Becoming the Comfort Alpha for the Aloof Movie Queen - Chapter 53

Where Have You Been?

“Liang Ruojing, where have you been?”

Liang Ruojing was frantic with anxiety, calling out several times in quick succession: “Sister Tang, we need to go to the hospital! She collapsed.”

Tang Yuecen’s brain was a complete mess.

At four o’clock in the morning, her artist appeared at her doorstep, wearing pajamas and carrying another Omega in a nightgown.

And that person was Ming Tanqing!!!

Tang Yuecen took two deep breaths, finally reclaiming a shred of her sanity. The priority right now was Ming Tanqing’s illness.

She commanded in a low voice, “Wait for me for a few seconds. We’re going to the garage now. The hospital isn’t far from here.”

Liang Ruojing nodded hurriedly and stepped inside to wait.

The light in the entryway was a pale yellow, falling across the Omega’s brow. She was burning with a high fever, her face flushed a deep crimson, a rouge-like glow seeping from beneath her skin as if a fire were consuming her life.

Liang Ruojing stared at her, her heart twisting in her chest. The person in her arms was so light it startled her—like a feather that had to be held tight just to keep her by her side.

When Tang Yuecen came out after changing her clothes, this was the scene she witnessed.

Liang Ruojing’s eyes were practically glued to the Omega. Having known her for so long, this was the first time Tang Yuecen had seen her with such an expression. It was as if she were holding something she was terrified would shatter.

Some emotions are so intense that even if the mouth stays silent, they leak out from every angle.

“Let’s go! To the garage!” Tang Yuecen patted Liang Ruojing and led her toward the garage.

Liang Ruojing took the stairs three steps at a time and dove directly into the back door of the nanny van. She had been in such a rush that she had only worried about Ming Tanqing’s top; she hadn’t even put socks on her.

Looking around, she found none in the car. Liang Ruojing took her own jacket and covered the Omega’s feet with it.

Tang Yuecen, panting for breath, looked back and saw this; she could hardly stop herself from rolling her eyes.

“Put your own clothes on properly first!!”

“Do you want to trend on the hot search? ‘Starlet L appears at hospital disheveled.'”

Liang Ruojing gave an “oh,” quickly fixed her clothes, and then went to get water to wipe Ming Tanqing’s face. She had never taken care of a sick person before. Liang Ruojing rarely got sick herself; though she was popular, she didn’t have many close friends—mostly acquaintances she’d grab dinner with.

In the two months she had spent with Ming Tanqing, Liang Ruojing had gained a good friend, a great senior, and someone she secretly loved.

The interior of the car was silent.

Tang Yuecen’s forehead throbbed with panic, but as her thoughts settled, she quickly pieced together the truth of the matter. Liang Ruojing had really pulled off something massive.

The complaints and nagging she wanted to unleash got stuck in her throat when she saw Liang Ruojing’s expression. All that remained was a sigh.

The hospital was close, and there were virtually no cars on the road in the early morning. Tang Yuecen drove like the wind, narrowly getting the person there before Liang Ruojing could die of worry.

The moment the car stopped; a figure flew out.

The emergency department in the early hours was deathly still. The Omega was wrapped in a large coat, the collar turned up; during the bumpy movement, the soft fabric brushed against her cheek.

A nurse came forward: “What’s the situation—”

Liang Ruojing pulled back the collar to reveal the Omega’s face: “She collapsed. Her temperature is 39.8

The nurse froze for a few seconds upon seeing the face, then hurriedly made a phone call. Someone pushed a gurney over, and Liang Ruojing carefully placed Ming Tanqing onto it.

Perhaps her prayers were working. The Omega’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she actually opened her eyes.

“Ruojing…”

“Sister Ming!” Liang Ruojing reached out and grabbed Ming Tanqing’s hand, holding it as gently as if it were the stem of a lily. “You have a fever. We’re at the hospital.”

Xiao Jing.

Liang Ruojing heard Ming Tanqing call her.

