After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 26

“Uncle Wang,” Ren Xuan said, acting as if she hadn’t seen the teasing look in the butler’s eyes. She spoke about a room issue with perfect composure before picking up her documents and heading upstairs.

She left Butler Wang standing downstairs, shaking his head. His Eldest Miss was quite clever in most regards—it hadn’t taken her long to prepare a room and get the girl to move in—but if she didn’t say the words out loud, how was the other person supposed to understand?

The discussion surrounding The Dragon Emperor raged on for an entire day. The official Weibo’s follower count soared, and Lin Shuyan’s popularity continued to rise. The next day, however, Lin Shuyan’s footsteps faltered outside Zheng Qing’s office door.

“Come in,” the person inside called out, seemingly sensing her presence.

“Sister Zheng,” Lin Shuyan said, pushing the door open. “About the things online…” She had kept her acquaintance with Ren Xuan well-hidden; no one in the company knew. This time, Ren Xuan and Ning Yinman had helped her, and if she still didn’t tell Zheng Qing…

Given how big the situation had become, and the fact that the female lead and two supporting actresses of The Dragon Emperor were from the same company—not to mention the investment involved—the company’s higher-ups were monitoring the situation closely.

“The situation online has settled,” Zheng Qing said. She guessed that someone at the top must have pulled some strings, and the public had accepted the narrative that the photographer had simply had a change of heart.

People vaguely suspected there was a hand pushing things from behind, but since it didn’t affect them personally, they didn’t care to dig. They just chalked it up to Bai Zhanyan’s bad luck. At most, they’d comment that there truly are no secrets in this world.

“Sister Zheng,” Lin Shuyan wanted to speak, but she still didn’t know where to begin.

“I saw it.”

“Huh?” Lin Shuyan looked blank.

“The day Song Tang and I went to find you…”

Lin Shuyan understood before Zheng Qing even finished. It turned out both Sister Zheng and Song Tang had gone to see her out of worry that day. That was also why Sister Zheng had been so hurried on the phone.

Zheng Qing smiled. She didn’t know when Lin Shuyan and Ren Xuan had met, what their relationship was, or even if the “single” status Shuyan claimed before signing was true.

None of that mattered once the Young Miss of the Ren family was involved. In all her years in the industry, Zheng Qing had never heard of the Ren family heiress knowing any actors, male or female. Although Ren Xuan didn’t have personal investments in the industry, the Ren family name alone was something no one dared to ignore.

“Lin Shuyan,” Zheng Qing said, “I am your manager, and I am primarily responsible for your career. As for your private affairs, I believe that as an adult, you should have your own judgment.”

And just like that, the two of them tacitly dropped the topic. Zheng Qing picked up a stack of scripts from her desk and handed them to Shuyan. “These are the scripts I’ve picked for you. You’ve been resting at home for nearly a month. Some of these were found a few days ago, and some…” Zheng Qing pointed to her left, where the pile was even higher than the one on the right.

“These were sent over last night and this morning.”

Society is just that realistic. When the scandal broke, the scripts Zheng Qing had previously eyed were almost lost. Just one day later, with the reversal, scripts were flooding in.

“You can take them back, look them over, and then decide.”

“Does Sister Zheng have any suggestions?” Looking at the piles, Lin Shuyan remained silent for a moment, wanting her opinion.

“Regarding your career path,” Zheng Qing said, “I’ve been wanting to ask you. With your current ability, for the scripts coming your way, you can only play supporting roles in major productions—likely the third or fourth female lead. If you want to play the lead, it would have to be in small-budget web dramas. Which do you prefer?”

Both paths had pros and cons, depending entirely on Lin Shuyan’s choice.

“I,” Lin Shuyan didn’t think for long, “I want to play supporting roles.”

“Why?”

“When I played the Senior Sister, Director Wu gave me a lot of advice,” Lin Shuyan said seriously.

“Are you truly prepared to settle down and polish your acting skills?”

“Mhm,” Lin Shuyan nodded.

“Good.” Zheng Qing stood up and pulled several scripts from the piles. “I’ve read these; the characters are good and suit you well as supporting roles. Look them over yourself, decide which one you want to do, and give me an answer in a few days.”

Carrying a stack of scripts back to the Ren estate, Lin Shuyan hadn’t walked far before she heard laughter and shouting from the courtyard. Ren Ke and Xiao Ke were home from school.

“Miss Lin, don’t worry,” Butler Wang said thoughtfully beside her. “We’ve informed Xiao Ke’s family. When the two children are tired of playing, I’ll have the driver take her back.”

“Thank you, I understand.” Lin Shuyan felt completely at ease. After greeting the butler, she quickened her pace toward the two girls.

When Ren Xuan returned, the playful chaos in the courtyard was still in full swing.

Hearing Ren Xuan’s footsteps, three pairs of eyes turned toward her in unison. Seeing the state of their faces, Ren Xuan couldn’t help but press her lips together to stifle a laugh.

Previously, Ren Ke was the only child, and playing alone wasn’t much fun, but now the courtyard was full of laughter. The decision to “kidnap” the female lead home was indeed the right one.

Lin Shuyan turned her head awkwardly, knowing exactly what Ren Xuan was laughing at. She wanted to raise her hand to her face, but a glance down showed her hands were covered in mud. She felt a surge of chagrin; why hadn’t she anticipated this?

