Chapter 8: Day 8 of Transmigrating into an Object

How did time pass so quickly? Only five minutes left?!

If it hadn’t been for the System’s reminder, Jiang Shiyang wouldn’t have even noticed.

What to do? There was no time.

Not only was the Mysterious Task running out of time, her Human Form Duration only had about ten minutes left too.

She had been so focused on rehearsing the scene earlier that it felt like only minutes had passed. She never expected so much time had slipped by.

Her next task would likely have a duration of around an hour. Such a short time, and transmigrated as an immobile object again—her completion odds were practically zero.

The Mysterious Task was hard too, but at least she was human now. She could move, speak, and take the initiative. The odds were far higher than just passively waiting.

Zhang Yang’s voice came from beside her.

“What’s wrong, Teacher Jiang?”

She had to go for broke!

She steeled her resolve in a single second and flashed a smile at Zhang Yang. “My back is incredibly itchy.”

“Huh?” Zhang Yang froze. “What?”

Zhang Yang thought he had misheard. If it were her, she would think she misheard too.

Who would suddenly say something so ambiguous in the middle of filming? To an actor of the opposite sex, no less? It practically sounded like flirting.

Too awkward. So awkward that dropping dead on the spot wouldn’t be enough to dissolve it.

But she had to endure it, no matter how awkward. She’d rather die of social embarrassment than give up!

Smiling, she repeated, “It’s too itchy. I can’t hold it in anymore. We need to pause for a moment.”

Zhang Yang seemed to realize she was genuinely itchy and sighed in relief. “Can’t you just scratch it?”

“I can’t reach.”

Zhang Yang glanced at her back. If he dared to help her, his hand on her back would land him on the Trending Search by tomorrow.

“Then… have your assistant help you?”

Zhang Yang looked toward Little Xie, who stood not far away.

Director Chen sensed something was off and called out loudly, “What’s going on?”

Zhang Yang forced an awkward smile and explained, “Teacher Jiang’s back itches.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the entire set fell silent. Only the hum of the camera lift could be heard.

The air was so awkward it felt like it was about to turn into a vacuum. Little Xie snapped out of it and scurried over.

“Let me help you scratch! Where does it itch?”

Little Xie squatted by the edge of the pool and diligently raked across her back from left to right. Director Chen yelled from the side, “Be careful! Don’t leave marks!”

It would be trouble if marks were left. Director Chen preferred capturing an actor’s authentic state in one continuous take. He rarely used filters, let alone post-production frame-by-frame retouching.

Little Xie immediately withdrew her hands in fright, but before they could try again, Jiang Shiyang waved dismissively. “Your nails are too blunt. It just itches more the more you scratch. Get someone else.”

Little Xie put her ten fingers together, lowered her head, and looked at her nails. Were they really that blunt?

Jiang Shiyang didn’t give anyone else the chance to come help. She turned her head and waved at Shen Wenyi, who was sitting on a folding stool, flashing a peace-bringing smile.

“Teacher Shen, could you help me out? Your nails are long. Could you scratch my back for me?”

Little He’s expression changed instantly. She stepped forward, seemingly ready to righteously intervene, but Shen Wenyi stopped them.

All eyes converged on them. Some looked at her, some at Shen Wenyi.

For a moment, no one spoke. Everyone in the industry knew that Jiang Shiyang and Shen Wenyi were not on good terms.

Yet, just after joining the crew, she was calling Shen Wenyi to scratch her back? Wasn’t this too arrogant?

The crew exchanged glances, but no one spoke up. Even Director Chen, who was known for his bad temper, was stunned speechless by her outrageous move.

Everyone’s hearts were on a rollercoaster.

Did you forget you’re the supporting actress? Did you forget you just joined the crew? Did you forget so many pairs of eyes are watching?

Forget everything else, at least consider Director Chen’s face!

This public provocation—are you sure you’re making things difficult for Shen Wenyi and not yourself? Why would Shen Wenyi possibly acknowledge you? What were you thinking? Where is your brain?!

Thanks for asking. The brain was alive and well. Her terminal embarrassment had just committed mass suicide alongside all her socially murdered cells.

Jiang Shiyang smiled radiantly as she leaned by the pool’s edge. Her long hair was slightly damp, clinging to the side of her face. Fragrant shoulders and jade arms, water droplets beading on her collarbone. Her red lips curved into a smile—like a seductive Water Demon. She called out to Shen Wenyi again, her voice dripping with sweetness.

