A Scummy Alpha and An Award-Winning Omega Actress Fell in Love After an Arranged Marriage - Chapter 51

After being honest, Lu Xueyin relaxed a lot, her emotions no longer so tightly wound.

Hearing Sheng Lan ask that, she gave her a look that clearly said, don’t you already know?

Sheng Lan genuinely didn’t.

Lu Xueyin gave her a concrete example. “You’re domineering and unreasonable. You think this way yourself, but I can’t say it instead, I have to force it into your hands. You know how it is when receiving red envelopes during holidays? You’re exactly like that. You clearly want it, but you still push it away out of politeness, only to say in the end that it was all because she was too insistent.”

Sheng Lan burst into laughter as she listened. “Seems like you’ve had complaints about me for a while?”

Lu Xueyin shook her head. “No.”

Sheng Lan suddenly changed the subject. “After filming wraps up, I’ll go with you to the sanatorium.”

Lu Xueyin instinctively refused.

She had already made plans to visit her mother but hadn’t mentioned it to Sheng Lan.

The two of them had taken a break right after Trial Love started airing, using up all their leave days at once. The next twenty-plus days of filming would be nonstop, and work would inevitably pile up afterward.

Lu Xueyin was mainly active in the film and TV industry, where she didn’t engage in much promotional work. Many resources required her to meet with brands in person, something she was resistant to, so she rarely participated in commercial events.

Sheng Lan, on the other hand, was different. With her works and the title of “top-tier celebrity,” she would be swamped for a while after the show ended.

Sheng Lan ignored her refusal. “I’m not discussing this with you, I’m informing you. Just tell me if you want me to go or not.”

Of course, Lu Xueyin would welcome her company.

After nodding, she noticed the smile spreading across Sheng Lan’s face and didn’t immediately understand why.

But as Sheng Lan’s grin grew brighter, Lu Xueyin caught on.

“You’re so petty.”

She had just criticized Sheng Lan for wanting something but refusing to say it outright, forcing others to push it on her.

And now, Sheng Lan had turned the tables, putting her in the exact same position.

Being considerate of her had backfired.

Lu Xueyin stood up to leave but was caught by the wrist. “Angry?”

If she was, she wouldn’t say it. “Breakfast is over. I’m going to take off my hat, we’re about to start filming.”

Sheng Lan asked, “Then what do we do? I haven’t kissed you yet.”

She hadn’t kissed her earlier, instead rambling about nonsense. Now, it was too late.

But Sheng Lan, armed with her skill of “twisting the blame,” had thick skin.

Once the topic had drifted, Lu Xueyin would feel too embarrassed to circle back.

For Sheng Lan, it was simple, she just said whatever came to mind. “We haven’t settled this yet. You asked me today if I wanted to kiss, what does that count as?”

Suddenly, Lu Xueyin had an epiphany, remembering the first time Sheng Lan gave her a Temporary Mark and how she had pieced together a “reward” for her.

So the reason Sheng Lan was so hung up on this now was that she thought this kiss would be payment for last night’s role as a “tree hole.”

She might lack experience in intimate relationships, but she wasn’t stupid.

So she quickly grasped the difference between I think you’d like this and I want to give you this.

Lu Xueyin said, “It counts as me wanting to. I wanted to kiss.”

There was a hint of helpless indulgence, as if coaxing a child. Even though she had given in, there was still a small loophole left for further unreasonable demands.

Sheng Lan felt it necessary to teach her the art of speaking, how could she keep conceding and suffering losses while still leaving others unsatisfied?

But not today.

She reached out and drew the curtains, pulling Lu Xueyin a step closer. When she was in front of the wicker chair, Sheng Lan wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her into her embrace.

The sunlight was blocked by the curtains, and the low temperature of the air conditioning cooled the residual warmth in the room, yet this small area continued to heat up.

Once the beast symbolizing desire is unleashed from the heart, it grows increasingly greedy.

If left unsatisfied, it craves more.

Once satisfied, it yearns for even greater indulgence.

Subtle touches, fleeting kisses, and the firm grip around the waist could not satiate the urge to explore deeper.

In the wandering caresses, every inch became forbidden territory, trembling at the slightest contact.

A plea to stop, yet in the mingling of breaths, even the briefest meeting of eyes was unbearable.

Without further thought, they embraced and kissed again.

It ended only when someone knocked on the door.

The other two groups of guests had already finished breakfast and started their live broadcasts as usual, but for these two, the early morning had turned into something resembling the ambiguous darkness of night, with the audio barely captured.

“The fans are too familiar with this routine. Have you seen the Scrolling Comments? They’re tired of it, complaining they can’t hear clearly. They’d rather see the beautiful faces, why don’t you switch things up?”

Sheng Lan buttoned Lu Xueyin’s shirt, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Some just can’t appreciate the good stuff.”

No one expected them to go all out in broad daylight, under the sun. Director Cheng even egged them on through the earpiece, “Oh, since you’re so sincere, why not turn on the camera? Let everyone see how you two perform.”

Truth be told, even during the moments when their faces were shown and there were ambiguous touches, the audience wasn’t entirely convinced. The initial black-screen live stream, which had sparked several trending topics, had lost its appeal.

In contrast, when they actually broadcasted their performances, how they delivered ambiguous lines and created an ambiguous atmosphere revealing what both of them were doing behind the scenes, the effect was far better.

