Female Stunt Double in the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Transmigration to Modern Times] - Chapter 4

Tuoba Yan’s connection with Old Man Li and the other elders began several days earlier.

Stuck indoors and restless, Tuoba Yan seized the opportunity to sneak downstairs for some fresh air while Qiao Chunyi’s mother was out. She stumbled upon a group of casually dressed old men practicing tai chi sword with earnest concentration, music playing from a nearby speaker.

Tuoba Yan, a martial arts enthusiast, knew they were merely exercising for leisure and health. Even if these septuagenarians and octogenarians had trained under renowned masters in authentic martial arts, their physical limitations would prevent them from achieving any real mastery. Yet, witnessing their glaring errors, she couldn’t resist offering a few corrections.

Old Man Li and his companions, veterans who had commanded armies their entire lives, were accustomed to absolute authority both at home and on the battlefield. Now confined to the Affiliated Sanatorium of Yuchuan Hospital in their twilight years, they bristled at being lectured by a mere junior like Tuoba Yan. What could a naive young girl who hadn’t even shed her childishness possibly understand? They immediately challenged her corrections with stubborn defiance.

Tuoba Yan didn’t argue further. She stepped forward, turned off the music, and took the sword. Mimicking the elders’ earlier movements step by step, she meticulously demonstrated their misunderstandings, pointing out flaws in the sword techniques themselves. She explained how prolonged, forced practice of these flawed techniques could even lead to physical injury.

General Tuoba grew more animated with each word. She had always wielded the Fangtian Halberd, her knowledge of sword techniques only superficial, barely better than fighting barehanded. In her excitement, she tossed aside the flimsy sword and demonstrated the Combat Fist Technique, a set of moves she and her military instructors had painstakingly refined and popularized throughout the army in her previous life.

Though her body remained weak and her left arm still couldn’t endure strenuous movement, her indomitable spirit shone through. Tuoba Yan executed the techniques with exhilarating precision, her movements fluid and powerful. Old Man Li, who had been scowling earlier, watched with wide-eyed astonishment. Before long, the group had formed an unlikely friendship across generations.

Tuoba Yan asked Old Man Li to demonstrate the first three forms of the Health Preservation and Fitness Fist Technique he had taught them, pointing out several subtle errors in their execution. The elderly men leaned in intently, their necks craned forward to catch every word. The sight of the young woman and the group of old men, so engrossed in their conversation, was both amusing and heartwarming.

Across the fountain, Li Yanrao watched with keen interest. “Doctor Zhang,” she asked her physician, “who is that young woman?”

“Her name is Tuoba Yan,” Doctor Zhang replied. “She met Old Man Li and the others a few days ago. We were concerned, so we looked into her background.” He continued, “She was admitted to Yuchuan Hospital half a month ago after a failed suicide attempt. We heard she suffers from schizophrenia and anorexia. But she’s recovering remarkably well now, both mentally and physically. Her mother even sent the hospital a banner of gratitude.”

“Tuoba Yan…” Li Yanrao tilted her head slightly, her alluring phoenix eyes narrowing as she brazenly scanned the slender girl from head to toe.

Though thin, Tuoba Yan’s illness couldn’t mask her natural beauty. She was a strikingly pretty girl. But what truly captivated Li Yanrao wasn’t her looks, but the unwavering confidence and unyielding pride that radiated from her, a quality rarely seen in girls her age.

Li Yanrao’s gaze lingered suggestively on Tuoba Yan’s chest and hips. Despite her frail appearance, she’s surprisingly well-endowed, she thought. Even the hospital gown can’t hide her slender, youthful figure…

Perhaps sensing Li Yanrao’s predatory gaze, Tuoba Yan whirled around, her sharp, icy eyes locking onto Li Yanrao’s. The sudden intensity startled Li Yanrao, nearly causing her to stumble backward in discomposure.

Tuoba Yan’s delicate willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly as she regarded the strikingly beautiful young woman with crimson lips and a black dress. Though the woman’s gaze held no malice, it made Tuoba Yan uneasy.

Undaunted by Tuoba Yan’s glare, the woman tilted her head, winked playfully, and waved with a mischievous smile.

Tuoba Yan forced a stiff smile, nodding absently, thinking, What a strange person.

Seeing Tuoba Yan withdraw her gaze, Li Yanrao straightened up, no longer leaning against the railing. “Secretary Liu.”

Li Yanrao’s secretary, Liu Wenjing, stepped forward. Li Yanrao twirled a strand of her slightly curled hair, her voice languid. “Have this Tuoba Yan investigated. See if she has any connections to ‘that side’.”

