Soon, the barbecue was served.
Tao Ningchu, sitting closest to where the server placed the dishes, was naturally the first to notice that the food had been separated into two portions. One portion was visibly reddish, clearly seasoned with extra chili.
She spoke up: “Miss, we didn’t ask for spicy.”
“I ordered it,” Lin Zijin said as she stood up and placed that specific portion on the plate in front of Yun Ni. “It’s not ‘insane’ spicy, just a little bit added.”
Tao Ningchu immediately shut her mouth, looking between Lin Zijin and Yun Ni. The “gossip flower” in her heart began to burn fiercely once more. What do you mean ‘no relationship’? Would someone with ‘no relationship’ specifically remember someone else’s spice tolerance and order a separate portion?
Yun Ni saw Tao Ningchu’s expression and knew exactly what she was thinking. Not only was Tao Ningchu in the dark, but Yun Ni herself hadn’t expected Lin Zijin’s attitude to shift so rapidly.
It was a complete confirmation that the woman believed she was that Yun Ni. However, she couldn’t figure out where her “mask” had slipped, which weighed on her mind. But now wasn’t the time to clarify things, nor was it easy to ask. She smiled, thanked her, picked up a skewer of grilled meat, and took a bite.
The taste was indeed excellent. The heat was controlled perfectly—neither too tender nor too tough. The cumin and other seasonings, combined with that hint of spice, made it more addictive with every bite.
With Lin Zijin present, Tao Ningchu also restrained her usually talkative nature and focused solely on eating. Within ten minutes, they had finished the barbecue.
Tao Ningchu let out a sigh of relief. Finally, this strange atmosphere was over. She quickly stood up. “I’ll go pay the bill.”
Yun Ni watched her leave, then turned to Lin Zijin. “President Lin, don’t you have to go to work?”
Lin Zijin shook her head. “I’m on vacation.” She glanced at Yun Ni and quickly added, “I have about three days of rest left.”
Yun Ni couldn’t understand how the head of a company could have such a long break; clearly, Lin Zijin had taken a leave of absence specifically to test her.
Lin Zijin asked tentatively, “Does Miss Yun dislike me being on set?”
Yun Ni gave a skin-deep smile. “President Lin, you joke. You’ve come to guide us; Director Zhou and the others couldn’t be happier. How could we dislike it?”
Lin Zijin caught the irony in her words but didn’t take offense. She simply crossed her arms and leaned back against her chair. “What about you? Do you like it or not?”
Yun Ni actually enjoyed spending time with Lin Zijin, but she worried that prolonged contact would expose her identity before she was ready. With their current unequal status, she wasn’t comfortable being in a position of weakness.
Before Lin Zijin could ask again, Tao Ningchu returned from paying the bill and pushed open the door. “President Lin, Sister Yun, let’s go.”
Yun Ni felt a surge of relief and responded with a smile, getting up first to walk toward Tao Ningchu.
The three of them left the private room. Before they could exit the restaurant, they happened to run into Dong Menglian and her group, who were also leaving. Dong Menglian clearly hadn’t expected to see them there and froze. “President Lin.”
Lin Zijin didn’t respond but turned to Tao Ningchu. “Leaving?”
Tao Ningchu was enjoying seeing Dong Menglian being snubbed. Hearing Lin Zijin’s question, she snapped back to reality. “Yes, leaving!”
Behind them, the completely ignored Dong Menglian turned the color of a beet with rage.
The next morning, Yun Ni received a text message from Lin Zijin.
An emergency came up; I have to head back for a bit. — Lin Zijin
The message was sent around 5:00 AM, suggesting it was no ordinary emergency. Yun Ni put her phone away and got out of bed quickly. Arriving at the set without Lin Zijin or Tao Ningchu, she felt a sudden, strange sense of being out of place.
Instead of changing her clothes, she went straight to the director to ask about her wages.
“Wages?” Zhou Sheng was surprised. “Are you short on cash?”
Yun Ni nodded. “I don’t have enough for living expenses. I wanted to see if I could get an advance.”
“Wages are paid monthly; it’ll be a while before they hit the account,” Zhou Sheng looked at her strangely. “If it’s just living expenses, didn’t we pay you a deposit before? Normally, even if you weren’t being frugal, it’s impossible to spend tens of thousands of yuan in half a month, right?”
“Tens of thousands?” Yun Ni frowned. “I haven’t received any money.”
Zhou Sheng: “Impossible. We pay everyone at once; there’s no way you were missed. Did you check the right bank card?”
Yun Ni’s mind raced, and the silhouette of a person suddenly flashed in her mind. Her eyes darkened. “Director Zhou, never mind. I might have overlooked it.”
Zhou Sheng saw her expression and sensed something was wrong. Just as he was about to ask if she needed help, Yun Ni thanked him and left. Remembering the relationship between Lin Zijin and Yun Ni over the past few days, he hesitated before pulling out his phone to send a message.
Yun Ni returned to her seat to think of a counter-strategy. She hadn’t filmed in a long time, so she hadn’t deeply recalled the payment process. Now it seemed clear that the deposit had definitely flowed into Zhang Lingyu’s pocket.
