After Becoming a Scummy Alpha, I Became a Slave to My Beloved Wife - Chapter 51

That night, the sky was filled with stars.

Stars that were rarely visible in the city now shimmered brightly above. Though the glow of the bonfire provided a warm light, the stars in the sky remained radiant, casting a silvery sheen on the treetops.

Everyone was seated around the fire. At that moment, the production team had arranged a little activity called “Fireside Chats.”

“In a moment, we’ll go live. Fans will be submitting questions, and you can build on those topics as you answer,” the director said through a megaphone. “Try to get as much screen time as you can. Make sure everyone participates and answers enthusiastically.”

Jiang Nian sat on a haystack, resting her chin in her hand. She wasn’t listening to the director at all. Her eyes were fixed solely on Qiao Wenyu, completely ignoring what others were saying or doing.

In the dim light of the bonfire, Jiang Nian noticed that Qiao Wenyu’s hair tie was coming loose. She leaned over slightly and softly called out to the person sitting in front of her, “Jiejie… jiejie…” (Note: “Jiejie” means “older sister” in Chinese.)

At the front, the director was checking the setup at each station. Once he confirmed everything was in order, he started the livestream.

“Okay, we’re live now!”

As soon as the fans joined the stream, they heard a voice whispering twice, very close to the mic—“Jiejie.”
Startled, they began flooding the chat with question marks.

【Today’s Menu: ??? Did anyone else hear that? Someone just said ‘jiejie’ as I joined.】
【aaa: I heard it too! Super close to the mic.】

The director looked at the barrage of question marks in the chat and then glanced up—only to see Jiang Nian sneaking her hand out to touch Qiao Wenyu’s shoulder.

“We’re live!’” she shouted suddenly, startling all the guests—though she couldn’t directly call out Jiang Nian for fidgeting.

Jiang Nian finally heard the director.

So, we’re live…

She silently pulled her hand back, awkwardly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but her eyes kept drifting back toward Qiao Wenyu.

【Shredded Potato: Two of these guests look unfamiliar.】
【Goose Who Meows: The two ladies in the back look so cool! I’m obsessed!】
【Hey, Fairy: Wait—that’s CEO Jiang from □□ and CEO Jiang from Fengyun Entertainment, right? Gorgeous!】
【Mo Mo: Aaaah, they’re all so good-looking! I think Qiao Wenyu’s styling has improved a lot since going solo. She’s stunning—even out here in the wild! 】

The director kept a close eye on the chat. “Fans, you can now submit questions via the comments. We’ll select a few at random to answer.”

As comments flooded in, the director chose one that struck a balance:

“Xia Xue, did you learn anything from your senior colleagues during this filming?”

Xia Xue gave a few polished, professional responses.

Seizing the opportunity, the director began steering the Q&A to hint at a possible on-screen pairing between Xia Xue and Qiao Wenyu.

Jiang Nian, sitting in the back, scowled, clenched her fists, and tried hard to suppress her frustration.

The fans commented: “We’d love to see you reenact the most memorable confrontation scene!”

“Oh, that one!” Xia Xue lit up with excitement. “I loved that fight scene with Jiejie! We did the whole thing without stunt doubles!”

Qiao Wenyu looked a bit hesitant. “That scene also had Jiang Xianxian in it. If it’s just the two of us, it might not have the same effect.”

But the director wasn’t about to miss a chance to create some buzz. He quickly offered a solution. “Since Jiang Xianxian isn’t here, how about her sister fills in?”

“Oh right! President Jiang is Jiang Xianxian’s older sister!” the other guests finally realized.

Jiang Fenyun, who had been sitting quietly in the back for a while, was starting to doze off. She wasn’t here to chase fame or money—she only came to accompany Jiang Nian.

“I’m no good. I could never act out one of my sister’s roles,” she said calmly.

The director looked a little awkward, then turned to Jiang Nian instead. “Then… President Jiang, would you be willing?”

“Sure,” Jiang Nian replied without hesitation. There was no way she was going to let Xia Xue get close to Qiao Wenyu.

The director hadn’t expected such a quick and confident response. He paused, a little surprised, before continuing, “Alright, the three of you please step to the center.”

The scene was one where Qiao Wenyu’s character tries to stop Xia Xue’s character from forcing her way into the sect’s main hall. Originally, Jiang Xianxian played the sect leader, who helped Qiao Wenyu stop her.

“Okay, let’s begin,” the director said, counting down from three and clearing space for them to perform.

As soon as they got into character, Qiao Wenyu stepped forward and blocked Xia Xue’s path with a defensive move.

“Let me through!” Xia Xue grabbed Qiao Wenyu’s wrist. “Your sect leader has a sweet tongue but a poisonous heart. That place should’ve been wiped out long ago!”

Jiang Nian wasn’t too familiar with the script. Holding the pages someone had just handed her, she stood behind Qiao Wenyu and calmly said her line, “Watch your mouth.”

Then came the fight scene between Qiao Wenyu and Xia Xue. Because of the limited space, they had to be extra careful with their movements, pulling their punches and kicks as they acted out the choreography.

The ground was uneven, littered with small stones and branches. As Qiao Wenyu spun to kick, her foot caught on a broken stick, causing her to stumble. Technically, Xia Xue was the closest and should’ve reacted first—but she was a beat too late. Before anyone else could move, Qiao Wenyu had already fallen into Jiang Nian’s arms.

“Stop,” Jiang Nian said, supporting Qiao Wenyu with one arm and raising the script with the other to deliver the final line.

And with that, the scene ended.

