After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Not long after the IV drip started at the hospital, Shao Niannian’s high fever began to subside, only to be replaced by intense nausea. The discomfort in her stomach was so severe that she could barely leave the restroom. This was the first time Mo Yu had dealt with such a situation; still half-asleep and dazed, she watched as Niannian—who had been deliriously mumbling moments ago—suddenly snapped her eyes open, clutched her mouth, and bolted toward the restroom outside the infusion area.

Jiang Yan reacted the fastest. Hearing the commotion, she didn’t say a word, grabbing the IV bottle from the stand and chasing after her.

“Ugh—”

The heavy, indigestible oil from the evening meal, after a night of churning, was finally purged into the toilet. Niannian’s hand, wrapped in medical tape and gauze, throbbed; the needle had caused some blood to back up into the tube due to her frantic movements.

Jiang Yan held the IV bottle high with one hand while using the other to lift Niannian’s arm, keeping the injection site elevated so the pressure of her retching wouldn’t force more blood back into the line. Otherwise, the nurse would have to poke her again.

The sound of rushing water echoed repeatedly in the small restroom. Once the things weighing down her stomach were cleared, Niannian stumbled toward the sink. She splashed cold water on her face and rinsed her mouth. By the time she finished, her clothes were halfway soaked.

“This jacket…?” Niannian turned her head slightly, feeling a sharp twinge in the nerves at the base of her skull. “Whose jacket is this?”

“Wen Jing’s.”

Jiang Yan pulled out some tissues and began wiping the water dripping from Niannian’s cheeks. The fine strands of hair on her forehead were wet, too, but the hospital’s cheap tissues were low quality—when wet, they shredded, leaving white flecks stuck to Niannian’s face.

“Don’t worry, she probably won’t want this back anyway. If it’s dirty, it’s dirty,” Jiang Yan said, crumpling the tissues into a ball and tossing them into the bin. She then reached out to pick the paper scraps off Niannian’s skin. “Do you still feel like throwing up?”

“No more.”

Now that the fever was down and the “stone” in her stomach was gone, Niannian unzipped the down jacket so the damp fabric wouldn’t press against her and make her catch a fresh chill.

“Let’s go back then. We need the nurse to reset your needle.”

Jiang Yan locked the IV flow regulator and helped her back. Once the line was cleared and restarted, the small group finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“What on earth happened? Why the sudden fever and sickness?” Mo Yu asked, crossing her arms and pondering. “Could it be the food? But the whole crew ate it, why are you the only one with such a violent reaction?”

Niannian’s breathing was shallow. She wanted to answer, but she was so weak that even opening her mouth felt like an ordeal. She could only huddle inside the unzipped jacket, her bloodshot eyes staring wide at Mo Yu, unable to utter a single word.

“She’s clearly unwell, and you’re hovering over her asking questions she can’t answer,” Jiang Yan said calmly. “Instead of wasting time, you should contact her manager. This counts as a failure on your part. If something happens to an actor on your set, you’ll be paying compensation per the contract.”

“Hey! This wasn’t during filming hours; it’s not a workplace injury!” Mo Yu was notoriously defensive when it came to money. “Besides, I’m asking for her sake. If there really is a problem with the catering, shouldn’t we find out early and fix it?”

“Do we wait until everyone ends up in the hospital?” Mo Yu huffed. “Then it’s not just one person’s injury; the whole production schedule gets trashed.”

“That’s enough,” Jiang Yan dismissed her impatiently. “She has at least three more bottles of fluids to go. It’ll be morning by the time she’s done. I’ll stay here. You and the guide should go back and sleep.”

“The table read is tomorrow. If she misses a bit, she can catch up, but is it appropriate for the director to be missing?”

Jiang Yan waved her phone at Mo Yu. When the director didn’t move, she added a threat: “If you don’t leave, I won’t mind letting one more person know that you stayed up past midnight again instead of following your health routine.”

Mo Yu’s mouth twitched. Niannian watched as Mo Yu’s lips moved silently, and though she couldn’t hear a sound, her intuition told her the director was cursing—and it was probably quite colorful.

