Switched Life:I Went Viral on a Family Variety Show
Chapter 205: So Beautiful, It’s Impossible to Distinguish Between Male and Female

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: So Beautiful, It’s Impossible to Distinguish Between Male and Female

Wen Jiu’s words sank in for Sang Ning: experience different emotions more often.

Since she had already decided to pursue acting, she had to give it her all.

So, now sitting at the dinner table, she wasn’t as detached as before. Instead, she was seriously observing everyone and trying to sense their emotions while they spoke.

By the end of the gathering, both Qin Kai and Shen Yi were looking at her differently, their gazes laden with curiosity and a hint of disbelief.

Sang Ning felt uncomfortable being scrutinized like that and couldn’t help but ask, "Do I have something on my face? You’re staring at me like you’re burning holes through me!"

"Nothing really, just suddenly felt like you’re... human now."

Shen Yi’s words were as aggravating as always, and Sang Ning didn’t hold back, giving him a good punch.

To prevent things from escalating, Qin Kai quickly stepped in to explain, "Sangsang, what Shen Yi meant is that you’re finally becoming a genuine friend to us."

Really? Sang Ning didn’t feel it herself; she had simply paid a little more attention to them during the conversation than usual.

After the dinner, Chu Xi posted on her Moments with a picture of the feast but no people in it, captioned #LittleJoysAmongFriends#.

Just then, Li Juezhou messaged Sang Ning asking what she was up to. She quickly liked Chu Xi’s Moments post, replied with #PolitePhotoThief#, downloaded the picture, and sent it to Li Juezhou: [Just had dinner with friends.]

Chu Xi noticed the notification for her Moments and thought it must be Shen Yi liking her post. But upon checking, it was actually Sang Ning’s cheeky photo theft request.

Even Qin Kai liked it, yet Shen Yi had done nothing. Chu Xi was so annoyed that she replied to Sang Ning: [Boycott photo thieves!]

Ten minutes later, Chu Xi checked Moments again, and Shen Yi still hadn’t liked her post. Feeling suddenly disheartened, she angrily deleted it.

She immediately replaced it with an emo sticker and posted a new Moments update: [Mood suddenly went downhill.]

Not long after, people started commenting on her post.

Qin Kai: [What’s wrong? Weren’t you just fine earlier?]

Chu Xi replied with a crying emoji, offering no further explanation.

Sang Ning responded bluntly: [If your mood isn’t beautiful, I’ll be beautiful for you.]

Seeing Sang Ning’s reply, Chu Xi was so angry she nearly suffered a heart attack again. She waited another half-hour, but still, Shen Yi hadn’t commented at all.

Frustrated, Chu Xi deleted her post again—out of sight, out of mind!

Meanwhile, Li Juezhou received the picture Sang Ning sent. In return, he sent back a cold photo of a hospital bed he had taken before being discharged.

Li Juezhou: [A so-called feast—turns out I wasn’t worthy of it after all.]

One reply wasn’t enough to express his grievance, so Li Juezhou followed up with several more messages.

[What, I’m not your friend anymore?]

[I lie in a freezing hospital bed with an IV drip while you’re out feasting and even sending me pictures to taunt me. Does that seem right to you?]

Sang Ning immediately withdrew the picture: [Alright, since that’s the case, I’m revoking your privilege to dine vicariously through me.]

Li Juezhou: [Are you mad?]

Sang Ning was puzzled. What was there to be mad about? She was clearly teasing Li Juezhou—the guy couldn’t tell?

Mildly melancholic: [I’m no Angry Bird. Do I look like someone who gets mad so easily?]

Li Juezhou: [Then, may I have the honor of dining with you tomorrow night?]

Thinking about the ten feasts she had promised Li Juezhou, Sang Ning figured she’d start repaying him one meal at a time.

She checked her rehearsal schedule and saw that it wouldn’t clash with dinner. She sent him an "OK" emoji sticker.

Mildly melancholic: [Same rules as usual, you pick the venue. But this time, make sure it’s upscale. I don’t want to end up sending you back to the hospital.]

After sending this, she thought it sounded inappropriate, so she added: [Don’t want to accidentally get you hospitalized again.]

**

The next day.

The production team had arranged four rehearsal rooms. The 24 actors in the ensemble performance competition moved into the rooms assigned to their respective groups.

The first activity for each group was to study the script. A screenwriter was designated to each rehearsal room to oversee and provide guidance. They were given two hours to analyze the script, during which they could ask the screenwriter questions directly.

Due to time constraints for the show, each group’s performance was limited to 15 minutes, so the script wasn’t too lengthy. Two hours was plenty to read through and familiarize themselves with it.

Once they got the script, everyone found a quiet corner to read. The rehearsal room was suddenly hushed, the only sound being the rustle of turning pages.

Sang Ning’s group was given a historical political intrigue script, set in the fictional Great Zhou dynasty.

The story revolved around an insidious eunuch attempting to overthrow the regime, who was eventually outmaneuvered and brought down by various forces working together.

The scene they were going to perform was the eunuch’s final confrontation with these forces before meeting his end—a pivotal climax.

Besides the eunuch, the other roles included the Emperor, the Crown Prince, the eunuch’s lover, the eunuch’s adoptive daughter, and the General protecting the nation.

The most frustrating part of the script was that Sang Ning’s group had three female participants, but there were only two female characters in the script.

Predictably, Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina were both eager to compete for the roles of the eunuch’s lover and adoptive daughter.

After reading the script, the two girls turned their hopeful gazes onto Sang Ning.

When Sang Ning looked up from the script, she immediately met their expectant stares. Without hesitation, she rejected them, "Do you think my face resembles a eunuch or an Emperor?"

Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina exchanged glances, then looked back at Sang Ning and spoke in unison, "I think you look like a eunuch."

Sang Ning: "..."

How did a discussion about roles turn into a personal attack?

"No, no, that’s not what we meant!" Wang Qiuhong grew anxious, fearing Sang Ning would get upset, waving her hands frantically.

She then rushed up to Sang Ning, flipping to a specific page in the script. Pointing to a particular line, she said to Sang Ning, "Sang Ning, take a look here. The script describes the eunuch as young but deeply cunning, appearance both delicate and gender-ambiguous, so stunning it’s hard to tell male from female..."

As she spoke, Wang Qiuhong looked up at Sang Ning with a fixed stare, as if she had discovered a treasure. Her hands rose, sliding slowly from Sang Ning’s head, as if she were appraising a rare artifact.

Her eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, "Sang Ning, you—you are the epitome of androgyny!"

"Nice description, actually. She’s more like a squirming earthworm." A vexing male voice interrupted.

Lu Ye, as if he’d stumbled upon something hilarious, clutched his stomach and broke into uncontrollable laughter.

He even attempted to rally others to join him, scanning the room and asking, "Don’t you all agree with me?"

Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina, timid by nature, dared not provoke Lu Ye, someone with connections. They simply lowered their heads in silence.