Chapter 53: Aren't You the Disgusting One?

After entering the elevator, Gu Yancheng began to feel unwell.

He had gone to the gym right after finishing his shoot and had only drunk a glass of plain water since then. That was probably the reason.

Gu Yancheng forced himself to hold on, doing his best not to let it show.

Once he checked the contents of the USB drive, he would go get something to eat.

When they reached the floor, the elevator doors opened. As Gu Yancheng stepped out, his body swayed and he nearly collapsed to the ground, barely managing to steady himself by grabbing the doorframe.

Seeing this, Qin Miao immediately stepped aside, putting on an innocent façade.

“Oh my, Young Master Gu, what’s wrong? You’d better stand firm—don’t fall and blame me for it.”

Gu Yancheng shook his head. “I’m fine. Let’s hurry inside.”

If the USB drive really contained something harmful to Yao Yao, he needed to see it as soon as possible and remove it.

Gu Yancheng pushed himself onward by sheer will and walked toward the door.

But as soon as the door opened and he entered the room, he collapsed to the floor. His whole body was burning, and he was so weak he could barely move his fingers.

Qin Miao quickly closed the door and shouted to the startled Ruan Ruoshui, “Why are you just standing there? Come help me, quickly!”

“Oh… right.”

Ruan Ruoshui hurried over, and together with Qin Miao, they lifted him onto the bed.

Gu Yancheng’s consciousness was fuzzy, yet he kept muttering about the USB drive.

He had to… make sure everything was fine.

“Miao Miao, he looks really uncomfortable. Is this dangerous?” Ruan Ruoshui asked worriedly.

“He’ll be fine once you help him get it out of his system,” Qin Miao replied, giving her a shove. “You don’t need me to tell you what to do next, do you?”

“Miao Miao, I…”

Ruan Ruoshui gazed at the suffering Gu Yancheng, her heart aching.

When she’d first heard Qin Miao’s plan, she’d been tempted.

But now, facing the reality of it, the thought of actually doing this felt wrong…

Seeing her hesitation, Qin Miao, exasperated, grabbed her shoulders.

“Ruan Ruoshui, you’re a bottom-rung employee making three days’ wages a month. Right in front of you now is a chance to move up in the world.”

“If you sleep with Gu Yancheng, you’ll have leverage over him. You can use it to get lots of money, even achieve financial freedom.”

Qin Miao was relentless in persuading her.

Ruan Ruoshui still struggled. She understood, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Smack!

Qin Miao slapped her across the face.

“Ruan Ruoshui, don’t act all high and mighty at the crucial moment. Wasn’t it you who said you liked Gu Yancheng, who begged me in tears to set up a meeting for you?”

“Miao Miao, it’s true I asked for this, but…”

Ruan Ruoshui looked at Gu Yancheng, whose face was flushed from suffering, and simply couldn’t go through with it. “Miao Miao, I can’t. He’s been through so much to get here. I can’t be the one to ruin him.”

Qin Miao was about to explode with frustration. She hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly only for Ruan Ruoshui to falter now.

She took a deep breath, trying to stay rational as she explained.

“There’s no turning back now. You have only two choices.”

“Either you sleep with him, gain leverage, and climb higher.”

“Or you wait for him to wake up, and then he reports us both. You can forget about ever appearing before him with a good reputation again.”

Ruan Ruoshui wasn’t stupid—she understood the stakes, but her conscience was at war with her ambition.

Qin Miao pressed her advantage. “Ruoshui, think about it. So many of Gu Yancheng’s fans would do anything for a night with him, and now you have this chance right in front of you. Do you really not want it?”

“Look at how devoted he is to Ye Yaoyao. Even when he’s unwell, his first thought is to check that nothing in her private files is amiss. That proves he’s a man who loves deeply.”

“Ruoshui, don’t you want that devotion to be for you? Don’t you want to use this opportunity to make him stay with you out of responsibility?”

With Qin Miao’s persistent persuasion, Ruan Ruoshui was finally moved.

Yes.

Everyone who had pursued Gu Yancheng offline said he was a good man—attentive, responsible.

So, if they were to be together, Yancheng would take responsibility and keep her by his side, wouldn’t he?

“Ruoshui, hurry. The longer you wait, the more he’ll suffer.”

“I understand, Miao Miao.”

…

Qin Miao secured the lead role for herself.

When Wanqing heard about it, she immediately called Gu Yancheng, but couldn’t get through. Messages went unanswered.

“Yaoyao, what’s going on with Yancheng? He’s not replying, not picking up the phone.”

Ye Yaoyao sensed something was wrong, but didn’t want to interfere.

“Yancheng has his own plans. Let’s not meddle.”

“All right.”

No one had expected Qin Miao to secure the partnership.

When Gu Yancheng initially refused, his fans had supported him—Qin Miao’s reputation with the public was terrible.

No one saw the reversal coming.

Next, something even stranger happened: rumors broke that Gu Yancheng had a girlfriend.

Wanqing couldn’t stay calm—she bombarded the group chat, tagging Gu Yancheng repeatedly, demanding to know why he hadn’t told them about his relationship.

Gu Yancheng still didn’t reply.

“Yaoyao, you ask him.”

“Ask what?”

“How he started dating! He won’t reply to me, but he’ll definitely reply to you,” Wanqing insisted.

“It’s the same for me,” replied Ye Yaoyao, not wanting to act special.

Wanqing didn’t argue further—she simply grabbed Yaoyao’s phone. “If you won’t ask, I will.”

Sure enough, the moment a message was sent from Ye Yaoyao’s phone, Gu Yancheng replied instantly.

“It’s…”

“With whom?” Wanqing pressed.

“Ruan Ruoshui.”

“Ruan Ruoshui? Who’s that?”

Wanqing frowned. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“She was the one I fired—the one who’s best friends with Qin Miao,” Ye Yaoyao replied coolly.

She could more or less piece together what had happened.

But to be certain, she still sent someone to investigate.

The result was exactly as she’d expected.

How devious.

After sleeping with Gu Yancheng, Ruan Ruoshui quit her job and followed him everywhere, staying at the hotel with the cast.

This idle life quickly became addictive for her.

She was grateful that, in her moment of hesitation, Qin Miao had snapped her out of it.

Ye Yaoyao and Wanqing stormed into the hotel room. Upon seeing Ruan Ruoshui, Wanqing rushed over, grabbed her by the hair, and slapped her hard.

“You shameless creature—how dare you set your sights on my brother? Are you tired of living?”

“Let go of me! Let go!”

Ruan Ruoshui struggled, but it was only when Ye Yaoyao intervened that Wanqing finally stopped.

Seeing Ye Yaoyao, Ruan Ruoshui tidied her clothes, lifted her chin with pride.

“What? Are you jealous seeing how sweet Yancheng and I are together?”

She launched her attack on Ye Yaoyao. “You have Ye Shen and Shen Yan—isn’t that enough? You still want Yancheng as a backup?”

“Ye Yaoyao, how disgusting can you be?”

“Disgusting?”

Ye Yaoyao could only laugh. “Ruan Ruoshui, the disgusting one here is you.”