After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Choris’s Chinese was poor, so she was mostly there as “eye candy” support; the entire instructional process was handled by Mina. After emphasizing safety multiple times, Mina patted Jiang Yan on the shoulder. “If the navigator is a first-timer, it will indeed be quite difficult. But you can keep the speed low; that way, it doesn’t really matter if the driver has ‘eyes’ or not.”

The navigator has always been considered the “eyes” of the racing driver.

Jiang Yan glanced at Shao Niannian, who was seriously studying the map, then shifted her body slightly to dodge Mina’s teasing. “Cut it out. My eyes are perfectly fine.”

“OK, do you want to try it yourselves first?” Mina looked at Niannian. “If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me now.”

“I think…? I think I’m good?” Niannian flipped the annotated map over and over. In truth, she was quite nervous. This was her first time doing something so professional, and with the high risk involved, a single mistake could land them both in a ditch.

Once they were seated in the car, Niannian held the large map worriedly. “How about we drive a bit slower? You focus more on the road. I feel like if we rely on my directions, we might go straight into a gully.”

Jiang Yan comforted her casually. She leaned over to check Niannian’s seatbelt, ensuring it was secure and firm before saying slowly, “Don’t worry, this is just an ‘experience’ shoot. We won’t go very fast. You don’t actually think my skill level can compare to Choris’s, do you?”

“Besides, we didn’t buy high-premium insurance for this show. If something really happens, the mortality rate for the passenger seat is very high.”

“…” Niannian had completely forgotten that this was just a filming task. The production crew never intended to impose high requirements on them; they simply wanted to use them as a “control group” against Mina to show off the expensive track.

“But rest assured, if we encounter danger, I’ll definitely turn the steering wheel to the right,” Jiang Yan comforted. “If you’re truly worried, I can have Yang Yang buy us some personal accident insurance right now.”

Niannian waved her hands hurriedly. “We haven’t even started yet, let’s not curse ourselves! I trust you. It’s just a few small curves; we’ll just drive slowly.”

“Um, but if you really want to see me read the directions, it’s not impossible.” Niannian tried to spread out the large map, but the passenger seat clearly wasn’t wide enough for it, and it even began to obstruct Jiang Yan’s line of sight. “It just might take some time.”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Yan glanced at the camera mounted in front of them. She was ready to reach out and knock the camera over if things went sideways—making it impossible for the director to film. Simple as that.

Before starting, Jiang Yan figured the task wouldn’t be too difficult. Or rather, no matter how hard it was, it couldn’t be that bad. After all, for a normal person, turning left or right on a regular road isn’t a challenge. However, Shao Niannian was about to deal Jiang Yan a heavy blow.

“Left turn? Oh, wait, it’s right, it’s right!”

“Sorry, sorry! According to the map, the next one should be a right turn.”

“…”

In just the cornering phase alone, the map Niannian had been clutching was already on the floor by her feet. She couldn’t even worry about inclines or descents; she had to rely on her dominant hand just to distinguish left from right. Everything she had learned at driving school had been returned to the instructor long ago.

Jiang Yan, who had truly almost been led into a ditch: “…”

Great. It seems the suggestion to buy personal accident insurance wasn’t a joke; it really is necessary!

“How did you pass your road test?” Jiang Yan was highly suspicious. Given that the ‘Subject 3’ exam involved multiple overlapping routes, how did Niannian pass? With this level of navigation, she shouldn’t just stay off the road; even practicing in VR would be dangerous.

Niannian touched the tip of her nose, her voice growing smaller out of embarrassment. “My Subject 3… I took the test five times… and barely passed by a hair.”

“And, since I got my license, I haven’t driven once!” Niannian knew her own driving skills all too well. Ever since she finished her written exams, she couldn’t even remember which turn signal to use in a roundabout. In all the years she’d had her license, she had the self-awareness never to touch a car key.

Jiang Yan, who was driving a high-performance sports car capable of over 100 mph, saw the car’s performance drop to a steady 28 mph.

The production crew watched as the new car—specifically developed by the group for F1 racing—transformed from a swift “cheetah” into a snail carrying a heavy shell, crawling along the beautiful track.

The director looked at the technician sitting nearby. “Check that car. Is there a mechanical failure?”

“No, we did a full maintenance check on this car right before they used it. It’s impossible for there to be a problem.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

The director pointed at the aerial tracking footage. “Then what is up with that speed?”

The technician pushed up his glasses and analyzed calmly, “The car’s performance is too good. High speeds can be quite stimulating for drivers used to ordinary cars. Lowering the speed appropriately is within expectations.”

