After Transmigrating into a Redemption Novel as the Evil Stepmother - Chapter 12

Ming Jiayue’s lips thinned into a line. She stared at Ji Shuangci, trying to find any trace of a joke on her face, but there was none. Ji Shuangci’s expression was perfectly calm, without a single flaw.

In the earpiece, the Chief Director went uncharacteristically silent. Others might not have recognized Ming Jiayue, but he certainly did!

If someone had told him before today that Ming Jiayue might appear on his live variety show, he would have rolled his eyes so hard they’d get stuck, and then sneered, “Keep dreaming! If you aren’t awake yet, go back to bed!”

What was the status of his show?

And what was Ming Jiayue’s status?

It was so absurd he wouldn’t even dare to aim that high in a dream. But looking at the familiar posture between Ming Jiayue and Ji Shuangci, Liu Cheng swallowed nervously, habitually tugging at the few stray hairs left on his head.

Maybe it’s not impossible. One must have dreams; what if they come true?

If Ming Jiayue actually came on, the subsequent investment, the heat, the trending topics!

This was a literal landslide of fortune!

The heat in the livestream room continued to climb—not because Ming Jiayue had been recognized yet, but purely because of the pair’s visuals.

Ji Shuangci was the newcomer with the highest recognition in the new generation—bright and moving, yet with a reserved and steady temperament. She was the kind of beauty that made people’s hearts itch; even non-fans who scrolled past would stop to repeatedly admire her face.

Ming Jiayue, on the other hand, had the definitive aura of a superior—intellectual, elegant, and poised. Simply by standing there, she gave off a noble and mysterious feeling that compelled people to keep their eyes on her.

Most precious was that the atmosphere of the two in the same frame was unexpectedly harmonious. Each was beautiful in her own way, and there was no sense of one overshadowing the other.

The comments in the livestream refreshed at a frantic pace, mostly praising their looks.

“Wait, the ‘random passerby’ Ji Shuangci found can actually crush some actual celebrities. Is this just the natural attraction between beauties?”

“I just want to ask Nüwa: when you were molding others, it was a display of skill, but when you molded me, were you just in a rush to go to the bathroom?”

“To be fair, the passerby lady’s legs are so long, and her waist is so thin. She’s half a head taller than Ji Shuangci. Why do I suddenly feel like shipping them?”

“Agreed with the person above. I feel like their eye contact is… suspicious.”

“Please don’t spread rumors! Our Shuang-shuang looks at a dog with deep affection.”

Amidst green trees and blue skies, Ji Shuangci’s gaze grew deeper and deeper within the silently spreading stillness. Her eyes seemed to hold a whirlpool, threatening to swallow the person in front of her.

A mechanical voice, a preset setting for when mission progress drops, rang in Ming Jiayue’s mind.

“Warning, warning. Mission completion progress -1%.”

Another drop. Ming Jiayue was slightly stunned. She withdrew her gaze and then, as if nothing had happened, let out a shallow smile.

“Alright.”

Ming Jiayue agreed, partly out of a desire to compensate for standing her off last time, and partly because she wanted to observe Ji Shuangci. Whether in the files or the online reputation, Ji Shuangci always appeared as an inspirational “little sun.” But seeing her today, the feeling she gave off was completely different.

Where exactly did things go wrong?

Across the cold screen, the person Ji Shuangci had yearned for for two years had actually appeared before her and even agreed to her borderline rude request. Ji Shuangci’s pupils constricted uncontrollably, and her heart gave a violent jolt.

Ji Shuangci had graduated with a perfect score from her expression management classes. Despite the turbulence in her heart, her face remained composed. She let go of Ming Jiayue’s hand and stepped slightly to the side.

“Thank you, President Ming.”

Ming Jiayue nodded faintly and followed the production crew to the designated filming location.

On the way there, Ji Shuangci deliberately adjusted her pace to walk side-by-side with Ming Jiayue. While the camera wasn’t focused on them, Ji Shuangci took a soft, deep breath and spoke.

“President Ming, since this is a public livestream, it’s inconvenient to keep calling you ‘President Ming.’ Why don’t I change the form of address and call you…”

“Sister.”

Ji Shuangci’s voice was lower than usual, the ending trailing off softly like a feather brushing against Ming Jiayue’s ear. The itch traveled down her earlobe all the way to the tip of her heart.

Is Ji Shuangci… acting spoiled?

Ming Jiayue almost failed to control her expression, casting a strange glance to the side.

Ji Shuangci was smiling, her eyes full of bright light, as if she had encountered something extremely happy.

Ming Jiayue pulled up the system panel. The mission progress had added back the 1%.

After hesitating for a moment, Ming Jiayue silently suppressed the slight unease and embarrassment brought by the title “Sister,” and responded with feigned indifference.

“As you wish.”

!!!

She just agreed like that?

It took Ji Shuangci a great deal of effort to completely suppress the heartbeat that was about to leap out of her throat. She blinked slowly and, pretending to be calm, called out once more.

“Sister.”

The trailing sound was even longer than before—winding, twisting, and inviting.

Ming Jiayue’s eyelid twitched violently. She didn’t respond.

A breeze blew across the lake, carrying cool water vapor. Ji Shuangci observed Ming Jiayue’s micro-expression, and the corners of her lips curled up quietly.

The recording was at a film base on the outskirts of H City, bordering a lake with beautiful scenery. By the time Ming Jiayue and Ji Shuangci arrived to regroup, the other teams had mostly arrived.