Xiao Ke was introverted by nature. Lin Shuyan had always wanted her to speak more, so when she saw Xiao Ke playing with mud and making miniature chairs and stools with Ren Ke today, she couldn’t help but join in.

If a stool or table turned out crooked, Ren Ke insisted on drawing a mark on the culprit’s face. Lin Shuyan couldn’t guarantee that all her mud creations would stay upright, so several streaks of mud had been smeared on her face. Of course, Ren Ke, who came up with the idea, didn’t escape unscathed. Amidst the play, even the completed pieces inevitably broke—if it wasn’t a mud man missing an arm, it was a stool missing a leg.

All three of them had filthy faces, covered in haphazard strokes. Ren Ke didn’t mind her sister’s teasing, but Lin Shuyan and Xiao Ke both instinctively looked away.

The helper standing nearby finally called the two little ones to go wash their faces. Only the two adults remained in the courtyard. Lin Shuyan felt awkward staying but felt equally awkward turning back; she tried to use her sleeve to hide her face.

Her current clothes had modern, narrow sleeves. If she were wearing the costume from the shoot a few days ago, she could have hidden her entire face, but now it just felt like she was over-explaining the situation.

“I saw everything,” Ren Xuan laughed out loud.

“Miss Ren, I…” Lin Shuyan finally remembered she could run. “I’ll go wash up first.”

“Wait—”

With just those two words, Lin Shuyan was pinned to the spot. Her feet wouldn’t listen to her; she couldn’t move. “Miss Ren…”

Ren Xuan walked up to her at some point. Her voice was gentle, as if she wanted to examine her face carefully. “It looks very nice. Like a…”

Like what?

Lin Shuyan had already dropped her sleeve. Her eyes were full of curiosity and anticipation. Soon, she felt something brush lightly against her face—wet and cool, much like the texture of… mud.

“Now it looks even more like it.” Ren Xuan carefully added a stroke to her forehead.

“Like a little calico cat.” Ren Xuan smiled with satisfaction, clearly pleased with her artistic addition.

Lin Shuyan looked dazed at Ren Xuan’s hand. Her fingertip was covered in a thick layer of mud; she must have done it on purpose. Lin Shuyan’s face flushed, her heart hammered, and she couldn’t find a single word to say.

She practically fled from Ren Xuan’s side. She ran fast, but she could still hear Ren Xuan’s laughter behind her.

Regardless of how anyone looked at her along the way, Lin Shuyan ran to the bathroom mirror without stopping. Three strokes on the left, and three neat strokes on the right. She couldn’t help but cup her face; she really did look like a cat.

What am I thinking? Turning on the tap, Lin Shuyan gently splashed her face with cold water. The six mud marks were washed away one by one. When it came to the last one, her hand hesitated.

Ren Xuan’s stroke had come so unexpectedly—a very brief touch. But that woman’s hand was different from others; it felt tingly as it brushed her face…

Lin Shuyan didn’t dare think further. She splashed more cold water on her face until it was clean before turning away. Before leaving the bathroom, she paused and looked in the mirror again. Her makeup was ruined; she pulled a lipstick from her pocket, carefully applied a thin layer, and smoothed her hair before heading to the living room.

Seeing Ren Xuan walking slowly in from the courtyard, Lin Shuyan instinctively ran to Xiao Ke’s side. Ren Xuan didn’t look at her again, as Xiao Ke was already planning to head home. Ren Ke was reluctant to let her go.

“Sister Xiao Ke,” Ren Ke’s young voice explained patiently, “I promised my mom and dad I’d go back to eat dinner with them. I’ll come play with you when I have time.”

“Alright then.” Ren Ke looked at the driver, then at Xiao Ke, and nodded helplessly. She rushed forward. “Pinky swear! You have to come next week, no breaking it.”

“I have lots of friends,” Ren Ke threatened. “If you don’t come, I won’t play with you next time.”

The adults listened to the threat with amusement, but Xiao Ke seriously hooked pinkies with her and promised, “Okay.”

After dinner, Ren Ke climbed into her bed early. Ren Xuan noticed the thick stack of books Lin Shuyan had brought from the company. “Are those all scripts?”

“Mhm,” Lin Shuyan nodded. “Sister Zheng carefully picked them for me.”

“Can I have a look?”

Lin Shuyan gestured for her to go ahead. As Ren Xuan examined them meticulously, Lin Shuyan’s fingers curled slightly. These were the roles she would play; on set, she might not feel anything, but seeing some of the lines here in the living room felt a bit embarrassing.

Ren Xuan was just browsing; she didn’t understand the industry’s inner workings, nor did she know which drama themes were currently trending. From a purely audience-based perspective, her choice would be whatever the public enjoyed.

It had to be said, Zheng Qing had a great eye. Although these roles were all supporting parts, they each had unique characteristics. They weren’t cookie-cutter “tool” characters or brainless archetypes. Even the worst villain had a clear goal and growth arc. Her experiences were full of ups and downs, catching the eye immediately.

“They’re all very good,” Ren Xuan said. “Which one do you want to play?”

“This one.” Lin Shuyan pointed to a script. It was a modern family drama; she wanted to play the second daughter of the Tang family. “I’ve never done a modern drama. I want to try it, and this character is very well-written.”

“How long will this role take to film?”

“About a month,” Lin Shuyan estimated. Modern dramas had shorter filming schedules anyway, and since she wasn’t the lead, it would take even less time.

If she goes off to film, Ren Xuan thought, won’t she be leaving right after I managed to bring her home?