The Ex-Wife of the Scumbag A Who Abandoned the Female Lead - Chapter 24

Shi Nuocen only heard her whisper, “By the way, I’m also inviting you to stay at the Ru residence for a while.”

“How long have you been here? Why didn’t you send a message?”

“Not too long.” But judging by the flushed cheeks of her ex-wife, that might not be entirely true.

Once inside the car, the warm, fragrant, and soft figure leaned in voluntarily. Shi Nuocen took the opportunity to embrace her fully, her jade-like hands naturally wrapping around, causing her ex-wife to tremble slightly with sensitivity.

“Let’s make a deal. Next time, can we not do this in the car? It’s not good to keep shaking like this.”

Ru Xi Cheng took a few seconds with her dazed mind to process what “shaking” meant, and her beautiful eyes widened instantly. “We haven’t done anything like that! It’s just…”

Shi Nuocen teased in response, “It’s just hugging, kissing, touching, and a little biting, right?”

Her ex-wife immediately gave her an affirmative look, as if to say, “You know exactly what I mean.”

With a skillful movement of her hands, Shi Nuocen feigned distress and said, “Of course I know. With such limited space in the car, even if I wanted to take it further, there’s no room to maneuver.”

Her ex-wife let out a soft whimper, her entire face flushed crimson. Unable to resist, she bit down on the instigator’s shoulder, though not hard, just grinding her teeth slowly. Muffled, she protested, “What more do you want to do? Don’t go too far!”

“For example, I really want to eat a certain fruit.” Shi Nuocen leaned close to her ear, exhaling slowly, her gaze drifting downward.

Fruit? Ru Xi Cheng followed her gaze and suddenly remembered something, her face reddening all the way to her neck.

To prevent her ex-wife from doing something drastic in her embarrassment, Shi Nuocen preemptively locked her arms around her hands, then gently touched her neck to soothe her before deliberately changing the subject.

“Why are you inviting me to stay today? Is it because that Uncle Lei that An’an mentioned has been bothering you again?”

Ru Xi Cheng nodded silently, then after a moment, said in a soft voice, “An’an misses you.”

Shi Nuocen’s mind immediately conjured the image of the little girl’s pale, thin face. “Perfect timing! I miss her too.”

Just as her fingers began to trace sensations, she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right, I still have half a class to teach. The break is only half an hour, and it seems like it’s almost time.”

“No, you can’t leave.” Ru Xi Cheng glared at her weakly, struggling to sit up on her lap, her jade-like arms wrapping tightly around her, afraid she might suddenly run off.

“Hey, don’t make me bury my face in your chest. Even if I can hold my breath, I can’t do it for too long,” Shi Nuocen hurriedly said, her voice muffled.

Since she still had to attend class, the following actions were inevitably a bit rushed and intense.

Today, her ex-wife’s pheromones seemed even sweeter than usual.

At the moment the mark was completed, she still felt a lingering sense of incompleteness.

Gazing at her ex-wife lying limp on the car seat, as if boneless, Shi Nuocen waved cheerfully before stepping out of the car. “Take your time catching your breath. I’ll head off first.”

She hurried as fast as she could, but by the time she reached the classroom, she was still 15 minutes late. Surprisingly, the theory teacher wasn’t angry and didn’t question her about the delay. Instead, he congratulated her, leaving Shi Nuocen utterly confused.

Later, she found out it was because a dating show had sent her an invitation.

The boys’ side was even more sour. During class, they were already spreading rumors about her being arrogant and having connections.

Moreover, right after the theory class ended, she was called into a conference room. The moment she stepped inside and saw Yu Ge’s assistant in the room, she had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, everyone in the room tried to persuade her to voluntarily give up her spot on the dating show and let someone else take it. It didn’t take much guessing to figure out that “someone else” was Yu Ge.

“Give up my spot? Absolutely not!” Shi Nuocen repeated this one line over and over, her attitude resolute.

