After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 3

“I didn’t mean it that way,” the girl murmured, her face pale as she shook her head. Having been fortunate enough to be saved, she was already beyond grateful.

“I know.” Ren Xuan handed her a cup filled with a dark, murky liquid. “Drink this.”

The girl took it and, without showing any distaste for its grim color or worrying about the bitterness, drank it all in one go before placing the cup on the edge of the table.

Ren Xuan raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to ask what medicine it is?” Trusting a stranger so easily wasn’t exactly a good trait, especially after what she had just endured.

“I trust Miss Ren.” The girl’s eyes were filled with the raw gratitude of a survivor.

Trust? Ren Xuan thought to herself: I’m the person who is eventually going to keep you as a mistress and then dump you.

Despite her internal cynicism, Ren Xuan maintained a bright smile. “Thank you for your trust. It’s just medicine to prevent a cold.”

“May I ask your name?” Ren Xuan asked in a friendly tone.

“Miss Ren, my name is Lin Shuyan.”

Surnamed Lin?

Ren Xuan’s heart skipped a beat. Her suspicions were further confirmed. She didn’t know the female lead’s full name; if she did, she could have just looked it up. But she did know the surname was Lin.

“Shuyan? Which characters?”

“The Shu with the silk radical, and the Yan for speech,” the girl replied.

“In our dealings, there is no slackness; our talk and laughter are pleasant,” Ren Xuan quoted softly. “It’s a lovely name. It suits you.”

“…Thank you.” The girl rarely received compliments and could only answer with cautious shyness.

“Aren’t you tired?” Compared to Lin Shuyan’s nervous unease, Ren Xuan was much more composed, enjoying the “home-field” advantage. “Why don’t you take a seat?”

Lin Shuyan didn’t sit. Instead, she reached out for the cup she had just put down.

“What’s wrong?” As soon as Ren Xuan asked, Lin Shuyan’s hand reflexively pulled back. She looked at Ren Xuan timidly, her voice barely audible but clear: “I wanted to wash the cup.”

“Just sit and relax,” Ren Xuan smiled gently. “Cold medicine is only a preventative measure.” Ren Xuan actually wanted to feel her forehead to see if she was running a fever.

Clearly, however, their relationship wasn’t that intimate yet. Moreover, Lin Shuyan had just gone through a trauma and was likely resistant to physical contact. Or perhaps she was simply the type who disliked being touched. At least, that was how Ren Xuan herself was.

“Thank you for your concern, Miss Ren, but I won’t get sick,” Lin Shuyan said.

She sounded so certain. It seemed she was very confident in her health—a good thing. Health is the capital of revolution, after all.

Ren Xuan pointed toward the bedroom. “Do you want to go lie down for a nap?”

Lin Shuyan shook her head. After the ordeal, she was indeed exhausted—both physically and mentally drained. However, the tightened string in her heart told her she couldn’t fall asleep. She still had many things to do. Most importantly, Lin Shuyan caught a glimpse of the clock out of the corner of her eye: it was already 7:30 PM. She shouldn’t continue to bother Miss Ren.

But… if she went out now and ran into that man…

Lin Shuyan instantly curled up like an ostrich. She didn’t want to go out, and she didn’t dare to.

“Miss… Miss Ren, may I rest here for a bit?” Lin Shuyan looked up and asked earnestly.

The sofa?

Ren Xuan didn’t say anything. If it were her, she wouldn’t sleep in the bed of someone she had only just met either.

But Lin Shuyan was the female lead, and Ren Xuan figured she deserved some privileges. They would have many chances to interact in the future; creating a good first impression would make things easier later. Besides, the girl was beautiful and very well-behaved—a soft, obedient little thing that felt like she could be picked up quite easily.

When no answer came for a long moment, the girl began to regret her request. Was she being too much? Miss Ren had saved her; how could she continue to make such unreasonable demands? She completely forgot that Ren Xuan had been the one to offer rest in the first place and began to spiral into self-reproach.

“Of course you can.” Ren Xuan pointed to the sofa. “I was just wondering if you’d be comfortable sleeping there.”

“I will be.” A flash of joy appeared in the girl’s eyes. “Thank you, Miss Ren.”

“Let me get you a blanket,” Ren Xuan said. She went into the bedroom and opened the cabinet. There were several blankets on the upper shelf. After feeling the textures, she chose a sky-blue one that was soft and comfortable and carried it out.

Passing the coffee table, Ren Xuan noticed the medicine cup was gone. In its place stood a clean, transparent glass. She looked at Lin Shuyan, whose small mouth was slightly parted as she breathed a bit heavily; she must have run to the sink to wash the cup as fast as she could.

Ren Xuan didn’t call her out on it. She just smiled and asked, “Is this one okay?”

“I like it very much,” Lin Shuyan nodded. “Thank you, Miss Ren.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me. You don’t need to be so formal.” Ren Xuan paused, a faint smile still on her face. “How about you just call me by my name?”

“Miss… Miss Ren…” Lin Shuyan stammered in panic.

