Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 3

“Chu… Xi.” Gu Mingjing inhaled sharply, trying to remain calm. He never expected that single syllable to come from the mouth of the docile little lover he’d kept for two years.

“Golden Waters Villa, go pick a house for yourself.” Gu Mingjing believed he had already made the biggest concession. Chu Xi was so eager to climb the social ladder, all she wanted was money. Well, he could give her money, but he needed to crush her ambitions. “I can pretend today never happened. From now on, you’ll get what you’re owed, but don’t ever fantasize about things beyond your reach again.”

Chu Xi listened quietly to Gu Mingjing’s words, staring at his cold expression, and suddenly felt that her two years as his little mistress had been utterly meaningless.

Karma. Pure, unadulterated karma! Who told you to abandon your conscience and become some rich man’s mistress? Serves you right!

When she’d first signed the contract, she’d still been hesitant and pretentious, comforting herself with the fact that Gu Mingjing was handsome, that he was single with no girlfriend or wife. She’d told herself she wasn’t like those homewrecking mistresses the public despised—that she still had some moral standards. But now karma had arrived. What was the point of talking about feelings? In his eyes, she was just a plaything bought with money, to be summoned or dismissed at will, still daring to covet what she shouldn’t.

The contents of that afternoon’s diagnosis still burned in her mind. The Baidu search results—no matter the treatment, the longest survival period for this illness was only six months—kept flashing before her eyes. It was as if God had suddenly installed a timer on her life and personally set the countdown to 180 days.

All those things that had oppressed her, constrained her, pressured her—when a person knows their time is limited, they suddenly seem meaningless, trivial.

“Who wants your filthy money!”

This was the first time Chu Xi had ever raised her voice at Gu Mingjing. After speaking, she turned and walked away without looking back.

Gu Mingjing stared at her furious retreating figure, stunned for a long moment.

——

The moment Chu Xi returned to her room, she started packing, one thought spinning wildly in her mind:

I quit. I fucking quit.

With less than half a year left, whoever wants to be this miserable little mistress can have the job. Whoever wants to play the role of this hypocritical Innocent White Flower can take it—no amount of money would make her stay. After all, she was just a talentless hack who couldn’t be promoted no matter how many resources were poured into her, just a White Lotus despised by the entire nation who couldn’t make waves no matter how hard she tried. If even her remaining days had to be spent this miserably, then she’d truly have wasted her life.

Chu Xi only packed some clothes and toiletries, leaving behind all the designer bags and luxury jewelry Gu Mingjing had given her. When she dragged her suitcase out the door, she found the living room empty—Gu Mingjing had already left.

Well, let him go. He had plenty of properties anyway, and it wouldn’t be long before another mistress moved into this one. Hmph.

But it was already late, and Chu Xi knew she wouldn’t make it back to her own place in time. So she took out her phone and booked a hotel.

She hailed a cab, but when they arrived, the driver’s navigation had a hiccup, dropping her off across the street from the hotel. To get there, she’d have to cross the road.

The street was busy at night, and the driver tried several times but couldn’t manage to turn around.

Seeing it was just a short walk, Chu Xi decided to get out and go on foot.

“Thank you,” she said. The driver didn’t recognize her and drove off.

The road was packed with cars but few pedestrians. The crosswalk light turned green, yet barely anyone was crossing. As soon as Chu Xi stepped out, she spotted a frail figure in the middle of the road.

From the back, it looked like an elderly man, probably in his fifties or sixties, but his legs seemed unsteady as he inched forward slowly.

The pedestrian light had already started blinking, about to turn red, and the old man still had a stretch of road left to cross.

Chu Xi figured he wouldn’t recognize her anyway, so she quickly set her suitcase aside and ran over. “Sir, let me help you across.”

The old man had jet-black dyed hair, though the top of his head was balding. He was dressed neatly, slightly plump with a beer belly, and even wore a gold chain around his neck. He was overjoyed when Chu Xi rushed to support him, thanking her repeatedly.

With her help, they made it to the other side just before the light turned red.

They exchanged a few words. The old man lived in a nearby neighborhood and had gone out for an evening stroll when he accidentally twisted his ankle.

“Should I take you to a nearby hospital?” Chu Xi asked after hearing about his injury.

The old man waved his hand with a smile. “You’re such a kind girl, but no need. I’ve already called my son—he’ll be here soon.”

