After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Once the plane taxied to a stop, specialized staff immediately escorted them to the hotel.

Shao Niannian had spent a week living frugally, only to be spoiled by the extravagant lifestyle at Yunqing. If she were asked to go back to being penniless now, she truly wouldn’t be able to adjust.

“Go to sleep. Two blankets tonight,” Jiang Yan said with satisfaction, patting the soft bedding on the large double bed. Without thinking much further, she lay down comfortably in her pajamas.

Jiang Yan’s eyelids were heavy. As soon as she finished her sentence, her consciousness began to fade. Using her last ounce of clarity to pull the covers over herself, she stopped caring about what Niannian was busy with. After all, Niannian had slept the entire way on the plane and was currently bursting with energy.

Niannian moved quietly, drying her hair in the bathroom. When she emerged and saw Jiang Yan fast asleep, she didn’t hesitate to toss a pillowcase over the camera lens.

After that, Niannian plugged in her phone—which she hadn’t touched for ages. After a few moments, it powered on, and a flood of social media notifications popped up one after another.

With her hair about eighty percent dry and only the ends slightly damp, she leaned against the headboard to play with her phone. With obsessive-compulsive precision, she cleared all the little red notification dots before clicking into her pinned group chat.

To her surprise, her two friends abroad had managed to chat through 999+ messages while she was away.

Niannian jumped to the beginning of the unread messages, scrolling rapidly. She wanted to see what Gu Yizhi and Su Chaoyue had been gossiping about lately and if there were any “tea” she had missed.

It started off normally enough. Su Chaoyue told Gu Yizhi that her thesis had passed and that she was in contact with doctoral programs back home. She’d be returning this year to prepare for exams and asked Gu Yizhi to pick her up at the airport if everything went well.

Gu Yizhi, naturally, was resistant: “I’m busy making money every day, where would I find the time to pick you up? Wait until Niannian finishes her show and ask if she’s free.”

The two even discussed Su Chaoyue’s living arrangements. Eventually, Gu Yizhi offered to clear out one of her vacant apartments for her, telling her to come back first and worry about the rest later.

The early messages were warm and simple. Niannian even mentally planned to pack some of her aunt’s home-cooked food to bring to Su Chaoyue once she got home.

But as she scrolled further down, she realized Gu Yizhi and Su Chaoyue were making fun of her.

Gu Yizhi: “LMAO, why is her alt account so funny? Those AABB abbreviations—I don’t even need to look to know she’s talking about us!”

Su Chaoyue: “Niannian’s writing level has truly been consistently terrible since childhood. I have no idea how she passed her script analysis classes. Oh! It turns out that time I came home for Spring Festival, she really was the one who stood us up first!”

Gu Yizhi: “Damn, she gaslighted us! Screenshotting this for later. @Shao Niannian, you’re finished. Just wait until you’re done with that variety show—you’re dead meat!”

Su Chaoyue: “Why didn’t she write on Weibo about the time she rode her bike down the slope at the reservoir and only stopped because she slammed into a tree? Why didn’t she mention that? It was hilarious!”

Gu Yizhi: “Hahaha, I remember now! We were so worried she’d snapped her spine, we were frantically waiting for the ambulance.”

Su Chaoyue: “My tears were coming out; I didn’t even dare touch her. We got to the hospital, and it was just a few scratches and a twisted ankle… not even a fracture. A total waste of my tears.”

Gu Yizhi: “Hahaha, how could she dare write that? Unless she’s truly not afraid of embarrassing herself.”

Niannian only understood half of it at first, but she wasn’t an idiot. She keenly sensed that they were mocking her in the group chat. She clicked on a Weibo trending link they had shared, scrolled a bit, and found the source.

The marketing accounts were concise. Between the posts and the comment sections, many people were pointing the way to her private alt account and Jiang Yan’s main account.

Niannian clicked through and “died” instantly.

“…” Looking at her secret account which was now exposed to the entire nation, Niannian felt like she wanted to drop dead.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the phone. She looked at Jiang Yan—who was sleeping soundly and sweetly on the bed—with a look of pure resentment.

In her fury, Niannian aimed a series of “military punches” at the air in Jiang Yan’s direction.

Arghhh—!

How could this person be so infuriating? If you’re going to look at it, fine, but why did you have to repost my Weibo?!

Niannian regained her sanity for a second and began spamming question marks in the group chat: “Am I dead to you? Talking bad about me in the group like this!”

The group went silent. No one responded.

“Stop faking. Someone speak up, I know you’re all here. @Gu Yizhi, at this hour you’re more awake than an owl in the woods, don’t pretend you’re offline. @Su Chaoyue, when you’re playing dead, could you at least stop browsing photos of pretty girls on Xiaohongshu? You think I’m dead, don’t you?”

After a few seconds, someone finally popped up.

Gu Yizhi sent a “cat peeking” emoji and said with a sheepish laugh: “Dead. Don’t contact me.”

Su Chaoyue played dumb: “Oh my, the signal in Germany is so bad.”

“What are you guys talking about? I can’t see anything on my end.”

“Whatever, I’m going to sleep. Goodnight! My flight is in a few days, everyone remember to come pick me up!”

Niannian watched the messages flow perfectly. The German cellular network had never been so insulted.

Niannian: “…”

I’m truly exhausted. Why is everyone around me a traitor? Sorrow constantly surrounds me.

The Next Day

Jiang Yan didn’t understand why Shao Niannian had suddenly started giving her the cold shoulder.

She turned to the camera crew in confusion, but they shook their heads in response—”We don’t know either.”

There were no cameramen in the room last night, and Niannian had covered the lens. The live stream audience couldn’t see anything, though they could hear audio. But from sound alone, no one could guess what had happened between the black screen and the morning broadcast.

The production crew didn’t dare speculate, fearing they might be seen as instigators. They were powerless to help Jiang Yan.

Seeing that her teammates were useless, Jiang Yan realized she had to handle this herself. She asked Niannian several times during breakfast, and though Niannian was clearly angry, she did respond.

But the responses were… like this:

Jiang Yan pushed a cup of soy milk toward Niannian. “Drink it while it’s hot.”

“Not drinking,” Niannian said, not even glancing at her.

Jiang Yan then offered a piece of steamed corn. “This is sweet, want some?”

“Not eating.” Niannian’s eyes remained downcast. Seeing the half-eaten corn already in her own bowl, she pushed her plate forward slightly. “I still have some in my bowl.”

“Oh.” Jiang Yan didn’t give up. “Then do you want some preserved egg and pork congee? I’ll get you a bowl.”

Niannian took a deep breath, gritting her teeth against her temper. “Can you just sit down and eat your breakfast properly? You’re moving around so much you’re making my head spin!”

I haven’t even yelled at you for the previous matter yet, so you better not cross me right now!

Jiang Yan immediately became as obedient as a kitten. She bowed her head and ate her breakfast in silence, not daring to say another word.