The Ex-Wife of the Scumbag A Who Abandoned the Female Lead - Chapter 21

Miss Chi watched the interaction between the two with a mocking expression from start to finish.

Little did she expect that in the next moment, the woman she had assumed was just an ordinary kept celebrity would turn her gaze toward her and casually make a phone call, instructing lightly, “Secretary Shang, if I recall correctly, the Chi family is currently negotiating a deal with the Ru family? Reject it outright. If the Chi family asks for a reason, tell them it has to do with Miss Chi.”

With just these few words, Miss Chi not only failed to grasp the severity of the situation but found it even more laughable.

“Ha! Who does she think she’s fooling? Does she really believe she’s Ru Xi Cheng, the top-tier actress? She should take a look in the mirror; at best, she bears a slight resemblance!” she sneered without any attempt to conceal her disdain.

However, it didn’t take long for a phone call from her parents to shatter her “arrogance” and “self-importance” into pieces!

“You, you’re actually Ru Xi Cheng!” Miss Chi, likely driven mad by the shock, reacted not with an apology or retreat but by continuing to rant, “You’re just the heir of the Ru family, not the one in power. The terms my family offered are so favorable. What right do you have to refuse!”

Shi Nuocen slowly sauntered over and cut in, “Because I don’t like you, because you bullied me, and she’s my backer, standing up for me. Isn’t that reason enough?”

Hearing this, Miss Chi directed her anger toward Ru Xi Cheng: “Ru Xi Cheng, are you out of your mind? Back in school, everyone in the class knew how you felt about her! But Shi Nuocen never cared about you. You foolishly offered your heart, letting her summon and dismiss you at will not even treated as well as a pet. Now that she’s down and out, you’re protecting her like this? Does such a person, who repays cruelty with kindness, even exist? I don’t believe it!”

She rambled on recklessly, then suddenly thought of something and let out a neurotic laugh: “I get it! This must be your twisted way of getting revenge. Making Shi Nuocen fall for you, only to dump her later!”

Convinced she had uncovered the truth, Miss Chi turned to Shi Nuocen and sneered, “I’ll be waiting for the day you get dumped!”

“Clap, clap, clap!” Shi Nuocen applauded her voluntarily, even giving her a thumbs-up as she said with a smile, “I have to admit, you’ve got quite the imagination.”

Inwardly, however, she thought, even if that were the case, so what? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t prepared herself mentally. When her ex-wife had first approached her to discuss the deal, she had already suspected it might be a case of “revenge, though delayed, has arrived.” Though she had wavered later due to her ex-wife’s actions, who was her ex-wife, after all? The famous top-tier actress with first-rate acting skills.

But regardless of her ex-wife’s intentions whether sincere or feigned, she believed that given enough time together, the truth would inevitably come to light.

Even if, hypothetically, her ex-wife truly intended to do such a thing, she was no pushover. She could always retaliate in kind. When it came to matters of the heart, who could say for sure who would fall for whom first?

Fortunately, this Miss Chi didn’t know about her past marriage to Ru Xi Cheng, or who knows what kind of unpleasant things she might have said.

Shi Nuocen and Miss Chi had been classmates from elementary school through high school, only parting ways in college when they attended different schools and classes. Ru Xi Cheng, on the other hand, had been Shi Nuocen’s classmate in high school and attended the same university. Thus, it was no surprise that Miss Chi knew about Ru Xi Cheng’s crush on Shi Nuocen during high school, but she was completely unaware that the two had been married and divorced three years ago.

Precisely because of this, Shi Nuocen wasn’t worried about Miss Chi spreading nonsense online. She turned her attention back to the dress. Miss Chi shot the two of them a resentful glare, picked up her bag, and left in embarrassment.

The male clerk, seeing this, secretly rejoiced. This was truly unexpected. Not only had the situation taken a dramatic turn, but an unforeseen character had also appeared. Most importantly, if this suit set were sold, he would not only receive the official commission but also pocket an under-the-table discount of nearly 10%. Combined, this amounted to the price of a BMW!

“Miss Shi, shouldn’t you compensate according to the price? And just paying for the dress won’t do. It’s a set, after all,” he asked with an ingratiating smile.

Shi Nuocen glanced at the impatient male clerk, her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly raised. “The money will naturally be paid, but—” She lifted her chin, pointing at another female clerk, and said, “Give the commission to her.”

Though it was called compensation, when recorded in the accounts, it would undoubtedly be under the guise of a purchase.

The male clerk was dumbfounded, instantly filled with regret, but he had no idea that even greater regret was yet to come.

Ru Xi Cheng, having been recognized and brought back into the wealthy family later in life, differed from other rich heirs in that she would inquire about the price before making a payment.

The female clerk had expected the male clerk to answer, but he was too stunned, his face even showing a hint of panic. Seeing this, the female clerk had no choice but to pull up the price list on the computer. Just as she was about to announce the price, she caught sight of a professional woman striding purposefully toward them. Upon closer look, it was actually the regional general manager!

“Actress Ru, we meet again!” The general manager greeted Ru Xi Cheng first, as she had previously served as the brand’s global ambassador, and the brand had intentions of future collaboration. Therefore, upon learning that Actress Ru had arrived, the general manager naturally dared not neglect her. Turning her head, she noticed Shi Nuocen and thought: What a coincidence, another acquaintance. Miss Shi is a super VIP member of the brand, a client who spends over five million annually.

