After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 31.2

Chapter 31.2

Shao Niannian started spouting nonsense on the spot: “I was just reading about a violent criminal case with a massive negative social impact. The final verdict was a miscarriage of justice that couldn’t be corrected. I’m red from anger.”

Jiang Yan let out a soft “oh,” temporarily unsure of how to comfort her.

After some dawdling, Niannian’s attention fell back onto her phone. Only then did Jiang Yan squeeze out a sentence.

“Don’t be angry…”

Before Niannian could even hum an agreement, a notification from Gu Yizhi popped up in her message bar.

—”Look at you, making progress. I heard from Chaoyue that your secret crush failed, so I thought you were hiding under the covers crying lately. I didn’t expect you to go behind our backs and reach third base! Tsk, tsk.”

Gu Yizhi’s words made Niannian’s face burn even redder. She unlocked her phone and immediately started arguing back.

Niannian: “That’s not it! I just… suddenly wanted to understand a bit more.”

Gu Yizhi: “Liars turn into puppies.”

Niannian: “Really! Believe me! Do you think I’m the type of person who wouldn’t tell you if I were in a relationship?”

Gu Yizhi: “Got it.”

Gu Yizhi: “So you haven’t caught her yet. In that case, those ‘textbooks’ don’t suit you. Wait a sec, let me dig something else up for you~”

A moment later, a pile of cloud drive links and shares from various “Romance Bots” pushed their previous messages up.

On the other end, Gu Yizhi sent a cute emoji holding its face. “You can look through these when you’re free. Consider it adding some ‘dog food’ (romance) color to your blank-as-paper emotional history. If they don’t apply, just read them as stories~”

“What?” Niannian’s intuition told her that the things Gu Yizhi sent weren’t quite right. She tapped a random link and saw a massive title: Online Romance is an Emotional Trap! Give Your Money, Give Your Heart, and End Up Miserable for Life!

She tried another: Why Do Young Women Commit Suicide for Love? Emotional Experts Suggest: There are Plenty of Fish in the Sea, Why Settle for This One?

Niannian backed out and clicked into the so-called “Romance Bots.” The submissions were all about nightmare partners, toxic mother-in-law relationships, and various marital ties that felt like punishments for sins committed in a past life…

Niannian’s mouth twitched. She couldn’t help but say, “You really understand ‘romance,’ don’t you?”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome. Read more and learn about unhappy love; it helps us move toward a brighter, healthier romance and marriage.”

Niannian: “Thanks. I already feel like I’m out in the mountains digging for wild vegetables (living in poverty for love).”

Niannian wanted to continue typing, but she heard Jiang Yan calling her. Just as she looked up, she saw a little girl she didn’t recognize at all, wearing filthy clothes, standing beside Jiang Yan.

The girl wasn’t crying or making a scene; she just looked at Jiang Yan timidly, twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands over and over.

“Where did this kid come from?” Niannian instinctively looked around.

They had lived here for nearly two months now, and the surrounding shopkeepers were all familiar faces. This little girl was definitely not from this immediate area.

Jiang Yan shook her head. “I don’t know. She just walked over a moment ago and asked if I had anything to eat.”

Niannian waved the little girl over. She sat up from the lounge chair, trying to keep her gaze level with the child’s. She pulled a pack of wet wipes from her pocket and handed it to the girl, gesturing for her to wipe her dirty hands and face.

“What’s your name? Why are you out here by yourself? Did you get lost and can’t find your family?” Niannian’s first thought was to call the police. After all, a missing child was a serious matter.

The girl pressed her lips thin and kept the same posture, clutching her hem. She hesitated even to take the wet wipe Niannian offered.

In the end, Niannian did it herself, carefully wiping the grime away to reveal the girl’s pretty face.

Niannian kept her voice as slow and gentle as possible to avoid scaring her. While the girl looked down at her gradually clean hands, Niannian looked up and met Jiang Yan’s eyes. The latter understood, stood up, and started walking toward the nearby shops. Under the guise of buying things, she began asking the shopkeepers about the girl’s name and background.

The lady selling steamed buns and soy milk was the most familiar with them. She glanced in the direction Jiang Yan pointed, paused her bagging of buns, and then beckoned Jiang Yan over. She lowered her voice and said, “That child, she’s so pitiful…”

“Do you know her, sister?” Jiang Yan prompted the lady to continue.

