Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 64
by Little PandaAmusing Ourselves to Death
Manager 01
Queen
[LP: The Volume title refers to Neil Postman’s 1985 book “Amusing Ourselves to Death”. It critiques how television and media entertainment were changing public discourse and culture… which is true]
At the moment she gently pushed open the door, Ling Jiu, who was reviewing the upcoming plot, suddenly exclaimed “Holy sh*t!”
Ling Jiu: “Ahhhhh, host, I’m sorry! When I grabbed this mission, I didn’t look carefully. The target we need to face-slap isn’t a scumbag man, but a scumbag woman! You don’t mind, right?”
Well, it wouldn’t matter if she minded anyway, Ling Jiu held her head, feeling herself going bald [头秃 | tóu tū | meaning extremely troubled].
She hadn’t expected such an exception among all these missions. She had assumed all cases were heterosexual, so she hadn’t carefully checked the gender, unexpectedly drawing a same-sex mission.
Xin Lan: “Doesn’t matter.”
For Xin Lan, gender made no difference at all.
After all, there were female Alphas with female Omegas, and plenty of female Betas with female Betas. Whatever the gender, it made absolutely no difference to Xin Lan – she had no prejudices and could accept anyone.
While organizing her memories just now, Xin Lan had already extracted the mission-relevant content.
The original host’s life over the past twenty-something years, while not exactly smooth sailing, showed capability and determination. She had made quite a name for herself both in her entertainment company and the industry at large.
But love has this kind of magic, making otherwise intelligent people do all sorts of foolish things.
There are many cases of agents dating artists, but most endings aren’t good, especially between same-sex couples.
Xin Lan arrived at precisely the moment to catch someone in the act of infidelity.
Of course, the original host was furious – who wouldn’t be angry seeing their loved one in bed with someone else? But what Xin Lan found amusing was how that scumbag woman quickly withdrew her fingers, told the third party to leave, and started consoling the original host as if nothing had happened.
Perhaps it was love’s doing again – the original host couldn’t bring herself to break up. They entered a cold war phase, but the scumbag woman used various ways to coax her back. During public media interviews, she would make subtle confessions, showing exceptional skill at sweet-talking. The original host couldn’t resist and eventually forgave her.
The original host thought this forgiveness would make their love last longer, but little did she know, this was just the beginning of mistakes.
The scumbag woman continued to cheat both emotionally and physically, keeping it hidden from the original host while having her secure resources. When she felt the original host had no more value to exploit, she broke up.
Compared to someone who truly loves you trying to win you back, when someone who doesn’t love you puts in all their effort to reconcile, the underlying motives are chilling.
Xin Lan pushed the door open just a crack. Unlike the original host’s rage, her movements were gentle – so gentle that the people inside, completely absorbed in their passionate scene, didn’t notice at all.
Xin Lan’s lips curled into a slight smile as she pressed the record button, filmed for about two minutes, then quietly closed the door.
She sat on the living room sofa, looked at the video in her hand, and tucked it away with satisfaction.
Ling Jiu: “Host, I’ve sent you the following plot developments.”
Xin Lan: “Good.”
Xin Lan lay on the sofa, processing and organizing her rapidly accessed memories.
The original host came from a small town but was extremely hardworking. After studying diligently, she went to a first-tier city for education, working hard to establish roots there. She had managed many actors and had built good connections in the industry. To the outside world, she projected the image of a capable career woman who was particularly skilled at promoting talents.
Three years ago, she took on a new artist who had gone solo from a group – Shen Yun.
Under Shen Yun’s gentle yet assertive advances, she began a secret relationship with her own artist.
She used all the resources at her disposal to elevate Shen Yun to a prominent position.
Shen Yun was acclaimed as one of the four rising young actresses [四小花旦 | sì xiǎo huā dàn | term for promising young actresses in Chinese entertainment], with a good reputation in the film industry. Her future seemed incredibly bright.
Currently, Shen Yun had just attended a wrap-up party, and the original host had flown to the production site to celebrate with her, hoping to give her a surprise.
Surprising it was indeed, but not the pleasant kind.
Xin Lan’s fingers lightly tapped the sofa as she thought this probably wasn’t Shen Yun’s first time cheating, though in the original host’s memory, it was the first time she’d caught her.
The story that followed was clichéd, so much so that it was almost laughable.
The original host believed Shen Yun would stay with her long-term, as Shen Yun had always said. However, once Shen Yun achieved career success by winning major awards, she initiated a breakup with the original host.
The original host’s feelings were imaginable, but heartbreak wasn’t the worst blow. After Shen Yun proposed breaking up, online exposés claimed the original host was an irresponsible agent who exploited and abused Shen Yun.
Under public pressure, the original host was suspended from work.
But that wasn’t the end – she was later accused of promiscuity and drug use.
When lies are repeated often enough, people start believing them as truth. She wanted to prove her innocence, but found herself defenseless. She was just an agent, not a celebrity; she didn’t rely on fans for her livelihood. Moreover, her attacker was Shen Yun, who was at the height of her popularity. The company fired her, issued a statement, and she was driven into a corner.
The original host hadn’t given up yet. Wanting to know why she was being treated this way, she managed to contact Shen Yun through various means, only to hear the other party’s amused voice:
——”Having to pretend to serve an old woman every day was really annoying. You can’t give me anything more now. For old times’ sake, want to wish me a bright future?”
The original host felt murderous at that moment, but before she could voice her hysterical curses, the call was disconnected.
With nowhere to turn for help, people online hurled abuse at her constantly. Baseless accusations piled up against her, and all her former friends became unreachable. Everyone chose to protect themselves, unwilling to wade into these troubled waters.
Having lost both love and career, the original host fell into complete despair and jumped from the twenty-eighth floor, ending her life in a hasty and desperate manner.