“Thank you for your hard work…”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing.” Liang Ruojing held her even tighter.

The Omega lost her strength, her fingers sliding softly out from between Liang Ruojing’s. The doors to the examination room closed.

Liang Ruojing’s heart felt as if it had been shut out with her.

The nurse stepped forward: “We need to do exams first. Family members go fill out the forms.”

“I’m not…”

Nurse: “Hmm?”

Liang Ruojing swallowed the rest of her words, picked up a pen, and began filling out the form.

Tang Yuecen came over: “I’ve already contacted Qi Lin. She’ll be here soon.”

Liang Ruojing happened to reach the section for the emergency contact. The tip of her pen hovered. She handed it to Tang Yuecen.

“Sister Tang, you fill in Sister Qi Lin’s number. I don’t know it.”

Liang Ruojing wrapped her coat tighter around herself and sat down on a cold, empty bench. She didn’t get sick more than a few times a year, and her parents were both healthy; she had never experienced the feeling of staring at a status light.

Five minutes later, Qi Lin arrived, followed by an assistant.

“Where is she?”

Liang Ruojing stood up: “She’s undergoing examinations.”

Qi Lin nodded, gave a few instructions to the person beside her, and made a phone call; from her tone, she was arranging a private room.

Liang Ruojing felt strangely awkward and took half a step back, only to be caught by someone. Tang Yuecen rubbed her back and said softly, “You’ve done very well.”

Liang Ruojing choked out, “I…” Her hand rubbed messily at her face, which was damp. “She was already off last night, and I didn’t know.”

Good heavens.

Tang Yuecen struggled to digest this massive amount of information, so she just kept patting Liang Ruojing’s head.

When Ming Tanqing was wheeled out again, she was already on an IV drip. Her eyes were closed as if she were asleep.

The doctor asked: “Who is the family?”

Qi Lin stepped forward: “I am.”

Liang Ruojing awkwardly lowered her hand, which had been halfway raised, and stood obediently to the side, ears pricked to listen.

The doctor said it wasn’t just a simple cold or fever. More tests were needed, and she could only be discharged once her condition stabilized.

Someone from the inpatient department arrived, and Liang Ruojing followed behind as Ming Tanqing was moved to a single private room.

With the situation temporarily settled, Qi Lin let out a long breath. Turning around, her eyes widened when she saw Liang Ruojing, as if wondering why she was still there.

Liang Ruojing pursed her lips and handed over the phone and wallet that belonged to Ming Tanqing. “These are Sister Ming’s phone and ID.”

Tang Yuecen’s eyebrows twitched. So intimate!

Qi Lin took them, entered the password to unlock the phone in three strokes, and checked a few things. “Mhm. Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Liang.”

Liang Ruojing’s mind wandered; her gaze passed through the long, high glass window, landing on the person inside the room.

Qi Lin’s gaze flickered. The Alpha in front of her looked “haggard” to say the least. There were two dark circles under her large eyes, and her lips were dry and peeling.

Qi Lin patted Liang Ruojing on the shoulder, calling her attention back. “Xiao Liang, you look terrible. If you stay any longer, you’ll collapse too. Go back to the hotel and rest first. I’ll contact you as soon as Tanqing wakes up, okay?”

“I’m not tired.”

While Liang Ruojing hesitated, Lin Xiuzhu also arrived at the hospital, her brow clearly marked with alarm. “What happened? A relapse?”

Qi Lin quickly reassured her: “No, the doctor said it’s over-exhaustion. Fortunately, Xiao Liang discovered it in time.”

Lin Xiuzhu glanced at her and nodded, then entered the ward.

Liang Ruojing stood for a few more seconds. People came and went, but she remained rooted in place.

Tang Yuecen couldn’t bear to watch any longer: “Let’s go back first. We’ll come back to see her at noon.”

The Alpha’s body swayed slightly, and she was actually moved by Tang Yuecen’s push. She stopped being stubborn and walked out step by step. She was truly worried; she looked back one last time, but unfortunately, her eyes were misty with tears, and she couldn’t see clearly.