She pulled out her phone, found Zhang Lingyu’s number, and dialed. The call didn’t go through. Clearly, after her previous ordeal, Zhang Lingyu was now terrified. Yun Ni tried several times with no success, then switched to sending a text. She didn’t say much, only writing: “Deposit. Law.”
Before Zhang Lingyu could reply, Director Zhou called the leads over to discuss the day’s scenes. Because Tao Ningchu was away shooting a commercial, the later scenes were moved up—including the horse riding.
Yun Ni’s character, the Princess, was visiting Sheng Qiu, accompanied by General Chu. This morning’s scene involved General Chu bringing the Princess and the young Prince to the stables to teach the Princess to ride, while a jealous, cross-dressing Xun Ning joins them to disrupt the atmosphere.
After going over the scenes, Director Zhou asked who didn’t know how to ride. Yun Ni hesitated but raised her hand. “I’ve watched videos.” (While she knew how to ride, the original owner didn’t).
Liao Linhang and Liang Zhiyou didn’t raise their hands. “We know a bit, but we aren’t experts.”
Dong Menglian raised her hand. “I don’t know how at all.”
“Instructors will be here soon to teach you. If you don’t understand, ask them directly,” Zhou Sheng checked the time. “You only have two hours. Learn as much as you can; at the very least, you must learn how to sit on the horse.”
They nodded. Once the director went to check the grounds, Liang Zhiyou came over to Yun Ni with a gentle smile. “Sister Yun, can I practice with you in a bit?” He had just said he “knew a bit,” and he clearly wanted to look after her.
She didn’t mind and nodded. “Sure.”
Liang Zhiyou smiled. “I’ll go prepare then.”
Dong Menglian saw this and asked Liao Linhang, “Brother Liao, you know how to ride, don’t you? Why don’t we learn together?” Liao Linhang naturally wouldn’t refuse and nodded with a smile.
The actors changed into riding gear and were driven to a nearby stable. Director Zhou had found four instructors. The one teaching Yun Ni was a woman named Fu Dan, about thirty years old, with a high ponytail. Her tight riding suit made her look heroic and sharp.
She started with the basics. Although Yun Ni knew them, she didn’t interrupt, and her attentive attitude earned the instructor’s favor. After five minutes of theory, the coach took Yun Ni to pick a horse.
Since they were novices, the horses were all gentle and well-trained. The horses varied in height, but to Yun Ni, they posed no difficulty. Remembering the original owner’s lack of skill, she pointed to the tallest, most imposing-looking horse. “I’ll take that one.”
In reality, to judge a horse’s skill, one shouldn’t just look at height, but at body proportions, muscle, and spirit. Among the four, the tallest one had poor proportions and dull eyes—it was clearly the weakest.
Nearby, Dong Menglian and the others arrived. Seeing Yun Ni pick first, Dong Menglian hurried over.
“I want this one!” She pointed exactly to the horse Yun Ni had chosen.
Yun Ni arched an eyebrow. “I’ve already picked it.”
“I picked it too!” Dong Menglian looked at the horse. Seeing it was the tallest and most majestic, she was insistent. “I want this horse and no other.”
Yun Ni spread her hands. “Then it’s yours.”
Dong Menglian immediately adopted a victor’s stance and had the coach lead the horse out.
Fu Dan looked at Yun Ni. “Will you pick another?”
Yun Ni pointed to the shortest horse. “This one.”
Dong Menglian couldn’t help but sneer, “That weak and useless horse fits you perfectly.”
“Miss Dong, you took Miss Yun’s horse first, how can you insult her?” Liang Zhiyou frowned and looked at Yun Ni. “Miss Yun, why don’t you switch? This one looks spirited,” he pointed to a decent horse. “Take this one, I’ll ride the small one.”
Yun Ni knew he meant well, but she knew the quality of the horse she chose. She thanked him but refused. “It’s fine. Since I don’t know how to ride, a weaker one is easier to control.”
Fu Dan shook her head. “It might not be that easy to control.”
Yun Ni ignored her, picking up some grass to feed her chosen horse. “Coach, does he have a name?”
“Black Panther,” Fu Dan replied meaningfully. The horse was jet black with bright, intelligent eyes—it lived up to the name.
Dong Menglian heard this and asked what her horse was called.
“Brown Bear.”
“A bear sounds much better than a panther,” Dong Menglian remarked pointedly. She then thought of something. “Yun Ni, how about a bet?”
Yun Ni raised an eyebrow. “What kind of bet?”
“A riding race. In two hours, we’ll do a lap. Whoever is faster wins.”
Yun Ni smiled. “Alright. And the stakes?”
It was a spur-of-the-moment idea; Dong Menglian hadn’t thought that far.
Seeing her hesitate, Yun Ni spoke first: “The loser must fulfill one request for the winner.”
Dong Menglian hesitated, but looking at the disparity between the two horses, she nodded. “I accept.”
Yun Ni gave a meaningful smile. “Then you had better learn well.”
Dong Menglian, unmoved by the provocation, turned and called the coach to begin her practice.