Director: “?” Why do I feel like you’re bullshitting me?

After staring at the technician for ten seconds, the director skeptically looked away. He originally wanted to remotely remind Jiang Yan to speed up, but then he reconsidered. Safety first for Jiang Yan and Shao Niannian. They were famous actresses; if an accident happened during a vlog shoot, the compensation would be astronomical.

Jiang Yan drove very slowly. The track wasn’t short, and it took nearly an hour to finish the lap. When they finally got out of the car, Niannian was visibly pale and severely motion-sick.

The medical team had prepared for various injuries, but they hadn’t expected someone to get motion sickness. Facing Jiang Yan’s inquiry, they shook their heads helplessly. “No, we really don’t have motion sickness pills here. If it’s bad, just have some warm water and sit down for a bit.”

“The environment here is open and the air is fresh. Take a few deep breaths, and the discomfort should pass soon.”

Most motion sickness is a trick of the brain—sensing the visual change while the body remains relatively still. Jiang Yan grabbed a bottle of mineral water from a nearby crate and handed it to Niannian.

“Drink some and relax. The filming is over. Once you feel better, I’ll drive you home.”

“Okay.” Niannian’s eyes welled with painful tears. Water alone wasn’t enough to suppress the nausea rising in her chest. Fortunately, once filming ended, not many people were hovering around them, allowing her to rest in peace.

“Do you want to consider what I said earlier?” Jiang Yan didn’t stand on ceremony; she sat cross-legged on the ground next to Niannian. “You won’t get as motion-sick if you’re the one driving.”

“With my sense of direction? I’ll pass.”

Jiang Yan propped her chin on her hand and tilted her head, her eyes full of sincerity. “I can teach you. I don’t have much going on lately anyway. If you want to learn to drive, I’ll take you.”

Niannian thought back to the years when she nearly drove her driving instructors insane—to the point they begged her to drop out. She tearfully declined the offer. Though it was a rare opportunity to spend time together, Niannian wanted to date Jiang Yan, not drive her to an early grave and become enemies.

“Fair enough.”

Jiang Yan didn’t press the issue. She knew there would be plenty of opportunities to see Niannian soon. Yang Yang wouldn’t miss any chance to push Jiang Yan out to make money. Even if Niannian was caught up in it unintentionally, in Yang Yang’s eyes, it was a win-win.

Jiang Yan was very serious about taking Niannian to dinner. When the event ended, she asked Mina and Choris to join, but the two had other plans.

Mina waved her off, her brow furrowing. “I really have no interest in Cantonese food. Besides, if I go with you, I know exactly which shop you’re going to! The ‘pre-meal appetizers’ they serve are too intense for me. I can’t do it.”

Choris didn’t react at first, but upon hearing “pre-meal appetizers” and “Cantonese food,” painful memories flooded her brain, causing the beautiful Sino-French girl to lose all composure. “No way! You’re the only one who likes that stuff!” Choris refused flatly.

Jiang Yan didn’t hold back. “A ‘French romantic’ tongue can tolerate a terrible iced Americano but can’t handle mung bean juice or Bansha (herbal tea)? That’s a ‘you’ problem.”

Choris clearly wasn’t falling for Jiang Yan’s manipulation. She looked at Jiang Yan like she was looking at a ghost, stepped back, and drew an imaginary line between them. “Boundary line. People who drink mung bean juice and Bansha need to stay away from me.”

Niannian, who felt “collateral damage” from the mention of Bansha: “…” I’d honestly pick the mung bean juice; I drank that back when I was at the Film Academy.

But Bansha? That was a bridge too far.

When Niannian followed Jiang Yan to the Cantonese restaurant, she admired the thick cultural atmosphere of the place. The TV was even playing a classic local sitcom. However, when she sat down and saw the “pre-meal appetizer” Mina had complained about, she fell silent and considered running away.

Jiang Yan kindly pushed a steaming bowl of dark brown herbal tea toward Niannian. It came with a side of “heat-clearing” mugwort cake—a vibrant green similar to matcha, looking beautiful like a dessert in a bakery window.

Jiang Yan used a knife and fork to cut the mugwort cake into small pieces, dipped them in honey, and placed them in Niannian’s bowl.

“Don’t be shy. Eat up. Once you’re finished, all that ‘internal heat’ will be gone.”

Niannian: “…”

Niannian could barely squeeze out a smile. “Thanks. After I eat this, I’m pretty sure I’ll be gone, too.”