After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 28

Rushing from Yecheng to the film set just to see someone, making a huge detour. Then coming from Yecheng to Ningjiang City, just to ask for a meeting.

When would a meeting not be possible? Filming always has an end date.

If it wasn’t romantic interest, Song Tang truly couldn’t think of a better reason.

“Miss Ren said she was visiting relatives and happened to be passing by,” Lin Shuyan shook her head. “Besides, Miss Ren helped me simply as an investment.”

“Investment?” Song Tang looked as if she had heard the world’s biggest joke. “The Ren family is short on money?!”

Lin Shuyan remained silent. After all this time, she obviously no longer simply believed that Ren Xuan was only investing in her. Choosing her as an investment was a losing bargain for Miss Ren.

As for why, Lin Shuyan didn’t want to know. A scale deep in her heart told her not to dig for the reason, or the balance would tip.

“Even in the worst-case scenario,” Song Tang analyzed for her, “even if Miss Ren wasn’t satisfied with her current wealth and wanted to invest, what wouldn’t be faster than promoting you?”

Song Tang didn’t mean to look down on Lin Shuyan, but even a superstar filming and doing variety shows around the clock—ignoring whether the body could handle it—couldn’t make money faster than Ren Xuan’s existing investments.

“Do you have a contract saying the money you make from acting and shows goes to her?”

Lin Shuyan shook her head.

“Then that’s it.” Song Tang clapped her hands. “Her biggest investment is you!”

Lin Shuyan’s brows twitched, seemingly considering the credibility of Song Tang’s analysis.

On the other side, Song Tang rested her chin in her hand, marveling. She never expected the famous Eldest Miss Ren to be so subtle when she liked someone. If she had Ren Xuan’s wealth and liked someone, she’d just throw a check at them. How great the life of a rich woman would be!

The phone rang for a full twenty seconds before Ren Xuan heard the other person’s breathing. “Are you busy?”

“Mhm,” Lin Shuyan murmured vaguely.

Ren Xuan didn’t suspect a thing and immediately said, “Call me back when you’re finished.”

“Wait!” Seeing that Ren Xuan was actually going to hang up after just two words, Lin Shuyan hurriedly stopped her. “I just finished.”

“Do you want to come out now?” Ren Xuan asked softly. She had just left her relative’s house; feeling the river breeze, she felt refreshed and couldn’t help but call Lin Shuyan.

“Okay, Miss Ren, wait for me a moment.” Lin Shuyan acted as if she were afraid of wasting Ren Xuan’s time.

Ren Xuan gave her an exact location and smiled. “I’m by the river enjoying the breeze! It’s quite comfortable. No rush, take your time.”

Despite this, Lin Shuyan didn’t dare delay. She tidied herself up in the mirror, running right into Song Tang. Avoiding Song Tang’s teasing gaze, she quickly ran downstairs.

“So fast?” Less than twenty minutes later, Ren Xuan looked at the person standing before her in surprise. “I remember your set is quite far from here.”

Thinking her actions had been discovered, Lin Shuyan instinctively twisted her fingers. “I’m off today… I came out to play with a colleague.”

In fact, Ren Xuan had previously mentioned which district she would be in. To ensure the meeting went smoothly, Lin Shuyan had come to this district from the set in advance. As for Song Tang, she actually was out to play.

“A new friend from the crew?” Ren Xuan asked with concern.

“A colleague from my company,” Lin Shuyan said. “We joined together.”

“I remember.” A faint memory of the person surfaced in Ren Xuan’s mind. “Is she called Song Tang? I recall her playing the Junior Sister in The Dragon Emperor.”

“Miss Ren, do you look at everyone’s character posters?” Lin Shuyan pressed.

“I remember them after a casual glance.” This wasn’t a lie. Ren Xuan was very sensitive to memories of people; she could usually name anyone she had met seriously a few times.

So she just has a good memory. Lin Shuyan’s heart fluctuated. She wondered if the many small things Miss Ren remembered about her were also simply due to a superior memory.

“What are you thinking about?” The girl’s black hair fell obediently over her shoulders, her eyes as innocent as a fawn’s. Ren Xuan couldn’t help but ask.

“Nothing… it’s nothing…” Lin Shuyan snapped back to reality.

She had been dazed.

“Do you like Miss Ren?” Song Tang’s words were still in her ears. “Setting aside why she’s doing this for you, do you like President Ren? Do you feel impatient to see her, to meet her?”

She did.

Lin Shuyan thought. When she saw this person by the river from a distance, she instinctively wanted to get closer, and closer still.

“Do you understand the logic of ‘a terrace facing the water gets the moon first’?”

“Anyway, you’re the only one by President Ren’s side right now. Why don’t you ask her indirectly?”

How should she ask indirectly? Lin Shuyan wanted to ask, but ultimately didn’t open her mouth. She suddenly felt she should have asked; her heart was suddenly yearning for an answer.

“Let’s go.” Ren Xuan took two steps before noticing that Lin Shuyan, whom she had just called back to reality, was still out of it.

