After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 41

The two carefully disguised themselves and headed to the film city. Ning Yinman’s proactive attitude made Ren Xuan do a double-take; with sunglasses and a mask, she was wrapped up so tightly from head to toe that Ren Xuan actually believed no one would recognize her in this outfit.

“Which set are you going to?” asked Ren Xuan, who had only put on a simple disguise.

“How are you not anxious at all?” Ning Yinman asked curiously. To be honest, there was a question at the bottom of her heart she hadn’t dared to ask. Was her best friend dating Lin Shuyan because she had completely moved on from her “White Moonlight” (first love), or was it because the White Moonlight showed no signs of returning to the country, and Ren Xuan just wanted to start over?

“She needs to focus on her acting,” Ren Xuan replied. If she actually went over, she was afraid it would distract Lin Shuyan. Furthermore, since their relationship was a secret, it was better if Ren Xuan didn’t appear at the studio.

Ning Yinman rolled her eyes. The suspicion in her heart grew deeper. Did Ren Xuan’s attitude really fit someone who had just started dating? Every new couple she knew was inseparable, wishing they didn’t have to spend a single moment apart. Yet Lin Shuyan had been with the crew for months, and she hadn’t seen Ren Xuan acting restless at all.

“You still haven’t answered which set we’re visiting.”

“Let’s just look around,” Ning Yinman said, stopping randomly in front of a set. “A Republic-era drama, cheongsams… this looks good.” Unfortunately, it was a closed set, so the two of them could only stand far off on the perimeter, catching a blurry glimpse of the outdoor scenery.

“Do you feel like your status as an investor isn’t as useful now?” Ren Xuan teased. This was likely the first time Ning Yinman had been treated this way at a film set—experiencing the taste of being turned away at the door for the first time in her life.

“Did you know this would happen?” Ning Yinman asked.

“My dear Miss Ning, if anyone could just walk into a film set, how would they ever get any filming done?” Ren Xuan pressed her palm to her forehead. Most importantly, this was a professional film city; if a crew was filming outdoors, you could watch from the sidelines as long as you didn’t talk, and no one would complain.

“This one seems okay.” After one failure, Ning Yinman dragged Ren Xuan toward another set. Ren Xuan had been dragged out of her room by Ning Yinman at 7:00 AM; by the time they reached the film city, it was nearly 9:00 AM. It was summer, and the 9:00 AM sun had already been hanging in the sky for hours. Ren Xuan followed Ning Yinman wearing a sun hat.

After winding through several paths, Ning Yinman suddenly pointed at a spot and nudged Ren Xuan’s shoulder. “Look, where are we?”

It was the set of The Princess of Qin.

Ren Xuan’s eyes flickered. Ning Yinman asked, “Going in?”

“With that outfit, no one will recognize you, don’t worry.” Ning Yinman nudged her again. “Since we’re already here, are you really not going to take a look?”

Ren Xuan hesitated for a moment before whispering, “Let’s be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” Ning Yinman found a gap and slipped into the set area. They couldn’t get too close, so they watched the plaque of the “General’s Estate” from a distance. This scene happened to be right in front of the estate gates, allowing Ning Yinman and Ren Xuan to see two elegant figures through the crowd.

Ning Yinman narrowed her eyes. She was watching more intently than Ren Xuan, almost standing on her tiptoes to get a clear view. Ren Xuan followed her gaze for a while, but she could only see a blurry figure. Based on the costume, Ren Xuan knew it was Shuyan.

“What are you doing?” During a break when her eyes were tired, Ning Yinman turned her head and found Ren Xuan dazing off.

“I think someone is watching us,” Ren Xuan said in a low voice.

“Impossible,” Ning Yinman said without thinking. “This is a film set. They’re probably trying to spot one of the leads and happened to look at us instead.”

“It doesn’t feel like that.” Ren Xuan shook her head. While Ning Yinman was looking inward, Ren Xuan had specifically noticed that a certain gaze had never left her. Ren Xuan wanted to find a good opportunity to look back, but there were too many people behind them; when she turned her head, she still couldn’t find the person she was looking for.

“No way,” Ning Yinman whispered. “Are you saying we’re being stalked in broad daylight?”

Ren Xuan was speechless. Their trip to the film city was a last-minute decision made in secret. With people everywhere, if someone truly had bad intentions, they wouldn’t likely act on them here.

“Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

“Relax.” Ning Yinman patted her shoulder. “You’re just under too much pressure, always thinking you’ll be discovered. Ease up; my makeup skills are definitely fine.”

A few minutes after she said this, the scene in front of the General’s Estate finished filming, and the two leads entered the residence. Ning Yinman and Ren Xuan couldn’t see inside the estate, so they found a wooden bench to sit on.

“Here.” Ning Yinman disappeared for a while and returned from somewhere with two bottles of water, handing one to Ren Xuan.

“Thanks.” The sun was climbing higher, and the light was fierce. Ren Xuan took a small sip to moisten her lips. Looking up, she suddenly heard Ning Yinman say seriously, “You weren’t wrong earlier.”

“Who?” Ren Xuan was curious.

“Front left, white top, casual pants, girl with ear-length hair.” Ning Yinman had discovered her by accident while buying water. What struck her as strange was that this girl was watching Ren Xuan without blinking—was she not afraid of being discovered, or was she hoping to be discovered?

“Watch me.” Ning Yinman took her water and walked naturally over to the girl. “Hey, do you have any sunscreen? I forgot mine in the rush. Could I borrow some?”

“Sure.” The girl took a bottle of sunscreen from her bag. Ning Yinman took the opportunity to observe her; she looked to be about twenty, and based on her outfit, she looked very much like a university student.

“A-Jing!” Just as the sunscreen was handed to Ning Yinman, a long-haired girl came running from a distance.

