After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The production crew had contracted a local restaurant to deliver boxed meals every day. The food was heavily oily and salty—so much so that several actors, concerned about their physique, refused to eat it.

Shao Niannian originally didn’t want to eat either, but Mo Yu had mentioned that the “Mute Girl” needed to look fuller, not gaunt, and encouraged her to eat more.

“But I…” Before Niannian could offer an explanation, a lunch box was thrust into her hands. She didn’t even need to lift the lid to smell the pungent aroma of chili and grease.

She had a sensitive stomach and couldn’t handle heavy oil and salt. Eating such things caused her to bloat, which ruined her appearance on camera. High-definition lenses tended to widen a face, making actors look much heavier than in real life. While Niannian had a normal figure, her weight tended to settle in her face, leading directors to constantly criticize her for being “fat.” Consequently, Gao Hui kept a strict eye on her diet.

Niannian tried to trade her meal with staff members for something simpler, but after a lap around the set, she realized boiled cabbage was a luxury item; no one was willing to trade it for meat.

She gritted her teeth and took a few bites. Almost immediately, her mouth and stomach felt uncomfortable. Her chewing slowed to a crawl until, unable to finish, she closed the lid and set it aside.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching, she clutched her stomach and hurried upstairs. The greasy taste in her mouth wouldn’t wash away even with water; it felt as though an oily film had coated her throat, making her feel nauseous and faint.

Leaning over the sink, she retched until her empty stomach burned with a searing pain. She looked into the mirror: her face was deathly pale.

Between the long-distance travel on an empty stomach and the lingering adrenaline of the move, Niannian’s physical limits had been reached. She wiped the water from her lips, sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, and found the discomfort unbearable. She curled up on the bed, her damp bangs clinging to her forehead in wet strands. Exhausted and weak, she fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.

In her haze, Niannian vaguely sensed people entering and leaving the room. She even heard Wen Jing ask, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Mm…”

Niannian groaned twice from the bed, and Wen Jing didn’t push further. After all, with the table read starting tomorrow, staying up late meant being at Mo Yu’s mercy. Even though Wen Jing’s acting was poor, she was professional enough to know the stakes.

Niannian had intended to sleep it off, but in the middle of the night, Wen Jing shook her awake. Through a blur of fever, she saw Wen Jing standing by the bed in a nightgown, her face full of worry.

“Shao Niannian? Shao Niannian! Are you okay?” Wen Jing had been sleeping soundly when she was woken by Niannian talking in her sleep. At first, the voice was faint, and Wen Jing assumed someone was out in the hall handling work. But as the murmuring persisted, sounding right in her ear, she snapped her eyes open.

Listening closely, she realized Niannian was delirious—sobbing for her mother, calling for Gao Hui, and mentioning several other names.

Wen Jing called out to her a few more times. Realizing something was wrong, she scrambled out of bed and turned on the lamp. When she touched Niannian’s forehead, she found the girl burning up. Niannian’s breath was scorching. Without even grabbing a robe, Wen Jing shoved her feet into slippers and dashed to the last room on the floor.

“Director? Jiang Yan? Wake up! Something happened!”

She hammered on the door, startling the two inside. When Jiang Yan opened the door, she looked annoyed, wrapped in a simple coat. “What is it? Is the sky falling?”

Wen Jing stiffened at the sight of her, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. Her personal grudge with Jiang Yan was less important than a girl currently baking alive. “Shao Niannian has a high fever. She’s talking nonsense. You and Mo Yu need to come and get her to a hospital.”

“What?!” Mo Yu, still half-asleep and barefoot, poked her head out from behind Jiang Yan. “Wait, a fever? Does she kick her blankets off at her age?”

Compared to the other two, Jiang Yan was the picture of calm. “A medical kit won’t fix a fever that high. I’ll take her to the hospital.”

Jiang Yan demanded the keys to the crew’s rental car from Mo Yu and told her to call the local guide to find the nearest hospital.

Wen Jing followed Jiang Yan back to the room. Pulling the blankets back, Jiang Yan noticed Niannian hadn’t even changed out of her clothes from earlier, meaning she must have felt ill the moment she stepped upstairs.

“Get a coat out of her suitcase,” Jiang Yan directed Wen Jing calmly. “She hasn’t broken the sweat yet. It’ll be freezing outside. Get something thick.”

“Thick clothes?” Wen Jing crouched by Niannian’s suitcase and stared at the combination lock. “How the hell should I know? Why is this locked? She’s 165cm; I can’t exactly give her one of my T-shirts to wear as a dress.”

Jiang Yan scooped Niannian up. The girl groaned and tried to retreat back into the blankets, weakly pushing at Jiang Yan’s hands. To someone like Jiang Yan, who exercised regularly, Niannian’s resistance was less than the scratch of a kitten.

As Jiang Yan supported her back and slid an arm under her shoulder to pull her up, Niannian instinctively burrowed into Jiang Yan’s embrace, whispering in a pained voice.

“It hurts…”

“Hurts? Where?” Jiang Yan’s movements softened. Niannian didn’t answer; she just leaned her weight against Jiang Yan and fell back into a stupor. Her hot breath fanned against the skin of Jiang Yan’s neck, making the actress flinch slightly from the heat.

“Wen Jing, did you find the coat yet?” Jiang Yan struggled to hold her up. A limp person is heavy, and it was nearly impossible to get Niannian’s shoes on alone.

“Stop nagging! Her suitcase is locked, so I’m giving her my own coat.”

Wen Jing hadn’t packed her own bags, so she had to fling open three different 30-inch suitcases before finding what she needed, cursing under her breath. “Why the hell do I have so much useless stuff? I swear!”

“You only have yourself to blame,” Jiang Yan retorted smoothly. “Your assistant prepared everything because you’re so high-maintenance.”

Wen Jing rolled her eyes as she finally found a thin down jacket. She helped Jiang Yan prop Niannian up, shoved the jacket on her, and together they navigated the girl downstairs. Mo Yu and the guide were already waiting by the car.

“Go back to sleep. The three of us can handle it,” Jiang Yan said, dismissing Wen Jing. “I’ll call you later if there’s news.”

“Fine.” Wen Jing buried her face in her own plush coat. “This has nothing to do with me.” Then, as an afterthought, she repeated, “This really has nothing to do with me.”

“I know,” Jiang Yan grunted, waving her away. She shut the car door and urged the guide to drive fast, before Niannian’s brain literally started to fry.