After Being Bound to the Scummy Alpha System, I Became Famous Thanks to My Face Blindness - Chapter 41

Out of a deep sense of guilt, Tang Ling barely slept that night. She lay awake as the raindrops outside trickled from the eaves until dawn.

In contrast, Tan Shiyi slept soundly. Perhaps it was the comfort of Tang Ling’s embrace that gave her a sense of security. Several times she turned over, only to settle back into sleep almost immediately, adjusting her position to hold Tang Ling a little tighter.

The closer she clung, the more conflicted Tang Ling felt inside—her heart aching at the thought of hurting her.

By a little after four, the sky had begun to lighten. The drizzling rain that had lasted all night finally stopped, replaced by the distant cries of seagulls as they streaked across the sky.

Half-awake, Tan Shiyi yawned, then suddenly became aware of the heat enveloping her. Her eyes snapped open wide.

Tang Ling felt the shift immediately and, daring not to respond, closed her eyes and feigned sleep.

Tan Shiyi paused, surprised. Her last memory was still at the little bar, where Jiang Manli had shamelessly bragged in front of her. She had been sitting at the bar, sipping from a highball glass, listening idly.

Everything that happened afterward was unknown to her.

But she could feel the changes in her own body. She could not miss the subtle ache at the back of her neck.

Things had happened between her and Tang Ling that she had never even dared to imagine before.

Unfortunately, it all occurred while her consciousness was hazy.

She observed Tang Ling’s sleeping face up close. They rarely had the chance to be this close, and even more rarely this exposed to each other’s bare faces. From this distance, she could even see the faint sun freckles at the corner of Tang Ling’s eyes—real, adorable, and a sight only she had the privilege to witness.

Unable to resist, Tan Shiyi leaned in, studying her for a long moment before softly kissing the corner of Tang Ling’s eye.

Tang Ling was on the verge of breaking. Wake up if you must—why kiss her? Wasn’t one night of drunkenness enough?

At that moment, Xiao Nan whispered mischievously in her mind:

“Host, host! I’ve got this. All you have to do is say in a deep, steady voice, ‘Zhi Zi, stop,’ and I guarantee your arm will be perfectly fine in the next second!”

Tang Ling almost spat out her breath. Zhi, what Zhi Zi? Couldn’t she just give up her arm already?

Unable to continue pretending, she feigned disturbance, furrowing her brows slightly, and opened her eyes.

Tan Shiyi froze, unprepared to be caught so quickly, and instinctively closed her eyes.

Tang Ling: “Seriously? Taking turns pretending to sleep now?”

She brushed away the stray hairs on Tan Shiyi’s forehead. “Awake?”

Tan Shiyi, embarrassed, lowered her head slightly. “Mm.”

Xiao Nan barked another instruction:

“Tell her, ‘Last night, you came to me willingly. I’m not responsible for what happened.’”

Tang Ling couldn’t bring herself to be so blunt. Instead, she said gently, “You drank too much last night.”

Xiao Nan snorted.

Tang Ling sighed in exasperation: “Can you just be quiet for once?”

Tan Shiyi nodded. “I know. I have a vague memory.”

Even though Tang Ling was frustrated, reason had to be spoken. She said seriously, “Have I ever told you that you get overheated when drunk? Why did you drink in front of someone else?”

Tan Shiyi’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was so weak with alcohol. I was only with Jiang Manli. Not in front of anyone else.”

“Jiang Manli isn’t ‘anyone else’? She’s an Alpha. You were completely unguarded?”

Tan Shiyi quickly hugged Tang Ling tighter. “Don’t be mad. I won’t do it again.”

Xiao Nan screamed internally:

“Host!!! What are you doing? Your Scummy Alpha points just dropped 6 again! You only have 5 left! Saying this just makes her think you care about her! Are you trying to become an N-level Omega?”

Tang Ling panicked slightly. Wasn’t she being reasonable? She hadn’t said anything flattering, had she? Taking a firmer stance, she said coldly, “I’m not angry. What happened yesterday was just an accident.”

Tan Shiyu paused, loosening her hold slightly.

Yes, that’s right. Tang Ling breathed a sigh of relief and continued, “You don’t remember last night, do you? You overheated, and there was no inhibitor here. You begged me to mark you temporarily, and I agreed.”

Even though it was stated plainly as fact, Tan Shiyi’s heart tightened at her words. She nodded vaguely.

Tang Ling’s heart ached, but she pressed on: “As for what happened afterward, you already know.”

Tan Shiyi lowered her eyes and whispered softly, “I didn’t say anything to offend you, did I?”

