After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The filming of the movie was progressing smoothly. Since the latter part of the plot involved intense pursuits and counter-kills—mostly physical action—Mo Yu decided to concentrate the dialogue-heavy scenes together so she could meticulously refine the action sequences later.

Based on the current progress, they were estimated to wrap up within two months. However, unexpected complications always arise.

Wen Jing had an emergency commercial event for one of her endorsements that required her to be away for a week. The remaining scenes for the other supporting actors weren’t enough to sustain the production during this hiatus. Mo Yu wasn’t keen on granting the leave, but Wen Jing’s manager mentioned that “President Wen” (Wen Jing’s mother) would be adding further investment to the project, so there was no need to worry about the crew’s expenses during that week.

“President Wen will reimburse all costs. Director Mo just needs to have the logistics team keep the receipts ready.”

With a major financier speaking like that, what could Mo Yu say? Wen Jing had a good mother. The week’s expenses plus the additional investment far exceeded the money Wen Jing would make at the event, but rich people didn’t care; they were essentially paying to give their daughter a hobby to work at.

With money on the table, Mo Yu readily agreed, waving her hand to grant Wen Jing a week off. As for the rest of the crew, Mo Yu told them they could explore the surrounding areas but insisted they travel in groups and stay safe.

Wen Jing’s departure didn’t make Jiang Yan particularly happy. Even when Mo Yu teased her about finally being rid of the “trouble” for a while so she could live in peace, Jiang Yan only pursed her lips.

“She doesn’t even qualify as ‘trouble,'” Jiang Yan said coolly, looking up at Mo Yu. “She just has a bit of a young-miss temper and likes to make a scene. It’s not a real problem.”

Mo Yu clicked her tongue, pressing her tongue against her cheek. “Sure, keep being stubborn. Don’t ever change!”

“If Wen Jing is just a ‘child with a temper’ to you, then who is the little beauty responsible for that moping face of yours lately?” Mo Yu felt she knew Jiang Yan all too well.

Before Jiang Yan could deny it, Mo Yu cut her off. “Don’t you dare deny it. How many years have we been friends? One look at your eyes and I can tell exactly who you’re trying to impress.”

“Just tell me who you’ve set your sights on.”

Jiang Yan remained silent, merely glancing at Mo Yu. Mo Yu, finding no entertainment there, shut up, though she remained confident in her judgment.

In truth, Jiang Yan did have someone on her mind. And it wasn’t Wen Jing, who had already been driven out of the county. It was Shao Niannian, who hadn’t properly replied to her messages in over a week.

Well, it wasn’t that she didn’t reply at all.

Niannian replied exactly three times a day. Anything more felt like she needed to pay to unlock a new tier, and Jiang Yan couldn’t find the “payment” button anywhere. Consequently, Jiang Yan could only wait for the “cooldown” to end before receiving another text.

They were in the same crew and lived on the same floor, yet Niannian hadn’t given Jiang Yan a single opportunity to catch her alone. Even if Jiang Yan wanted to corner her and ask what was wrong, the chance never arose. Since Niannian and Wen Jing shared a room and commuted together, it was only “natural.” And it was this “natural” behavior that prevented Jiang Yan from seeking her out.

She didn’t want Wen Jing to have the satisfaction of laughing at her. Even if the sky fell, she wouldn’t allow that.

Now that Wen Jing was finally gone, Jiang Yan was looking for an opening, but she couldn’t find a good excuse. So, she waited.

While Jiang Yan was waiting for the “Stone Monkey” to emerge from under the mountain, the “Stone Monkey” (Niannian) was actually having a great time.

The girls from the logistics and art departments had found a shop in town that made incredible braised snacks. Every few days, they would buy a mountain of food and huddle in a room to watch ghost movies. They used a phone to cast the screen onto a second-hand TV they had paid the landlord to move in. A dozen people would crowd around, standing or sitting, watching with rapt attention.

As soon as filming stopped, Niannian was enthusiastically invited to the party.

“Hey, why didn’t you invite me before?” Niannian ran downstairs. The moment she entered the room, she smelled the spicy aroma of the braised meat. Thinking of her rebellious stomach, she grabbed a bottle of water to line her gut first.

The lead girl said sheepishly, “Well, you share a room with Wen Jing…”

“If we invited you and not her, it would be awkward. And since she comes from such a wealthy background, we figured she wouldn’t want to hang out with us or eat this kind of stuff.”

Niannian nodded understandingly. She took a pair of gloves from another girl, thanked her with a sweet smile, and sat down to watch the movie.