“You win,” Mo Yu rolled her eyes, turning to leave with the guide. “Wen Jing sent you here as an acting coach? She’s not ruining you, she’s ruining me!”

“Coming to work with a human monitor attached… how much is she paying you anyway?”

Jiang Yan and Mo Yu exchanged a “code” that Niannian didn’t understand. “Not much, purely voluntary. There are always ways around policies—I bet you found a crack in that early-to-bed check-in app a long time ago, otherwise, would you have dared to stay up until 1 AM last night?”

“…”

Mo Yu shook a fist at Jiang Yan. “Shut up. Take care of the junior. I’m going back. Call me when you two are done.”

“Mm,” Jiang Yan grunted. Just before Mo Yu disappeared from the infusion hall, she called out, “No need to call her manager. I’ll handle the contact.”

“Since I’m here, it’s easier for them to talk and let her know she’s safe.”

“Fine, you decide.” Mo Yu was more than happy to hand over the tedious social interactions.

Once they were gone, the infusion area fell into a deep silence, broken only by the low-volume sound of a Tom and Jerry cartoon playing on an old TV.

Niannian sat on the cold metal bench, her eyes glazed over as she watched the cat and mouse chase each other. Her head and stomach still throbbed dully. She couldn’t sleep, but she didn’t have the energy to initiate a conversation with Jiang Yan.

“Do you have a bad stomach?” Jiang Yan asked. She was sitting beside her with her hands in her pockets, watching the childish cartoon. She couldn’t quite understand how a twenty-four-year-old girl could stare at it without blinking.

“Mm…” Niannian hummed a soft affirmation that sounded like a weary groan. She gave a slow nod.

“Mo Yu mentioned this evening that you were too thin and didn’t fit her image of the Mute Girl,” Jiang Yan said, connecting the dots. “The crew’s food was incredibly greasy. You didn’t force yourself to eat it, did you?”

“I did.” Niannian finally tore her gaze from the TV to look at Jiang Yan. “I remember… Miss Jiang’s stomach isn’t very good either…”

“I didn’t eat it,” Jiang Yan said bluntly. “One look at that food told me it was oily. I don’t touch stuff like that. I went out with my assistant to eat.”

Niannian’s eyelashes fluttered, and she shrunk deeper into her jacket. “I was alone. I didn’t dare go too far… I didn’t want to get lost and cause trouble for the crew.”

Jiang Yan hummed. She understood Niannian’s logic. “Don’t worry. Mo Yu’s ideas change every day; you don’t have to follow her every word. If you can’t handle the crew’s food, you can eat with me from now on. My assistant can cook, or we can bring you something light from outside.”

Jiang Yan paused, a realization hitting her. “How did you know my stomach isn’t good?”

Niannian’s fingers tightened against the inner lining of her jacket pockets. She went back to watching the old TV in silence. It lasted so long that Jiang Yan thought she wouldn’t get an answer.

Finally, Niannian spoke. “In our industry, whose stomach isn’t messed up? We never eat on time, and we have to gain or lose weight constantly for roles.”

She looked up at Jiang Yan, a strained smile on her pale face. “Having a bad stomach should be pretty normal, right?”

“Normal,” Jiang Yan agreed. She pulled out her phone and checked a message from her manager—it was Gao Hui’s contact information. She began typing to let the manager know what had happened. “But you looked like you were eating quite happily at the BBQ stall that night. I thought you were fine.”

“That night…” Niannian smiled. “Miss Jiang still remembers that night?”

“I do.” Jiang Yan nodded. “Not only that, I remembered The Courtesans of Jinling. So we collaborated that far back?”

The mention of that movie title hit Niannian’s heart like a heavy weight. It was the thing she had hidden behind a curtain, now exposed. All those days and nights she had spent obsessively re-watching the film were suddenly vulnerable to discovery.

Niannian felt “naked” in front of Jiang Yan. It felt like the woman only had to look at her a second longer to guess her hidden secret. She instinctively leaned back until her spine hit the metal backrest.

“Did you… did you find anything? Or, or did you see anything?” Niannian asked, her voice raspy and thin.