Chapter 2: The Second Day After Transmigrating — On the Importance of Improving Your Acting Skills…

In times of danger, people often unleash immense potential.

Yun Shuning was no exception. Within just a few seconds, her mind raced like lightning. In a flash of insight, she suddenly remembered the scene in the book where the supporting female character was imprisoned.

In the novel, she was merely cannon fodder — how could she possibly pose any real threat to the heroine?

After the results of the fashion competition were announced, a male character infatuated with the heroine visited the prison and cruelly told her that it was thanks to her that the heroine was able to win the competition.

It turned out that the head judge of the competition, due to some personal reasons, particularly disliked the rose motif — and the design she had destroyed was precisely themed around roses.

Although the head judge couldn’t completely ignore the opinions of the other judges, he did have the power to tweak the rankings. If the heroine had entered with that dress, she might have placed, but there was no way she would’ve won first prize.

The heroine had prepared two design plans from the start. After the first was ruined, she immediately and tirelessly put together the second. That’s why she hadn’t appeared here.

Upon learning this, the supporting female character, already driven to her limits by the torment in prison, went completely insane. Her hatred for the heroine reached its peak.

And who would dare release such a madwoman, especially with someone who loved the heroine around?

With that thought, Yun Shuning shifted her gaze away from He Chen and looked out the window. “Your first fiancée — you used her, discarded her, and ruined her entire family.”

“Do you really even know what love is?”

He Chen sighed helplessly and closed his eyes. He could more or less guess the version of himself that existed in her mind.

But truly, he didn’t understand what gave her the impression that he didn’t love Lin Wan, or that he used her.

“How could I possibly hurt or use the one I love…” He hadn’t even finished speaking when he was cut off by the unmistakable mockery in her eyes.

“You mean to say that even though you’ve had countless ambiguous relationships these past few years, and quite a few close female partners, you still love Lin Wan?”

Before he could respond, she continued, “You knew full well that the head judge, Danton Arkwin, hated rose elements. But just because you liked them, you kept it to yourself and let Lin Wan design a dress that practically danced on his landmine. That’s how you show your love?”

“Your kind of love… it’s downright chilling.”

At first, He Chen had reasonable counters to her questions. But hearing her last remarks, he froze: “You said Judge Arkwin dislikes roses?”

That can’t be.

Arkwin was an internationally renowned fashion designer, known as the father of luxury brands. But he had never publicly expressed any personal preferences.

With his status, even a frown at a piece could stir up ripples in the fashion world.

So, no one really knew what he liked or disliked.

“President He, your acting is terrible,” Yun Shuning said, raising her brows as she looked at his stunned expression.

If she hadn’t read the full novel, she wouldn’t have known about the judge’s hidden preferences either.

She knew He Chen was innocent in this matter — but that didn’t stop her from using it against him.

He Chen took a deep breath. “How do you kno—”

Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped. If she really had a connection to Little Uncle… then it all made sense.

Seeing the thoughtful look on his face, Yun Shuning subtly exhaled in relief — looked like she had made it through today.

Still, she was a cautious person. The closer she got to the end, the more careful she needed to be.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.” She met his gaze, then turned around calmly. The tension in her body slowly eased, and her voice returned to its initial composure. “If I haven’t gone missing by tomorrow, I’ll submit my resignation.”

With that, she headed straight for the door. Just before leaving, she paused and added, “Oh, and if President He plans to take legal action, I welcome it anytime.”

He Chen stared at her departing figure in a daze. After a long while, he wearily pinched the bridge of his nose.

Today had been too bizarre. He needed time to sort it all out.

He pulled out his phone and casually made a call: “Help me look into someone.”

After hanging up, he caught a glimpse of his side profile reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window. Suddenly, he remembered how Yun Shuning had once looked at his side profile with such intensity.

Back then, he thought she was falling for him. But now — he turned fully to face his reflection and suddenly realized that his features did resemble Little Uncle’s, especially the side profile.

Yun Shuning… just who was she to Little Uncle?

A friend? Or… a lover?

—

After leaving the office, Yun Shuning ignored the subtle glances cast her way from all directions. Relying on the original host’s memory, she headed straight to the workstation, grabbed the original’s coat and bag, and walked out.

The moment she stepped outside, a gust of wind made her shiver violently. The December chill in the capital was bone-deep, with icy wind that made your cheeks sting.

She was wearing only a thin sweater and pants. The overcoat she had thrown on was drafty and offered little warmth. She felt like she was being frozen solid.

She knew the chances of He Chen watching her from upstairs were slim, but she still kept herself in character — back straight, gaze empty, like she was deep in thought… or mourning.

Passersby looked at her with pity or curiosity.

“Is that girl heartbroken?”

“Not sure, but she looks so sad… like she lost something really important.”

“Hope she pulls through soon.”

…

After standing in the cold for about ten minutes, Yun Shuning, now thoroughly chilled, slightly moved her stiff fingers and gently raised her hand.

A taxi smoothly pulled up in front of her.

—

“President He, these are the materials Designer Lin urgently needs…” Assistant Wang, seeing He Chen staring absentmindedly out the window, immediately switched tactics and opened the file, calmly reading aloud the contents.

President He had always prioritized Lin Wan’s needs. This was the first time he seemed so indifferent.

