Chapter 13: Am I Your White Moonlight (13)

Jiang Ning’s methods turned swift and decisive overnight. Everyone speculated that someone behind the scenes was coaching her, and with Lin Yiren’s signing and the Lin Family’s backing, people could more or less sense that the wind had shifted. Jiang Corporation’s stock steadied a little, and operations returned to normal.

Thanks to the recovery of Jiang Corporation’s stock and Jiang Ning’s own capable handling, she won a fair amount of support. It wasn’t enough to go head-to-head with Chen Corporation or Xiao Corporation, but it gave her the strength to protect herself.

Before, people had seen Jiang Ning as an easy target, someone whose company, Jiangtian Entertainment, could be made to bleed with a few small tricks. But now that the little white rabbit had suddenly grown fangs, no one dared suppress her so openly. Behind the scenes, though, more than a few companies hinted to their own artists that they needn’t be “too polite” to anyone from Jiangtian Entertainment. Lin Yiren and Bai Keke were the prime examples, and it just so happened that both were the artists their respective companies were currently promoting, so the friction drew plenty of attention.

When the official character stills for Director Lu Youen’s Twin Flowers were released, Lin Yiren’s Weibo was torn apart by Bai Keke’s fans. Most of the comments accused Lin Yiren, a mere newcomer, of flaunting her connections far too brazenly. Complaints about her terrible acting, her diva attitude, and her disrespect toward her seniors, all completely baseless, came pouring in. The haters, joined by a small number of Visual Fans, brought Lin Yiren yet another wave of traffic.

Jiangtian Entertainment quickly posted a rebuttal on Weibo featuring Lin Yiren’s academic credentials and her achievements in theater abroad, along with a video of a performance full of raw tension. One image stood out in particular: a photo of Lin Yiren with the Prince of Country M. Just days earlier, the Kalilan Award shortlist had been announced, and Lin Yiren’s name was on it. In film terms, that was the equivalent of a Best Actress honor. If she stepped into the entertainment industry, she had credentials of her own.

In an instant, Lin Yiren’s Weibo was flooded with countless fans howling about how they’d been conquered by her face and her talent. Across the Water, her fan club, began to grow at a rapid pace. After all, Jiang Ning had moved so fast it was as if she were shielding Lin Yiren personally and couldn’t stand to see her slandered. Even clips from the old Jiangtian Entertainment press conference were dug up and screenshotted, and all that talk of “pulling strings” melted into gushing praise.

#She could have relied on her connections to rule the industry, yet she chose to rely on her face#

#She could have relied on her face, yet she’s this talented too#

#She could have been a President’s wife, yet she insists on making it on her own#

The haters were still there, of course, but Lin Yiren didn’t care. She’d been with the production crew for nearly a month now. Director Lu Youen’s standards on set were extremely strict, and he cared deeply about whether his actors had truly absorbed the script. Since joining the crew, Lin Yiren had been swamped, and with Jiangtian Entertainment at such a critical juncture, she never pulled any Sugar Patron rank by inviting visitors to set. Still, sometimes she would stare off in a daze at the photos of herself with Jiang Ning.

The “photos” used to be screenshots of the two of them together from the press conference. Now they were all sorts of variety show stills, and one had even been set as her wallpaper.

Lin Yiren felt quietly pleased with herself. She was now the number-one shipper of the two of them.

She didn’t have many scenes today, so she could finally relax a little, dragging over a small folding stool to sit in on how the senior actors worked.

When she first arrived at the filming location, Lin Yiren had a very hard time adjusting. The environment was passable, but at night there was always the sound of mice scurrying back and forth. For the first few days she couldn’t sleep at all, and she wanted to call Jiang Ning, but worried about disturbing her and held back. Fortunately, the crew later set out mousetraps and other measures, and hung mosquito nets, so she could finally sleep through the night.

Then there were all her tragic scenes. Unwilling to give anyone ammunition against her, Lin Yiren worked herself to the bone. Winter was coming, but the sun was still brutal, and several layers of sunscreen couldn’t hold it off. In just one month, she’d tanned noticeably. She’d never been plump to begin with, and now she was so thin she looked half malnourished. It was for that very reason that she hadn’t video-called Jiang Ning once this whole month.

