In a private club within Flower City.
When Tang Jing appeared before her, Ouyang Qing’s eyes lit up.
When they were in high school, Tang Jing didn’t stand out much. But now, she had grown into a gorgeous beauty, which was beyond Ouyang Qing’s expectations.
“Jing, do you still remember me?” Ouyang Qing stood up.
“Of course I do. How can I forget you, Ms. Ouyang?” Tang Jing laughed.
Despite having good grades in school, Tang Jing came from an ordinary family.
In order to climb the social ladder back then, Tang Jing ingratiated herself with someone. That person was Ouyang Qing.
Ouyang Qing was the most perfect among all the girls in high school. She came from a rich family, was pretty, and also had good grades.
She looked as if she was an angel sent from heaven. Being exceptionally attractive, she was like the moon shining high in the sky while all the other girls were just stars dotted around her.
Beside her, Tang Jing was one of those stars that weren’t bright enough and were easily overlooked.
There was once when Tang Jing got on Ouyang Qing’s nerves when she was in a bad mood. Ouyang Qing then gave her a tight slap in front of many of their schoolmates.
Ever since then, Tang Jing woke up and realized that she shouldn’t be living under the shadow of someone else. It would only make her look more insignificant by comparison.
After the incident, Tang Jing transferred to another school, and no one heard from her since.
By the time she reemerged, she was already a famous actress who was highly educated.
“We were still young and foolish then. Let’s just forget about the past.”
Ouyang Qing opened her arms and prepared to hug Tang Jing.
“What happened in the past? I don’t even remember it anymore.”
Tang Jing smiled as she hugged Ouyang Qing in return as if it were all water under the bridge.
After they hugged, both of them took their seats. “What would you like to have? Red wine?”
“I’m fine with anything. I’ll let the Second Miss pick,” Tang Jing replied with a grin.
“Don’t be a stranger as we are sisters after all. So don’t call me Second Miss, but instead, call me by my name,” Ouyang Qing replied, smiling sweetly.
Tang Jing thought to herself, her smile hasn’t changed a bit after so many years. It’s still just as sweet and innocent, just like a flower.
That was the same smile that mesmerized everyone then. Even when she was angry and used her fan to cover her face, she was still smiling behind it.
However, her eyes would be filled with viciousness and contempt. Even her smile was devious.
Ouyang Qing was the first person who taught Tang Jing a lesson about the gulf between different levels of the social hierarchy.
Earlier, when Tang Jing and Ouyang Qing were still close with each other, Tang Jing assumed that she had been accepted into Ouyang Qing’s social circle.
In the end, she realized that wasn’t true, and she was never part of that circle.
She had always been outside the circle. In fact, she never even came close to being part of it.
That realization drove Tang Jing to fully focus on her studies. Her previously ordinary grades improved significantly to the extent she became a top student in school.
The path she chose was the right one. Her success today was due to all the hard work she had put in.
Despite her achievements, she still wasn’t where she wanted to be in terms of social status. Nevertheless, she had managed to make a lot of progress.
At the very least, the gap was no longer as wide. With the right opportunity, she was one step away from being part of upper-class society, which had always been her dream.
When she saw Ouyang Qing today, Tang Jing realized that this was the opportunity she was looking for.
Ouyang Qing belonged to upper-class society, and she wanted to leverage their relationship to get in.
Did I not learn my lesson from last time? Why am I letting history repeat itself?
No, I was just too weak then. I was only a paper tiger because I relied on her influence.
Things were different now. She was a force to be reckoned with, just like a real tiger. All she wanted was to use Ouyang Qing as her ticket into upper-class society – the social circle which was filled with temptations of fame and fortune.
“Jing?”
Ouyang Qing’s voice broke Tang Jing’s train of thought.
“Oh, alright, sure.”
Lost in her own thoughts, Tang Jing didn’t hear what Ouyang Qing said and gave her a cursory answer.
“You are the supporting actress for Sound of Thunder 2, aren’t you?” Ouyang Qing asked.
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“My God, you’re so pretty and highly educated. How did you end up just being the supporting actress? You are more than qualified to be the lead. Who was the one who made the casting decision?” Ouyang Qing immediately felt indignant on behalf of Tang Jing.
“I’m only suited to be the supporting actress. The lead is someone that’s better than me,” Tang Jing replied.
“Are you talking about Ding Mi? How is she better than you? You graduated from a prestigious drama school while she didn’t even make it into university. How can she even compare to you?”
Tang Jing chuckled. “Why do you know so much?”
Ouyang Qing laughed in return. “Let me be honest – we don’t exactly see eye to eye.”
“Why?” Tang Jing asked with a straight face.
“Because of Nan Chen.” Ouyang Qing was forthcoming.
In Ouyang Qing’s eyes, Tang Jing was still one of her lackeys who didn’t command any respect at all.
Therefore, she didn’t feel the need to be mindful of her speech. To her, Tang Jing wasn’t a threat at all.
However, reality would prove her wrong.
“Nan Chen?” Tang Jing pretended to not understand.
“Don’t you know Nan Chen? The third son of the Nan family and current CEO of Nanshi Corporation. People call him Sir Chen, and he is absolutely dashing.”
When Ouyang Qing spoke of Nan Chen, her eyes lit up in delight.
“Oh… It suddenly hit me. Is he the Young Master of the Nan family that you used to have a crush on?”
“That’s right, I’m amazed you still remember.”
“Isn’t he someone that’s highly placed in society? How did he get himself involved with Ding Mi?” Tang Jing maintained her indifferent expression.
“I really have no idea how that despicable woman got herself attached to him. She even bore him two bastards! Now, she is trying to leverage the children to get herself married into their family. Her ambition knows no bounds!” Ouyang Qing ranted.
When Tang Jing saw how worked up Ouyang Qing was, she gloated inside her heart.
I didn’t expect Ding Mi to end up being such a thorn in Ms. Ouyang’s side. This is getting interesting.
Now that Tang Jing understood how everyone was connected, she could easily guess the reason Ouyang Qing invited her out.
“I’m surprised to hear that. Did she and Mr. Nan have a one-night stand?”
“I don’t know. She must have thrown herself shamelessly at him while he was drunk, or perhaps she drugged him. Or else, how is it possible for Chen to fancy someone like her?” Ouyang Qing was further enraged.
“Since there are already children involved, it’s going to be a challenging task. Prominent families care a lot about their legacies who are related by blood. Having borne them children, she stands a good chance of being part of the Nan family.” Tang Jing rubbed salt on Ouyang Qing’s wound on purpose.
When she saw the fury in Ouyang Qing’s eyes, Tang Jing relished in her success in goading Ouyang Qing further.
“Nonsense! What’s the big deal about bearing children? Even a pig can do that. She’s just a sow that only knows how to bear children!”
Tang Jing was shocked by how the supposed prim and proper Second Miss of the Ouyang family could spout such vulgar words.
She stared at her in disbelief. Is this what people in the upper-class society are like?
Just as Ouyang Qing spoke, she too realized that she had lost her composure.
“No matter what, that woman has a bad character, and I hate despicable people like her!” Ouyang Qing added.
