After Transmigrating into a Scummy Alpha, I Marked the Cold Film Empress - Chapter 87

◎Fitting the Dress◎

“If you like, there will be surprises waiting for you on every birthday, anniversary, and Valentine’s Day from now on.”

Yuan Lai enumerated the future they would share.

“By agreeing to be with me, you’ve given me the chance to prepare surprises for you.”

“So, I’ll cherish every opportunity you give me.”

She leaned down again, this time with the utmost tenderness.

Outside, the cold wind howled through the night, but inside, it was warm and full of life.

The bedroom light had already been turned off. Song Qingxu’s pale wrist clutched the bedsheet tightly. The thin blanket covering her had become too warm, so she kicked it onto the floor, now scattered with rose petals.

The gray blanket fell amid the pink-and-white petals, unwillingly infused with a romantic aura. Yuan Lai had already unwrapped half of the gift boxes she had meticulously prepared for Song Qingxu—one for every year since she was born. Wrapping paper was scattered across the floor.

So were their clothes.

Night always seemed fleeting here. Yuan Lai was awakened by the glaring sunlight and realized she had forgotten to draw the curtains before bed.

She glanced at Song Qingxu, still peacefully asleep. Lifting the corner of the blanket, she reached out and pressed the bedside switch, drawing the curtains slowly toward the center.

The intrusive sunlight was blocked by the double-layer curtains. Yuan Lai lay back down, returning to her dream that included Song Qingxu.

“Gurgle.”

Song Qingxu woke up hungry. When she opened her eyes, she realized Yuan Lai was holding her in a tight embrace. She wanted to steal a few more minutes of sleep, but her stomach rebelled, growling insistently.

Reluctantly, Song Qingxu moved Yuan Lai’s arm off her and quietly slipped out of the bedroom without disturbing her.

Breakfast service had already ended, and she didn’t want to trouble the staff. Opening the fridge, she found ingredients Yuan Lai had bought earlier.

She cut a fruit platter, made a simple fried egg, and brewed a must-have cup of coffee. A delicious, healthy breakfast was ready.

[New day, new breakfast]

Satisfied, Song Qingxu snapped a photo before taking her first bite of egg.

“What are you eating?”

The thought of Yuan Lai flashed through her mind just as the familiar voice sounded nearby.

“You’re awake?”

“Having breakfast.”

Song Qingxu hadn’t expected Yuan Lai to wake so early, so she hadn’t prepared a second breakfast. Thinking quickly, she split her fried egg in half.

“Do you want some?”

Yuan Lai didn’t hesitate. She pulled up the chair next to Song Qingxu, opened her mouth wide, and said, “Feed me.”

Song Qingxu cut her egg into small pieces and fed them to her.

Yuan Lai chewed only a few times before praising lavishly, “Delicious!”

Song Qingxu left the rest of her egg on the plate for Yuan Lai, sipping her coffee slowly.

“Do you want more?”

Yuan Lai wasn’t really here to compete over food. She quickly got up. “You eat first; I’ll cut some more fruit.”

When she returned with the fruit platter, she saw that Song Qingxu had stubbornly reserved half of the egg for her. Yuan Lai didn’t protest further and was about to enjoy the sweet breakfast prepared by Song Qingxu. But then she thought of Song Qingxu’s latest social media post and snapped a photo of her own breakfast.

[Breakfast made by my wife—delicious!!! 👍]

The photo showed the plate with the fried egg.

[Song Qingxu actually gets up to cook for love! I can’t accept this.]

[Half an egg for breakfast? That’s a bit stingy.]

[You don’t understand. Yuan Lai is showing off her wife-made breakfast.]

[Anyone notice that Yuan Lai’s half-egg looks like leftovers from Song Qingxu’s plate?]

[The plate is identical, edges and browning match perfectly—it’s definitely the leftovers.]

[Poor thing. Half an egg for breakfast and still bragging, unlike me—I can down a whole nutrition drink.]

Yuan Lai didn’t see any admiration in the comments—only claims that it was leftover food from Song Qingxu.

She immediately replied in the comments:

[Not leftovers! Song Qingxu got up early to make me a breakfast full of love.]

[You don’t understand—sour grapes.]

[The photo only shows the egg. There’s more fruit—it’s just not in the picture.]

Indeed, there were other fruits, more than one kind.

As for “getting up early,” yes, Song Qingxu had risen before her today.

The “made especially for me” part was true too. Splitting half of the egg for Yuan Lai still counted as making it especially for her.

“Love breakfast”—because the fried egg had been shaped like a heart, Yuan Lai cheerfully called it that.

She was confident that every word she said was true. Why didn’t people believe her?

[Let them live in their dreams.]

[Concrete self-deception.]

[She got up before dawn to make Yuan Lai breakfast.]

[Look at the timing—Song Qingxu’s post versus Yuan Lai’s, 20 minutes apart, just enough to finish breakfast.]

[Exactly. If it was really made for her, the posts would be simultaneous.]

