After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Upon hearing this, Shao Niannian awkwardly raised her hand to rub her nose, clearly embarrassed to answer Li Yuan’s question. She instinctively avoided his gaze, afraid he would see the guilt reflected in her eyes.

“Um… I just like her quite a lot.” Niannian circled back to the topic, saying seriously, “So for this week, I’ll stay at home every day to accompany Mom?”

“That works,” Li Yuan nodded in agreement, then remembered something. “By the way, Xiao Sui has her big monthly break this weekend. Go pick her up while you’re at it.”

“Sure, but I can’t drive.”

“It’s fine. There’s a direct bus from the school to our place. It only costs two yuan each way.”

Niannian suddenly became alert. “Wait a minute, there isn’t some sudden parent-teacher conference that I’ll have to attend midway, is there?”

“Are you sure there isn’t some conspiracy behind this?”

Li Yuan raised his hand as if taking an oath. “Really, there isn’t. Just bring her home.”

As for whether there would be a spontaneous scolding session, schools don’t notify parents of those in advance; one only finds out upon arrival if the girl caused trouble that day. If there was trouble, a “comfortable” scenario meant sitting in the office discussing the girl’s recent performance with the teacher and taking the child home after Li Sui finished writing a self-reflection letter; a “worse” scenario meant the parent getting scolded right along with the student.

Shao Niannian: “…” I don’t believe you. With this attitude, I feel like there’s definitely a catch.

Fortunately, even if there was a trap waiting for her, she would go without hesitation.

Li Yuan took a few days off, and during this time, the contract for the “side job” was delivered to Gao Hui’s side. Once signed, the agreement went into effect.

Niannian clicked her tongue at the efficiency. “This is the first time I’ve been a spokesperson for a law firm. It feels a bit weird.”

“Relax, it’s no different from endorsing shampoo,” Li Yuan comforted her with a few words before grabbing his bag to head back to the firm. Only the auntie who came daily to cook, the two humans, and the two dogs remained at home.

Niannian lived comfortably at home. The privacy in this villa area was excellent, so she didn’t have to worry about paparazzi even if she went out without makeup. After a few days, she felt the cheeks she had finally managed to slim down were puffing back up.

On Saturday morning, Ms. Ruan had a sudden burst of enthusiasm during dinner and insisted on opening a bottle of red wine that had been in the cabinet for years. Before dinner was over, she was drunk. Stumbling upstairs, she announced she was going to write a “super invincible show-off script where I kill off one member of the main cast every episode, and in the final episode, I’ll make them all kick the bucket!”

Niannian and the auntie followed behind to support her, making sure Ms. Shao didn’t accidentally tumble down the stairs. Once they got her to the study and saw the drunkard roll up her sleeves and start typing away at the computer, they looked at each other.

“…”

Fine, even when drunk, a workaholic is still seriously working. Niannian suddenly understood the main reason why their “home” often felt like a mere decoration.

Consequently, Ms. Shao—who was originally supposed to drive Niannian to pick up Li Sui on Saturday—was now nursing a splitting headache and couldn’t make it. Niannian had no choice but to follow the direct bus route and get off at the Coastal Sanyun Bilingual School station. Upon arrival, the long road by the school gate was already completely blocked by luxury cars and glamorously dressed parents; not even a butterfly could squeeze through.

Niannian had attended Sanyun for primary school, but for middle and high school, she had been persuaded by Gu Yizhi to go to a British-curriculum girls’ school. Therefore, she had perfectly missed the chance to be Jiang Yan’s junior in high school. Jiang Yan was a senior in college; if Niannian hadn’t repeated a year for the arts exam and had entered the National Film Academy in her first year, they would have had a formal senior-junior relationship.

Alas, man proposes, God disposes.

Whether it was the primary, middle, or high school sections, Sanyun generally released students on Saturdays according to a staggered schedule, so the entrance was swarming with people. Niannian waited for a long time. The crowd was starting to thin slowly, and the twelfth-graders were trickling out, but she still hadn’t seen Li Sui.

Niannian had a bad feeling. Wearing a mask, she stood slightly to the side of the school gate. Just as she was thinking of calling to check, a tender voice sliced through the noisy crowd like a sharp blade, falling straight into her ears.

A new message had arrived on her phone, but before Niannian could even look at it, she looked up and saw Rong Xi, dressed in the primary school uniform, running toward her.

Niannian didn’t react at first until the little girl, carrying a small water bottle, ran a long distance and crashed into her arms. Before the panic could fade from the girl’s face, Niannian realized who the child was.