The others in the room exchanged glances, unanimously agreeing that she was a tough nut to crack. In fact, they had already privately contacted the dating show production team, claiming Shi Nuocen had refused to participate. However, the production team made it clear that Shi Nuocen herself had to personally decline. So, they had no choice but to spend their breath trying to persuade her.

They repeated things like, “Youth only lasts a few years. You can’t afford the penalty, and if the company blacklists you, what will you do then? We know you once told Yu Ge’s assistant that you could just quit the entertainment industry if it came to that, but you might fool him, you can’t fool us! We asked the talent scout who convinced you to sign back then, and he said you were very eager to sign the contract. So, you must still want to make it in the entertainment industry, right?”

There were even attempts at bribery, such as, “If you’re willing to give it up, we’ll give you one million.”

Shi Nuocen almost laughed. Compared to her ex-wife’s lavish spending of a hundred million a month, these people desperately trying to persuade her seemed like a joke.

She glanced at the time. Nearly half an hour had passed and stood up impatiently. She pushed open the conference room door, leaned against the doorframe with one hand, and smiled sideways. “Sorry, I have an appointment. I’ll be going now.”

Everyone in the conference room was furious!

“What kind of attitude is that? Are newbies these days this arrogant?”

“Exactly! She’s only gotten a few invitations, and she’s already acting like she’s on top of the world?”

“It looks like we’ll have to tarnish her reputation so the production team drops her on their own.” The assistant had already decided to fabricate some ambiguous scandals to suppress her completely.

When Shi Nuocen got into her ex-wife’s SUV, she crossed her arms and stared ahead, looking somewhat dispirited.

“What’s wrong? Did someone upset you?” Ru Xi Cheng, sitting in the driver’s seat, asked when she noticed.

“Yeah, just came out of a ‘Hongmen Banquet,’” Shi Nuocen replied, rubbing her thumb against her lower lip. After a moment, she let out a few low, sarcastic laughs. “I bet they’re all cursing me now. All they can say is how arrogant I am, but have they looked at their own smug faces? Just because I seem like a small newcomer with no background or connections, I deserve to be suppressed?”

Ru Xi Cheng, who had been about to start the car, paused. Her fingers strayed and gently brushed Shi Nuocen’s chin, a move reminiscent of a playboy teasing a woman in a TV drama.

Shi Nuocen’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What are you doing?”

Ru Xi Cheng curved her lips slowly, hinting, “Reminding you that you do have a background and connections.”

Understanding dawning on her, Shi Nuocen propped her cheek with one hand, tilted her head, and asked with feigned innocence, “So, my lord, should I give you a seductive smile now? Or should I…”

As she spoke, the fingertips of her other hand lightly brushed against her ex-wife’s smooth arm, dancing like piano keys over the elbow joint until they reached the rounded shoulder and slipped inside.

This time, it was Ru Xi Cheng who felt uncomfortable. Especially with such a large windshield in front of the car even though the vehicle was parked in a secluded spot with no one around outside, and Shi Nuocen’s movements were subtle and concealed by her coat. She couldn’t help feeling intensely shy.

So shy that she curled inward. Noticing her reaction from the corner of her eye, Shi Nuocen worried she might have gone too far and withdrew her hand to avoid an awkward situation.

After that, neither spoke. Roughly fifteen minutes later, the SUV finally drove away from the spot.

Shi Nuocen had initially wanted to ask if their whereabouts might be caught by paparazzi, but then she remembered her ex-wife’s years of experience in the entertainment industry and decided not to bother with the question.

Instead, Ru Xi Cheng spoke first: “I heard you made it into the initial selection of a hundred for the girl group?”

“Ah, you’re really well-informed.” Shi Nuocen’s eyes shifted slightly as she propped her chin and leaned closer. “They say online that you’re one of the show’s mentors. Since mentor styles on variety shows can vary so much, if you happen to be the sharp, aloof type, please don’t be too harsh on me.”

Ru Xi Cheng glanced at her curiously. “What if I am harsh?”

Shi Nuocen grinned and traced a crying little figure in the air with her finger. “If you’re harsh, I’ll cry.”

