A Scummy Alpha and An Award-Winning Omega Actress Fell in Love After an Arranged Marriage - Chapter 25

Sheng Lan said she wouldn’t help, but in the end, she did.

While Lu Xueyin was resting in the bathroom, Sheng Lan went out first to address the fans: “Sister is very tired today. Later, we’ll do an eating broadcast together, then a live-streamed makeup removal, and finally, we’ll all go to bed early. Any objections?”

The fans loudly complained it was boring.

[Suddenly being so health-conscious is unbearable for us too.]

[Why don’t you tell us what you two were doing in the bathroom?]

[Fulfilling some kind of promise?]

[Did you see the look Sister just gave you? Was that acting or not?]

Sheng Lan flashed her signature ambiguous, mysterious smile and played along with their tired jokes. “Those who get it, get it. Those who don’t, won’t even if I explain.”

In just two days of live-streaming, Sheng Lan had completely thrown the fans off balance.

When they hoped it was fake, it seemed real. When they thought it was real, it turned out fake. Just as they were sure it was fake, another bewilderingly convincing interaction would happen.

She had them completely hooked.

But fans had their own little tempers too!

Especially Sheng Lan’s fans. Back when they saw her as the cool girl, they were all reserved and well-behaved, each trying to outdo the other in politeness.

After Sheng Lan’s persona collapsed, they became wilder than ever, loving nothing more than to challenge her.

Real or fake, fake or rea might as well act it out together!

By the time Lu Xueyin came out, the tone of the scrolling comments had already turned bold and suggestive.

[They didn’t even deliberately make sounds to tease us must’ve been more than just kissing, probably marking too.]

[Sheng Lan’s quick, maybe she took a fast ride.]

[Definitely a ride. Kissing is kid stuff, adults mark while riding.]

[They even muted together earlier, how shameless.]

Sheng Lan set out the food for Lu Xueyin and explained the live-stream plan. “To make it more fun, we’ll swap makeup removal duties later.”

For a while, the comments returned to normal.

[Sheng Lan really doesn’t seem like a peony, this peony girl is crying silently.]

[She’s so good at this, look how flustered Sister is, lol.]

[Looking past the surface, Sister probably isn’t shy, just thin-skinned and awkward.]

[We don’t need your explanation, get out! Listen to the Wind is real!!]

This was the CP name Sheng Lan had personally coined. Seizing the moment while Lu Xueyin was watching, someone asked for her opinion on it.

Lu Xueyin had no objections. “It’s fine.”

She had CP Super Topics with many people, all backed by various studios. Sheng Lan was just more direct about it.

Her response was too bland, so Sheng Lan crossed one leg and lightly tapped Lu Xueyin’s calf with the tip of her shoe.

The table was made of glass, so any movement under it was visible.

The camera was in the corner, with the small window-side table and wicker chairs as the main focus.

When Lu Xueyin stiffened slightly, the fans went wild with laughter.

[Sheng Lan is really putting in the effort, I just remembered she might have top syndrome.]

[Wait, what’s that??]

[It means she has to be first in any competition-style show. How do you think her persona collapsed last time?]

[As a casual fan who binged the reality show, can confirm, it’s true, lol.]

Lu Xueyin’s fans collectively fell silent.
They suddenly remembered something too, if competing for first place was top syndrome, then their Sister might have it too.

The sudden intensity of these two days’ interactions suddenly made sense.

Then they heard Lu Xueyin immediately switch into work mode. “This name is great Sheng Lan and I came up with it together. Do you all like it?”

Fans: …

Since both of you have spoken, what can we do even if we don’t like it?

But outside the livestream, fans from both sides were flooding trending topics.

As the two of them prepared to remove each other’s makeup, the hot search rankings were already set for them.

#What even is TOP’s OCD?#

#How far will people go for first place?#

#Acting? Sure, why not?#

#From now on, Artificial Sweetness should meet this standard!#

Lu Xueyin didn’t check. Once everything was ready, she got straight to business.

Her personality was fiercely competitive. Since joining the show, she had been overshadowed by Sheng Lan, and today she hadn’t even appeared on camera. She had to make something happen.

Her face looked haggard, relying entirely on her lipstick to hold up her appearance. She planned to leave that for last, so she could go straight to bed afterward without showing her vulnerable side to the fans.

Sheng Lan agreed.

Not many female celebrities dared to livestream their makeup removal, so their session drew a huge crowd.

