After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Shao Niannian hadn’t drunk much, and the alcohol concentration was relatively low; it was just her poor tolerance that did her in. After lying in the lounge for two hours, she was mostly sober.

Sitting up from the sofa, her head still throbbed slightly. Her breath held the lingering scent of fruit wine, and she felt a fuzzy, post-nap haze as she surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Tsk.” Niannian stretched her stiff neck. As she was taking in the room, the door pushed open.

It was the service staff member Jiang Yan had recruited as a “babysitter.” Seeing Niannian awake, the waiter paused before stepping forward to ask if she needed help.

Niannian shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Sorry for the trouble.“

“The banquet isn’t over yet, is it?“

“Not yet,” the waiter smiled. “But it’s nearing the end. If you head out now, you should be just in time for the final party segment.“

“Alright, thank you.“

Niannian didn’t need to guess—the final dance was likely approaching. She was notoriously bad at ballroom dancing; back in school, only Su Chaoyue was willing to partner with her. Gu Yizhi had tried to teach her numerous times, only to end up clutching her chest in frustration as Niannian’s feet refused to cooperate. Every dance session ended with Niannian stepping on Gu Yizhi’s toes until the heiress finally snapped.

“Just forget it, Shao Niannian! This is just a stupid elective. It counts as PE! If you fail, we’ll just substitute it with jump rope and standard fitness tests. No need to torture ourselves like this!”

Gu Yizhi didn’t say it out loud, but Niannian knew—she simply had zero athletic talent.

The atmosphere outside was buzzing. Going out now meant most people would be too distracted to notice her. Niannian sat for a moment, rubbed her temple, and used the sofa for support as she stood up to leave.

Bracing herself against the wall, she followed the signs to the restroom. She splashed cold water on her face to wake up, not caring about her makeup, which immediately began to smudge.

Fortunately, the event organizers had planned for this. Nearby was an automated dispenser providing makeup removal kits via a simple non-monetary scan. Niannian stripped the ruined makeup from her face. Her natural skin appeared even more delicate than the foundation the makeup artist had used, though a lingering pink flush from the wine still warmed her cheeks.

Without the sharp, professional makeup, her “cold and elegant” aura vanished. Despite the sexy qipao, her youthful features softened her entire look.

She leaned over the sink, her damp hair clinging to her temples. She patted her face dry with some paper towels and tried to fluff her hair with her fingers—a futile effort.

Looking in the mirror, she suddenly noticed something bizarre. She leaned in, turning her face from side to side.

“…?“

Why were her earrings different? Wait—when she left the studio, was she wearing diamonds or butterflies? Was there a thief in the lounge who “stole” jewelry only to replace one half with a different earring?

Niannian stared at the completely mismatched set. Her face was almost touching the glass before she realized: Is this thief an idiot?

The butterfly earring was clearly much more expensive than her own diamond stud. No thief steals like that; a philanthropist would weep at such a trade.

Niannian had completely forgotten how she got to the lounge or what she had done to Jiang Yan inside it. After tidying her dress, she retraced her steps. This time, she was cautious—she stayed far away from the pretty “juices” on the tables. Those drinks were like wild mushrooms: beautiful to look at, but they’d send your sanity to another dimension.

Li Yuan never imagined he would have this many people to socialize with. He kept trying to break away to check on Niannian, but every time he finished one conversation, another person—often with a group in tow—would intercept him.

His expression began to sour.

President Huang, standing beside him, nudged him with an elbow. “Relax. Your niece is a grown woman. Is she going to disappear the second you look away?“

Huang glanced at the staff member still stationed outside Lounge Room 1 and lowered his voice knowingly. “Care leads to chaos, but I don’t think she needs your worry. You aren’t the only person in this room keeping her in mind.“

Li Yuan’s “father radar” pinged. He looked at Huang warily. “Old Huang, what do you mean ‘not the only one’? You can eat whatever you want, but watch what you say.“

“My daughter has been obedient and smart since she was a kid. Just because your daughter’s rebellion gave you heart palpitations doesn’t mean you can project onto mine.“

Huang: “…“

Huang rolled his eyes. If Li Yuan didn’t have such a good family background that helped them during their startup days, and if he wasn’t such a rare lawyer with a moral backbone, the “overachievers” in the firm would have kicked him out long ago. A family-oriented, “daughter-obsessed” partner was enough to drive anyone crazy.

