After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 22

Ren Xuan pulled her inside the house with a sudden tug.

With a heavy thud, the door was slammed shut. The sound was loud, but in that moment, Ren Xuan’s heart finally settled.

Standing together in the cramped room made the space feel exceptionally crowded.

Taking in her appearance, Ren Xuan remained silent for a moment before asking hoarsely, “What are you doing?”

“Taking a shower.” Lin Shuyan scratched her head, looking at Ren Xuan with uncertainty. She felt incredibly strange—why had Miss Ren suddenly come over?

Ren Xuan could see that for herself and realized she had asked a useless question. Seeing Lin Shuyan looking at her with total confusion, Ren Xuan cleared her throat and asked, “Where is your phone?”

“My phone?” Lin Shuyan finally remembered where it was. Her sandals went da-da as she ran toward the inner room. Ren Xuan followed her through the short, narrow corridor.

“It ran out of battery just now, I was charg—” Lin Shuyan’s hand paused as she touched the phone. She rubbed her head awkwardly. “It looks like the charger wasn’t plugged in tightly. It didn’t charge.”

She hurriedly tightened the connection and started charging it again. The battery display showed zero. After waiting for about a minute, Lin Shuyan pressed the power button.

Ren Xuan watched her the entire time. Seeing her about to turn it on, she suddenly thought of the dozens of missed calls she had made, as well as the news online.

Taking a step forward, Ren Xuan quickly pressed her hand down on Lin Shuyan’s to stop her from turning it on.

“Miss Ren?”

“You,” Ren Xuan said stiffly, “your phone has no battery. Turning it on now will damage the device. Let it charge for a while.”

Lin Shuyan felt that made sense. she didn’t notice that not only was Ren Xuan’s tone unnatural, but her body was standing there as stiff as a board.

“Miss Ren,” Lin Shuyan asked after putting the phone down, “is there something you came here for?”

How should she start? Looking at Lin Shuyan, it was clear she didn’t know about the chaotic rumors on the internet yet. Should she tell her in advance? Paper cannot wrap fire; Lin Shuyan would find out sooner or later.

But Ren Xuan’s heart wavered with hesitation.

“It’s nothing,” Ren Xuan said. “I was passing by and you didn’t answer when I called, so I stopped by to check on you.”

Just stopping by.

Lin Shuyan’s toes curled unconsciously. Yecheng was a southern city, so there was no central heating. The early spring weather still carried a chill, and there was no air conditioning in the room. Near the head of the bed, an electric heater fan was squeezed in.

“Your hair?” Ren Xuan pointed at her dripping strands, then quickly looked away. The person who had come out of the bathroom to answer the door was in a rush; she had barely managed to put on clothes, leaving hair, socks, and shoes forgotten.

“Miss Ren, you… sit down first.” No matter how many times Ren Xuan had been here, Lin Shuyan still worried she wouldn’t be comfortable. There was nowhere to sit in the room, so Lin Shuyan busily smoothed out the bedsheets. “Miss Ren, you…”

“Where is the hairdryer?” Ren Xuan asked.

Lin Shuyan pointed behind Ren Xuan. Ren Xuan was standing at the foot of the bed, which was piled high with neatly organized items. The hairdryer was in a conspicuous spot, and Ren Xuan pulled it out.

“Thank you, Miss Ren.” Lin Shuyan reached out to take it.

“Need help?”

“No, no.” Lin Shuyan waved her hands repeatedly, declining directly. She couldn’t imagine the scene of Miss Ren drying her hair for her.

Picking up the hairdryer, Lin Shuyan ran back into the bathroom. After struggling to push the crowded bathroom door shut, she used both hands, secretly praying for her hair to dry quickly.

A few minutes later, Lin Shuyan changed into cotton slippers and walked slowly out of the bathroom with the hairdryer. Ren Xuan was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding a book.

“That’s a magazine my company provides for free,” Lin Shuyan explained. She had brought it home to flip through.

“Miss Ren, are you cold?” Lin Shuyan wanted to turn on the electric heater, but the aisle—only wide enough for one person—didn’t allow her past. She thought about crawling over the bed, but felt that would be ungraceful.

“I’m not cold,” Ren Xuan said, reaching out toward the heater herself.

“Miss Ren, let me—”

With a click, the heater began to work, and waves of warm air blew out. Lin Shuyan withdrew her hand. Ren Xuan asked, “Were you worried I wouldn’t know how to turn it on?”

Lin Shuyan shook her head, then realized nodding wasn’t right either, so she could only give a sheepish smile. She had been worried, but now it seemed redundant. Ren Xuan sat on her bed without the slightest hint of distaste, nor any trace of reluctance or impatience.

Such a person seemed completely out of place in this narrow little room, yet the image of her lowering her head to flip through a book was so gentle and beautiful.

“Come over here.” Ren Xuan stood up, stepped out from the inner corner, and pushed Lin Shuyan toward the spot near the heater.

“You can’t catch a cold right after a bath.” Before Lin Shuyan could ask her question, Ren Xuan pressed her down at the head of the bed, wordlessly making her face the warm air.

Ren Xuan had turned it to the highest setting. The hot wind quickly made Lin Shuyan’s face flush, and her whole body felt feverish. She shifted slightly toward the edge of the bed; feeling a bit of the chill, she wanted to turn on her phone.

“It’s not charged yet.”

“I… I’ll just take a look.” Lin Shuyan was too embarrassed to say the atmosphere was too stifling and wanted to find something to distract herself. “Is Miss Ren busy with work?”

“I was busy a while ago.”

