After Being Bound to the Scummy Alpha System, I Became Famous Thanks to My Face Blindness - Chapter 23

While Madam Tang went off to have the guest room prepared, Tang Ling took the opportunity to bring Tan Shiyi back to her own room first.

Tan Shiyi really had no alcohol tolerance. Two glasses of red wine were all it took for her to get tipsy and dazed. She’d still been trying to hold herself together in the hallway, but the moment they entered the room, her whole body went limp and collapsed right into Tang Ling’s arms.

Tang Ling caught her in time, steadying her by the shoulders and guiding her to sit down on the bed.

“If you can’t handle alcohol, you shouldn’t drink at all. Do you want me to ask the kitchen to make you some hangover soup?”

Tan Shiyi blinked, her gaze momentarily clear. “They were being too hospitable. I couldn’t say no. And I didn’t drink that much.”

Tang Ling sighed. “Yeah, right. If this is you after two glasses, I’d hate to see what happens when you actually drink too much.”

Tan Shiyi leaned in closer, studying Tang Ling’s expression intently. “A’ling, are you mad at me?”

Tang Ling froze. “Why are you suddenly calling me that?”

Tan Shiyi looked serious. “That’s what everyone calls you. Can’t I?”

“Well, it’s not that you can’t.” Tang Ling felt something was a little off and stood up. “I’ll go tell the kitchen to make you something to sober up. You’re clearly drunk.”

But before she could leave, Tan Shiyi grabbed her wrist tightly—surprisingly strong for someone who could barely stay upright. “Don’t leave me alone.”

With no choice, Tang Ling sat back down, letting Tan Shiyi lean against her.

Tan Shiyi rested her head on Tang Ling’s shoulder, then took Tang Ling’s right hand and examined it finger by finger before tracing along her palm.

The light touch made Tang Ling’s palm tingle, sending a shiver up her arm. She endured the sensation and asked, “So? Find anything interesting?”

Tan Shiyi nodded seriously. “Your love line is wavy. It means you’re fickle in love, not serious enough for anything long-lasting.”

Tang Ling was speechless. “You can read palms now?”

Tan Shiyi nodded again. “Mm. I heard it from Grandpa at the courtyard.”

Tang Ling caught her hand and said, “Then what about yours?”

Tan Shiyi lowered her gaze, her voice soft and a little forlorn. “My love line is short. Grandpa said people like me have weak ties to others—fated to go through life alone.”

“Utter nonsense,” Tang Ling muttered, silently cursing that old man for filling her head with superstitions. “You’re a good person. You’ll meet people who truly care about you.”

Tan Shiyi blinked at her. “Really?”

“Of course,” Tang Ling said gently.

Tan Shiyi smiled, bright and radiant. “That’s wonderful, then.”

She tightened her arms around Tang Ling’s arm, snuggled closer against her shoulder, and after a soft nuzzle, closed her eyes in contentment. Her breathing soon evened out.

Tang Ling could hear her own heart thudding uncontrollably. She didn’t dare move, afraid of waking the girl leaning against her.

A light knock came at the door. “Lingling, Mom’s coming in, okay?”

Before Tang Ling could respond, Madam Tang pushed the door open—and froze for a split second at the sight before her. Tan Shiyi was asleep, nestled against Tang Ling’s shoulder.

Madam Tang’s eyes lit up with joy. She mouthed silently, ‘Shiyi’s asleep?’

Tang Ling nodded, carefully supporting Tan Shiyi as she stood. “I’ll take her to her room to rest.”

“Gently now, don’t wake her,” Madam Tang whispered, then clenched her fists in a mock cheer. “Go for it, Lingling! Mom believes in you!”

Tang Ling: “…”

Yes, yes, she knew. Her mother was the ultimate shipper.

Tang Ling helped Tan Shiyi into the bedroom next door. It was spotless and warmly lit, with fresh linens and a soft amber glow from the bedside lamp.

She wanted to lay Tan Shiyi down, but the girl clung stubbornly to her arm, practically glued to her.

Left with no choice, Tang Ling slipped her other arm under Tan Shiyi’s knees, lifted her up, and placed her gently on the bed.

Tan Shiyi murmured hazily, eyes still closed, “A’ling.”

“I’m here,” Tang Ling said softly, coaxing her as she bent down to remove her shoes.

Tan Shiyi wore white, lace-up leather sandals that wound delicately around her ankles. Her feet, slender and pale as jade, had nails painted in a subtle apricot hue—elegant and understated.

Tang Ling couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Beautiful people really were beautiful everywhere—even their feet looked like works of art.

Once the shoes were off, Tang Ling frowned slightly.

Now, what to do about her clothes?

She knew Tan Shiyi didn’t have many casual outfits. Tonight’s French-style vintage dress was one she had carefully picked for its elegance and modesty.

But it definitely wasn’t suitable for sleeping in.

Tang Ling wanted to help her change into the nightclothes Madam Tang had prepared, but as an Alpha, she really couldn’t bring herself to do it. She leaned closer to whisper, “Shiyi, Shiyi.”

Tan Shiyi stirred, opening her eyes in confusion. “Mm?”

“When I leave, can you change into your pajamas yourself?”

Tan Shiyi glanced around, disoriented, as if she couldn’t remember how she’d ended up in bed. “Where are you going?”

