After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Shao Niannian stood at the door. Before she could take even two tentative steps inside, the room’s lights flickered on with a sharp “snap.” In the center of the small room sat a tiny table that hadn’t been there before, topped with a birthday cake.

The sudden brightness made Niannian’s vision swim with red and black spots; she blinked uncomfortably. When her sight cleared, she saw Xixi standing right in front of her.

Xixi looked entirely different from their first meeting. Her clothes bore no brand logos, but the quality of the fabric was clearly superior. The little girl was clean, beautiful, and her hair was neatly combed. Though it had only been a few days, Niannian felt a sense of “a lifetime ago.”

Xixi hesitated, her clean white sneakers scuffing restlessly against the floor. Her eyes were filled with caution and she bit her lip, letting out a few soft “ah” sounds without quite managing to voice her thoughts. Habitually, she looked to her side for support, only to realize she was standing alone.

In this moment, only she and Niannian were in the room.

Fortunately, Niannian didn’t care that Xixi was speechless. She stepped forward, bypassed the small table, and pulled the girl into a hug. Her voice carried a slight tremor; remembering the scene of the “disappearance” still frightened her, and the thought made her hold the girl even tighter.

“You scared me to death!” Niannian said quickly. “Whatever you do next time, you must tell me first. If you suddenly vanish and we can’t find you, what then? What if you were actually kidnapped?”

“I would have been devastated by the guilt.”

The mere thought of it made Niannian feel suffocated. If that day hadn’t been a pre-planned ruse, how could she have faced the security uncle? Xixi had been entrusted to her care; to some extent, Niannian was responsible for her.

“I’m sorry, Sister Niannian.”

Xixi raised her hands stiffly and patted Niannian’s back twice, whispering, “I should have told you sooner.”

Niannian said those things, but she knew deep down that Xixi was just a child. In this ordeal, she was mostly following orders—obeying the adults and keeping the secret as instructed. It was only natural. The more people who knew, the higher the risk of failure; no one could guarantee a plan would go smoothly otherwise.

Niannian comforted the girl, shifting the blame onto the adults. She sat on the bed with Xixi in her lap. “Aren’t you following…” Niannian licked her lips, unsure for a moment how to address Xixi’s adoptive parents.

Xixi, keenly sensing the pause, tugged at Niannian’s sleeve. “Mama said we still have many things to do here before we leave.”

“Like what?” Niannian brushed Xixi’s cheek, unable to think of anything in this small town worth lingering for—other than perhaps seeing Tang You sentenced to prison.

Suddenly, Xixi became excited, bouncing slightly in Niannian’s arms. Her eyes held a steady light and a wide smile, clearly loving the arrangements her new mother had made. She began counting off the “big tasks” on her fingers.

“Mama said the security grandpa helped us a lot. We should buy nice things to eat and drink for Grandpa and Grandma. We need to give them our contact info and promise to call them at set times, so they won’t worry or feel forgotten.”

Xixi clearly felt this was the right thing to do. However, as a child newly taken in by two strangers, she hadn’t known how to navigate the dynamics of a new family or make requests. Though the preparation time had been short, the adoptive parents had clearly done their homework on child psychology, learning and practicing along the way. For Xixi, who had never received a family education, their basic knowledge was more than enough.

“You definitely should visit the security grandpa and grandma. And then? What else?” Niannian listened intently to the child’s slightly slow speech and jumbled logic.

Xixi organized her thoughts for a while before folding down a second finger. “We also have to get Mama’s belongings, move her grave, and cancel her ID information.”

Niannian froze, looking down into Xixi’s eyes. She hadn’t expected the Rong family to go that far; these tasks required significant effort and influence. She thought the parents focusing on the living was enough, but they were even looking after the deceased who had been lost to the river.

“Where will she be moved?”

“I don’t know,” Xixi shook her head. “Mama didn’t say.”

Xixi and Niannian both knew which “Mama” she was referring to in each context.

Recalling the long message about the Rong family that Mr. Li had sent, Niannian took a deep breath. She realized there was no need to worry; if they intended to do this, they likely already had the necessary connections.

Niannian glanced at the birthday cake on the table. “So, what’s this cake for? Is it for me to eat?”

Xixi nodded, then shook her head.

“It’s for Sister Niannian to eat, but it’s not a thank-you gift for you.” Xixi wriggled out of Niannian’s hug and pointed to the various cream-painted figures on the cake.

She introduced them one by one: her late mother, the security couple who helped her, a cute dog with a wagging tail, a large paint bucket, and two figures standing at the bottom of a hill—Shao Niannian and Jiang Yan. Though the figure of Jiang Yan was a bit far from Niannian, it didn’t change the fact that they had both entered Xixi’s life at the same time.

