"In that case, I won't be your stand-in anymore!" Wen Yao's decisive voice resounded in the entire ward, startling the two of them and leaving them feeling very surprised.
Wen Yao, who used to be deferential and even dare not speak loudly in front of them, now dared to sarcastically criticize and resist them, which completely caught them off guard.
Wen Rou's anger immediately surged to the top of her head.
She pointed at Wen Yao and shouted, "Fine, I'll see what you are without me."
After saying this, Wen Rou slammed the door and left, but her agent Yuan Min did not rush to follow her. Instead, she tried to console Wen Yao, "Yao Yao, what my sister did was wrong, but you also know that she has a bad temper. She didn't have bad intentions. This time, she's so angry because your delay in work has resulted in a substantial penalty for breach of contract, which is the money that is supposed to save our parents..."
In the original owner's memory, Yuan Min had used this argument time and time again to brainwash her, making her willingly become her sister's stand-in and take on her work.
Unfortunately, the present Wen Yao was no longer the same as before.
Wen Yao said, "Please understand that this work originally belonged to Wen Rou. Besides, if Wen Rou really cares about our parents, then why does she repeatedly use them to threaten me?"
The current Wen Yao was articulate, completely dominating the conversation, in stark contrast to the timid girl who used to blame herself as weak whenever she mentioned the medical expenses for their parents.
Yuan Min clearly sensed that something was wrong. She forced a smile and continued to console, "Yao Yao, you have misunderstood us. You don't know how difficult it is to establish yourself in the entertainment industry. My sister has no background. If she doesn't work hard, how can she compete with those who have connections?"
"In the entertainment industry, new faces emerge every two or three months. You only see your own difficulties, but you completely overlook my sister's problems. You are just standing in for her in filming, but she has to deal with the media, investors, and those bosses. She is just a young girl like you."
There was a touch of compassion and helplessness on Yuan Min's face.
Wen Yao watched this scene, if it weren't for the clear memories in her mind, she would have watched it as a bystander very clearly, and she really was moved by Yuan Min's words.
"Manager Yuan, it's a pity that you don't act." Yuan Min took great pains to force out tears, but Wen Yao still had a look of indifference.
She felt a bit uncertain in her heart, but she also knew that saying more was not beneficial.
Yuan Min sighed, and said with deep concern, "Yao Yao, you've been greatly affected today. Rest and heal your wounds early, I'll go see my sister."
Wen Yao watched Yuan Min's departing figure and let out a sigh of relief.
She really didn't want to see such a person for even a moment.
But after witnessing the ugly behavior of the two, Wen Yao felt even more determined to make them pay the price.
---
Sitting in the nanny car not far from the hospital, Wen Rou had already calmed down and was leisurely drinking juice and enjoying the air conditioning.
When Yuan Min got into the car, her expression was somewhat solemn.
Wen Rou, who was accustomed to observing others' words and expressions, immediately asked, "What was Yao Yao's attitude?"
Yuan Min frowned slightly, and answered with concern, "After this, she probably won't act as a stand-in anymore."
Three years ago, due to their poor family circumstances, the Wen family couldn't afford to send both children to school, so the parents, who favored their younger daughter, chose to have the older sister, Wen Yao, drop out of school and work to support the family.
At that time, Wen Yao had just graduated from junior high school and, being under 16 years old, could only work as a general laborer in a small restaurant.
Coincidentally, a film crew came to this small restaurant for a shoot and needed a few extras with a few lines. The director chose Wen Yao because of her good looks.
Although Wen Yao had never acted before, she had a better on-screen presence than professional actors, and she smoothly made it through her first scene. The director thought she had potential and recommended her to the manager, Yuan Min.
Yuan Min informed the Wen family of the news.
It was supposed to be Wen Yao acting, but it was Wen Rou who showed up in front of her instead.
The two sisters looked identical, so Yuan Min was initially not aware of the switch.
By the time Yuan Min found out, she was furious, but it was too late. Coupled with Wen Yao's timid and weak personality, she was not suitable for the entertainment industry, while Wen Rou was clever and shrewd and fit in well.
So, the mistake was allowed to continue.
In terms of acting, Wen Yao had more talent and charisma than Wen Rou, so Wen Yao became Wen Rou's stand-in.
Whenever Wen Rou couldn't or wouldn't act in a scene, Wen Yao would take her place.
So, if Wen Yao were to go on strike this time, it would cause significant loss to Wen Rou, and Yuan Min was worried.
However, after hearing this, Wen Rou treated it like a joke and nonchalantly replied, "Yuan Jie, don't worry, even if Wen Yao had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare."
Yuan Min felt that things weren't as easy as Wen Rou made them sound.
She reminded her, "Even a rabbit will bite when it's cornered."
"Compared to her, using a rabbit to make a comparison is giving her too much credit," Wen Rou said in a relaxed manner as she took out two different styles of lipstick from her bag. After hesitating for a moment, she chose Wen Rou's pinkish-red one and applied some makeup.
