Becoming the Comfort Alpha for the Aloof Movie Queen - Chapter 102

“Going to like someone else?”

The moisture in the Omega’s eyes hadn’t faded; her peach-blossom eyes curved slightly, and the arc of her lips revealed a mysterious, teasing smile.

Liang Ruojing was thrown into a state of chaotic fluster.

So, Sister Tanqing knew exactly what she was worried about all along.

And yet, she had pretended to be oblivious before.

Liang Ruojing felt a small surge of bashfulness, but she couldn’t bring herself to be angry at all.

In her heart, Ming Tanqing had always been a little bit “wicked.”

She enjoyed teasing people in a way that wasn’t hateful—much like a cat insisting on knocking over a water glass right in front of its owner, just to watch the owner become anxious and helpless.

Liang Ruojing liked this side of Ming Tanqing.

It proved that the Omega felt relaxed and at ease by her side.

Time slipped away unnoticed as sunset approached. They sat together for a while longer, taking in the autumn scenery. The atmosphere was so serene and beautiful that neither wanted to break it.

At 5:00 PM, Ming Tanqing received a call from her studio; she had a dinner engagement that evening.

Seeing this, Liang Ruojing stood up and volunteered to drive Ming Tanqing to the North Gate.

Only after watching the taillights disappear did, she pick up her phone, intending to call a cab back to her apartment.

The moment she unlocked the screen, over a dozen missed calls jumped out one after another. The notification boxes were flashing incessantly, looking like a lagging software bug.

Liang Ruojing froze.

Was her phone broken?

It wasn’t. Tang Yuecen called again.

The manager’s roar pierced her eardrums:

“Liang Ruojing! Can you two be a bit more low-profile when you go on dates?! Tell me, are you planning to go public, or do you just not want your job anymore?”

“I’m almost at Jingda (Peking University). I’ll pick you up on the way.”

In the gap while waiting for her manager, Liang Ruojing opened Weibo. The moment she saw the trending topics, her confusion turned into shock.

She and Ming Tanqing were on the trending searches—and not just for one topic.

#MingTanqingLiangRuojing

#LiangRuojingGivesMingTanqingARide

#MingTanqingLiangRuojingIntimateContact

She clicked into the “Intimate Contact” tag. At the top of the hot posts was a ten-second video.

Filmed from a bystander’s perspective, the image quality was blurry, but it didn’t hinder identifying the two people embracing.

This was the first time Liang Ruojing had seen herself and Ming Tanqing from a third-person perspective.

Was Sister Tanqing really that small in her arms?

She could wrap her arms completely around her.

Sister Tanqing had even stood on her tiptoes; she hadn’t even noticed.

Hmm, let me see what others filmed.

Tang Yuecen arrived quickly. Even from several meters away, she could see the “smug and cheap” smile on her artist’s face.

Fine, fine.

She wanted the girl to reflect, but it seemed she was busy admiring herself instead.

Liang Ruojing got into the car and continued browsing the trending content.

In the other tag, #LiangRuojingGivesMingTanqingARide, the hottest post was also a video.

The person filming was likely in a nearby academic building, looking down from a high vantage point. The lens captured her and Sister Tanqing.

The bicycle moved from far to near, with Ming Tanqing’s hands circled around her waist.

Occasionally encountering speed bumps, Liang Ruojing would be mischievous and cycle over them at full speed, causing the Omega to lift off the seat slightly.

Startled, Ming Tanqing would punish her by pinching Liang Ruojing’s stomach.

Being ticklish, she immediately begged for mercy, instinctively turning her head to try and see the other person’s profile.

The camera recorded this exact segment.

The Alpha’s smile was bright and clear as she coaxed the person on the back seat; the Omega looked “angry,” yet her eyes were curved, and the smile on her face was nothing but doting.

With the dreamy atmosphere of an idol drama, the standard configuration of a handsome Alpha and a beautiful Omega, combined with their celebrity status, this video went viral.

It wasn’t just on Weibo; the view counts on other platforms were also staggering.

A video creator gave it a title:

Every campus drama needs to follow this standard!

A crowd of innocent passersby flooded the comments:

“Ahhh, so pure!”

“So easy on the eyes! Requesting the title of the drama!”

“In one second, I want all the information on these two!”

Until someone recognized them:

“Isn’t this Ming Tanqing and Liang Ruojing?”

“Yeah, look at the background, that’s Jingda.”

“…I have a bold guess.”

“I just came from the ‘hug’ post. What’s the situation? Did they kiss?”

As the popularity of the video soared, the fans of both sides showed great coordination, rushing to the front lines to clarify.

“The drama they collaborated on, ‘Jiqiu,’ is currently airing. This should be a promotional tactic.”

“I asked around; the main cast is holding a sharing session at Jingda.”

“It’s just marketing.”

“This posture on a bicycle is normal, right?”

“My bestie and I hug like this too.”

Initially, not many people took it seriously; it was just two beauties in the same frame with lovely interaction, to be shipped politely.

But because the fans kept clarifying so insistently, many “fun-seekers” developed a rebellious streak and actually started shipping them for real, dedicating themselves to digging up “crumbs” from every nook and cranny.