Tang Ling, frustrated that her Scummy Alpha points still weren’t moving, steeled herself: “You said you wanted me to mark you permanently.”

Tan Shiyi’s face flushed with panic. “I said that?”

Tang Ling reassured her, “Don’t worry. I didn’t take it seriously. After all, you were drunk—I understand.”

Tan Shiyi’s face clouded with sadness. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again—unable to find the words.

Tang Ling spoke reasonably. “It’s late. You should go back to your room. If you wait much longer and they wake up, it’ll be awkward for you to leave from my room.”

Tan Shiyi listened silently and responded with a soft, “Oh.”

She took a deep breath, as if seeking final confirmation. “So, this whole thing was just me imagining it, right?”

By saying “imagining it,” she admitted that from the start she had never hidden her feelings for Tang Ling.

A pang of guilt hit Tang Ling, but her scummy Alpha score hadn’t budged. She forced out the cruelest thing she could think of in the moment. “I think our bodies actually match pretty well. If you ever need anything, you can come to me anytime.”

Tan Shiyi froze, convinced she’d misheard. After a long moment she gave a self-mocking laugh. “You make yourself very clear. I understand. I won’t bother you again, and you don’t need to stoop to insulting me like this.”

With that she rose to dress.

It was the same outfit from the previous night, still smelling of alcohol and rumpled from their closeness. She picked it up without a glance, slipped into it with an icy composure as if nothing mattered.

Tang Ling felt she had already been excessively cruel; still, the little system hadn’t reported any change in her scummy Alpha rating. She sat up instead, leaning lazily against the headboard. “Angry?”

Tan Shiyi ignored her and finished dressing, smoothing back her hair.

She was about to leave when she stopped at the door, turned around, and fixed Tang Ling with a steady look. “So everything before was a lie, then? Right—of course. You’re that kind of person. I was a fool to believe otherwise. Tang Ling, if your aim was to toy with me, congratulations—you’ve won completely.”

Seeing tears cloud Tan Shiyi’s eyes made Tang Ling’s chest ache, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything comforting. She only gave a nonchalant smile. “That’s a bit harsh. Didn’t you also want it? Wasn’t it mutual?”

Tan Shiyi smiled. “Fine. You’re right—mutual, indeed.”

She bit down her words and, with what little dignity she had left, slammed the door behind her.

No sooner had the door shut than Tang Ling hastily summoned the little system. “Wait—explain this. We’re at that point and the scummy Alpha score didn’t change? How?”

The system bubbled with delight. “Changed? Of course! Host, your scummy Alpha score shot up to sixty-nine. Not only did you gain flawless skin, you also got a perfect jawline and a stunning crown—only nine points away from the next reward, elongated fingers. Host, you are the pinnacle of this season’s scumbags—no one’s more scummy than you!”

Tang Ling cut in, exasperated. “It went up that much—why didn’t you say so sooner? If I’d known I’d completed the task, would I have said all those horrible things?”

The system countered, “Your arm’s wound has healed—didn’t you notice? Besides, you told me to stay quiet earlier. I didn’t want to interrupt you and mess up your performance.”

At that remark Tang Ling suddenly realized her arm no longer hurt. But earlier she’d been too on edge to notice anything else.

She laughed angrily. “You didn’t exactly help my performance. Now what? Shiyi probably hates me to death. What am I supposed to do? How can I stay on this team?”

“Enter the tragic ‘chase-the-wife’ arc!” the system said with glee. “The ultimate scummy Alpha move is the revenge-of-the-chaser! You can’t only have me tormenting my Shiyi—you should taste regret too!”

Tang Ling: “…”

Isn’t my regret directly your doing?

Tang Ling had no desire to continue conversing with the little customer-service bot; it was certifiably mad.

She unwrapped the bandage from her arm. The skin underneath was indeed smooth and pale, flawless as before. Too bad she couldn’t show it to anyone—she rewrapped the bandage with one hand, the tape stuck crookedly.

Normally, a healed wound would make daily life much easier, but in that moment Tang Ling couldn’t feel any happiness.

She remembered the bandaging back at the hospital—Tan Shiyi had helped the doctor wrap it. She remembered the way Shiyi had pressed her lips together and worked with cautious care, afraid of causing pain.

Now, Tang Ling thought, Shiyi probably wanted nothing more than to cut off that arm.

An inexplicable heaviness settled in Tang Ling’s chest; she felt short of breath.

She had grown used to the way things were between her and Tan Shiyi and could not imagine their relationship resetting to zero.

She let out a long, deep sigh and buried her head back under the covers.