After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 32

Lin Shuyan shook her head without a moment’s hesitation.

Ren Xuan felt as if her heart had been struck by a heavy blow. For a fleeting second, she wanted to run away, but reason told her she could not move an inch.

“Can I give you a hug now?” Ren Xuan managed to swallow all her conflicting thoughts, asking in a hoarse voice.

Lin Shuyan still felt like she was dreaming. The direction things were taking with Ren Xuan had far exceeded the boundaries of her understanding. She nodded vigorously. This time, without waiting for Ren Xuan to ask again, she took the initiative to step forward and gently gave Ren Xuan a hug.

The girl’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

With their faces turned away from each other, their breathing slowed. Ren Xuan gradually closed her eyes; she didn’t focus on the girl’s expression, and the girl was too shy and proactive to look her in the eye.

When she opened her eyes again, Ren Xuan’s heart, which had been as turbulent as the sea, gradually calmed. Her expression was peaceful as she slowly reached out to return the embrace. “Then it’s a deal.”

“Lin Shuyan, from today on, you have a girlfriend, and so do I.”

Yes, Shuyan thought. From today on, neither she nor Ren Xuan were single anymore.

Lin Shuyan still rushed back to the film set that day, though it wasn’t because the crew was busy.

Falling in love for the first time, and with such speed—she hadn’t had a shred of psychological preparation. After saying yes, she actually felt everything become even more formal and stiff.

While Lin Shuyan looked at her script in the hotel, Ren Xuan sat languidly on the sofa, holding a book she had casually pulled from the desk.

Ren Xuan remained as composed and calm as ever, but Shuyan’s heart couldn’t settle for a long time. Her mouth was reciting the melancholic lines from Leaving Home, but her mind was a chaotic mess of thoughts about Ren Xuan.

Shuyan couldn’t help but steal a glance at Ren Xuan. She happened to meet Ren Xuan’s gaze, and the other woman’s tone was gentle. “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” Shuyan quickly averted her eyes and buried her head back into the script.

She had just become Ren Xuan’s girlfriend.

A pair of lovers—newly formed lovers—was this how they were supposed to interact?

Shuyan vaguely felt that things hadn’t changed since they were at the Ren estate, yet at the same time, she felt they had. These two thoughts argued incessantly in her head, and she couldn’t process a single line of her dialogue.

Looking up again, Shuyan was startled—where was the person sitting on the sofa? It was empty. “Ren—” she almost shouted.

“I’m here.” Ren Xuan walked out from behind her, holding a fruit plate filled with evenly sliced pears.

“Want to take a break? Doesn’t your head hurt after looking at that for so long?” Ren Xuan placed the fruit plate on the high table in front of Shuyan. “Rest for a bit.”

…She hadn’t done anything. Shuyan thought shamefully. “Thank you, Ren…” She wondered if she should stop calling her “Miss Ren.” The words got stuck in her throat, feeling slightly awkward.

“Congratulations,” Ren Xuan chuckled. “You’ve realized it.”

Shuyan awkwardly pressed her lips together and slowly forced a smile.

“There’s progress, but one thing is wrong.”

Shuyan blinked, looking at her in confusion. In the next moment, she saw Ren Xuan use a fork to pick up a small piece of pear and present it to her unexpectedly.

It was completely unforeseen.

Shuyan wondered, Is this for me? Observing Ren Xuan’s expression, it seemed non-negotiable.

Shuyan’s fingers twisted as she licked her lips. She opened her mouth and took a bite of the small piece of pear.

“Is it good?” Ren Xuan asked.

“Mhm.” Shuyan held the piece of pear in her mouth; she hadn’t chewed it yet, so she could only nod vaguely. Her whole mind was a bit foggy.

“It was on your desk.” Ren Xuan laughed softly. She had just picked it up casually, offering “borrowed flowers to the Buddha.” It wasn’t as if Shuyan hadn’t eaten the fruit on her own desk before.

“Oh.” Shuyan still hadn’t quite recovered, but her mouth began to work, gently biting into it as the sweet juice burst out.

Ren Xuan waited a few seconds and, with perfect timing, offered another piece.

“I…” Shuyan was helpless. This time she was much more practiced; she took it into her mouth and lowered her head to chew.

Satisfied after watching her eat a few more pieces of pear, Ren Xuan leaned toward Shuyan, her gentle palm seeming to brush lightly over her hair. “Don’t say ‘thank you’ in the future.”

“Huh?”

Belatedly, Shuyan asked blankly, “Then what should I say?”

Ren Xuan was silent for a moment, then quickly looked up. “How about saying, ‘I missed you’?”

Shuyan was even more dazed, her mouth hanging open, not knowing how to react.

“Are you waiting for me to feed you again?” Ren Xuan looked at the dazed girl with amusement. She found that Shuyan was spending longer and longer periods staring blankly in her presence.

Shuyan immediately closed her mouth.

“It seems my service just now was quite poor,” Ren Xuan said with a sigh, as if she felt slighted.

“No,” Shuyan quickly denied, but Ren Xuan didn’t react.

“Really, it wasn’t.” Shuyan anxiously tried to reach for the hem of Ren Xuan’s clothes. she really didn’t mean that. She wanted to explain but didn’t know where to start, and then she remembered Ren Xuan’s words—she was caught in a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

“Lin Shuyan,” Ren Xuan let out a long sigh in her heart, “I was the one who pursued you first.”

