After Becoming the Mother of the Scumbag Stand-In Female Lead - Chapter 23

After Lin Xiaoyu left, Sheng Yunjin went back to retrieve Si Mu’s phone and headed upstairs.

She rang the doorbell several times, and just as she began to wonder if Si Mu had already gone to bed, the door opened from the inside.

The smile on her face was about to bloom when Sheng Yunjin froze at the sight before her, swallowing hard in surprise.

Damp strands of hair were still dripping water, and though Si Mu’s ethereal, cool beauty bore no particular expression, the misty vapor seemed to add an inexplicable allure to her.

Wrapped in a white cotton bathrobe, Si Mu had clearly rushed out—the collar was slightly loose, revealing delicate collarbones that gleamed under the light. Droplets slid down her fair skin, disappearing into the depths of the robe.

Standing so close, Sheng Yunjin could faintly catch the subtle fragrance on her—not overpowering, just incredibly pleasant.

Si Mu glanced at her with deep, glistening eyes before lowering her gaze to adjust the slightly loose belt, speaking casually.

“What is it?”

Stunned for a moment, Sheng Yunjin quickly averted her gaze. “I—”

Stammering for a while, she finally remembered why she had come.

Handing over the phone she had been clutching tightly, Sheng Yunjin blushed slightly. “You forgot your phone.”

Was it her imagination, or did she hear a soft chuckle?

“Thank you.”

Si Mu took it with a brief word of gratitude.

As their hands brushed, Sheng Yunjin instinctively held her breath, staring at Si Mu’s faintly pink fingertips.

When she withdrew her hand, an inexplicable sense of disappointment lingered in her chest.

Pursing her lips, Sheng Yunjin met Si Mu’s gaze. “Well… goodnight.”

Those cool eyes fixed on her, and Si Mu gave a quiet hum.

“Goodnight.”

After taking a few steps away, Sheng Yunjin glanced back to find Si Mu still standing at the door. Unable to resist, she added, “It’s a bit chilly tonight. You should go inside and dry your hair—don’t catch a cold.”

Si Mu didn’t move, but at the sight of her concern, she lowered her eyes and replied softly.

“Mm. I know.”

Riding the elevator down, Sheng Yunjin couldn’t stop replaying the image of Si Mu in her mind.

The more she thought, the hotter her face grew. She shook her head, trying to banish the memory.

When the elevator reached the ground floor, she touched her flushed cheeks and stepped out.

‘Sheng Yunjin… what am I going to do with you?’

A voice tinged with a faint sigh echoed in her ears. Sheng Yunjin froze mid-step.

It was Si Mu.

She had called her name.

The elevator doors opened and closed, but Sheng Yunjin remained rooted in place.

…

Standing before the bathroom mirror, Si Mu stared at her reflection.

Her mind replayed the conversation she had accidentally overheard downstairs.

A self-deprecating smile curved her lips.

The steam fogged the mirror, blurring the figure within.

With a cold expression, she towel-dried her damp hair, lips pressed tightly together as she suppressed the turmoil inside.

Pausing before entering the bedroom, she turned and walked straight to the balcony instead.

Sitting quietly on the wicker chair, Si Mu let her thoughts drift, trying to calm the storm within.

The cool evening breeze lifted the strands of hair before her, but Si Mu paid it no mind, replaying Sheng Yunjin’s words over and over in her thoughts.

To Si Mu’s ears, that conversation was nothing short of a blunt rejection.

Her fingers twitched slightly at her sides as the corners of her eyes gradually reddened.

Always mature and restrained, confident and steady in her actions, she had never known a moment of hesitation or timidity. Her emotions remained consistently calm because everything was under her control—Si Mu never allowed for mistakes or surprises.

But now, she realized she had been too confident in herself.

What made her think Sheng Yunjin would definitely like her?

Was it just based on those dreams she alone had fantasized about?

For the first time in her life, Si Mu found herself ridiculous.

…

As the night deepened, Si Mu showed no intention of returning to her room.

She kept trying to calm herself, to convince herself not to care so much about Sheng Yunjin.

But in the end, she found it impossible.

Emotions weren’t like work—they couldn’t be suppressed by reason alone.

For the first time, Si Mu realized she could be ruled by her feelings.

…

The next day, she woke up groggily on the lounge chair, only then realizing she had spent the entire night on the balcony.

With a bitter smile, she slowly rose to her feet.

Perhaps the night amplified loneliness, but after a night of reflection, the bitterness in her heart had faded by daylight.

It was just a lingering discomfort now.

Just a little.

Si Mu thought this as she lowered her gaze while brushing her teeth.

As she bent to wash her face, a wave of dizziness hit her.

Staring at her sickly reflection in the mirror, she pressed her lips together.

Recalling her irrational behavior of staying out in the wind all night, she sighed.

After changing, just before leaving, she still rummaged through the living room drawers with a faint hope.

The first aid kit was, unsurprisingly, empty.

Only then did she remember—last month, when the housekeeper came to clean, she had mentioned the medicine had expired.

