The Sickly Fake Daughter, But a Beloved Darling of All - Chapter 36

“See you later.”

Si Yu curved his lips and exchanged an imperceptible glance with the person behind Xu Chengjin, even adding a slightly provocative raised eyebrow. Seeing that Xu Chengjin hadn’t noticed at all, he drove away immediately.

Xu Chengjin was carrying the things Si Yu had given her. The moment she turned around, she ran into Jin Xi.

The other girl was standing stock-still, her gaze fixed directly on Xu Chengjin.

Annoyed…

Yes, Jin Xi seemed to be annoyed.

“What a coincidence.” Xu Chengjin walked toward Jin Xi as if she were oblivious. “Aren’t we supposed to go to rehearsal soon?”

“When I got the message, I came to the entrance to wait for you.”

Jin Xi answered with an irrelevant statement. She continued, speaking to herself, “I didn’t expect to see someone else.”

Xu Chengjin wasn’t stupid; how could she not hear the implication in Jin Xi’s words? The smile on her face faded slightly, and she then explained, “My parents were talking with Si Yu this afternoon. I just had him drop me off on his way back.”

“I see.” Jin Xi forced a smile, bit her lip, and a moment of hesitation flashed in her eyes. “You two seem really close.”

Xu Chengjin didn’t shy away from the topic. She took two steps forward; another inch closer and she would bump into Jin Xi. She tilted her chin slightly: “We’re not close, but we resolved some misunderstandings.”

“We’re close too, aren’t we?” Xu Chengjin raised her hand and grabbed Jin Xi’s collar. She lightly blew on it, then tidied Jin Xi’s messy clothes. Her fingertip slid down from the throat and finally stopped just above the chest. “There was a bit of dirt, I got it off for you.”

Jin Xi instinctively raised her hand, wanting to grab Xu Chengjin’s hand, but the other girl skillfully evaded her. She froze for a few seconds with her hand suspended in mid-air before awkwardly dropping it. But the next second, the person in front of her grabbed her hand again: “Let’s go, let’s go to rehearsal.”

“Okay.”

A smile appeared on Jin Xi’s face. She curved her lips and slowly followed behind Xu Chengjin, simultaneously grasping the other girl’s hand, unwilling to let go.

The rehearsal room was quite far, and it took them a while to get there, but Xu Chengjin was already overheated. As soon as she walked in, she immediately found a spot to sit down. She was covered in sweat, and the blush that should have been on her face was replaced by an alarming pallor.

She leaned against Jin Xi, gasping for breath, her heart racing. The overly fast rhythm made it hard for her to breathe, and she couldn’t even manage to speak.

“Are you alright?”

Jin Xi looked worried. Actually, Xu Chengjin had seemed fine when they left, but she suddenly felt unwell and almost collapsed on the road, which frightened Jin Xi as well.

The girl who called them was named Hui Lan. When she saw Xu Chengjin’s state, she froze instantly: “Student Xu, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Xu Chengjin’s voice was very soft. She apologized somewhat: “My health is delaying you all. Actually, I’m fine. It might just be too sunny. Don’t worry about me.”

She had recovered now. The sweat on her forehead had been wiped away by Jin Xi with tissue paper bit by bit. The air conditioning in the rehearsal room meant she no longer felt hot.

Jin Xi touched Xu Chengjin’s hand, still feeling cold, and asked with concern, “Are you really okay now?”

“I’m fine.”

Xu Chengjin slowly stood up by herself. She pinched the bridge of her nose, took a deep breath and then exhaled: “Let’s start.”

She sincerely didn’t want to delay their progress, and Xu Chengjin had underestimated her own physical weakness.

Hui Lan nodded, but still asked “Are you okay?” several times for confirmation. Only after receiving the same reply each time did she begin her explanation.

The story was simple: Xu Chengjin was an elegant and beautiful princess, but her beauty was envied by a villain. The villain made a deal with a witch and together they captured the princess, planning to replace the witch’s face with the princess’s skin. Upon learning this, the Queen sent a knight to rescue the princess. The knight fought bravely, defeated the villain and the witch, and successfully rescued the princess.

Xu Chengjin didn’t have many lines. She appeared in the first act with a monologue. Hui Lan asked her to try reciting it first: “I am a princess trapped in a castle. I long for freedom, I long for love. Mother told me someone would soon come to marry me. Who will that person be?”

After this line, the others would enter. When Xu Chengjin recited it, she infused it with emotion, as if she were genuinely suffering and confused, unsure who she would marry. Hui Lan immediately said: “Yes, exactly like that!”

She smiled: “Student Xu, you are really suited for this role. Beauty is just your least noteworthy advantage; your acting and lines are also perfect!”

Hui Lan walked up to Xu Chengjin and sincerely held her hand: “We need you!”

Xu Chengjin: “…”

This felt a bit awkward.

She mumbled to herself, but maintained a smile on her face: “Thank you for your recognition.”

Hui Lan placed two fingers together at her temple, then flicked them upward and winked at Xu Chengjin: “You’re welcome.”

Xu Chengjin: “…Mm.”