“I suppose I do.” It wasn’t breakfast time, and the stall didn’t have many customers. Sitting on her stool, the lady whispered the child’s history to Jiang Yan.

“Her father is a gambler. Her mother was from a village further in, sold to him.” Fearing Jiang Yan might think the county was involved in human trafficking, the lady quickly explained, “It was her grandmother’s family who sold the mother to the father. I heard it was for 20,000 yuan.”

“The mother was a good girl. She got into a university after the entrance exams, but her family had no money, so they didn’t let her go. She was forced to go south to work in a factory. She sent money home every month, but when she came back for the New Year, her family brought a matchmaker and sold her to the father.”

The lady sighed. “Life has to go on. The first few years weren’t bad; the couple had a livelihood in the village. It was hard work, but the days were decent.”

“Later, our county wanted to relocate the villages. To make life easier, several surrounding villages were moved into the county center, and every household was given a subsidy. The village fields and communal ponds were all leased out by the government to agricultural research institutes or companies, so everyone made quite a bit of money.”

“People change when they have money. Her man started not wanting to work, thinking the money we have in this small county was enough to last a lifetime. He started hanging out with the wrong crowd every day, learning bad habits and getting addicted to gambling. At first, that bit of money was all squandered.”

“The little girl’s mom wanted a divorce, but she couldn’t get one and was beaten instead. It wasn’t until she started bleeding that she realized she was pregnant.” Speaking of this, the lady’s face was full of disdain for the man; the more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

“The man was a piece of work. He felt no guilt for nearly causing his wife to miscarry; he just kept gambling. When the money ran out, he pawned anything valuable. The pure gold safety bracelet left by the girl’s grandmother was gambled away by that wastrel. Later, when his debts grew too large, he even wanted to wait until his wife gave birth so he could pawn her off too.”

“You tell me, is that something a human does? Later, her mom couldn’t take it anymore; she jumped into the river and killed herself after giving birth. This little thing’s father refused to raise her, so she ended up back at her maternal grandmother’s house. After a few years, the grandmother passed away. Her aunt didn’t want a useless child in the house, so she had her uncle throw her at our county’s welfare center… In the end, the people at the center saw how pitiful she was and let her stay there.”

The lady packed up the items Jiang Yan wanted and handed them over, not forgetting to add a final warning: “But this child is strange. She’s always running away from the welfare center and refuses to go to school, wandering outside all day. People have called the police before, but she won’t say a word when they ask her things. They send her back to the welfare center, and a few days later, she runs out again.”

“If you can avoid getting involved, it’s best not to. A child this age can be very strong-willed. She doesn’t come to this street often; now that she’s here and bumped into you, she’s likely up to something.”

The lady hesitated as if she wanted to say more but didn’t dare.

Jiang Yan nodded to her, indicating she understood. She took the buns and soy milk and walked back.

She knew the lady’s final warning had some merit, but being cheated out of a little money was just that—being cheated. If a brief act of kindness could help a little girl survive, it wasn’t a bad thing. After all, the girl just wanted to live.

Niannian reached out and touched the girl’s clothes. Not only were they filthy, they were as thin as paper. Although it was late spring and approaching summer, the weather hadn’t truly turned hot yet. The temperature difference between night and day was still large; it was easy to catch a cold.

“Aren’t you cold wearing so little?” Niannian was wearing a thin sweatshirt inside, so she could take off her jacket to give to the girl.

The child first looked at Niannian warily, pressed her lips together, and backed away. Her bright eyes scanned Niannian up and down. In the end, she just shook her head, seemingly unwilling to put the jacket on.

“Ah, you don’t like it?” Niannian scratched her head, feeling a bit awkward.

Before her sister was born, she was the youngest in her family. When her sister arrived seven years later, Niannian often had to act as both father and mother, but that little brat wasn’t very appreciative. Their relationship was just average.

This was Niannian’s first time trying to communicate with someone this small, and she was suddenly at a loss for words. The two stood their ground, a short distance apart, eyeing each other.

