Chapter 4

After Lin Jin and Yuan Yujing finished breakfast and rushed back to the set, the extras coordinator hurriedly had them change costumes and dress as court officials, then sent them outside the palace hall to kneel.

A while later, they moved to another location and played corpses lying on the ground. After that, they were dressed as prisoners, tied up, and required to shout that they had been falsely accused.

At last, noon arrived.

Dragging her exhausted body along, Lin Jin found somewhere to sit and rest. Yuan Yujing, still bursting with energy, ran off to collect two boxed meals, then brought them back so they could eat together.

After finishing lunch, they were about to return to the extras coordinator and ask for more work when they happened to encounter the assistant director walking past with a script.

The assistant director swept his gaze across all the extras before fixing it on Lin Jin.

“You. Come here.”

Before Lin Jin could confirm whether he was speaking to her, Yuan Yujing excitedly shoved her forward.

The assistant director told Lin Jin there was a scene in which a dancing girl performed for the Eldest Princess.

“Can you dance? If you know how, the role is yours.”

Lin Jin hesitated before saying, “I can dance, but I don’t know how to act.”

“That’s fine. It doesn’t require much acting. You just need to know how to dance.” The assistant director circled her once. “All you have to do is act as seductive as possible toward the Eldest Princess.”

He reached out and patted her shoulder.

“Not bad. You’re as beautiful as an Omega, but your build is much better than the average Alpha’s. Your bearing is pretty good too. Did you receive professional training?”

“I learned a little.”

“Good. Keep doing what you’re doing. Go to the dance studio first and perform something for the dance instructor. If she approves, we’ll sign the contract.”

After receiving the requirements for the dance, Lin Jin went to the studio to report to the instructor.

The dance instructor, Zhao Mo, brightened when she saw Lin Jin and asked how many years she had studied dancing.

With a shy yet sincere smile, Lin Jin replied, “I started when I was four.”

“Oh, so you’ve trained since childhood. Dance something for me.”

The instructor stepped aside and watched her with considerable anticipation.

“Then I’ll embarrass myself. Please don’t hesitate to criticize me, Teacher.”

Lin Jin’s smile was bashful and her tone humble, but her entire presence changed in an instant. She gained the absolute composure and confidence of someone about to demonstrate her professional abilities.

Without makeup or a costume, Lin Jin looked no different from before. But once she finished warming up and assumed her opening posture, her aura transformed completely.

Starting naturally from one corner, she linked several movements together and leaped into the center of the practice room.

Her gaze casually swept across her surroundings before falling on a half-open window. The morning sunlight happened to form a beam across the floor. Soon, Lin Jin moved into the light and became the most dazzling presence in the room.

She did not attempt any highly difficult moves meant to show off her technique.

The body she was using had never received any training. It merely possessed decent natural talent and excellent flexibility, barely enough to support her through a dance composed of broad, flowing movements.

Lin Jin quickly choreographed the routine in her mind, adapting as she went and blending together several dance styles. She avoided the more difficult techniques and focused on displaying the foundations of her skill.

Zhao Mo watched alongside several actors who were training nearby.

The actors who had only recently started learning could appreciate nothing beyond the spectacle, but the dance instructor immediately noticed that Lin Jin kept avoiding the difficult parts. It was as though her body’s limitations prevented her from doing more.

Her physique moved like that of someone who had never trained, yet she brought everything she was physically capable of doing to its absolute limit.

When Lin Jin finished, the actors gathered in the dance studio enthusiastically applauded.

The instructor clapped as well.

After everyone else had left, she asked Lin Jin, “Is there something wrong with your body?”

“I had an accident and was injured. The doctor said I still can’t perform certain large movements, so I could only choose something gentler.”

Lin Jin lied to explain why the original owner’s body could not execute difficult techniques. The moment she finished speaking, she felt slightly guilty.

The instructor nodded thoughtfully.

“No wonder you looked stiff in certain places.”

She quickly asked with concern, “Was the injury serious? When will you recover?”

It would be such a pity if someone with this much potential could never dance again.

“Don’t worry, Teacher. I’ll recover in a month.”

Lin Jin made a quick plan in her head. One month should be enough to train the original owner’s body into shape.

She had only managed to finish the routine because the memory of dancing had been carved into her soul. The software was practically flying, but the hardware could not keep up in the slightest.

Several times, she had felt as though her soul were being shackled by her body.

Zhao Mo tested her a little more, then patted her arm.

“Not bad. Leave me your contact information.”

“Of course, Teacher.”

Lin Jin smiled sweetly and immediately took out her phone to add the dance instructor’s contact information.

Once Lin Jin left, Yuan Yujing hurried over and read the original at bailiantales.comasked what had happened. Had the assistant director given her a role?

“It’s the role of a dancing girl. I have to perform a dance.”

“That’s wonderful! Lin Jin, I knew someone as outstanding as you could succeed at anything. Your opportunity has finally come!”

Yuan Yujing looked even happier than if she had gotten the role herself.

Just as Lin Jin was about to respond modestly, Yuan Yujing suddenly froze and rubbed her chin in thought.

“That’s strange. Since when could you dance? How come you never told me?”

“I… learned when I was little. Later, everyone said that dancing made an Alpha look un-Alpha-like and too much like an Omega, so I stopped daring to dance.”

The lie slipped smoothly from Lin Jin’s mouth, but she delivered it with complete sincerity.

Yuan Yujing immediately understood. She looked at Lin Jin with sympathy, then said angrily, “Those people didn’t understand anything! They were just jealous of you. You should dance your way to success and prove them wrong! I support you! I think you’re the most Alpha-like person ever!”

