Chapter 53

Liu Lingshu looked at Leng Xiang resentfully.

Her eyes were beautiful, and after staring at them for a while, one could really see a hint of pitiful charm.

Liu Lingshu said, “Xiangxiang, I’m your mom.”

Leng Xiang lowered her gaze to look at her, as if she were watching a joke. “If you’re just here to tell me that, then you can roll out right now.”

As she spoke, she moved to close the door. Liu Lingshu panicked and hurriedly stuck her hand in the door crack to block it.

Leng Xiang watched her coldly.

Unable to play the family card, she decided to get straight to the point.

Liu Lingshu said, “I want to get some money from you.”

Listen to that—not borrow, but take.

Leng Xiang didn’t bother wasting words with her. “How much?”

Liu Lingshu held up two fingers, probing her reaction.

Leng Xiang frowned. “Two hundred thousand?”

“No, your dad went gambling again, and the loan sharks have come chasing us all the way home.” Liu Lingshu smiled ingratiatingly and said, “It’s not much. You’re famous now. You could earn that back from filming one movie. I heard actors make a ton of money. We’re really desperate at home…”

Leng Xiang grew impatient with her nagging. “How much exactly?”

Liu Lingshu wiggled her two fingers in front of her again. “Two million.”

Was she crazy?!

Leng Xiang was so angry that she burst out laughing. “I’ll give you ten bucks. Out of the complex, turn left—there’s a lottery shop. Go buy a ticket and see if you can hit two million.”

When she reached the peak of her anger, she calmed down instead, staring quietly at Liu Lingshu.

This woman was hateful, but she was truly pitiful too.

She had abandoned a good life in a wealthy family to elope with a man, only to be abused for decades.

If she hadn’t eloped back then, she could have lived a peaceful and stable life.

Leng Xiang said, “Do you think my money falls from the sky?”

The ingratiating smile on Liu Lingshu’s lips vanished instantly as she looked at Leng Xiang with pity.

“I heard you went off to film a movie again. A really famous one—it was even on the news.” Liu Lingshu kept rubbing the hem of her clothes and continued, “I saw it. How could you not have two million?”

Leng Xiang said, “You signed that indenture contract for me back then. Don’t you know how much I can actually earn?”

Liu Lingshu looked at her resentfully. “If I hadn’t sent you in there, would you be living like this now? In such a nice house? And what about your mom? I’m still living in a dark, sunless basement, unable to even afford a bite of meat!”

Leng Xiang said, “This is all your own doing.”

Liu Lingshu fell silent.

Leng Xiang looked down at her and added, “I can give you two hundred thousand. Call that guy right now and tell him you’re divorcing and going back to your family. From then on, you’ll have nothing to do with him.”

Liu Lingshu was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn’t understood what Leng Xiang was saying.

Leng Xiang watched her quietly, her pitch-black eyes as deep as an abyss, bottomless.

Leng Xiang continued, “At least your family home is some support. Two hundred thousand is enough to take care of your relatives.”

Liu Lingshu stammered, “I… I can’t. I can’t divorce… I can’t go back…”

Leng Xiang withdrew her gaze.

She had guessed as much.

Leng Xiang raised her hand to close the door. “Then do whatever you want.”

Liu Lingshu hurriedly clung to the door crack, terrified it would shut, and shouted, “Xiangxiang, one million! Just one million! I’ll take the money and leave. I’ll never bother you again!”

Leng Xiang said, “Do you think I’d believe you?”

Leng Xiang rubbed her brow.

She was truly exhausted.

During the years when she had some fame, to keep Liu Lingshu from finding her, she had moved countless times, but Liu Lingshu always tracked her down again.

Liu Lingshu was like a rat in the sewers—omnipresent and impossible to eradicate completely.

Leng Xiang said, “One million is out of the question. Don’t even dream about it.”

Liu Lingshu glared at her. “If you don’t give me the money, I’ll go to the media tomorrow and ruin your reputation!”

Leng Xiang sneered. “Yeah, right. You? Can you even find the TV station’s door? And even if you did, would you dare go in?”

Liu Lingshu’s lips trembled twice. “What do I have to fear without money? Nothing!”

Leng Xiang really didn’t want to tangle with her anymore.

Liu Lingshu stood at the door, skin and bones, dressed in rags. A gust of wind could knock her over.

Yet Leng Xiang was powerless against her.

She was an actress who had finally climbed out of the public opinion abyss from a few years ago. Attitudes toward her had only just started improving. If Liu Lingshu went out and played the victim, weeping a few words, regardless of the truth, public opinion would come crashing down on her like a tidal wave.

It would even dredge up her buried past.

She had finally landed roles and could see a glimmer of hope. She couldn’t lose it all again.

Leng Xiang looked at Liu Lingshu and calmed down instead.

She said, “You know full well that if you really go to the media, you’ll never get another cent from me.”

Liu Lingshu still glared at her.

Leng Xiang was absolutely right.

Liu Lingshu panted, her lips trembling. “Even if I don’t get a single cent, I won’t let you live well either. Worst case, we both go down!”

Leng Xiang suddenly stepped out the door.

Liu Lingshu watched her emerge, froze for a second, and instinctively backed up a few steps.