“Understood. I’ll instruct our people to look into it immediately.”

Tuoba Yan and her group of elderly friends completed their customary hour of morning exercise, waving goodbye as they returned to their hospital rooms right on time.

Following the young girl’s instructions on channeling energy, Li Dingchen slowly performed the first four forms, exhaling deeply at the end. He felt a profound sense of comfort, a warm current flowing through his limbs and bones.

“Little Yan is no ordinary girl,” he remarked.

“You don’t say?” Lin Xuetang agreed. “Didn’t you have Little Chen investigate her on the first day? We’ve all seen the files: a stubborn, earnest young woman from a single-parent family. The two of them are quite pitiful, really. She probably hates the Tuoba Family to the bone. There’s no way she’s their planted spy.”

Xu Enze, who rarely spoke, suddenly chimed in, “Maybe she had some kind of extraordinary encounter.”

Li Dingchen was speechless. “Old Xu, hey, didn’t I tell you to stop reading those trashy novels your precious grandson keeps bringing home? You’re half-dead already, still reading this childish nonsense. What’s the point? Can you fly to the heavens or burrow underground now?”

Lin Xuetang shook his head. The moment Xu Enze opened his mouth, Li Dingchen, the old rascal, would get all riled up.

Tuoba Yan had just reached the hospital floor when Nurse Qiao called her over. “Yan, some girls who said they were your classmates came looking for you earlier. I told them you’d gone downstairs, and they chased after you.”

“Thank you, Nurse Qiao.”

Tuoba Yan strolled back to her room, poured herself a glass of water, and half-reclined on the bed, using her phone to read a martial arts manual by a renowned Republic-era grandmaster.

Before she’d finished half her water or read a few pages, her classmates arrived.

“Tuoba Yan! Oh, we finally found you!”

The leader was a short-haired girl in a tank top and jeans, waving from the doorway with a grin. “Hey, what are you staring at? It’s Fu Shuya! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me already. I’ll be so hurt.”

“I really did forget you,” Tuoba Yan said with a smile, pulling up chairs for her classmates.

“No, you need to rest,” Fu Shuya insisted, gently pushing Tuoba Yan back onto the bed. Two more girls entered the room. One was plump and cheerful, with a round, apple-like face that was undeniably cute. The other was slender and striking, wearing a crisp sky-blue dress and letting her long hair flow freely, though her expression remained aloof.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Fu Shuya, Tuoba Yan quickly learned the names of the other two girls. The one with long hair was Chen Qing, and the round-faced girl was Fang Qinying. Fu Shuya, the class monitor, was the only one Tuoba Yan knew well. While Fu Shuya was warm and outgoing, Chen Qing seemed to have been roped into the visit, and their past relationship with Tuoba Yan might not have been particularly close.

“The teacher said the school approved your leave of absence,” Fu Shuya reassured her. “Don’t rush your recovery. You can repeat your senior year next year when you’re feeling better. Honestly, you’re so silly. Life is precious! You haven’t even had a boyfriend yet. Don’t you regret that?”

“I was just being foolish,” Tuoba Yan admitted, sensing the sincerity in Fu Shuya’s words. “Even if it’s just for my mother’s sake, I’ll live properly.”

Chen Qing spoke up, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Exactly! How could your conditions ever compare to Tuoba Jiao’s? She has her father and grandfather doting on her. You’re just throwing an egg against a rock.”

Fang Qinying tugged Chen Qing’s sleeve, but Chen Qing huffed and turned away.

Tuoba Yan, naturally, wouldn’t stoop to arguing with a child. She simply smiled and said, “That won’t happen again. Thank you.”

Chen Qing was taken aback. She hadn’t expected the usually fiery Tuoba Yan to remain calm and even thank her so gently. Stunned, she found herself at a loss for words.

After a few more exchanges, Fu Shuya explained that their teacher had only granted them half a day’s leave and they needed to return to school. Tuoba Yan insisted on getting out of bed to see them off, but Fu Shuya couldn’t dissuade her. Assuming she was simply missing her classmates after being away for so long, Fu Shuya relented.

Chen Qing was the first to leave the hospital room. She was wearing a pair of casual sandals with wooden platforms, which were inherently difficult to balance in. Still smarting from Tuoba Yan’s earlier retort, she failed to notice the cleaning staff had just mopped the floor outside. Her foot slipped, and she tumbled forward with a startled cry:

“Aiya!”