As time marched on, Dong Menglian gradually faded from Yun Ni’s memory. Her life became a repetitive blur of commuting between the hotel and the set. After more than a month, her scenes were finally nearing completion.
One day, during a pre-shoot meeting, Director Zhou suddenly announced, “Xiao Ni, for today’s archery scene, I’ve found a stunt double for you.”
“A stunt double?” Yun Ni recalled the script. Today’s scene depicted her character asking General Chu for a lesson, only to accidentally succeed in a “piercing the willow leaf from a hundred paces” shot. She quickly regained her composure. “Director Zhou, I’d like to try it myself first.”
Knowing Yun Ni’s competitive nature and that a quick trial wouldn’t hurt, Zhou Sheng agreed. “Alright, go ahead and try. If it doesn’t work, I’ll bring in the double.”
Since Bo Yaning joined the crew a month ago, everyone had been getting along peacefully. The production schedule had stabilized, which kept Director Zhou in high spirits. After the meeting, Yun Ni changed into her archery gear and tied her hair into a high ponytail.
As she left the dressing room, a white folding fan blocked her path. “Gallant and heroic… is Miss Yun the very definition of that phrase?” Bo Yaning, dressed in men’s attire for her own scene, smiled warmly.
“Senior Bo, surely you are talking about yourself,” Yun Ni replied with polite distance. Despite Bo Yaning’s repeated requests to be called by her name, Yun Ni insisted on using honorifics. She excused herself quickly to head to the archery range.
At the range, she found Tao Ningchu peering around. “What are you looking for?”
“I thought I saw your manager just now, but they vanished,” Tao Ningchu muttered. Seeing Bo Yaning following behind, she teased, “Blocked at the door again? Do you think she likes you? She’s always sticking to you.”
Yun Ni pinched Tao’s cheek. “I don’t know if she likes me, but I know what would happen if I said I liked you.”
“President Lin would kill me! Please, don’t ever do that,” Tao surrendered.
Hearing Lin Zijin’s name made Yun Ni pause. She realized they hadn’t spoken in a long time. Between her erratic filming schedule and the lack of a specific topic, the distance had grown.
Tao Ningchu suggested a “trick”: “You can send a random message and then unsend it. They’ll definitely reply to ask what it was, then you pretend it was a mistake and start a conversation.”
Yun Ni rolled her eyes. “You’re surprisingly experienced at this.”
“I tried it once with my deskmate. I got rejected,” Tao sighed.
The archery instructor arrived to find Tao Ningchu firing an arrow that flopped pathetically onto the grass. He started to offer a word of comfort: “It’s your first time, don’t be—”
Thrum—! A fierce arrow interrupted him, burying itself in the target a hundred paces away.
The instructor turned in shock to see Yun Ni. “Almost a bullseye! Don’t be discoura—”
Thrum—!
Another arrow flew. Bullseye. Dead center.
A few seconds later, another thrum. Another bullseye.
The instructor stood in silence. Realizing there was nothing he could teach her, he went straight to Director Zhou. “Your actress’s technique is far better than mine. I’m ashamed. Let’s collaborate another time.” He left before Zhou Sheng could even respond.
Zhou Sheng walked over to the range to see Yun Ni hitting bullseye after bullseye while demonstrating for Tao Ningchu. Even the male leads were surrounding her, asking for tips.
Zhou Sheng: “…” Did I accidentally cast a grandmaster?
Later that day, Yun Ni officially finished her scenes. Director Zhou handed her a “death scene” red-carpet envelope—a traditional gift for actors whose characters die on screen. He invited her to a celebration party in G City in a week.
As she was packing, Bo Yaning approached her. “Xiao Ni, do you hate me?”
Yun Ni turned back. “Senior Bo, why would I hate you?”
Bo Yaning saw the distance in her eyes—the kind of distance reserved for strangers. “I just want to be your friend. Do you really not remember me?”
Before Yun Ni could respond, the Director called Bo Yaning to the set.
Yun Ni sat in the dressing room and delved into the original body’s memories. After an hour, she found it: Bo Yaning had been her primary school deskmate. Back then, the original body was bullied for being an orphan, and only Bo Yaning had been kind to her. It had been over ten years since they last met.
Yun Ni felt a headache coming on. She wasn’t the original person and didn’t want to tarnish the original body’s precious memory by pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She decided to be clear with Bo Yaning.
When she met Bo Yaning later, she was blunt. “I remember now, ‘Classmate Bo.’ But I’m not looking for more friends. Tao Ningchu is enough for me.”
Bo Yaning was heartbroken. “Is it something I did?”
“No,” Yun Ni said. “We haven’t spoken in ten years. It’s strange for you to be this enthusiastic now.” She left the stunned Bo Yaning behind.
That evening, Tao Ningchu took Yun Ni to a “secret” location: a high-end, discreet lesbian bar.
“Don’t worry, it’s very hidden,” Tao whispered. “I brought you here so you can see how things work between women before President Lin tricks you out of your underwear.”
Yun Ni was skeptical. She sat at the bar while Tao went outside to take a call from her manager. The bartender warned Yun Ni not to accept drinks from strangers, as people were already eyeing her.
Suddenly, Tao sent a message: Manager Jin is coming to the hotel, let’s go back.
Yun Ni paid the bill and stepped out, only to find Tao missing. She followed the sound of shouting into a nearby alley. There, she found Tao Ningchu furiously kicking two men.
“Xiao Ni! These guys tried to pull me into the alley and threatened to disfigure me,” Tao panted. “I used the pepper spray Manager Jin gave me and the self-defense moves I learned.”
Yun Ni checked on her and then turned to the men. With a swift movement, she dislocated one of the man’s arms. “Who sent you?”
The men confessed: someone had paid them 100,000 yuan to disfigure a “helpless girl” from the film set. They showed a photo of Yun Ni and Tao in their archery gear.
“They were looking for me,” Yun Ni realized. She looked at the photo. “And I bet it was my manager, Zhang Lingyu.”
Tao gasped. “I remember seeing her at the range that day! I should have told you.”
The police arrived—the same officers who had investigated the horse accident. Yun Ni explained the situation calmly. “These two attempted to kidnap and disfigure me. I acted in self-defense.”
As they were taken to the station to give statements, the lead officer hesitated, then pulled out his phone to call his superior. He knew he had to notify the person who had specifically asked him to look after Yun Ni.