Leng Xiang took another step forward, almost standing right in front of Liu Lingshu.

Liu Lingshu could nearly smell the fragrance on Leng Xiang.

That feminine scent came from perfume and body wash, faint and elegant, utterly refined.

She looked at Leng Xiang with venomous resentment but couldn’t help retreating step by step until there was nowhere left to go.

Liu Lingshu’s foot slipped. She cried out in alarm and tumbled down the stairs with a series of thuds.

She ended up covered in dust, her wrist twisted at an unnatural angle. She curled up on the ground, wailing in agony, looking as wretched as a beggar.

No, she was a beggar.

Leng Xiang walked down the steps. Liu Lingshu had rolled down an entire flight and lay sprawled at the landing.

Liu Lingshu lay on the ground, too pained to move. She sensed someone behind her and shouted warily, “What do you want to do?”

Leng Xiang scoffed. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. If you died here, I’d be in real trouble.”

Leng Xiang lifted her foot, stepped on Liu Lingshu’s arm, and used her toe to flip her over.

Liu Lingshu looked very much like her—or rather, she resembled Liu Lingshu.

Even with her face twisted in pain, one could still see traces of her former beauty.

Leng Xiang said, “I’ll give you ten thousand a month. That’s enough for you and that guy to live in B City. After this, don’t show up in front of me again.”

Once she returned to the set, she’d cancel this apartment and move somewhere else.

Leng Xiang turned and headed back upstairs.

Liu Lingshu scrambled after her and grabbed her pant leg. “Don’t go! You can’t go! Ten thousand and you think you can get rid of me? No way!”

Leng Xiang stepped forward, shaking off Liu Lingshu’s hand.

She said, “Go to the media if you want, expose me, whatever. But think it over—if you do, you won’t even get this ten thousand.”

Leng Xiang didn’t glance back at Liu Lingshu. She took the stairs two at a time, went inside, shut the door, and ignored her fate.

As soon as Leng Xiang closed the door, she leaned against it and slowly slid down to the floor, squatting there with her arms hugged around herself, face buried in her knees.

The light filtering through the window gradually dimmed. Dusk had fallen.

She sat motionless against the door, like a statue.

Night fully descended, and the room grew pitch black.

She stirred slowly, wiped her eyes, and stood up.

The darkness hid her eyes; no one knew if she had cried.

Leng Xiang turned on the light, made herself a bowl of egg noodles, wolfed it down, tossed the bowl in the kitchen, and returned to the carpet to keep reading.

The homework Jiang Sisi had assigned her was extensive and varied, as if she were meant to finish a whole school year’s worth in the seven-day holiday.

She buried herself in a thick professional book, occasionally jotting notes on blank paper.

Night deepened. She read so intently that she had silenced her phone.

…

Meanwhile, in B City’s southern third ring’s prime area, in the KTV next to Black Pool Bar.

Luxury Rose VIP Private Room.

Jiang Sisi sat on the sofa in the private room, surrounded by a crowd of men and women from the crew and elsewhere, filling the space to capacity.

At that moment, the group clutched their ears, watching Pei Shuang monopolize the microphone with eyes full of despair.

Zhong Xin half-hugged Pei Shuang, trying to coax her down.

An hour earlier, Pei Shuang had downed over a dozen drinks at Black Pool Bar next door—different kinds, from vodka to dark beer. She dared to drink anything and even snatched others’ glasses.

Drunk out of her mind, she insisted on singing, and no one could stop her. Jiang Sisi had been overseeing the bar at the time and, with no other choice, coaxed her to the adjacent KTV, booked a room, and let her sing.

But that wasn’t the end. Just as Jiang Sisi tried to leave Pei Shuang and Zhong Xin to their own devices, Pei Shuang pouted and said it wasn’t fun without others, refusing to continue.

Jiang Sisi was used to Pei Shuang’s usual “none of your business” attitude on set. Seeing her throw such an unfiltered drunken tantrum piqued her curiosity, so she called over some friends from Black Pool Bar.

Curiosity killed the cat.

If she had known it would turn out like this, Jiang Sisi would have had Pei Shuang knocked out at Black Pool Bar.

Pei Shuang wanted to sing, and Zhong Xin couldn’t stop her.

Her singing was truly something else—enough to kill the living and drive the dead from their graves.

Yi Jing, the KTV’s owner and a playboy who dabbled in entertainment, occasionally appearing on variety shows, welcomed Jiang Sisi with a smile and personally kept her company.

But as soon as Pei Shuang opened her mouth, he regretted it. He waved his hands frantically, trying to flee. “I really can’t take it anymore. She’s singing my soul right out of me. I’ll take my leave—we’ll meet again if fate allows.”

Jiang Sisi grabbed him and pressed him into the seat beside her.

The KTV blared loudly. Jiang Sisi plugged her ears with both hands and yelled at him, “You’re running at the first sign of trouble? Are you a brother or not?!”

Yi Jing yelled back, “Jiang Sisi, do you have any sense of gender? Why should I be your brother?!”

Jiang Sisi shouted again, “Good sisters need to share joy and suffering!”

Yi Jing: “…”

Sisters, my ass.