After Transmigrating Back, I Became My Own Stand-in - Chapter 18

Compared to the trainees, the mentor group’s treatment was exceptionally good—every meal was personally delivered to their rooms, and they had a massive activity hall.

Chen Caiwei and Zhao Manchun even woke up early to practice Tai Chi.

Shen Tianqing was usually not idle either; Tao Yi brought some of the work for her upcoming film to the set. Lin Chi even left a message in the software: Wishing you a happy shift.

Compared to the other directors’ enthusiastic work ethics, Shen Tianqing was conspicuously slacking off.

The cameras in the rehearsal rooms clearly showed that most directors were very dedicated, even going so far as to watch how other groups were performing. Shen Tianqing’s audience had to wait until the afternoon before finally spotting her in the first rehearsal room.

Her style of dress was quite versatile. During her debut in the first episode, she had an air of intricate luxury; today, her inner layer and jacket were simple yet bright. She wasn’t photographed often, and she didn’t like posting pictures on social media. Sometimes, when she appeared in other artists’ group photos, she gave off the impression that she loved wearing accessories.

Her pinky ring stayed mostly the same, but her other rings were swapped out frequently, always matching her outfit of the day. Today she wore a dusty purple jacket with matte makeup, lacking yesterday’s glamor entirely. When she walked into the first rehearsal room, she didn’t head straight for the actors but stood by the camera to watch.

The production team recorded behind-the-scenes rehearsal clips, and staff were arranged in every rehearsal hall, maintaining a strictly professional atmosphere.

【Unbelievable, I’ve been waiting for this sister since morning… she’s so arrogant; she walks like a cat.】

【I heard she’s a total lesbian, and her White Moonlight is gone. I really want to know what kind of person she’ll date next. I want to see it!】

【LMAO, look at Ming Ti in the bottom left; his face turned pale when he saw Shen Tianqing. I remember this kid did a cameo in Director Shen’s movie before; he said in an interview he was terrified of her.】

【I feel like this whole nest is afraid of her. You can really see the contrast compared to when the other directors arrive…】

Shen Tianqing truly didn’t have much understanding of youth urban themes and found it difficult to offer advice. However, her professional ethics remained; she gave the trainees a few pointers. The audience didn’t expect her to be so gentle during her rounds, considering how difficult she looked to talk to.

A day of rehearsal wouldn’t cover the entire script; originally, a scene was composed of multiple shots, but live on set, it felt a bit like a stage play. Shi Xu spent the morning running lines with Yuan Qi and Ming Ti, then went back for a nap after lunch. Upon returning, she found she was the first to arrive.

The feeling of being followed by cameras every moment except when sleeping was indeed hair-raising. She felt this show was playing for higher stakes than a typical “lifestyle” variety show.

She arrived at the practice room first to warm up her voice. As an actor, she didn’t really have the “basic skills”; she was a bit reckless and not a natural genius—her crossover success was built on a pile of roles.

Things she had memorized would eventually leave a mark. She reviewed seriously, but performing at Meng Heng’s level was somewhat troublesome. During the afternoon rehearsal, Yuan Qi ran lines with her; one struggled to enter the state, while the other struggled not to enter it too quickly. In the livestream, they looked incredibly clumsy, like two idiots.

Shen Tianqing and Chen Caiwei came to Rehearsal Room No. 3 together. The sign “Evening Breeze” was hanging on the door. When they pushed it open, they caught the rehearsal of the argument between the sister-in-law and the younger sister-in-law, Yuan Qi.

The rehearsal room lacked atmosphere; for the actors, it was pure imagination. Half the people here were non-professionals, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t act well. Before Shen Tianqing arrived, clips of their rehearsal had already been posted on Weibo. There were also on-site instructors, guest teachers, minor directors, and supporting actors. They all greeted Shen Tianqing and Chen Caiwei upon their arrival.

The two mentors stood by and watched for a long time. Many people worried Shen Tianqing would lose her temper. But surprisingly, her expression remained calm, as if the person who used to glare with bloodshot eyes on set wasn’t her.

This was early rehearsal; the sets would be built later in the week. Whale Video was always wealthy; the set design team was top-tier and could adapt to stage specifications. This background-less rehearsal only had music, but it didn’t hinder Shen Tianqing’s memories.

Many said she was gifted and could do anything, but that wasn’t entirely true. She chose roles based on the film; when she first stepped into this industry, roles were tailor-made for her. The director, Xing Dong, was her eldest brother’s friend. The entire Legacy of Xichuan team was a compromise made by parents for their child’s stubbornness—because of the obsession in Shen Tianqing’s character, her one-track unrequited love.