Unable to argue with the netizens, Yuan Lai slammed the screen down and chewed her food with extra force. She ate the fruit in big bites, savoring the small amount of egg slowly.

She comforted herself, knowing the commenters were just jealous that she had a wife who made breakfast.

After finishing, she didn’t return to the comment section but sought out Song Qingxu to discuss the next leg of their journey.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it, it was time to go home.

Yuan Lai closed the last suitcase, clapped her hands, and stood up.

“Phew!”

She took a deep breath.

“Finally packed everything!”

Yuan Lai glanced at the time—her arranged driver should be here by now. She pushed her suitcase and stepped out of the walk-in closet.

Song Qingxu was in the living room checking for any forgotten items. Seeing Yuan Lai emerge, she spoke:

“All set. Let’s go.”

After the staff loaded their luggage into the car, the two set off for home.

At the Yuan family’s old residence, night had fully fallen, yet the house was brightly lit. Normally, at this hour, the early-to-bed Yuan Jingyun would already be in her room resting. But tonight, she sat on the sofa with Mimi in her arms.

Any small sound outside made her glance eagerly toward the window, hoping to catch sight of Yuan Lai and Song Qingxu returning.

“Meow?”

Mimi didn’t understand, mewing twice in confusion before settling comfortably on Yuan Jingyun’s lap.

In the quiet of the night, the crunch of tires over dry leaves sounded unusually distinct. Yuan Jingyun immediately went to the window and saw a familiar car pulling in.

“They’re finally back.”

She stood, holding Mimi, and walked toward the door—just in time to bump into the couple holding hands as they entered.

“Glad you’re home.”

The two called out in unison as they stepped down from the car, “Mother!”

Seeing the couple getting along so well, Yuan Jingyun smiled in relief and patted Mimi on the head.

“Meow! Meow!”

Excited to see them, Mimi struggled to leap from Yuan Jingyun’s arms.

“Mimi, long time no see. Do you remember me?”

Song Qingxu bent down to Mimi’s level, gently stroking the fur at the back of its neck. Mimi purred in contentment.

“Meow.”

Mimi rubbed against her hand, clearly recognizing her.

Yuan Lai joined in, attempting to pet the cat as Song Qingxu had, but her technique was far less skilled. Mimi’s fur bristled under her touch.

“All right, don’t block the doorway. Dinner’s still warm in the kitchen. Go eat.”

The journey had been long. After a quick dinner, the two hurriedly washed up and collapsed into bed, sleeping until late the next morning.

Yuan Lai stretched lazily—she hadn’t slept this long in ages. Feeling refreshed, she went downstairs for breakfast.

At the table, Yuan Lai ate breakfast while Yuan Jingyun enjoyed lunch.

“Are you going out today?” Yuan Jingyun asked.

“Mm,” Yuan Lai replied, “we’re going to try on wedding dresses with Song Qingxu.”

“Will you be back for dinner?”

“Not sure. Depends on when we finalize things.”

With the wedding approaching, the main dress still hadn’t been chosen.

Soon, Song Qingxu came downstairs.

“Good morning, Mother.”

“Good morning, Qingxu. You’re up—come have some breakfast.”

Yuan Lai pulled out her chair for her.

“Why not sleep a little longer?”

“I’ve slept enough.”

After a simple breakfast like Yuan Lai, she grabbed her bag and headed out together with her.

At the table, Yuan Jingyun slowly enjoyed her lunch and instructed Aunt Wang, “Prepare dinner for three tonight.”

The driver took them directly to their destination. Having made an appointment in advance, there was little small talk—they went straight to business.

Yuan Lai didn’t want to waste time and had the staff bring out the wedding dresses Song Qingxu had pre-selected.

The staff smiled. “We knew you’d be coming today. The dresses on display are the ones you both filtered through already. Please feel free to look around.”

Yuan Lai glanced up. Through the transparent glass display cases, rows of pristine white wedding dresses were arranged—off-the-shoulder, trains, strapless, mermaid, ballgown, intricate lace, satin, a dazzling variety that made her eyes nearly spin.

She blinked and began examining each dress carefully.

Each gown held its head high, standing proudly before her, showing only its best posture.

The store’s circular display seemed endless, with glass cases lining both sides, filled with showcased dresses. Even so, Yuan Lai frowned slightly as she scanned them.

They were beautiful, yes, but something still felt missing.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it—a vague, elusive feeling.

Turning to Song Qingxu, she asked, “Do any of these catch your eye?”

“They’re all pretty.” Song Qingxu began, then shifted her tone. “But none of them make me gasp. Not dazzling enough.”

Yuan Lai immediately agreed. “I feel the same way!”

The further in they went, the less the displayed dresses appealed to them. Just as Yuan Lai was about to give up on the day’s outing, Song Qingxu took a soft breath.

At the far end of the room, in a corner of the glass display, stood a solitary gown.

It was unadorned—no extra decorations, not even a spotlight overhead. Light from the other displays refracted across it, falling on the snowy satin skirt like a cloak of moonlight.

“Let’s try this one!”

They both spoke at once.