After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

After learning that Xixi was in good spirits and out of danger, Shao Niannian and the others finally felt their hearts settle back into place.

Seeing that everyone’s expressions had returned to normal, Rong En smiled and said, “This matter has been officially handed over to the police. I have some private business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now.”

“Yes, thank you for your help,” Niannian nodded. “Let’s stay in touch.”

The underlying meaning was—Keep us updated if there’s news about Xixi.

This sudden ordeal had kept the entire crew busy all day. Naturally, no filming could be done; both leads were visibly exhausted. Walking back from the vicinity of the police station to their lodgings, Niannian remained silent, walking at the very front with her head down.

Jiang Yan trailed a few steps behind with Mo Yu, while Wen Jing maintained a steady pace in the middle, keeping some distance from the two behind her.

Mo Yu nudged Jiang Yan with her elbow, her voice low. “How much of a hand did you have in this?”

“Not much,” Jiang Yan brushed it off, her brow furrowed. She clearly didn’t want to discuss it out in the open, especially with Niannian walking ahead without a word. The situation made Jiang Yan feel uneasy; she instinctively dodged Mo Yu’s questions, feeling that even with the distance between them, anything said might be overheard.

“Something’s up with you,” Mo Yu silently made a gesture for the number “eight” with her hand. “Did you put this much effort into this matter?”

Jiang Yan ignored her, looking instead at the person leading the way.

When they reached their residence, Niannian stood still and nodded to them, stating only that she was tired and going to her room to rest. She left the three of them standing at the door.

With Niannian gone, Wen Jing’s tone became much less polite. Standing on the steps, her eyes narrowed as she sneered coldly, “It seems Best Actress Jiang still hasn’t learned how to get along with others. No one likes having decisions made for them in matters they are involved in, and no one likes being deceived or kept in the dark.”

“But I suppose none of that matters to you,” Wen Jing mocked. “After all, you’re someone who can hide your own illness from the entire world…”

Jiang Yan’s expression darkened. She rarely showed her displeasure in public; as a public figure surrounded by high-definition cameras, one slip of facial control could turn her into a “villain” condemned by the entire internet overnight.

“If your family didn’t teach you how to speak with boundaries, I can teach you,” Jiang Yan said, glancing at Wen Jing. “I’ve tolerated you because I didn’t want to nitpick, and because I was in the wrong first regarding this matter. But you’d better watch yourself…”

Jiang Yan walked up the steps and brushed past Wen Jing. As they collided slightly, Jiang Yan whispered sharply, “Are you really any better than me? What you did was even more malicious. You’ve become a high-and-mighty star, while that person can only do odd jobs, with no one left to rely on.”

“Where exactly is your moral high ground?”

Jiang Yan moved to go inside, but Wen Jing grabbed her arm. Wen Jing’s voice trembled, her expression becoming unnatural. “How do you know about her? Are you investigating me?”

“If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it in the first place.” Jiang Yan pried Wen Jing’s hand off. Being slightly taller, Jiang Yan’s stern face took on a more intimidating, almost terrifying quality as she looked down with a trace of disdain in her eyes.

“I agreed to many of your demands just to ease your dissatisfaction. It wasn’t because I was actually afraid of those ‘handles’ you think you have on me.”

Finally, as if returning a favor, Jiang Yan straightened Wen Jing’s collar—which wasn’t messy—and used a bit of force to pull Wen Jing closer to her. Their overlapping shadows blocked Mo Yu’s probing gaze.

Jiang Yan whispered something, and Wen Jing stood frozen to the spot, as if a spell had been cast on her. Even after Jiang Yan had walked far away, Wen Jing still hadn’t recovered.

As Mo Yu passed by, she sighed and advised, “Why pick a fight with the most petty person here? She was willing to lower herself to play along with you; did you really think you actually had something on her?”

“Normal people can’t win against an abnormal lunatic,” Mo Yu lamented, patting Wen Jing’s shoulder. She only hoped her lead actress’s mental resilience was strong enough; otherwise, this nearly finished film might end up being shot all over again.

Back in her room, Niannian found it hard to stop herself from piecing together the timeline of the day. Her conclusion was inevitable: If she had been calmer, she might have noticed the oddities of the whole situation much sooner.

But she hadn’t.