All of this happened within just seven days of her breakup with Shen Yun.
In the subsequent plot that Ling Jiu provided, Shen Yun used this incident to gain sympathy from an actress she had been interested in, making that girl feel very sorry for her. Their relationship grew closer, and they began meeting more frequently.
When Shen Yun won another international award, she confessed to that actress, and they officially became a couple.
In other words, while still in a relationship with the original host, Shen Yun wasn’t just fooling around with others, but had also found her so-called true love. Not only did she attack the original host, but she used it as a stepping stone to advance her own love life.
“Trash.” [垃圾 | lèsè | garbage/worthless person]
Xin Lan summed it up perfectly in two words.
If the villain arc is meant to show how cruel the world can be, then the face-slapping arc is meant to show just how disgusting some people can be.
Ling Jiu: “Host, what do you plan to do this time?”
In this situation, using force to threaten would undoubtedly be the most irrational approach. Ling Jiu thought they should choose missions more carefully next time, but there was no helping it – the entertainment industry missions were so popular that they had to grab rather than choose them.
They felt that their own effectiveness wasn’t as important as how well the host could complete the mission.
Xin Lan: “Original plan.”
Xin Lan thought perhaps it was because of her visit to the counseling room, but now as she sat here, her mood was very calm and composed, neither proud nor impatient – she even felt like smiling.
Ling Jiu: “Ohhh, okay! Once you can meet her, I’ll immediately scan all the information for you.”
The original plan, of course, was to steal the scumbag’s woman – how could such trash deserve love anyway!
However, the information available from the subsequent plot was very limited, and Ling Jiu couldn’t determine what that person was like.
The activity behind the door seemed like it would continue for a while, so Xin Lan didn’t just sit there spacing out.
The original host had a WeChat assistant group. Although Shen Yun wasn’t a huge star yet, she was still a celebrity with decent popularity. The original host had assigned her three assistants to take care of her daily needs.
As an agent, the original host didn’t just manage Shen Yun alone – she also had a male artist under her. Because she needed to secure resources, she was very busy and couldn’t stay by Shen Yun’s side constantly. In terms of time spent together, the assistants actually spent more time with Shen Yun.
[For Sister Yun Day and Night ]
Sister Lan: “Where are you all?”
Miao Miao: “Good evening, Sister Lan! Sister Yun had her wrap-up party today and has returned to her hotel room. She didn’t want us to stay with her, so we three are in the room next to Sister Yun’s.”
A-Kun: “We watched her enter her hotel room. Everything will definitely be fine.”
Er Qin: “I’ve prepared hangover soup and other things. If Sister Yun needs anything, I’ll bring it right over.”
Sister Lan: “Mm, who spends the most time with her?”
Er Qin: “Sister Lan, it’s me. What’s the matter?”
Sister Lan: “Nothing. Everyone’s worked hard during this production period. Since Shen Yun has finished filming, I’ll treat you three to a meal another day.”
Miao Miao: “Thank you, Sister Lan!”
Er Qin: “Thank you, Sister Lan!”
A-Kun: “Thank you, Sister Lan!”
Miao Miao: “Human nature is truly just a copy machine [crying laughing emoji]”
Xin Lan exited the chat interface and began matching up the work-related parts in her memories.
In the assistants’ room next door, Zhou Qinqin felt something was off.
“Is Sister Lan not in a good mood?”
“I don’t think so. What makes you say that? Isn’t she acting normal?”
A-Kun sat on the sofa chewing gum. Although it wasn’t quite appropriate for a guy to stay in the same room with two young women, Shen Yun was quite tipsy from drinking tonight. In case anything happened, it would save the two girls from having to knock on his door, so he just settled on the sofa.
“Look, Sister Lan called Shen Yun by her full name. She’s never done that before.”
Previously, Sister Lan would address Shen Yun as ‘Yunyun’ or ‘Xiaoyun’ in the group chat, never by her full name.
“It is a bit strange, but nothing seems to have happened to Sister Yun recently. She’s just been filming in the production crew, right? No one’s targeting her on Weibo, and she’s posted her regular selfies – everything’s fine.”
Miao Miao confirmed after checking Weibo.
“Maybe I’m just being too sensitive.”
The three of them continued their discussion, completely unaware of Xin Lan’s presence next door.
Chen Qing finished dressing, fixed her hair, shared an intimate moment with Shen Yun, then opened the bedroom door and turned on the outer room’s lights.
Upon seeing the figure on the sofa, she couldn’t help but let out a startled cry.
“What’s wrong?”
Shen Yun walked out wearing slippers, her expression freezing momentarily when she saw the person sitting on the sofa.
The woman sitting on the sofa wore a small suit [小西裝 | xiǎo xī zhuāng | women’s business suit], her long hair falling on both sides, with an ambiguous smile on her face.
“Sister Lan, why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Shen Yun maintained a normal expression as she walked to Xin Lan’s side.
“Should I leave then?”
Chen Qing greeted Xin Lan and waved goodbye to Shen Yun.
“Yes, good night.”
As soon as the door closed, Shen Yun immediately gave Xin Lan a sweet smile.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I could have picked you up. Haven’t seen you for a month – I’ve missed you so much.”
LP: I’m sorry for the inconsistent updates lately. My nose allergy has been flaring up more than usual for the past weeks. If I didn’t update tomorrow or the following days, just know that my allergy is acting up.
Re-translated on February 02, 2025
Interesting, it really seems like this is the part where mc will really start liking female lead, and welp guess the female lead is the so called “true love” of this scum woman haha.
Ngl a scumbag woman is even more irritating than a scumbag man cus I don’t really care ab men
Ngl a scumbag woman is even more irritating than a scumbag man cus I don’t really care ab men