After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

In the evening, the crew suddenly announced a special catered meal. Everyone rushed to finish their work, hurrying to see what delicious treats the logistics team had brought back from the outside world.

Shao Niannian was among them, primarily because Jiang Yan had secretly whispered to her that today’s extra treats were desserts.

If there were sweets, Niannian was going to be there.

She quickly sent an emoji to Jiang Yan to express her gratitude and then sprinted toward the location pinned by the logistics group. Gao Hui had told her to eat less and exercise more, but as the saying goes: “When the general is in the field, he may ignore the sovereign’s orders.”

Niannian felt a twinge of anxiety, yet she comforted herself with self-abandon—”The director said my character should eat more! And Jiang Yan said so too.”

The result of this “anxious slacking” was Niannian circling the area while clutching a cake. Her psychological self-soothing was highly effective, but the weight she was supposed to lose didn’t budge an inch. Fortunately, when she gained weight, it went to her face first, which wasn’t a huge deal; at worst, she’d be forced to run laps by Gao Hui once the shoot was over.

There weren’t many people left on the set; only a few staff members were tidying up.

Wen Jing had no interest in the food. Having been high-strung all day, the moment she clocked out, her strength vanished. She covered her eyes with her hand to block out the bright lights of the set and began to drift into a daze. Her assistant sat nearby on a small stool, keeping watch.

Wen Jing hadn’t been asleep long when she jolted awake from a dream. She had dreamed she was plummeting straight down from the sky, but during the fall, a hand reached out and caught her. The sudden sensation of stopping made her snap her eyes open.

The first thing she saw was Shao Niannian.

“You had a nightmare.” Niannian instinctively squeezed the Hegu point (the webbing between the thumb and forefinger) on Wen Jing’s right hand as she pulled up a stool to sit beside her.

Niannian’s fingertips carried a slight chill, as if they had been dipped in well water. In the cold spring air, Wen Jing shivered and instinctively tried to pull away, but failing that, she simply let Niannian hold her hand.

“My mom says if you squeeze the Hegu point like this, you won’t have nightmares if you go back to sleep. You’ll sleep soundly until dawn.” Niannian grinned at Wen Jing. Her attitude toward Wen Jing had become significantly warmer compared to when they first met.

Wen Jing’s head felt heavy from the nap. She looked at Niannian, her thoughts drifting. It felt as if she were looking through Niannian at someone else.

After a moment, Wen Jing looked at her assistant, who understood the cue and walked away, giving them space for a private conversation.

The stool Niannian had grabbed was low, making her sit a head shorter than Wen Jing on her lounge chair.

“Niannian…” Wen Jing called out. Niannian looked up at the sound.

“If you really like Jiang Yan, you’d better stay away from her,” Wen Jing warned calmly. “She might be a decent person, but her ‘condition’ won’t allow her to be a ‘good’ person.”

Wen Jing didn’t know how to voice the things she knew. She had used these unspeakable secrets to blackmail Jiang Yan into coming to this remote place to suffer with her. Since Jiang Yan had kept her end of the bargain, Wen Jing had to keep the secrets locked tight; she couldn’t be untrustworthy.

“What?” Niannian didn’t understand. Her mind strangely connected bits of information she had gathered days ago. Before Wen Jing could react, Niannian leaped to a bold conclusion.

Wen Jing was currently agonizing over how to pull this person back from the wrong path during this rare moment of a recovering conscience. But before she could find the right words, Niannian stood up and leaned in close.

Wen Jing heard Niannian whisper, “Tell me the truth… the reason you two broke up…”

“Is it because Jiang Yan is ‘incapable’ in that way, so she has some… unique tastes in her ‘Haitang’ (NSFW) life?” Niannian’s face was bright red, the flush spreading from her neck to her ears.

Wen Jing: “?”

That is NOT what I was trying to tell you!

Seeing Wen Jing’s silence, Niannian took it as a confirmation. Wen Jing then watched as Niannian shyly patted her, looking like a blooming flower.

“Don’t worry, I can handle it!” Niannian puffed out her cheeks and said bashfully, “I find it very hard to refuse requests from beautiful people. So, I think… even if she really has some ‘Haitang’ hobbies, as long as it’s not too much, I can accept it.”