“Pleeease help me~ Teacher Shen.”

This, was this… acting spoiled?!

It was utterly inconceivable!

If it were anyone else, with Teacher Shen’s approachable nature, she surely wouldn’t refuse. But this was Jiang Shiyang! Teacher Shen’s rival! And not just any rival—they supposedly hadn’t gotten along since middle school. How could Teacher Shen possibly agree?!

Everyone thought Shen Wenyi would definitely find an excuse to decline. At most, out of respect for Director Chen, she’d send her assistant over to help.

To be fair, they really couldn’t understand what Teacher Jiang was trying to do by suddenly stirring up trouble. They’d collaborated before. How had no one noticed Teacher Jiang was missing a few screws? Or… did she take the wrong medicine today?

Some practical soul had already found a back-scratcher as a substitute and wanted to bring it over, but was promptly stopped by the person next to them. No one could figure out what Jiang Shiyang was trying to pull. Acting like this right after joining the crew—it was better not to wade into these murky waters. Wait and see.

Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion, but it was really only a matter of two or three seconds. Director Chen reacted quickly, coughing, about to speak and defuse the awkwardness, when Shen Wenyi stood up.

Jiang Shiyang looked at Shen Wenyi.

What was she trying to do? Had she seen enough and was ready to storm off?

Yes, Shen Wenyi didn’t need to say anything. Simply walking away would be the greatest humiliation to her.

She had failed. She had originally hoped that in front of so many people, Shen Wenyi would maintain her approachable persona and wouldn’t refuse her. It seemed she had grossly underestimated Shen Wenyi’s disgust for her.

Thinking about that half-pack of wet wipes, perhaps this was quite normal.

But Shen Wenyi, why are you so disgusted by me? What part of me is dirty? I haven’t been involved in casting couch deals!

What about my next task if this doesn’t work? Normally, I always rise to the challenge when you fight me. Why is it so hard for you to just humor me once?!

The more Jiang Shiyang thought about it, the angrier she got. She simply turned around.

Fine. What’s meant to be will be. What’s meant to happen can’t be avoided.

She couldn’t just climb out of the water now, walk up to Shen Wenyi, and pretend to trip into her arms, could she? Walking over so suddenly and inexplicably would be way too obvious. Only a fool wouldn’t be on guard against her!

Most importantly, her upper body was currently covered only by the oversized Nipple Covers. Once out of the water, her silk pants would definitely stick to her legs. The shame quotient was simply explosive. She didn’t care during filming, but she couldn’t accept it in any situation outside of filming.

That’s why she had ruled out using a fake accident to complete the task from the very start. And in the current situation, she was even less likely to use it.

Face wasn’t worth much, but you had to lose face and get something in return for it. If you couldn’t get anything back, there was no need to throw your face away.

Besides, the next task wasn’t completely hopeless. She’d deal with the next task when it came. What if she was that 0.01%?

She said to Zhang Yang, “Let’s continue.”

She made a move to stand back opposite Zhang Yang, but Zhang Yang was looking behind her.

What was there to look at? It couldn’t be that Shen Wenyi was coming over to help… Mmm~?!

Hearing her own distorted voice, Jiang Shiyang went numb.

What was happening?!

Her back felt like a feather connected to a low-voltage wire had brushed against it. That instant itch shot straight to her core. She instinctively shivered and straightened her back.

“Where does it itch?”

Shen Wenyi’s steady-as-a-mountain voice came from behind her.

Shen Wenyi? It was really Shen Wenyi?

She suppressed the urge to reach back and scratch. It hadn’t been itchy before, but that single touch from Shen Wenyi made her itch so badly she wanted to rub against a tree like a bear.

What a calamity.

Why had Shen Wenyi suddenly changed her mind? To maintain her persona? Or was she deliberately trying to itch her to death?

This move was brilliant. It made everyone think she was brainless and willful for deliberately making things difficult for Shen Wenyi, while also making everyone think Shen Wenyi was truly good-tempered and mindful of the big picture. And she could subtly itch her until she was crawling out of her own skin.

Three birds, one stone.

At this moment, she couldn’t care about anything else. The countdown in her mind was down to almost nothing. Her face didn’t matter—completing the task came first!

Jiang Shiyang glanced back. She still had her back to Shen Wenyi. A smile bloomed on her lips, devastatingly alluring.

“The middle itches. I can’t reach it. I’ll trouble Teacher Shen to scratch it for a while.”