Three seconds later, she added leisurely, “I’ll make you cry~”

Ru Xi Cheng’s breath hitched, and she stayed silent. This wasn’t the time to ask for trouble.

But Shi Nuocen had no intention of letting her off. She leaned even closer, feigning confusion with a sigh. “Huh? Why aren’t you asking anymore?”

Ru Xi Cheng felt a bit warm, the tips of her ears slowly turning pink. Just then, the light ahead turned red, and she took the opportunity to brake.

“Nuocen, don’t provoke me,” she said after a moment’s pause.

“Alright.” Shi Nuocen curved her eyes into a smile, straightened her back, and wisely backed off.

Seeing this, Ru Xi Cheng relaxed slightly, then added, “Since we’re on the topic of the girl group, I should give you a heads-up. Because the dating show and the girl group’s schedules are close, there’s a chance that if the dating show becomes a hit online, the girl group might avoid giving you a debut spot to steer clear of controversy even if you perform well. Of course, that’s just a possibility, not a certainty.”

“Why worry so much? We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Shi Nuocen lifted her eyelids slightly. “Who knows? Maybe some people who dislike me are already scheming behind the scenes.”

Ru Xi Cheng ventured cautiously, “If negative news comes out, do you need help?”

“No need. I can handle pressure just fine. Besides, they’ll be the ones regretting it in the end.”

“You’re quite confident.”

“Of course. When they lose money and fail to achieve their goals, their expressions will be quite a sight.” Shi Nuocen tapped her chin with a pale fingertip, a spirited smile playing on her lips. “I’ll be sure to stop and enjoy the view.”

The SUV continued on its way to the Ru residence. The villa ahead looked exactly as it had in the game’s modeling.

As they got out of the car, Shi Nuocen couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked her ex-wife, “That game, the settings and characters are almost identical to reality. Aren’t you worried about privacy leaks? Especially regarding An’an.”

Ru Xi Cheng thought to herself: You’re overthinking it. Following others’ methods, you usually wouldn’t even get to see An’an in person. You’d only get very limited information, which hardly counts as a privacy breach. But aloud, she said, “It’s not too bad. Most celebrities participating in this game are the same. Only by being genuine can others truly understand them.”

“So, the original purpose of this game really is to let the public and fans get to know celebrities better?”

Ru Xi Cheng nodded. For other celebrities, that was indeed the case, but for herself…

She glanced up at the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of that graceful figure, and her expression darkened. I only want one person to know.

As they spoke, they had already entered the Ru family’s gate. Upon stepping into the villa’s first-floor hall, they saw the entire Ru family seated neatly on the long leather sofa, all staring over in unison. Especially the elders, who wore stern expressions; the scene resembled a multi-court trial and was genuinely intimidating.

Seeing the Ru family’s attitude, Shi Nuocen almost thought she had committed some unforgivable sin. But she couldn’t forget her manners, so she greeted them one by one with a smile on her lips.

The head of the Ru family, Ru Xi Cheng’s father glanced at her sideways, then abruptly stood up and walked away with his hands clasped behind his back.

Apart from an initial direct look, the other elders paid little attention to her afterward, their faces clearly conveying one message: “Not satisfied.”

The younger generation, however, rested their chins in their hands, gazing at her with sparkling eyes and whispering among themselves, “This sister is so pretty.”

When Shi Nuocen followed Ru Xi Cheng to the second floor, she couldn’t hold back her confusion any longer and whispered, “Your family doesn’t seem very welcoming toward me? Do they all know about our past marriage?”

“Hmm…” Ru Xi Cheng nodded.

“No wonder,” Shi Nuocen sighed.

Passing by the bathroom, Shi Nuocen remembered something. She tapped her ex-wife’s shoulder and, when Ru Xi Cheng looked over, pointed to the nearby restroom, quietly reminding her, “Hey, do you want to go in and take care of something? Like changing into a fresh one? I assume it shouldn’t be that bad, right?”

Ru Xi Cheng was puzzled. “What? What are you talking about?”

“You know, overflowing. I noticed in the car.” She made a gesture of pressing her legs together.