After Becoming the Mother of the Scumbag Stand-In Female Lead - Chapter 55

Early in the morning, she drove to an equestrian club in Nan City to meet up with the film crew. Sheng Yunjin, dressed in a sleek black riding outfit, was leisurely walking her horse under the guidance of a coach.

They had arrived quite early today because Sheng Yunjin needed to film two scenes here.

The first scene involved her deliberately interrupting the male lead out of jealousy after seeing him get intimate with the female lead. She then challenged him to a horse race out of spite and, after winning, taunted him right in front of the female lead.

The second scene was a flashback where her character reminisced about riding and having fun here with her white moonlight and a few friends.

Since Xu Ziqiu and the actor playing the male lead had no prior horseback riding experience, the first few hours were spent with the coach helping them adjust their posture and learn the basics.

By 10:30 AM, Director Wu felt the leads had progressed enough—at least enough to look passable on camera—and called for filming to begin.

…

Zhao Yuanqi and Si Mu had arranged their visit in advance by contacting Lin Xiaoyu, so the Nan City team had sent someone to pick them up at the airport.

Originally, Lin Xiaoyu had planned to come along too. After all, this was Sheng Yunjin’s first acting project, and she was quite curious to see how things would unfold.

But with her company workload piling up recently, she simply couldn’t spare the time and had to skip the trip.

…

Since the club was temporarily closed off for filming, Si Mu, Zhao Yuanqi, and their secretaries were escorted in by a crew member.

The group stood on the outdoor arena’s viewing platform, looking toward the gathered film crew in the distance.

The assistant director, having been informed of their arrival, came over under Director Wu’s instructions to greet Si Mu and Zhao Yuanqi.

The weather in Nan City had been relatively warm lately. Though deep into autumn, the temperatures hadn’t dropped too drastically.

Si Mu’s outfit exuded understated elegance—a white V-neck blouse with a matching long scarf draped around her neck, its ends tucked neatly beneath the collar.

Over it, she wore a black tailored suit with wide-leg trousers and velvet heels. A slim, pale gold belt cinched her waist, accentuating its slender curve.

The sharp, cool lines of her profile instinctively kept people at a distance, prompting the assistant director to immediately position himself beside the more approachable Zhao Yuanqi.

“President Zhao, President Si, we’re currently filming a scene with the male and female leads,” he said, handing them a copy of the script.

“All the main cast members, as befitting their roles, are wearing J&M jewelry…”

As if remembering something, he added, “The supporting actors too—see, the actress playing the male lead’s sister? Her earrings and necklace are both from J&M…”

He pointed toward Sheng Yunjin, who was currently circling the arena on horseback.

With a polite smile, Zhao Yuanqi took a seat on one of the chairs behind her, motioning for Si Mu to join her.

“President Si, come take a look at the script with me.”

This scene was likely a wide shot, so Sheng Yunjin rode effortlessly across the field.

As she rounded the inner track, Si Mu could even make out the triumphant smile on her face.

Unconsciously, her gaze softened, and a tender smile touched her lips as she watched.

Her exceptional riding skills happened to align perfectly with her character’s traits, so Director Wu captured several shots of Sheng Yunjin galloping on horseback.

As she ran to the outer circle, Si Mu’s gaze slowly shifted away from Sheng Yunjin before she took a seat opposite Zhao Yuanqi.

Noticing that both seemed interested in the script’s scenes, the assistant director patiently continued explaining today’s shooting content to them.

…

“Cut! Good take!”

The solo horseback riding shot was completed in one take. Sheng Yunjin slowed her pace and gradually moved toward the rest area.

After dismounting, a makeup artist came over to adjust her helmet and touch up her face.

Sheng Yunjin steadily calmed her breathing, letting the artist work on her face.

Meanwhile, Xu Ziqiu suddenly glanced in her direction, hesitation flickering in her eyes.

The next scene involved the male lead and the two of them. Despite having practiced for hours, Xu Ziqiu still felt nervous—she was afraid of heights.

Even just sitting on the horse made her instinctively tense.

But for the sake of filming, she wanted to push herself to overcome it.

It was just a short ride—her character didn’t need to actually gallop, just a few shots.

Xu Ziqiu silently encouraged herself.

…

The actors delivered their lines and performances flawlessly. The next scene required Sheng Yunjin’s character to ride up to the male lead, angrily challenging him to a race, while the female lead, unable to stop the equally provoked male lead, reluctantly dismounted.

After the lines were delivered, the director didn’t call cut, so Xu Ziqiu had no choice but to steel herself and pretend to calmly dismount.

That was when the accident happened.

Too tense, she unconsciously pulled the reins too tight. Before she could even begin dismounting, her white horse let out a startled neigh and bolted forward.

The male lead’s horse also grew restless from the sudden disturbance, and the actor clutched its neck in panic.

Sheng Yunjin was a few paces away from Xu Ziqiu, so when she noticed the horse was out of control, she frowned and immediately gave chase.

The on-site riding coach grew frantic seeing her pursue the runaway horse, fearing a second accident on set.

Si Mu abruptly stood from her seat, instinctively taking a few steps forward, her brows tightly furrowed.

Zhao Yuanqi, standing beside her, grabbed Si Mu’s sleeve, stopping her from advancing further.

“Don’t go—there’s a coach handling it.”

Her fingers clenched unconsciously at her sides as Si Mu watched the figures racing across the field, her worry deepening.

