Female Stunt Double in the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Transmigration to Modern Times] - Chapter 3

At 1.67 meters tall and weighing 52.5 kilograms, Tuoba Yan wasn’t overweight. But she had the misfortune of being naturally prone to weight gain, and her bone structure was slightly larger than the petite, cute standard required by idol agencies. The current beauty trend favored sharp chins and large eyes, making her classical, oval-shaped face unpopular. As a result, she failed to pass even the initial auditions and was dismissed without a second thought.

Humiliated and devastated, Tuoba Yan fell seriously ill upon returning home. Before fully recovering, she began a frantic weight loss regimen.

Initially, Qiao Chunyi didn’t dare interfere with her daughter’s dieting. But after about two weeks, Tuoba Yan, still unsatisfied despite losing nearly five kilograms, joined an online extreme weight loss program that claimed she would fast for two weeks straight!

Qiao Chunyi couldn’t stand by any longer. She repeatedly pleaded with her daughter, buying all of Tuoba Yan’s favorite foods, but Tuoba Yan wouldn’t even glance at them. Annoyed by her mother’s nagging, Tuoba Yan installed three large mirrors in her bedroom. Every morning, she would wake up and immediately check her figure in the mirrors, practice her walk, meticulously analyze her facial expressions, and smile at herself from various angles. Anyone who witnessed this would find it unsettling.

Tuoba Jiao cultivated a sweet and innocent image, but this approach didn’t suit her tall, voluptuous sister, Tuoba Yan. Driven by an obsession to surpass her younger sister, Tuoba Yan bought professional broadcasting textbooks to practice her pronunciation. She even downloaded numerous idol dramas, meticulously mimicking the female lead’s lines with various intonations, rehearsing each sentence until she could replicate the character’s emotions perfectly. At night, she would even talk in her sleep, constantly shifting her voice as she dreamt.

As Tuoba Yan grew thinner day by day, her complexion turned sickly yellow, yet her eyes burned with a feverish intensity, bordering on madness. Even the usually easygoing Qiao Chunyi couldn’t ignore this alarming decline any longer. She forced Tuoba Yan to see a psychiatrist, who diagnosed her with anorexia nervosa and severe schizophrenia.

Initially, when Tuoba Yan was lucid, she obediently took her medication, tearfully promising to stop competing with Tuoba Jiao and to never upset her mother again. But during her psychotic episodes, she reverted to her old ways. Having secretly researched her medication online, she discovered that Risperidone, one of her prescribed drugs, could cause weight gain. Tuoba Yan then feigned compliance to deceive Qiao Chunyi. As soon as her mother left, she would stick her fingers down her throat to induce vomiting, purging both the food and medication.

The diary entries stopped a week before Tuoba Yan’s suicide. The later entries were disjointed, some pages stained with tears, while others contained passages of disturbingly manic joy.

Tuoba Yan closed the diary and rubbed her temples, a headache throbbing. Tuoba Yan was pitiful… yet undeniably selfish.

She had such a loving and doting mother, yet she failed to cherish her. In her previous life, Tuoba Yan had yearned for family, but her mother had died young, and her father was blindly loyal to the Tyrant. It was her father who had orchestrated her entry into the palace. Later, when she had suffered injustices, she had found a way to summon him to court, hoping to share her hardships and struggles. But her father had rebuked her with lofty principles of loyalty and marital duty, gradually extinguishing her hopes.

Now that the past was gone, all Tuoba Yan could do was live Tuoba Yan’s life well, honoring Qiao Chunyi in her stead and ensuring this long-suffering woman finally experienced the peaceful life she had always dreamed of.

Tuoba Yan’s health had improved significantly. Seeing that Qiao Chunyi was out, she propped up her meal tray on the bed with one hand and began writing intently with a Hero brand fountain pen.

Driven by her perfectionist nature, Tuoba Yan struggled to adapt when she first picked up a pen. Her handwriting was crooked and clumsy, resembling crawling insects. Though no one criticized or mocked her poor penmanship, Tuoba Yan felt deeply ashamed. She asked Qiao Chunyi for a stack of cheap notebooks and several simplified Chinese calligraphy practice books in various styles, committing to practicing at least three hours daily.

Within a week, the exceptionally quick-witted Tuoba Yan had regained her former elegant style. Her strong, vigorous penmanship left Qiao Chunyi marveling. The oblivious mother, completely unaware of her daughter’s remarkable transformation, even had Tuoba Yan write a few inspirational phrases to show off. Soon, everyone on the ward, from nurses to patients, knew that Room 23 housed a beautiful young girl skilled in calligraphy.

