Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 90

That little look of hers—where was even a trace of the person from a moment ago…

With her back turned toward Si Xiaoxiao, Li Ting felt her cheeks and ears burning, the heat refusing to fade.

She took a deep breath, struggling to keep her voice steady and even adopting the patient tone of a kindergarten teacher as she began an unprecedented “remote dressing tutorial.”

“Xiaoxiao, do you see that soft, big white garment on the sofa? Yes, that one. Pick it up,” Li Ting’s voice drifted over, carrying a faint, undetectable hint of tension and awkwardness.

She never imagined there would come a day when she would have to teach Si Xiaoxiao how to get dressed. It was… a bizarre experience.

The rustle of fabric friction came from behind her, followed by Si Xiaoxiao’s quiet mumbles: “Big… soft…”

“Good. Now, find the biggest hole. That’s where your head goes in,” Li Ting gestured as best she could, despite the other being unable to see her. “Pull it down over your head.”

A brief silence followed, then the sound of strained breathing and the tugging of fabric.

“Mm… Head… Head is in!” Si Xiaoxiao’s voice carried the tiny excitement of a completed mission, though she still sounded a bit lost. “But… hands… where do the hands come out?”

Li Ting pressed a hand to her forehead. Did she really know nothing? Exactly what age had she regressed to?

So, she tried to guide her in as much detail as possible: “To the sides. There are two small holes on either side of the clothes. Yes, find them and stick your hands through.”

Another bout of struggling followed, occasionally punctuated by Si Xiaoxiao’s soft, waxy complaints whenever her arm got stuck.

Li Ting’s heart rose and fell along with the sounds, relying entirely on audio to judge the progress. She wished she had eyes in the back of her head, but alas, she did not.

“Done! The hands are out too!” Si Xiaoxiao cheered, sounding very accomplished.

Hearing her so excited, Li Ting felt a genuine urge to cheer and congratulate her as well.

“Yes, yes, Xiaoxiao is very good!” Li Ting began offering encouragement like a preschool teacher. “Next are the pants. Xiaoxiao, will you listen to my instructions? Do you see the pants? They’re the long, black things.”

“I see them!” Little Xiaoxiao was full of energy.

So Li Ting continued to direct: “As if you were sitting down, put your two legs into those two long tubes. Then stand up and pull them up. Yes, all the way to your waist.”

This process seemed more difficult than the shirt. Li Ting heard slight stumbles and the sound of Si Xiaoxiao grunting with effort from behind her. Her heart jumped into her throat, terrified that the girl might fall.

She was truly experiencing what it felt like to be a new mother… what had her life turned into?

“Done… done!” Si Xiaoxiao’s voice was a bit out of breath, but mostly excited. “Sister! I’m dressed!”

Only after hearing those words did Li Ting dare to cautiously, inch by inch, turn around.

The Si Xiaoxiao who met her eyes was wearing her oversized T-shirt and casual pants. The sleeves were far too long, and the pant legs were bunched up at her ankles. The clothes were crooked and messy, yet because of her extraordinarily bright and beautiful face, they projected a sense of seductive charm and languor. Combined with those clean, innocent eyes, her aura was incredibly contradictory.

She still hadn’t managed to put them on neatly.

Li Ting walked over, helplessly yet meticulously helping her adjust, rolling up the overly long sleeves and pant legs and smoothing out the collar.

Si Xiaoxiao stood there obediently, looking up at her with eyes full of total trust and dependence, as if everything Li Ting was doing for her was the most natural thing in the world.

She remembered that once before, when Si Xiaoxiao wore her clothes, she hadn’t worn them well either. Back then, Li Ting had really wanted to step in and tidy her up. Now that so much time had passed, she had finally gotten her wish.

Once the tidying was finished, Li Ting pulled her over to sit on the sofa, attempting to assess her current state.

“Xiaoxiao, tell Sister, how old are you this year?” Li Ting asked in a softened voice.

Si Xiaoxiao immediately held up three fleshy fingers, answering proudly and clearly, “Three! Xiaoxiao is three years old!”

Afterward, she nodded vigorously to confirm.

“Then… does Xiaoxiao know where Mommy and Daddy are?” Li Ting asked again.

Si Xiaoxiao tilted her head, a confused expression appearing on her face. She blinked her large eyes and then shook her head. “I don’t know… does Sister know?”

Li Ting probed deeper: “Does Xiaoxiao remember… what happened before? For example, where were you playing? Who were you with?”

Si Xiaoxiao tried to knit her small brows, appearing to think very seriously, but she soon gave up. Her little face slumped, looking a bit aggrieved. “I can’t remember… my head is empty… I just feel that Sister is very close.”

As she spoke, she subconsciously leaned and huddled closer to Li Ting, seeking a sense of security.

Hearing this answer, Li Ting’s heart sank completely.

