Ning Manqing was a bit bewildered after her girlfriend suddenly hung up on her. She didn’t understand why hearing that she was with an Alpha would make her girlfriend want to go dye her hair.
And this Alpha was Mu Xiao; even if Ning Manqing were still a Beta, she wouldn’t possibly have eyes for him.
Ning Manqing felt a mixture of exasperation, amusement, and helplessness. Worried that Li Chu, who had been drinking heavily, might get into trouble, she bid farewell to Mu Xiao.
Mu Xiao stood there, watching Ning Manqing and her assistant’s retreating figures, then looked at his special assistant with some confusion.
“I thought she was a workaholic like me.”
Why could she just leave so casually mid-conversation?
They hadn’t even finished discussing the project. Discussing it sooner meant earning the money sooner.
“She might be, but she has love,” the special assistant replied with a smile, trying to be polite yet masking the awkwardness.
Mu Xiao: …
Minimal damage, maximum insult.
The special assistant pressed the elevator button. In the time it took for them to wait for the elevator, Ning Manqing had already exited the building.
As she walked out, she called Yuanzi to ask if she was with Li Chu.
“Boss, I am. She seems a bit drunk, but she’s fine for now.”
Yuanzi stood in a corner, watching Li Chu holding Ming Zhi’s hand and partying hard, reporting the situation to her boss.
Ning Manqing felt slightly relieved. She didn’t ask her assistant to drive. Slipping off her high heels and changing into another pair of shoes, she sat in the driver’s seat and turned on the navigation for the address.
Although couples weren’t obligated to report their every move to each other, Tao Tao sneaking off to a club behind her back, getting drunk, calling her, and then hanging up on her definitely warranted a little lesson.
Li Chu was completely unaware that her girlfriend was on the warpath. She held Ming Zhi’s hand, jumping and crying simultaneously.
And with great professional integrity, she didn’t even take off her mask while crying.
“You don’t know, she doesn’t love me at all! Sob sob sob, she’s just pretending to love me! After we do it, she doesn’t even hold me, even though she was so sweet to me during the day!”
Li Chu shed tears all over the place, crying with infinite grievance.
Alcohol muddled her thoughts and senses. For a moment, she couldn’t distinguish what was real, what was fake, what was in the drama, and what was outside of it. She just felt incredibly sad.
Ming Zhi had been eighty percent drunk, but Li Chu’s crying sobered her up slightly. Breaking out in a cold sweat, she covered Li Chu’s mouth and dragged her towards their booth.
Only after ensuring no one could overhear them did Ming Zhi ask, “Who? Who’s such a beast? How dare they treat you like this?”
“I can’t say, sob sob sob. If I say it, it’s over.”
Li Chu shook her head, her cheeks flushed crimson where the mask didn’t cover.
“Someone inside the industry or outside?”
“Inside.”
“Break up, break up immediately! Secret relationships are prone to problems anyway. You’re on the rise right now. Although you’re not an idol, as an Omega, you still have many boyfriend and girlfriend fans. But that’s not the main point; you rely on your acting skills anyway. The point is that person doesn’t like you.”
Li Chu choked back tears. “But I like her. I really love her so much. She’s with someone else right now, I’m going to dye my hair too!”
Ming Zhi looked at her, exasperated. “It’s already come to this, what’s the point of dyeing your hair! You know she doesn’t like you anymore, so get out quickly. Which trashy Alpha is it? That Zhao Zhichun guy?”
Although Ming Zhi didn’t surf the internet much, she occasionally scrolled through Weibo and knew about some trending topics.
Ming Zhi hadn’t believed it initially; there was too much fake news online. Unless the person admitted it themselves or there was solid proof, she usually treated it as false.
Since she wasn’t particularly gossipy, she hadn’t specifically asked about it back then, and she wasn’t very familiar with Li Chu’s social circle.
Now, based on Li Chu’s account, this was the only candidate that came to her mind first.
Li Chu paused, still immersed in the world of Fu Yuan and Lin Lang. Who was Zhao Zhichun?
Zhao what-chun? Was there such a person?
Ming Zhi thought her silence was confirmation and clenched her fists.
“Little sister, listen to my advice. Don’t invest feelings in someone unworthy. Even some worthy people become unworthy later on. It’s still early for you to pull back, you know?”