Tuoba Yan felt somewhat helpless about the situation, but if it made her mother happy, she didn’t mind.

Recalling the martial arts manuals she had once studied, she meticulously transcribed them word by word in traditional Chinese characters, her pen dancing across the paper like a dragon. Qiao Chunyi burst in excitedly, carrying a paper bag and beaming, “Yanyan, guess what Mom bought you!”

Tuoba Yan capped her pen and casually tucked away the notebook containing the martial arts secrets. She pulled a plastic stool from under the bed for Qiao Chunyi.

“This is so vague! How am I supposed to guess?” Qiao Chunyi grumbled, plopping down on the stool and gulping down the water Tuoba Yan handed her. “Here, see for yourself,” she said, shoving the paper bag at Tuoba Yan.

Tuoba Yan opened the kraft paper bag and found a small, delicate white box inside. When she opened it, she discovered a pinkish-white smartphone, exquisitely crafted and utterly adorable.

It was like a pillow delivered just when she was about to fall asleep. The old phone Tuoba Yan had used before her breakdown had been smashed during one of her episodes, while Qiao Chunyi still used an outdated flip phone from some no-name brand. Every day, Tuoba Yan watched nurses, patients, and visitors alike clutching their smartphones, and she’d been longing for one herself. She’d heard all about their magical capabilities: high-definition photos and videos, downloadable books and movies, social media connections that spanned continents…

With Qiao Chunyi’s clumsy guidance, Tuoba Yan fumbled through the phone’s setup. Seeing genuine joy finally light up her daughter’s face, Qiao Chunyi felt the money had been well spent. Since her suicide attempt, Tuoba Yan’s personality had undergone a drastic change. While Qiao Chunyi was overjoyed to see her daughter happy, a nagging worry lingered. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just a brief calm before the storm, especially given the occasional flashes of melancholy she still noticed in Tuoba Yan’s eyes.

Qiao Chunyi was overjoyed to finally see a hint of her daughter’s childlike nature resurface.

Tuoba Yan inserted the SIM card, pressed the power button, and watched the phone boot up. The crisp, vibrant screen captivated her, and she couldn’t stop flipping through the menus and exploring its features. Qiao Chunyi wasn’t very familiar with smartphones either, so the mother and daughter huddled together, consulting the manual to connect to the hospital’s free Wi-Fi.

Tuoba Yan’s original owner’s collection of dull magazines quickly lost their appeal. She had heard from other patients that smartphones could download e-books. Her initial exposure was to a barrage of Mary Sue and harem novels, which shattered her worldview with their cringeworthy tropes. Gradually, she learned how to find reliable historical texts to download.

Tuoba Yan couldn’t find any mention of the Great Yan Dynasty in search engines or historical records. After a few days of disappointment, she let go of her obsession. Why dwell on that painful past?

One morning, Qiao Chunyi bought Tuoba Yan breakfast before heading to work. After her IV drip was finished, Tuoba Yan asked the nurse to remove the needle and slowly changed into her hospital gown before heading downstairs.

Yuchuan Hospital was the most renowned hospital in Yuchuan City. Its rear courtyard was beautifully landscaped, boasting over a dozen ancient, towering trees. The environment was truly a paradise of birdsong and fragrant blossoms.

As Tuoba Yan made her way to her destination, several elderly patients recuperating at the hospital noticed her arrival and their eyes lit up. “Little Yan, why are you so late today?”

Tuoba Yan smiled. “I’m not late, Grandpa Li. You all just came too early. Have you eaten yet?”

Old Man Li huffed indignantly. “Eat? I’m too full of anger thanks to those little bastards!”

“What happened to your ‘iron fist’ discipline, Old Man Li?” Grandpa Lin teased, his face flushed with schadenfreude. “Didn’t you run your household like a military camp? Weren’t you always bragging about how your kids wouldn’t dare say ‘west’ when you said ‘east’? Look at you now! Just wait, you’ll get what’s coming to you. Serves you right for being a tyrant and hitting your children!”

The other elders joined in teasing Old Man Li, who rolled his eyes in exasperation, refusing to dignify their taunts with a response. “Yan, are you going to teach me the next move today?”

Tuoba Yan replied, “I’ll have to test you first.”

Support Female Stunt Double in the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Transmigration to Modern Times]