After Transmigrating into a Redemption Novel as the Evil Stepmother - Chapter 13

She agreed, just like that, with such calm.

Ji Shuangci was first puzzled, then overcome with ecstasy.

Ming Jiayue’s level of tolerance toward her seemed much, much higher than she had imagined. Ji Shuangci’s fingers curled and uncurled in excitement as she struggled to maintain a surface-level calm.

Every novel snippet had a corresponding filming location.

Ji Shuangci brought Ming Jiayue there, but she wasn’t in a hurry to start “teaching.” Instead, she brought out a cup of freshly brewed jasmine tea and a plate of small snacks.

“Sister, there’s no rush. We need to revise some of the script details first to make the characters fit our images better.”

Ming Jiayue truly didn’t know what could possibly be improved in a script so cringeworthy it made one’s toes curl, but she wasn’t a professional. She sat down compliantly, picked up the tea, and took a sip.

The liquid was clear, the flavor bold, and the fragrance blossomed upon the palate—a premium blend.

Ming Jiayue unconsciously took another sip. On the small side table, the hehuasu (lotus pastry) looked lifelike and exquisitely beautiful. She picked one up and took a bite.

It suited her taste perfectly.

Usually, to make the layers of such Chinese pastries look better, lard is used for frying. If the temperature is slightly off, the texture becomes greasy. But this plate of lotus pastry wasn’t greasy at all; it was sweet, dense, and just right.

Ji Shuangci watched inconspicuously as the jasmine tea reached the bottom of the cup, a stray, joyful smile touching the corners of her eyes. She does like it.

As long as she likes it.

Over the past two years, Ji Shuangci had studied Ming Jiayue’s preferences—clothing, food, shelter, and travel—with an addictive intensity. If anything appeared around Ming Jiayue more than once, Ji Shuangci took note of it.

The screenwriter for their group was a young woman. When she discussed the revisions with them, she was quick and direct. Prioritizing the livestream effect, she naturally made the script as edgy as possible, revising it right up to the limit of what would get a livestream banned.

Ming Jiayue’s posture was impeccable. When she sat, her chin was slightly tucked and her back was straight; the image of her sipping tea possessed an inherent sense of high-class elegance.

Ji Shuangci picked up the revised script and handed it to her. Looking up, she found the sight so pleasing that the smile on her face widened instantly.

“Sister, take a look at the script first. If there are no issues, we’ll start preparing.”

The small assistant nearby witnessed the entire process of Ji Shuangci’s “face-changing” act and heard that sickeningly sweet “Sister.” For some reason, she felt goosebumps. Was this still the Ji Shuangci she knew in private—the one who was pitifully laconic?

She was being excessively attentive!

And what exactly was her relationship with President Ming?

Calling her so intimately!

Something was definitely fishy!

Ming Jiayue didn’t know what others were thinking, but after reading the script, her mood was one of speechlessness—extreme speechlessness. Her fingers tightened around the teacup. She took a breath to steady herself before saying with feigned nonchalance:

“Let’s begin then.”

“Okay, Sister. I’ll start by explaining the scene design and the character analysis for both roles…”

Ji Shuangci smiled more today than she had in the past week combined. She simply knelt on one knee beside Ming Jiayue, sharing the script with her.

Ji Shuangci’s voice was mellow and pleasant, and her explanations were easy to understand. Ming Jiayue gradually found herself listening intently.

With one high and one low, Ji Shuangci unconsciously looked up to meet Ming Jiayue’s gaze. Watching her serious and focused eyes, her own breathing slowed down repeatedly.

Their fingertips touched accidentally—a jolt like an electric current. In a flash, they moved apart.

Ming Jiayue was still somewhat embarrassed. She had barely adjusted to Ji Shuangci calling her “Sister,” and now she had to perform an awkward, “silly-drama” script under the watchful eyes of the public. Consequently, compared to Ji Shuangci’s enthusiasm, her expression appeared much more distant.

However, Ji Shuangci was not discouraged. Getting Ming Jiayue to agree to be a guest was already an unexpected windfall.

She felt a sense of peace, knowing she was being kept in the mind of the person she liked.

So, Ming Jiayue wasn’t only good to Zhou An’an.

The script was short, with few lines.

Ming Jiayue rehearsed the lines with Ji Shuangci, changed her hair and makeup, and the official filming began.

Ji Shuangci didn’t spend much time teaching Ming Jiayue techniques. She wasn’t a veteran actress herself; her acting relied more on intuition. Rather than technical skill, Ji Shuangci felt that immersing oneself completely into the character, empathizing with them, and performing with genuine emotion would yield better results.

The plot was roughly as follows: Ji Shuang, an antagonist with a tragic background, encounters Ming Yue, a university professor, while in a desperate, dead-end situation. Ming Yue is like a beam of light that redeems her from the mire.

But fate plays a cruel joke. After Ji Shuang clarifies her feelings and prepares to pursue Ming Yue, Ming Yue becomes her stepmother.

Unable to accept this transformation, Ji Shuang seizes power with a heavy hand. After taking over the family company, her first act is to arrange for her biological father to retire abroad, and then she confesses to Ming Yue.

Ming Yue has always treated Ji Shuang as a junior in the family. Suddenly learning of her intentions, she reacts with extreme shock, anger, and resistance.

Ji Shuang is a “crazy-type” character with an intense need for control and possession; at this point, her psychology has turned twisted. After being rejected, she recklessly imprisons Ming Yue in a villa and begins a “forced obsession” plot.

Next was the first scene Ming Jiayue and Ji Shuangci were about to film.