Tang Yuecen bought a mask for Liang Ruojing at a vending machine: “Be careful not to be recognized by fans.”

Liang Ruojing accepted it silently, hiding her face full of dazed loss.

After all that chaos, it was only 6:00 AM when they returned to the hotel. Since she had already carried the person to the door, Liang Ruojing stopped pretending. With a swish, she pulled two room cards from her pocket.

The hard cards reflected the hallway light, nearly blinding Tang Yuecen. Liang Ruojing swiped into the room next door, and a few seconds later, emerged with her own bag.

Tang Yuecen was dazed. “For these forty-some days, you’ve been living next door to Ming Tanqing?”

“Mhm.”

“Sleeping in… in the same bed?”

“Mhm.”

Tang Yuecen looked left and right, then whispered, “Did you do everything?”

“Mhm.” Liang Ruojing realized what was asked and shook her head again: “Only once.”

Tang Yuecen’s heart remained hanging. So, the “young lady” Liang Ruojing had hooked up with was actually Ming Tanqing.

The manager became visibly anxious. Unaware of the gravity, Liang Ruojing asked in confusion, “Sister Tang, didn’t you know already?”

“You didn’t say it was Ming Tanqing!”

Tang Yuecen had switched careers to become a manager when she was 25. Back when she was still serving tea and water to others, Ming Tanqing was only 14, and the movie she starred in was a massive hit across the country. In the ten-plus years of ups and downs in the entertainment industry that followed, Ming Tanqing stood firm until her serious illness and coma led to her retirement.

Thinking back on the past, Tang Yuecen suddenly understood. “So Ming Tanqing retired back then because of a gland disease. No wonder there was no news at all.”

Liang Ruojing tilted her head and said gloomily, “That’s why I didn’t want you to know.”

“What time do you think it is?” Tang Yuecen was furious, reaching out to pinch Liang Ruojing’s ear. “You’re still worried about that? With Ming Tanqing’s status, have you thought about how much pressure and criticism you’ll face being with her?”

Liang Ruojing winced in pain, but her mouth remained stubborn: “We signed a contract. We separate once she’s cured.”

“Hmph.” Tang Yuecen let go, her anger still simmering. “You’d better mean it. If this gets out, it will have a huge impact on Ming Tanqing as well.”

Hearing this, Liang Ruojing’s face turned two shades paler, and she murmured to herself, “There really isn’t…”

She collapsed onto the sofa and put her mask back on. Tang Yuecen was weighing how much of Liang Ruojing’s words were true or false when she suddenly heard a mumble, thick with a nasal tone.

“Actually, I just want to take care of her.”

Tang Yuecen retorted sarcastically, “Right, right. And then kiss her, touch her hands, and smell her pheromones. If you package those words a little, they could serve as wedding vows.”

Liang Ruojing went silent. Silence showed her determination better than words.

Tang Yuecen stood up, blocking the light above Liang Ruojing’s head. “Think it over. I’m going to get breakfast.”

When she returned, Liang Ruojing had already washed her face. Her eyes were circled in red; she hadn’t cried, but they were watery.

“Eat quickly!” Tang Yuecen pushed the breakfast over.

Liang Ruojing, feeling heartbroken, ate a lot without tasting a thing. It was still early, and Tang Yuecen felt bad for her, so she told Liang Ruojing to take a short nap and wait until noon to go to the hospital.

Liang Ruojing lay spread-eagled on the bed, looking utterly hopeless. Tang Yuecen couldn’t stand it and hit her with a pillow: “Stop thinking about it! Forget it!”

Liang Ruojing became even more of a “corpse.” She stretched her neck, acting a bit like a spoiled brat. “There’s no media here, nobody knows, and besides, it’s impossible for us. Can’t I even have a secret crush? You said it yourself—Sister Ming is especially good to me.”

