The Martial Arts Stunt Double of the Entertainment Circle – Chapter 15
by Little PandaLi Guanting held Tuoba Jiao close. The frail girl sobbed in heaving gasps, her tears quickly soaking through the black T-shirt. At this moment, any other romantic notions vanished from Li Guanting’s mind—she only felt an aching tightness in her chest as she comforted Tuoba Jiao in a hoarse voice:
“Stop crying. Jiaojiao, stop crying…”
Tuoba Jiao lifted her head from the embrace. Her pretty little face was streaked with tears, her large eyes brimming with moisture, the tip of her nose and cheeks faintly red. Li Guanting frowned, pulled a tissue from the box, and gently wiped the tears from Tuoba Jiao’s face.
Tuoba Jiao reached up and grasped Li Guanting’s hand. “Tingting, why are you so good to me?”
Li Guanting answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Does treating someone well need a reason? I just like you. I like looking at you. I want you to be happy and well.”
“But I do not think I am worth all this,” Tuoba Jiao said wistfully. “You come from a good family, you are beautiful, and you have a gentle personality. If you wanted, there would be no shortage of people lining up to be your friend…”
“Do not belittle yourself like that.” Li Guanting pulled back and cupped Tuoba Jiao’s face in both hands. “What others think is their business. My eyes see only one Tuoba Jiao—no one else. It does not matter what your family is like. What I care about is you, Tuoba Jiao the person herself. It has nothing to do with your family background or status.”
“You know all of that?” Tuoba Jiao’s eyes went wide.
Li Guanting gave a self-deprecating laugh. “How could I not? That look in your grandmother’s eyes—I have seen it too many times since I was little. I am not a fool. I can tell why people befriend me.”
Tuoba Jiao gazed at Li Guanting’s striking, handsome features and buried her head in the embrace once more. “Thank you, Tingting.”
Gu Min arrived at the kitchen of the Tuoba Residence. Zhang-ma was organizing frozen meat in the refrigerator and quickly set down her work when she saw her enter. “The Young Madam is here.”
Jiang Guilan placed the utmost importance on status and hierarchy. All hired household staff were required to address the perpetually absent Tuoba Ding as Old Master, address her as Madam, address Tuoba Xiu as Eldest Young Master, and address Tuoba Jiao as Young Miss. Though Gu Min was disliked by the Tuoba family, she was still to be addressed as Young Madam—this was a rule no one dared violate.
“Zhang-ma,” Gu Min said gently, “the Madam asked me to check whether the soup is done.”
Zhang-ma wiped her hands and went to check the Ejiao Soup1 that was bubbling away on the stove. “It needs a little while longer. Have a seat, Young Madam, and let me finish organizing the refrigerator.” She pulled over a chair for Gu Min.
Gu Min said, “Let me help. The Madam told me to assist with preparing tonight’s dishes. The Eldest Miss Li is staying overnight.”
Only then did Zhang-ma dare let Gu Min lend a hand.
Life for Gu Min and her daughter was not as comfortable as the former Tuoba Yan had imagined.
Back when Tuoba Yan was three years old, Jiang Guilan had found her daughter-in-law Qiao Chunyi an eyesore no matter how she looked at her. She subjected Qiao Chunyi to every form of cold violence and emotional abuse, ordering her about in endless circles without a moment’s rest. At first, divorce had never crossed Qiao Chunyi’s mind. She was a fairly traditional woman—outwardly rebellious but, at her core, wedded to the notion of one husband for life—and she did not want her daughter to grow estranged from her grandmother and father.
But even a three-year-old could remember a few things. Grandmother Jiang Guilan’s myriad cruelties, along with father Tuoba Xiu’s cold indifference—all of it was observed by the precociously intelligent Tuoba Yan.
Everything had still been draped in a fig leaf of decency. Qiao Chunyi could deceive herself and make do—until Gu Min’s appearance shattered that equilibrium and crossed Qiao Chunyi’s bottom line.
Jiang Guilan had expended considerable effort to select Gu Min as her replacement daughter-in-law. First, the candidate had to be good-looking—the type her son Tuoba Xiu fancied. After all, a grown son would not always listen to his mother; had he not insisted on marrying that troublemaking shrew2 Qiao Chunyi in the first place? Second came family background and temperament, with priority given to a gentle-natured girl from a modest family—a modest family’s jewel3. If they really took a bride from a powerful, wealthy family, could Jiang Guilan still keep her under her thumb?