If she had known twenty minutes later that they were watching a horror film, she would have turned and run the second she stepped through the door. But she had already eaten the braised snacks; she was on this “pirate ship” now.

Niannian was terrified. Every jump-scare nearly killed her, while tears of spice and fear streamed down her face.

Sniffle…

“This braised meat… is too good!”

She couldn’t bring herself to leave the bed and say, “I can’t watch this, sorry.” She could only gnaw on a braised chicken wing while shrieking in terror every time the movie got scary. By the time the movie ended, Niannian felt like she had burned off all the calories from the snacks just by being scared.

“That plot wasn’t scary at all. How did it get an 8 on that site? What kind of rating system is that?”

Niannian, who was still dazed from the fright, bit into a chicken wing with a look of pure confusion. Not scary? Do you want me to actually die before it counts as scary?!

“Thai ghost movies are like that. Not actually scary, just a bit chaotic.”

“Yeah, next time let’s look at Douban ratings instead.”

The group gossiped about the plot while finishing the remaining snacks, then headed back to their respective rooms. By the time the meeting broke up, it was 7 or 8 PM. The hallways and stairs of the house were dimly lit, perfectly matching the atmosphere of the horror movie they had just finished.

Niannian was the only one who had to climb several more floors.

Her sneakers made a scraping sound against the concrete—like sand caught in the tread of her shoes. As the doors on the lower floors closed one by one, the hallway became deathly silent. The sound of her climbing became incredibly distinct; every little noise was amplified in her ears.

To make matters worse, a gale was blowing outside. Through the half-closed windows in the hallway, the branches of trees were thrashing about, knocking against the building—thud, thud, thud—striking directly at Niannian’s heart.

The wind howled as it surged through the windows. The dim light and the cold draft made Niannian shiver with fear.

“Amitabha, Buddha protect me… I really didn’t see anything just now! I was just focused on my chicken wings! I didn’t see a thing!”

Niannian began to repent. She shouldn’t have stayed in that room for three hours just for some tasty snacks. Not only was she stuffed, but her uncontrollable curiosity had forced her to look at the screen once or twice. Now, she was a nervous wreck.

She went through every deity she could think of, from the East to the West, nearly reciting her entire family tree for protection.

In a gap between her prayers, Niannian was still a short distance from her floor when her taut nerves caught a sound that didn’t belong to her.

It was the sound of shoes rubbing against the floor. Tap, tap, tap.

The sound was light, but it was steadily getting closer.

In an instant, every horrifying image she had caught a glimpse of flashed through her mind. Her breathing grew shallow as she listened, praying she was just hallucinating. Outside, a light rain began to fall. The wind whipped the rain through the small window, hitting Niannian’s face and making her shudder.

Tap, tap, tap…

The sound was closer. It felt like it would appear behind her any second. She didn’t even dare to look back. Her mind went completely blank.

Just as she froze in place, too terrified to move, she heard a voice call her name from behind.

“Shao Niannian?”

“!”

A thousand curses flew through Niannian’s mind. Her frozen feet suddenly found new speed. The voice called out twice more. Perhaps because of the distance, or because the wind swallowed the sound, the voice didn’t sound human to Niannian’s ears.

Her mental state collapsed. She sprinted up the final flight of stairs, nearly tripping on the last step, and charged toward her room like a cannonball.

The footsteps behind her accelerated as well. Her hands were shaking so much she could barely get the key into the lock.

“I didn’t do anything to you!” Niannian slammed the door shut, flicked on the light, and dove onto her bed. She kicked off her shoes and buried herself under the covers, chanting “Namo Amitabha” over and over.

Under the dark covers, there was only the sound of her racing heart and ragged breathing. The tingling sensation of pure terror started at the back of her head. She made sure to pull her feet inside the blanket and rolled around to tuck the edges tightly under her body.

She didn’t dare lift the covers. She was terrified that if she did, the “ghost” she had locked outside would be standing by her bed, pale-faced and baring its teeth.

Fear had completely hijacked her logic.

Meanwhile, the “ghost” standing outside the door looked utterly dejected.

“Did Wen Jing say something to her?” Jiang Yan wondered. She hadn’t done anything wrong lately! No scandals, no nothing.

Why did this person—who had been so close to her just a while ago—now act like Jiang Yan was a vengeful spirit out for her soul? Running away at the mere sight of her?

Jiang Yan eventually had to swallow her frustration. Her hand hovered near the door for a long time, but in the end, she didn’t knock.

Forget it. There will be chances to explain later. There’s no rush.