A Scummy Alpha and An Award-Winning Omega Actress Fell in Love After an Arranged Marriage - Chapter 24.4

She explained her weak and listless voice with a simple, “I’m hungry.”

Right on cue, Sheng Lan knocked on the door, repeating the same line from the morning.

“Big sis, I brought you food.”

At the same time, Lu Xueyin received her message.

【Shan Feng】: Keep me waiting for a few minutes.

Lu Xueyin: “…”

She replied: It’s a shame you’re not working as a show planner.

Sheng Lan ignored the sarcasm, taking it as praise.

Then she continued knocking. “Big sis, I’m here to apologize.”

Lu Xueyin couldn’t figure out what game she was playing and didn’t want to keep typing on her phone, making it seem like they were following a script.

Huh?

Lu Xueyin suddenly realized, they were acting.

She sent a string of gibberish in the chat window, typing furiously as if venting anger, but her tone remained calm when she spoke to Sheng Lan. “What are you apologizing for?”

Sheng Lan had promised to get the show trending, but using the same trick too often wouldn’t work. It would make her and Lu Xueyin seem like they only knew how to skirt the line, which wouldn’t help their long-term development.

She told Lu Xueyin, “I shouldn’t have slept last night.”

Lu Xueyin: ?

Sheng Lan: “I shouldn’t have been snoring away while you were being harassed.”

Now Lu Xueyin was genuinely annoyed.

She felt like Sheng Lan was mocking her.

This little surge of emotion made her purse her lips and frown, her expression management completely forgotten.

But the scrolling comments loved it.

[LMAO, what’s up with Sheng Lan? She could’ve just said she was catching up on sleep, but no, she had to say she couldn’t get out of bed, I’ve been imagining things all day!]

[Right? Ji Xinlan next door was also resting all day and didn’t show up, right? Their buzz is so low.]

[Sweating buckets so they were just catching up on sleep after staying up late? No wonder sis looks so worn out.]

Fans who had been harsh on Sheng Lan earlier even sent gifts to apologize.

[You can hold the spotlight all by yourself, you’ve got this.]

[Help sis out, she looks like she’s struggling to keep up.]

Lu Xueyin: “…”

She couldn’t win.

Someone who dealt with fans daily was just different from someone like her, who only handled media interviews.

Sheng Lan had to have at least 10,000 tricks up her sleeve.

The fans were all speaking up for Sheng Lan, saying how hard she’d worked today, blah blah blah. Lu Xueyin hadn’t had time to check the day’s trending topics yet, but she knew she couldn’t keep Sheng Lan waiting any longer.

She got up and opened the door.

The concentration of pheromones on her was still slightly excessive.

The moment Sheng Lan stepped inside, she was hit full in the face with the scent of roses, her expression briefly dazed.

The scrolling comments erupted in laughter.

[Freshly woken up, pheromones are bound to be stronger.]

[She’s finally feeling sis’s charm.]

[Wonder if she can still keep up the flirting.]

Sheng Lan closed the door behind her.

She was a rule-follower, if she’d promised a kiss in exchange for marking, she’d deliver, even if delayed.

And it couldn’t be delayed for too long, or Lu Xueyin would get furious and explode.

After setting the meals aside, Sheng Lan took hold of her wrist.

Lu Xueyin instinctively resisted slightly.

Sheng Lan said, “I’m here to fulfill my promise.”

Lu Xueyin’s face flushed instantly.

She could understand Sheng Lan’s implication her demeanor remained composed, but her overly thin skin always betrayed her emotions.

She instinctively glanced at the camera, her eyes misty with shyness, a single glance enough to captivate.

After a brief silence, the scrolling comments erupted with questions had anyone taken a screenshot? They begged Lu Xueyin to look again.

But Lu Xueyin had already lowered her head.

She felt humiliated.

And chilled to the bone.

Sheng Lan led her into the restroom, pressing a fingertip lightly against her cheek.

“Even if we were really doing something scandalous locked in here, outsiders would just think we’re pulling the same old trick failing to force a connection, so we turned off the lights to let imaginations run wild.”

In other words, they didn’t have to treat this as a live-streamed marking.

They could pretend they’d just come in to chat.

As she spoke, Sheng Lan turned on the faucet.

The sound of running water provided cover and added another layer of suggestive ambiguity. Lu Xueyin grew even more nervous.

Turning away, she braced her hands against the sink.

This time, she was prepared she didn’t want to go weak in the knees and need support.

Perhaps trying to shift her focus, or perhaps drawing from the shallow experience Jiang Ling had shared with her, she thought an Alpha might be more accommodating during a marking.

Lu Xueyin said, “Jiang Ling told my mom that we agreed to join this variety show together.”

Sheng Lan lifted her hair, undid the hairband, and casually parted it down the middle with her fingers, draping it over Lu Xueyin’s shoulders to expose the reddened, slightly swollen nape of her neck.

Instead of biting immediately, Sheng Lan played along with the distraction.

“Oh? Why tell me that?”

Lu Xueyin cared deeply about her mother, and Sheng Lan’s indifferent tone made her momentarily forget their current situation she was ready to argue properly.

Just as her emotions flared up, Sheng Lan bit down.

Even though she’d been marked once before, her entire body still tensed involuntarily.

The pheromone infusion took time. Sheng Lan’s hand covered hers.

Both were girls, but Lu Xueyin was a few centimeters shorter, her hands slightly smaller than Sheng Lan’s.

Sheng Lan’s palm had a faint layer of calluses unmatched with the porcelain smoothness of the back of her hand, or the delicate pink of her fingertips.

The contrast was impossible to ignore. Lu Xueyin felt an itch.

When Sheng Lan’s hand was still, the itch was on her own. When it moved, the itch traveled to the back of her neck.

The sink’s position was unfortunate.

A single glance upward showed her reflection, no powder to dull her complexion, her face flushed, eyes brimming with warmth.

The way Sheng Lan enveloped her completely amplified her shame. Sheng Lan didn’t look up, sparing her further stimulation, and simply raised a hand to cover Lu Xueyin’s eyes.

Perhaps because she wasn’t as guarded as before, her body more relaxed, Lu Xueyin felt a trace of warmth different from sensory stimulation, a genuine, soothing comfort.

Her mind eased. Even after it ended, she remained alert, wanting to discuss cooperating in front of her mother.

Sheng Lan patted the back of her hand. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”

Her sudden thoughtfulness made Lu Xueyin embarrassed in turn.

Lu Xueyin wanted to apologize for her earlier slip of the tongue since they’d traded a kiss for a marking, they were even. Technically, she was the one who’d provoked Sheng Lan.

But no matter how many times she opened her mouth, she couldn’t bring herself to say, I shouldn’t have doubted your ability just because you’re a fake Alpha.

Hesitating to speak, it was clear it wasn’t anything good, and Sheng Lan didn’t want to hear it.

“Save it for your fans. I won’t help you explain later. I’m off work just grabbing a meal and then leaving.”

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