Becoming the Comfort Alpha for the Aloof Movie Queen - Chapter 91

Liang Ruojing did not dare to breathe too loudly. The phone lying by her pillow now felt scorching hot to the touch.

She didn’t even dare to cast too much of her gaze upon Ming Tanqing’s face. She was afraid that the moment the Omega opened her eyes, she would see through her clumsy acting and discover the existence of that text message.

Ming Tanqing murmured a few words, rubbing her cheek against Liang Ruojing’s firm lower abdomen, complaining, “Why aren’t you sleeping yet? It’s uncomfortable being held like this.”

Liang Ruojing lay back down in the blankets, cradling the Omega as if holding a bouquet of lilies. She remained tense, pondering how to start a conversation that would sound casual and natural.

It wasn’t until her chest was covered by the warm breath of the person in her arms that Liang Ruojing suddenly snapped back to reality; Ming Tanqing had already fallen asleep. Her side profile was clean and fair, with a faint smile lingering at the corners of her mouth.

The next morning at 7:00 AM, the morning light filtered through the mountains and into the room. Liang Ruojing got up to prepare for the film set.

Ming Tanqing had no scenes today, but she woke up as well. From 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM, she had only slept for three hours. Her entire consciousness was in a daze, her expression sleepy and her smooth long black hair messy and sticking up.

This was a rare sight—a soft, domestic Ming Tanqing. Only Liang Ruojing could see her like this.

“Sister, aren’t you going to keep sleeping?”

As soon as Ming Tanqing looked up, Liang Ruojing immediately sensed her need and quickly poured a glass of warm water, holding it out to her. The “Princess” opened her mouth, and Liang Ruojing propped up the bottom of the cup to feed her, watching the fair neck swallow rhythmically.

After drinking, Ming Tanqing curled back into the blankets to sleep. When Liang Ruojing wasn’t by her side, she always slept curled up, wrapping herself into a cocoon as if warding off the cold or something else entirely.

Liang Ruojing stared at her for two seconds before finally helping her tuck in the quilt and leaving for the set.

During a break in the morning, Liang Ruojing gazed into the distance from a pavilion halfway up the mountain. The mountain ranges rolled on, lush and green. Though her vision was vast, her heart felt blocked.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed, and Yan Mei’s text message still lay in her phone. It was like Pandora’s box, tempting Liang Ruojing to walk down a path where right and wrong were yet to be distinguished.

Afraid of being bewitched, Liang Ruojing barely touched her phone unless she heard Ming Tanqing’s special notification tone.

Behind her, the assistants were chirping with the latest news.

“Teacher Liu has released a statement!” “I saw it! Is that man even human?”

Liang Ruojing opened Weibo, and a series of hashtags related to Liu Lanshi appeared on the hot search list again.

Liu Lanshi Clarification

Having been unable to contact Liu Lanshi for a long time, Liang Ruojing originally thought she would choose a passive approach and let time forget everything. Unexpectedly, she chose to face it head-on.

She didn’t use big fans, her studio, or gossip bloggers. On her own main page, Liu Lanshi posted key chat screenshots from when she first met Xie Xing seven years ago until now.

The caption had only one sentence: “I was foolish once, but I don’t want to be foolish anymore. Thank you to the fans and friends who support me.”

This time, Xie Xing’s name hung alongside Liu Lanshi’s at the top of the hot search. Light Entertainment also filed charges, exposing the paparazzi for extortion. The call recordings were uploaded directly to the internet and spread virally through major marketing accounts and mainstream social media.

A new wave of discussion regarding paparazzi and celebrity privacy rights was ignited.

As Liang Ruojing browsed the platform, she was surprised to find she had a part in the story. With the situation reversed, her discussion rate increased as the first artist to speak out in support. Her past visit to the hospital, which had been maliciously speculated upon, was brought up again—but this time, the mainstream opinion was much better.

The discussion continued from morning until night, with various opinions clashing in the public arena. Some thought Liu was pitiful, some thought she was stupid, and some thought she and Xie were two sides of the same coin, intentionally hyping it up for traffic…

Just before the case was closed by public opinion, a well-known long-time fan and “station sister” of Liu Lanshi with 100,000 followers posted a long essay. Seven thousand words, detailing the seven years she had known Liu Lanshi.

“Actually, we all knew he existed. In mid-March, when we went to pick you up at the airport, you gave us candy—red milk candy. I never dared to eat that piece of candy. We knew something was wrong with him, but we just wanted you to be happy, so we didn’t say anything discouraging.

I’m sorry.

I’ve known you for seven years, and I still love you.”

