The wife, too, felt wronged. She had quit her job to take care of the family, a task no less demanding than her previous work. Yet, despite her efforts, she was met with constant complaints and dissatisfaction.
However, no matter how wronged she felt, she had to grit her teeth and endure.
Having been a stay-at-home wife for many years, her life revolved entirely around her family. Over time, her professional skills deteriorated, and the network of contacts she had cultivated before marriage had faded away.
Without independent financial means and having been detached from the working world for too long, divorce would leave her unsure how to sustain herself.
This is precisely why many full-time wives, even when aware of their husband's infidelity and his affair with another woman, dare not easily initiate divorce proceedings.
The same principle applies to celebrities. Lacking power and influence, they must depend on their agencies for resources and a foothold in the entertainment industry. Thus, even when subjected to exploitation, pressure, and unspoken rules, they can only endure the humiliation.
Jiang Ling, however, was different. She had the system by her side.
It was akin to her parents buying her several apartments before her marriage and registering them under her name.
"You ungrateful bastard, you despise me for being an old hag, don't you?"
"Fine, if you don't want to live with me anymore, let's get divorced!"
"I have several apartments under my name generating rental income, plus a substantial savings. I won't starve after a divorce, so why should I fear you?"
With resources in hand, Jiang Ling felt secure and confident, unfazed by Huohua Media's threat of blacklisting her.
After hanging up Wang Tian's call, Jiang Ling opened a video app, wanting to check the popularity of the drama "Tian Long" and gauge the public's opinion of her.
She discovered that in the comments section, aside from discussions about the plot, almost all remarks focused on her crying scenes.
Jiang Ling read them with a sense of helplessness.
She had poured her heart into portraying the character of Tianshan Tonglao, hoping to showcase her acting prowess to the audience.
To her surprise, the audience's sole focus had shifted entirely to her crying scenes.
One netizen commented that she looked beautiful when she cried and that they would stop watching if they didn't see her cry in the future.
Upon reading this comment, Jiang Ling was utterly speechless.
"They don't like anything else, only want to see me cry. Is there something wrong with their brains?"
Little did Jiang Ling know that her style of crying was unprecedented in the industry.
The audience, seeing it for the first time, found it novel and gradually became enthralled.
Male fans, in particular, were defenseless against this kind of crying, their hearts melting as they watched.
The male fans' adoration for her crying scenes was similar to how many female fans felt when their idols were portrayed as suffering in dramas. They yearned to rush forward and cherish those characters with their pale faces and heartbroken eyes, displaying that "battle-damaged" vulnerability.
Although this outcome deviated from her expectations, it had, fortunately, salvaged her reputation considerably.
Many of the anti-fans and casual viewers who had previously criticized her acting as clumsy had become fans after watching this drama, with many transitioning from passersby to fans and even from anti-fans to fans. As for the remaining critics, even if they hadn't become fans, they no longer dared to casually bash her acting.
Her objective, to some extent, had been achieved.
With this thought, Jiang Ling was in a good mood. Just as she was about to go to sleep, her phone rang.
Jiang Ling picked it up and saw it was an unknown number.
Thinking it was Wang Tian calling from someone else's phone after she had blocked him, she was about to reject the call.
However, after a moment's thought, she pressed the answer button.
As soon as the call connected, a mature and charming female voice spoke from the other end.
"May I ask if this is Miss Jiang?"
Jiang Ling nodded and replied, "Yes, I am Jiang Ling. What can I do for you?"
"Miss Jiang, hello. I am the personal secretary of President Zheng from Huohua Media. Could we arrange a time to have a proper discussion?"