After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 58

Ren Xuan was in her office, keeping a close eye on the time. She was debating whether to call Uncle Wang again for an update when his call came through first.

“Eldest Miss,” Butler Wang lowered his voice, seemingly hiding from someone, “Miss Lin is heading out.”

“Mhm.” Ren Xuan pondered for a moment and nodded.

The Eldest Miss is… Butler Wang was uncertain. He knew Ren Xuan’s mood must be terrible right now, but there were some things he still had to tell her. “I wanted Xiao Feng to follow her, but Miss Lin refused.”

“Miss Lin just left!”

“I understand.” Ren Xuan understood the implication behind Butler Wang’s words, but what could she say if she chased after her? She had already admitted everything yesterday. If she had to do it again—Ren Xuan’s breath hitched—could she really look into Shuyan’s eyes with that same indifference?

To admit everything to Lin Shuyan? To tell her it was for a mission and that there was no “stand-in”? Setting aside whether Shuyan would believe her, would the world line simply reset again?

“Did Miss Rong follow her?” Ren Xuan suddenly thought of Rong Yu.

“They left together. Miss Rong tried to follow, but Miss Lin refused her company as well,” Butler Wang said.

“Mhm.” Ren Xuan nodded again. “Let it be for now.”

“Eldest Miss?”

“She wants to be alone for a while.” Ren Xuan had sat outside all night; she knew Shuyan hadn’t slept a wink either. If their positions were reversed, Ren Xuan felt she would only want to curl up somewhere and not be disturbed by anyone.

“When she comes back tonight…” Mid-sentence, Ren Xuan gave a bleak smile. Perhaps Shuyan wouldn’t return to the Ren house at all—a place where her girlfriend had personally admitted she was a mere substitute. “Uncle Wang, call me if anything happens.”

“Yes, of course,” Butler Wang replied repeatedly.

For the rest of the day until work ended, Ren Xuan didn’t receive another call from Butler Wang. When she returned home after sitting in her office all day, she knew without the butler saying a word: Lin Shuyan hadn’t come back.

“Eldest Miss, why don’t you call and ask?” Butler Wang suggested tentatively.

“Mhm,” Ren Xuan agreed. In fact, she had already called. Ren Xuan thought her heart was cold enough; since she had made her move, she shouldn’t give herself the chance to regret it. But she still couldn’t hold back.

On the way home, she had habitually taken out her phone to call Shuyan. Despite forcing herself to let it go, she eventually dialed the number.

No one answered.

With every previous call—Ren Xuan shook her head with a bitter smile—Shuyan would pick up within seconds.

“I’m going upstairs first.” Ren Xuan returned to the room they had shared. Here, her eyes stung; every corner held beautiful memories of her and Shuyan.

Her footsteps stopped abruptly. Ren Xuan noticed that a drawer had been opened, and the books inside showed obvious signs of being flipped through. Thinking about what was inside, Ren Xuan’s face suddenly turned very pale.

“Eldest Miss, what’s wrong?” Butler Wang knocked on the door, looking at her with concern. She hadn’t eaten breakfast, and since she showed no sign of eating lunch either, he had brought it up himself, only to witness this scene.

“The key…” Ren Xuan said in a panic, desperately searching the drawer.

In reality, Ren Xuan knew better than anyone that Uncle Wang wouldn’t touch this, nor would the hired help. In this room, at this desk, the only person besides herself who could touch things was…

There was nothing. Ren Xuan flipped through the books over and over. It wasn’t anywhere.

“Eldest Miss…” Butler Wang only saw Ren Xuan rummaging through the desk and drawers before she bolted out of the room. He didn’t dare relax and hurried to follow her.

Ren Xuan stopped in front of a room.

The door was open by a tiny crack.

Everything indicated that Shuyan had seen the contents inside.

Ren Xuan clutched her head and slowly crouched down.

“Eldest Miss, what on earth is happening? Don’t scare me like this,” Butler Wang cried out, startled. “If you really did something wrong, then you…”

“Then you must work hard to beg for forgiveness.” Miss Lin would surely forgive her; the butler could see that Shuyan’s heart and eyes were full of Ren Xuan, and the same was true for his Eldest Miss.

“You… you have to chase her back.”

A long silence followed. Just as Butler Wang thought there would be no answer, he heard Ren Xuan’s muffled voice: “She won’t come back.”

“That’s not—” Butler Wang wanted to say she wouldn’t know until she tried, but looking at his mistress’s state, he shut his mouth and didn’t continue.

“Uncle Wang,” Ren Xuan still didn’t look up, only asking, “If it were you, and you knew your wife always had another person in her heart, would you forgive her?”

Well, of course— No, Butler Wang wanted to say, this was different.

“Uncle Wang, I want to be alone for a while.”

“Alright.” Butler Wang gave her one last look and left her be. Ren Ke didn’t come home for lunch; if she found out, the butler shook his head. The bond between the Young Miss and Miss Lin was so strong; who knew how heartbroken she would be.

The entire floor fell silent, leaving Ren Xuan alone. She stood up slowly; due to the lack of sleep and food, she staggered, clutching the railing to steady herself.

She pushed the door open.

Looking at the wall full of photos, she felt it was deeply ironic.

