Chapter 18: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not
Most people would be angry if their face was slapped like that, whether it was from the shame of being exposed or the grievance of being misunderstood, but Xuan Du wasn’t.
Instead, she said with some surprise: “It seems you still remember my personality, I thought you had forgotten everything.”
“A toast to friendship.”
Xuan Du raised her glass with a smile and gently clinked it against Dong Ling’s, the glasses making a crisp sound.
She drank the crimson liquid in one gulp, Dong Ling watched her perform this one-woman show with cold eyes.
Xuan Du took another glass of wine from a waiter passing through the crowd and greeted the approaching guests.
“Xuan Du, happy birthday.” Someone came over and gave her their blessings, then looked at Dong Ling and asked, “Who is this?”
As the person sized her up, Dong Ling also took in their appearance.
It was a round-faced girl, with the same Western-style makeup as Xuan Du, making it difficult to see her original features. She had a high ponytail and wore a hip-hugging skirt, her style consistent with Xuan Du’s, different from the majority of cocktail dresses and suits at the party, a complete hottie.
“Let me introduce you. This is Director Yu’s daughter, Yu Hui.” Xuan Du introduced them to each other, her tone much warmer when introducing Dong Ling. She said, “This is my best friend since childhood, Dong Ling.”
Dong Ling felt an even bigger headache coming on, knowing this wasn’t over.
If Xuan Du wanted to embarrass or humiliate her, it would mean she would leave her alone after getting her revenge. But now, her enthusiastic attempt to rekindle their old friendship was what made her scalp tingle.
“Hello, Miss Yu.”
Dong Ling greeted her politely. She didn’t know which director this director was, but no matter which one, it was better not to offend them. So she didn’t deny Xuan Du’s words. There was no point in denying it in this situation, she would wait and see what Xuan Du was up to.
Yu Hui curled her lip and nodded perfunctorily, looking at Xuan Du with dissatisfaction: “I didn’t know you had such a good friend.”
Jealousy in friendships wasn’t any less common than in romantic relationships. Dong Ling’s heart skipped a beat. Compared to before, Xuan Du had become more devious.
“Now you know. What gift did you bring me today?”
Xuan Du replied, changing the subject.
“Come on, I’ll show you, you’ll like it.”
Yu Hui reached for Xuan Du’s hand, but Xuan Du avoided it.
Xuan Du said apologetically: “You know, I don’t like being touched.”
Dong Ling: ?
Wow, learning and applying it right away?
Yu Hui seemed to remember and said “Oh,” then beckoned to Xuan Du.
Seeing this, Dong Ling wanted to leave. She didn’t want to get involved with Xuan Du’s circle of second-generation officials. If necessary, she would make those connections herself. Getting involved through Xuan Du might cause unnecessary trouble later.
Xuan Du didn’t stop her, and Yu Hui asked as they walked: “She doesn’t seem that close to you.”
“We haven’t seen each other for a long time, and there are some misunderstandings.”
Xuan Du said calmly. With Dong Ling gone, the fake smile on her face disappeared, reverting to the look Yu Hui was familiar with. Seeing this, Yu Hui didn’t bring up the topic again.
On the small balcony, away from the crowd, Dong Ling slowly took a sip of wine and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Song Mingzhi’s message arrived at this moment.
[Mingzhi]: Is everything going smoothly?
Thinking of her, Dong Ling’s mood improved considerably, and she leaned against the railing to reply.
[Dong Ling]: I don’t know what tricks she’s playing, she introduced me as her best friend and wants to rekindle our old friendship.
Song Mingzhi looked at the message on her phone and didn’t reply immediately. Various conspiracy theories popped into her head, but none of them were suitable to tell Dong Ling now. After all, in Dong Ling’s eyes, she was still just a newcomer in the entertainment industry striving for her dreams, not involved in the murky waters of officialdom and business.
As Dong Ling was about to send another message, she heard footsteps behind her and held her phone in her hand.
“Long time no see.”
It wasn’t just one person, but five. They greeted her and reminisced, but their eyes weren’t friendly.
“Long time no see.”
Dong Ling maintained her composure, leaning against the railing, a flawless social smile on her face.
