Reborn a Scummy Alpha, Happily Ever After with the Movie Queen - Chapter 24

A day or two later, the buzz about Ye Youyi online finally began to die down.

Just when everyone thought the matter would quietly fade into obscurity, a high-definition photo suddenly surfaced on the internet.

In the picture, Ye Youyi’s side profile was clear as day—so striking it reignited public interest at once.

The photo showed her knocking on a hotel room door, and the accompanying caption spelled it out explicitly: That room belonged to Zhang Yuan, the assistant director of “Moon Spirit Chronicle.” The paparazzi happened to catch Ye

Youyi entering Zhang Yuan’s room at one in the morning.

Because of the earlier rumors, this new post instantly caused an uproar. People flocked to Ye Youyi’s Weibo page to curse her out. Even those who had once defended her now felt deceived, angrily unfollowing and posting scathing remarks.

In a matter of hours, Ye Youyi’s Weibo was flooded with chaos and vitriol.

When Ye Youyi came out of the dressing room after finishing her scenes and removing her makeup, she immediately felt the furtive glances around her. Her stomach tightened—something bad must have happened again.

Before she could even take a few steps, Lin Shuang approached her cautiously and whispered, “Sister Ye, is what they’re saying online true?”

Ye Youyi froze. “What are you”

Before she could finish, Wen Tang, who had followed behind Lin Shuang, grabbed the younger actress by the arm and pulled her back. “Your next scene is about to start. Why aren’t you getting changed yet?”

Startled by Wen Tang’s cold tone, Lin Shuang clutched her chest, mumbled a quick “Okay,” and darted off to the makeup room.

With the confrontation over, the onlookers lost interest and dispersed.

Outside, the late sunlight had softened, and streaks of crimson dusk stretched beautifully across the sky.

But Ye Youyi wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it. Watching the tall Alpha in front of her, she asked softly, “What did Lin Shuang mean just now? Did, did something about me leak again?”

From the contempt in those people’s eyes and the faint mockery in Lin Shuang’s tone, she could already guess what was going on. But she truly didn’t understand—who would go to such lengths to ruin her?

She’d been in the industry for years. Yes, she’d used small tricks now and then to secure roles, but she’d never gone out of her way to offend anyone. Even those smear campaigns against Yu Mianyue back then hadn’t been her doing—and she had publicly clarified that on Weibo long ago.

She just wanted to act seriously and climb up the ladder one step at a time. Why was that so hard?

Wen Tang turned back to look at the fragile Omega bathed in the glow of sunset and decided not to hide it from her. “A new photo surfaced online. This one’s even clearer.”

“Clearer?”

Ye Youyi’s heart dropped. She fumbled for her phone and opened Weibo.

Right at the top of the trending list was #YeYouyiCaughtSeducingDirectorForFame#.

She tapped in, and there it was—the photo, unmistakably showing her face.

Her chest tightened. She zoomed in on the picture: the hallway, the door, the room number—it all matched Zhang Yuan’s suite. Everything looked perfectly legitimate. No wonder the internet had exploded again.

But she knew she had never knocked on Zhang Yuan’s door. In fact, she went out of her way to avoid that woman whenever possible—she’d rather walk an extra mile than risk crossing paths with her disgusting presence.

“This isn’t me!” Ye Youyi gasped, lifting her head. But Wen Tang was staring at her, unblinking. A chill spread through her limbs, panic tightening her throat. “You don’t believe me?”

“I’d rather stay a thousand miles away from that woman. Why would I ever go to her room?” She stepped closer, voice trembling. “You really don’t believe me?”

The fear and helplessness in her eyes weren’t feigned. Even the faint shimmer of tears gathering there was real.

Wen Tang hated seeing her like this—fragile yet stubbornly holding herself together. She would rather have the mischievous, soft-hearted girl who liked to tease her than this trembling figure before her.

The silence stretched so long that Ye Youyi felt foolish, like some pathetic clown for even hoping the Alpha would take her side.

She didn’t want to be pitied. Without hesitation, she turned to leave.

But a firm hand caught her wrist. She bit her lip, lifting her gaze toward the fading glow of the sunset, her voice trembling. “I have to go back to the company and deal with this. Do you, need anything else?”

When no response came, she tried to pull away—but suddenly, a warm embrace wrapped around her, holding her tight.

She froze, staring at the Alpha’s arm around her waist, and finally couldn’t hold back her tears. Her voice came out small and broken. “What are you doing? You don’t even believe me.”

Her last words were barely audible, but Wen Tang heard them clearly.

“I never said I didn’t believe you,” she murmured, tightening her hold. “Leave this to me. You just focus on your work. Don’t worry about the rest, okay?”

Tears and laughter mingled in Ye Youyi’s throat. “Then, why didn’t you say that earlier?”

“I was thinking,” Wen Tang replied softly, “about how to handle this so it wouldn’t hurt you.”

Ye Youyi blinked through her tears, and a shy smile curved her lips. Turning in her arms to face her, her eyes sparkled again. “So, you’re going to talk to Senior Wang Lin?”