Clutching her phone, Niannian thought for a while and still felt uneasy. She clicked on her pinned contact—her father in name, Mr. Li. Niannian rarely asked him for favors, and he didn’t seem to know how to bridge the distance with his daughter. The two maintained a safe, testing distance.

Mr. Li had just finished a meeting and was nursing a headache over his increasingly uncontrollable younger daughter when he received Niannian’s text. Rubbing his aching neck, he opened the chat.

The next second, he sat bolt upright. He typed and deleted, deleted and typed, carefully weighing his tone before finally sending his query.

“Why the sudden interest in the Rong family? Your new movie shouldn’t have any investment from them.”

The “Typing…” indicator lingered—a silent torture for both Niannian and Li Yuan. Both sighed in relief when the messages finally came through, easing a strange burden.

“Just a friend related to the Rongs, so I wanted to know a bit more.” Niannian recalled her conversation with Rong En. If Rong En called the person who adopted Xixi “Boss” but claimed a cousin-like seniority to Xixi, it could only be the current head of the Rong family.

Niannian narrowed down the target and sent it to Li Yuan.

Seeing the words “Rong family head,” Li Yuan’s mind raced through a thousand possibilities. He was panicking inside but felt too awkward to ask Niannian directly. After staring at his phone for a long time, he simply replied “Okay, I’ll let you know when I have results,” then immediately switched to his wife’s chat. He asked her to subtly find out if Niannian was facing any difficulties.

Li Yuan: “Don’t be too blunt. Just chat casually and ask how she’s doing.”

Li Yuan: “I’m a little worried about her.”

Ms. Shao was used to being direct. After reading the message, she rolled her eyes and replied coldly: “The way you two act, someone might actually believe you’re biological father and daughter.”

“If you’re worried, why don’t you ask yourself? Why make me a messenger? Do you think everyone works for you just because you’re a boss?”

Mr. Li took the hint and sent a “red envelope” (money gift), followed by a tactful apology and a rephrased request: “Please, Ms. Shao, give her a call so I don’t worry too much.”

Ordinarily, Ms. Shao would have accepted the gift instantly. But today was different. She looked at the calendar on her desk. This Friday was marked with a large red circle and three exclamation points—the parent-teacher conference for their younger daughter. Ms. Shao was absolutely not going to lose face there a second time.

Taking the scolding was a job for the father.

Ms. Shao’s sudden silence left Li Yuan on the other end in silence as well. For a moment, he even wanted to retract his earlier words. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Building a bridge with his eldest daughter might just depend on him taking this first step!

Unfortunately, he was still a step too late.

In their shared room, neither Niannian nor Wen Jing was in a particularly good mood. The only sounds were the stopping and starting of water and the hum of the hairdryer.

As the lights were about to go out, Wen Jing suddenly spoke, stopping Niannian as she leaned out from under her blanket to hit the switch.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“About that…” Wen Jing started, then stopped. This was the first time she had been so short for words since they started sharing a room. Though she had a “young miss” temper, she had her own principles. If she considered you “one of hers,” she’d bring you into her circle, protecting you while being fierce with you. If you were outside that circle, you only got the “fierce” part.

Jiang Yan had briefly been in that circle before being ejected. Niannian started in the gray area, but after a long period of coexistence, Wen Jing had begrudgingly moved her inside. With both feet more than 50% in—she was an insider.

Wen Jing licked her dry lips, her eyelashes trembling as she gripped the duvet. She couldn’t say a word. Before calling out, she had processed many things in her head: Jiang Yan’s illness, her original plan, her current progress, and the fact that Jiang Yan had leverage over her.

At that moment, her mind was a mess. she just wanted a vent for her thoughts. But when she spoke and Niannian looked back at her, their eyes met, and Wen Jing found she couldn’t say anything.

“Nothing. Go to sleep.”

Wen Jing waved her off, pulled the duvet over her head like a corpse, and waited for the “click” of the light switch. Only when the world outside the blanket went dark did she dare uncover her head to breathe. Between telling and not telling, she chose to retreat.

Her lips moved in the dark, but no sound came out.

I didn’t mean it, Wen Jing thought. Blame Jiang Yan; she started it.

After a long silence, only when she heard Niannian’s steady breathing did Wen Jing dare to speak a bit louder.

“Sorry. I accidentally dragged you into this. But then again, who told you to like Jiang Yan?”