Ming Zhi was furious and poured herself a drink to calm down.
“No… it’s not like that… There’s no such person you mentioned, the plot isn’t like that…”
Li Chu mumbled, her words somewhat incoherent. Ming Zhi’s already fuzzy brain became even more confused.
“What? Ah, whatever. Just break up, that’s the right thing to do.”
Ming Zhi couldn’t sort it out either, but who cared? Regardless of who the person was, since they acted that way, they deserved to be dumped.
Following Yuanzi’s directions, Ning Manqing spotted her girlfriend sitting in the booth, gesturing wildly.
As she approached, she heard the other party advising a breakup like a sympathetic agony aunt.
??????
Ming Zhi was denouncing her as a scumbag who deserved to be dumped. Ning Manqing grew even more confused.
How did things suddenly reach this point?
What had she done?
Seeing someone approach, Ming Zhi immediately stopped talking, looking warily at the newcomer.
When she saw the person reach out to touch Li Chu, she prepared to intervene, only to see Li Chu joyfully throw herself into the person’s embrace.
“Tao Tao, let’s go home.”
Ning Manqing stroked Li Chu’s hair. When Li Chu got very close, she smelled the familiar and comforting scent and rubbed against her haphazardly for a moment.
“Sister Zhi.”
Ning Manqing greeted Ming Zhi, removing her own mask so Ming Zhi could see her face.
Ming Zhi knew Ning Manqing and knew they had a good relationship, so she relaxed.
“I’ll take her with me first.”
“Okay, but wait a moment,” Ming Zhi stopped Ning Manqing, hesitating before saying, “You and Li Zi have a good relationship, try to persuade her. Since she’s feeling pain in a relationship, she should get out early. Otherwise, the deeper she falls, the more tormented she’ll be.”
Ning Manqing’s expression became increasingly strange. She asked, “Did she say this herself?”
Why would she feel pain? Ning Manqing had never shown any rejection towards her. She thought they had always been sweet together. Was it just her illusion?
“Yes, she was crying so hard. That person probably isn’t that Zhao what’s-his-name?”
Ning Manqing practically gritted her teeth as she said, “No.”
“Can you tell me more details? What did she tell you?”
Ning Manqing had intended to just carry her girlfriend away, but now she sat back down directly.
Ming Zhi said in surprise, “You don’t know?”
Ning Manqing said expressionlessly, “I know she and her girlfriend have a very good relationship. I didn’t know there was such an inside story.”
“Actually, I don’t know the details very clearly either. She was drunk just now, mumbling incoherently. Basically, that person pretends to love her very much but doesn’t actually love her much, not even holding her after… you know. She was crying very pitifully.”
“It feels like she really likes that person. Since you’re close to her, don’t let her continue like this.”
Hearing this somewhat familiar plot, Ning Manqing seemed to realize what was going on.
Her previously gloomy face immediately cleared up. Looking at Li Chu clinging to her and whimpering, that feeling of wanting to laugh and cry surged back.
“Sister Zhi, you misunderstood. This is actually the plot of the TV series we’re currently filming. She just got too immersed in her role.”
Ming Zhi’s expression could be described with ten thousand ‘whys’.
“Get her out of here. Right now.”
Ming Zhi reverted to her cool and aloof queenly demeanor, pointing at Li Chu.
“Okay, goodbye.”
Ning Manqing readily agreed and bid Ming Zhi farewell.
Feeling like she’d been made a fool of, Ming Zhi lost the mood to party on the spot and went straight to a private room to drink alone.
After two bottles, she seemed to realize something – maybe she hadn’t been completely fooled.
At least Li Chu was really dating someone, right?
Something was fishy. Ning Manqing’s reaction was suspicious.
Either the two of them were dating, or Li Chu had a partner and Ning Manqing was just a tool. Otherwise, why wasn’t the girlfriend picking her up, but someone else instead?
Actually, it wasn’t impossible, considering Li Chu’s partner was a scumbag.
No, wait, that was the script’s content.
Ming Zhi got herself tangled up and angrily opened a new bottle.
Outside the bar, Yuanzi and Ning Manqing’s work assistant had already left. Ning Manqing helped Li Chu into the car.
Li Chu was still restless in the car, fidgeting constantly.
“Behave yourself. You’ll get what’s coming to you when we get back.”