…

“Hey!… Bend forward and hold the reins tight—don’t let go!”

Speeding up, Sheng Yunjin caught up to Xu Ziqiu and shouted at the pale-faced actress, who was being jostled violently on the horse’s back.

She considered using magic to stop the horse, but she wasn’t sure if Xu Ziqiu would be thrown off if it halted abruptly.

She could catch her midair, but doing so in front of everyone would be far more alarming.

After a brief moment of thought, Sheng Yunjin decisively swung her leg over and, with a push, landed behind Xu Ziqiu.

The sudden contact made Xu Ziqiu freeze in surprise.

Perched awkwardly on the rear saddle, Sheng Yunjin winced as the hard surface dug into her.

Snatching the reins from Xu Ziqiu’s hands, Sheng Yunjin saw they were about to crash into the fence ahead. Frowning slightly, she tightened her legs around the horse’s belly and sharply pulled back on the reins.

The white horse let out a long whinny, its front hooves flailing in midair from the sudden restraint…

Finally, it came to a stop just one step away from the fence.

With the horse calmed, Sheng Yunjin swung herself down from the saddle.

Xu Ziqiu was still lying across the horse’s back, dazed by what had just happened. By the time she lifted her head, Sheng Yunjin had already run off in another direction.

Not far away stood a woman dressed in black.

…

“Are you okay? Let’s get you down first…”

The instructor who had rushed over wiped the nervous sweat from his brow and helped the shaky-legged Xu Ziqiu dismount.

Xu Ziqiu’s assistant also came jogging over. Supporting the pale-faced Xu Ziqiu, she asked worriedly, “Sister Ziqiu, are you alright? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

Shaking her head, Xu Ziqiu glanced toward the now-distant figure of Sheng Yunjin.

“I’m fine, just need to rest a bit…”

Following her gaze, the assistant murmured quietly, “We really owe it to Sister Yunjin this time… You didn’t see it, but the moment your horse went out of control, she immediately gave chase… I always knew those rumors at the company were false…”

Still muttering to herself, the assistant didn’t notice Xu Ziqiu’s weak smile.

“Yes… we should thank her…”

Even now, safely on the ground, Xu Ziqiu still couldn’t figure out how Sheng Yunjin had managed to leap onto her horse out of thin air…

…

“Xiao Mu!”

No sooner had Sheng Yunjin dismounted than she spotted Si Mu in the distance.

Her eyebrows shot up in delighted surprise as she ran toward Si Mu.

Just last night they’d spoken on the phone, with Si Mu saying she was too busy with work to visit anytime soon.

Yet here she was today, giving Sheng Yunjin such a wonderful surprise.

Beaming from ear to ear, Sheng Yunjin wrapped her arms around Si Mu’s waist, her radiant smile so infectious that Si Mu couldn’t help but smile back.

Taking a tissue from her bag, Si Mu gently wiped the sweat from Sheng Yunjin’s forehead.

She had meant to ask if Sheng Yunjin was hurt—while Xu Ziqiu hadn’t noticed, everyone else at the equestrian grounds had witnessed Sheng Yunjin’s midair horse switch.

Her movements had been clean and precise, vaulting from one horse to another in a single fluid motion.

It required not just exceptional riding skills but also tremendous courage.

But seeing Sheng Yunjin now, running toward her with that carefree, exuberant smile, the anxiety that had gripped Si Mu’s heart the entire way here finally eased.

Two assistants who had been quietly observing approached. They first cast curious, cautious glances at Si Mu before addressing Sheng Yunjin, “Sister, the director just called for a pause in filming. We’ll resume this afternoon.”

With both lead actresses shaken—and unsure whether Xu Ziqiu might develop a phobia—Director Wu had decided to halt production temporarily.

They would assess Xu Ziqiu’s condition in the afternoon before continuing.

Acknowledging the message, Sheng Yunjin removed the helmet she’d been wearing all morning, which the perceptive Xiao Nan promptly took from her.

After thanking her, Sheng Yunjin took Si Mu’s hand and led her toward the spectator stands.

“Did you come with President Zhao?”

“Are you here for work?”

“Don’t tell me visiting me was just a side trip?”

At first glance, Sheng Yunjin spotted Zhao Yuanqi waving cheerfully in her direction. She politely waved back while continuing her conversation with Si Mu without pause.

Standing behind them, Xiao Feng and Xiao Nan’s eyes widened when they noticed the two women holding hands.

These days…

Even close girlfriends rarely held hands like this…

The two exchanged a bewildered glance.

…

Pressing her lips into a faint smile, Si Mu lifted their joined hands slightly, her gaze lingering on Sheng Yunjin’s palm.

Sure enough, faint red marks from the tight grip were visible on the delicate skin.

“I’m here for a business trip and thought I’d drop by to see you.”

Honestly, Si Mu didn’t think she was teasing her at all.

Gently kneading Sheng Yunjin’s palm with her thumb, Si Mu glanced sideways and caught the slight upward curve of her lips.

“I don’t believe you~”

With a quick glance at the assistant director beside Zhao Yuanqi, Sheng Yunjin immediately pieced things together.

Most of the jewelry in this production was sponsored by J&M, and Lin Xiaoyu had mentioned their involvement as sponsors long ago.

While it wasn’t unusual for sponsors to visit the set, having two top executives show up at once was far too coincidental.

And she was supposed to believe this wasn’t just an excuse to see her?