After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 15

“Shuyan is here.” Lin An noticed the girl’s light footsteps and smiled. “Xiao Xuan mentioned you had some good news to tell me?”

Ren Xuan, who was sitting with her back to them, turned around and met Lin Shuyan’s eyes. Ren Xuan was the first to look away; she shifted her position and pulled up a chair nearby, gesturing for Lin Shuyan to sit down.

“Thank you, Miss Ren,” Lin Shuyan thanked her politely.

“Let me guess,” Lin An said with a smile, “the signing was a success?”

“Yes, Auntie Lin.” Lin Shuyan gave a shy smile, appearing a bit embarrassed. “It’s all thanks to your guidance during this time.”

“It’s because you worked hard yourself. Not every student I teach manages to sign with Sheng Huang Entertainment,” Lin An replied with a gentle laugh, shaking her head.

Lin Shuyan wanted to ask how Lin An knew, but then she remembered that Sheng Huang’s recruitment was posted directly on their official website. Given that the academy where Auntie Lin taught was one of the top film and television universities in the country, it wasn’t surprising she’d know. As for Ren Xuan sitting beside them—Shuyan had told Ren Xuan she was coming to tell Auntie Lin, and Miss Ren would definitely not leak the secret beforehand.

“This is wonderful news. I think both of you should stay for lunch today. Let’s eat together here to celebrate for Shuyan.”

“Whatever you say, Auntie Lin,” Ren Xuan immediately agreed.

“You’re finally being well-behaved today.” Lin An felt quite gratified. In the past, Ren Xuan always made excuses to leave, but as soon as Shuyan stayed, Xiao Xuan was willing to stay too.

Aside from her academy teaching, Lin An had never personally given private acting lessons to anyone at her home. Considering the great effort Xiao Xuan had made to ask for this favor, Lin An suddenly felt she had caught a glimpse of her junior’s secret.

“We’ve been sitting for so long,” Lin An stood up to stretch. “I’m going inside to grab a sweater. You two should take a walk in my garden. The chrysanthemums are in full bloom this time of year—I took care of them all myself. If you take a fancy to any pot, you can take it home!”

“Shall we go for a walk?” Auntie Lin had moved too fast, giving Ren Xuan and Lin Shuyan no chance to refuse. Sitting face-to-face like this would have been too awkward anyway.

“Okay,” Lin Shuyan rose.

“Auntie Lin loves to mess with flowers and plants when she’s free,” Ren Xuan said as they walked, noticing the golden chrysanthemums swaying in the distance and sniffing the fragrance carried by the breeze.

“I’ve seen them,” Lin Shuyan followed behind her.

Having stayed here for nearly a month and a half, Lin Shuyan was familiar with most of Auntie Lin’s habits. Ren Xuan realized she had stated the obvious, but then heard Lin Shuyan add, “I actually helped Auntie look after this particular pot of flowers.”

“Auntie Lin taught me a lot,” Lin Shuyan said. In her month with Lin An, she hadn’t just learned acting, but also etiquette, styling, gardening, and how to look after the cats and dogs. Though it was only a few dozen days, the benefits were immense.

“Is filming starting soon?” Ren Xuan asked after listening to her. “I heard your company has a new production starting?”

“It’s for the role I auditioned for.”

“What are you playing?”

“An Eldest Senior Sister,” Lin Shuyan said, her fingers nervously gripping her sleeves. She shared her inner thoughts for the first time: “I’m worried I won’t perform well. This character has nearly two hours of screen time.”

After a pause, she added, “I’ve never had that much screen time before.”

“It is indeed a big challenge,” Ren Xuan admitted, knowing nothing about acting. “But I know that there’s always a first time for everything. Just think of it as… two hours is basically just twelve ten-minute segments.”

Lin Shuyan’s previous appearances had averaged about ten minutes each.

“Twelve segments…” Lin Shuyan repeated softly, as if she truly felt a sense of anticipation.

“Is the training camp starting soon?” Ren Xuan hadn’t known much about the entertainment industry’s drama production before, and only after asking did she learn that some dramas require a period of closed management before filming. Ren Xuan teased, “Does this mean I won’t see you for a long time again?”

That’s not it, Lin Shuyan grumbled inwardly. It was clearly because Miss Ren was too busy. Outside of Auntie Lin’s house, Lin Shuyan almost never saw Ren Xuan lately.

“The director said I’ll likely be there for about three months.”

Ren Xuan calculated the time; it wasn’t too long. Besides, if it took too much longer, she could always find an excuse to pop up in front of the female lead to maintain her presence. She understood the principle of being prepared; she couldn’t let anyone else beat her to the punch.

Fortunately, there was one perk to Shuyan being an artist: it made dating in the short term impossible.

Just as Ren Xuan was mulling over a few things, the helper called them for lunch. As they walked back, Lin An watched from a distance as her best friend’s daughter walked in front with her student following obediently behind. The person in front didn’t walk fast, and the person behind followed closely.

Ah, to be young, Lin An sighed with emotion, smiling as she invited them to sit. Lin An sat on one side, while Ren Xuan and Lin Shuyan sat together on the other.

Once the meal was mostly finished, Lin Shuyan and Ren Xuan sat for a while longer before saying their goodbyes. Ren Xuan had intended to drop Shuyan off, but a phone call ten minutes prior changed things. She could only apologize and let the driver take her.

