Becoming the Comfort Alpha for the Aloof Movie Queen - Chapter 104

Inch by inch, it enveloped the Omega’s skin.

Ming Tanqing stood dazed for a long while.

The male Beta called out again, “Sister Ming?”

She subconsciously took another look, just as the master craftsman arrived, and said, “Go ask the master. I’ll teach Ruojing first.”

As she turned back around, she was met directly by the Alpha’s resentful gaze. Liang Ruojing was clutching mud in her hands, her face full of displeasure.

If eyes could speak, Ming Tanqing reckoned she would have been condemned to death by her long ago.

Why?

Just because she took one extra look?

Ming Tanqing sat back down beside her, her jade-white hands cupping together. Within a few seconds, she pinched out another rough mold. She looked up at Liang Ruojing:

“How about now? Have you learned it?”

Liang Ruojing furrowed her brows and took over the rough mold.

She had indeed learned it; the second one she made looked much better than the first.

The Omega’s feather-light voice drifted over along with the warm fragrance on her body:

“Not stupid at all. Very clever.”

Liang Ruojing said reservedly, “I only learned it because you taught me a second time.”

A narrow, playful laugh escaped Ming Tanqing’s lips: “Mm, only just learned it.”

She was being teased.

Since her act had been seen through anyway, Liang Ruojing stopped holding back: “Don’t go teaching him.”

Ming Tanqing turned, her eyes colliding with the Alpha’s: “Why?”

She was asking despite already knowing the answer.

Liang Ruojing held her breath, her gaze returning to the slowly rotating semi-finished product. She muttered gloomily, “His character is bad. He steps on several boats at once—all the small actors in the circle know about it.”

Ming Tanqing’s expression froze. The fingers she had extended to help adjust the clay retracted: “Only because of that?”

Liang Ruojing nodded slowly.

Otherwise?

I’m jealous. You aren’t allowed to smile at others.

Heavens, she was so petty.

“I understand,” Ming Tanqing replied, something flickering in her eyes.

In the end, she still helped Liang Ruojing adjust the lopsided mold.

Once that segment ended, they filmed the lunch portion.

Liang Ruojing noticed that Ming Tanqing wasn’t in high spirits; she spoke very little and ate very little for lunch.

While the cameras weren’t filming, she secretly placed food in the other’s bowl several times. Having lived together before, the dishes she picked generally suited Ming Tanqing’s palate.

Ming Tanqing looked at her twice, then lowered her head and earnestly finished the bowl.

Watching the Omega’s cheeks puff out while eating, Liang Ruojing felt a sense of accomplishment.

It had to be her.

On the way to the next stop, Liang Ruojing originally intended to check on Ming Tanqing’s condition and share a few whispers.

Just as she approached, Lu Chengwen beat her to it.

The conversation between the two behind her drifted into her ears.

Lu Chengwen: “Tanqing, are you okay? Your face looks a bit pale.”

Ming Tanqing: “I’m fine. I arrived late, just a bit sleepy.”

Liang Ruojing remembered—she had indeed heard a commotion at 2:00 AM.

So that was Sister Tanqing.

Arrived at 2:00 AM, woken up at 6:00 AM… didn’t that mean she had slept for less than four hours?

Looking at it that way, it was only natural for her to be listless.

Liang Ruojing understood, but a question soon surfaced in the depths of her mind.

If she only reached the hotel at 2:00 AM, it meant her schedule was extremely tight. So why did Sister Tanqing come to this variety show?

Her status was so high.

She was filming a movie; she shouldn’t even have an opening in her schedule…

While she was lost in thought, the next activity location arrived.

Hecheng, where they were filming, had always been known as the “City of Flowers.” Flowers bloomed all year round, and many elderly locals would pick small flowers to make bracelets to sell along the streets—a local tradition.

The production crew brought out three baskets filled with various hand-woven floral bracelets. A few even more elaborate flower crowns were placed on top.

“The task for this stop is to sell bracelets,” the staff member said with a smile. “The first group to finish will receive a local specialty dessert.”

Groups?

Just as Liang Ruojing was about to ask, the staff member stepped forward with a bucket of lots.

For this segment, they were to be paired up. Including a local grandmother specially invited by the crew, they were divided into three teams.

Then came the reveal.

Liang Ruojing said, “I have the Plum Blossom.”

She looked nervously at Ming Tanqing’s profile.

However, the Omega’s gaze only lingered on her for a second before shifting away.

Ren Wanying approached with her lot, her eyes curving into a smile: “Xiao Liang, I’m the Plum Blossom.”

Ming Tanqing was assigned to the team with the grandmother.

Not wanting the elderly woman to carry the weight, she bent down and hooked the flower basket directly onto her arm.

Liang Ruojing felt rooted to the spot, watching wistfully as Ming Tanqing and the old woman walked toward another alley.

Ren Wanying nudged her with an arm, reminding her: “We’re still filming.”

Liang Ruojing forced a smile and picked up her own basket: “Sister Ren, let’s hurry.”