Ning Manqing patted Li Chu’s bottom, a small warning.
Li Chu whimpered and whined, leaning against the car window and looking outside. When she saw the colorful spinning barber pole outside a salon, she waved excitedly.
“I want to go dye my hair!”
“Dye what hair? Sit properly.”
“No! You don’t want me anymore, you’re going to abandon me!”
Li Chu’s mask was off now, her eyes still moist with unshed tears, tinged with sadness.
Perhaps she had never truly felt secure; she had merely suppressed all her unstable emotions deep down.
And after getting into character, Fu Yuan’s psyche constantly influenced her. After Fu Yuan’s fall from grace, she was no longer that proud, spirited princess. She would become very insecure, especially in front of the excellent person she loved.
Alcohol mixed and ignited all emotions, causing all words and feelings to be expressed without thought.
“How could I abandon you? The drama and reality are different. Even in the drama, Lin Lang wouldn’t abandon Fu Yuan.”
Ning Manqing’s heart ached seeing Li Chu’s red-rimmed eyes. She had initially planned to take Li Chu to a hotel since she didn’t own property nearby, but clearly, her girlfriend wasn’t in a suitable state for that. She had no choice but to drive the car towards a secluded area.
“But doesn’t Lin Lang have many other choices? Why doesn’t she like Fu Yuan? Is it because Fu Yuan isn’t good enough? Because Fu Yuan doesn’t know many things and isn’t very smart?”
Li Chu asked confusedly. As she breathed, the scent of peach pheromones filled the car, like a layer of cool, soft frosting settling on Ning Manqing.
“It’s not like that. Love isn’t defined that way. Everyone’s understanding and expression of love are different. Lin Lang has already given Fu Yuan all the affection she can offer. It’s a matter of their personalities.”
Ning Manqing patiently answered her muddled, drunken girlfriend while watching the road conditions, finding a suitable spot, and parking the car.
“Actually, many things can be resolved just by talking properly. But some people are destined not to do that. But we can’t be like that, okay?”
Ning Manqing lowered Li Chu’s seatback. The slowly reclining Xiao Chu looked a bit lost.
“I hope you can tell me anything. Why didn’t you tell me you hadn’t gotten out of character yet?”
Getting too immersed in a role could actually be fatal for an actor. Omegas’ innate talent was their emotional perception; they empathized more easily, making them more prone to getting stuck in a character.
Back on the set of 《Die at Dawn and Dusk》, Li Chu had actually gotten too deep into character many times without realizing it herself.
Ning Manqing would keep an eye on her back then. Sometimes, when Ning Manqing wasn’t there and had to film other scenes, the other experienced actors or the director present would watch Li Chu.
Helping someone out of character wasn’t too difficult; it was about making them distinguish between the drama and reality, between themselves and the character.
Ning Manqing would secretly pull her into a corner for a kiss, discuss specific matters with her, or ask what she wanted for dinner. The other teachers did similar things, except for the first one, of course.
Perhaps after honing her skills through several more dramas, Ning Manqing noticed Li Chu got out of character much faster in this series and didn’t seem too deeply immersed. As a result, she had been careless and failed to notice it today.
Drunk Li Chu struggled to understand Ning Manqing’s words. Finding it too difficult, she gave up trying and wrapped her arms around Ning Manqing’s neck.
“Teacher Ning, I feel uncomfortable.”
Alcohol flowed through her bloodstream, bringing not only emotional turmoil and rising body temperature.
“Teacher Ning, kiss kiss.”
Drunk Xiao Chu was even juicier, plump and watery-eyed.
“You’re not allowed to do this again next time. Promise me, then you can have a kiss.”
“I promise, I promise.”
Li Chu nodded haphazardly, living in a drunken dream, unaware of the time or reality.
Privacy window film was quite a good invention. On this deserted, secluded path, no one knew what was happening here.
Although the space was narrow and restrictive, given her previous experience, Ning Manqing wasn’t exactly clumsy.
Tonight’s Xiao Chu was no longer Shy Xiao Chu, but Fiery Xiao Chu.
The sweet fragrance swirled in the air, trapped within the confined space, making the pheromone scent even richer.
Li Chu succumbed amidst the intoxicating chaos; Ning Manqing descended into madness while remaining clear-headed.
