Chapter 25 – Are You Mistreating Little He?

Inside the quiet room, the sound of her heartbeat seemed especially clear. He Yinshao pressed a hand over her chest, her forehead covered in sweat as she hugged the blanket and muttered to herself.

“He Yinshao… what the hell are you thinking?!!!”

The sky outside was just beginning to brighten. He Yinshao took out her phone, called a car, and left. The villa was already located in the same urban area where she and Leng Yan lived, so it only took around half an hour by car to reach her home.

By the time He Yinshao reached the entrance of her residential complex with her suitcase, she saw Leng Junhui…

“Xiao He!!!” The moment Leng Junhui saw her, he excitedly waved and ran over to take her suitcase. “I’ve got good news! A director wants you for a role. You need to audition, and if you’re lucky, you might get the second female lead!!”

He Yinshao didn’t let go of her suitcase. “I can carry it myself.”

“What kind of drama is it? Which director contacted me?”

“It’s set during the Republican era. The director was introduced by Lu Rang. His surname is Bai, but his standards are really high. The only reason he’s even giving you an audition is because of Lu Rang…” Leng Junhui looked slightly worried. “Do you want me to introduce you to some other opportunities instead?”

“No need. I’ll take this one.” He Yinshao remembered that this drama had become moderately popular in her first life. It would be enough to raise an actor’s status, though it genuinely demanded strong acting skills.

But in her first life, He Yinshao had eventually become a Best Actress winner. Handling this role now would be no problem at all.

He Yinshao vaguely remembered the stock market trends from her first life. She was planning to borrow some more money from Leng Junhui to invest in stocks.

“Leng Junhui.”

“Huh? What is it?” Leng Junhui was walking beside her and became a little uneasy when she suddenly called him by his full name.

“Lend me some money. I want to invest in stocks.” He Yinshao spoke quietly, but it was still loud enough for Leng Junhui to hear.

“Oh, that’s all?” Leng Junhui secretly wiped away some sweat. “How much?”

“Six million.” He Yinshao deliberately chose what she considered a relatively low amount.

“No problem.” Leng Junhui smiled while wiping away more sweat. “I’ll transfer it to you this afternoon. Send me your bank account number later?”

He certainly didn’t have that much money.

But his cousin did.

“Okay.” He Yinshao had no idea what Leng Junhui was planning. Her guilty gaze lowered slightly. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I’ll get going first.” Leng Junhui waved and drove toward the villa where Leng Yan lived.

Leng Yan had been in meetings from the previous night until today. She had only gotten home and slept for four hours before that bastard Leng Junhui woke her up…

The moment Leng Junhui entered, he once again shouted at the top of his lungs.

“LENG YAN!!! COME OUT!!!”

This familiar scene…

After being jolted awake, Leng Yan once again appeared at the second-floor staircase holding a golf club.

“Leng. Jun. Hui! Are you looking to die?!”

“Wait!!!” Leng Junhui raised a hand to stop her, even speaking with complete righteousness. “Leng Yan, you said you give He Yinshao one hundred thousand every month. Were you lying?”

“When have I ever lied?” Leng Yan gripped the golf club tightly. “Where did you hear that rumor?”

“Xiao He asked me to borrow money today, and she’s preparing to audition for Director Bai’s drama.” Leng Junhui pointed accusingly at Leng Yan. “Leng Yan, have you been treating Xiao He poorly?”

“I haven’t…” Leng Yan loosened her grip on the golf club slightly. “How much did she ask to borrow?”

“Six million.”

Leng Yan’s hand paused.

Was He Yinshao preparing to start dealing with her already…?

For some reason, that made her feel strangely uncomfortable…

“What does she need that much money for?” Leng Yan relaxed her grip on the golf club again.

Wasn’t He Yinshao supposed to rely on He Feng’s power to bring her down?

Why did she need to borrow money?

“Xiao He, she—”

“Forget it. Don’t tell me.” Leng Yan walked toward the coffee table, picked up her wallet, and casually pulled out a card. “There’s twenty million in here. Give it to her. If she needs to borrow money in the future, just tell her to contact my assistant directly. They can transfer it to her.”

What was the point of asking?

She might as well help He Yinshao develop faster so she could kill her sooner and complete the plot.

“Oh… okay…” Leng Junhui accepted the card, completely bewildered.

He had thought his cousin would be stingy.

What was going on?

Had something short-circuited in her brain?

“If there’s nothing else, get lost. Don’t come looking for me again.” Leng Yan gave the bodyguards a look, then turned and went upstairs.

“Hey!! Hey, hey! Don’t do this! Sis!!”

The bodyguards lifted Leng Junhui and carried him outside.

In the classic coffin-dance formation.

Leng Junhui was tossed outside the villa entrance. He rubbed his butt while still holding the card containing twenty million.

“Mwah~ Money, money~”

He kissed the card, unable to suppress his excitement. He immediately asked He Yinshao for her bank account number and transferred ten million to her.

By the time He Yinshao received the money, she had already arrived at the audition venue.

She sat outside wearing a qipao, calmly reading the script. Her entire bearing actually resembled that of an educated young woman from the Republican era.

“Next! He Yinshao! Come in for your audition.”

“Alright.” He Yinshao stood up calmly and pushed open the door.

Inside, Director Bai looked visibly irritated, cursing under his breath.

“A bunch of useless idiots. What are they even here for? Not a shred of acting ability!!” In his agitation, the pen in his hand repeatedly struck the tabletop.

“Director, Miss He is here.”

“Mm. Begin.” Director Bai relaxed back into his chair, his posture lazy. He clearly held no expectations for He Yinshao.

He Yinshao’s audition scene involved a confrontation in an interrogation room after her character, a spy during the Republican era, had been exposed.

.

The actor in front of her sneered and seized He Yinshao by the throat.

“Miss Jiang truly is an excellent actress. You fooled everyone completely. What a shame that you still ended up in our hands.”

“You flatter me…” He Yinshao looked as though she genuinely could barely breathe, her face flushing red. “To be praised by such a capable officer as yourself… truly is my honor.”

“Keep smiling!” The actor slammed the back of He Yinshao’s head backward, using real force. “Feeling proud of yourself, Miss Jiang? We’ll see who wins in the end. Victory belongs to us.”

“Victory… belongs only to China…” He Yinshao struggled to force out each word before suffocation overtook her, yet every syllable was firm and powerful.

…

After the audition ended, He Yinshao’s expression returned to calm as she looked toward Director Bai.

The appreciation in Director Bai’s eyes was impossible to hide. Pretending to remain composed, he stroked his beard, though even the end of his sentence lifted with obvious satisfaction.

“Go home and wait for the notification.”

“Alright.” He Yinshao wiped the artificial blood from her face, bowed to them, then turned and left.

“Director, you seem to admire her quite a lot?” Wang Chaoyang had followed Director Bai around all day and understood his emotions clearly. He would coldly mock actors who auditioned poorly, while with promising actors like the one just now, he would pretend to remain calm and tell them to go home and wait for news.

“Mm… her line delivery is extremely strong, and she has a lot of room to grow as an actress.” Director Bai nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a shame the female lead has already been decided.”

Thinking of the lead actress whom investors had already chosen to promote, Director Bai couldn’t help sighing inwardly.