Lin Ruijiao immediately sat up straight, her posture rigid and proper. In an instant, Ye Ruihuan's makeup-free face appeared on the screen. Even without cosmetics, Ye Ruihuan remained beautiful, though she seemed less intimidating and far more approachable without her usual armor of perfection.
"Save my number, Jiaojiao," Ye Ruihuan said flatly, her expression unreadable.
"Of course, of course." Lin Ruijiao nodded repeatedly, unconsciously licking her lips in nervous habit.
"How have you been lately?"
The casual small talk caught Lin Ruijiao off guard. Why was Ye Ruihuan suddenly interested in her daily life? "Same as always," she replied thoughtfully, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Learning on set during the day, then reviewing scripts when I get back."
"Mm." Ye Ruihuan hummed in acknowledgment, then fell silent, staring directly at Lin Ruijiao through the screen. "This face isn't particularly special—quite ordinary by industry standards. So why do I keep dreaming about her? Looking at her now, I don't feel anything at all." The contradiction puzzled her deeply.
"Ruihuan?" The screen had remained motionless for so long that Lin Ruijiao wondered if the connection had frozen.
"Mm." Ye Ruihuan smoothed her long hair absently. After a long pause, she continued, "When will you finish filming your scenes?"
Lin Ruijiao still couldn't fathom what Ye Ruihuan wanted, but answered honestly, "Director Chen said we start shooting next week. I'm not sure exactly when we'll wrap."
"Good. So it'll be soon. Come back once you're done filming." Ye Ruihuan's tone was contemplative.
"Is there something specific?" Lin Ruijiao couldn't help asking, lowering her gaze to compose herself. She didn't want to return—it would mean more contact with Ye Ruihuan.
"Work arrangements," Ye Ruihuan replied without hesitation.
"Alright." Lin Ruijiao's round eyes curved into crescents as she forced a cheerful expression, though she felt no genuine interest. She could easily go independent—her contract with Huarui Entertainment felt more like shackles than opportunity.
"I'm hanging up." Ye Ruihuan studied her for another moment. "That expression really does resemble Yulan." Finally, she ended the call.
"Goodbye, Ruihuan." Lin Ruijiao maintained her bright expression, her hair seeming to dance with joy. Finally.
Outside, rain continued falling—not heavy, not light, just a persistent gray drizzle that made everything feel damp and cold. There was still no word from Director Wenxian about his new script. Ye Ruihuan sighed softly. "So many complications lately."
From the marble dining table, Ye Zhi had heard every word of their conversation. "What work arrangements for Lin Ruijiao? We don't have any new scripts right now!" she called out, stating the obvious truth.
"No rush. We'll figure it out later," Ye Ruihuan replied casually, completely unconcerned.
"What do you mean 'figure it out later'? Don't come crying to me when the time comes! You know how much the company has on its plate!" Ye Zhi shouted.
Ye Ruihuan ignored her, picking up her tablet to handle work matters. The patter of rain created a melancholy soundtrack to the silent space, making it feel even more lonely.
Night had fallen, and Ye Zhi had slipped away at some point. The empty house blazed with bright lights, perfectly peaceful, yet Ye Ruihuan felt inexplicably melancholy. She finished her evening routine early and went to bed. "I shouldn't dream tonight," her intuition told her.
Indeed, she slept dreamlessly—the first good night's rest she'd had in days. "It seems I need to see the little rabbit more often." The realization only added to her confusion.
Lin Ruijiao's routine remained unchanged. Having finished her character biography, she spent her time studying scenes and practicing her performance. The only irritation was Ye Ruihuan's nightly video calls—irregular timing, meaningless conversations that ended abruptly. Completely baffling.
Finally, Lin Ruijiao's scenes were about to begin. This was her first acting opportunity in this life, and the most crucial one. She had to give her absolute best to bring this character to life. This role would be her key to entering the entertainment industry—if she nailed this first step, everything else would follow.
She flashed a confident smile, her eyes bright with excitement and anticipation, gleaming with eager determination. Ambition sparked in her gaze. In this moment, she was no longer the innocent Lin Ruijiao, but a professional actress who had once been nominated for the Sanhua Award. Fearless, confident, determined to claim everything within reach.
The crew took their positions. Lin Ruijiao's face bloomed with a perfectly calibrated smile—shy and pure, perfectly integrated with her tasteful styling to become the character from the script: the third female lead who harbored a secret crush on the second male lead.
She followed shyly behind the male lead, fidgeting nervously, hesitating repeatedly before finally lowering her gaze and calling out softly, "Qi... Brother Qi..."
The second male lead turned around and froze at the sight of her. The director immediately called "Cut!" and stopped him. "What's wrong? You should have kept acting!"
