After Transmigrating Back, I Became My Own Stand-in - Chapter 20

Shi Xu stood next to Yuan Qi; seeing two former talent show contestants on the same stage was naturally a hot topic. Many people even dug up clips of Meng Heng from the talent show period to compare them with Yuan Qi’s.

It was a complete case of “comparison is the thief of joy”; Yuan Qi had at least debuted, could sing without going off-key, and was competent as a solo vocal.

In contrast, Meng Heng—who didn’t debut but carried the label of an “acting idol who can sing and dance”—actually relied entirely on auto-tune. Her acting was at a level where she could barely be praised by a “pecking-at-grains” standard.

Therefore, before the official performance of this episode, when some groups held polls to bet on who would stay, many chose Yuan Qi.

However, that “many” wasn’t by much.

“Did you forget Meng Heng has a benefactor behind her?”

“Oh right, how could a resource-backed star be eliminated in the first round?”

Even those who thought Meng Heng would stay in the end—but wouldn’t stay based on strength—felt they had misjudged after watching this clip.

Pulling anyone into this segment, it would be hard to say Yuan Qi “beat” Meng Heng. Forget beating her; she was a complete drag.

Although their acting seemed evenly matched at first glance, the second half was clearly supported by Meng Heng.

The simultaneous live GIFs circulated among major entertainment marketing accounts. Even Meng Heng’s “domesticated” entertainment account didn’t brag, merely posting a very neutral blurb:

“What do you think of the performance?”

The problem was that those screenshots made the acting look quite good. Someone even did a side-by-side comparison with the original film, analyzing that Yuan Qi had forgotten her lines first, forcing Meng Heng to improvise on the spot—and even changing the lines.

After a split second of unnaturalness, it flowed smoothly.

Entertainment Detective: “It’s said that during her talent show days, Meng Heng was called ‘Little Shi Xu.’ Do you think they look alike? [Image] [Image]”

Shi Xu had been dead for so many years that she didn’t have the kind of active fanbase currently seen in the entertainment industry. Surprisingly, Meng Heng’s army of AI water soldiers—who usually seemed uniformly trained—didn’t mobilize.

As a result, the comments under this Weibo were a rare gathering of real people communicating.

— “I think they look quite similar, especially the profile…”

— “Shi Xu wasn’t that refined, but her aura was great. Only one like her has appeared in all these years. Back then, she had a cross-dressing ‘Eunuch Director’ look in a period drama; men weren’t as cool as her. Meng Heng looks more refined, but her aura is blunter… I think they look similar here because Meng Heng acted out a bit of ‘Li Xin’s’ flavor.”

— “Who is Shi Xu? First time hearing of her.”

— “Don’t even say it, I’m actually shipping it. I went to watch this movie when the film selection was announced; there really is a bit of ‘unusual’ emotion there.”

— “Time to pull out the scripts for our ‘deceased’ CP ‘Evening Breeze.’ They were really well-written, outshining many current GL web novels.”

Meng Heng’s studio actually had a very mature operational strategy. When the plan was finalized, they chose the “fast food” rule. They deeply understood that “infamy is also fame”—at least people had to know the name. Whether the remaining impression was good or not could be dealt with later.

Many artists today debut with the title “Little [Name],” but Meng Heng’s side hadn’t used the title “Little Shi Xu” before she was recruited by Melon Entertainment. Back then, people only said she looked like her. After all, the risk was too high—Shi Xu was gone. While one could ride the coattails, it was considered too immoral.

Now that the performance was over, many people mentioned this in the real-time comments, and Shen Tianqing naturally saw it too.

The camera cut to Shen Tianqing’s face. Everyone was waiting for her choice. She was much slower to put pen to paper than the others. Unfortunately, the camera didn’t give a shot that showed what she was writing, leaving many people itching with curiosity.

The host asked Shi Xu and Yuan Qi: “Are you nervous?”

Shi Xu nodded. Yuan Qi’s eyes were a bit red. Compared to Meng Heng, she came from a purer idol background; for domestic idols, the end of the road was always acting.

An idol’s “prime” is too short and competition is fierce; everyone rushes headlong into acting. Thus, the market often sees new dramas that feel like a “talent show reunion.”

Director Chen Caiwei finished writing her choice and asked: “Yuan Qi, did you forget your lines just now?”

Shi Xu wasn’t asked, so she just looked at the screen opposite her. The comments flashed by rapidly, discussing things quite heatedly. Some were saying Meng Heng’s fans were shameless again, using a deceased senior for marketing.

I’m using myself to market myself.

Shi Xu curled her lips. Unexpectedly, a question was dropped on her head. Yuan Qi was already wiping away tears.

