After Becoming the Mother of the Scumbag Stand-In Female Lead - Chapter 49

Just as she had finished placing her luggage in the hotel room, Chen Yan’s call came through.

Sheng Yunjin was inspecting the bathroom in the room, her disdain practically oozing from her expression.

Assistant Xiao Nan stood nervously beside her. Truth be told, she also felt the accommodations—if this place could even be called a hotel rather than a budget inn—were subpar, but there was nothing she could do.

This was already the most expensive room available here.

Stealing glances at Sheng Yunjin’s unreadable expression, Xiao Nan tightened her grip on her phone, fearing the young mistress might lash out at them.

Suppressing her displeasure, Sheng Yunjin stepped out of the bathroom without a word and answered Chen Yan’s call, standing by the window to survey the view below.

Chen Yan was briefing her on the gathering time later.

It wasn’t even noon yet. Chen Yan said they would assemble at a nearby courtyard in an hour and instructed Sheng Yunjin to arrive on time for the script reading session in the afternoon.

Over the phone, Chen Yan also briefly introduced the other actors in the troupe.

Sheng Yunjin listened attentively, occasionally nodding in acknowledgment.

By the time the call ended, she hadn’t brought up the idea of switching hotels.

Assistant Xiao Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, this location had been specifically chosen by Chen Yan. If Sheng Yunjin had objected now, it wouldn’t have reflected well on her.

The other assistant, Xiao Feng, was more meticulous. She had downloaded a detection app on her phone and was scanning the room for hidden cameras.

There was no helping it—this place was too remote, and the cheaper the lodging, the more likely such incidents were to occur.

Fortunately, after a thorough check, no hidden dangers were found.

…

Lunchtime was short. Sheng Yunjin took her two assistants to a nearby restaurant for a quick meal.

Afterward, Xiao Nan volunteered to go shopping for daily necessities, while Xiao Feng accompanied Sheng Yunjin to the gathering.

…

Arriving at the courtyard where the rehearsal was to take place, Sheng Yunjin lingered at the entrance for a moment before pushing the door open.

She wasn’t wearing makeup today, only a pair of sunglasses she’d put on after landing. The oversized frames obscured most of her delicate features, leaving only the sharp line of her jaw and her naturally rosy lips visible.

Her loose white blouse was unbuttoned at the top, revealing a striking emerald-green pendant around her neck.

The cuffs were casually rolled up, exposing her slender, fair wrists, where a diamond bracelet sparkled brilliantly under the midday sun.

The blouse was tucked into her waistband, paired with straight-leg smoke-gray trousers and high heels that accentuated her commanding presence.

The group chatting casually in the courtyard instinctively fell silent at the sound of the door opening, their gazes turning toward her.

Raising a brow, Sheng Yunjin pushed her sunglasses up into her hair and offered a composed, polite smile.

While the others studied her, she did the same in return.

With just a sweeping glance, she quickly matched each person to the descriptions Chen Yan had given her of the troupe members.

…

Chen Yan arrived late from the backyard. Taking in Sheng Yunjin’s striking contrast to the others, she exchanged a meaningful look with the deputy director in the crowd.

Just as she had envisioned in one of the opening scenes of her script.

Sheng Yunjin truly was perfect for the role of her female lead.

Chen Yan thought to herself.

…

Si Mu left work later than usual today. Before clocking out, her gaze kept drifting to the silent phone beside her.

She was quietly waiting for Sheng Yunjin to call her.

But even after working overtime until 9 PM, the phone remained undisturbed.

Not even a single message came through.

The longer this went on, the more Si Mu missed Sheng Yunjin.

She thought Sheng Yunjin must still be busy with work…

…

When driving home, Si Mu noticed the living room lights were still on.

Si Ying was hunched over the coffee table doing homework. Hearing the door, she quickly looked up.

Seeing only Si Mu, she froze momentarily before offering a shy yet delighted smile.

Pausing her motion of rubbing her temples, Si Mu walked toward her.

“Why aren’t you in bed yet?”

With eyes still flickering uncertainly toward the doorway, Si Ying confirmed Sheng Yunjin indeed wasn’t staying over tonight.

Turning back hastily with barely contained excitement, Si Ying retrieved her workbook, fingertips whitening from how tightly she gripped the pages.

“…I couldn’t solve some problems…”

She peered up nervously, carefully watching Si Mu’s reaction.

Taking the workbook, Si Mu skimmed through it before sitting down.

They were simple math problems—the kind Si Mu could solve at a glance.

However…

Meeting Si Ying’s anxious yet hopeful gaze, Si Mu frowned slightly.

She’d never taught children before.

Grabbing paper and pen, she meticulously wrote out the step-by-step solutions, figuring this would be more effective than verbal explanations.

Standing beside her, Si Ying stared at Si Mu’s slender fingers holding the pen, her eyes brimming with quiet joy.

Thankfully, Si Mu didn’t think she was stupid.

…

That afternoon, the driver had picked her up from school as usual. Si Ying had assumed she’d have dinner with both Sheng Yunjin and Si Mu again.

Unexpectedly, the driver took her out to eat instead.

Si Mu hadn’t even shown up.

Si Ying had felt utterly dejected throughout the meal, her mind elsewhere.

Returning home that evening, she found herself completely alone.

Recent schoolwork had been challenging, especially since Si Ying’s foundation wasn’t strong. During class, she’d accumulate unanswered questions but was too timid to ask the teacher.