The livestream clips from the Jiqiu press conference day were dug up.

Fans who came for the hype immediately discovered the blind spot.

In the five-minute video, Liang Ruojing literally stared at Ming Tanqing for the entire five minutes!

Her gaze was focused; even the dim lighting couldn’t hide those sparkling “puppy eyes.”

“I can’t take it; this is so ship-worthy.”

“Who understands! Liang Ruojing’s gaze is so much like a big dog’s. I’m switching sides.”

“LMAO, Ming Tanqing kept coughing. She was probably trying to warn her.”

When Liang Ruojing saw this one, her world felt like it was ending.

Why didn’t any staff members tell her there was a picture-in-picture window!

And! Wasn’t Sister Tanqing’s throat just uncomfortable?!

Ahhh, this is so embarrassing!

Liang Ruojing rolled around on her bed twice. Thinking of Ming Tanqing’s helpless expression that day, her ears burned so red they could practically drip blood.

It’s okay, it’s in the past.

She comforted herself, and with a slide of her finger, she opened the bicycle video again.

Ming Tanqing was smiling very happily in the shot.

Liang Ruojing downloaded the video directly, switched to her alt account, and gave it a “Like.”

She then took a turn through the Super Topic she had guarded for five months. Looking left and right, she was unspeakably satisfied.

She took a screenshot of the follower count and sent it to the “random code” friend in her contact list.

Look! 10,000 fans!

Liang Ruojing felt an indescribable gratitude toward this person with the default avatar.

While she was filming, she had relied entirely on “Random Code” sending sunny little essays to maintain the activity level; otherwise, the Super Topic would have been reclaimed by the platform long ago.

The person opposite her was a major contributor. Now that the hard work was paying off, Liang Ruojing felt it necessary to offer her thanks.

Thank you for helping me. Now that there are active fans, you don’t have to work so hard to check in anymore. Sorry for the trouble all this time.

The “Random Code” person remained as aloof as ever.

No thanks needed. Congratulations. No trouble.

Looking at the emoji Liang Ruojing sent on the screen, Ming Tanqing let out a soft laugh.

Qi Lin, driving the car, caught the Omega’s lighthearted smile in the rearview mirror and said, “What is it? Did you get back together?”

What ‘back together’?

Ming Tanqing looked up, meeting her gossiping manager’s eyes.

“No.”

Qi Lin continued to tease:

“Right, I almost forgot. You and Little Liang have never actually been together.”

The half-smile on Ming Tanqing’s face vanished instantly. Her raven-feather lashes pressed down over her beautiful blue eyes, making her look conflicted and helpless.

Was it a mistake to agree to Liang Ruojing’s suggestion of ‘being friends first’?

Should they have formalized the relationship first?

Ming Tanqing recalled the overwhelming praise for the Alpha she had just seen on Weibo and felt a sense of crisis.

But… the Liang Ruojing by the lake this afternoon had seemed so sincere.

Just as her fans described, she was like a big dog whose eyes could only hold one person, giving her a full sense of security to “take things slowly.”

Seeing Ming Tanqing sink into conflict, Qi Lin looked at her through the mirror: “Xiao Qing, it’s good to want to think things over, but you also have to seize the opportunity. Little Liang is quite likeable.”

Ming Tanqing immediately asked, “Sister Qi, what do you mean by that? Liang Ruojing would go like someone else?”

Look at how anxious she is.

Qi Lin looked at Ming Tanqing like her own younger sister: “I’m just reminding you of a possibility.”

The corners of Ming Tanqing’s mouth pulled into a straight line: “She won’t.”

Her voice was a whisper, unclear if she was speaking to Qi Lin or to herself.

That night at 7:00 PM, the official Jiqiu account weighed in, posting a group photo of everyone visiting Jingda under Song Xuan’s lead.

“Autumn at Jingda is very beautiful. Thank you @PekingUniversityOfficial for the invitation. The Jiqiu sharing session ended perfectly. Please stay tuned for subsequent episodes.”

In doing so, the official account essentially acknowledged the trending topics.

It wasn’t a private date; it was an official activity.

There was no need to explain too much; it was best to stop at the right point without making things too definitive.

Liang Ruojing cooperated with the promotion and reposted the blog.

A fan commented directly below:

“A group outing turned into a duo outing. Little Jing and Ming-jie have a very good relationship.”

Liang Ruojing pressed down the corners of her mouth and replied reservedly:

We are friends, Heart

Just as she thought this matter was completely over, Liang Ruojing woke up the next morning to find that the engagement on yesterday’s post was unusually high.

She clicked in and realized that Sister Tanqing had reposted her reply.

Ming Tanqing: Ruojing is very considerate.

She scrolled through the comments.

She couldn’t look; she simply couldn’t look.

People were copying Ming Tanqing’s reply.

Five simple words had resulted in thousands of people joining a comment chain.

As Liang Ruojing mulled it over, she actually sensed a lot of ambiguous sweetness from it.

Both sides had responded, yet because the boundaries were blurred, it created a massive space for interpretation.

The trending tags remained popular, and the videos were widely circulated.