The surrounding crew snapped out of the incredibly realistic scene they'd just witnessed. Lin Ruijiao had been exactly like the character from the script—they couldn't help but get drawn in.
"So the person Boss Ye brought isn't just another pretty face pushed by capital—she's genuinely talented." But if she caught Boss Ye's attention, Lin Ruijiao definitely wasn't simple. She was bound to become a huge star.
Even Sister Wang and Zhou Yanyan were stunned by her exceptional acting skills. Sister Wang beamed with pride, while Zhou Yanyan felt happy for her but also motivated herself to work even harder—she couldn't let the newcomer outshine her.
Following the director's instructions, they ran through the scene several more times. Lin Ruijiao's acting was flawless, the second male lead's performance barely adequate, but the director still called cut multiple times, discussing various minor issues with them.
After several days of filming, Lin Ruijiao felt discouraged. There always seemed to be problems on set—small segments were reshot multiple times, with something always slightly off. She'd approached this role with such high expectations, but now she was beginning to doubt herself. "How did I get that Sanhua nomination in my previous life? Did I actually win?" Lin Ruijiao felt uncertain. Surely her acting wasn't this poor.
Ye Ruihuan finished her evening routine early and climbed into bed. After several dreamless nights, she felt oddly uncomfortable. She'd planned not to contact Lin Ruijiao today, to see those nightmare images clearly, but the moment she picked up her phone, she unconsciously opened their chat and called.
"Jiaojiao," Ye Ruihuan called softly.
"Mm, Ruihuan." Lin Ruijiao looked listless, barely interested in dealing with Ye Ruihuan.
"What's wrong?" Seeing her obviously dejected state, Ye Ruihuan asked naturally.
"My acting isn't going well. We've done the same scene many times but can't get it right." She answered honestly, then sighed deeply.
The corner of Ye Ruihuan's mouth lifted slightly. So that's it. "I asked Director Chen to be stricter with you," she said leisurely, her smile carrying a hint of schadenfreude.
"What?" Lin Ruijiao's eyes widened in disbelief. "What is wrong with Ye Ruihuan?"
"You wanted to improve your acting, didn't you? This is a great opportunity. No need to thank me." Ye Ruihuan's eyes sparkled with obvious amusement, completely unguarded.
"...Thank you, Ruihuan." Lin Ruijiao took a deep breath and replied through gritted teeth, her smile extremely reluctant.
"You're welcome." Ye Ruihuan stared at those adorable almond-shaped eyes on the screen, motionless. "Those eyes are so beautiful, and that fake smile is perfect too—just like Yulan." She felt increasingly satisfied.
"When will you finish filming?"
"Next Tuesday." Lin Ruijiao answered honestly according to the director's schedule.
"Good. Come back when you're done. There's an acting class—you should study properly." Ye Ruihuan smiled thoughtfully.
"Are you getting me an acting coach?" Lin Ruijiao's eyes lit up brilliantly, sparkling with excitement, radiant and beautiful.
"Mm."
"That's wonderful! Thank you, Ruihuan." Lin Ruijiao visibly brightened, delighted by this unexpected opportunity. Since it was an acting coach arranged by Ye Ruihuan, it surely wouldn't be mediocre. She was already mentally speculating about which teacher would be instructing her.
After receiving this news from Ye Ruihuan, Lin Ruijiao's mood completely lifted. Either way, it would benefit her career and hone her acting skills—she couldn't be happier. Thinking about eventually outshining Ye Ruihuan gave her renewed energy. She continued working on her character and scenes, practicing in her room. "See? My acting hasn't deteriorated at all!"
The third female lead didn't have many scenes—a full week would be enough to complete filming. They followed their predetermined schedule fairly smoothly, and finally, she finished her scenes and could wrap up.
Knowing Boss Ye's plans for Ruijiao, Sister Wang began packing the day before, preparing everything. Assistant Li had arranged transportation, and they returned to the Yuwan Villa the same day filming concluded.
Meanwhile, at home, Ye Ruihuan was reviewing emails on her tablet. After scanning through them, none of the performance invitations interested her. No good scripts lately. Because of this performance-loving Lin Ruijiao, her own acting bug was being awakened.
Ye Zhi, who was asking Aunt Zhang for extra food, suddenly spoke up: "Lin Ruijiao is back. Aren't you going to see her?"
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ye Ruihuan replied irritably.
"I'm not in a hurry, but I can see someone is very eager," Ye Zhi said with deliberate sarcasm.
"I'm not eager at all!" Ye Ruihuan pursed her lips. "What's the situation with Director Wenxian? Didn't he say he had a script? There's been no news at all."
