui.

Ye Yu leaned back on the sofa and replied to Jiang Ruoning: [Why not ask Shi Sui?]

Jiang Ruoning: [Why ask her?]

Ye Yu: [She asked me to.]

Jiang Ruoning: […]

Jiang Ruoning: [She’s so annoying.]

Ye Yu: [Not at all. I’m pretty happy about it.]

Jiang Ruoning: [Happy about what?]

Ye Yu: [Being able to help you two.]

Jiang Ruoning stared at the message, suddenly recalling high school Ye Yu—forced into marriage by her family who wanted to sell her for her brother’s tuition. They even shamelessly caused a scene at school. She and Qin Zheng had blocked them and settled Ye Yu at Yun An’s aunt’s place.

Ye Yu was grateful and had been especially good to them since blowing up.

So good that Jiang Ruoning felt awkward.

That’s why she kept Ye Yu out of her work matters.

Over the past half-year, Ye Yu had suggested backup dancing gigs and tried slipping her opportunities via connections. Jiang Ruoning didn’t want to owe favors, so she politely declined.

Now, seeing this message from Ye Yu…

A complicated feeling welled up in Jiang Ruoning’s heart.

She called Ye Yu. The moment it connected, Ye Yu’s voice rang clear and bright. “Ruoning.”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Did she bother you again?”

Why “again”?

As if Shi Sui had asked Ye Yu for favors before.

That summer between high school and college, Ye Yu had an advancement competition. She and Shi Sui arrived early. There was a mentor Jiang Ruoning adored. In her seat, she kept slapping Shi Sui’s shoulder. “Look, look—my goddess! Isn’t she gorgeous?”