“Xixi?” Niannian hadn’t expected the child to look so different after just half a month. Compared to her appearance in the mountain village, someone seeing Rong Xi now would find it hard to believe she was the same little girl who had been huddling inside a paint bucket.

“Sister Niannian!” Rong Xi had sweat on her forehead, and her bangs were damp and stuck to her skin, looking as though she had just finished a PE class. She hugged Niannian around the waist and didn’t let go, saying with surprise, “Sister Niannian, why are you here? I haven’t seen you since I started school!”

With so many people around, Niannian carefully shielded the little girl in front of her. She looked behind Rong Xi but didn’t see the girl’s adoptive parents.

“Aren’t your mom and dad coming to pick you up today?”

At the mention of this, the smile on Rong Xi’s face faded. Her fair, chubby cheeks puffed out slightly as she muttered, “No…”

“Mom told my Cousin-Aunt to come pick me up.”

Niannian: “Cousin-Aunt?”

At the same time, a voice calling for Rong Xi echoed nearby. The tone was rising, laced with a hint of anger.

“Rong Xi! Where are you? Why are you running so fast? Don’t you know that’s dangerous!”

Niannian’s grip on Rong Xi’s shoulders stiffened. The adult and the child both looked toward the source of the voice.

What met their eyes was Jiang Yan, disguised from head to toe. Her outfit was quite casual: a fitted camisole with a light, gauzy outer garment tied over her shoulders, her fishtail braid pressed down by a baseball cap, and oversized sunglasses covering most of her face. The bottom half of her outfit took the word “casual” to its limit.

Yet, because Jiang Yan’s legs were both shapely and long, she looked like she could step onto a runway at any moment even in denim shorts and flip-flops. She certainly didn’t look like someone coming to pick up a child.

Niannian: “This is your Cousin-Aunt?”

Rong Xi: “This is my Cousin-Aunt.”

Jiang Yan: “…” Tsk, why does it feel like my seniority suddenly jumped a generation?

Rong Xi pulled Niannian’s hand, unhappy that the attention previously given to her had vanished the moment Jiang Yan appeared. “Sister Niannian, why are you here? Are you here to pick someone up too?”

“Yes.” Before Niannian could figure out the relationship between Jiang Yan and Rong Xi, she suddenly remembered the real purpose of her visit. She hurriedly pressed the power button on her phone, which had auto-locked. The intense unease from before turned into a reality that nearly crushed her.

Jiang Yan stood to the side, holding the child’s backpack. Her gaze, hidden behind sunglasses, fell unreservedly on Niannian’s face—more direct than any of their previous encounters. The only thing that annoyed Jiang Yan was why Rong Xi called her “Cousin-Aunt” but called Shao Niannian “Sister Niannian.”

The seniority was all messed up!

Niannian looked at the message from Li Yuan: he said Li Sui’s homeroom teacher was waiting for her in the office.

Where was Li Sui? Li Yuan didn’t even need to say it; Niannian could already picture her sister, seven years her junior, leaning against a wall and nonchalantly writing a self-reflection letter.

Niannian: “!” My blood pressure just spiked.

Having accepted her fate—that she was destined to “clean up the mess” for this troublemaker—Niannian rubbed Rong Xi’s head and half-knelt to be eye-level with her. “I’m here to pick my sister up from school, but for now, there’s a tiny little problem.”

“A tiny problem?” Jiang Yan’s lips quirked. Through her sunglasses, she saw Niannian’s expression of “wishing I could charge into the office with a knife the next second.” She laughed, “It wouldn’t be a ‘tiny’ matter of poking a hole in the sky, would it?”

“…” Niannian was speechless.

“Xixi wants to eat Western food for lunch. There’s a long-standing famous place near Sanyun that’s quite good.” Jiang Yan casually walked behind Rong Xi and gently pushed the girl’s back. “Come with us. It’s ten o’clock already anyway.”

Rong Xi understood Jiang Yan’s meaning in a second. While Niannian was still hesitating, the girl hugged her again and wouldn’t let go. “Yes, yes! It’s rare for us to meet! Sister, eat with us! The Western food there is delicious!”

Clearly, the Rong family treated Rong Xi very well. The little girl had somehow learned how to act spoiled; like a koala, she clung to Niannian, determined to wait until she agreed.

Niannian, who was already half-kneeling, was caught off guard by the impact. Just as she was about to fall backward onto her rear, Jiang Yan firmly grabbed her arm.

Jiang Yan, with the small backpack that didn’t match her aura slung over one shoulder, reacted quickly. She scooped Rong Xi up with one hand and pulled Niannian toward her with the other.