The production team asked through their earpieces if they’d be okay with switching to a different setup, close-up shots.

In other words, full-face close-ups.

Neither of them objected. They told their fans, “If you don’t agree, we’ll just stick with this.”

Of course, everyone wanted the close-ups.

[What’s the point of makeup removal without full-face shots?!]

Today, the stream had blacked out twice, halting everything.

Switching equipment last minute wasn’t too bad they only needed to shut down Lu Xueyin’s room’s livestream for less than a minute before reconnecting.

The high-definition setup came with audio equipment far superior to the bulky mics placed in the room.

Under the lens, their eyelashes stood out individually, and even the finest peach fuzz on their faces was visible.

Lu Xueyin hadn’t worn foundation today, leaving the tiny red mole under her right eye completely exposed fans went wild with screenshots.

The icy edge in Sheng Lan’s voice was captured perfectly, every syllable carrying a faint electric current that sent shivers straight to the heart.

The Scrolling Comments were chaotic.

Some wanted to gush over their looks, others wanted to record the audio, and a few showered the production team with praise, saying if they’d had this setup earlier, the stream wouldn’t have crashed twice during the day.

Sheng Lan dragged a rattan chair over and sat in front of Lu Xueyin.

The chair brought back unpleasant memories for Lu Xueyin. As warmth crept up her face, she pressed her lips into a tight line, signaling resistance.

They were removing each other’s makeup, with the camera positioned to the side.

Before closing her eyes, Sheng Lan hinted, “I need to clock out and catch up on sleep.”

Lu Xueyin understood the subtext: If you dare cause trouble, tonight won’t end well.

She picked up a cotton pad, pinching it lightly between her fingers. “What do you want?”

Sheng Lan acted sweet, her pinkish-brown curls bouncing as she blinked, looking every bit the adorable girl. “I don’t understand.”

So Lu Xueyin pretended not to understand her either. While shaking the makeup remover, she asked if Sheng Lan was wearing colored contacts. “You can take them out first.”

Sheng Lan hadn’t worn any today, so that step was skipped.

Lu Xueyin told her to close her eyes.

When removing the eye makeup, Lu Xueyin didn’t stir up trouble.

She dutifully applied the remover, pressing gently with her fingertips to avoid getting any in Sheng Lan’s eyes.

This step was uneventful, much to the fans’ disappointment.

Besides, Sheng Lan preferred heavier makeup lower lash lines, tightlining, and shimmery eyeshadow.

Lu Xueyin wasn’t used to removing makeup from this angle, so it took a full fifteen minutes.

Some Scrolling Comments complained about boredom, expecting more interaction during the exchange.

They were in the minority. True fans watched contentedly, praising her for being gentle and patient, whatever she did was fine by them.

She also knew how to play nice, not picking fights in front of Lu Xueyin. They singled out the complainers one by one, reporting them while flooding the chat even faster.

Lu Xueyin remained composed.

In her view, the act of swapping makeup removal held a certain dominance.

The one removing makeup had control over the one being stripped of it.

She could manipulate as she pleased.

She spared the eyes, focusing instead on the lip makeup.

And she made sure Sheng Lan was watching.

After changing the cotton pads a few times and preparing to remove the lipstick, she told Sheng Lan to open her eyes.

Sheng Lan was nearly asleep.

Guessing the audience must also be bored to the point of dozing off, she forcibly suppressed her drowsiness, sat up straight, and sincerely thanked her, “Thanks for your hard work, sis.”

Lu Xueyin only took one cotton pad though she usually used just one for her own makeup removal too.

Sheng Lan couldn’t help but laugh at her, and honestly, she was too sleepy to keep up the act. She told Lu Xueyin, “You’re really bad at this. Just stick to your gentle big sister persona.”

This conclusion naturally stemmed from Sheng Lan’s impression of Lu Xueyin’s previous attempts at seduction.

Lu Xueyin told her to shut up, pressed the cotton pad against Sheng Lan’s lips with a single finger, and not entirely innocently, subtly moved her knuckle, as if caressing Sheng Lan’s lips through the pad.

Sheng Lan’s smile was instantly noticeable.

Lu Xueyin stared straight at her.

Sheng Lan glanced sideways at the scrolling comments, the screen was filled with laughter.