This was the scene Jiang Yan returned to. She watched with amusement for a moment before walking up to the girl. She used a bamboo skewer to pick up a small steamed bun and held it to the child’s lips. “Eat. Freshly made, still hot.”

Starving, the girl instinctively opened her mouth and bit down. She was startled by the hot juice that burst out. Having not eaten anything warm for a long time, the heat stung her tongue. She could only keep her mouth slightly open, panting continuously, shielding her mouth with her hand for fear she might accidentally spit it out.

Niannian was startled. Once the girl had swallowed it completely, Niannian gently tilted the child’s chin up with her hand, looking inside to check the condition of her tongue. “Eating things this hot is bad for you,” she said caringly. “No one is going to take it from you, take your time.”

Jiang Yan handed the bag of buns to the girl to hold herself and held the straw of the soy milk to her lips. Working together, Jiang Yan and Niannian unknowingly surrounded the girl, making it impossible for her to turn and run.

And someone who had been hungry for too long didn’t care at all if she was surrounded; her eyes held only the steaming buns and the sweet soy milk.

Niannian looked at the child and felt her heart ache, especially when her hand brushed against the girl’s clothes. Fortunately, the child looked young and was thin, likely due to malnutrition. Niannian could easily pick her up, using her jacket to cover the girl’s exposed skin.

“Eat slowly, no one is fighting you for it.” Jiang Yan tore open a wet wipe and cleaned the corners of the girl’s mouth.

Jiang Yan wasn’t in a rush to tell Niannian what she had discovered. Both tacitly avoided asking why the girl was here alone or why she had been hungry for so many days.

The girl stuffed bun after bun into her mouth, her cheeks bulging so much she couldn’t even chew. She was forced to keep her mouth slightly open, looking up pitifully at Niannian who was holding her. Her nose, red and chapped from the wind, twitched as she took a couple of breaths. Niannian worried she might choke.

Fortunately, after a moment, the girl’s attention returned entirely to the buns, and she focused single-mindedly on finishing the one in her mouth.

Held by the most famous of the “Four Vases” and fed soy milk by a Triple Crown Best Actress. From an outsider’s perspective, this little girl had reached the peak of her life today, bar none.

After a sip of soy milk washed the remaining bun skin and meat into her stomach and she felt much warmer, a voice like a tiny mosquito sounded between the three of them.

“Xixi.” The girl lowered her eyes slightly, obediently allowing Niannian to hold her. There were still unfinished buns in the paper bag. She carefully rolled the opening of the bag, biting the straw that now bore her teeth marks, her cheeks moving like a feeding goldfish.

“What?” Niannian let out an “ah” and tilted her head to look at Xixi. She really hadn’t heard what the girl just said.

Jiang Yan, however, calmly waited for Xixi to finish the soy milk. Seeing the girl’s reluctant expression, she shook the empty cup in her hand. “It’s gone.”

“Were you just telling us your name?”

“Mm.”

Jiang Yan asked again, “Which ‘Xi’? The ‘Xi’ in sunset (夕), or the ‘Xi’ in West (西)?”

The girl didn’t answer this time, just staring at Jiang Yan with wide eyes.

“Not the sunset one?” Jiang Yan said softly. “The ‘Xi’ from North, South, East, West.”

“What?” Holding the girl, Niannian frowned, completely unable to understand the riddles this adult and child were playing.

But before she could ask, the girl, clutching the rolled-up bag of buns, struggled to get out of Niannian’s arms. Because she was so thin, her bones pressed against Niannian’s skin with every movement. Worried she might hurt Xixi if she held on too tight, Niannian simply let go as the girl pushed away.

As Xixi jumped down, Niannian reached out her hand in a protective gesture, fearing she might fall. Upon landing, Xixi ran faster than a ginseng fruit dropping from a tree and vanishing. She didn’t look back once, as if afraid Niannian and Jiang Yan would chase her.

In reality, they didn’t. The two adults sat quietly on their lounge chairs, making no move even after Xixi had disappeared from sight.

Niannian patted the dirt and dust off her jacket. She tried to rub out a stubborn spot with her finger, but gave up when it wouldn’t come out.

Jiang Yan then told Niannian the information she had gathered. Niannian’s reaction was unexpectedly calm.