The act of “hawking” wares was entirely foreign to Ming Tanqing.

She could be the focus of millions on the silver screen, but standing on a street and actively shouting to attract attention made her feel embarrassed.

The grandmother helped with the calling. After with difficulty selling ten strings, Ming Tanqing encountered her own fans.

“Sister Ming! It really is you!”

The fan was flushed with excitement: “I knew it was possible! Why isn’t Liang Ruojing by your side?”

Ming Tanqing lowered her head, seriously selecting a bracelet: “She’s teamed up with someone else.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the fan gave a look of “this is outrageous.” After taking a photo with Ming Tanqing, the fan said before leaving, “Sister Ming, wait here. I’ll find you a helper right away.”

Find whom?

Ming Tanqing thought it might be other fans.

At that moment, the grandmother encountered a problem. Being elderly, she couldn’t walk too much, and her legs were aching.

Ming Tanqing hurriedly called the staff over: “Take the grandmother to rest first.”

Only after confirming the grandmother was fine did, she resume carrying the basket to sell the flowers.

It just wasn’t going very well.

Her aura was ethereal, her eyes naturally carrying a cool, aloof temperament that created a strong sense of distance.

When she strolled through the alley with a basket on her arm, it looked like a fashion show or a music video, but it didn’t look like she was selling flowers.

Halfway down the street, she had only sold two strings, and people didn’t even dare to speak much to her.

The cameraman reminded her: “Sister Ming, you need to call out to people.”

Ming Tanqing turned slightly, her gaze sweeping over the cameraman’s face: “Can you help me?”

The cameraman’s face turned shamelessly red.

But still: “No.”

Her arm was a bit sore.

Ming Tanqing looked up at the brilliant sky, her eyes stinging slightly from the dazzling sunlight.

Sister Qi’s worries were right; she hadn’t been on a variety show in a long time.

Maybe… she just shouldn’t sell them.

She could just carry them and wait until the next segment.

The fatigue from lack of sleep expanded under the catalyst of the warm sun. Ming Tanqing avoided the camera to let out a yawn.

Suddenly, the weight on her arm lightened.

The breeze brought a refreshing scent of mint.

Liang Ruojing looked at the more than half-full basket of bracelets and laughed: “Sister Tanqing, why have you only sold this many?”

Ming Tanqing’s eyes flickered: “Why are you here? What about Ren Wanying’s side?”

As she spoke, she reached out to take the basket back.

However, Liang Ruojing had already naturally hooked the basket onto her own arm.

“My side is already finished.”

Ming Tanqing turned and saw the fan from earlier looking at them with an expression of pure excitement.

“She called you here?”

“Mm,” Liang Ruojing’s face turned red as she muttered, “She’s a CP fan of ours.”

It was that very fan who had run up to her just now, showing her the photo of her and Ming Tanqing. With a pained expression, the fan whispered:

“How could you leave your wife… ahem, your master, all alone?”

“Sister Ming is so pitiful. There are so few people on her side; no one is buying flowers.”

Liang Ruojing had originally planned to finish selling quickly to go help, but hearing that, she started shouting even more vigorously.

As soon as she finished, she ran over frantically.

While Ming Tanqing was reflecting, a weight landed on her head the next second.

Liang Ruojing placed a flower crown on her head, her fingers brushing past as she did: “Let’s go, let’s sell flowers together.”

“What about the one on my head?”

Liang Ruojing grinned: “That’s the advertising space.”

Infected by her joy, Ming Tanqing finally let out a smile, like snow melting in spring: “Alright, I’ll leave it to you, Ruojing.”

Liang Ruojing’s steps were light as she began loudly helping to sell the bracelets.

Only then did the onlookers, who had been watching for a long time, realize: they weren’t just working; they were actually selling things.

More and more people crowded around.

Some came for their fame.

Others saw the bracelets on their wrists and found them more and more beautiful the longer they looked, becoming truly tempted.

The bracelets in the basket were quickly sold out. Someone even offered a high price, wanting to buy the flower crown on Ming Tanqing’s head.

Liang Ruojing’s guard went up instantly.

“Sorry, it’s not for sale!”

As she spoke, she put her arm around the Omega’s shoulder, shielding her as they left the crowded area.

After stepping out, the Alpha’s body heat still lingered on Ming Tanqing, warming her heart with a tingling afterglow that she couldn’t ignore.

In the end, Liang Ruojing’s team took first place.

During the dinner segment, the production crew brought out the prizes: two bowls of Osmanthus wine-stuffed rice balls.

Only the first-place team received them, and everyone cooperatively let out “Wow—” sounds of cheering.

As for why a half-eaten bowl of rice balls ended up in front of Ming Tanqing later?

The production crew felt exhausted.

The amount of editing needed was just too much.

Thankfully, these two were only here for one day; otherwise, this “Slow Variety” show would have turned into a “Dating Reality” show.

After dinner was the final event: watching an Iron Flower Dashuhua performance.