Tang Ling kept her tone gentle. “I’ll be right next door. If you need anything, come find me.”

“Oh.” Tan Shiyi’s voice was tinged with disappointment. “You’re leaving again.”

“I’m just next door,” Tang Ling repeated softly. “Be good and change into your sleepwear. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Tan Shiyi lowered her gaze. “Okay. See you in the morning.”

Tang Ling was about to make her escape when Tan Shiyi’s voice sounded again from behind her. “A’ling, I had a really good time today.”

Tang Ling turned back with a smile. “Me too.”

The moment she stepped out and closed the door, her smile vanished.

She rushed back to her room, went straight to the mirror—and in one swift motion, stripped off her clothes.

Just what is this so-called ‘powerful, curvy physique’ supposed to mean?

She definitely didn’t sign up to turn into some kind of musclebound Barbie!

Facing the mirror, she examined herself carefully: her chest looked fuller, her abs tighter, her hips rounder and her legs—originally not perfectly straight—now long and beautifully shaped.

Well. That was definitely new.

This was supposed to be a good change! Why on earth would they call it something so terrifying like “Majestic Curves”?

She was worried that this “Majestic Curves” might be majestic in some way she hadn’t noticed yet, so after double-checking that her biceps and triceps looked perfectly normal, she turned to Xiao Nan and asked, “Xiao Nan, has my ‘Majestic Curves’ reward been credited yet?”

Xiao Nan chirped happily, “Confirmed! The reward has been successfully issued! Is the host satisfied with the system’s gift?”

Tang Ling sighed. “Let me give you some serious feedback — can you please start naming rewards more normally next time? I mean, ‘Impressive Chest Muscles’ and ‘Incredible Arm Strength’ were already pushing it, but ‘Majestic Curves’? That’s straight-up scary.”

Xiao Nan sounded puzzled. “Really? But the system believes that eye-catching names will better motivate hosts to strive for progress!”

Motivate my foot! I nearly had a heart attack! Tang Ling muttered, “Something like ‘Perfect Jawline’ works just fine — simple and elegant. You should use more names like that.”

Xiao Nan hesitated. “Really? But.”

Tang Ling narrowed her eyes. “What? Don’t tell me there’s something wrong with this ‘Perfect Jawline’ reward.”

“Of course not!” Xiao Nan quickly denied. “It’s just that some hosts said their jawlines were already perfect, so they found the reward kind of pointless.”

Tang Ling: “…”

A system that called its own rewards useless — now that was a first.

Still, she could understand why. Jawlines only start to blur when the skin loosens with age, and this system mainly targeted young Alphas who hadn’t even undergone their secondary differentiation yet. Naturally, the reward seemed redundant.

But redundant was still better than horrifying. Tang Ling exhaled in relief. “Alright, alright. You can go now. I’m going to sleep.”

Xiao Nan hummed softly, almost shyly. “Host. Host.”

Tang Ling immediately grew alert again. “What now?”

With a bashful tone, Xiao Nan said, “Xiao Nan thinks you and Shiyi make a really good match! The host should keep it up!”

Tang Ling: “…”

Keep it up how — by earning more Scummy-Alpha points?

What kind of system got all bashful talking about CPs instead of doing its job? Honestly.

Late that night, after running around all day and having a few drinks, Tang Ling quickly drifted into a deep sleep.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when she began to hear faint rustling sounds somewhere in the room.

Half-asleep, she brushed it off as a dream, rubbing her drowsy eyes and blinking open—only to be completely jolted awake by what she saw.

In the pitch-dark room, a girl with long, disheveled hair was crouched by her bedside, staring at her motionlessly.

“Ah!” Tang Ling gasped, instinctively scrambling toward the inner side of the bed.

“A’ling, it’s me.” The girl sounded startled by her reaction, her tone tinged with grievance.

“Shi—Shiyi?”

Tang Ling felt her soul nearly leave her body. She hurriedly switched on the bedside lamp and let out a long, shaky breath.

Sitting up, she studied Tan Shiyi calmly. The girl hadn’t even changed into pajamas — her elegant French vintage dress was wrinkled all over, and her bare feet peeked from beneath the hem.

Clearly, she hadn’t sobered up yet. The clear-headed Tan Shiyi would never let herself be seen in such a state.

Tang Ling’s heart was still pounding. She took several deep breaths before asking, “How did you get in here?”

“I knocked,” Tan Shiyi murmured, head lowered. “You didn’t hear me.”

“You can’t just walk into someone’s room like that — you almost scared me to death, you know?” Tang Ling tried to reason with her, though she knew reasoning with a drunk person was probably pointless.

“You said I could come find you. Are you angry?” Tan Shiyi’s voice softened, a hint of caution and pleading slipping through.

“I’m not angry. What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“It’s cold and dark. I can’t sleep.”

“Cold? Isn’t your room’s air conditioning auto-regulated?” Tang Ling remembered leaving a light on for her before she left, and got up to check.

But Tan Shiyi caught her hand. “Can you not leave me alone?”

Tang Ling tried to coax her gently. “Then how about we go back together, alright?”

But Tan Shiyi shook her head. “No.”

She bit her lip and whispered, almost inaudibly.

“Tonight, I want to stay here with you.”