Shuyan’s eyes twitched. She found it harder and harder to keep up with Ren Xuan’s words.

“What I mean is,” Ren Xuan took both of Shuyan’s hands in hers. The warmth of her palms caused Shuyan’s body to stiffen instantly.

“I don’t have any relatives in Ningjiang City.”

Shuyan’s eyes widened suddenly as she looked at Ren Xuan in disbelief.

“So, do you understand now?” Ren Xuan said slowly. “I wanted to see you. Since Ningjiang happens to be close to Yecheng, I came.”

Why come? Because Lin Shuyan was filming. Even by the shortest estimate, Shuyan would be filming for over a month. Over a month was far too long.

Ren Xuan was glad she came. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have detected Shuyan’s feelings over the phone. If she hadn’t come, Shuyan would have guessed back and forth and perhaps started avoiding her.

“You’re very good,” Ren Xuan squeezed Shuyan’s hands tightly, speaking seriously. “You don’t need to be in a panic for anyone or anything.”

Perhaps it was because they had just established a relationship, or perhaps it was because she hadn’t given Shuyan a proper transition period before they started dating. She couldn’t immediately change the psychological gap in Shuyan’s mind, but she could narrow it slowly.

Some say that in a relationship, the one who is loved always has confidence. Ren Xuan thought she would learn to be a qualified lover and give Shuyan all the confidence she needed.

Furthermore, her girl was going to be a big star in the future. If Shuyan herself thought she was the one chasing Ren Xuan, what would people on the outside say?

Shuyan practically fled the hotel. Her heart was in a flurry; in her daze, it felt like she had taken in all of Ren Xuan’s words, yet at the same time, she hadn’t.

“How… how did it go?” Song Tang nudged Shuyan’s shoulder, her mouth practically twitching with the urge to talk. Upon receiving Shuyan’s message, Song Tang had evacuated the hotel immediately. She didn’t want to stay in that hotel for a single minute or second longer.

Every second was a scene of “social death.”

The past was too painful to recall. After meeting with Shuyan, the two of them just stared at each other. Since Shuyan didn’t bring it up, Song Tang certainly wasn’t going to say a word. Leaving Shuyan alone in the room was a bit unethical and shameful, but being unethical had been effective.

As the car drove quietly toward the film set, Song Tang spent the whole trip observing Shuyan’s expression, but she couldn’t figure it out. Not until she saw Shuyan nodding one moment, shaking her head the next, looking joyful one second, and then frowning the next…

What on earth did this mean?

Even a prisoner on death row gets a verdict. Song Tang couldn’t take it anymore.

Shuyan shook her head mechanically.

“Ren—” Song Tang was about to use her name, but glanced at the driver in front and slapped her own mouth, automatically omitting the name. “Did she hear clearly? What was her reaction?”

Shuyan still didn’t speak.

Song Tang gritted her teeth, going for broke. “Did she not feel that way, or did my words ruin everything between you two?”

Shuyan’s eyes flickered.

Song Tang’s questions gave Shuyan no chance to answer. Dejectedly, she hung her head. She was finished. She had ruined a perfectly good thing. What was she thinking with “marrying into a wealthy family”? And her tone at the time—didn’t that just make her look like a scheming woman after someone’s money?

She was a sinner. Song Tang began to sob. “Shuyan, I’m sorry, I…”

“She wasn’t angry.”

“What?” Song Tang stopped her sobbing instantly and snapped her head up.

“She didn’t really take those things to heart,” Shuyan said, then felt that wasn’t quite accurate.

“Isn’t… isn’t that a good thing? Why did you have that look on your face just now?”

“I…” Shuyan bent her knees, leaning her whole body forward. A massive surge of joy welled up in her heart—a joy that went from head to toe. Even seeing the high-rise buildings flashing past the window made her feel wonderful.

“I have a secret I want to tell you,” Shuyan said seriously.

“What is it?” Song Tang asked.

“I…” Shuyan thought about it, then decided against it. This was a secret; as much as she wanted to share it, she couldn’t. “I’m sorry, I… I can’t tell you yet.”

Song Tang didn’t connect this secret to President Ren at all. Hearing this, she waved her hand. “Everyone has secrets, Shuyan. Tell me whenever you’re ready.”

The main thing was, Song Tang wanted to step forward and shake Shuyan’s body violently. Can you at least tell me how President Ren reacted? Shuyan could see she didn’t take it to heart, which meant she was a magnanimous person, but did she herself ruin Shuyan’s image in front of Ren Xuan?

“She’s very good,” Shuyan smiled. Especially, especially good, Shuyan thought. Better than everyone she had ever met. To have such an infinitely gentle person in this world, and to have met her…

Lin Shuyan, you must have saved up all the luck from the past twenty years for this.

“She really didn’t mind,” Shuyan repeated. These affirmations gave Song Tang a lot of confidence. Upon arriving at the set, Song Tang, having verified multiple times that everything was fine, finally let out a long sigh of relief and returned to her room.

Shuyan had checked the time on her phone no less than thirty times. Before Ren Xuan left, she had told her it would take about three hours to drive back to Yecheng.

By this time, Ren Xuan would be home.

Should I call her? She had the right, and even more so, the reason.

After much hesitation, Shuyan dialed the number. It was answered quickly, just like the countless times before when Shuyan had been the one answering the phone.

“Shuyan.” A familiar voice entered her ear.