After the Fake Heiress Died, She Was Filled with Regret - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Bringing an Umbrella for the Female Lead, Hoping She Can Help…

The sudden high temperature in April caught everyone off guard. In the morning, they were still wearing jackets, but walking out of the academic building at noon, the hot sun was scorching their heads. The students who had just arrived at the Club Center all had flushed faces.

As soon as Xia Shinan entered the activity room, she heard Duan Xiaofei complaining: “What awful weather! The temperature dropped a couple of days ago, and now it’s gone up again. It’s actually 30 degrees Celsius today! I found that ever since I followed a weather blogger, the weather has never been good!”

She smiled as she entered the room and replied, “Then unfollow her and see if we can get some rain this afternoon to cool things down for everyone.”

Duan Xiaofei chuckled: “Don’t you dare not believe me, I’m doing it right now!”

While operating her phone, she introduced the girl next to her to Xia Shinan: “This is my childhood friend, and also the scriptwriter for this time. Just call her Weiba (Tail).”

Weiba?

What a peculiar name. “Hello, Teacher Weiba.”

Weiba immediately waved her hand: “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. It’s my honor to have the Campus Belle star in my script!”

Xia Shinan smiled. Both the person and the name were quite amusing.

“President, where is the person who you said perfectly fits the role of Xiaoying?” Weiba looked around and asked disappointedly.

Duan Xiaofei glanced at the time, “The appointment is at one. We still have five minutes. Let’s wait a bit more…”

Two knocks interrupted the conversation in the room. Everyone looked over.

The girl had straight, shoulder-length hair, a simple white T-shirt with a pistol print in the center, dark black jeans, and black canvas shoes.

The simpler the clothing, the more attention was drawn to her bare, yet strikingly beautiful face.

The sunlight streamed through the glass window, casting a beam of light directly on her. The natural ambiance gifted by nature made the girl as beautiful as a celebrity on screen.

“Wow…” Weiba exclaimed softly from the side.

Xia Shinan was equally stunned. She was often praised for her beauty and had seen many pretty girls, but Tang Yin was the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

It would be a particularly joyous thing to star in the microfilm with her.

“Hello, everyone. I’m here to audition for the role of Xiaoying in the microfilm,” Tang Yin walked in, stated her purpose, and scanned the crowd, not lingering on Xia Shinan for too long.

Xia Shinan blinked, staying silent.

“Welcome, welcome!” Duan Xiaofei was almost dumbfounded. After regaining her senses, she immediately said, “I’m the President, Duan Xiaofei. What’s your name, student?”

“Tang Yin. Tang as in the Tang Dynasty, Yin as in the san dian shui and yin from ‘because.’ Third-year International Law student.”

Xia Shinan thought to herself that she preferred Tang Yin’s previous self-introduction; it was much more unique than the current one.

“Tang as in ‘absurd’ (huāng táng), Yin as in ‘ink-soaked’ (yīn mò).”

“Oh, oh, okay…” Duan Xiaofei took out a page of the script and handed it to her, “This is the script for the role you’re auditioning for. I should have sent you a section yesterday. I don’t know if you’ve read it? I can give you ten minutes to look over it again, and then we’ll do a trial performance, is that alright?”

Tang Yin nodded: “Of course.”

Simply put, this microfilm tells the story of two good friends who fall out due to a misunderstanding, but later reunite by chance, resolve the misunderstanding, and reconcile.

But the emphasis is on the ambiguous, undefinable closeness between the dual female leads. You might think it’s friendship, but the possessiveness between them has long exceeded the boundaries of what friendship should be. If you call it love, the script never mentions the word “like” or “love.”

Duan Xiaofei chose this script after checking the competition content of other schools. It was either the clichéd campus romance between a boy and a girl or a theme about senior-year graduation.

So this time, she decided to forge a new path, to be unconventional. Even if they lost, she could use the theme as a shield and not lose face.

This is called “dignity.”

The audition scene today was when the female lead, Mi Jia, fell during a sports event and was taken to the infirmary. Xiaoying, played by Tang Yin, rushes to the infirmary after hearing about Mi Jia’s injury, and is heartbroken upon seeing the scraped and bleeding shin.

The simpler the plot, the more difficult it is, requiring the performer’s micro-expressions and body language to fill in the story.

“Just give it a try. We still have time to practice anyway,” Duan Xiaofei was a little worried since Tang Yin had no acting experience, but given her looks, she was willing to give her another chance.

“Shinan, you sit on that chair, pretend your leg is injured. You don’t need to say any lines, just watch her perform.”

“Oh, okay.” Xia Shinan, who was seriously observing Tang Yin and wondering if the other person remembered her, was stunned for a moment. She quickly sat down on the chair Duan Xiaofei pointed to.

“I’ll start now,” Tang Yin said and walked out of the activity room, closing the door behind her.

Everyone was confused. What was Tang Yin doing?

But the next second, with a “Bang!” the door was suddenly flung open with force, and Tang Yin rushed in anxiously.

Her brows were tightly furrowed. She glanced around and fixed her gaze on Xia Shinan. Her body seemed to freeze, then she looked relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from her heart.

Xia Shinan was startled the moment Tang Yin looked at her. Her breath hitched. She couldn’t make any expression and could only stare blankly at Tang Yin, watching her slowly turn her feet toward her, her steps becoming hurried, and then… she stopped in front of her.