Who knew that when standing up after her legs had gone numb from crouching, Niannian would lose control of her limbs? she stumbled several steps directly into Jiang Yan. If Rong Xi hadn’t been between them, they likely would have collided.

Niannian, wearing her mask, deeply regretted not choosing a pair of sunglasses when she left the house. She could see her own embarrassed reflection clearly in Jiang Yan’s sunglasses. For a moment, she didn’t know where to put her hands or feet.

Jiang Yan’s move had been purely instinctive, but once she pulled the person up, she was also startled by their close proximity. If her sunglasses hadn’t been there to hide it, her usually unflappable facial expression might have broken.

“…Um, if you guys can wait for me?” Niannian looked at Jiang Yan and hurriedly pulled her hand away, touching her chin and the back of her ear. Her gaze darted toward the school building. After some stammering, she licked her upper lip and threw her hands up.

Fine. Whatever. Let happen what happens. she was giving up (bǎilàn).

Seeing Niannian’s flustered state, Jiang Yan suppressed a smile. She looked down at Rong Xi and drawled, “I guess it’s fine. It’s only ten o’clock; eating at twelve is about right. It mainly depends on you.”

Rong Xi nodded in coordination.

Niannian looked flustered on the outside but was dying of embarrassment on the inside. She forced a smile, bit the inside of her cheek, and bypassed Jiang Yan and Rong Xi to call the homeroom teacher to get into the school. Li Sui, you are so dead!

Rong Xi tried to follow her through the crowd, but the moment she moved, Jiang Yan picked her up. Suddenly, the world became bright and clear for the girl.

“I’d better carry you, lest we get separated and can’t find each other.”

Rong Xi was well-behaved and stayed in Jiang Yan’s arms, but her gaze was like a robot with “auto-follow” enabled, staring intently at Niannian moving through the sea of people. If Jiang Yan’s pace slowed even slightly, the little girl in her arms would repeatedly urge her to hurry up.

Calls of “Cousin-Aunt!” and “Cousin-Aunt!” made Jiang Yan question her life choices.

“If you call me Cousin-Aunt again, I’ll go even slower.” She said it, but her footsteps only paused for a moment.

Rong Xi pursed her lips, preferring to be a “little mute,” but her body language “tortured” Jiang Yan, wishing she could catch up to Niannian in two or three strides.

“Why the sudden silence?” Jiang Yan caught up to Niannian as she entered the campus. They walked toward the campus shuttle station. Having not heard Rong Xi speak for a while, she couldn’t help but ask.

The clever little girl put her arms around Jiang Yan’s neck, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, “Aren’t you just trying to get back to being in the same generation as Sister Niannian?”

Rong Xi’s eyes crinkled. Aunt and niece were hurting each other.

“Don’t even think about it, Cousin-Aunt.”

Jiang Yan: “…” I will endure you, you brat!

In the office, the moment Niannian walked in, she felt something was wrong. There were four students standing there, not to mention the parents. The factions were quite clear: two girls, led by Li Sui, stood on one side. On the other side stood a boy. Judging by the scratches on his face and the disarray of his collar, one didn’t need a brain to guess he had been hit. Among the three girls, only Li Sui had an injury on her face.

When the teacher heard the door open, she quickly stood up. At first, she thought it was Li Sui’s parents, but seeing a much younger woman, she was momentarily confused. “Are you looking for…?”

“Hello, teacher. I’m the one who just spoke with you on the phone. I’m Li Sui’s sister. Just call me Niannian.”

Niannian’s voice held a smile, but her exposed eyes were cold. She had thought it was a minor scuffle, but looking at this setup, it clearly wasn’t.

Jiang Yan and the child stood behind. When the door opened, Jiang Yan paused, making it clear she didn’t want to go in. Xixi turned back to look at her, brow furrowed. “Why aren’t we going in?”

“It’s their family business. Why are you going in?”

Xixi said righteously, “Those standing outside are outsiders. Those standing in the room, standing behind Sister Niannian, are family! So how can it be considered someone else’s family business? You’re so old, do I really need to teach you this?”

Jiang Yan: “?” Don’t be so ridiculous.

Jiang Yan told Rong Xi not to be ridiculous, yet her body honestly followed the suggestion. She pushed the door open and walked in.

The teacher let out an “Ah,” probably not expecting a sister to pick up Li Sui today. Her expression was quite awkward as she debated whether to tell the truth.