What bothered Lin Yiren most, though, were Lin Xiao, the actor playing the second male lead, and Bai Keke. The former kept wandering over to chat whether he had a reason or not. There was no malice in his words, but Lin Yiren found him baffling. The latter spoke in a snide, needling tone that made her ears ache. And sometimes, just for the behind-the-scenes footage, she had to pretend they were all one big happy family, which was a whole other kind of torture for Lin Yiren.

So when she watched Lin Xiao approach now, Lin Yiren internally rolled her eyes.

“Yiren, this is the milk tea I had my assistant bring back.”

The filming location was remote, and a trip into town wasn’t easy, so it fell to Lin Xiao’s and Bai Keke’s poor assistants to constantly run errands for them. Lin Yiren glanced at the lemonade in Bai Keke’s hand, then at the fully-loaded boba milk tea, and accepted it with a smile. The whole crew was getting one anyway, so there was no need to worry about avoiding suspicion. She just didn’t feel like eating anything right now. She transferred the money to Lin Xiao on WeChat and set the tea aside.

Seeing the transfer, Lin Xiao opened his mouth, then hesitated. He tried to kick off some awkward small talk, but Lin Yiren wouldn’t cooperate. He just stood there, a grown man planted in plain sight, and at least one person coming over from Jiangcheng spotted him immediately.

Jiang Ning had her assistant hand out the gifts to the crew, then walked straight toward Lin Yiren and covered her eyes with one hand. She didn’t say a word, only waved her other hand impatiently at Lin Xiao, shooing him away.

Lin Xiao refused to believe Jiang Ning had forgotten him so quickly. He decided she still held a grudge against him and was being deliberately nice to Lin Yiren just to pretend he didn’t exist. That theory dissolved the moment he saw that someone else’s package was nothing compared to his own.

Despite the special treatment, Lin Xiao didn’t show much delight on the surface. Accepting it under the complex, envious stares of those around him, he didn’t rush to leave, instead pretending to help distribute the packages.

“Jiang… Sister Jiang?” Lin Yiren caught the faint scent of the person behind her, and her voice wavered. She wasn’t doubting whether it was really Jiang Ning. She just couldn’t believe the woman had actually come all the way out here.

She wouldn’t have made a special trip just to see her… would she?

The thought flashed through her mind, and Lin Yiren gripped Jiang Ning’s hand and stood up. Seeing the person she hadn’t met in so long, a smile bloomed across her face without her even noticing. Every plan she’d made for honing her acting flew straight out of her head as she pulled Jiang Ning toward her room. Along the way, she just happened to see Lin Xiao picking up a huge package, preparing to leave.

Lin Yiren looked at what Lin Xiao was carrying, then at the two packages in Lin Li’s hands, guessing one was hers and one was Lin Xiao’s.

Both were so much smaller than Lin Xiao’s. A sour feeling welled up in Lin Yiren’s chest, along with a dull ache, and she gazed at Jiang Ning as if looking at a heartless cheat.

“I think if you’re sending gifts, everyone should get the same treatment,” Lin Yiren said, her tone even, though the word cheater seemed to be written plainly in Jiang Ning’s eyes.

Looking at the box in Lin Xiao’s hands, Jiang Ning realized she’d been misunderstood. She arched a brow and called out to stop him, her tone polite and cool. “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong one.”

She stepped forward, set one of Lin Li’s packages down at Lin Xiao’s feet, took the box from his hands, flipped it over, and pointed at the little water-drop mark beside the name. “This one is Yiren’s.”

The contents of every box were identical, but each package bore a name tag along with a small note saying something like thank you for your hard work. When Jiang Ning had walked in and seen Lin Xiao standing beside Lin Yiren, she’d hurried over too fast and forgotten to remind them that the innermost crate didn’t need to be unpacked.

The assistant hurried over to apologize. Just now, when Lin Xiao had come up, the assistant heard the surname Lin and pointed him toward the left. No one expected it to be a mistake.