“Are the two of you here together?” the general manager quickly deduced something from their posture.

After roughly understanding the situation, she bowed apologetically to both Ru Xi Cheng and Shi Nuocen. “I’m very sorry for disturbing your pleasant shopping experience. Please accept these new items from our store as a token of our apology.”

With that, she presented each of them with an exquisite black velvet gift box. Shi Nuocen glanced down and saw an exquisitely crafted red plum blossom brooch and two matching cufflinks. She had to admit, the general manager was quite sincere. The items in her hands alone had a market value of over 200,000 yuan, and she was giving away two sets at once.

After presenting the gifts, the general manager walked up to the male clerk in front of them, her expression stern, and said, “I formally notify you that as of now, you are fired!”

“Why? I refuse to accept this!” The male clerk’s face instantly turned pale, his body swaying unsteadily. Leaning against the wall to steady himself, he shouted, “On what grounds are you firing me? I’m the store’s top salesperson! Just because I offended some so-called VIPs? I won’t accept this! I’ll expose you online!” He pulled out his phone, ready to record the scene before him.

The general manager stopped him, his gaze sharp as a blade. “Not only that, but also because your intentions are impure! You’ve been deliberately seducing the store’s VIP customers, repeatedly slipping your business cards into their pockets while they were trying on clothes. And of course, there’s the matter of falsifying product prices! Especially with the suits, how much have you secretly pocketed? You know it best! I advise you to confess all of this honestly to the police!”

“You, you actually called the police?” The male clerk’s face turned pale with fear, his legs completely giving way as he slumped against the wall and slid to the floor.”

Shi Nuocen listened in astonishment, thinking to herself, This guy pulled off so many tricks behind the scenes!

But then, recalling the general manager’s mention of “falsifying prices,” she tapped on the counter and asked, “Let me ask, how much is that dress suit I bought? The female clerk quoted a number that was hundreds of thousands less than what the male clerk had claimed.

Shi Nuocen couldn’t help but mock, “Well, well, caught red-handed, aren’t we? Seeing this, the male clerk jolted in panic. Not wanting to add to his crimes, and with the police due to arrive soon, he weakly shuffled over to her and said with misplaced confidence, “Don’t forget, you deliberately damaged store merchandise earlier. You’ll probably be reprimanded by the police too. If you don’t bring it up, I won’t mention it either.”

Shi Nuocen crossed her arms, looking down at him condescendingly. “Sorry, but I don’t respond to threats! Setting aside the matter of compensation, when exactly did I damage any merchandise?” With that, under the male clerk’s disbelieving gaze, she unfolded the dress, front and back, and even performed an impromptu sound effect mimicking tearing fabric: “See?” Just a bit of vocal mimicry, it’s perfectly intact!”

“How is that possible? I don’t believe it! Back then, it was clearly…” Before he could finish, Shi Nuocen walked over to her ex-wife and waved at him mockingly:

“Blame your poor eyesight. After all, Actress Ru figured it out right away.”

She deliberately nudged her ex-wife’s arm. “Right? You noticed, didn’t you?”

“Mm.” Ru Xi Cheng nodded. It was precisely because she had sensed something off that she had scrutinized the situation earlier.

After picking up the clothes and heading out with their haul, Ru Xi Cheng took out her phone. “Add me on WeChat. I’ll send you the notes for Heartbeat.”

Shi Nuocen scrolled through the lengthy document, then looked up and flashed her ex-wife a flirtatious wink. “I’ll be counting on you to have my back then, okay?”

Ru Xi Cheng, however, averted her gaze, arms still crossed. “Whether I have your back or not depends on your performance.”

“Performance?” Shi Nuocen reached out and touched the strap on her ex-wife’s shoulder. As the other woman flinched in sudden alarm, Shi Nuocen leisurely straightened the 1cm-wide strap, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “What are you dodging for? The strap was wrinkled.”

Only then did Ru Xi Cheng realize her mistake, though she had genuinely been startled, thinking Shi Nuocen might do something inappropriate in public.

To cover her embarrassment, she changed the subject. “Where are you headed next?”

Clutching her bags of clothes, Shi Nuocen turned back with a radiant smile. “Back to the company for class, of course. Tonight’s acting class.”

Ru Xi Cheng thought she seemed full of drive, as if she’d truly fallen in love with acting. But Shi Nuocen declared, “If I’m going to do something, I’m going to give it my all. I won’t let anyone look down on me for no reason, that’s just not my style.”

“In that case—” Ru Xi Cheng paused in her steps, trying her best to sound nonchalant as she said, “I recommend you try a game called ‘The Actor’s Path.’ You can practice your acting skills while progressing through levels, with AI guidance, it’s quite good. I’ve heard many directors, both domestic and international, keep an eye out for suitable actors on there.”

Shi Nuocen only asked, “Can it make me as good as you?”

“Huh?” Ru Xi Cheng was somewhat taken aback.

“By playing that game, can my acting skills become as good as yours?”

At that moment, an inexplicable feeling welled up in Ru Xi Cheng’s heart. With a dry throat, she asked, “Do you think I’m impressive?”

“Of course.” Shi Nuocen gave a thumbs-up, a small canine tooth peeking out from the corner of her lips.

The evening glow cast a dreamlike brilliance behind her, radiant as a fantasy. Ru Xi Cheng slowly smiled. A genuinely heartfelt smile. Yet, silhouetted against the light, it appeared hazy, as if veiled by a thin gauze, growing increasingly elusive.