Lin Jin was deeply moved.

Yuan Yujing truly was an excellent friend. She provided the maximum Read on BaiLianTales amount of emotional support imaginable.

“Yujing, I have a question. The assistant director needed someone who could dance to play the dancing girl, so why didn’t they hire a professional dancer? Why did they look among us extras instead?”

Lin Jin was curious.

Yuan Yujing burst out laughing. She pulled Lin Jin into a corner and lowered her voice.

“You don’t understand, do you? How much does an extra cost? How much would it cost to hire a professional dancer? Do the math.”

“Besides, extras are already familiar with filming procedures and possess at least a little sense for acting. If the first take isn’t good, they can simply do it again. However many takes the director asks for, that’s how many they’ll perform.”

“If they hired a dancer and disagreements arose over the choreography once filming began, whose opinion would they follow? That would become a problem.”

“If you dance or act badly, the director can point at your nose and scold you until you cry. But if they hired a professional and the director said something incorrect, the dancer could answer, ‘Which of us understands dancing, you or me?’ What could the director say to that? It leaves them much less room to control the situation.”

“Also, the female lead is supposed to be the highlight of this scene. Her reaction is the main focus. If they hire a professional dancer who steals the entire scene, how are they supposed to showcase the female lead’s charm?”

“…”

Lin Jin immediately understood.

No wonder the assistant director and dance instructor had seemed satisfied even though her performance had been ordinary and, in some places, rather weak.

It turned out she had landed in the perfect position: capable of dancing, but not good enough to overshadow the lead.

“Right, the assistant director said I’ll be acting opposite the female lead. Who is the female lead in this drama?”

Lin Jin wanted to learn more about the entertainment industry in this world.

Yuan Yujing froze.

Her breathing stopped, and then she suddenly grabbed Lin Jin’s hand so quickly she could not control herself.

“The female lead? You’re really acting opposite the female lead? Oh my God! The female lead is Chu Fengruo! My goddess, Chu Fengruo!”

Yuan Yujing was beside herself with excitement, wishing desperately that she were the one who knew how to dance.

She told Lin Jin, “Even if you don’t have any lines, this scene is definitely going to blow up. I have a feeling you’re about to become famous. I’m serious! That’s Chu Fengruo! The last actress who played her maid is already the second female lead in the production next door.”

“Xiao Jin, you’re about to become famous!”

Yuan Yujing also explained Chu Fengruo’s standing in the entertainment industry.

Apart from having a mysterious Alpha spouse whom she had secretly married—and the fact that this Alpha was an absolute piece of human garbage—Chu Fengruo had maintained a completely scandal-free career for more than ten years since her debut.

“What? What did you say? Chu Fengruo?”

Lin Jin remained dazed for a long time before finally coming back to her senses.

She was so frightened that she wanted to run.

How was she supposed to tell Yuan Yujing that she was Chu Fengruo’s mysterious, secretly married scumbag Alpha wife?

She had also hit Chu Fengruo’s child yesterday and would one day be thrown into the sea by Chu Fengruo to feed the fish.

While Lin Jin struggled to figure out how she was supposed to face Chu Fengruo, Chu Fengruo herself received the news.

The assistant director approached her with an eager smile.

“Teacher Chu, we found someone extremely suitable for the dancing girl. She’s ​Read on BaiLianTales​a new extra named Lin Jin.”

Chu Fengruo was using a tablet to review information on potential new nannies, along with several childcare specialists’ résumés.

At the assistant director’s words, she slowly raised her head. Her tone remained calm, though a hint of curiosity entered it.

“You’re saying Lin Jin will be taking part in the filming—and she’s playing the dancing girl?”

“Yes. I personally selected her. Even the dance director, Teacher Zhao Mo, singled her out for praise. She absolutely loves her.”

After the assistant director left, Chu Fengruo looked curiously at Wang Lin.

“What’s going on?”

“How would I know? Could Lin Jin have cast some kind of spell on Zhao Mo?”

Wang Lin was no less confused than Chu Fengruo. In fact, she appeared even angrier.

“No. I’m going to ask the director about this.”

Fuming, Wang Lin strode away. Her footsteps struck the floor so loudly that it sounded as though the building were shaking. She looked ready to tear both the director and Lin Jin apart with her bare hands.

Watching her retreating figure, He Jia asked Chu Fengruo worriedly, “Sister Chu, will it be all right for Sister Wang to confront the director like that?”

“What could possibly happen? I invested in this drama too. Even if I weren’t one of the investors and were merely an ordinary lead actress, I would still have the right to know who I’m acting opposite. It’s perfectly reasonable for Sister Lin to ask on my behalf.”

“Besides, she has to vent her anger somehow. Lin Jin has upset her so much lately that she’s started breaking out. If we don’t let her make a scene with the director, she’ll start making one with me instead.”

He Jia shuddered at those words and whispered, “In that case, it’s better to let Sister Wang confront the director.”

Chu Fengruo and He Jia exchanged glances, and both of them burst out laughing.

Wang Lin had actually restrained herself considerably over the years.

When Chu Fengruo had first debuted, the Chu family had refused to help her, while Old Madam Chu had even suppressed her from behind the scenes. Wang Lin had fought tooth and nail for every resource.

Not only did she have to promote Chu Fengruo, but she also had to support the entertainment management company Chu Fengruo had inherited from her Omega mother.

If Wang Lin’s methods and attitude had not been forceful, neither Chu Fengruo nor the company would have survived long enough to reach where they were today.