More embarrassed than the assistant, though, was Lin Xiao. Lin Yiren’s package hadn’t been labeled with a name, and the moment he saw “Lin,” he’d assumed the big one was his and grabbed it. The smugness he’d felt a moment ago now burned across his face. He didn’t even want the gift anymore and headed straight to his room.

Lin Li looked at the box in Jiang Ning’s hands, box being a generous word, it was practically a crate, and suddenly remembered how Jiang Ning had once had mosquito nets and insect repellent sent over. Every time Lin Li mentioned Lin Yiren being unwell, some new investment would land on the production. A guess took shape in Lin Li’s mind, and it felt like she’d just confirmed some enormous piece of gossip. If not for her professional ethics reining her in, she would’ve been itching to run around broadcasting it.

Thinking of Lin Xiao’s fleeing back, Lin Yiren held in the laughter tugging at her lips the whole way, only letting it out once they reached her room. Giddy, she unwrapped the box in her hands.

“Weren’t you just saying it’s wrong to play favorites?” Jiang Ning teased, watching Lin Yiren lay everything out and treasure each item like a collection of precious gems.

Lin Yiren set the daily necessities aside, pulled out a pack of dried meat, tore it open, and fed Jiang Ning a piece straight from the bag, all her earlier jealousy vanishing without a trace. “I’m hardly an outsider. This doesn’t count as playing favorites.”

Jiang Ning smiled at that, then turned on her phone’s mirror function to show Lin Yiren. The original idea was to let her see how much she looked like a little hamster hoarding food. Instead, Lin Yiren froze for a second, then whipped around, held still for a few beats, and dove face-first onto the bed, burying herself under the covers completely.

A thousand regrets flooded Lin Yiren’s heart. She’d been so happy she’d forgotten how hideous she looked right now. Feeling Jiang Ning approach, she said moodily, “Go out first. Let me put on some makeup…”

She didn’t even call her Sister Jiang anymore.

Jiang Ning had been a little baffled at first, but hearing that, she found it rather funny. With a bit of effort, she pulled the woman up, and before she could say a word, Lin Yiren buried her face straight into her chest.

“Do you plan on staying like this?” It was sudden, but Jiang Ning could hold her own.

Lin Yiren had meant to bury her face in Jiang Ning’s shoulder, but without her heels on she’d misjudged the height difference and accidentally crossed the line. The softness against the tip of her nose sent her heart racing, heat flooding up her face, lust scrambling her wits. At Jiang Ning’s question, she answered in a tiny voice, “I… I suppose I could…”

For once, Jiang Ning went silent at the reply.

“System, check whether the Female Lead has been swapped via transmigration.” If the old Lin Yiren had heard her ask that, she probably would’ve burrowed back under the covers in shame.

【Host 0368, Lady Female Lead has simply become more open with you.】

Jiang Ning arched a brow, exasperated. “So her true nature is just a little hooligan, then?”

【Pfft, it’s just a bit of spice. There’ll be bolder stuff later on.】The System was browsing the forums at the time and answered Jiang Ning offhandedly. By the time it realized what it had said, its panel was crackling ominously, sensing impending doom. It hastily jabbed at its own data cable and issued a quest.

【It’s been so long since you met. Does your heart not ache with longing?】

【If you miss her, then enjoy a lovely candlelit dinner with the Lady Female Lead!】

“We’re in the middle of nowhere. Where exactly am I supposed to conjure you a candlelit dinner?” Jiang Ning had still been puzzling over what “later” meant, but the moment the quest was issued, she gritted her back teeth, wanting nothing more than to drag that Conquest System out and give it a thorough beating. What kind of bizarre quest was this?

【Failure will deduct one hundred Points.】

Jiang Ning smothered her anger, lifted her smile, and fished Lin Yiren out of her arms. “Yiren, come have a candlelit dinner with me in a bit.”

Lin Yiren, who had still been feeling embarrassed, froze at those words. She stared out at the bare, treeless hills, at a loss for what to say. Then, as if some thought suddenly struck her, she nodded.

Well, really, it was just a date.