There were five pairs in total, six men and four women: Lu Yu & Jiang Yan, Xiao Zhi & Song Keke, Yu Chun & Zhou Shi, Bai Ling & Xie Wensheng, and Ji Shuangci & Ming Jiayue.

The actor group consisted of three men and two women: Lu Yu, Xiao Zhi, Yu Chun, Ji Shuangci, and Bai Ling.

Lu Yu was a former Golden Horse Best Actor winner. He had retired for years and made a comeback earlier this year with little fanfare, which is why he joined this popular variety show.

Xiao Zhi and Bai Ling were rising second-tier stars who had worked together on several dramas—two were massive hits, but unfortunately, the dramas were famous while the actors remained relatively obscure.

Yu Chun was the “top-tier” male idol with a face that could enchant everyone. Rumor had it he came from a wealthy family with a powerful background.

The “passerby” group consisted of three women and two men: Jiang Yan, Xie Wensheng, Ming Jiayue, Zhou Shi, and Song Keke.

Lu Yu, nearly fifty and a true veteran, looked mainly for a “cinematic feel” in his partner. The other three pairs, besides Ji Shuangci’s, were basically “handsome man & beautiful woman” combinations.

Ji Shuangci was currently in the spotlight. As soon as she arrived, the focus of the other groups fell on her. When they saw Ming Jiayue beside her, their first reaction was unavoidable surprise. In variety shows like this, the standard is usually a male-female pairing to create “CP” (couple) chemistry, which makes it easier to go viral and find scripts.

Then came the awe. Ming Jiayue’s image and temperament were not at all inferior to Ji Shuangci’s.

Everyone took a few extra looks, thinking: If these two are paired, two girls isn’t a bad idea either.

Ji Shuangci seemed not to notice their scrutinizing gazes. She proactively stepped forward to greet everyone with a polite posture.

Ming Jiayue, meanwhile, exchanged a look with Lu Yu. Both nodded to each other but didn’t speak.

Bai Ling had entered the industry earlier than Ji Shuangci, but her reputation and traffic were being eclipsed. Looking at the viewer counts for each livestream room, she was third, the Best Actor Lu Yu was second, and Ji Shuangci was actually first.

Bai Ling subtly rolled her eyes, convinced that Ji Shuangci’s popularity was all marketing and that she must have hired a “water army” (paid posters).

Zhou Shi, from the passerby group, had an exaggerated expression, looking back and forth between Ji Shuangci and Ming Jiayue. The awe in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Ahhh, beauties!

Ahhh, two big beauties!

I really want to snuggle up with two beautiful sisters!

Zhou Shi had been lazy today and hadn’t put on full makeup. Worried the beauties would think she wasn’t pretty, she pulled out a powder compact and lipstick from her pocket to touch up her makeup, thinking no one was watching. In reality, the camera was zoomed in right on her face.

The viewers in the livestream were dying of laughter at her colorful expressions.

“Hahaha, can someone tell her she’s about to drool? Wipe it quick.”

“So relatable. Her reaction is literally me. I act the same way when I see a beauty.”

“So cute, she’s even touching up her makeup secretly. The director crew backstabbed her with that face-shot!”

Director Liu Cheng was already going crazy with joy. He hadn’t expected Ming Jiayue to actually agree to the show. He could already see the “BURST” tag on Weibo trending topics in the near future.

Liu Cheng once again affirmed to himself that inviting Ji Shuangci was the right call. He made a mental note to sign a supplementary contract with Ming Jiayue immediately.

Wearing a “shipping” grin, Liu Cheng watched the bullet comments. Before the next segment began, he called over the planning director. The two of them discussed and modified some segments, their smiles becoming increasingly “perverted.”

Normal segments are fine, but “perverted” segments are what the people want.

Since they were playing, they might as well go big.

According to the process, each group needed to draw a snippet from a novel. By performing it, they would earn pieces of the final script. Over three days, they would acquire the full script. Before that, they would practice their acting and chemistry through these snippets. The resources for the final script filming would be allocated based on each group’s total popularity.

Liu Cheng specifically paused the livestream to sign the contract with Ming Jiayue before announcing the start of the next segment.

Based on the livestream viewer count, Ji Shuangci was the first to draw a novel snippet. The planning director smiled until his eyes were slits, emphasizing that the Actor Group would play “Character A” and the Passerby Group would play “Character B.”

Ji Shuangci didn’t understand why, but after reading the snippet in her hand, her expression turned very subtle.

Looking at the reactions of the other groups, it was much the same.

Is the director crew trying to start something?

Ji Shuangci pretended to be calm as she handed the script to Ming Jiayue. She walked to the side to drink some tea, her hands busy, but her eyes kept drifting back to Ming Jiayue.

The snippet Ji Shuangci had drawn was from a “CEO” novel. The opening line was: “Woman, you are playing with fire!”

What was even more dramatic was that, according to the director’s rules, Character A (the one Ji Shuangci had to play) was a “Crazy Yandere CEO,” while Character B (Ming Jiayue) was the “Object of the CEO’s Forced Obsession.”

The contrast was maxed out!

Even as calm as Ming Jiayue was, after reading the script, she couldn’t suppress a slight change in her expression. She felt a bit of regret—had she been too hasty in agreeing to this show?

If she backed out now, she could afford the breach-of-contract fee.

She turned her head to see Ji Shuangci standing alone to the side. Ji Shuangci had tucked away her sharpness, standing there solitary, watching Ming Jiayue with a focused, almost obedient gaze.

Forget it.

Ming Jiayue forcibly suppressed the urge to quit and said as calmly as possible:

“You teach me. How do we act this?”