Her scenes were brief; the rest was Jin Xi’s rehearsal. The other girl was the protagonist of the play. She had many, varied lines, and even fight scenes. Fortunately, Jin Xi had been exercising all these years, so her body’s flexibility and grace were good, and her fighting looked spectacular.

Xu Chengjin sat on the side, constantly applauding, and occasionally acted as a little reporter, taking photos of Jin Xi.

Her photography skills were good, and the pictures she took were quite beautiful. Xu Chengjin selected a few, intending to post them on her Moments, but then felt it wasn’t quite right, so she raised her phone and took a selfie with Jin Xi, who was currently rehearsing.

Jin Xi’s eyes were fierce at the time, staring intently at the villain, making the photo look particularly cool.

Xu Chengjin was very satisfied with this photo. She quickly selected a few pictures and posted them: [A very unique experience [Photo JPG] x 4.]

She had quite a few contacts, and soon people were liking her post. Xu Chengjin didn’t pay much attention, but someone messaged her privately.

It was Xu Jing.

Xu Jing screenshotted the post she had just made: [What are you doing?]

Xu Chengjin: [Rehearsing a play for the Freshmen Welcome Gala.]

Xu Jing: [Who’s all there?]

“Who’s all there.” Xu Chengjin found it a bit funny. Xu Jing probably only knew Jin Xi among them.

Xu Chengjin: [Jin Xi.]

Xu Jing: […Be careful, don’t overwork yourself.]

Xu Chengjin: [I won’t. You get back to work.]

After she sent this message, Xu Jing really stopped replying. Xu Chengjin gave a slight, wry chuckle, but there was no trace of a smile in her eyes.

What exactly was Xu Jing avoiding?

This question had been weighing on Xu Chengjin’s mind, and she still couldn’t come up with an answer.

“Xiao Jin.”

Jin Xi had run up to Xu Chengjin without her noticing. She was also utterly exhausted, sweating profusely even in the air-conditioned room: “We’re mostly done for today. Let’s rest a bit, then we can leave.”

It was already dark outside. Xu Chengjin took out a tissue to wipe Jin Xi’s sweat. Her expression was gentle: “You worked hard. You were outstanding today.”

Jin Xi smiled contentedly. She scratched her head and sat directly beside Xu Chengjin, regulating her breathing. Midway, she glanced at her phone. The moment she opened her Moments, she saw the post Xu Chengjin had shared.

Her eyes widened, looking completely disbelieving: “You took pictures of me?”

“You don’t like photos?” Xu Chengjin didn’t understand Jin Xi’s meaning, instinctively thinking the other girl disliked being photographed. “I’ll delete it then.”

“No!”

Jin Xi was anxious. She smiled freely: “I really like these photos, thank you.”

Xu Chengjin finally relaxed: “I’m glad you like them. The main thing is that you’re pretty. When a person is pretty, any picture of them is good.”

“You are the prettiest.” Jin Xi softened her tone considerably. She whispered, “I think in this script, the princess has someone she likes.”

At the end of the story, the knight gave the princess a kiss of true love. It wasn’t hard to guess that the princess and the knight already liked each other, they just hadn’t confessed their feelings. That’s why the princess was initially sad, thinking she wouldn’t be able to be with the knight.

Xu Chengjin’s eyes showed a suitable amount of confusion: “Is that so? I feel a bit like that too.”

“You also think the princess likes the knight, don’t you?”

Jin Xi’s tone was cautious, and she continued to ask, “Right?”

Xu Chengjin looked into Jin Xi’s eyes. A trace of nervousness, but more prominently, expectation, flowed from the other girl’s pupils. She curved her lips and said slowly, word by word: “The princess likes the knight.”

“Mm!”

Jin Xi nodded forcefully: “I’m rested. Let’s go.”

Xu Chengjin stood up: “Okay.”

“—Let’s go!”

They rehearsed for a long time that afternoon. Xu Chengjin felt tired just from sitting. She didn’t have Jin Xi walk her back to the dorm; they parted ways at the rehearsal room entrance. She went back alone.

When Xu Chengjin opened the dorm door, Wu Boran was already there. The other girl was frowning, looking at her phone. Seeing her return, she immediately asked: “What did you go do today?”

“I went to rehearse a play,” Xu Chengjin seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in Wu Boran’s tone. “I play the princess. It will be performed at the Freshmen Welcome Gala. Do you want to come?”

Wu Boran didn’t answer. Instead, she asked back: “Then… what does Jin Xi play?”

Xu Chengjin sat down and casually replied: “The knight, who protects me in the story.”

Wu Boran scoffed, “Ha,” and immediately walked up to Xu Chengjin, asking: “Can I go? I’ve never acted before. I want to try, okay?”

“You’re not in our department, how can you act?” Xu Chengjin was amused, she said helplessly, “This is a performance put on by our department. You can ask others what your department plans to perform.”

Wu Boran “Tsk’d,” and crossed her arms: “Do you think I really want to act?”

She took two steps back, looked at her phone, then immediately turned her head away: “I just think this is an opportunity to get to know other students and shouldn’t be limited by such restrictions. That would be too boring.”

Xu Chengjin was silent for a few seconds. She suddenly looked up and asked:

“Do you like Jin Xi?”