Tourists from all over crowded the performance area. They stood in the front row.

With a loud “Bang,” brilliant red flowers bloomed against the canvas of the night, sparking and scattering as if the Milky Way were within reach.

Amidst the clamor of the crowd, Ming Tanqing withdrew her gaze and looked at the Alpha a few people away.

Liang Ruojing’s face was illuminated by the firelight, her amber pupils shining brightly.

It reminded her of New Year’s Day, when she and Liang Ruojing watched fireworks together on the balcony.

Back then, the person watching the scenery only had eyes for her.

Ming Tanqing lowered her eyes, hearing the violent thumping of her heart, pulsing almost in sync with the rhythm of the iron flowers blooming.

Suddenly, someone called her name. It was Lu Chengwen, chatting about some domestic matters.

As the background blurred, in a moment when the Omega wasn’t paying attention, Liang Ruojing also looked at her.

Her gaze had never changed.

The day’s recording ended at 10:00 PM.

Returning to the hotel, Liang Ruojing threw herself onto the bed.

She looked at the ceiling one moment and the closed door the next, her mind a mess of indecision.

She wanted to go find Sister Ming, but she feared it was too late and would disturb the Omega’s rest.

Liang Ruojing calculated in her heart.

Ordinary friends can sleep while hugging, right?

As soon as the dangerous thought appeared, it was immediately suppressed by the Alpha.

Her rut was approaching, and her pheromones were fluctuating intensely.

Usually, smelling the Omega’s pheromones at night would cause a riot.

If she really held her while sleeping, there was no telling whether her hand would end up on her waist or buried somewhere else.

Liang Ruojing took a shower and took some pills to soothe her rut.

It was fine. Her work was about to reach a stopping point.

When the rut came, she could just lie in her apartment.

At that moment, someone knocked on her room door.

Liang Ruojing walked over, still mourning her own fate.

What a tragic Alpha!

She even had an Omega to soothe her three ruts ago.

She wondered if she could ask Sister Ming for help this time, like sending over some of her clothes…

She opened the door, and all her fantasies vanished the moment she saw the face.

“Tan… Sister Tanqing?”

The person standing outside the door was Ming Tanqing.

She was wearing the clothes she had recorded in today. Her long black hair fell loose, and her peach-blossom eyes were slightly lowered from exhaustion. Her whole being radiated a domestic warmth and intimacy.

She glanced into the room and asked, “Ruojing, can I borrow your bathroom to take a shower? The hot water in my room is broken.”

Liang Ruojing’s brain crashed.

She didn’t quite understand.

In the dead of night, was it normal for an Omega to go to an Alpha’s room to borrow a bathroom?

Liang Ruojing instinctively said, “Should I go ask the hotel for you?”

However, Ming Tanqing seemed hurt by her hesitation. Her gaze dimmed, and she took a step back: “If it’s inconvenient, forget it. I’ll go find someone else—”

Someone else!

Who else could she find!

Liang Ruojing immediately grabbed the Omega’s arm, her expression serious: “It’s so late, don’t bother with all that. I just finished washing; it’s available.”

After speaking, without waiting for Ming Tanqing’s response, she pulled her directly into the room.

She couldn’t be bothered with being polite or gentle.

The Alpha’s instincts caused the blood in her body to be mobilized. Her pheromones were restless, feeling joy at the contact with the Omega’s skin.

Ming Tanqing stood in the center of the room and turned to her: “Is there a bathrobe?”

Liang Ruojing felt weak from being looked at. She subserviently helped find everything and even tested the water temperature. “Sister Tanqing, it’s ready.”

Ming Tanqing looked truly exhausted and wanted to sleep.

Liang Ruojing could feel the Omega radiating an aura of pleasure.

She really did need a shower…

Listening to the pitter-patter of water behind the wall, Liang Ruojing’s body grew hotter and hotter.

She had just showered; the bathroom must be filled with her pheromones.

After four months without marking, her pheromones definitely wouldn’t let this opportunity slip.

They would start from the ankles, enveloping the Omega’s skin inch by inch, finally probing into the gland to drink in the long-lost lily fragrance.

Stop!

Liang Ruojing forcibly ended her increasingly wild fantasies.

She turned over and gave herself an inhibitor injection.

The rut was coming.

Terrifying.

As Liang Ruojing barely suppressed herself, there was another knock on the door, and her phone lit up.

Ren Wanying had come to deliver the production crew’s souvenirs. She had picked up Ming Tanqing’s as well, and seeing her room empty, she wanted to hand them over together.

Ren Wanying was already waiting at the door.

Liang Ruojing took the two small packages and smiled as she thanked her, engaging in a few polite words of small talk. Suddenly, a cool and ethereal voice called out from behind her: “Ruojing?”

Ming Tanqing was wearing a snow-white bathrobe, her long black hair wet and clinging to her face as she stared gloomily at the two people chatting happily at the door.

With a smile on her lips, her gaze fixed on Liang Ruojing’s back. She asked softly: “Ruojing, who are you chatting with?”