Her hand trembled, seemingly struggling. Her slightly parted lips let out a soft sigh, and then her palm gently stroked her head, “Idiot, does it hurt?”

Xia Shinan was completely frozen.

The students present were also stunned. Her acting… was too good, wasn’t it?

Someone started clapping, and then the applause was continuous.

Xia Shinan maintained her previous posture, her head tilted back, her eyes wide open, an expression of surprise. This perfectly matched the shock and emotion Mi Jia would feel when seeing Xiaoying’s concern after her injury, as described in the script.

“Your acting is so good! I was completely engrossed!” Duan Xiaofei’s hands were raw from clapping. She couldn’t help but praise them.

Xia Shinan saw Tang Yin smile, completely losing the previous expression of worry, anxiety, and distress. She looked at Duan Xiaofei, “It was improvised. There are still shortcomings.”

Duan Xiaofei: “You are too modest! Of course, our Shinan also acted very well!”

“Thank you for the compliment.” Xia Shinan regained her senses, lowered her head in a slight panic, and replied softly.

Duan Xiaofei was already very satisfied with Tang Yin. She was beautiful and tall, spoke nicely, and her impromptu performance was excellent!

The lead role definitely belonged to her! However, she still had to ask a few more questions as a formality.

“Tang Yin, why did you volunteer to audition for the microfilm?”

Yes… why? Xia Shinan was also very curious and secretly perked up her ears.

The second half of junior year was quite busy. There were many required courses. Whether one planned to pursue graduate school, study abroad, or work, it was time to start planning and executing. Moreover, she also worked part-time at the BBQ restaurant. How did she have time to consider acting?

Tang Yin merely smiled faintly, “Of course, I want to participate in this competition.”

Duan Xiaofei sounded like she found a kindred spirit, “You want to win first place too?!”

“Yeah,” Tang Yin raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t the official account mention a prize of 100,000 yuan for first place?”

“Huh?” Duan Xiaofei was stunned. It seemed there was such a thing.

To motivate creators, the annual Microfilm Competition always offered a 100,000 yuan prize to the first-place team… but University A had never won before, and gradually, everyone stopped paying attention to the prize money. First place was just too distant.

“I see… that’s a reason too, haha…” Duan Xiaofei laughed awkwardly, “Alright, this audition is over for now. We still need to discuss our opinions together. We’ll let you know the results tonight.”

Tang Yin nodded: “Okay, thank you, everyone.”

After Tang Yin left, Duan Xiaofei suddenly became conflicted. Weiba, sitting next to her, pouted, “Didn’t you seem extremely satisfied with her just now, almost confirming her role? Why the sudden change in attitude?”

Duan Xiaofei stammered: “But her purpose for participating is for money… This is art!”

Weiba rolled her eyes at her: “Do art and money conflict? What is the purpose of our vigorous sponsorship recruitment? Isn’t it because we lack money? So, it’s not wrong for her to do it for money. Besides, if she’s in it for the money, she’ll definitely be motivated. Maybe we’ll actually win first place this time?”

“Can you find another Xiaoying who acts better and fits the image as well as she does?”

Duan Xiaofei was silent for a moment, then shook her head: “I can’t find one… Shinan, what do you think?”

“Shinan, say something! Why are you spacing out?”

“Ah?” Xia Shinan finally snapped back to attention, “I think Tang Yin… acted very well.”

So well that… she felt completely immersed in the scene.

It was a sad thing when her best friend became cold and distant, refusing to give her a good look. But in such a moment, she rushed into the infirmary just to make sure she wasn’t injured.

She pitied her, called her an idiot, and asked if she was in pain.

Of course, Mi Jia would be moved.

Xia Shinan subconsciously covered her chest. So, Tang Yin’s acting just now had made her heart… flutter.

“Fine. Since both the female lead and the scriptwriter say she’s good, I’ll briefly debate it a little longer and give you all an answer tonight,” Duan Xiaofei packed up, “I have class this afternoon. I’m leaving first!”

“Bye-bye~~”

Everyone left one after another. Xia Shinan was the last one out. She locked the activity room door, and behind her, outside the window, she heard a rumbling sound.

She looked up. It was blue skies and white clouds earlier, but now it was overcast.

Is it going to rain?

Xia Shinan remembered what Duan Xiaofei said about the weather blogger and couldn’t help but smile.

The rain came quickly. By the time she walked from the third floor to the first-floor entrance, heavy rain had begun.

This was too unlucky. If it had rained earlier, she wouldn’t have locked the activity room door. Now she didn’t have the key to go back…

Xia Shinan sighed, planning to wait until the rain lessened before leaving.

The heavy rain was sudden. Scattered students on the road started running, and soon the road was almost empty. Large drops of rain hammered down. The cherry blossom trees nearby seemed unable to withstand the assault, shaking their petals mercilessly in the wind.

[A spring rain listened to all night in a small building; apricot blossoms sold in a deep lane tomorrow morning.]

Looking at the scene, Xia Shinan suddenly recalled this line of poetry.

I wonder how long this rain will last…

Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in the misty rain—a white T-shirt, dark jeans… holding a transparent umbrella, walking towards her, and finally stopping in front of Xia Shinan.

“Tang Yin, why did you come back?” Xia Shinan blinked, a little surprised.

Tang Yin looked up, her lips curving slightly. She placed the umbrella in Xia Shinan’s hand, “Bringing an umbrella for the female lead, hoping she can help me put in a good word.”

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