The final and most critical criterion: the ability to bear sons. Qiao Chunyi could be perfect in every other way, but the mere fact that she could not produce a son was grounds for divorce. Was the Tuoba family fortune really going to fall into the hands of collateral relatives? Jiang Guilan could not accept that.
As luck would have it, Gu Min appeared at just the right time. She was the niece of Uncle Gu, the Tuoba household butler, and had come to seek refuge with him because she had been admitted to Zhongjiang University for graduate studies. Here was someone whose background they knew inside and out—beautiful, delicate, and a university student to boot. Upon observation, her temperament proved to be utterly mild and compliant.
What sealed the deal for Jiang Guilan was that Gu Min had two younger sisters and a younger brother. In other words, her mother was clearly fertile, so the daughter would likely be the same. Though Gu Min had no interest whatsoever in Tuoba Xiu, Jiang Guilan could see that her son was quite taken with the girl—and she had no shortage of methods to help him get what he wanted.
Sure enough, Gu Min became pregnant. Jiang Guilan could not wait to break the news to Qiao Chunyi. Qiao Chunyi was a straight-shooting, hot-tempered woman who could not stomach a single grain of sand in her eye. She immediately severed all ties with Tuoba Xiu, took her daughter, and left with a divorce.
After ten months of pregnancy, Gu Min gave birth to a daughter—and never conceived again. This was enough to send Jiang Guilan into a rage of humiliation at her foiled calculations. She blamed everything on Gu Min and began to torment her daughter-in-law with vicious abandon.
Gu Min stayed silent as a saw-mouthed gourd4, enduring Jiang Guilan’s abuse without a word. She withered and sank rapidly, no longer as pretty as before, and naturally could no longer hold her husband’s heart.
Tuoba Xiu caroused outside, living it up, while Jiang Guilan tormented her daughter-in-law at home.
What utter absurdity.
While dark undercurrents surged through the Tuoba household, Tuoba Yan finished lunch, was shown around the set by Zhang Huaye, and then took the bus home.
Zhang Huaye told her to arrive early the morning after next at the Female Constable Wu Zhen’er production set at Yuying, and warned her to be prepared for long-term travel between locations. This troubled Tuoba Yan—she had no idea how to explain it to Qiao Chunyi.
The moment she entered the gates of the Old Residential Compound, Tuoba Yan felt a flutter of unease, though she could not say why. She climbed the stairs, unlocked the door—and found Qiao Chunyi stepping out of her bedroom.
“Mom…” Tuoba Yan called out weakly, a guilty conscience creeping in.
“Yanyan, when did you start going to the Yuchuan Film and Television Base?” Qiao Chunyi demanded, her face cold. “And what is this?”
Tuoba Yan looked down. In Qiao Chunyi’s hands were unmistakably the script the director had given her that day when she worked as an extra, along with a pay stub she had forgotten to throw away.
Qiao Chunyi sighed. “Stop standing there like a fool. Sit down.”
Tuoba Yan followed Qiao Chunyi to the sofa and sat down. Qiao Chunyi took her daughter’s hand, pulled back her sleeve, and revealed the scars on her wrist that had faded to near invisibility. “Yanyan, do you know what kind of place the entertainment industry is? Even good people turn bad there. Mom truly cannot bear to let you set foot in such a place.” Her eyes welled with tears as she spoke.
“Mom, do not cry. I just…” Tuoba Yan did not know what to say.
Footnotes
- 阿胶汤 | Ājiāo Tāng | Traditional tonic soup made from donkey-hide gelatin, valued in Chinese medicine for nourishing blood and replenishing vital energy.
- 搅家精 | jiǎojiājīng | Derogatory term for a woman who disrupts household harmony, implying she brings chaos and strife to the family.
- 小家碧玉 | xiǎojiābìyù | Classical idiom denoting a pretty, demure girl from a humble family, contrasted with '大家闺秀', a noble family's daughter.
- 锯嘴的葫芦 | jùzuǐ de húlu | Chinese folk simile comparing a silent, uncomplaining person to a gourd with its mouth sawed shut—sealed and mute.
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