After finishing, she continued, "I've known her for over ten years. I'm very familiar with her personality. She's been timid all these years."
Wen Yao was timid and clumsy, while Wen Rou was smart, articulate, and had never lost to Wen Yao in anything - whether it was vying for their parents' affection when they were young or anything else. Even if there was an opportunity that fell into Wen Yao's lap, Wen Rou would effortlessly snatch it away. So, she was confident that she could easily control Wen Yao.
Moreover, their parents were still in the hospital, and the medical expenses were almost six figures for a month. If it wasn't for her money, they would have died long ago.
Wen Yao deeply cherished family ties and was filial; even if she wanted to resist, she wouldn't dare to neglect her parents.
Counting on this, Wen Rou wasn't worried at all that Wen Yao would leave her.
Seeing Wen Rou's confident look, Yuan Min recalled the sisters' interactions over the years and also felt that Wen Yao didn't have that much courage, so she relaxed.
Still, she advised, "Rou Rou, it's better to show some humility to your sister in a couple of days. Without her, you wouldn't be this comfortable now."
Even though Wen Rou wasn't yet 18, she had already become shrewd and worldly-wise. She nodded and said, "Yeah, I know my limits."
Wen Rou thought to herself that Wen Yao was very easy to manipulate - a simple word of comfort and she would be all right. It was simple.
---
This day had seen too much happen, and even with the memories of her original self, Wen Yao found it difficult to digest.
Everything in this world was completely different from the Great Xing dynasty, and for a moment, she found it hard to completely integrate herself into this world.
She had been lying on the hospital bed all day, not only feeling physically uncomfortable but also feeling as if her thoughts were trapped in this room.
Her left arm was the only thing injured, and it didn't affect her ability to move.
So, after flipping off the bed, she stretched her muscles and walked out of the room, deciding to get more familiar with her surroundings.
As she walked down the stairs, everything seemed so new and interesting to Wen Yao. Unknowingly, she had arrived at the lobby on the ground floor.
The lobby was very spacious, with magical self-service devices and a large screen that kept changing images near the door.
Although combining memory, Wen Yao knew what those were, she was still very curious. Just as she approached to take a closer look, she was suddenly stopped by two girls.
The two girls who appeared suddenly looked at her with surprise on their faces and seemed very excited.
"Gentle! Ah, is it really you, Gentle?"
"I'm not gentle..."
Before Wen Yao could finish denying, the other person excitedly grasped her uninjured right hand.
"Rou Rou, it's really you, Rou Rou!"
"Oh my, I really didn't expect to run into you. I really liked the fox fairy legend you acted in recently. You were so cute in it."
The two girls were so excited that Wen Yao couldn't get a word in edgewise.
After the confession, the two girls finally realized that Wen Yao was wearing a patient gown and had a cast on her hand.
The expressions on their faces quickly changed from excitement to worry and concern, and they anxiously showed their care.
After showing concern, the two girls cautiously asked, "Rou Rou, can we take a picture together?"
Wen Yao had been fighting in the battlefield all day and had long stopped considering herself as a girl. Her thoughts were influenced by the brothers in the military camp, making her more masculine.
She hadn't been in contact with young girls for a long time, so when she saw the two girls looking at her with expectation, even though she wasn't gentle, she couldn't bear to refuse and nodded.
Seeing their favorite actress, the two girls were so excited that they attracted the attention of others in the hospital lobby.
Due to her age, there were limited roles that Rou could play. She wasn't extremely popular yet, but she already had titles like "National Sister" and "National Daughter," so she was quite well-known.
Soon, like the two girls, others mistook her for Rou and crowded around with their phones.
Wen Yao noticed that something seemed off and couldn't care about it too much, so she quickly left.
As a martial artist, Wen Yao's reaction was extremely fast even when injured, and she quickly broke free from the crowd and returned to her hospital room.
After returning to the room, Wen Yao quickly calmed down, and her expression became serious.
After the recent incident, Wen Yao realized how difficult it would be to shake off the name "Rou" and no longer be her shadow because of her face that was identical to gentle's.
For years, much of the work attributed to Rou was actually completed by Wen Yao, but only Rou received fame and fortune.
Everybody only knew about Rou, and not about Wen Yao.
In other words, no matter where she went, she would be mistaken for Rou, and she couldn't explain herself everywhere she went.
If she wanted to clear her name, she had to expose everything and make it public.
In the vast world, ordinary people had no right to make it public.
In this world, although everyone could expose something through the media to gain widespread attention, the reality was not as optimistic as it seemed.
Especially in the entertainment industry where the original owner and her sister worked.
In this circle, people with fame and a fan base held more power of speech, while those without fame and fortune found it difficult to fight for their rights.
Rou belonged to the former, while Wen Yao was the latter.
Wen Yao understood that in any era, it was the survival of the fittest.
If she wanted to get rid of Rou and make her pay for everything she had done, there was only one way!
That was to be stronger and have more power and appeal than Rou.