She had even less acting experience than Meng Heng, but during rehearsal, she always felt the other woman was a bit strange. You could say she couldn’t act, but she was still a bit better than herself.

But… the other person is already considered a “terrible actor.” If I’m even worse than Meng Heng, isn’t that being “worse than rotten,” straight to the point of being buried?

Thinking this, she took a deep breath.

“Meng Heng, can you tell me why you changed those lines on the fly?”

Chen Caiwei was wearing glasses; she looked quite stern and didn’t smile often. In fact, many contestants feared her guidance more than Shen Tianqing’s. After all, no matter how fierce Director Shen was, she at least wouldn’t get physical; Director Chen would. Someone in the neighboring group had even been smacked with a prop toilet plunger and felt like they smelled like sh*t all over.

“Yuan Qi was a bit nervous at the time. In the play, the sister-in-law was originally supposed to let me go to the provincial capital alone.”

Previously, whenever she appeared before others, she was always impeccably made-up. Yuan Qi was the same. But today, both of them looked very plain.

“Li Xin” looked even rougher, not quite fitting the description of a “fresh university student.” She looked like she had matured too early, with worries surfacing first. She even had a bit of premature grey hair.

Perhaps because the contrast with her usual self was quite large, many livestream viewers had to pause when they saw her. After a while, they realized: No way, is that really Meng Heng?

“I could only change it that way.”

Shi Xu shrugged. Seeing Yuan Qi still wiping tears, she reached out to wipe them for her.

The audience below let out an “Oh!” for some reason, like they were cheering.

Director Ji Qiao looked back; Shen Tianqing was twirling a pen, thinking about who-knows-what. In fact, she had two screens in front of her—one was the livestream room.

【Damn, this version of Meng Heng actually has a ‘Top/Alpha’ vibe. She really makes Yuan Qi look so tiny. Why didn’t I ship this during the talent show?】

【Yuan Qi and Meng Heng didn’t have any screen time together back then, right? They probably weren’t close—after all, Meng Heng was out in the first round.】

【The entertainment industry is truly a circle… this shot let me finally get Meng Heng’s visuals. Her studio should just refer to Shi Xu’s old styles; it looks much more natural.】

Chen Caiwei’s criticisms were actually very fierce, but since someone on stage already held that persona, her comments were quite subtle.

Shi Xu bowed. Ji Qiao didn’t say much; she stated it was already beyond expectations and much better than the rehearsals.

Zhao Manchun asked directly: “Do you both want to follow this path in the future?”

Yuan Qi hesitated. She said timidly: “I don’t know if I can…”

Shi Xu said against her heart: “I really want to.”

She was incredibly honest in her speech—even when being criticized. When told that some of her movements were too pretentious, she nodded and accepted it with a smile, forming a sharp contrast with the sobbing Yuan Qi beside her.

When it was Shen Tianqing’s turn to comment, the room suddenly went quiet, making the rapidly refreshing comments seem particularly lively.

Shen Tianqing looked at the two of them. She reached for the production stills of this group and picked up the microphone: “My eyes hurt from watching.”

Yuan Qi nearly hiccuped; she bit her lip tightly. Shi Xu looked at Shen Tianqing, wanting to hear what the “Sugar Mommy” had to say.

“I believe one of you lacks the basic skills of an actor,” Shen Tianqing’s hair was draped over one shoulder and pinned behind the other ear; the orange highlights made her look less somber. “…And the other lacks the ‘sense of belief’ of an actor.”

“You have nice features, but they’re useless.”

Shen Tianqing even let out a laugh. It wasn’t that no other mentor had laughed, but everyone could hear that this was a cold, particularly mean laugh.

Shen Tianqing: “Yuan Qi, how is your singing?”

Yuan Qi hadn’t been standing that close to Shi Xu, but because the person she feared most lately was Shen Tianqing—and it was always Shi Xu comforting her—she instinctively leaned toward Shi Xu.

“It’s okay.”

“Dancing?”

“Better than singing.”

Shen Tianqing nodded and turned her gaze to Shi Xu: “And you?”

Shi Xu: “Neither is as good as my acting.”

She said it without a hint of embarrassment, but the audience below—including those in the livestream—felt the second-hand embarrassment.

Shen Tianqing: “Good. Very confident.”

She first picked apart Yuan Qi, highlighting the flaws seen in the rehearsal room. Though she sounded harsh, it could be considered earnest instruction.

When it was Shi Xu’s turn, she sighed: “Did you underperform?”

Shi Xu: “I did my best.”

The other mentors laughed; everyone could see how Meng Heng had performed during the days of practice.

