After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Xixi hadn’t seen such warm light in a long time. As it fell upon her, it made her feel exceptionally restless in the room. Usually, her surroundings were dark, but now there was light. The warm glow felt like a sun had been placed inside the house, and she instinctively felt cozy.

The film crew didn’t have any child actors for this production, so naturally, there were no suitable clothes. Consequently, Jiang Yan went out with her assistant to buy some.

Mo Yu, who had finally waited for the two to return, was stunned the moment she saw Xixi. She stammered “You, you, you…” for a long while without being able to say anything coherent.

After a long pause, Mo Yu finally managed to squeeze out: “It’s impossible for a baby to be this big right at birth, right?” As she spoke, she gestured the size with her hands.

Jiang Yan took the restless puppy from her arms and handed it to Mo Yu. “Perfect timing. Since you’re free anyway, and you have a cat at home, this little guy shouldn’t be much different from yours. Give it a bath and keep it in our room.”

“I’m going out now to buy supplies for it.”

Mo Yu frantically grabbed the puppy. When its wet tongue licked her fingers, she shuddered. “?”

“What is this? No, wait—where did you two go today? Why did you bring back a person and a dog? Holy crap, do I need to call the police for you?”

“No need!” Jiang Yan pushed Mo Yu into the room, signaling her to get to work, then led the others away.

As Mo Yu entered the room, she looked back at Shao Niannian standing behind her, her face full of confusion.

“A good deed for a good cause—accumulating karma,” Niannian explained.

Mo Yu: “Huh?”

Wait, if you guys are doing good deeds to build karma, why drag me into it? What does this have to do with me?

Mo Yu complained in her head, but looking at the closed door and the pitiful puppy huddled in her arms, she realized she had inadvertently accepted this mess. There was no chance of backing out.

“Well then…” Mo Yu rolled up her sleeves. Looking at the little stray wagging its tail in the basin, unaware of the impending danger, she put on a “kind” smile. “I hope you don’t hold a grudge after I wash you. This wasn’t my idea.”

Xixi finished her bath alone in the bathroom. She walked out wearing clothes that didn’t fit at all; the long T-shirt was long enough to be a dress for a small child.

Niannian used a towel to wrap around Xixi’s waist, making the outfit look as if it were intentionally styled that way. The warm air from the hairdryer moved back and forth through her hair.

It was the first time Xixi had smelled a shampoo scent so sweet it was almost cloying. She didn’t know many words, and her understanding of flower pictures was hazy; she could only use the loud hum of the hairdryer to mask the sound of her question.

She hadn’t expected an answer, yet she felt soft fingertips weaving through her hair as a reply came.

“It’s a mix of rose and citrus.” Niannian sounded as happy as if she were the one being complimented. “Doesn’t it smell good?”

“Mm-hmm!” Xixi nodded vigorously, wishing she could tell Niannian exactly how much she loved the scent.

While her love for the shampoo’s scent could be spoken aloud, Xixi’s affection for Niannian could only be shown through cautious, intimate movements and leaning close.

At least, that was the scene Jiang Yan and her assistant saw when they returned from shopping. Xixi was like a puppy—perhaps because she spent every day with the stray, the best way she knew how to act spoiled was by nuzzling, just like the puppy did to her.

Now, Xixi perfectly replicated this method on Niannian. Niannian, who already felt great pity for the girl, had almost no defense against it.

When Jiang Yan walked in with the bags, she felt—whether it was a hallucination or not—a strange sense of wariness from Xixi toward her. Although Xixi said “thank you” when she took the items, she immediately turned around with her gifts to act spoiled toward Niannian. Her tone was so sweet it was as if she were a different person.

Jiang Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly. She found it strange, but more than that, she felt it was just a child’s behavior. It would be ridiculous to get angry at a kid.

That evening, the group of adults stood in Niannian’s room, watching the child and the dog play happily.

Mo Yu let out a hum. “I have no problem with her staying with the crew for now. I just want to know: what do you plan to do with this kid the day we wrap filming?”

Inside the room, Jiang Yan had long since taken off her coat. The sleeves of her spring shirt were rolled to her elbows. Ignoring the dust on the wall, she leaned against it, her graceful figure silhouetted by her clothes. Her face maintained that calm expression, as if nothing in the world could bother her.

