After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 17

“Yes,” Yan Xun answered quickly, standing straight and attentive, though his eyes seemed to ask, Who are you?

“My name is Ren Xuan,” she said.

The surname Ren. That name immediately sent Yan Xun’s mind racing. Coming here with President Ning—which other Ren family could it be but that Ren family?

“Hello, President Ren.” Yan Xun hurriedly extended his hand.

“Hello, Teacher Yan, Teacher Rong.” Ren Xuan greeted the male and female leads naturally and chatted politely for a few moments. Then, turning slightly, she caught sight of Lin Shuyan out of the corner of her eye, walking alone toward the area behind the mountain.

With Ning Yinman holding down the fort on the other side, Ren Xuan casually made an excuse, easily detached herself from the crowd, and headed toward the back of the mountain.

Green hills, emerald waters, and a gentle, cool breeze.

There was no one else around. Lin Shuyan sat alone on a large rock with her back to the path. Ren Xuan walked over softly. Earlier, in front of the others, she had intentionally avoided showing that she knew Lin Shuyan to avoid causing her trouble. But out here, under the open sky, there was no need for such pretenses. Ren Xuan naturally sat down beside her.

Lin Shuyan’s body stiffened, then she heard Ren Xuan ask directly, “It’s quite lively over there. Why didn’t you go take a look?”

“I,” Lin Shuyan clutched her script carefully, the reason having been practiced in her mind several times, “I need to study the script.”

She thought she sounded very convincing, but Ren Xuan brushed the comment aside and asked, “How have you been in the crew? Have you run into anyone familiar?”

“There are two from our company. One is Senior Rong Yu, the lead of The Dragon Emperor, and the other is the Junior Sister, Song Tang. She’s just like me, she just joined the company.”

“Song Tang and I joined this production together, but she’s already finished her scenes for this location and went back first.”

Since Ren Xuan asked, Lin Shuyan honestly and gradually shared the bits and pieces of life within the crew. Ren Xuan had already heard most of it from Ning Yinman, but hearing it again from Lin Shuyan felt different.

It was because it meant the person in front of her trusted her. It felt better than she had imagined.

Recalling the scene she had witnessed from afar earlier, a faint trace of irritation rose in Ren Xuan’s heart—it felt as if a rose she had painstakingly nurtured was being eyed by someone else.

Ren Xuan said with feigned casualness, “I think I saw you and Teacher Yan rehearsing a scene just now. I heard Teacher Yan is very popular lately. I wonder what he’s like in private?”

In private…

Lin Shuyan’s eyes flickered. Was Miss Ren indirectly fishing for information about Teacher Yan Xun? After finding out who was playing the leads and supporting roles in The Dragon Emperor, Lin Shuyan had gathered data online and watched their past works.

To spend several months in a crew together, one had to do their homework thoroughly—that was what Auntie Lin An had taught her.

“Miss… Miss Ren,” Lin Shuyan thought about her daily interactions with Yan Xun and said, “Teacher Yan is very professional. However,” she hesitated, her lips parting and closing before finally finding a suitable word, “he is quite different in private than he is on screen.”

Yes, quite different. Who could imagine that the “pure boy” on screen had such a rich romantic history in private? Lin Shuyan thought she had found a very tactful way to put it.

Professional? Ren Xuan mused. From a cooperative, colleague-based perspective, that was acceptable.

But on what basis did she conclude he was “different in private”? The alarm bells in Ren Xuan’s heart rang instantly. What was Yan Xun’s on-screen image? In First Love, he was the cold, aloof senior who kept everyone at a distance until he became tender and considerate after falling for the female lead.

Did Lin Shuyan mean that Yan Xun wasn’t cold at all in private? That his personality was easygoing and he was easy to get along with?

It made sense—wasn’t Yan Xun very “easygoing” with Lin Shuyan? The moment the director yelled cut, he couldn’t wait to rush over to her with a beaming face.

If Ren Xuan hadn’t pulled her out of the crowd just now and forcibly interrupted them, who knows how long those two would have chatted?

Lin Shuyan watched Ren Xuan’s expression warily, feeling uneasy. Miss Ren didn’t seem very happy—were her words just now inappropriate?

She heard that many people liked Yan Xun. If she spoke like that, would Miss Ren be disappointed? Would she believe her? Had Miss Ren specifically come with President Ning to see Teacher Yan Xun? Did her words…

“Do you two get along well?” Ren Xuan stared fixedly at Lin Shuyan, not looking away until the girl shook her head.

“No.” Lin Shuyan thought for a moment and decided to be cautious, trying not to destroy whatever beautiful image Ren Xuan might have of him.

“Teacher Yan,” Lin Shuyan worked hard to find good words, modifying them based on facts, “Teacher Yan is very enthusiastic. When I first started and my acting wasn’t great, he was the one who proactively sought me out to rehearse scenes.”

“Teacher Yan has helped me a lot,” Lin Shuyan said, nodding to emphasize the point. This was, indeed, a solid fact.

Enthusiastic? Proactive? A lot?

The more words popped out, the colder Ren Xuan’s heart became. Had Ning Yinman actually been right? Ren Xuan found it funny but still found it hard to believe. “What kind of scenes do you rehearse?”

She wanted to see exactly what Lin Shuyan was acting in this drama. As a supporting character, surely there wouldn’t be many “unnecessary” scenes?

“Mind if I take a look at this?” Ren Xuan pointed to the script in Lin Shuyan’s hand. She smiled casually, sitting leaned over on the large rock. Although this natural stone on the mountainside was quite big, it was still a bit tight for two people.

“Miss Ren, look as much as you like.” Lin Shuyan handed it over with both hands, without a hint of suspicion. Back when she was just an extra on sets, Lin Shuyan would feel an itch of curiosity whenever she saw others discussing scripts, wondering what was written inside. So, she simply assumed Ren Xuan was curious.

After a moment, Lin Shuyan realized something was wrong. Ren Xuan was flipping through the script rapidly, her fingers skimming line after line like a dragonfly skimming water. She even asked, “Is this the script you use for daily filming?”

“Yes.” Could there be two scripts? Lin Shuyan thought blankly as she answered.

“Miss Ren, what… what are you looking for?” Lin Shuyan watched for a bit and finally discerned Ren Xuan’s intent.

Ren Xuan’s hand continued to flip through the pages, the rustling sound adding to the noise of the wind. Her fingers were long, slender, and pale; sitting there quietly, even the hurried act of flipping through a book was a sight hard to look away from. After speaking, Lin Shuyan felt as though she were disturbing her.

“I’m looking for kiss scenes,” Ren Xuan answered solemnly.

“Huh?” Lin Shuyan was caught completely off guard.

“I said,” Ren Xuan finally stopped her busy movements and repeated patiently, “I want to see if there are any kiss scenes in the script.”