Si Xiaoxiao’s mindset, her cognition, and her memory all seemed to have stalled and solidified at the level of a three-year-old—and she had no memories.

In other words, Si Xiaoxiao was a three-year-old toddler in the body of a mature, beautiful woman.

But at least her body was back. Now, there was a way to do some things she couldn’t do before.

“Xiaoxiao, are you willing to help Sister with a favor?” Li Ting asked with a smile.

Little Xiaoxiao nodded obediently.

“I need you to call an Auntie and tell her that you are sick,” Li Ting said, still smiling.

“Sick? But Xiaoxiao isn’t sick!” Xiaoxiao’s little face tensed up in confusion. “Good children aren’t allowed to lie!”

She was quite the righteous one.

Li Ting then resorted to scaring her: “That’s a bad Auntie. If you don’t trick her and say you’re sick, she will come and take you away.”

The moment these words were spoken, Little Xiaoxiao was instantly frightened. She wore a pitiful expression, looking as though she was about to burst into tears. “R-really? Xiaoxiao doesn’t want to be caught by the bad Auntie.”

So Li Ting coaxed her: “As long as Xiaoxiao pretends to be sick, the bad Auntie won’t dare take you away. Do you understand?”

Xiaoxiao nodded like a chick pecking at grain, immediately tossing the rule about good children not lying to the back of her mind. After all, if a twenty-something Si Xiaoxiao was easy to coax, a three-year-old Si Xiaoxiao was even easier.

“When Sister makes the call later, you just say: ‘Sister Yan, I’m sick,'” Li Ting explained using the simplest concepts possible.

“Sister Yan, I’m sick,” Xiaoxiao repeated word for word.

Li Ting corrected her speed and tone, then put a mask on her to cover most of her face. She found some eyeshadow and applied a bit of makeup around Si Xiaoxiao’s eyes to make it look like she had just been crying.

Afterward, she instructed: “If she asks anything else, just cough and speak with a raspy voice. Do you understand?”

Xiaoxiao immediately entered her role, clutching her own throat with her little face scrunched up, nodding pitifully. “Mm! Ow! Can’t talk!”

She was certainly spirited…

Li Ting sighed and offered a few more corrections, instructing Si Xiaoxiao to appear weak and frail. She repeatedly simulated several simple questions and responses, and little Xiaoxiao proved to be a quick learner, truly beginning to look the part of a patient.

Once she was certain that Si Xiaoxiao understood the gist of it, Li Ting gritted her teeth and pressed the dial button, calling the manager, Yan Guan, and immediately switching to speakerphone.

The phone rang only twice before being picked up. Yan Guan’s signature voice—laced with a hint of impatience and pressure—pierced through: “What is it? Xiaoxiao, is something wrong? I recall I already sent you the itinerary?”

Li Ting immediately gave Si Xiaoxiao a meaningful look.

Si Xiaoxiao jolted, instantly remembering her “mission.” Facing the phone, she began to cough violently. The sound was heart-wrenching and clearly filled with the marks of effortful acting—even a bit exaggerated: “Cough! Cough cough cough… S-Sister… cough… I’ve caught… a bit of a cold… lately…”

On the other end, Yan Guan remained as brisk and decisive as ever. She pressed: “Have you been to the hospital yet? Will it affect the schedule the day after tomorrow?”

Si Xiaoxiao continued to cough, following the words Li Ting had taught her to respond: “I… I don’t know.”

“Video call.” Yan Guan sounded somewhat displeased. She dropped those two words and hung up.

Then, the very next second after hanging up, a video call request came through.

Yan Guan’s reaction was naturally within Li Ting’s expectations. Si Xiaoxiao pressed ‘accept’ and continued her coughing fit.

Thanks to Si Xiaoxiao’s long-standing reputation for being direct and never beating around the bush, Yan Guan believed her upon seeing her coughing so severely. Her tone softened instantly as she asked with concern: “I’ll have the assistant go over to take care of you. Where are you?”

Fortunately, Li Ting had also taught Xiaoxiao how to answer this question.

Si Xiaoxiao, of course, expressed her refusal: “No need, Sister Yan. My friend… will take care of me.”

Yan Guan was likely genuinely busy—after all, Si Xiaoxiao wasn’t the only artist under her wing—so she didn’t persist. She simply said: “Luckily, that director and I are on good terms. It won’t be a problem if you join the set a few days late. Focus on recovering first; I’ll go communicate with them for you.”

With that, she hung up hurriedly and went back to work.

The moment the call ended, the “delicate as a willow in the wind” superstar instantly transformed back into a high-energy child. She even asked Li Ting with great excitement: “Sister Li Ting, how did I do! The bad Auntie didn’t suspect anything, right?”

Looking at that little face, where was there even a trace of the terminally ill appearance from a moment ago?

Li Ting couldn’t help but break into a helpless smile.

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