[Hahahahaha she’s really trying her best]

[It’s fine, sis usually has a cold persona this is already a huge breakthrough for her]

[Just the fact that a cold beauty is actively flirting is enough, we shouldn’t expect too much. She even touched Sheng Lan!]

[LOL, Sis Lu, I’ve got a Flirting Handbook here want it? (Though it might not work on Sheng Lan anyway)]

[Against a goofball, sexiness is worthless]

Lu Xueyin stubbornly refused to look at the comments.

From the subtle movements of Sheng Lan’s lips, she could tell the comments were probably hilarious.

Unwilling to concede, she kept moving her fingers, continuing the “caress.”

There’s only so much space on lips it didn’t take many strokes to cover them.

Lip makeup also didn’t need to soak as long as eye makeup.

When she removed the cotton pad, Lu Xueyin replaced it with a fresh one, wiping away the remaining lipstick along Sheng Lan’s lip lines.

She was starting to grow frustrated with her own lack of finesse.

Previously focused solely on her career, she’d never paid much attention to this kind of thing except for Jiang Ling’s occasional teasing in her ear.

And during her recent “research,” she’d noticed audiences did enjoy ambiguous tension, so she’d even taken notes.

Lu Xueyin glanced down at her hand, worried Sheng Lan might mind, and went to wash it again.

When she returned, she didn’t sit back down instead, she stood over Sheng Lan, looking down at her.

The camera only captured Lu Xueyin’s waist.

Unfortunately, her loungewear ruined half the atmosphere.

Had she been dressed like this morning, with a sliver of her slender waist exposed, fans would’ve been screaming.

It matched Sheng Lan’s assessment of her:

Unintentionally, she was most alluring.

Sheng Lan played along, lazily sliding back against the rattan chair, tilting her head up to look at her.

She didn’t have bangs just a few flyaways at her forehead, her hair loosely tied into a small ponytail.

With striking features, even without eye or lip makeup, the contrast of her dark brows and lashes against her red lips was enough to carry her beauty.

She wanted to see what new tricks Lu Xueyin had up her sleeve.

Lu Xueyin simply swiped her finger across Sheng Lan’s lips.

This time, with a bit more pressure.

It was something she’d picked up from certain CP compilation videos people always said the act of smearing lips was tantalizing and full of tension.

At the time, she didn’t quite get it. But now, without the damp barrier of the makeup remover pad, her lips met Sheng Lan’s dry, heated ones directly and she felt it.

Soft, warm, and tempting with a hint of exploration.

This was definitely stirring up trouble.

So she grew bolder.

Thinking, since they were already kissing, what harm was there in touching a little?

Her motion to wipe the lips became more forceful, pressing in just enough for a fingertip to graze Sheng Lan’s teeth.

Afraid of being bitten, she quickly withdrew.

But as she pulled back, she realized this would undo all her effort.

Just as amusement was about to resurface in Sheng Lan’s eyes, Lu Xueyin boldly reached out again.

To save face.

She touched her own lips first, then dabbed a streak of uneven red onto Sheng Lan’s mouth.

For seasoned shippers, this gesture wasn’t just common in fan-edited videos, it appeared in countless fanart too.

Lu Xueyin’s earlier performance had lowered fans’ expectations, and her casual homewear diluted the mood.

When she first mimicked the gesture, the chat was filled with laughter, comments joking about sparing her some dignity.

When she let go, the Scrolling Comments exploded with even more “LOLs.”

Before anyone could type anything suggestive, Lu Xueyin’s next move left viewers stunned:

[WTF?! You took off makeup just for this??]

[I’m crying, sis, you’re really going all out to move me]

[Promise me next time you’ll just cut to the chase, okay?]

Sheng Lan lowered her gaze.

From this angle, she couldn’t see her own lips.

But she could see Lu Xueyin’s lingering hand.

Their morning kiss had been an exchange.

Given how Lu Xueyin was fanning the flames now, Sheng Lan ought to stand up and kiss her deeply.

Make her swallow every moan, ruin her lipstick completely.

Sheng Lan looked up and caught a glimmer of smugness in Lu Xueyin’s green eyes.

Clearly, she’d seen the chat messages too.

She was seriously committed to this performance.

Fine.

Her flirting skills had improved.

Sheng Lan monitored her own heartbeat.

Then, against her better judgment, gave Lu Xueyin a 70/100.

She seized Lu Xueyin’s wrist and pressed a reverent kiss to her knuckles.

Support