Reborn a Scummy Alpha, Happily Ever After with the Movie Queen - Chapter 17

“Really, you don’t remember?”

Ye Youyi felt a flicker of disappointment at Wen Tang’s instinctive reaction.

She didn’t like seeing an Alpha who avoided getting close to her. What she liked was the one from last night—the Alpha who’d held her tightly, pleading softly for kisses and hugs, full of emotion and warmth.

Hearing Ye Youyi’s question, Wen Tang still looked confused. “Remember what?”

Was she supposed to remember something? Did something important happen last night that she’d forgotten?

When she caught the faint trace of grievance in Ye Youyi’s bright eyes, Wen Tang quickly called out to her system. “Er Que! What exactly did I do last night?”

The system snorted. “Oh, so now you remember I exist? Didn’t you say I was too noisy last night and block me out?”

After taking a jab or two at her, it added with an exaggerated huff, “So, no—I have no idea what you did either,” and promptly went back to pretending to be dead.

Wen Tang’s face stiffened in embarrassment. At dinner last night, the system had been chirping nonstop in her head, and she’d gotten so annoyed that she muted it.

So, what on earth did she do last night?

Seeing the Alpha’s utterly blank expression, Ye Youyi immediately knew she truly had no recollection at all.

Suppressing her faint disappointment, Ye Youyi rose to her feet and schooled her expression into calm indifference. “If you can’t remember, then forget it. It wasn’t anything important anyway.”

Glancing at the IV bag that was nearly empty, she added flatly, “Once this finishes, you can leave. I’ll get the nurse.”

Watching Ye Youyi’s retreating back, Wen Tang couldn’t shake the feeling that she was upset. But why?

Her instincts told her it must be related to whatever she’d forgotten last night.

In the quiet ward, Wen Tang picked up her phone and swiftly dialed a number.

“Wen Qi, did you find out anything about what I asked you to look into? Is there someone backing Lin Shuang?”

She was fully clear-headed now, and the first thing that came to mind about her sudden loss of control last night was Lin Shuang.

Hadn’t Ye Youyi said it herself? That she must have taken some kind of drug that triggered her susceptibility period.

But Wen Tang was certain she hadn’t taken anything like that—so the only possibility was the glass of wine Lin Shuang had insisted she drink at dinner.

And afterward, Lin Shuang had followed her back to the hotel, deliberately releasing pheromones to tempt her.

Clearly, someone had put Lin Shuang up to it.

On the other end of the call, Wen Qi flipped through a stack of files and replied, “We’ve found a lead. The order to assign you as Miss Lin’s assistant came directly from Xinghua Entertainment’s executive president. As for who’s behind her, we haven’t pinned that down yet.”

She paused before adding, “But, anyone who can command Xinghua’s president is definitely connected to the Wen family.”

Wen Tang’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Got it.”

She already knew who was pulling the strings.

It could only be Wen Xin—the real young lady of the Wen family.

Wen Xin had despised her for ages. Normally, she just threw a few barbed remarks for the sake of the old matriarch’s face.

Wen Tang hadn’t taken them to heart, but apparently Wen Xin mistook her restraint for weakness—and now she was making her move, stirring up petty trouble behind her back.

“You don’t need to look into that part anymore,” Wen Tang said coolly, then lowered her voice. “Focus on finding out what happened after Lin Shuang followed me into the hotel last night.”

Hearing footsteps approach outside the ward, Wen Tang ended the call.

The door opened, and a young nurse stepped in.

Wen Tang glanced behind her, but Ye Youyi wasn’t there. Quickly, she asked, “Excuse me, the lady who just left—where did she go?”

“Oh, that one?” The nurse set down her tray and replied, “She said she had something to do and couldn’t stay any longer, so she left first.” She smiled as she removed the IV needle. “You’re fine now. Rest a bit, and you can go.”

The moment she heard that, Wen Tang threw back the blanket and slipped on her shoes with practiced ease. “Thank you.” She grabbed her coat and strode out the door.

So Ye Youyi was angry.

She remembered that Ye Youyi’s scenes were scheduled for the evening, so if she’d left early, it wasn’t to return to set.

She just didn’t want to see her.

Realizing that, Wen Tang’s pace quickened.

She needed to ask—why was Ye Youyi angry with her?

In the bustling hospital lobby, Wen Tang scanned the crowd but saw no sign of the petite woman. Rubbing the back of her head in frustration, she hurried outside.

Finally, she spotted Ye Youyi at the hospital gates—just as she got into a taxi. Wen Tang tried to call out, but before she could, the car door shut and the taxi drove off.

Running up to where Ye Youyi had been, she could only watch as the car disappeared into traffic. She sighed and rubbed her temples helplessly.

Why was she angry all of a sudden? And what did she even do to upset her?

So frustrating!

The system, watching her frown deepen, muttered softly, “Why are you this anxious just because she’s upset? The moment you heard she left, you bolted out like your tail was on fire.”

Wen Tang had already been feeling irritable, and when the system bombarded her with a string of questions, her frustration only deepened.

“How should I know? I don’t even know why she’s mad at me in the first place!”

The system wasn’t the least bit offended by her outburst. Instead, it chuckled.