Is walking with me really that boring? Ren Xuan couldn’t help but reflect. Before coming to Ningjiang, she had specifically asked her secretary to make a guide, but most items seemed the same and were quite crowded, so she had given up.

Now it seemed it was lucky she hadn’t gone.

“Lin Shuyan!” Ren Xuan called her name helplessly.

“Miss Ren!” Lin Shuyan looked panicked. Ren Xuan chuckled. “Are you too tired? I heard the hot spring at the hotel ahead is quite good. Want to take a soak?”

A hot spring soak?

For some reason, the words “hidden rules” (casting couch) suddenly flashed through Lin Shuyan’s mind.

She was losing her mind. Lin Shuyan worked hard to shake the nonsense out of her head and nodded obediently. Ningjiang was colder than Yecheng; many people went for soaks at this time of year. Song Tang had even asked about it when she was searching earlier.

“It’s a deal, then.” Ren Xuan led the way, and Lin Shuyan followed. The hot spring place wasn’t far—about a twenty-minute drive. It was a place Ren Xuan’s cousin had personally recommended. Ren Xuan hadn’t intended to go at first, but seeing Lin Shuyan’s state, she suddenly felt that washing away the fatigue was a good idea.

“This way, please, ladies.” The hot spring hotel was very thoughtful; even for a double room, they asked if a partition was needed.

Since they were both girls, Ren Xuan initially wanted to say it wasn’t needed. Then she thought that Lin Shuyan had likely seen a lot regarding same-sex relationships in the industry. To maintain a good impression, it was better not to startle her.

“We need one,” Ren Xuan nodded, accepting the staff’s friendly service.

The room was warm and filled with mist. Upon shedding their outer clothes, the contrast between the air and the water made their bodies shiver slightly. Their cool skin couldn’t wait to join the steaming water.

“How is it? Comfortable?” Ren Xuan’s voice reached Lin Shuyan through the wooden partition.

With her body fully immersed in the water, despite the wooden board between them, the distance between their hearts felt infinitely smaller.

Lin Shuyan nodded heavily.

“Is filming this time better than last time?” Ren Xuan guessed. “I remember when you went to the mountains, was it even hard to take a shower?”

“The water resources in the mountains were plentiful,” Lin Shuyan told the truth. “But the conditions weren’t that good.”

“Miss Ren,” Lin Shuyan rested her hands on the edge, asking softly, “what do you usually do?” Ren Xuan knew so much about her, but she didn’t know much about Ren Xuan. Could she ask more?

“Me?” Ren Xuan thought of the endless accounts and files. she let out a helpless smile. “My work is very boring.”

“I want to hear about it.”

“Alright, I’ll tell you.” Seeing that Lin Shuyan was genuinely interested, Ren Xuan didn’t refuse. Company affairs were indeed dull, so Ren Xuan worked hard to pick interesting parts to tell, afraid that Lin Shuyan might fall asleep in the bath while listening.

What she imagined didn’t happen. On the contrary, Lin Shuyan listened very seriously. She didn’t take the initiative to ask questions, but her perked-up ears showed that her full attention was focused there, afraid of missing a single word from Ren Xuan.

This appearance was like a child who had just entered school, working hard to take in every word from the teacher.

“It’s not as interesting as your filming.”

“It’s different,” Lin Shuyan said seriously. Her palm unconsciously toyed with the water. The scene of Ren Xuan working seriously seemed to appear before her eyes.

Ren Xuan was used to it; she had done this before, and in this new world, her expertise was a match, meaning less pressure.

“Miss… Miss Ren,” after such a long buildup, Lin Shuyan worked hard to make her question sound natural and smooth. “You are so capable in your work. Have you… have you ever thought about finding a… a partner?”

After finishing the stuttered sentence, Lin Shuyan let out a light breath, feeling a sense of relief. But she quickly became nervous again.

Miss Ren said she hadn’t been in love. Since Miss Ren could ask her before, she should be able to ask Miss Ren out of curiosity.

“I have.” Ren Xuan suddenly realized that after not seeing her for half a month, Lin Shuyan seemed different. Previously, she proactively avoided such questions, but now she was bringing them up…

Various possibilities flashed through her mind, finally settling on one. Has Lin Shuyan noticed?

“Then,” Lin Shuyan could hear her own breathing, “Miss Ren, if you look for one in the future, what kind of person do you like?”

“Are you planning to help me find one?”

“…No, no,” Lin Shuyan said haltingly. “I’m just curious.” After saying it, she just wanted to close her eyes. Why was it that words Miss Ren could say so righteously were so difficult for her to even repeat?

“The kind I like—” Ren Xuan’s soft laughter was continuous. “There are no requirements or rules. As long as I like them, that’s enough.”

“Miss… Miss Ren,” Lin Shuyan closed her eyes, going for broke. “Do you have someone you like?”

After asking, Lin Shuyan thought she must have had her brain cooked by the warm water. This wasn’t “indirect” at all. She was asking so bluntly that she had completely exposed her little thoughts.

“I do.”

With just that one word, all of Lin Shuyan’s thoughts came to a standstill.