The moment she saw this girl, Ning Yinman noticed the person in front of her changed instantly. She looked at the long-haired girl with great concern, handed her a bottle of mineral water, and carefully wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Finished filming?”

“Finished.” Lin Xuejin didn’t want to trouble her girlfriend, so she wiped the sweat off her forehead haphazardly with her sleeve. She told her girlfriend with a smile, “You didn’t see it inside, but Teacher Rong and Teacher Lin’s acting is really great. I have a hunch this drama will definitely be a hit.”

“Who is this?” Lin Xuejin had spoken several sentences before realizing someone was next to them. She had run over too fast, and Ning Yinman was sitting sideways; initially, she thought she was just someone else sitting there.

“She’s borrowing sunscreen.”

“Yes, thank you both.” Ning Yinman had already applied the sunscreen and returned it to the short-haired girl.

“Are you a staff member?” Lin Xuejin asked suspiciously. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“No,” Ning Yinman shook her head. “We were curious about the set and came to take a look.”

“You and…?”

“My friend.” Ning Yinman pointed toward Ren Xuan. The short-haired girl looked in that direction. Ning Yinman tested the waters: “Do you recognize my friend?”

“She looks familiar,” the short-haired girl said.

She really does recognize her, Ning Yinman thought in shock. This short-haired girl couldn’t be a past flame of Ren Xuan’s, could she? No, that wasn’t like Ren Xuan, and the person in front of her clearly had a girlfriend—the way she looked at the long-haired girl was so full of affection.

If it wasn’t romance, then what was it? Could this girl have guessed Ren Xuan’s identity? But Ren Xuan didn’t appear in the news often; logically, there was a higher chance of someone recognizing Ning Yinman herself, right?

“Did you find out anything?” Ren Xuan asked just as Ning Yinman returned. Her WeChat notification pinged. She had to ask while checking her phone.

“What are you smiling at?” Ning Yinman couldn’t bear to look. Ren Xuan had a faint smile just from looking at her phone; she must have encountered something good.

“Shuyan just saw me.”

“What?” Ning Yinman was stunned. “Just now…?”

In that scene just now, the perimeter was packed with a huge crowd. How sharp were Lin Shuyan’s eyes that she could spot her?

“Did you tell her in advance?” Ning Yinman didn’t believe it.

“Are you disappointed that someone didn’t notice you?” Ren Xuan was in a great mood after receiving the message and couldn’t help teasing Ning Yinman.

“No,” Ning Yinman said, then immediately realized she had let it slip upon seeing Ren Xuan’s gaze. “Why would I be disappointed? I don’t know anyone here; I just came to accompany you.”

Still refusing to admit it. Ren Xuan couldn’t stop shaking her head. “What’s there to be afraid of admitting?” Ren Xuan knew every one of Ning Yinman’s past partners; why was she being so coy now?

“Then you and Lin—” Ning Yinman was about to say the name out loud before realizing it was inappropriate for the studio and omitting it, “You and her… it’s not like I didn’t guess it either.”

“Fair enough,” Ren Xuan nodded in approval. Putting it that way made it equal. Her fingers tapped rapidly on the screen. Imagining the scene where Lin Shuyan spotted her, her brow smoothed out.

“You… your acting wasn’t focused enough,” Ning Yinman comforted herself. It wasn’t that she wasn’t noticed; she was just too focused.

“You should have a serious talk with your girlfriend,” Ning Yinman said formally. “You should be serious about everything you do and work hard on your career. How can you be so immersed in petty love?”

Ren Xuan completely ignored the person who was practically going mad with jealousy. It was understandable why she wasn’t noticed. After replying to the message, Ren Xuan calmly waved her phone in front of Ning Yinman, saying a second before Ning Yinman exploded, “What did you find out just now?”

Back to the point, Ning Yinman immediately deflated. “I think she doesn’t have any bad intentions. Her name is Song Jing, and the one next to her is her girlfriend, Lin Xuejin.”

“She has the same surname as your girl. Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?”

“Why? You know them?”

“A big coincidence,” Ren Xuan nodded. “The two of them know her.”

“The world really is small,” Ning Yinman sighed. “Maybe our outfits were just too weird and they were curious.” Ren Xuan knew that definitely wasn’t the reason, but Ning Yinman was right about one thing—this person indeed had no ill intent. Especially now that Ren Xuan knew she was Lin Xuejin’s partner.

The filming inside was still ongoing. The voices of the director and actors grew more distant as the sun rose higher. Ren Xuan and Ning Yinman decided to find a shaded spot.

Lin Xuejin suddenly appeared before them. “These are the character posters for our two leads. You two came all this way; do you want to take a look?”

“Thank you.” Lin Xuejin wanted to say more, but her girlfriend pulled her away in a hurry.

“Xuan,” Ning Yinman smiled helplessly, “You might not believe me, but this person called Song Jing gives me a very familiar feeling.”

“It’s just…” Ning Yinman thought back carefully, finding it hard to believe herself, “It feels almost the same as when I look at you.”

“Maybe your personalities are similar,” Ning Yinman said, unable to find another reason, and looked down at the photos Lin Xuejin had taken.

Ning Yinman hadn’t seen this set of pictures online. A woman in white holding a long spear, standing valiantly at the front of the army—how could one not applaud such a sight?

After looking closely at that one, Ning Yinman picked up another. A woman with her hair pinned up sat sideways at a table; her side profile was gentle and moving, breathtakingly beautiful.

Ning Yinman froze on the spot. This person…

How could this person look so much like…

The photo in her hand fell to the table with a snap. Ning Yinman felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Meeting Ren Xuan’s suspicious gaze, her heart felt like a tangled mess of emotions.

It turned out Ren Xuan had never let go.