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ye Zhi deliberately threw the question back at her. "Oh~ it's because of Dong Yulan, isn't it?" She smiled maliciously.
"Ye Zhi!" Ye Ruihuan shouted angrily, her eyes flashing.
"What? Why are you getting worked up? No news means no news. How can you believe such baseless industry rumors?" Ye Zhi shrugged. "Besides, if it doesn't work out, you could contact Dong Yulan directly. Huarui Entertainment and Haochen Entertainment have a cooperative relationship, after all."
Ye Ruihuan pressed her lips together, her eyes full of conflict. Finally, she sighed helplessly. "How's the company's other business?"
"Everything's fine. We've been getting quite a few commercial deals lately." Ye Zhi answered seriously, though internally she was complaining: "Everything's fine except for you! But I have to bow to the evil forces since Ye Ruihuan signs my paychecks!"
"That's good." Ye Ruihuan dropped those words and returned to her room with her tablet.
Ye Ruihuan looked through old photos again—ones with Dong Yulan. For some reason, she didn't want to contact Lin Ruijiao today. Whether from curiosity or something else, she wanted to explore what those dreams were really about. She felt both anticipation and unease.
Without Ye Ruihuan's interference, on this starry night, Lin Ruijiao felt oddly unaccustomed to the peace. "Whatever. Ye Ruihuan's thought process isn't something ordinary people can understand." Accompanied by the sparse chirping of insects outside, Lin Ruijiao fell peacefully asleep.
Ye Ruihuan wasn't so fortunate. She actually had insomnia, which was truly strange. Dong Yulan's gentle, smiling face and Lin Ruijiao's fake smile flashed alternately through her mind, causing her to toss and turn before finally drifting off in a daze.
But in the dead of night, when all was silent and darkness endless, Ye Ruihuan woke with a start again. She raised her arm to cover her eyes. "These dreams really won't let me go, but I still can't see them clearly. Lin Ruijiao, Lin Ruijiao—always Lin Ruijiao." She sighed deeply. Fine, let it be.
"I should go see Lin Ruijiao." She sighed softly and got out of bed. During breakfast, she had Xiao Li come over.
"Xiao Li, look at my schedule and clear some time."
"Alright, Boss Ye. How about three days a week, two hours each day?" Assistant Li asked carefully, though Boss Ye's schedule was mostly empty with nothing particularly important.
"Fine." Ye Ruihuan nodded. "Are there really no good scripts lately?"
"That's right, Boss Ye. The productions planning to start filming are still those same crews, all with decent teams."
"I see. Who would have thought I'd be without work." Ye Ruihuan sighed helplessly.
Xiao Li: ...Weren't all those invitation letters asking you to act? You're just too picky!
"Boss Ye, actually, many directors and producers have been sending messages," Assistant Li said hesitantly.
Ye Ruihuan continued looking at her tablet with her head down, as if she hadn't heard, not even lifting her gaze.
"Make arrangements. We're going to the Yuwan Villa later." Ye Ruihuan stood up and said thoughtfully, "Come do my makeup first."
"Yes, Boss Ye." Assistant Li followed her to the dressing room.
After completing her styling, they packed up and headed to the Yuwan Villa.
Having received Assistant Li's message about Ye Ruihuan's schedule, Lin Ruijiao and Sister Wang had been waiting in the living room early, with even Aunt Liu perfectly prepared. Remarkably, Lin Ruijiao had actually dressed up, carefully applying makeup and wearing a form-fitting pale yellow dress that was both elegant and ethereally beautiful—the picture of purity.
The moment Ye Ruihuan entered and saw this fresh styling, her eyes lit up. "She looks so beautiful like this—exactly like Yulan's style."
"Hello, Boss Ye." Sister Wang's face bloomed with joy upon seeing the boss arrive.
"Ruihuan." Lin Ruijiao smiled softly at her, seemingly brightening the entire room.
"Mm." The corner of Ye Ruihuan's mouth curved upward slightly, appearing to be in a good mood, her gaze focused entirely on Lin Ruijiao without any attempt at concealment.
In contrast, Ye Ruihuan's styling today was fresh and elegant, with an added touch of alluring charm. Her inherent nobility remained intact, making her appear refined and aristocratic—like a princess on an outing.
Lin Ruijiao couldn't help glancing down at her own dress, inexplicably feeling that they somehow matched today. What a coincidence.
Lin Ruijiao pushed away these thoughts and looked toward the door, but there was no one behind Ye Ruihuan. She felt momentarily confused.
"Ruihuan," Lin Ruijiao called again, her smile carrying a hint of ingratiation.
"Why is this little rabbit being so charming today?" Ye Ruihuan unconsciously licked the corner of her lips. "She's definitely more adorable this way."