At the time, Si Mu had been working in the study and simply told her to dispose of it, forgetting to restock afterward.

Sighing, she decided to stop by the pharmacy downstairs for some fever medicine.

…

The elevator descended, stopping at the 34th floor with a ding.

Si Mu’s eyes met Sheng Yunjin’s outside the door.

Having woken early to head out, Sheng Yunjin brightened at the sight of Si Mu.

Today was her first day of training at the company, as promised to Lin Xiaoyu.

Thinking there would be many beautiful girls there, she had dressed meticulously in elegant clothes and heels to ensure she wouldn’t be overshadowed.

She had also stayed up late downstairs, trying to decipher Si Mu’s words from the night before.

The gnawing uncertainty had been unbearable—at one point, she nearly rushed upstairs to confront Si Mu directly.

But reason had held her back.

Now, running into Si Mu so early filled her with delight.

Inside the elevator, just the two of them, even if Si Mu tried not to notice, her peripheral vision kept tracing Sheng Yunjin’s every move.

She had dressed beautifully today, with exquisite makeup and carefully chosen accessories that perfectly complemented her dress.

For some inexplicable reason, Si Mu felt a pang of jealousy. She spoke up casually, “Got something important today?”

Sheng Yunjin, who was still struggling to find the right words to broach the subject, paused before nodding.

“Yeah, reporting to the company.”

Her bright, radiant smile made Si Mu feel even more foolish for the sour, tangled emotions in her chest.

Her head began to spin in waves.

Her body swayed slightly, and Sheng Yunjin instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

The concern on her face was so obvious that it only made Si Mu feel even more dazed.

As the dizziness slowly faded, Si Mu straightened up from her embrace.

“It’s nothing, just lost my balance.”

The moment the words left her mouth, even Si Mu herself was taken aback.

She never knew she could be this stubborn.

Sheng Yunjin watched her, clearly wanting to say more, but Si Mu averted her gaze first.

She thought Sheng Yunjin’s friend had been right last night—career should come first, not just love and romance.

Even as she affirmed this in her heart, Si Mu found herself ridiculous.

Hadn’t she lived the past thirty years exactly like this? How had she nearly lost her rationality just because of Sheng Yunjin’s appearance?

The two made their way to the underground parking garage. As they stepped out of the elevator, Sheng Yunjin blocked Si Mu’s path.

“Si Mu.”

Her tone was firm, the kind used when one had resolved to get to the bottom of something.

But to Si Mu, it sounded almost harsh.

Taking a deep breath, Si Mu fought against the increasing dizziness and looked up at her.

“What is it?”

Sheng Yunjin had originally wanted to ask if she had done something wrong last night—why else would Si Mu have said something so out of the blue?

But the moment her gaze landed on Si Mu’s face, her expression changed.

Noticing the faint flush on Si Mu’s cheeks and recalling her unsteady moment in the elevator, Sheng Yunjin immediately pressed a hand to her forehead.

The scorching heat against her palm made her tone sharper than intended.

“Don’t you realize you have a fever?”

Si Mu stared at her moving lips but didn’t respond.

Truthfully, her head was spinning so badly she couldn’t even make out Sheng Yunjin’s words.

All she saw was the faint anger on Sheng Yunjin’s face, and her heart sank even further.

If she didn’t like her, fine—but now she was even yelling at her.

Si Mu thought silently.

Her vision blurred as her eyes grew sore and swollen.

The Sheng Yunjin in her dreams was better.

She would only kiss Si Mu, gaze at her with love in her eyes.

She would never lose her temper with her.

Thud.

Overwhelmed by dizziness, Si Mu collapsed forward.

Sheng Yunjin’s brows furrowed as she steadied the woman falling against her shoulder.

Catching the handbag slipping from Si Mu’s grip, she called out worriedly, “Si Mu? Si Mu?”

After a brief pause, Sheng Yunjin exhaled sharply and bent down to scoop her up.

The weight in her arms was startlingly light, deepening the crease between her brows.

She was starting to wonder if Si Mu even ate properly.

Turning back into the elevator, Sheng Yunjin gazed at Si Mu who had collapsed unconscious in her arms.

The woman’s cheeks bore a faint, sickly flush, her long, thick lashes trembling restlessly.

She had only applied light makeup today. Standing this close, Sheng Yunjin noticed the faint dark circles lingering beneath her eyes.

Her brow remained tightly furrowed as she watched the ascending elevator numbers, the anxiety in her chest growing more palpable by the second.

…

Carrying her swiftly into her own home, Sheng Yunjin laid Si Mu on the bed before immediately calling the Sheng family’s private physician while dashing to the living room for the first aid kit.

She had already checked Si Mu’s forehead temperature earlier—Sheng Yunjin was genuinely worried the fever might have cooked her brain.

How could she neglect resting at home when she was clearly this unwell!

Was a woman in her thirties really incapable of taking proper care of herself?!

Urging the family doctor to hurry over, Sheng Yunjin returned to the bedroom with a thermometer and fever reducers, completely unaware of just how furious she’d become.