Jiang Yan’s gaze drifted over everyone and landed on Xixi, who was squatting on the floor rubbing the puppy. She noticed Xixi’s movements had slowed significantly—the little girl was clearly listening to them.

Jiang Yan retracted her gaze and looked at Niannian, who was staring at the floor. She suddenly spoke: “Wrapping up is something to worry about when we actually wrap.”

“Right now, she is a human life standing before us. It’s impossible not to help.”

Mo Yu tsked. “Do you think I don’t know that? But you help her today—what about tomorrow? The day after? How are you going to solve that disaster of a family she has? You know the locals love to film our crew’s every move. Eventually, the whole world will know she exists, and who knows what those vicious netizens will say!”

Niannian knew the consequences of their actions all too well, but there was no other way. After turning the thought over a thousand times, she could only say to Mo Yu: “We’ll definitely find a solution before we wrap. As long as you don’t kick her out now, we will find a way before then.”

Mo Yu remained silent, frowning, and looked toward Jiang Yan instead. She seemed to be waiting for Jiang Yan to make the final call.

At the same time, Niannian’s gaze also fell on Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan, however, interestingly caught Xixi’s gaze. She feigned deliberation and didn’t speak immediately. Instead, she reached out, pulled Niannian closer by the shoulder, and leaned into her ear.

Warm, slightly moist breath moved between her ear and cheek. The tingling sensation, accompanied by a faint biological current, made Niannian’s scalp go numb. Her face flushed involuntarily, and she felt so awkward that she didn’t know whether to push Jiang Yan away or not. After all, such an opportunity was rare.

Jiang Yan lowered her eyes and noticed Niannian’s earlobe, adorned with an ear cuff, looked plump and soft. Acting on impulse, her hand reached up and squeezed it twice. Fortunately, their positioning blocked these small gestures from the others.

Jiang Yan could clearly feel Niannian’s body tense up. She laughed softly in a low voice: “Don’t worry. I can solve these things.”

Solve them?

Niannian turned her head in panic to meet Jiang Yan’s eyes, unable to hide her confusion. If Jiang Yan hadn’t said this, Niannian’s solution for Xixi’s future would have been to ask Mr. Li for help—since he was her father. Mr. Li never refused her requests, and she was certain he was reliable and could satisfy everyone—though the price might be her having to go back and be a “good daughter” for a few months.

But now that Jiang Yan said she would handle it, Niannian simply trusted her. She nodded at Jiang Yan, only to be met with the strange sensation of Jiang Yan’s restless fingers gently kneading her earlobe through her hair, along with the gentle, curved-eye smile of the other woman.

Niannian felt like her face was about to burst into flames.

Mo Yu frowned. “What kind of secrets are you two whispering? What is it that we aren’t allowed to hear?”

“A lot of things,” Jiang Yan replied coldly, withdrawing her hand. She turned and asked her assistant for two fish sausages and walked straight toward Xixi and the puppy.

“This is for you.” Jiang Yan handed one to Xixi and unwrapped the other to feed the puppy. While the dog was buried in her arms eating, she took the opportunity to scoop it up.

“Go to sleep early tonight. Don’t you want to go to the hospital to see Grandpa and Grandma tomorrow?” Jiang Yan casually pinched Xixi’s cheek, which was bulging with fish sausage. She had a rough plan in mind—a plan that would allow Xixi to escape her current situation and live a stable life.

However, this plan required drawing the “snake” out of its hole, and it required only her and Xixi to know. But the little girl was eating her food and wearing her clothes while relying more on Niannian—she had even used the same body wash and shampoo as Niannian.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan pinched her cheek a bit harder—just a little. When she saw a faint pink mark on the fair skin, she quickly let go and gently rubbed it with her thumb. Seeing Xixi’s calm face, as if the child saw right through her small pettiness, Jiang Yan felt a bit guilty.

“Sleep early.”

Xixi nodded, her voice muffled by the sausage. “Goodnight, Sister Jiang Yan.”

“Goodnight.”

Once everyone had left the room, Niannian helped Xixi brush her teeth and wash her face, and they lay down on the bed together. This was the first time since her sister grew up and they got separate rooms that Niannian had shared a room with a child this old.

Niannian’s maternal aunt was a staunch believer in being single, but she had a mixed-race daughter with a boyfriend living abroad. The aunt herself managed the Shao family business in China and was a true “iron lady,” busy to the point of exhaustion. There were no younger children on the aunt’s side, and even fewer on Mr. Li’s side.