At the end of the essay was a photo of the 18-year-old Liu Lanshi sleeping on a folding stool on a film set, looking fresh and vivid.

The comments below were equally sincere. Liang Ruojing read them one by one, and the dark clouds over her head seemed to be swept away by a clear breeze.

Behind her, Xiao Xing and Hua Hua were already crying in each other’s arms, tears and snot everywhere.

“Sister Jing, we still love you too!”

Liang Ruojing found it funny, but she still took out her phone to treat the two of them to a late-night snack. Along the way, she bought a portion for Ming Tanqing—a strawberry cake that looked and tasted excellent.

The mission to “fatten up Sister Tanqing” started tonight.

On the car ride back to the hotel, Liang Ruojing finally received a call back from Liu Lanshi. She had called many times before, but it was always turned off.

Liu Lanshi’s tone was light, but her voice was thick with nasal congestion; she had likely just finished crying after reading the fan’s long essay. To prevent retaliation from the paparazzi, she was changing her phone number and called specifically to inform her.

It was good. A new beginning.

She heard that Liu would be joining a new film crew soon. Liang Ruojing was sincerely happy for her.

As the call was about to end, Liu Lanshi’s tone softened, and she said sincerely, “Thank you, Xiao Liang. And please thank her for me.”

Liang Ruojing was confused. “Why thank me?”

“Didn’t you ask Ming Tanqing to help me?”

The moment Liu Lanshi said it, she suddenly realized something and changed the subject: “Sorry, I have something urgent. Let’s catch up next time.”

Liang Ruojing understood and said with certainty, “It was Sister Tanqing who helped you.”

Liu Lanshi remained silent for two seconds but then told her everything. In her eyes, there was nothing to hide about helping others.

The call ended, but Liang Ruojing could not remain calm for a long time. It turned out Ming had helped that night during the movie screening. Clearly, before they set out, she had said things like “self-preservation” and “indifference.”

Liang Ruojing’s heart softened completely. Without being overly narcissistic, she felt that Sister Tanqing had done it partly for her. Ming Tanqing was too meticulous.

Liang Ruojing returned to the hotel with the cake to find Ming Tanqing screening scripts. The Pursuit of Revenge was almost finished, and she was looking for a decent new script.

Liang Ruojing placed the cake on the table and leaned over to one side, resting her head on her arms, watching Ming Tanqing’s every move. The Omega pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, picked up a piece of cake with a fork, and stuffed it directly into Liang Ruojing’s mouth.

“Liang Ruojing, your eyes are very mushy.”

“Are they?” Liang Ruojing blinked.

Ming Tanqing chuckled. She only ate two bites of the cake before stopping, returning her focus to working seriously on the laptop screen.

Liang Ruojing felt like a primary school student who had been lucky enough to be seated with a beautiful deskmate and kept bothering her to get attention.

She tapped the back of Ming Tanqing’s hand. “Sister Tanqing, have you ever toured Beijing University?”

“No.”

“Why? Was time too tight?”

That made sense. After all, Sister Ming had caught a flight right after talking to Liu Lanshi.

But why? Ah, it was so she could sleep with her.

“No,” Ming Tanqing lifted her hand to type the last characters on the computer, closed it, and rested her head on her hands, troubled. “I lacked a guide. It’s boring to wander alone.”

Liang Ruojing immediately raised her hand. “I can do it! Pick me!”

As if a prank had succeeded, Ming Tanqing leaned back in her chair and laughed until tears nearly came to her eyes. She wiped them away with her finger, her face stirring one’s soul in every way.

“Okay, I pick you.”

That night, they washed up and went to bed early. Ming Tanqing had been suffering from insomnia lately, often waking up in the early morning to drink some water, wash her face, and go back to sleep.

Liang Ruojing had caught her several times. She suspected it was either her gland acting up or a nightmare. But every time she asked, Ming Tanqing said it was nothing, just that she had drunk too much coffee on set.

Left with no choice, Liang Ruojing held her to sleep every night. At least this way, she would be the first to know when the Omega got up at night.

By the end of April, the nights had finally shed the chill of early spring. The temperature was comfortable, and there was no need for air conditioning.

Ming Tanqing, being sensitive to the cold, still wore thick pajamas. Liang Ruojing, in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, clung to her like an octopus, resting her chin on the other’s head. Her every breath was filled with the fragrance of hair and the Omega’s pheromones.

Liang Ruojing slept soundly, her arms and heart full, feeling an indescribable sense of fulfillment.

Suddenly, the person in her arms moved, pressing both hands against Liang Ruojing’s chest, trying to push her away.

Liang Ruojing woke up groggily, grabbing Ming Tanqing’s wrist with one hand and rubbing her eyes. “I’ll go get you some water.”