Alcohol evaporated through sweat during the continuous movement.
Outside, early autumn leaves fell; inside, moisture dripped from the peach, snow-white and voluptuous, yet elegantly restrained.
Pale pink fingertips left several prints on the car window, then slid down through the condensation, leaving a few crooked trails.
The boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness was like the evening sky, where daylight merged with the clarity of night.
That streak of sunset cloud seemed to land by a lover’s temple, like a missive of desire.
Li Chu sobered up during the second round. Remembering the foolish things she had done, her body stiffened involuntarily.
“Looks like you’re awake?”
Li Chu didn’t dare speak, whimpering and whining, trying to bluff her way through again.
“Since you’re awake, let’s talk about dyeing your hair. Or perhaps, let’s discuss how I supposedly didn’t hold you. If you can’t explain clearly, I’ll open two bottles of wine for you. Want another drink?”
Ning Manqing’s lips were crimson, her fox-like eyes holding a teasing glint.
“No, no, no, please don’t say any more. I was wrong, okay?”
Li Chu clamped a hand over her mouth, pleading coquettishly to stop her from continuing with those soul-crushing words.
She had already suffered social death, social death! Not only did she embarrass herself in front of her girlfriend, but she also embarrassed herself in front of Ming Zhi.
Alcohol is the devil!!!
Ning Manqing pulled Li Chu’s hand away, her expression unmoved by Li Chu’s coaxing.
“Apologizing doesn’t work for some things.”
“Then I’ll sing for you? Act cute for you? Big sister, kiss kiss, please stop, please stop.”
Li Chu used every ounce of her being to prevent her recent actions from being brought up again; that would undoubtedly be like torturing her all over again.
It turned out that when a girlfriend decided to be ruthless, even pleading and begging were useless.
“You’re abusing me!”
Li Chu’s eyes welled up with tears, sobbing intermittently because of Ning Manqing’s actions.
How could she hit her little sister! Don’t think this flower can’t cry!
“Then let’s switch places.”
“Ow! My mom never even spanked me! I’m twenty-three, not three!”
If I have sinned, please let the law punish me, instead of letting me feel my girlfriend’s ruthlessness, like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, in this place!
“I really don’t know what to do with you. Let’s switch back to the original spot then.”
Ning Manqing sighed softly, naturally easing up her hand slightly. Otherwise, Li Chu would have to take leave tomorrow.
Li Chu could only tearfully admit she was wrong, promise she would never sneak off to a club to party again, never drink too much again, and never want to dye her hair green again.
Although, speaking of which, her skin was quite fair. Dyeing it green might actually look quite good?
After all, that was the color of life!
“Can you distinguish between the drama and reality now?”
Ning Manqing slowly wiped the moisture from her hands, her eyes lowered, like a strict teacher.
The student trembled, nodding tearfully.
Distinguished, distinguished, absolutely distinguished. Damn it, Lin Lang would never do something so perverted.
“Teacher Ning, how can you get out of character so quickly?”
Setting aside their relationship status, purely from a professional standpoint, Li Chu truly envied this ability.
“You rely too much on emotional substitution. Continuing like this is dangerous. You need to shape a character, become a character, not substitute yourself into a character.”
Ning Manqing believed that to portray a character, one needed their own understanding, interpret it in their own way, control her, become her. Sometimes, characters might have broadly similar personalities, but they would differ in subtle situations. Therefore, sometimes one needed to define her further, adding realism and charm to the character.
Li Chu studied diligently amidst her sniffles and sobs. It had to be said, this lesson was extremely memorable, especially since the teacher was very strict and intimidating.
Li Chu had the constitution of a normal Omega, easily susceptible to pain, but also prone to heightened neurological sensory feedback at certain times.
Earlier, when she tried to coax her way out of trouble, she had offered to sing. Later, she indeed sang for quite a long time.
Melodious cries, rising and falling in pitch.
After this incident, Comrade Xiao Chu, having suffered social death, decided to quit drinking.
Actually, tonight wasn’t the real disaster for Li Chu. Having to brace herself and explain things to Ming Zhi the next day was the truly, mortifyingly awkward experience.
Li Chu’s toes practically went to work, digging out a Barbie Dreamhouse out of sheer cringe as she stammered through the explanation with Ming Zhi.