Wen Tang paused, then nodded naturally. “He has connections. He’ll know what to do.”

Hearing that Wen Tang had a plan—and that she did believe her—Ye Youyi’s gloomy heart fluttered with joy. Then she realized her face was streaked with tears, and she must look awful.

She quickly wrapped her arms around Wen Tang’s waist and buried her face in her chest, not wanting her to see.

Wen Tang stiffened immediately. The soft pressure against her chest sent a rush of heat through her body, and she flushed crimson. Gently resting a hand on Ye Youyi’s shoulder, she murmured, “If you keep crying, you’ll look like a little raccoon.”

Hearing the teasing lilt in her voice, Ye Youyi deliberately rubbed her face against her chest twice before lifting her head again, now smiling through dry eyes.

But when she caught sight of Wen Tang’s flushed, awkward expression, she blinked. Then, realization dawning, her gaze grew sultry as she rose on tiptoe and whispered sweetly, “Did I just touch something I shouldn’t have?”

Her eyes flicked downward meaningfully.

Wen Tang’s composure nearly cracked. The Omega had reverted to her usual playful, charming self, making it impossible to stay calm.

Suppressing the heat building inside, Wen Tang cupped the girl’s delicate face, her voice low and rough. “Yeah. It hurt a little. So, how do you plan to make it up to me?”

Caught off guard by the sudden shift, Ye Youyi blinked, then smiled knowingly. She trailed her fingers across Wen Tang’s chest, her voice dripping with honey. “How would you like me to make it up to you?”

A wave of heat surged through Wen Tang’s body. Her throat tightened as she swallowed hard. All her carefully maintained composure crumbled in an instant.

She caught the Omega’s wandering hand and surrendered helplessly. “Alright, alright—I was only joking.”

But Ye Youyi clearly wasn’t done teasing. Her other hand slid along Wen Tang’s waist, the light touch igniting sparks wherever it went.

Realizing they were still outside and the sun hadn’t fully set, Wen Tang panicked at the thought of someone seeing them like this. She swiftly scooped Ye Youyi up in her arms and strode toward the car parked nearby.

Ye Youyi’s face turned scarlet. Wrapping her arms around Wen Tang’s neck, she stammered, “What are you doing? Where are you taking me? Don’t tell me—it’s that kind of place?”

Her flustered, sugary voice brushed right against Wen Tang’s ear, making her knees nearly buckle.

Staring straight ahead, Wen Tang cleared her throat. “Dinner. I’m taking you to dinner. My treat.” Then, without another word, she walked briskly into the glowing haze of the sunset.

After dinner, Wen Tang dropped Ye Youyi off and returned to her own room. She had barely lain down when her phone buzzed—it was Old Madam Wen.

“Have dinner with the Ning family’s young lady this weekend. Don’t be late,” the old woman said curtly, before proceeding to ask a series of “concerned” questions that were all, in reality, about her progress with Ning Xu.

Wen Tang answered perfunctorily and hung up, tossing her phone aside.

The system’s voice chimed softly in her head. “If you really don’t want to get engaged to Ning Xu, why not just tell her? Knowing her personality, she probably wouldn’t chase after you.”

Wen Tang let out a humorless laugh. “You think it’s about what I want? That old woman is dead set on tying me to Ning Xu—for the sake of the Wen family’s ‘legitimate bloodline.’” She sighed. “Even without Ning Xu, she’d just find another Omega for me to marry.”

The system didn’t quite grasp human family politics, so it kept quiet for a moment before asking, “So what will you do then? Are you planning to be like the original Wen Tang—marry Ning Xu, ignore her, and keep pining after Ye Youyi?”

Wen Tang’s tone was firm. “No. I won’t marry Ning Xu.”

The system gave a dry chuckle. “Oh, right. Because the one you want to marry is Ye Youyi, isn’t it?”

Wen Tang snapped, “Don’t talk nonsense. We’re just friends.”

“Sure, sure,” the system muttered, snickering. “Because nowadays, Alpha–Omega friends just happen to hug all the time and flirt like they’re in a romance drama. Totally normal. I get it.”

Before Wen Tang could retort, the system conveniently went offline—pretending to be dead.

Feeling exposed, Wen Tang could only exhale in frustration.

Remembering the pressing issue, she picked up her phone and called Wen Qi. “How’s the investigation going? Did you find out who’s been spreading this mess?”

As Wen Qi reported on the other end, Wen Tang rubbed her temples. Of course—it was her. No wonder the smear campaign had been so massive, with armies of trolls and paid gossip accounts.

“The orders came directly from Bai Yuqing,” Wen Qi said grimly. “Her instructions were clear—destroy Miss Ye’s reputation. The files also show that if this round of trending topics doesn’t completely ruin her, they plan to push another wave of stories claiming she faked everything herself just to stay relevant.”

Wen Tang let out a cold laugh.

Wen Qi hesitated. “So, what do we do next?”