The parent standing next to the boy pointed a finger at Niannian. Her expression was fierce, like a hen ruffling its wings for battle. Her voice was sharp and piercing, practically screaming at Niannian.

“You’re this girl’s sister, right? Look at the lack of upbringing in the girl your family raised!” The wealthy-looking middle-aged woman showed Niannian her son’s scratched face, saying viciously, “She’s in high school! How can she be so unrefined? A girl fighting with a boy! And scratching his face! With such a shrewish personality, who would dare marry her in the future? Studying at Sanyun and not afraid of shaming her family!”

The woman glanced sideways, her eyes scanning Niannian’s outfit from top to bottom. Seeing that she was dressed very simply without a single brand-name item, she quickly reached a conclusion. She spoke to Niannian with her head held high: “If it weren’t for the bias in education policies, do you think poor kids like you could study at Sanyun? Do you know what kind of school Sanyun’s predecessor was? My son has studied here since he was a child! Do you know how expensive the normal tuition is for one year? If this isn’t resolved here today, none of you are leaving!”

Niannian was already annoyed seeing the injury on Li Sui’s face. Hearing the woman’s long-winded speech made her want to laugh even more. “How expensive can Sanyun’s tuition be? You talk as if only your son has studied here since childhood. Sanyun has educated three generations of my family; the combined tuition could build a whole building. What are you putting on airs for?”

“Do you know the details of what happened? Have you figured out who bullied whom? Oh, just because your weakling son has two extra scars on his face, you think it’s my sister’s fault? He couldn’t even beat a girl; shouldn’t he reflect on himself from beginning to end? What a scrub.”

Niannian let out a light “tsk” and looked at Li Sui, who was standing there with a stubborn look, much like a Shiba Inu in those short videos—a total stubborn soul.

“Li Sui, come here.”

Li Sui didn’t want to move at first, but she was pushed by the two girls behind her. She walked over with her face tilted up reluctantly.

“What happened?” Li Sui said nothing. “I’m asking again, what happened?” Niannian said coldly. “If you were the one at fault and want me to help hide it, I definitely won’t.”

Niannian glanced at the annoying woman, then at the other two women who seemed weaker and had likely been scolded by the middle-aged woman as well.

“But if you were not the one at fault…” Niannian gently touched the injury on Li Sui’s cheek. “Then we will definitely pursue this to the very end.”

“Pfft…?” The middle-aged woman mocked from the side. “What are you going to pursue? It’s good enough that we aren’t pursuing your sister! Have you figured out the current situation?”

The atmosphere fell into a deadlock. Li Sui refused to speak, standing by Niannian with her hands behind her back. The boy who was hit said nothing either. Instead, his mother acted as if she had personally experienced everything, looking like she wanted to flap her wings and send everyone in the office to court.

The teacher was embarrassed for a moment and then explained the general sequence of events to Niannian. During the last period of morning self-study today, the boy went to Li Sui’s class to find her. No one knew what was said outside the classroom, but Li Sui was the first to strike. Then the two girls in the classroom rushed out to help her fight.

“In the end, when we teachers arrived, Li Sui was pinning the boy to the ground and hitting him quite fiercely. The other two girls were standing by in a daze, crying. That’s pretty much how it was.”

Niannian denied it directly. “Impossible. I know Li Sui’s personality best. If this guy didn’t provoke her, there’s absolutely no way she would hit him like that. Besides, Li Sui is a music student. Her hands are worth more than his face; she would consider if it’s worth it to hit him.”

Li Sui, who hadn’t spoken, suddenly muttered, “It was worth it. I wanted to beat that animal to death.”

“Li Sui!” “How can a girl use such foul language?” The middle-aged woman’s face changed. She looked ready to rush forward and hit Li Sui.

Jiang Yan, standing nearby, shouted, “What are you doing! Step back! Why are you rushing forward? What, do you want to hit someone?” Jiang Yan put Rong Xi down, telling her not to leave the office, and then walked straight in front of Niannian, pushing the woman back. “Careful, I’ll report you for picking quarrels and provoking trouble! Try putting a hand on someone first!”

“You!” “It’s fine if you have a record, but can your son afford one?” Jiang Yan sneered. “Speak properly. Why rush forward to scare kids?”

Jiang Yan looked at the messy environment. She pointed at the boy and the two women who remained silent but looked unwell. “You guys go out first; we’ll understand the situation separately. Everyone piling up here—how can anyone talk? It’s so noisy, it’s driving me crazy.”