The directors all had sharp eyes. Shi Xu’s acting wasn’t bad, but it was hard to balance her past self, her current self, and Meng Heng’s basic level. A few slips were bound to happen.

Including Ji Qiao. While chatting with Shen Tianqing, she said: “That Meng Heng in your group… I find her quite interesting.”

Shen Tianqing: “How so?”

“Her delivery isn’t actually bad, it’s just that her ‘breath’ sometimes doesn’t flow right. But she doesn’t give me the feeling of being terrible. It’s quite a magical feeling.”

Shen Tianqing filtered her tea. “You think so too?”

Back when Meng Heng had her accident, Ji Qiao suspected something was fishy between the two, but in this circle, survival depends on self-awareness. She and Shen Tianqing weren’t close enough to joke about it, so she didn’t expose it.

“Yuan Qi was being led by her.” She had also said this during her critique.

Now, Shen Tianqing looked at Meng Heng on stage and asked her: “Did you really do your best?”

Shi Xu’s soul, hidden within this young body from years later, gazed at the girl she once collaborated with. Their positions had swapped. Back then, under the setting sun and the fierce autumn wind, she was the one teaching her how to practice lines.

Now, she nodded firmly. In the eyes of the audience, she was thick-skinned yet seemingly justified: “I did my best.”

Shen Tianqing: “I have nothing left to say.”

She lowered her eyes and seemed to change her ranking list again.

【Did she originally write Meng Heng but is now changing it?】

【Meng Heng definitely acted better than Yuan Qi, but neither was as good as the previous group.】

【Why did they cut to Sun Sitiao’s camera when Shen Tianqing and Meng Heng met eyes… the production team is toxic…】

Shi Xu also thought the production team was toxic, but she thought Shen Tianqing was more so.

In the end, the grade she received was a natural “B.”

But Shen Tianqing chose her.

Shi Xu: How did it turn out like this?

Amidst the congratulations, she walked toward Shen Tianqing. But she didn’t embrace the director like the other successful contestants; she bowed and shook the woman’s hand.

It was the “separate immediately” kind of handshake. Shen Tianqing didn’t seem to want to look at her. Shi Xu was happy to be left alone and went to sit in the back to watch.

The following groups were average. However, the rules were cruel; the first round wiped out a third of the participants.

Sun Sitiao also successfully advanced. Shi Xu sat in the back, thinking Sun’s performance was average, but her male partner was even worse than Yuan Qi; any sane person knew who to choose.

Sun Sitiao provided the loudest cheer of the night, reaching out her hands to Shen Tianqing for a hug, only to be patted on the shoulder. She walked over to Shi Xu’s side looking dejected.

There were only seven seats in total, and only Shi Xu’s row was empty. She even specifically left a gap between herself and Shi Xu.

Shi Xu didn’t greet her this time. She watched the real-time screen, thinking the show was too long and boring. Unexpectedly, it was Sun Sitiao who addressed her.

“Hey.”

Shi Xu didn’t hear her. She only reacted when she saw the real-time comment: [Sun Sitiao actually took the initiative to speak to Meng Heng!]

“Hello.” She looked at her and gave a friendly smile.

Sun Sitiao had never really looked her in the eye. When she first learned Shen Tianqing had someone new—and a minor idol at that—she was incredibly unwilling to accept it. After asking for the name, she felt she didn’t need to worry; that person wasn’t even as good as herself.

But when Meng Heng fell from height, and she still hadn’t heard news of Shen Tianqing finding a new flame, she got anxious. Looking at this face up close now—Shi Xu was still in her “Evening Breeze” styling—her profile looked even more like her own past self than her front view.

Sun Sitiao’s heart turned cold. As she watched, her eyes began to shimmer with tears.

Shi Xu: “…” “What’s wrong with you?”

The personal camera had no audio; one could only see Sun Sitiao’s gaze and Shi Xu scratching her head.

Anonymous Forum:

— “What are they saying? Why do I feel like Sun Sitiao is about to cry?”

— “Doesn’t she look down on Meng Heng? I honestly don’t understand why Sun Sitiao is suddenly so mean…”

— “Didn’t someone guess that Meng Heng is Shen Tianqing’s new flame? It’s actually quite reasonable…”

— “Reasonable my ass! Then why is Shen Tianqing treating Meng Heng like this? Who treats their canary with such indifference…”

— “Please… that’s the Sadist Shen Tianqing. Who’s to say she’s a cold-faced benefactor on stage but a smooth-talker in bed [doge face]”

Sun Sitiao suddenly swapped seats, making Shi Xu lower her head. Shi Xu thought that in public, the person might be feeling unwell. But as soon as she lowered her head, she heard the other woman whisper in her ear:

“Did you sleep with her?”