This had resulted in a very lonely childhood for Niannian. She had no playmates her age. Every day was filled with endless classes, or the “entertainment” of sitting quietly in Mr. Li’s office to accompany him at work before going to her mother’s studio to pick her up.

When her sister was born, that entertainment disappeared. Niannian was seven then, and the following year she was sent to a boarding elementary school, only coming home once a week.

Driven perhaps by a protective instinct, Niannian took out her laptop and found some fairy tale picture books. Considering Xixi didn’t know many words, she decided to read them aloud. Throughout the process, Xixi leaned obediently in her arms.

This feeling of nurturing a “cub” made Niannian exceptionally excited. Once the child grew drowsy, Niannian carefully slid her numb elbow out from under Xixi’s neck and quietly took a photo to send to Ms. Shao and Mr. Li.

Ms. Shao, who was bent over writing a new script, tilted her head back against the chair to relax her aching neck. Hearing the specific ringtone set for her eldest daughter, she fumbled around the desk. Unlocking the phone with Face ID, she saw the face of a cute but thin-looking child.

Nian-bao: Is she cute? ~

Ms. Shao: Very cute. Just as cute as you were when you were little! Whose girl is this? Aren’t you filming? Is she a child actor from the crew?

Ms. Shao looked closer and felt the child didn’t look like the type a crew would hire, leading her to a certain guess. Niannian was her daughter, after all; when Niannian wagged her tail, Ms. Shao knew what she was up to.

Niannian: No… she’s a pitiful little kid, but super well-behaved, so I wanted to show you! Don’t you think she looks like our little sister used to?

Ms. Shao thought of her own rebellious and arrogant younger daughter. Her brain, already numb from work, felt even number. She brushed the comment aside and asked Niannian when she would be off work.

Ms. Shao: Once you finish this movie, it’ll be time for our family gathering. When are you free? I’ll have Mr. Li arrange it.

Niannian: Mr. Li and Auntie are so busy, anywhere is fine. Besides, isn’t Little Sister about to take the Gaokao (College Entrance Exam)?

Ms. Shao’s lip twitched. With a cold laugh, she sent her eldest daughter a sixty-second voice message, every word dripping with the blood and tears of the past two months.

“Don’t even mention your sister’s Gaokao. If she can get into a junior college, it’ll be a miracle! I really don’t know whose genes she inherited. Her math and English are a complete mess! At the parent-teacher conference, Mr. Li and I, people in our late forties and early fifties, had to sit on stools and take a scolding from the teacher. It was utterly humiliating.”

“We hired a tutor for her, over 10,000 yuan for seven classes. In the end, your sister just wrote her name. She’s as dazed as a skylark that hit a power pole every day in class. I’m truly impressed!”

Ms. Shao was heartbroken. “I don’t expect her to get into a top school like you did, but at least a standard undergraduate degree! Now Mr. Li has hired two bodyguards to stand guard and watch her study in shifts.”

Listening through her headphones, Niannian was both angry and amused, but she comforted Ms. Shao, telling her not to worry. “Maybe the pressure is too much and she’s frustrated. Weren’t her grades good last semester?”

“It’s because the drop was so huge that the teacher scolded us, asking if we didn’t care about her or if we were putting too much pressure on her.” Ms. Shao was fuming. All her frustration from scriptwriting was now redirected toward venting about her younger daughter. “The two dogs at home even know she has the Gaokao in June and let her win their arguments. How is that ‘not caring’ about her?”

“I don’t know what she’s thinking. It really makes my head ache.”

Worried about waking Xixi, Niannian tiptoed out of bed to the bathroom to reply to her mother in a low voice. Finally, after confirming she would have a long vacation for a holiday after the movie, the topic ended.

Mr. Li’s reply was very simple. After praising Xixi, he asked if Niannian was having trouble at work or if she needed money, telling her to call him if there were any problems.

Niannian gave a soft “mm,” sent an emoji, and stopped talking. She stood in the bathroom deep in thought for a long time before returning to bed.

Niannian dreamed all night about Mr. Li and Ms. Shao, but the dreams were a jumbled, illogical mess. When she woke up, her head throbbed, and she couldn’t remember a single thing she had dreamed about.