[Bodyguards guarding the villa entrance, a dimly lit bedroom, an intellectual yet stubborn figure…]

Ji Shuang pushes the door open and enters. She raises her hand to turn on the light. The food on the table remains untouched. Looking at the figure that treats her as if she were invisible, jealousy and anger spread like a prairie fire, threatening to burn her to ashes.

Her gaze is heavy. She lets out a cold laugh. “Professor Ming, are you still a child? You’re actually naive enough to think you can threaten me with a hunger strike. The doctor and nutritional fluids are on standby downstairs; I have plenty of time to waste with you.”

Ming Yue’s heart is filled with a thousand swirling emotions. It hasn’t been long, yet Ji Shuang seems to have grown into a complete stranger while she wasn’t looking.

The current Ji Shuang is like the strongest, fiercest predator in the jungle, ready to pounce and devour her at any moment.

Ming Yue instinctively wants to flee. She tries her best to stay calm, attempting to reason with Ji Shuang.

“Ji Shuang, I am your teacher, and even more, I am your stepmother. Do you know what you are doing? Stop now. You still have a great future and life ahead of you; don’t continue down this wrong path.”

The curtains are closed. Ji Shuang walks over to open them, letting the bright daylight spill in. Hearing Ming Yue’s words, she only sneers, her lips curling up slightly, and then approaches Ming Yue without warning.

Closing in, centimeter by centimeter.

“I know. How could I not know? Is it wrong just because you say it’s wrong? I don’t accept that. Or are you still thinking about that old man? At his age, what can he even do after marrying you? You’d be better off following me.”

Ji Shuang’s tone is sinister. Her red lips draw near, and she blows a breath into Ming Yue’s ear.

The words are full of malice and humiliation.

Ming Yue’s fingertips tremble with rage. She raises her hand and slaps Ji Shuang across the face, her chest heaving uncontrollably.

“What exactly do you want? How can you insult me and your father like this? Disgusting!”

Caught off guard, Ji Shuang’s head is snapped to the side by the slap. She licks the corner of her lip with the tip of her tongue and suddenly laughs wantonly.

“You’re still defending him?”

“Fine, I’m disgusting. But is he some kind of honorable man? If he had any sense of shame, he wouldn’t marry a woman twenty years younger than himself.”

“I was the one who met you first, the one whose heart was moved first. What right does he have to take you? Yes, I was never some kind of gentleman. So I advise you to be sensible. I never wanted you to be my teacher or my stepmother. From beginning to end, I only wanted you to be my woman.”

Ji Shuang’s expression is frantic. Her heart feels as if it’s soaked in bitterness, the pain making it impossible to maintain even a shred of logic. As if to prove something, she seizes Ming Yue’s hands, pins them crossed over her head, pushes her down onto the sofa, and with reddened eyes, kisses her deeply.

Ming Jiayue had thought this scene would use camera angles to fake the kiss, but Ji Shuangci kissed her without warning.

It was soft and warm. A certain scent floated quietly.

The kiss wasn’t deep—a shallow pressing of lips that slowly moved to the corner of the mouth, her tongue seemingly tracing the line between the lips.

Ming Jiayue’s expression went blank for an instant. Her eyes widened in shock, her body tensed, and she turned her head away in disbelief.

The production director didn’t call “cut.” Using her last shred of reason, Ming Jiayue delivered the next line, her voice slightly hoarse.

“Ji Shuang, you’re crazy! You’re a total lunatic!”

Ming Jiayue’s profile was clear and her lines clean. The makeup artist had softened the sharpness of her face; her long hair was tied back loosely, unexpectedly fitting the image of the gentle, intellectual Ming Yue from the script.

Ji Shuangci’s breathing was heavy and her heart was racing. She stared at Ming Jiayue without blinking, forcing herself to suppress the urge to keep kissing. Her voice was husky with irrepressible emotion.

“Professor Ming, say whatever you like. I only want you.”

In Ji Shuangci’s eyes was uncontrollable passion, obsession, dependency, despair—the extremes of love and hate.

Ji Shuangci’s facial expressions were incredibly infectious, her acting style bold and sweeping. It was easy for Ming Jiayue to be drawn into her emotions.

The air seemed to be on fire. In the moments they locked eyes, the sense of extreme “push and pull” ambiguity was off the charts.

The surrounding production crew was unexpectedly silent. They were shocked that Ji Shuangci actually dared to kiss for real—and that Ming Jiayue hadn’t called for a stop! The sight made their faces flush and their hearts pound, the fire of gossip burning fiercely within them.

Since her debut, Ji Shuangci had kept a clean reputation, never being linked with any male stars, let alone female ones.

Meanwhile, Ji Shuangci’s livestream room was flooded with a dense wall of comments!

“AHHHH! Am I blind? Ji Shuangci kissed her!”

“GL (Girls’ Love)? GL? GL?”

“Is this for real? Ji Shuangci’s gaze is anything but innocent! Did they know each other before? Are they bringing real-life feelings into the acting?”

“Waaaah, my goddess! I’m so jealous! Why wasn’t that ‘passerby’ me?!”

The filming process was livestreamed in its entirety. The Chief Director was becoming somewhat numb from the stimulation. One viral point after another—this single group was enough to make him a fortune. He thought about it, smacked his lips, and began to wonder if Ming Jiayue and Ji Shuangci were actually on his show to flaunt their love.

At the same time, he was a bit worried. If they came out just like this, the social media storm would be massive, and the influence might be negative.

The production director timely called out, “Cut!”

Ji Shuangci stood up from Ming Jiayue’s side with a look of regret. It took her a full three minutes to completely disengage from the scene.

She went to get a bottle of water and handed it to Ming Jiayue, who clearly hadn’t recovered yet. Her expression was apologetic and flawless.

“Sister, I’m sorry. Sometimes after getting into character, I tend to improvise a little on the spot.”