Sheng Lan said she’d consider it. “BTS footage, I get it.”

Once the buttons were done, she checked for any visible marks on exposed skin before smoothing out the wrinkles in their clothes.

Both were rational enough to know that kissing for too long would leave their lips red and possibly swollen, so under the guise of kissing, they explored elsewhere.

Sheng Lan showed no signs, but Lu Xueyin went to wash her face, cooling the flush of heat on her cheeks.

While Lu Xueyin applied makeup, Sheng Lan finally removed the cap from the camera and opened her phone to glance at the Scrolling Comments, exchanging a few words with the audience.

“Don’t call it cliché, it hasn’t even been a month.”

“You have to believe our original intention wasn’t a black-screen live stream. After all, you could barely hear anything clearly, this wasn’t for show.”

“Do I have to spell it out? This morning wasn’t for your entertainment.”

“What do you mean ‘damage control’? Can’t my sister and I have a normal adult life?”

The moment Lu Xueyin opened the bathroom door, she heard that line.

She stood silently for a few seconds, expressionless, then closed the door and retreated back into the bathroom, pretending she hadn’t finished her makeup.

This only confirmed the audience’s suspicions that today was a complete disaster, flooding the screen with laughter.

Sheng Lan sighed. “You don’t believe me even when I’m serious. If we ever go public, will you all just laugh and chip in for wedding gifts, saying we’ve mastered the art of Artificial Sweetness?”

Exactly.

[My CP is real, they’d even go public just to feed us content / thumbs up]

[Can your CP do that?!]

[Wedding gifts? As if I can’t afford them!]

Staying in the live stream for ten minutes earned viewers a little flower.

They were all sending them, creating quite the spectacle.

Sheng Lan told them to stop. “The show’s almost over. Save them for the finale.”

Gathering a Sea of Flowers.

If I remember correctly, this live streaming platform has a cumulative mechanism.

Within a specified time frame, if enough gifts are accumulated, there will be high-value gift effects.

For example, receiving a thousand little stars within one minute triggers an asteroid effect in the live stream room.

Small flowers are free gifts. Accumulating 99 of them triggers a small bouquet effect tiny and short-lived, easily overlooked.

At 999 and 9999+, slightly larger, tacky effects dominate the screen.

The blooming effects favored by the older generation match the show’s kitschy aesthetic perfectly.

For over 100,000 small flowers, a sea of flowers appears, rivaling paid gifts in beauty.

Lu Xueyin rarely participates in commercial activities, let alone live streams. She probably didn’t watch them before either, so this will be a new experience for her.

The midday heat made outdoor streaming unsuitable after missing the cooler morning hours.

Instead of heading to the stables, Sheng Lan went to wash dishes while Lu Xueyin checked the fridge to decide on lunch.

Outside, the “Crystal Sugar” couple was busy making props for tonight’s haunted house visit.

Since the production team didn’t provide these, their assistants had to deliver them.

Meng Qing and Ji Xinlan had also prepared extensively, though they took the lazy route with pre-made items. Their live stream the previous afternoon, demonstrating the props to viewers, had been full of blunders, and now they were slacking off again.

To avoid being forced to draw task cards, they opted for the most time-consuming activity: drawing talismans.

Neither could draw well, resulting in crooked lines and mutual disdain, but the live stream atmosphere remained lively.

Seeing them all occupied with props, Lu Xueyin asked, “Should we do the same?”

Normally, no.

Doing the same thing would stifle creativity.

Besides, they’d already live-streamed making ghost-hunting and exorcism props repeating it would be redundant.

But since Lu Xueyin was afraid of haunted houses and the evening group activity was mandatory, conserving energy was the priority.

Sheng Lan suggested inviting the other two teams to play a game, using props as stakes.

Lu Xueyin nodded. “They won’t play card games.”

None were as skilled as Sheng Lan, so they wouldn’t “gift” her victories.

Sheng Lan didn’t want to sit around playing either. “We’re all in the entertainment industry either acting or singing. Let’s play guessing games.”

There were variety shows where contestants guessed song titles from intros or drama names from clips.

Doing it here would be a meta twist, a variety show within a variety show.

After consulting Director Cheng, they asked who else wanted to join.

For fairness, the production team retained the final say in questions.

True to their romance-show roots, the team immediately launched a new round of guessing games designed to stir drama where the initial broadcast had failed.

The questions targeted the couples directly.

For example, the clips Sheng Lan watched were all from Lu Xueyin’s dramas, including her early cameo roles.

The team even sneakily included clips without Lu Xueyin in them.

Unsurprisingly, the songs Lu Xueyin listened to were all Sheng Lan’s not just her performances but also those she wrote or composed for others.

Some were duets from concerts or events, with segments deliberately chosen to exclude her voice or identifiable parts, making it unclear if the songs were hers.

This move is known on the trending hashtags as “No one can break up a CP better than me.”

Then, when Sheng Lan and Lu Xueyin achieved a 100% accuracy rate, it climbed up the confusing hashtag of “???”.

This definitely calls for an interview with the parties involved.

“Are you, each other’s fans? With this level of accuracy, you must be die-hard fans, right?”

The mic is passed to the involved parties, let’s hear the details.jpg

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