The expected “mm” did not sound. Liang Ruojing focused her vision and realized Ming Tanqing was having a nightmare.

She turned on the bedside lamp. Ming Tanqing still hadn’t woken up, as if trapped in a night terror. Her eyes were tightly shut, her forehead covered in sweat, and her expression was pained, yet she couldn’t break free.

Liang Ruojing got out of bed and shook her shoulder to wake her. “Sister Tanqing?”

“Huu—”

Ming Tanqing panted heavily, her expression terrified and unsettled. Her eyes couldn’t even focus; she stared into the void as if she had entered another world.

The clear scent of peppermint sliced through the horrific fear. Liang Ruojing held her, her palm stroking down from the back of her neck to comfort her.

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

A scorching body temperature spread to the tip of her heart. Ming Tanqing leaned against Liang Ruojing’s chest, listening to the Alpha’s powerful and healthy heartbeat, and her breathing gradually slowed down.

Looking at her pale side profile, which looked as though it had been drenched by rain, Liang Ruojing couldn’t help but feel heartache.

“Sister Tanqing, let me get you some hot water.”

“Don’t—”

Ming Tanqing gripped Liang Ruojing’s pajamas so hard it was as if she were trying to embed herself into her. “Hold me for a bit longer.”

Liang Ruojing did as she was told, releasing pheromones to soothe the Omega’s emotions.

The two scents blended, clashing into sweetness and heat. Soon, the entire room was filled with the scent of their combined pheromones.

Smelling this fragrance, Liang Ruojing’s thoughts drifted back to when she was in her rut in the first lunar month. At that time, she was in the bathroom holding Sister Tanqing’s clothes when Sister Tanqing appeared, her face seemingly as pale as it was tonight.

Had she been having nightmares since then? Or even earlier?

In the past when Liang Ruojing wasn’t there, how did she spend the nights after waking up in a fright?

Conflicting thoughts raced through her mind. Liang Ruojing thought of the illness Ming Tanqing was hiding and also of the message Yan Mei had sent.

She could feel that Sister Tanqing’s nightmare was related to her family, and her gland disease was also related to her family.

It took a full half-hour before Ming Tanqing finally let go. Accompanied by Liang Ruojing, she washed her face, drank some hot water, and returned to bed to sleep.

“Sister Tanqing, what did you dream about?” Liang Ruojing asked, pulling the Omega close.

Ming Tanqing’s voice was still slightly raspy. “What about you? What did you dream about the night I came back from Yanjing?”

Liang Ruojing thought she hadn’t noticed.

She was silent for a few seconds before answering honestly, “I dreamed that I was very far away from you.”

The person in her arms let out a laugh, her face turning red against Liang Ruojing’s chest. “Right—very far.”

Liang Ruojing told her the whole dream—how she was chasing her through a field of lilies, getting further and further away. Of course, she didn’t mention the part at the end where Sister Tanqing disappeared. That was a bad omen; she didn’t want it.

“And you?”

Liang Ruojing hoped Sister Tanqing could speak the truth; she wanted to know about her past. When she saw the pain of her beloved, it was impossible to ignore.

“I dreamed of when I was little, sleeping alone in a very large villa. There was no one else, it was very empty and pitch black everywhere, as if there were monsters. Then I woke up from the fright.”

Liang Ruojing asked, “What about your parents? Where were they?”

“I don’t know.”

This sentence from Ming Tanqing was true. She lacked the strength to reveal more and closed her eyes, acting as if she were going to sleep.

With the help of the yellow light from the bedside lamp, Liang Ruojing could see the appearance of the person in her arms clearly. Ming Tanqing’s brow was still knitted with sorrow, her lips tightly pressed. She looked like a startled cat, unable to peacefully enter the land of dreams again.

Ten minutes later, Liang Ruojing heard Ming Tanqing’s call again.

“Ruojing.”

The voice was very light, just calling Liang Ruojing’s name, but she felt it was akin to a cry for help.

“I’m here.”

Ming Tanqing didn’t say anything, just pressed closer into the Alpha’s embrace.

A few more minutes passed.

“Ruojing?”

“I’m here.”

This cycle continued for nearly an hour before Ming Tanqing’s breathing finally stabilized. Her hands were curled, and she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Liang Ruojing didn’t sleep all night. The first ray of morning sunlight hit her face.

The light was piercing. Liang Ruojing blinked, and her eyes actually felt a bit hot.

Maintaining her posture of hugging Ming Tanqing, she reached for her phone, opened the messages, and found that one message in the blacklist.

Okay, let’s arrange a time to meet.