It wasn’t until three days later that their discussion was finally pushed down by another piece of social news.

A well-known Movie King was caught drunk driving and running a red light, and had attempted to flee when discovered by traffic police.

After the police issued the official “blue background, white text” notice, the entire internet was in an uproar.

Liang Ruojing had a headache; she was called back to the company overnight for a small meeting because of this.

Originally, she was scheduled to depart for a variety show recording the day after tomorrow.

The variety show was called “Lost Time.” It had three permanent members and two guest stars per episode. Celebrities would go to different cities to experience local customs and intangible cultural heritage.

Liang Ruojing was a guest for one episode as part of the promotion for Jiqiu.

Talk about bad luck.

That Movie King was the originally scheduled second guest.

With this incident, the show’s official Weibo was bombarded by netizens, who boycotted it and demanded a stance from the production team.

Fans prayed below, hoping the normal recording wouldn’t be affected.

Due to the public outcry, the show provided a solution: have Liang Ruojing meet up with the other three permanent members for a meal and post a group photo on social media to reassure the fans.

The next day, the official account released a new preview: two men and two women, without the Movie King.

“So he was replaced?”

“Only four people this episode? Will there be a mystery guest?”

“There are only three days left until recording; it’s hard to find a replacement on such short notice.”

People’s joys and sorrows are not shared; a small group of “CP fans” had already started celebrating because Ren Wanying was one of the permanent members of the show.

“Mom, the CP you ship has come back to life!”

Liang Ruojing was filming a commercial. During a break, she saw the netizens’ discussions.

“Will someone come to save the day?”

People were guessing everyone. As she scrolled down, she actually saw Ming Tanqing’s name.

“If it’s for drama promotion, it would be reasonable for Ming-jie to go…”

A bunch of people below pierced that fantasy:

“What level of fame does Ming Tanqing have? She hasn’t been on a variety show in years.”

Seeing this, Liang Ruojing couldn’t describe how she felt.

Perhaps in a hidden corner of her heart, she had also anticipated it.

Unlike the fans’ speculation, she was certain.

She had only come for the drama promotion after her own filming wrapped up, but Sister Tanqing was different—her movie was still filming. Being able to take a few days off for the roadshow was already difficult.

It was impossible for her to participate in this kind of variety show.

That evening, Liang Ruojing took a car to the dinner location.

Just as she got out, her phone rang with a familiar tone.

The screen displayed three words: “Sister Tanqing.”

Liang Ruojing immediately smiled: “Sister Tanqing, is there something you need me for?”

Ming Tanqing’s voice was gentle: “Ruojing, are you still in Yanjing?”

“I am.”

Ming Tanqing held the phone, the smile in her eyes deepening.

She had no plans tonight; perhaps she could have a meal with the Alpha.

There was a very popular rooftop restaurant in Yanjing with nightly piano performances; Liang Ruojing would surely like it.

Just as Ming Tanqing was about to extend the invitation, she heard a call from the other side that could only be described as ear-piercing.

“Ruojing! We haven’t seen each other in so long! Come here, come here!”

The person’s tone was very sweet and cute, with a rising lilt at the end of the sentence, sounding incredibly close.

Ming Tanqing: “Are you out eating with someone?”

Liang Ruojing had just finished her greetings with Ren Wanying: “Yes, I’m out for a group dinner.”

She had a dinner.

She didn’t even know.

Ming Tanqing’s eyelashes fluttered as she fell silent.

“Sister Tanqing? Do you have anything else?”

Ming Tanqing rubbed the phone case and said softly, “No, you go ahead with your business.”

“Okay.”

Liang Ruojing’s voice was still clear, but Ming Tanqing felt it wasn’t as happy as when she first answered.

Just as she was about to hang up, a low and pleasant voice came from the receiver again.

Liang Ruojing looked left and right, then whispered secretly into the phone: “Sister Tanqing, I miss you a little.”

The corners of Ming Tanqing’s mouth couldn’t help but curl up: “We will meet later.”

She hung up the phone, her heart lifted by the Alpha’s blunt declaration of need.

An hour later, her good mood vanished into thin air.

Liang Ruojing posted photos from the dinner.

There was Lu Chengwen, a singer she didn’t know, and the Omega sitting right next to her.

Ming Tanqing recognized this person—her name was Ren Wanying. She had collaborated with Liang Ruojing, they had a “ship,” and they were on good terms.

When she first got to know Liang Ruojing, she had seen many photos of her with Ren Wanying on her WeChat Moments.

Below were comments from fans:

“Looking forward to Yingying and Lawyer Liang’s trip to Hecheng! I ship you guys so much!”

“Waaa, seeing that you guys still have such a good relationship is so touching.”

“It would be great if someone could save the day. Four people is too lonely.”

Ming Tanqing’s face went cold. She looked at the comment section, then at the beaming Liang Ruojing in the photo.

She exited Weibo.

Her finger slid to the contacts, found “Qi Lin,” and pressed the call button without hesitation.

The phone rang for three seconds before Qi Lin answered.

“What’s wrong?”

Ming Tanqing: “I want to participate in that variety show.”

She wasn’t going to wait for ‘later.’