“Miss Ren, please handle your business first.” Lin Shuyan was very well-behaved, not minding at all that the person who just offered a ride had to turn back.

“Tell me in advance when you’re leaving for the shoot,” Ren Xuan said. “I’ll drop you off that day.” The identity she had assumed was not of an idle person, nor was she someone who could just lie flat and enjoy life.

“Ren Xuan’s” leisure life mostly consisted of work, work, and more work. Aside from her “White Moonlight,” her only interests were her job and making money.

The System had masked her face, but not her status. Ren Xuan was forced to familiarize herself with the work and adapt to everything here to ensure she didn’t break character.

“Okay.” Lin Shuyan watched Ren Xuan leave before getting into the car.

A month later, Lin Shuyan flew to Huayang Film City. She departed with Song Tang and another artist from the company; in the end, Ren Xuan didn’t make it to see her off. Each of them brought an assistant, and since it was their first day meeting the crew, their manager Zheng Qing came along as well.

The privacy for the drama “The Dragon Emperor” was handled exceptionally well. Aside from her own role and Song Tang’s, Lin Shuyan knew nothing about the rest of the cast.

Once they arrived at the set, they could see the crew busily moving around from a distance. As a xianxia fantasy, the scenes in the film city only made up a small portion of the production; they would eventually have to move between various filming locations.

“Director Wu.” Zheng Qing, who was experienced in such scenes, stepped forward warmly to greet her. “I’ve brought my three charges. I’ll have to trouble you to look after them from now on.”

“Big Manager Zheng, this isn’t our first time working together.” Wu Wenshan, the woman who had auditioned Lin Shuyan and the others, replied. With Zheng Qing opening the floor, the group exchanged greetings. Before leaving, Zheng Qing gave them specific instructions once more before finally departing with a lingering sense of worry.

“It’s Yan Xun!” Not long after they sat down, Song Tang whispered mysteriously to Lin Shuyan. “The male lead. The male lead of The Dragon Emperor. Last time I saw all those gossip marketing accounts online guessing the lead, they went through everyone, and sure enough, someone guessed right.”

“Mhm.” Lin Shuyan nodded to show she heard. She didn’t have much interest in who the male lead was, though she figured she should listen to Song Tang if it involved her scene partner.

“Why aren’t you excited at all?” Song Tang leaned in close. Lin Shuyan instinctively leaned back. Song Tang, not minding the distance, continued excitedly, “He’s the newly risen top star of the last few years. His school drama First Love made my heart flutter so much I wanted to fall in love myself.”

“I’ve seen it,” Lin Shuyan said. Auntie Lin An had recommended she watch the popular dramas from recent years, so she had specifically sought it out.

“Can you even tell he’s twenty-eight?” Song Tang grinned. “He looks exactly like a fifteen-year-old boy, doesn’t he?”

Thinking of the boy in the clean white shirt with a bright, handsome face, Lin Shuyan nodded.

“I became an instant fan after watching that. I can’t believe I get to act with him.” Song Tang clutched her script. “Ah, autumn is here; it’s such a good time to fall in love.”

Isn’t it usually spring that’s for falling in love? Lin Shuyan said seriously, “We just signed our contracts; falling in love isn’t good.” The company didn’t have a strict rule against it, but Sister Zheng had suggested it was best not to date while their careers were just starting.

“I’m just talking,” Song Tang said with a giggle. “It’s just because of First Love. Don’t get the wrong idea; Yan Xun is my idol. I’ll tell you a secret: I ship him with the female lead of First Love. I don’t actually want to date him myself.”

“Mhm.” Lin Shuyan nodded and emphasized again, “It’s better not to fall in love.”

Seeing her so serious, Song Tang—who had gotten to know Shuyan a bit over the month—teased her softly, “Shuyan, what if you meet someone you really like?”

“Even if you meet someone you like, you still won’t date?”

“That person doesn’t exist,” Lin Shuyan said without thinking.

“I’m saying if,” Song Tang restated the premise. “Suppose you met someone right now that you liked so, so much. Would you choose your career or love?”

“I won’t meet them. I don’t have a favorite male celebrity,” thinking of what Song Tang said, she added, “I don’t have any man I like.”

“Who said the person you like has to be a boy?” Song Tang corrected. “It could be a cute girl, too.”

“A girl?” Lin Shuyan froze for a moment.

“No way,” Song Tang covered her mouth and whispered. “Shuyan, the marriage laws were updated years ago. Don’t tell me you only accept heterosexual relationships?”

“Let me tell you,” Song Tang lowered her voice to an audible whisper, “don’t ever say that out loud. Netizens would tear you apart.”

In reality, although marriage equality had been legal for years, there were still conservative people who couldn’t accept it, and such people were often roasted on the internet. Shuyan was an actress—a public figure—and had to regulate her words. Getting caught in that kind of national debate would cost her a layer of skin.

“No,” Lin Shuyan’s expression remained calm. “I meant that I don’t have anyone I like, regardless of gender.”

“That’s good then.” Song Tang patted her own heart. She hadn’t even decided if she liked boys or girls yet; if she had someone next to her who couldn’t accept anything but hetero-couples, she’d be miserable.

Lin Shuyan thanked Song Tang for her concern. Holding her script, she secretly vowed that she would act well now that she was on set, so she wouldn’t let Miss Ren’s investment go to waste.

This opportunity was precious. She had to cherish it, improve her acting, and live up to the trust Miss Ren placed in her!