Back home, Si Zhong would review her lessons nightly, patiently explaining difficult problems repeatedly.

But since moving in with Si Mu, Si Ying hadn’t dared to ask for help, so her academic struggles kept piling up.

When the teacher announced midterms next week, panic had set in.

Normally, she wouldn’t be this nervous.

Though Si Zhong cared about her studies, he didn’t pressure her about grades, understanding her capabilities and believing in gradual progress.

But living with Si Mu now, Si Ying couldn’t bear the thought of performing poorly.

Failing grades required parental signatures.

She didn’t want Si Mu knowing she was struggling.

After much deliberation, she’d resolved to ask Sheng Yunjin for help tonight.

Sheng Yunjin had even given her that bracelet to win her over—surely, she wouldn’t refuse.

Plus, occupying Sheng Yunjin’s time meant less opportunity for her to cling to Si Mu.

She had never made friends before and didn’t know how adults formed friendships.

But seeing Sheng Yunjin and Si Mu going everywhere together every day, she couldn’t help but feel envious.

…

However, what she didn’t expect was that Si Mu came home very late today—and alone.

This news made Si Ying even happier, and she momentarily forgot to adjust her excuse.

When Si Mu asked her, she instinctively repeated the words she had originally planned to say to Sheng Yunjin.

But it didn’t matter. Si Mu didn’t show any sign of disdain.

Si Ying felt overjoyed.

…

Pushing the written calculations toward Si Ying, Si Mu asked, “Can you understand this?”

Si Ying froze for a moment. She bit her lip and glanced at Si Mu before pretending to study the notes carefully.

Si Mu’s handwriting, much like her personality, was neat yet sharp. Si Ying marveled inwardly.

Her writing is so beautiful too.

“Is there any part you don’t understand?”

Seeing her stare at the notebook without speaking, Si Mu frowned slightly, wondering how to explain it better.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Si Ying quickly shook her head. “N-no, I understand.”

With a hum of acknowledgment, Si Mu wrote down the solutions for the remaining problems.

“Take a look first. If you have any questions, just ask me.”

With that, Si Mu stood up and headed toward the kitchen.

Her long hair cascaded down to her waist, and as she passed by, Si Ying caught a faint whiff of fragrance.

She secretly watched Si Mu’s retreating figure, her cheeks slowly flushing.

She had seen perfume commercials on TV before.

Si Ying thought to herself—

Si Mu was even more beautiful than the models in those ads.

…

Pouring herself a glass of water, Si Mu took a small sip.

Her fingers instinctively unlocked her phone, and as she glanced down, she happened to receive a message from Sheng Yunjin.

Without thinking, she tapped open the chat. Her expression softened slightly.

—Finally done! Xiao Mu, I want to call you~

Her fingers had already typed a reply before she realized it.

—Okay, give me a moment.

Si Mu pressed her lips together in a small smile before setting the glass down.

Passing through the living room, she looked at Si Ying, who was still bent over her homework.

“Any more questions?”

Si Ying shook her head, biting her lip, her cheeks tinged pink.

“…No.”

Pouring a glass of water and placing it beside her, Si Mu said gently, “Finish your homework and go rest early.”

Then, she turned and walked toward her bedroom.

…

Si Ying stared after her, clutching her notebook, hesitating to speak.

Truthfully, there were steps in Si Mu’s calculations she didn’t fully grasp.

But she no longer had the courage to ask.

…

Lying on the freshly made hotel bed, Sheng Yunjin rolled over, patiently waiting for Si Mu’s call.

When the video connected, Si Mu’s face appeared on the screen.

Propping her phone against the pillow, Sheng Yunjin rested her chin in her hands and gazed at her.

“Did you just get off work?”

Noticing that Si Mu wasn’t wearing sleepwear, Sheng Yunjin checked the time, puzzled.

Si Mu, who was retrieving her pajamas from the closet, chuckled. “Yeah, I worked late today.”

“Busy on the first day? Why so late?”

Rather than talking about herself, Si Mu was more concerned about Sheng Yunjin’s situation.

Seeing the topic shift, Sheng Yunjin obediently answered.

“Professor Chen gave me a stern warning on the very first day.”

“This afternoon during the script reading session, everyone else had already memorized their lines—only I was left awkwardly reading from the script.”

Si Mu frowned slightly, pausing mid-step on her way to the bathroom.

“Did they give you a hard time?”

Chen Yan had clearly said it was a newly written script, yet on the very first day…

Lifting her chin with a proud smirk, Sheng Yunjin replied, “Not at all. Don’t underestimate your girlfriend.”

Though she had been genuinely surprised at first, Sheng Yunjin didn’t react much. Instead, she calmly delivered her lines under the others’ subtle, scrutinizing gazes.

Chen Yan’s plan for the day was simply script reading—a three-hour play with neither too many nor too few lines. By the end of the afternoon, they had gone through the entire script three times.

She had intended to give Sheng Yunjin a “surprise” to temper her attitude—after all, it was meant to help her better embody the role.

But in the end, it was Sheng Yunjin who surprised her more.

By the second round of line readings, Sheng Yunjin had completely memorized her part.

Chen Yan even cross-checked the script word for word.

Not a single mistake.

Keep in mind, the script had only been in Sheng Yunjin’s hands for a few days.

And she was the lead role.

The one with the most lines.