“Haven’t you noticed?” Huang scoffed. “Since we arrived, many lounge doors have closed and opened, but the one you said Niannian is in has had a guard outside the whole time. Whenever someone tries to enter, the waiter politely turns them away.“

“The waiter even ducks in every now and then to check on her—likely worried about someone who’s had too much to drink.” Huang drained his glass and patted Li Yuan’s chest. “It seems, Brother Li, you don’t know your daughter as well as you think.“

“The more you try to hold someone in your palm for fear they’ll fall, the more likely you are to scare them away with your control. Eventually, you’ll just be the fool they keep in the dark.“

Li Yuan was annoyed, but the words hit home. Niannian had never required much of his or Mrs. Shao’s attention; she was independent, lived in dorms from a young age, and had a job. In everyone’s eyes, she was the “perfect child.“

But Li Yuan realized: when did Niannian stop acting like a child toward them? He didn’t know. He decided he needed to find a time to sit down and truly talk to her about her plans for the future.

While Li Yuan was lost in thought, the door to the lounge finally opened—but the waiter was gone.

Sobered after her two-hour nap, Niannian was oblivious to the drama. She stood in a quiet corner of the hall, playing with her phone. Her qipao had a hidden pocket in the lining just large enough for it.

She opened WeChat to see a string of messages from Gao Hui. The first few were filled with exclamation marks—clearly nothing good—so she scrolled past them until she hit a voice note at the bottom.

“Don’t rush off when the banquet ends. Let Jiang Yan’s team take some promotional photos of you.”

Niannian was still a bit sleepy. She leaned her upper body against the wall, preparing to reply, when the sudden blast of a microphone startled her.

“The final dance of the evening is about to begin, marking the end of our banquet. Thank you to everyone for joining us—let us enjoy these final moments of joy!“

Before Niannian could even put her phone away, a beautiful hand appeared in front of her. She followed the hand up with her eyes.

It was Jiang Yan.

Niannian’s brow twitched. Before she could speak, Jiang Yan gently grasped her fingertips and led her toward the dance floor.

By the time Niannian snapped out of it, a year’s worth of ballroom dance training kicked in through muscle memory. As the preamble to the music began, her hand instinctively found Jiang Yan’s shoulder.

With her phone still clutched in her other hand and the ballroom’s AC clearing the last of the wine haze, she stammered, “I… I should warn you. I learned how to do this, but I’m not very—”

Before she could finish, her feet followed their old habits and stepped squarely on Jiang Yan’s foot.

“…“

If her hand wasn’t being held, Niannian would have covered her face in shame.

“I’m terrible. I’ll probably step on you a dozen more times.” Niannian glanced around; they weren’t in a prominent spot yet, and the music was still slow. They could totally slip away.

Her plan was perfect, but Jiang Yan wasn’t having it.

Jiang Yan’s hand settled firmly on Niannian’s waist. She ignored the side-glances and whispers from the surrounding guests. She gave Niannian’s waist a light squeeze and said seriously, “Concentrate.“

“Stepping on someone only happens because your mind isn’t on the dance.”

Jiang Yan told her to relax every muscle. The more fluid the movement, the better the dance would look; tension was for fighting, not dancing.

It sounded easy, but it was incredibly difficult. By the time the music reached its crescendo, Niannian had apologized ten times. Either their knees bumped, or she was a beat too slow—or a beat too fast. Her face, already flushed from the wine, was now so red from embarrassment that her pale skin was nowhere to be seen.

Just as she was trying to figure out how to escape this awkward situation, she noticed something even more important.

“Why is my earring on your ear?”