“Alright then. Take care, goodbye.” Chu Xi bid him farewell and turned back to retrieve her suitcase.

By the time she checked into her hotel room, it was very late.

The room was quiet. Sitting on the bed, Chu Xi replayed the scenes from earlier that afternoon in her mind.

The diagnosis that had sentenced her to death. And Gu Mingjing.

She had already spent the afternoon locked in her apartment crying after learning she didn’t have much time left. Now, she couldn’t even muster tears—just exhaustion.

Living was exhausting.

She covered her face with her hands and sat in silence.

Then, her phone rang.

A glance at the screen showed it was Assistant Gao.

Gu Mingjing’s personal assistant.

She steadied herself before answering. “Hello.”

“Miss Chu, this is Gao Ming. I’d like to ask for your current address. You left quite a few belongings at Nanjing Apartments—we can have them shipped to you.”

Chu Xi chuckled. Belongings? Those luxury items Gu Mingjing had bestowed upon her?

“No need. You can keep them,” she replied flatly, about to hang up when Assistant Gao quickly stopped her. “Wait!”

Chu Xi: “Hmm?”

Assistant Gao hesitated for a moment before saying, “Miss Chu, are you really planning to part ways with President Gu? Although your contract did expire a few days ago, I can privately tell you that President Gu has been very satisfied with your performance over the past two years and is quite inclined to renew the contract with you. I don’t know what happened today, but I believe if you’re willing to lower your head and apologize to President Gu, he would definitely renew the contract with you.”

“After all…” Assistant Gao spoke earnestly, “If you leave, your economic contract with Yuanjing will also be voided, which means all your resources will…”

“Thank you, but I don’t need them anymore.” Chu Xi hung up the phone and lay down on the bed.

She didn’t need the best resources anymore.

The only thing she couldn’t let go of was her grandmother.

She would see her grandmother tomorrow.

Chu Xi fell into a deep sleep, hoping that when she woke up the next day, everything that had happened would turn out to be just a dream. But when she awoke, she found herself still lying in the hotel room, and the photo of the diagnosis report remained in her phone’s album.

Chu Xi stared blankly at the diagnosis report when suddenly, her phone received a push notification from Weibo.

Usually, major events would trigger push notifications from Weibo, but no matter how big the news was, Chu Xi didn’t feel like checking it now. Just as she was about to swipe past it, she suddenly saw her name in the news headline.

The headline boldly read: #Popular Starlet Chu Xi’s Sugar Daddy Exposed! Holding Hands and Flaunting Love on the Streets at Night!#

What was going on?

???

Chu Xi’s heart instantly tightened. Could it be… Gu Mingjing?

No way. With trembling hands, she tapped into the news, and sure enough, the entertainment reporter had dropped undeniable photo evidence.

Under the night sky, Chu Xi was seen walking slowly down the street, her arm linked with a man’s.

The man was balding, with a beer belly and a slightly plump figure, though he was dressed decently, sporting a gold chain around his neck.

A young and beautiful female star paired with a balding, beer-bellied, gold-chain-wearing sixty-year-old man—this was the scene the gossip-loving public had been waiting for over the past two years.

So this was the sugar daddy who had been lavishly funding Chu Xi’s career all along. Chu Xi’s resources had always been so enviable that not only did industry insiders covet them, but even fans of other female celebrities couldn’t stand her.

In the eyes of rival fans, their favorite stars were in no way inferior to Chu Xi, so why did Chu Xi monopolize so many top-tier opportunities? Many of Chu Xi’s anti-fans were fans of her competitors. While they outwardly scorned her for being propped up by a sugar daddy, none of them would admit that deep down, they secretly envied and resented her. Why was the sugar daddy so blind as to choose Chu Xi? Wouldn’t it have been better to lavish those resources on their own idols?

But when they saw today’s photo, the hidden envy and jealousy of rival fans instantly turned into ridicule.

Look at the age, look at the appearance, look at the balding head, look at the beer belly—tsk tsk tsk.

Everyone immediately took malicious delight. A greasy old man in his sixties—Chu Xi really has no standards, huh? Probably needs Viagra every night and calls him “daddy.” No matter how good your resources are, Chu Xi, we don’t envy you at all, hahaha!

Ugh, the nouveau riche and his sugar baby.