“Wen Tang, don’t you think you’re acting a little out of character right now?”

Wen Tang flagged down a taxi and climbed inside. At the system’s words, she frowned in confusion.

“Out of character? What’s so strange about it?”

The system clicked its tongue twice. “In the past, when Wen Xin made all those snide and sarcastic remarks, you never cared. You just brushed it off like it meant nothing. But now? You’re not even sure whether Ye Youyi is really angry or not, and look at you—you’re already this anxious!”

It paused deliberately, then added with a teasing lilt, “You care that much about this ‘friend’ of yours?”

The deliberate emphasis on the word “friend” made Wen Tang’s heart skip a beat. A strange, indescribable feeling welled up in her chest, as though something soft had quietly lodged itself there—something she couldn’t ignore even if she wanted to.

She pressed a hand over her rapidly beating heart. “Of course I care. She’s my first friend here, and maybe my last. I just don’t want to see her upset or sad, that’s all, yeah, that’s all it is.”

She wasn’t sure whether she was explaining that to the system—or to herself. Her voice was quiet, wavering with uncertainty.

The system listened to her pounding heartbeat and sighed softly. It couldn’t tell whether Wen Tang truly believed what she was saying, or if she was just using those words to hide the unfamiliar emotions that surfaced whenever she thought of Ye Youyi.

“All right,” it said. “Since you care about this ‘friend’ so much, then you’d better go talk to her. If she’s not mad, great—problem solved. But if she is angry, then you need to find out why, and coax her a little.”

Wen Tang tilted her head. “Coax her? How do I do that?”

The system nearly rolled its eyes. “You don’t know how to coax someone? You’re an Alpha! If you don’t even know how to comfort an Omega, you might as well plan to stay single forever!”

Wen Tang blinked, genuinely puzzled. “What does coaxing someone have to do with staying single?”

How had the topic suddenly jumped to her being single? That escalated quickly.

The system almost wanted to pry open her head just to see what was rattling around inside—but then realized, it was already in her head.

It sighed. Spending too much time with Wen Tang was clearly making it as simple-minded as she was.

Clearing its throat, it tried again. “Listen, you’re an Alpha. Naturally, you’ll have to find an Omega someday. But look at you now—you don’t even know how to coax Ye Youyi! What happens in the future when your Omega gets mad? If you can’t comfort her, she’ll stop liking you more and more. And when another Alpha starts flirting with her, she’ll run off with them instead!”

“Then you’ll be single forever.”

Wen Tang thought about it for a moment and frowned slightly. “But isn’t love supposed to be something two people work on together? If only one person keeps giving, that sounds exhausting.”

The system was momentarily taken aback, then nodded approvingly. “You’re absolutely right.”

It quickly shifted gears. “But I’m not saying you should be the only one to give. Coaxing someone doesn’t mean you’re the only one putting in effort. Take you and Ye Youyi, for example—you’ve taken care of her, helped her a lot. But last night, when Lin Shuang drugged you, who was the one that helped you? She sent you to the hospital and stayed by your side all night. See? It’s not one-sided. You’re both building this relationship together, step by step. Don’t you agree?”

That actually made sense. Wen Tang rubbed her chin thoughtfully and nodded. “She did go through a lot for me last night. Then, can you teach me how to coax her?”

Seeing that Wen Tang had taken the bait, the system nearly burst out laughing. “That’s easy. First, make sure she’s actually angry. Once you confirm that, I’ll tell you what to do next.”

When Wen Tang returned to the hotel, she took the elevator to the floor where the lead actors’ rooms were and stopped outside Ye Youyi’s door.

For a long moment, she hesitated.

She was certain she must’ve done something last night that upset Ye Youyi, but since she couldn’t remember what it was, how was she supposed to apologize? What if she said the wrong thing and made it worse?

The system couldn’t stand watching her dithering anymore. “What are you overthinking for? Just go already! People are more forgiving face-to-face. Ye Youyi isn’t the petty or malicious type—you really think she’s going to hit you?”

That was true.

Ye Youyi was gentle and soft-hearted; even when she was angry, she would only quietly walk away.

The thought made Wen Tang’s chest ache faintly.

Without thinking further, she raised her hand and knocked on the door.

She knocked several times, but no one answered. The room stayed quiet—no movement inside. Maybe Ye Youyi wasn’t in?

She was about to knock again when the door next to it creaked open.

Wen Tang turned—and froze. It was Lin Shuang.

Her expression immediately darkened. Just remembering how this Omega had drugged her last night and tried to throw herself at her was enough to make her blood run cold.

“What are you doing here?” Wen Tang asked curtly, turning away to leave.

“Wait—” Lin Shuang quickly followed, reaching out to grab her sleeve.

Wen Tang brushed her hand away, her tone icy. “Do you even know the meaning of the word shame?”

Lin Shuang’s hand fell back, and she bit her lip hard, her eyes glistening with hurt. “I’m sorry, last night was my fault. I shouldn’t have followed you when I saw you weren’t feeling well and I didn’t mean to hold onto you, I swear. It was your pheromones—they overwhelmed me, and I lost control. I’m really, really sorry.”