Fortunately, the understanding Ming Zhi didn’t press further. She only asked with concern if Li Chu felt unwell from drinking too much.
“Next time I invite you out for drinks, you should just stick to fruit beer or soft drinks. Your alcohol tolerance is truly the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Ming Zhi teased with a smile, and Li Chu happily agreed.
Li Chu: “Who knows when we’ll meet next time. Let’s get together again when we have time!”
“Okay.”
Li Chu originally thought her next meeting with Ming Zhi wouldn’t be until the end of the year, as there would be various galas and award ceremonies then, increasing the chances of bumping into each other.
However, she didn’t expect to encounter Ming Zhi again so soon, and in a way she hadn’t anticipated and didn’t want to accept.
In mid-October, filming for 《Model Couple》 wrapped up.
This was a TV series, not a movie. Although the script described the ending for the two characters, the ending part wasn’t necessarily filmed during production.
Often, most TV series or movies would stop short, because things fully revealed lose their sense of beauty and anticipation.
In the drama, Fu Yuan and Lin Lang’s story paused on a promise between them.
— Lin Lang, when you turn 30, will you take me traveling around the world?
— Okay.
Such a standard fairy tale ending. After Ning Manqing explained her understanding of the character Lin Lang, Li Chu felt that perhaps the story had other possible endings.
After all, a person’s life is so long. Since they could be a model couple into old age, perhaps one day they would talk things through, perhaps one day Lin Lang would fall in love with Fu Yuan, or perhaps Fu Yuan would find peace… In short, there were infinite possibilities.
After wrapping up filming, Li Chu had to bid farewell to her busy girlfriend and throw herself back into her own busy schedule.
After running two promotional events post-wrap-up, Li Chu attended a charity gala.
The attendees included not only people from the entertainment industry but also various wealthy merchants and socialites.
Li Chu spotted Ning Manqing’s idiot younger brother, Ning Yuxi, from afar.
Ning Yuxi didn’t see Li Chu, and Li Chu was happy to be left alone, planning to bid on something within her means, donate the money, and leave.
The item Li Chu wanted to bid on was later in the auction, so she went to the restroom midway.
Perhaps due to the recent drop in temperature, and having to dress beautifully for such occasions—unable to stick heat packs inside her gown—Li Chu had to endure the cold. As a result, her stomach protested.
After using the restroom, Li Chu pushed open the stall door. Feeling a bit dizzy, possibly from low blood sugar, she stepped back against the door panel to steady herself.
It was at this moment that she heard voices outside.
“I don’t know when his taste became so bad.”
The scoffing voice from outside startled Li Chu, as it was a man’s voice. A few seconds later, she realized, oh, this was the Omega restroom.
The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Li Chu couldn’t place it.
“You’ve already sent the person to his room? You work pretty fast. I mean, it was one thing when he liked those cute little starlets before, but now he’s actually interested in a divorced Omega. What’s so good about an old woman? Although, that singer’s voice is indeed quite nice, gotta admit she sings really well. Wonder what she sounds like when she screams.”
Damn it, this familiar, punchable tone—who else could it be but Ning Yuxi?
Outside the door, Ning Yuxi glanced at the open restroom stalls and continued speaking into the phone, ridiculing their mutual friend.
“My taste isn’t as bad as his. That new deep-voiced Beta your company signed is pretty good. What’s his name, Cheng Tong, right? Bring him over for a drink later?”
Leaning against the inside of the stall door, Li Chu felt a growing sense of unease for some reason. She took out her phone and searched for the person Ning Yuxi mentioned, discovering that this person belonged to the same company as Ming Zhi.
Li Chu pinched the flesh of her palm to force herself to calm down, but Ning Yuxi’s next words made her explode.
“No way, don’t tell me you’re reluctant? Didn’t even that old woman nod in agreement? How come Ming Zhi’s commercial value can’t compare to this newcomer? Are you saying I’m less important to you than that Chen Min?”
“Fine, it’s settled then. Hanging up.”
Ning Yuxi hung up the phone and suddenly felt a chill behind him. He turned around and was kicked to the ground.
“Where is Ming Zhi now?”
Li Chu stepped on Ning Yuxi, leaning down to pin him, her eyes cold and menacing.
Ning Yuxi shivered. Seeing her eyes just now, he thought he had seen Ning Manqing.
What the hell.
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