The team belonged to her family, and for the sake of reputation, they even hired a figurehead director. But the script was not. The editor who originally wrote the script passed away from illness, so the story had no ending. Whether the girl burdened with a blood feud ever succeeded in her revenge, no one knew.

When the final draft was set, the focus shifted toward a more “literary martial arts” style, emphasizing the clash of character and humanity.

Back then, during the script reading, Shi Xu stated bluntly that she couldn’t understand the character. She was a very straightforward person, and her goal in acting wasn’t to become an artist; she did it to pay off debts. Despite having an elderly mother intubated in the hospital, she radiated a vibrant vitality and looked forward to the future. She had already paid the price for her youthful arrogance.

The protagonist of this script was Gongsun Wu, and there was no male lead. You could say the Master Shi Wan played by Shi Xu was the second female lead, or you could say she was the spiritual protagonist. The director was a “literary freak” who longed for the heroic spirit of the old martial world; he had studied under Zhao Manchun’s crew, taking that chivalrous style to the next level.

The problem was that he wasn’t very good at explaining a scene, which made it difficult for Shi Xu to communicate. Acting is abstract; she could only prepare several different emotional takes.

Shi Xu actually had many small flaws. Before Tan Tan broke up with her, she used to complain about them.

“Tian-nan, tell me, isn’t she annoying? She never puts the caps back on things. It’s the same after she uses my hand cream; it makes a mess all over my hands.”

Tan Tan did it on purpose because Shi Xu was right there. When she said it, Shi Xu would let out an “Eh?”, apologize loudly, and then lean in intimately, asking: “So how do you want me to compensate you?”

Tan Tan would pretend to be angry and say: “Then you have to buy me ice cream.”

Shi Xu would hum and then look at Shen Tianqing: “What about the little sister? Want to benefit from the association?”

At that time, all the kindness Shi Xu showed Shen Tianqing was merely “benefiting from the association.”

When they eventually collaborated on the Legacy of Xichuan set, Shen Tianqing had no light to benefit from. Shi Xu acted as if she were meeting her for the first time, saying: “Hello.”

The script reading required communication. Shi Xu was never one to be shy; she was open and natural during rehearsals, acting as if she had never had that kind of relationship with Shen Tianqing. Indeed, almost no one in the crew knew why the production was established, nor did they know the relationship between the second lead and the protagonist.

But in the play, they were Master and Disciple.

Shi Xu had her own style of acting, especially since her character was a peerless martial artist. Her movements were naturally beautiful; when she was suspended in wires wearing green robes, the wind whipping her hem, the Shen Tianqing standing to the side didn’t even need to act—she was already in full worship.

Shi Xu got along well with the rest of the crew. Communication wasn’t that developed back then, so they played cards in their downtime. When Shi Xu was penalized, she would either drink or perform some martial arts moves—flawless somersaults, only to pretend to stumble at the end. The third female lead would gasp and catch her, and that was usually when Shen Tianqing would walk over.

Shi Xu would swallow all her jokes.

Shi Xu just treated her differently. But it wasn’t the kind of “different” Shen Tianqing wanted.

Shen Tianqing had actually figured it out long ago: Shi Xu wanted to avoid suspicion. She was so smart; she knew why the crew had Shen Tianqing in it. She had even predicted, a step ahead of Shen Tianqing herself, that if they didn’t avoid suspicion, trouble would brew.

Shen Tianqing kept her eyes down. In the distance, the soul-swapped Shi Xu held up the laughing Yuan Qi. Shi Xu hadn’t expected Shen Tianqing to assign her this play. Out of those five films, Shi Xu had appeared in two: Legacy of Xichuan and Evening Breeze. The latter was a pure “women’s drama” set in the 1990s. 25-year-old Jiang Xiu married Li Qianbing, a man from a poor background working as an accountant in a leather factory in a small county. The family consisted only of a mother with dementia and a high-school-aged sister, Li Xin, but Jiang Xiu didn’t mind the hardship.

However, only a year into the marriage, Li Qianbing was diagnosed with cancer and passed away despite spending all their savings. Burdened with debt, everyone advised Jiang Xiu to remarry since she had no children. But Jiang Xiu chose to stay. When Li Xin was in her senior year, their mother died in a car accident, leaving only the sister-in-law and her to depend on each other. The sister-in-law was her benefactor; she hoped her sister-in-law would follow her to the city where she would attend university…

This movie had won awards. Shi Xu had played the role of Li Xin; the actual protagonist was the sister-in-law, Jiang Xiu. The actress she worked with back then was very famous, and she had received pointers from her. She never expected to be playing her own role again.

The selected clip was the part where Li Xin receives her admission letter. She gets into an argument with Jiang Xiu, hoping her sister-in-law will go with her, hoping she will study again and take a different path. This conflict brings out a major argument; the core of the film has a sense of redemption, which is why some people felt the movie had “taboo” inclinations.