“I don’t think I’ve told you my name yet. Sorry about that. My name is—”

“Ren Xuan.”

“Present,” Ren Xuan replied with a wink and a nod.

Lin Shuyan realized instantly that she was being teased. Her face turned bright red, and she lowered her head.

“Alright,” Ren Xuan said, deciding not to tease her further. “Get some rest.”

“Mhm.” Lin Shuyan nodded obediently and took the blanket. Halfway through arranging it, she looked toward Ren Xuan.

“I still have some company matters to handle,” Ren Xuan fabricated an excuse. She adjusted the room to a comfortable sleeping temperature and didn’t linger.

Once inside her room, Ren Xuan went straight to her computer. The excuse was a lie, but the “pile of things to do” was very real.

Typing “Lin Shuyan” into the search bar, Ren Xuan first opened Weibo. She immediately followed the account with her private handle and started scrolling through the girl’s posts.

Ren Xuan’s expression grew grimmer by the second. From the synopsis, she knew the female lead was a “nobody” before meeting the original Ren Xuan—actually, she remained one even after. She accepted being “kept” partly because she already had feelings for Ren Xuan, and partly because a relative was sick.

The original Ren Xuan paid the medical bills, but she never cared about the lead’s career. The girl’s manager had suggested using Ren Xuan for resources, but the lead refused. She wanted to carve out her own path, even if it meant getting beaten down. Ren Xuan didn’t know the ultimate outcome; the world line had collapsed, and she was just piecing things together from fragments.

Guessing was one thing; seeing the reality was another.

Lin Shuyan’s personal Weibo was barren. She had only posted one selfie in six months. The rest was just daily life—a few pictures of food she had cooked herself, which looked quite good.

There wasn’t much on her personal page, but when searching “Lin Shuyan,” the results were full of vitriol. How could a “nobody” be hated by so many people? Ren Xuan dug deeper.

As a signed actress, Lin Shuyan had only appeared in three dramas over three years. In all three, her roles were—without exception—handmaidens. All three were period dramas, and she even wore the same type of pink, frilly costume in each.

Ren Xuan stared at the screen, unable to fathom it. Lin Shuyan was right outside. Ren Xuan had seen her face; how could her company think such a look was a waste?

Each appearance lasted only a few minutes. Her longest screen time was in a variety show—about twenty minutes. Ren Xuan didn’t have to calculate this; someone had specially edited her parts together. Specifically, someone had edited her parts together just to bash her.

[So fake and pretentious!]

[Is she doing this on purpose? She definitely pushed my Goddess on purpose!]

[B*tch, go die! Can’t you even stand up straight? Do you have to lean into men’s arms? Don’t touch my God!!!]

[Clout-chaser, just die already!!!!]

In that twenty-minute clip, the bullet comments were a deluge of curses. Ren Xuan couldn’t watch any more. Though she had just met Lin Shuyan and shouldn’t overstep, she could tell the girl was physically unwell at the time. She must have endured massive discomfort to finish that variety show.

No one noticed. Or perhaps the netizens noticed but didn’t care. But how could the staff around her not know?

The name that frequently appeared alongside Lin Shuyan’s was Bai Zhanyan. They both had a “Yan” in their names, though the characters differed.

Ren Xuan continued her search, wanting to gather more information to understand Lin Shuyan better.

Suddenly, a loud bang-bang-bang of knocking erupted. Ren Xuan turned her head. She hadn’t fully closed her bedroom door; she had left it slightly ajar so she could hear if Lin Shuyan needed anything.

The frantic knocking continued. Ren Xuan closed her laptop and pushed the door open. In the living room, Lin Shuyan had been jolted awake. She was sitting up, clutching her blanket, looking lost and terrified.

“Open the door! Open it now!”

At that sound, the bit of color that had returned to Lin Shuyan’s face vanished instantly. Her lips trembled uncontrollably as she gripped the blanket with white knuckles. She looked as pale as paper, as if the blood had been drained from her body. She resembled a white paper lantern—one gentle touch and she would shatter.

Ren Xuan recognized the voice at the door: it was Director Zhang.

She strode to Lin Shuyan’s side. Before she could speak, the girl grabbed her sleeve, her trembling lips struggling to form words: “Miss Ren, please… I beg you, don’t open the door.”

“I—”

Ren Xuan noticed the girl used the word “beg.” Before she could finish her sentence, the girl interrupted her again, “Please, I beg you, I beg you, Miss Ren… don’t open it.”

The girl who, just a moment ago, had shyly called her “Ren Xuan” was now consumed by nothing but sheer horror and dread.

Ren Xuan felt a pang of pity. “It’s okay, Shuyan. I’m here. I’m right here.”

Lin Shuyan couldn’t hear a thing. In her ears, her eyes, and her heart, there was only that demon shouting for her. The memories she had fought to suppress came rushing back.

She remembered lying on that bed, her body limp and weak…

Being drugged…

Struggling desperately as the man tried to assault her…

She had thought about jumping, thought about dying, thought about every possibility—but she never expected that Ren Xuan, whom she had glimpsed once in a magazine, would actually appear to save her.