But as a top assistant, Wang never let his questions show on his face. His job was to follow orders. As for the rest — he could think it over after work… if he ever got off on time.

“Get these to Wanwan ASAP,” He Chen instructed after seeing Yun Shuning — now just a tiny figure — getting into the taxi downstairs. He then casually shifted his gaze back to the assistant.

Wang closed the folder, said nothing else, and simply replied, “Understood.”

—

In the taxi, the middle-aged driver, hair already tinged with white, glanced at her through the rearview mirror and sighed.

“Miss, let me tell you, nothing in life is too much to get past.” He turned on the radio, playing a light, upbeat tune. “You’re still young — things like breakups or losing a job, they’re just bumps in the road…”

Listening to the warmth in the driver’s concerned tone, Yun Shuning finally pulled her eyes from the window.

She felt lost — unsure if she was dreaming, or what she was supposed to do.

But somehow, listening to the driver’s kind-hearted rambling, she felt a strange sense of reality settle in.

Even if she had arrived in this world all alone, there were still people who cared — even if they were just strangers.

Here’s the full English translation with corrected grammar:

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“Thank you,” she lowered her head, hiding the awkwardness on her face. When she looked up again, her expression had grown more sincere. “I’m fine.”

After getting out of the car, Yun Shuning followed the original host’s memories and arrived at the apartment she currently lived in.

Once she closed the door, she maintained her composed expression, took out the phone that the original host had placed in her bag, and downloaded an app that could detect surveillance cameras. She circled around the apartment with it.

After confirming it was safe, she collapsed onto the bed.

She pinched her arm hard, without holding back at all.

“Hiss—”

“So it really isn’t a dream.” Yun Shuning rubbed her sore arm and looked around the unfamiliar apartment, then closed her eyes in exhaustion.

Since everything was real, then the lie she had just told the male lead…

Yun Shuning shot up like someone on their deathbed waking in panic. Whatever sleepiness she had completely vanished in an instant.

Could she really survive until the end of the novel?

If she remembered correctly, the supporting character with the same name as her repeatedly instigated others against the female lead, often subtly leaking information about the male lead’s romantic history after the female lead had left, all in an effort to break them apart.

After the male and female leads reunited, three out of five of their arguments were caused by her.

If these crimes were enough to land her in a mental hospital, then pretending to be the male lead’s uncle’s girlfriend would probably have her locked up there for life.

There was no way the male lead would just take her word for it. He was probably already looking into her and He Yan’s past.

But what kind of past could she possibly have with He Yan?

Yun Shuning covered her face with her hand, trying to hide the despair in her expression.

Still, she didn’t regret telling that lie—if she could live one more day, it was worth it.

Before He Yan went missing, the original host was just an ordinary college student. There was absolutely no chance they could have met, let alone had some epic, love-filled relationship that defied life and death.

What mattered now was finding some point of connection between the original host and He Yan—even if it was just a moment when they passed by each other, or simply seeing him from a distance.

As long as there was something, it would be enough.

In the novel, the original host was just one of many vicious female supporting characters, and not much detail was written about her.

Yun Shuning pressed her hand to her forehead. Since she couldn’t find any answers in the novel, she had to rely on the original host’s memories.

She could recall the original host’s memories, but they were all vague and blurry, like looking through a veil.

Like her, the original host had lost her parents at a young age. But unlike Yun Shuning, she wasn’t sent to an orphanage—instead, she was passed around and raised by various relatives.

Life under someone else’s roof was hard, which made the original host good at reading the room and pretending to be someone she wasn’t.

She acted the same way in front of the male lead, He Chen.

The original host knew He Chen liked someone else. She also figured out from other people’s attitudes why she was receiving preferential treatment. Yet she still pretended like she didn’t know anything.

In private, she had investigated the relationship and dynamic between the male and female leads. She subtly mimicked some of the female lead’s qualities—like strength, bravery, independence, and resilience.

At the same time, she knew she couldn’t stay a substitute forever, so she made sure to emphasize how she differed from the female lead. For example, the female lead often smiled—gently, happily. But the original host acted the opposite: calm and composed.

She never showed any hint of affection for the male lead to anyone. She knew that things that came too easily weren’t valued.

If she revealed her feelings, then she’d be no different from all the other women who liked the male lead.

She kept things strictly business between them, but would occasionally let her concern for him show—just enough to be noticed, never more.

In a sense, if the female lead hadn’t returned, the original host might have actually succeeded given some more time.

But the female lead did return.

It was like the original host lost all her intelligence. She stopped being rational, began encouraging other female characters to go after the female lead, and secretly spread rumors about the male lead’s love life after the heroine had left—some true, some false.

Thinking of this, Yun Shuning lowered her hand from her forehead and rubbed her legs, which had gone a bit numb from sitting in the same position for too long.

She didn’t know whether to feel relieved that the original host had never directly acted herself—most of what she did was through manipulation, except for one time when she personally ruined a dress.

If that’s the case, then maybe the lie she told earlier had a bit of truth in it after all.

After all, the things she did could, from another perspective, be seen as a way to show the female lead who the male lead really was.

Still, the most important thing now was figuring out—or making up—a believable story about how she and He Yan met.

What should she do?

Yun Shuning looked at the photo hanging on the wall not far away. Her heart stirred slightly—she might’ve just found their “first encounter.”