Yuan Qi’s performance of Jiang Xiu’s emotions was constantly off-base. They rehearsed repeatedly.

They started once more. Chen Caiwei stood next to Shen Tianqing and asked: “What do you think?”

Shen Tianqing: “Not good.”

The rehearsal room was noisy, and the mentors didn’t have specific microphones, so the audio wasn’t clear, but the lip-reading was obvious.

【I’m dying, typical Shen Tianqing. It seems she’s never praised anyone.】

【God, why do I find her arrogant look so charming? People like her are truly capable of anything. I, a loser, am in tears.】

【Shen Tianqing hasn’t had smooth sailing either; didn’t the person she love die?】

【Yeah, and she has to watch her White Moonlight’s work being desecrated by a rookie… Hey, didn’t they say Meng Heng has a benefactor? Has it been found out yet?】

【My fists are clenched. Why is Meng Heng playing my cute younger sister-in-law? Her ‘pouting and staring’ for ten thousand years makes me want to slap her!】

The next moment, Shen Tianqing stepped forward and tapped Yuan Qi on the shoulder. Yuan Qi jumped, visibly trembling, which made Shi Xu almost laugh out loud.

“Have you seen the original film?”

“How do you understand this character?”

“What kind of emotion do you think she has for Li Xin?”

Actually, these questions were fine, but Shen Tianqing’s aura was too strong. Others are aggressive; she has a style that is decadent yet magnificent, always making it feel like there’s a wall between her and others. Her tone of voice was very distinctive—her trailing notes were very light, like flirting.

A triple-kill. The directors on set were stunned. For a moment, only the sound of the machines could be heard.

Yuan Qi: “I’ve seen it.”

“I think Jiang Xiu is a person with a sense of responsibility.”

“She and the sister-in-law have a kind of redemption that transcends that relationship… I feel her feelings for her sister-in-law are a bit twisted.”

Shi Xu: “…”

No, I didn’t feel that way back then! Did you spend all night looking at fanfiction instead of the actual materials?!

Shen Tianqing also seemed speechless. After a pause: “How is it twisted?”

Yuan Qi said shyly: “It’s just that she wants them to be together forever…”

Shi Xu covered her forehead.

【I’m dying, I feel like Shen Tianqing really wants to curse.】

【Is this the feeling of a White Moonlight being desecrated?! Yuan Qi is so cute! Did she find the wrong materials? This movie did have very popular fanfiction back in the day. In my young ignorance, I thought it was original. Sister-in-law x Sister-in-law ship ship!】

【Shi Xu’s ‘younger top’ role back then was great. Although the quality is average, she contributed extraordinary visuals… she really had a ‘dog-and-older-sister’ vibe with her partner Zhang Quan.】

【Zhang Quan won Best Actress for this movie, didn’t she? It was a long time ago, but why wasn’t it a ‘double win’ for both of them wuu wuu.】

The group from the opposite practice room came to watch, with Sun Sitiao standing to the side. She had known this person for years; Shen Tianqing was a few years older than her and had been the “child of another family” since they were young. She liked Shen Tianqing precisely because of this drive of hers.

She looked particularly good when scolding people.

Shi Xu saw Sun Sitiao and sincerely hoped she and Shen Tianqing would get together—that would be a happy ending for everyone. After all, if she were still living as Shi Xu, even after breaking up with Tan Tan, she wouldn’t want Shen Tianqing to have a bad life. If this acting variety show could produce a couple, it would be considered staying true to the mission.

She was currently in “mediator” mode and was about to move out of the frame when she was caught on the spot.

“Meng Heng, come here.”

Shi Xu: “…”

“Come and do a scene with me.”

Shen Tianqing turned to look at her. That face was directly facing the camera, making everyone daze for a second.

【Holy crap, for a second I thought she said ‘Face me directly.’ I’m going to stand in the corner.】

Author’s Note:

[Small Theater · Legacy of Xichuan · Set]

Shi Xu had many fight scenes, and being in wires was the norm, though she could do some moves without them. But some shots took a long time to film. Once, upon landing, her strength failed and she stumbled, crashing right into the spectating Shen Tianqing. Before Shen Tianqing could help her, she suddenly jumped up and fell into her assistant’s arms instead. Shen Tianqing’s outstretched hand was retracted. She went back feeling angrier the more she thought about it and couldn’t sleep all night. The next day during a scene together, Shi Xu asked her: “What’s up? Drinking again? Such a lush at such a young age.”

Shen Tianqing thought: Will it ever end? It’s all your fault.

But she didn’t dare say it. In the end, she just looked at her with red eyes. The director was very satisfied and praised Shen Tianqing for her natural acting.

Shi Xu: “A genius.”