Before the director could even respond, Jiang Nian knelt down and gently held Qiao Wenyu’s calf to check, asking, “Jiejie, did you twist your ankle?”

Fans watching the livestream had already noticed how Jiang Nian’s eyes never left Qiao Wenyu throughout the scene. And some viewers—especially those with fast internet and sharp memories—suddenly recalled that Jiang Nian and Qiao Wenyu had once been on a dating reality show together.

【@LookItsAPlane: OMG! Qiao Wenyu and the cool lady in black look so good together! That waist grab was way too natural!!】
【@User10086: Wait a minute—didn’t Qiao Wenyu and those two powerful CEO ladies do a dating show once? I remember it got canceled, but the behind-the-scenes clips were intense!】
【@RainSnowButNoMoney: Yes, yes! I remember! Jiang–Qiao was such a great ship. I still have the videos saved!】
【@HahaHereWeGo: Sis above, drop a link. We need to see it.】

The director had originally hoped that this reenactment would spark interest in the Xia Xue × Qiao Wenyu pairing. But after looking at the comments, he was completely stunned.

As fans continued to dig up more details, the livestream chat exploded with speculation.

The director quickly picked out a question that seemed harmless enough:
“Qiao Wenyu, do you prefer a sweet and gentle alpha, or a bold and dominant one?”

But everyone understood what that really meant:
Was she more into someone like Xia Xue, or someone like Jiang Nian?

Qiao Wenyu rested her fingers on her cheek, thought for a moment, then looked into the camera with a meaningful smile.
“I like a puppy that only has eyes for me.”

“Waaah—” the other guests gasped in unison.

Meanwhile, the fans in the chat were left completely puzzled—and more intrigued than ever.

A Puppy?

Was Xia Xue supposed to be a puppy?

The internet immediately split into two camps. Some fans of the Xia Xue × Qiao Wenyu pairing were convinced that Qiao Wenyu was referring to Xia Xue when she said “my puppy.”

【@CokeNot7Up: CP fans, come on—listen to what Wenyu-jiejie said! “My puppy!” She clearly already has someone she likes!】
【@qoq: But Xia Xue doesn’t fit the “puppy” persona. She’s more of a cheerful, outgoing big-sister type.】
【@GoSeeTheSea: President Jiang isn’t a “puppy” either, is she?】
【@RainAllDay: President Jiang doesn’t need a persona. She’s a sponsor here to experience life—not to play a character. Learn the difference.】

While the chat spiraled into a heated debate, Jiang Nian couldn’t stop smiling—because of that one line from Qiao Wenyu.

To balance screen time, the director quickly shifted focus to the other guests.

After about an hour of livestreaming, the forest grew noticeably quieter.

At night, the risk in the forest increased significantly. To give the guests a more authentic survival experience, the production team would withdraw and leave only drones behind for filming.

Once the staff had completely exited, the survival instructor gave final instructions: no one was to leave the camp at night, the fire must stay lit, and without the presence of people, wild animals could very well approach.

“We’ll assign night watch shifts. Everyone will take one hour, then wake the next person. Remember, the fire must never go out. If there’s danger, wake everyone immediately.”

After setting everything up, everyone rested against tree roots, ready to sleep.

The night echoed with the occasional growl of wild animals.

Jiang Nian was the first on night duty. She sat by the fire, alert, keeping an eye on her surroundings. When she got bored, she gently draped a coat over Qiao Wenyu to keep mosquitoes away.

An hour later, she woke Jiang Fenyun.

“Wake up, your turn,” Jiang Nian said, patting her on the shoulder.

Jiang Fenyun blinked awake. “Alright, you go rest.”

But Jiang Nian hadn’t even been asleep for long when Jiang Fenyun shook her awake again.

“What’s going on?” Jiang Nian opened her eyes.

Jiang Fenyun pointed toward the bushes. “Over there… is something moving?”

“Huh? Where?” Jiang Nian followed the direction of her finger.

In the distance, the underbrush was rustling unnaturally—like something large was moving through it.

“There really is something!” Jiang Nian was now fully awake.

Jiang Fenyun tilted her chin slightly. “Should we… check it out?”

“No, we should wake the others fir—mmph!” Before she could finish, Jiang Nian’s mouth was suddenly covered. She glared at Jiang Fenyun in disbelief.

Jiang Fenyun put a finger to her lips. “Shh. I think it’s a person, not an animal. Look—isn’t that a flashlight?”

Jiang Nian pulled her hand away and squinted into the dark. “Yeah… it does look like it. Let’s go check it out.”

Jiang Nian took the lead, with Jiang Fenyun close behind.

After walking a few cautious steps forward, Jiang Nian crouched down and parted the bushes carefully. But all they saw was a pitch-black emptiness—no one in sight, and the flashlight beam had vanished entirely.

“No one? Was it just our imagination?” Jiang Fenyun stayed close behind her. “Or… something paranormal?”

“Ugh, don’t jinx it! We probably just saw wrong. Maybe it was a drone light or something,” Jiang Nian said, trying to reason it out.

Jiang Fenyun nodded. “Yeah, maybe. I probably overreacted. Let’s head back.”

Relaxing a little, the two made their way back to camp. Jiang Nian grumbled as they walked.

“Next time, don’t wake me up unless it’s really something. I’m exhausted.”

“Yes, yes, of course, Miss Jiang,” Jiang Fenyun teased with a chuckle.

But as they returned to camp, Jiang Nian looked over at the guest rest area—then froze in place, her face instantly turning pale.

“Wenyu is gone!”

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