These were her and Xuan Du’s former friends, a mix of rich second-generation heirs and officials’ children. When they heard about Dong Ling calling the police, they all looked down on her, thinking she was disloyal and a backstabber.
Dong Ling didn’t care what they said, she only did what she thought was right and wouldn’t be swayed by the words of others. She broke off contact with all of them and went abroad soon after. When she returned, except for Chen Shang Shang and Dong Nuo, her social circle had completely changed.
Dong Ling ignored their sarcastic remarks, even feeling a little bored, until she heard someone say “You have the nerve to see Xuan Du,” and then she responded lazily.
“I think you’re right, I’ll be going then.”
Being able to leave directly was wonderful, as satisfying as leaving work early!
Dong Ling left the dumbfounded group, said goodbye to her parents, and left gracefully.
Only after getting into the Maybach did Dong Ling have time to check her messages. Song Mingzhi had sent her several messages, seriously analyzing that Xuan Du’s behavior was very likely to have ulterior motives, and told her not to trust her easily.
Dong Ling was amused, she wasn’t that naive.
Then her smile froze. In front of Song Mingzhi, she seemed like a complete pushover, a modern-day philanthropic capitalist, crowdfunding and giving away money.
[Dong Ling]: Okay, I understand.
[Dong Ling]: I’ve already slipped away.
Song Mingzhi: It’s over already?
[Dong Ling]: No, I ran into some old acquaintances, offended them again, and left. I’ll have a few more reasons to celebrate in my old age.
Seeing Song Mingzhi’s confusion, Dong Ling was too lazy to type and sent a voice message to explain.
“Theoretically speaking, the longer a person lives, the more bad news they’ll hear in their old age, because the people they know will pass away one after another. But if the deceased is an enemy, then it’s good news.”
“And I will live a long life.”
Hearing the last few words, Song Mingzhi laughed out loud in her room.
People had many sides, and every side of this girl was so interesting.
[Mingzhi]: You’re right.
[Dong Ling]: Hehe, I’ll buy a plane ticket and fly back to the film crew tomorrow, stay away from trouble.
[Mingzhi]: Okay, see you tomorrow.
Looking at the company Xuan Du invested in, Song Mingzhi had already made up her mind.
The intricacies of the political arena were difficult for her to navigate, but the situation was different now. If Xuan Du had any ideas, she could easily create some trouble for her, distracting her from Dong Ling.
Dong Ling returned home. After thinking about it, she decided not to wait until tomorrow and booked a flight for tonight. Xuan Du wouldn’t be able to catch her.
After the party, Dong’s parents were amused by Dong Ling’s action of flying back overnight.
After looking at the gifts and returning, Xuan Du couldn’t find Dong Ling and thought she was hiding somewhere. It was a while before she learned from others that Dong Ling had left early.
Hearing those words defending her, Xuan Du said irritably: “This is between me and her, don’t interfere in the future.”
She reminded them coldly: “I don’t need you to do anything under the guise of helping me. We’re all adults now, we know what we’re doing.”
She could scold Dong Ling, but who were these others?
After finally enduring the end of the party, Xuan Du contacted Dong Sheng, saying she wanted to invite Dong Ling to dinner tomorrow, and asked for Dong Ling’s number.
Dong Sheng couldn’t refuse, but he didn’t give her Dong Ling’s personal number, but her work number, and explained that Dong Ling wasn’t home and probably wouldn’t be able to make it tomorrow.
“Running away so fast.”
Xuan Du was so angry she laughed. She looked at the number in her hand, but didn’t dial it.
When Xuan Du asked for the number, Dong Ling had just landed and was dragging her suitcase back to the manor where the film crew was staying.
It was already 1 am, and the crew had already finished work.
Dong Ling gently opened the door. To avoid waking Song Mingzhi, she left her suitcase at the door, turned on her phone’s flashlight, and quietly tiptoed along the wall.
021: [Girl, you look like a thief.]
Dong Ling sneered: [Knowing the task system’s style, if I were a thief, I’d be a flower thief.]
Just as she said that, the mechanical voice rang out in her mind.
[Task: Secretly kiss the female lead for one minute while she’s asleep. Completing this task will reward 7% progress.]
Dong Ling’s face was expressionless, and she gave a mental middle finger.
Task system, your mother exploded.
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