Reaping what one sows, caught in one’s own trap… is this what it feels like?

This wall of photos was something Ren Xuan had set up specifically. From the beginning, it was intended for Lin Shuyan to see. The System said to maintain the stability of this world and follow the established plot, and the mission bar would indicate completion.

At the start, focused only on completing the mission, Ren Xuan had personally created this room.

To make the female lead give up, wasn’t the best way to let her see with her own eyes that her loved one cherished photos of another girl?

The original Ren Xuan had hidden the “White Moonlight” very deeply. Ren Xuan had spent a great deal of effort gathering photos from the girl’s elementary school days all the way to her studies abroad. The room was full of them.

Shuyan wouldn’t come back, nor would she answer her calls. There was no fact clearer than this.

Ren Xuan, you did it.

You succeeded in personally disappointing, hurting, and saddening the female lead, letting her experience the taste of betrayal by a lover. Does Shuyan never want to fall in love again? Does she only want to focus on her career now?

The script was going exactly as she had designed. Ren Xuan, what more are you unsatisfied with?

The door was slammed shut.

Just as Ren Xuan expected, Lin Shuyan never returned. She didn’t take a single item from the Ren house, including the things she had originally brought with her.

Ren Xuan received a text message from an unknown number. It was a brief sentence: “You can just throw away my things.”

There was no name, but Ren Xuan knew who sent it. Waking up in the middle of the night, Ren Xuan stared blankly at the empty side of the bed. No one was there; habit was such a terrifying thing.

What did they count as now? Ren Xuan didn’t know, but she clutched the quilt and thought: Is this slightly better than a direct breakup?

Ren Xuan could only check for news about Lin Shuyan online. After The Princess of Qin finished filming, Shuyan frequently went out to shoot commercials, and the number of scripts sent to her was countless.

Although Shuyan hadn’t said it explicitly, Ren Xuan knew she had wanted to spend more time at home with her, which was why she had delayed picking new scripts. And now…

Ren Xuan silently traced her finger over the girl’s April schedule on the screen.

She was smiling just as she always did, only… not at Ren Xuan.

“The Princess is so beautiful!” “So April is for filming? Eldest Princess, time to rush the career line!” “Your inventory is seriously low, Sister, get to filming!” “Which crew is Sister secretly filming with? Can we get a tiny hint?” “Looking forward to the next role!” “…”

As soon as the April schedule was released, it received a flood of comments. Shuyan had only filmed three dramas in two years, which could no longer satisfy her fans. Everyone was waiting for her to join a new set. Seeing the schedule, fans were happy, but unfortunately, they didn’t know what the role was.

The manager, Sister Zheng, wouldn’t choose scripts directly for her artists; she would at most offer advice. She had no objection to the period drama Shuyan had selected from the pile of scripts. However, regarding her personal life, Zheng Qing couldn’t help but ask: “What’s going on with you and the one from the Ren family?”

Lin Shuyan went silent instantly.

“Did you… break up?” Sister Zheng didn’t want to poke at wounds, but since Shuyan’s partner was Ren Xuan, she had to understand the reason for the split to handle any fallout.

To her surprise, those words set Shuyan off. A hint of obsession flashed in her eyes. “We haven’t broken up.”

“Huh?”

“Then did you… have a fight?” Zheng Qing was uncertain. In her years in the industry, she knew a bit about the affairs of wealthy families. She had heard some of those rumors, but since she’d never heard of Ren Xuan being in a relationship before, she hadn’t taken them seriously. It was only after seeing Shuyan in person that she began to doubt.

From Sister Zheng’s years of experience: if it’s a stand-in, so be it. Of the stars in the circle who got involved with the wealthy, which one wasn’t after money and resources? The Ren family had plenty of money. As long as you kept the person happy and worked hard, you could at least build a career. When the other party got bored, you’d have both wealth and fame; then you could find whoever you wanted.

But Lin Shuyan was different. Zheng Qing knew she had truly fallen for her. She had managed artists who fell head-over-heels before, and none of them ended well. They lost the person and their career.

Now, Zheng Qing couldn’t read the situation. If Shuyan only wanted money and didn’t mind being a substitute, she should just date. If she didn’t want to, surely President Ren wouldn’t force her—a clean break would be best.

But now? The relationship was a mystery, and Shuyan’s tone was so certain.

“Sister Zheng,” Shuyan’s gaze was firm, “I won’t guarantee you anything. I will act well. As for my private emotions, I will handle them and won’t let them affect my work.”

Seeing Shuyan’s stance, Zheng Qing could only vaguely add, “Those rumors… they’re all… nothing.” As for who started them, who else could it be but Ren Xuan?

“Mhm.” Shuyan nodded dismissively. She no longer cared about those things.

At the university campus, Lin Xuejin only found out about these things much, much later. Hearing the word “stand-in” by chance, she thought of the Ren Xuan in her mind with disdain and reflected on her poor judgment of character.

She also didn’t forget to complain about people like Ren Xuan to Song Jing.

“Setting up a ‘deeply devoted’ persona? How ridiculous!”

Beside her, Song Jing’s brow was furrowed, her expression one of utter disbelief.

Stand-in? How could there possibly be a stand-in?