Finally, at the end of a “twisting, rugged path,” was a family of three. Xixi’s new family.

“Because the day I was born was the day Mama left this world, it was full of suffering and hardship.” Xixi stared at the painting of the first woman, gripping the edge of the table. Her nose began to sting with sadness.

“Today is my late mother’s birthday.”

Niannian heard Xixi say, “I’m changing her birthday to be mine. I’ll live on for the both of us. From now on, life will be for two people. I will take her to see more and more scenery.”

“Not just here.”

She wouldn’t be trapped in this small county forever for the sake of a few thousand yuan, or forgotten in cold river water or a morgue with no one to claim her. Everyone said she was born to a bitter fate. But Xixi didn’t think so, and neither did her new parents. To them, that was just a form of victim-blaming.

Niannian didn’t know what to say. Her eyes grew moist. Looking at the resolute Xixi, she decided she needed to revise her judgment of the Rong family. They truly needed a daughter, and they were truly good to Xixi. No one can guarantee the future, but from what Niannian could see and feel right now, no one was better suited for Xixi than the Rongs.

“Then… how should I call you now?” Niannian suddenly realized that once the adoption was finalized, Xixi would have an official name, not just a nickname like one gives a puppy.

Xixi rushed happily to Niannian’s side, grabbed her wrist, and used a finger to trace characters in her palm, stroke by stroke, with extreme focus.

“Rong Xi. Rong as in ‘prospering,’ and Xi as in ‘a babbling brook,'” Xixi said. “Mama said if people find it troublesome, I can just tell them my name is ‘Xi’ as in ‘West’ (the direction). That way, people who know me won’t find me a stranger, and I won’t feel like a different person.”

“I’m still Xixi.”

Niannian nodded, pinched Xixi’s cheek, and said earnestly, “Then, happy birthday to our little Rong Xi.”

May you be safe, healthy, and have smooth sailing ahead, Niannian thought. Let the hardships of life end here.

The harmony inside did not extend to the hallway outside—specifically between Jiang Yan and Wen Jing.

“If it weren’t for Xixi’s invitation, I would absolutely never be in the same room as you,” Wen Jing scoffed, her tone full of disdain.

Jiang Yan looked at Wen Jing’s childish behavior and didn’t bother to argue. Standing nearby, an elegantly dressed woman blinked and smiled at Jiang Yan. “If you hadn’t reminded us, we probably would have forgotten to move Xixi’s biological mother’s grave.”

“Mm, I just made a suggestion. Whether to do it was your decision; it has nothing much to do with me.” Jiang Yan frowned slightly, looking at Rong Qi standing beside her. Thinking about what the couple had told her recently, she felt the gesture might be a bit much. Moving a stranger’s grave into the Rong family cemetery, even the outer ring, was enough to make people gasp.

However, Rong Qi and his wife didn’t care; they considered it a minor matter. “Our family isn’t that stubborn. Compared to the inheritance rights we gave up voluntarily, moving a stranger into the cemetery is a tiny thing.”

Rong Qi checked his watch. Sensing the two inside had talked long enough, he suggested they go in. “A birthday should be celebrated with a crowd.”

Wen Jing agreed. “We can’t let the birthday girl stay with a crybaby. Who knows what tear-jerker they’re talking about; they’ll turn into puddles of tears if we don’t stop them.”

Everyone agreed and entered, only to find the “big” one and the “small” one wiping each other’s tears. They looked quite pathetic.

Everyone cut their piece of cake. The portions meant for the security uncle and Xixi’s late mother were packed into a small box to be delivered.

Pei Yao, Rong Qi’s wife, added Niannian on WeChat the moment they met. She said Xixi mentioned her constantly and insisted that Niannian must visit once they returned to the coast. She’d bring Xixi over to play.

“The girls in the Rong family are all workaholics; they have no idea how to enjoy life. Usually, I have no one to play with, it’s so boring!” Pei Yao said, painting herself as a victim. “You wouldn’t want Xixi to be bored out of her mind at home all alone, right?”

Unable to withstand the beautiful woman’s coyness, Niannian turned to the two standing nearby, her eyes flashing SOS signals. But both Jiang Yan and Wen Jing looked away, pretending not to see.

Left with no choice, Niannian added Pei Yao’s contact. Flanked by the woman and the girl, with Pei Yao and Xixi each clutching an arm, Niannian was led out of the building. With their coordinated storytelling, Niannian almost believed the “lonely and drifting” narrative of high-society life.

If she hadn’t later seen with her own eyes that the Rong family estate was large enough to keep deer and swans—and that one practically needed a golf cart just to get to the front door—Niannian might have actually believed it.