Niannian thought Wen Jing had laid all that groundwork just to tell her this one thing. She suddenly felt that Wen Jing was a great ex-girlfriend—not only did she have zero intention of rekindling the old flame, but she was also constantly creating “opportunities” for her. Consequently, the various backup plans Niannian had drafted in her head were scrapped.

It’s fine, Wen Jing’s got my back.

“Huh?” Wen Jing looked utterly bewildered, instinctively rubbing her ears. She was absolutely certain Niannian had spoken Mandarin and not some strange dialect. But why couldn’t her brain translate those words into anything sensible?

Niannian’s logic had completely floored her. Wen Jing sat there in a state of mental system failure, completely forgetting what she had actually intended to say. Her entire brain had been derailed by Niannian toward “Haitang” literature.

After Niannian picked up her water bottle and wandered off leisurely, Wen Jing finally couldn’t help but curse under her breath.

“What an idiot.”

But idiots have their own special brand of suffering. If Niannian didn’t trip over Jiang Yan a few times, she’d never know how bitter the “wild vegetables” of love could taste. Frustrated to the point of breathlessness, Wen Jing pulled out her phone and changed Niannian’s contact nickname to: “Wilderness Survivalist.”

You’d have to wander the wild eating grass for ten years to be this blind in love.

Wen Jing signaled for her assistant to come back and pack up. Just as she moved, someone stood in front of her. Wen Jing had seen those shoes in the shoe cabinet at Jiang Yan’s house. She didn’t even need to look up to know who it was.

“Jiang Yan,” Wen Jing said with a slight smirk. “Being good-looking has certainly allowed you to delude quite a few people.”

“So many fools rushing toward you. Among those who caused scenes with you in the past, some probably did truly love you.”

Jiang Yan had her hands in her pockets, the metal dice clicking back and forth. Hearing Wen Jing’s words, she twitched the corner of her mouth but couldn’t manage a smile.

“I believe I told you that this is between us. Don’t drag other people into it.”

“I didn’t drag anyone,” Wen Jing shrugged. “Shao Niannian is a volunteer.”

“And aren’t you a volunteer too, Jiang Yan? Have I actually done anything?” Wen Jing laughed, pointing at her. “Instead of accusing me, maybe you should just disfigure that face of yours. Then maybe people wouldn’t be so attracted to you.”

“Or better yet, take some medicine for your psychological issues. Stop projecting fake script plots onto your colleagues.” Wen Jing leaned in, her fingers grazing Jiang Yan’s collar as she lowered her voice. “Don’t fall in love with every character you play. This mental illness of consuming your emotions and spirit in a fake world—only to feel utterly hollow when you wake up—will kill you one day.”

“If not today, then tomorrow.”

Wen Jing arched her eyebrows, accurately feeling the low pressure radiating from Jiang Yan. She reached out and brushed an invisible speck of dust off Jiang Yan’s shoulder. “But there’s no script this time. Yet I see you’re quite immersed, aren’t you, Best Actress Jiang?”

“Has your condition worsened? Are you projecting the leftover emotions of every script you’ve ever acted in onto Shao Niannian?”

Jiang Yan couldn’t stand Wen Jing’s aggressive tone. She yanked her clothes out of Wen Jing’s grasp. Before she could take a step back, Wen Jing spoke slowly.

“—Jiang Yan, having the logistics team travel that far specifically to buy desserts, expensing a ton of costs, and giving the staff private red envelopes… Don’t you find this plot familiar?”

“It’s okay if you don’t remember.” Wen Jing looked as innocent as a small animal, but the words coming out of her mouth were the sharpest of blades, carving into Jiang Yan piece by piece. They weren’t fatal, but they hurt like hell.

“Because this is the exact same plot from The Restless Night, the movie you acted in when you were twenty-two.”

Wen Jing’s red lips parted slightly, sounding like a curse, or perhaps a death sentence for Jiang Yan’s current behavior.

“You’re done for, Jiang Yan.”

“You can no longer tell the difference between reality and fiction.”