“You’re that calm?” Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow. After all, when she searched Niannian’s name, it wasn’t hard to find her record of good deeds—like charity galas. While others went to the red carpet to be seen, Niannian actually did charity; her donations were always among the highest. She even responded to the national youth volunteer calls to clock in hours.

“It wasn’t hard to guess,” Niannian sighed, standing up and inviting Jiang Yan. “I’ll treat you to a roasted sweet potato. Do you want to walk around with me?”

“Sure, I’d be glad to.”

The two walked side-by-side in the direction Xixi had disappeared. As they walked, Niannian analyzed the situation.

“Guessing isn’t that hard. In a small county like this, everyone knows everyone. It’s impossible not to recognize Xixi. A strange child appearing on the street… even a dog would look twice. But the people around ignored her, which clearly means they know who she is.”

“Secondly…” Niannian paused slightly. “For Xixi to appear like that on the street, either her parents don’t care about her at all, or her parents are both dead and no one is looking after her.”

“I just didn’t expect it to be a gambler again.”

Jiang Yan caught the keyword. “Again?”

“Mm.” Niannian put her hands in her pockets and answered casually. “Gambling has ruined plenty of people and families. I’ve seen too many pitiful cases like hers.”

Jiang Yan thought of the records she had seen—Niannian had done many charity events, so it wasn’t surprising she had seen such things. After all, on this land, it had only been a few hundred years since women were able to step out of the home, receive education, and shine in various industries. Pitiful women and pitiful families were tied together, brewing one tragedy after another. The victims might be long gone, but the perpetrators remained, either barely scraping by or living quite comfortably.

Niannian’s offer to buy Jiang Yan a sweet potato wasn’t a joke. However, the sweet potato was an extra; finding the runaway Xixi was the priority.

Jiang Yan looked at the smoked sweet potato wrapped in a paper bag in her hand. The sweet syrup had soaked through the bag, giving off a sugary aroma. Peeling away the wrinkled, blackened skin revealed the steaming, moist flesh inside. A single bite sent sweetness spreading through her mouth. It was actually quite good.

“Are you trying to find that girl from before?”

“Mm,” Niannian nodded. “It rained heavily a few days ago, and now it’s starting to get dry and hot. The weather is unpredictable, which is deadly for a child.”

“Xixi folded up the leftover buns. She’s either saving them for herself or bringing them to someone else. Either way, it’s a good lead for us to find her.”

After all, freshly made buns have a distinct scent of meat and green onions. By following that scent, they could navigate Xixi’s trail through this small county.

Niannian tugged at her dirty jacket. “This perfume has a very long-lasting scent. Gao Hui used to complain that if she stood near me for too long, she’d be ‘marinated’ in it.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yan immediately understood Niannian’s plan. “So the reason you were holding Xixi just now was because you knew she would run?”

“Not exactly.” The sweet scent of perfume and the green onion aroma of the buns couldn’t be hidden in the air, leading Niannian and Jiang Yan toward the remote edge of the county.

They had been to that area before; it housed the only middle school in the county and was the location they had borrowed for their dialogue scenes.

“I really did think she was wearing too little and was worried she’d catch a cold,” Niannian said, biting into the sweet potato and blowing out hot breath. “Later, when I saw her resisting us, I guessed she might run. In the process of giving aid, I’ve seen many children like that.”

“I rarely go to actual charity events,” Jiang Yan admitted frankly. “Usually, I just donate money or supplies. I’m not good at these activities. Besides, if I go, the disastrous level of attention might do more harm than good for the children.”

Jiang Yan thought of some of her more frenzied fans and felt it wasn’t a reliable way to help.

Niannian waved her hand. “With charity, everyone just does what they can. I do it because…” Niannian suddenly stalled, falling silent and biting her sweet potato without continuing.

“Mm, it’s roughly around here.” Niannian and Jiang Yan stopped at the entrance of the middle school. The scent had dissipated here, likely because the area was open and the buildings weren’t as dense as the county center.

Jiang Yan lowered her eyes, looking at the security guard poking his head out of the booth to watch them. She figured they wouldn’t be able to get through the school gates.

“What do we do now?”

The scent was gone. Continuing the search was easy to say, but actually finding someone in this area wasn’t something that could be done in a short time.