Professional Stand-in, With an Hourly Salary of 100,000

88 - Your Acting Isn't Up to Standard

Yet, the moment she sat up from the bed, Li Xiaoxing roused from his sleep and desperately grabbed her hand. "Where are you going?"

His sudden hand grab shocked Ji Xinxin. A little scream escaped from her throat.

She anxiously turned around and found herself met with Li Xiaoxing's intense gaze. Cold moonlight scattered in from the window, causing his glacial eyes to glow in the darkness.

"Ji Xinxin..." he called out her name with great displeasure.

Ji Xinxin felt a lurch in her stomach as her heartbeat quickened.

"You..." Li Xiaoxing frowned. He tightened his grip around her hand and questioned, "Why is it you..."

Pain surged through Ji Xinxin's hand, telling her loud and clear that the plan had gone awry.

She desperately racked her mind for a solution, and an idea soon surfaced. She quickly interjected, "Have your pain subsided?"

A placebo worked by tricking the patient into thinking that the ineffective drugs he had been consuming were real medicine. The goal was to convince the patient's mind and body that his condition was improving.

Li Xiaoxing's pain had lightened when he mistook Ji Xinxin for Ji Fanyin, but when he realized that it was all a lie...

Li Xiaoxing's muscles suddenly clenched up as the piercing pain in his legs returned with a vengeance. It was so excruciating that he had bit down hard on his lower lip, unable to continue the conversation.

That gave Ji Xinxin an opportunity to shake off his hand and run out to get Secretary Fan.

Secretary Fan had been standing guard outside all this while. He glanced at his watch in confusion, remarking, "You were in there for a long time. I thought the plan worked."

"He recognized me." Indignance showed on Ji Xinxin's face. "Your plan doesn't work."

Secretary Fan let out a sigh. "Maybe your acting was not convincing enough."

Ji Xinxin stared at Secretary Fan in disbelief as the latter walked past her into the room. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

... My acting was not convincing enough?!

Is he insinuating I am inferior to Ji Fanyin both as a person and an actress?

Ji Xinxin swiveled on her heels to look into the room. The sight of Li Xiaoxing struggling to sit up in bed due to sheer pain sparked a tinge of twisted joy in her.

There were so many men she could have picked to be her husband, but she chose Li Xiaoxing of them all. But instead of treasuring her, Li Xiaoxing kept demeaning her again and again.

This was his retribution.

Secretary Fan tried various ways to contact Ji Fanyin for help, but it was futile. As a last resort, he had no choice but to call a doctor to inject Li Xiaoxing with a tranquilizer. Slowly, Li Xiaoxing slipped into a deep sleep with a frown still persisting on his face.

"This is not a long-term solution," the doctor said with a sigh. "Mr. Li's body will not be able to withstand the continued usage of tranquilizers or the searing phantom pain in his legs. I'd advise Mr. Li to put aside his work for the time being and receive specialized care at the hospital."

It took some time for the information to sink in before Secretary Fan answered, "That is not a decision I can make."

The doctor knew about Li Xiaoxing's identity and circumstances, so he didn't refute Secretary Fan. He shook his head and asked, "How about getting a psychiatrist?"

"... Mr. Li said that's not required. He knows what he needs."

Secretary Fan walked the doctor to the door and bade the latter farewell. On his way back, he passed by the living room and saw Ji Xinxin sitting on the sofa in a daze.

If one were to ask whether Secretary Fan felt sympathetic to Ji Xinxin or not, the answer was 'No'. On the contrary, he even considered buying the book, The Cultivation of an Actor, for her.(This is a foundation book viewed to be a necessary read for all budding actors in China.)

He had seen the rehearsals Li Xiaoxing had with Ji Fanyin before. The latter's acting was exquisite. She played out not just Ji Xinxin's actions and dialogues but her disposition too, creating a resemblance so uncanny that it was nigh impossible to tell them apart.

... It's no wonder why she could confidently charge such a high rate.

Secretary Fan was touching his balding head absentmindedly when Li Xiaoxing's phone suddenly rang in the distance. He made his way over to take a look.

It was a call from Li Mingyue. "I saw the doctor dropping by earlier. How is my brother doing?"

Secretary Fan was shocked by how fast news was traveling. He recounted everything that had happened earlier to her truthfully before ending off, "... Mr. Li is now asleep."

"Got it," replied Li Mingyue. "Tell me when he's awake. There's something I have to discuss with him."

Secretary Fan assented.

There was a brief pause before Li Mingyue added, "What about Ji Xinxin? How is she doing?"

She's no help at all, Secretary Fan thought.

However, he rephrased his thoughts in more palatable terms, "She's the same as usual."

"I understand," Li Mingyue answered decisively. "Take good care of my brother. I'll take over his work for the time being."

Secretary Fan was stunned to hear those words. "That..."

"I'll get straight to the point. My parents intend to send my brother overseas get treated. They'll be sending someone over today afternoon." Li Mingyue wasn't giving him a chance to refute at all. "His health is more important than anything else."

"... I understand."

...

It was no easy feat to have to take over Li Xiaoxing's work all of a sudden. Li Mingyue had to go on overdrive in order to barely cope with the workload.

As if that wasn't enough, her assistant took it upon herself to inform her that someone was planning to take over Ji Fanyin's studio.

Li Mingyue massaged her temples to alleviate the headache caused by the massive increase in workload. "She can handle that herself. You don't have to report that to me."

Be it to sell or not to sell, someone like Ji Fanyin would never allow herself to be on the losing end of a bargain.

"... The buyer is Gao Huai Entertainment," explained her assistant. "The one behind the acquisition is Bai Zhengye."

Li Mingyue's pen stalled to a halt.

Bai Zhengye... That's Bai Zhou's father.

... A malicious takeover?