“Oh, I see.” Lin Shuyan was never good at small talk, especially since she and Miss Ren had been more like “online friends” lately. Not speaking face-to-face usually gave her more autonomy. They had been chatting just two hours ago, and now…

“Miss Ren,” she suddenly remembered that Ren Xuan had come up because she didn’t answer the phone. The crew had just made the official announcement; she wondered if Sister Zheng or Song Tang had tried to contact her. “I’m worried someone is looking for me.”

Ren Xuan’s eyes shifted slightly as she looked up. Her gaze was complex. She had stopped her twice already; she couldn’t actually prevent Lin Shuyan from looking at her phone forever.

Ignoring the problem was useless.

Turning off the phone didn’t mean the netizens’ insults would stop. If this continued to escalate, people might dox her address, mail her unpleasant things, or even recognize and insult her on the street.

This place is no longer safe, Ren Xuan suddenly realized.

Two pairs of eyes watched silently as the dark screen of the phone gradually brightened.

“Miss Ren, you called me…” Lin Shuyan’s mouth hung open in shock, the rest of her words swallowed. Dozens of calls. As Lin Shuyan scanned further, there were also several calls from Sister Zheng.

Lin Shuyan immediately realized something had happened.

What could it be? Almost instantly, she thought of the production. Today was the official announcement; if something was wrong, it could only be about her.

“Is it my character? Can people not accept it?”

“No.” Ren Xuan shook her head vaguely.

“Is it even worse?” Lin Shuyan wanted to scroll through her phone.

Ren Xuan pressed her hand down. Seeing that Lin Shuyan was insistent, Ren Xuan’s lips moved as she struggled to say, “The netizens dug up your past…”

Before she could finish, Lin Shuyan’s face turned as white as paper. The recent cyberbullying was still fresh in her mind; how could she not remember it clearly?

While filming The Dragon Emperor, it wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it—everything on the internet has a memory. That variety show…

“Miss Ren.” Many things flashed through Lin Shuyan’s mind. Her first thought was how to face the person in front of her; she might fail Ren Xuan’s expectations and waste so much of her effort. Next was the production; if her situation brought negative news to the drama, would everyone else’s hard work be affected by her? Also, if the production sued her, she would have to pay compensation…

“I… I want to make a call.” Lin Shuyan struggled to steady her mind. Holding the phone with a trembling hand, she squeezed out a faint smile and spoke to Ren Xuan.

“Mhm.” Ren Xuan’s expression was complex. She thought for a moment and added, “You don’t need to hide anything in front of me. It will be resolved. I believe in you.”

“Thank you, Miss Ren,” Lin Shuyan said in a low voice.

“Go ahead and call. Just act as if I’m not here.” Ren Xuan turned her head, sitting with her back to Lin Shuyan.

Lin Shuyan looked at Ren Xuan’s back, her finger hovering over Sister Zheng’s contact info. Miss Ren hadn’t been “passing by”—she had come here specifically. All those calls, and her keeping it from her just now… was she worried she would do something foolish?

Shaking her head, a mist of tears unknowingly formed in Lin Shuyan’s eyes. This time, she really didn’t want to cry. Her tears had been cried dry during those days she was being insulted before. In the past, she had tried to explain and defend herself, but it never worked.

This person in front of me believes in me…

Just thinking this, the courage in Lin Shuyan’s heart seemed to grow boundlessly. She fiercely wiped her eyes and pressed the call button for Sister Zheng.

The call was answered almost immediately.

“Lin… Lin Shuyan, you…” Sister Zheng’s words were hesitant, as if she were afraid Shuyan couldn’t take it.

“I know everything, Sister Zheng.” Lin Shuyan tried her best to stay calm and not think of those poisonous comments. “I—how bad is the impact of this on the company and the production?”

There were some strange noises from the other end; Lin Shuyan guessed there might be someone with Sister Zheng. She thought she would have to wait, but Zheng Qing quickly said, “It’s… it’s nothing, Shuyan. Just focus on your own state of mind first. Don’t mind the things online; I will do my best to resolve it.”

“I—”

“Let’s not talk for now.” Zheng Qing cut her off. “It’s good that I reached you. We’ll talk at the company tomorrow.” After a few brief words, as if someone were chasing her, Sister Zheng hung up in a hurry.

Lin Shuyan felt it was a bit strange.

She had no idea that Zheng Qing, who had hung up the phone outside the residential complex, was feeling an even greater shock.

“Sister… Sister Zheng,” Song Tang, who had just heard the information Zheng Qing told her, hadn’t closed her mouth. “President… President Ren… how do those two know each other?”

Lin Shuyan knew President Ren—the head of the most powerful company in Yecheng. President Ren was best friends with President Ning Yinman, and President Ning held shares in Sheng Huang. Song Tang also knew that after she left the set, President Ren and President Ning had visited the crew.

Zheng Qing shook her head wearily. Lin Shuyan’s past resume and her current living conditions had led Zheng Qing to believe she had absolutely no connections or “backdoors.”

To know where Lin Shuyan lived, to be able to knock and be let in directly, and—even more importantly—to be able to rush to her house the moment that news broke online. How could it be that timely if she wasn’t paying attention at every single moment?

“You don’t need to worry about those things anymore.”

“Why?” Song Tang was still immersed in shock and hadn’t reacted.

Zheng Qing quickened her pace to leave. “Lin Shuyan has someone looking after her. Let’s head back.”

Back in the room, Lin Shuyan let out a sigh as she hung up the phone. She blinked and looked back at Ren Xuan, who had been watching her the whole time. Suddenly, she heard Ren Xuan say:

“Do you want to move into my place?”