Once the crowd dispersed, the two girls who had been hiding behind Li Sui weren’t as scared anymore, though they still avoided the eyes of the fierce woman. Jiang Yan took charge. Having graduated from Sanyun Bilingual herself, she knew that teachers didn’t have much power at the school. Many teachers came from average backgrounds and didn’t dare discipline these students; dragging them in wouldn’t give the students enough trust to tell the truth.

“I’ll be your witness. Every word you say will be recorded, including what that boy says later.” Jiang Yan took out her phone and opened a recording app. “Where do you want to start? Silence won’t solve anything. If you want to solve the problem, you should speak up loudly. If you want to carry this infamy for the rest of your lives for doing something ‘righteous,’ then I can only say you are stupid.”

Jiang Yan didn’t mince words. Fortunately, Li Sui had an even worse temper and was even more blunt. She frowned and stared at Jiang Yan. “Who are you? Who told you to be a witness? Even if I beat that dog to death today, he wouldn’t dare say a word.”

“Li Sui!” Niannian was fuming. “Then if you have mouths, use them! You only know how to make people angry, don’t you?”

“The things he did… saying them out loud makes me feel like I’m dirtying my mouth.” Li Sui instinctively looked at the two girls next to her, seemingly seeking permission.

Suddenly, one of the girls broke down. She cried out, “He deserves to die! What right does he have to spread rumors on the foreign web that I’m a prostitute? Saying I’ve been seducing men since I was a kid, even seducing him? Stealing photos from my Friend Circle and then Photoshopping random private photos next to my life photos just to say I’m in the sex trade?”

“Why shouldn’t he die? Someone like him studying at Sanyun is a stain on the school! You call others poorly raised—do you know what a piece of trash your son is? Even a trash station would find him disgusting! A piece of garbage who makes money off of imagining girls and slandering their reputations—this is the ‘well-raised’ son you birthed? I think it would have been better for the world if he had been miscarried! You should be praising my ‘buddha-like heart’ for the fact that I didn’t kill him in the school!”

As the girl spoke, the entire office fell silent. The adults present seemed unable to believe what they were hearing.

“What did you just say he… did to you guys?” Niannian clenched her teeth. Her eyes widened, yet she felt a layer of mist before her eyes, and her nose began to sting.

Hearing this, Jiang Yan immediately turned and covered Rong Xi’s ears. This matter was clearly not for children.

Niannian grabbed Li Sui’s arm, asking worriedly, “What about you? Did he do that to you too?”

“No, not me.” Li Sui looked at her sobbing classmate with heartache and glared fiercely at the middle-aged woman. “If I didn’t want to repeat a year, your son would definitely be in the hospital today. What a piece of trash.”

Then, everyone learned the whole story from Li Sui. The two girls in Li Sui’s class had interacted with the boy, but they hadn’t become couples. Instead, after receiving confession messages, they had firmly rejected him.

“I don’t think this stage is suitable for dating! I hope everyone can focus on studying. Besides, the grade established this study group so that top students could help those behind! I’d prefer if we had a relationship of mutual progress!”

“Sorry, I have no plans for a boyfriend for now.”

The rejection messages were still saved on the girls’ phones. The sender’s number showed it was the boy who just left, giving the pale-faced woman no chance to argue.

After the rejection, likely out of spite, the boy began collecting photos from the girls’ Friend Circles and used software to spread rumors on the foreign web. He put Photoshopped faces of pornographic actors together with the girls’ photos and used low, disgusting language to slander their characters and spread rumors. He fully displayed the “if I can’t have it, I’ll destroy it” mentality.

“Don’t be in a hurry to deny it. These are videos we took from his phone. It also records him using alt accounts to spread rumors, selling our contact information to random people for ten yuan each!”

Li Sui cursed righteously, “Those disgusting comments have seriously affected my classmates’ mental and physical health! We were just following the flaws he left behind to find him and make him apologize to us in front of all the teachers and students. Did we do anything wrong? He was the one who said he couldn’t do that and wanted a private settlement! Fine, we agreed to a private settlement, but who was he insulting? He thought he could act like this never happened for five thousand yuan each? Who does he think he is?”

Li Sui said coldly, “Someone birthed by a mother but not raised by one, thinking he’s something special! If the teacher hadn’t stopped me today, I would have beaten him to death.” As she spoke, Li Sui angrily kicked the desk twice.

“Hiss—“

That sound suddenly pulled a fuming Niannian back to reality. Niannian hurriedly looked at Li Sui’s leg and pulled her to stand behind her. Seeing the injury on her face made her heart ache. “Didn’t you guys think to tell the teacher or your parents? Are Dad and Mom just decorations at home?”