A Scummy Alpha and An Award-Winning Omega Actress Fell in Love After an Arranged Marriage - Chapter 26.1
A kiss on the back of the hand was enough for today’s performance.
Sheng Lan stood up directly, ending today’s mutual makeup removal session.
With a deliberately misleading move, she wrapped an arm around Lu Xueyin’s waist, pulling her close. Her arm pressed down the loose loungewear, outlining Lu Xueyin’s slender waist.
Leaning slightly forward, she made a motion as if to kiss or as if they were already kissing.
In reality, she only brushed against Lu Xueyin’s nose, savoring the rare glimpse of genuine emotion on her face.
From smugness to panic, then quickly cloaking herself again in cool composure even going so far as to loop her arms around Sheng Lan’s neck, feigning reciprocation.
Before the livestream ended, the last words were Sheng Lan’s: “Makeup removal is done. I ate your sister’s lipstick.”
Then she reached out and turned off the equipment.
Lu Xueyin was inexperienced, so she followed Sheng Lan’s lead.
When Sheng Lan retreated, she did too.
When Sheng Lan started speaking, she spoke.
Sheng Lan had warned that if Lu Xueyin stirred trouble tonight, it wouldn’t end easily and she meant it.
After the screen went black, Sheng Lan pretended to turn off the audio equipment, deliberately provoking Lu Xueyin: “Sister, you were so forward tonight.”
Lu Xueyin refused to admit it. “What do you mean I was forward? You hugged me first.”
Sheng Lan tapped her lips. “I won’t say who made the first move.”
The implication was too strong.
Lu Xueyin had touched Sheng Lan twice today first the forced kiss in the morning, then the caress at night.
Her voice couldn’t hide her embarrassment and indignation. “That was an exchange!”
Even her words carried an exclamation mark now.
Sheng Lan was pleased.
She turned off the audio equipment for real.
The click of the switch made Lu Xueyin’s mind go blank for a second.
Then she grew furious. “You tricked me on purpose?”
Sheng Lan yawned. “I thought I warned you.”
Lu Xueyin found her utterly unreasonable. “Wasn’t that for the performance?”
Tonight, Sheng Lan’s sense of self-preservation was nonexistent.
“Yeah, and I was performing too.”
Seeing Lu Xueyin’s barely contained anger, her cheeks slightly puffed, Sheng Lan almost laughed and told her to keep it up tomorrow.
“We’re shooting outdoors tomorrow. Sister, you’ll have to teach me how to ride a horse properly.”
That reminded Lu Xueyin.
Right, Sheng Lan couldn’t ride.
This was her domain. She’d make Sheng Lan pay.
In real-life interactions, Lu Xueyin wasn’t always acting. At least when mildly provoked by Sheng Lan, her true emotions were hard to hide.
Her little expressions were adorable, her thoughts transparent as if she had “Just you wait” written all over her face.
So Sheng Lan figured it out.
Lu Xueyin was a reasonable “female lead.” She wouldn’t pile on villain points just because Sheng Lan refused to be a mindless simp.
Normal interactions were fine.
A little temper was within bounds.
It made things even more interesting.
She’d keep stirring the pot tomorrow.
“Goodnight, sister.”
Lu Xueyin chose ignorance, if she didn’t check her phone, it was as if nothing happened today.
After Sheng Lan left, the crew came to remove the temporary livestream equipment.
They tentatively asked Lu Xueyin, “The audience is really reacting to you two constantly dodging the cameras and mics. They’re asking if we can leave a mic in the bathroom next time. What do you think?”
Lu Xueyin: “What does the contract say?”
Crew: “Got it.”
Meanwhile, someone was asking Sheng Lan the same thing.
Sheng Lan was surprised. “How do you think the current hype came about?”
The production team: “…”
Alright, never mind.
Before bed, Sheng Lan made her rounds through the Super Topic and took a quick glance at the trending searches.
There were four trending topics about her and Lu Xueyin.
#Back-of-the-Hand Kiss#[Explosive]
#The Right Way to Remove Makeup#[Hot]
#Sister Takes the Initiative#[Hot]
#Sheng Lan Is Such a Dog#[Hot]
Sheng Lan narrowed her eyes, took a screenshot, and sent it to Liang Jiao. “Get rid of the last one for me.”
Liang Jiao told her not to waste money. “The fans are having fun. You’ve been enjoying yourself these past two days while they’ve been on edge. Show some appreciation for your bread and butter, it’s not like they’re actually insulting you.”
Fine, then.
During the day, only the “Crystal Sugar” couple had gone horseback riding.
Sheng Lan wasn’t optimistic about their interactions, but they had a solid fanbase, unlike her and Lu Xueyin.
The Crystal Sugar couple was genuinely pushed by their CP fans, whereas hers and Lu Xueyin’s CP fanbase was still superficial, relying on both sides’ fans cooperating to artificially boost engagement.
Delaying their horseback riding by a day was fine she could take the time to see what videos the Crystal Sugar couple’s fans had edited.
Given how dull their interactions were, only the highlights could be clipped and posted in the Super Topic to push trends and trending searches.
With time tight, she just needed to learn the highlights, the rest could be improvised on the spot.
While watching the videos, Liang Jiao discussed work schedules with her.
The 24-hour livestream had a minimum duration requirement but didn’t actually force guests to stay on camera for a full month.
People valued their privacy, and prolonged exposure in such an environment could lead to issues.
So, participating guests would “schedule breaks” with the production team.
For consecutive breaks, a cameraperson would follow to film some material and maintain the hype this duration was controllable.