Tang Yuecen was left speechless. “Childish!”

The manager went out again, leaving Liang Ruojing to mope on the bed. On the coffee table in the living room lay a bag; Tang Yuecen went over and flipped open Liang Ruojing’s script.

It was filled with dense annotations. She recognized Liang Ruojing’s handwriting—elegant and flying. She had practiced calligraphy as a child and would be praised by fans when she went on reality shows.

Flipping further back, unfamiliar handwriting appeared in the margins—elegant and refined, squeezed among Liang Ruojing’s words. It appeared throughout more than half the book.

“Better to restrain than to release.”

“Pay attention to the camera position.”

“What about the character relationships?”

On a blank page, there was a sketch of a cold-faced kitten with blue eyes.

Liang Ruojing had nowhere to go, so she played with her phone sadly. Fortunately, no one online had leaked anything; she had heard Tang Yuecen on the phone. Her manager had arranged everything perfectly.

The sound of footsteps came. Liang Ruojing felt she shouldn’t keep things from Tang Yuecen; lacking confidence, she stopped arguing back: “I’m sorry, Sister Tang, but I still like her. I’ll keep it secret, I promise I won’t let anyone know.”

As soon as she turned her head, a jacket was thrown at her face.

Tang Yuecen glanced at her: “Then come with me to the hospital.”

9:00 AM.

The good weather in Huafeng was fleeting. Heavy snow was falling, and the clouds were thick, hiding any trace of sunlight. The sky was leaden gray, making one feel suffocated.

Liang Ruojing was fully armed. Following her memory, she arrived at the ward. Qi Lin happened to be outside and instantly recognized her by her eyes.

“Xiao Liang, why are you here?” The implication was: Why aren’t you resting at the hotel?

Liang Ruojing stammered, trying to think of a response that didn’t sound like she had “ulterior motives.”

Tang Yuecen: “Oh, she was worried, so she came to check.”

Ah. She and Ming Tanqing had such a messy relationship that she had forgotten that ordinary friends could also visit a patient. Qi Lin nodded and led Liang Ruojing into the ward.

It was snowing heavily outside, and the lights inside hadn’t been turned on to help the patient rest. A dim, cold light covered half of Ming Tanqing’s body.

“She hasn’t woken up yet?” Liang Ruojing sat by the bed. She originally wanted to hold her hand, but feeling it was inappropriate, her hand dropped and she instead helped tuck the quilt around Ming Tanqing.

Qi Lin: She woke up once in the middle, took her medicine, and went back to sleep. The fever hasn’t broken yet—37.5

A doctor called for her, and Qi Lin followed them out. Tang Yuecen stayed for a bit, but feeling like a third wheel, she made an excuse and left as well.

Ming Tanqing’s face was still flushed, her long eyelashes drooping, carrying a sickly exhaustion. The IV drip was cold; Liang Ruojing touched her hand, which felt no different from how it had in the early morning.

She didn’t know how long she could stay this time. Liang Ruojing kept watch by the bed. One minute passed, and two minutes of longing grew in her heart. She hoped time would slow down, just a little more. She hoped even more that she had a status that would prevent anyone from asking her to leave.

Liang Ruojing helped warm the back of Ming Tanqing’s hand where the IV was inserted, her heart softening into a puddle. Since Sister Ming needed it, she realized for the first time that her high body temperature was a good thing, being an actor was a good thing, and her pheromones being mint wine was also a good thing.

Her eyes began to sting again.

Tang Yuecen knocked on the door, reminding Liang Ruojing. The patient wasn’t awake; it wasn’t good to stay for a long time. Liang Ruojing understood the logic, but she remained seated, stretching out the time by another second or two.

“Hurry up,” Tang Yuecen urged.

She was about to leave.

Suddenly, her finger was hooked.

“Don’t go…”

Ming Tanqing had opened her eyes at some unknown point. A weak smile was etched into Liang Ruojing’s soul.

She said: “Liang Ruojing, where have you been?”