Everyone would use work commitments as an excuse to leave, though whether they were actually working, relaxing, or just sleeping at home wasn’t explicitly stated.
Sheng Lan had two interviews, which Liang Jiao scheduled for the same day.
There was also an awards ceremony to attend. “Your new album is nominated, just go collect the trophy.”
The influence, album sales, chart-topping singles, all the metrics were impressive, with strong purchases even from non-fans and more praise than criticism.
The only downside was the impact of her persona shift. Someone had slightly modified the lead single, Provocative, and choreographed a dance. Originally a song with a sultry vibe, it had now become a “viral hit.”
Many square dance tracks were like this.
Sheng Lan was fine with it her positioning was clear.
Music had no hierarchy; being loved was enough.
“Then I’ll repost a square dance video later, invite them to dance along, set up a poll, do a giveaway, and turn it into a meme, let’s avoid any potential backlash.”
Liang Jiao had brought it up for this very reason.
Sheng Lan managed her own Weibo account, while Liang Jiao had access to the studio’s official account. Fans knew Sheng Lan handled her own social media, so the studio account was just a secondary follow, with far less influence than her personal posts.
While the hype was still fresh and fans weren’t yet annoyed, they needed to nip any negativity in the bud.
“There’s also a commercial offer lipstick, featuring you and Lu Xueyin together.”
They’d trended multiple times over lipstick.
Without even endorsements, they’d driven significant sales.
Aside from their respective fans buying the same products, many casual fans had also made purchases.
The brand was quite meticulous, not rushing to ride the wave by reposting but instead sending a direct endorsement invitation first.
They already had a full-line spokesperson, so Sheng Lan and Lu Xueyin could sign a short-term contract to endorse only the “Beauty Lips” series.
They requested a response by the end of the week and the ability to leave the estate for filming. The main goal was to capitalize on the hype from Trial Love Period, requiring Sheng Lan and Lu Xueyin to use only this lipstick series during future livestreams.
Liang Jiao said, “The offer is very high.”
Sheng Lan asked how much.
Liang Jiao quoted a number, and Sheng Lan nodded.
“Ask Lu Xueyin if she wants to go.”
There was nothing else to discuss, so the two didn’t linger on small talk.
Sheng Lan searched for “square dancing” on Weibo, filtered by popularity, and found a decent one to repost before launching a giveaway poll.
After three minutes, she replied to a few top comments.
Fan 1 asked what promise she and Lu Xueyin had fulfilled today. Sheng Lan replied, “This square dance is pretty good, do you like it too?”
Fan 2 asked if she had really kissed Lu Xueyin at the end of the livestream. Sheng Lan replied, “What’s that? You’re buying ten more albums? That’s too generous.”
Fan 3 asked if Sheng Lan’s account had been hacked. Sheng Lan said, “Nope, it’s really me. I’m promoting my album show some respect.”
The fans collectively responded with a flood of “grass” emojis.
So Sheng Lan posted a standalone Weibo update.
A no-makeup, pajama-clad selfie.
Her pinkish-brown curls were tousled, her expression relaxed, bathed in warm orange lighting that gave her a soft glow.
[The mountain wind is strong]: Come admire the beauty.
And once again, the replies were a synchronized chorus of: “Ying ying ying ying ying.”
Sheng Lan instantly understood and changed her Weibo username.
To “Mountain Wind Blows Xueyin.”
She even tagged Lu Xueyin under the top comment.
Jiang Ling, who was mid-conversation with Lu Xueyin: “…”
She sent Lu Xueyin a screenshot. “Should you respond?”
Lu Xueyin scoffed coldly. “How? By changing my name to ‘Ying Ying Ying Ying Ying’?”
Jiang Ling sent a few cheeky stickers. “That’s not a bad idea.”
By the time Sheng Lan closed Weibo, her comment section was in a frenzy.
The loudest chant was: Can you two let us sleep?!
This line was twisted when it hit the trending list.
“Tonight, Sheng Lan/Lu Xueyin won’t let me leave the bed.”
They used the same tactic Sheng Lan had employed during the livestream to lure in curious netizens.
To shift blame and boost the CP super topic’s popularity, they paired the post with edited clips, tearfully promoting:
“Here’s some artificial sweetness care for a taste?”
[Damn, we’re working hard too.]
[The hardest workers in showbiz.]
[You girls are too strong tearfully reposting.]
After closing Weibo, Sheng Lan prepared for bed.
But the moment she closed her eyes, she remembered Lu Xueyin’s wariness clearly unwilling to do a marking livestream, yet looking like she was marching to her doom.
So she picked up her phone again and messaged Yu Cheng.
[Mountain Wind]: Any updates on Feng Zhitong?
Feng Zhitong had threatened Lu Xueyin into the “poison room,” leaving her pheromones unstable to this day. Sheng Lan had reported it to the police, but the blame still weighed on her.
The moment marking was mentioned, all the goodwill she’d built up vanished. No matter how proactive Lu Xueyin acted, there was no trust left.
Knowing it was too soon for progress, Sheng Lan still sent the message.
She also scrolled through the group chat.
The only downside of this app was that anyone could add her to groups without her approval.
She had already left dozens of group chats, taking the opportunity to remove any members who were also her contacts. Occasionally, she’d still find a few stragglers she’d missed.
After all this purging, Sheng Lan found it baffling.
She had no idea where the rumors about Lu Xueyin’s “sleeping around with anyone, regardless of gender” and her supposedly chaotic private life had originated.
Due to work, Sheng Lan’s phone was filled with contacts. She wasn’t one for idle chatter, so she only pinned those she frequently collaborated with, rarely scrolling further down.
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