Reborn a Scummy Alpha, Happily Ever After with the Movie Queen - Chapter 39

Even under the faint moonlight, Ye Youyi could see the trace of melancholy lingering on Wen Tang’s face.

“What are you jealous about?” Ye Youyi wrapped her arms around Wen Tang’s arm, shaking it lightly as she smiled. “I don’t even like her. You have no idea how annoying she is. Back on set, she was always trying to flirt with me. I turned her down several times, but she just wouldn’t stop.”

Back then, Wen Tang hadn’t spent much time at the set once the overlapping scenes between Lin Shuang and Ye Youyi ended. She hadn’t expected that Xu Zhao would still keep pestering Ye Youyi like that. How shameless—clingy people were the worst.

“Next time you see her, stay away from her.” Wen Tang clasped Ye Youyi’s hand tightly, her tone still laced with jealousy.

Ye Youyi tilted her head toward her, then suddenly tugged Wen Tang’s neck down and brushed a light kiss across her lips. “Alright, alright. My eyes are full of you—there’s no room for anyone else. Have a little faith in yourself, okay?”

Wen Tang licked her lips and suddenly pulled Ye Youyi close by the waist, drawing her into her arms. Bending down, she captured Ye Youyi’s rosy lips in a deep kiss.

After a long while, they finally broke apart, both breathing unevenly.

“Hey—don’t, we’re still outside! Someone might see us.” Ye Youyi’s face flushed crimson as she buried herself against Wen Tang’s chest.

Wen Tang froze at the sensation. “You.”

Feeling the soft pressure against her cheek, Ye Youyi bit her lip and murmured, “Oops, sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you.”

A mischievous glint flashed in the girl’s eyes. Wen Tang couldn’t help but laugh helplessly. In one smooth motion, she lifted Ye Youyi into her arms and strode forward.

“Stop wriggling around, be good.”

“Oh my, you’re blushing again.”

“That’s your fault for teasing me.”

“Teasing? You’re just too sensitive.”

The dim night swallowed their playful banter as the two disappeared into the shadows. A gentle breeze passed through, leaving the world quiet once more.

Over half a month after The Moon Spirit Chronicles premiered, its box office continued to soar—far surpassing Tales of the Immortal Quest, which had released at the same time.

This result shocked many. After all, Immortal Quest starred the immensely popular CP of Xiao Ran, and its production budget was several times larger than that of The Moon Spirit Chronicles.

At first, everyone had expected Immortal Quest to dominate the charts, with The Moon Spirit Chronicles being just a modest hit in comparison.

Yet now, faced with these results, many investors could only regret their earlier decisions—especially those whom Director Li Zheng had personally visited to seek funding when the Moon Spirit Chonicle team was short on capital. They were now practically sick with regret.

Li Zheng stared at the latest data on her screen, unable to suppress the growing smile on her face.

Opening Weibo, she saw the hot search flooded with raving praise for The Moon Spirit Chronicles. Viewers were particularly enamored with the performance of the third female lead, Xian Ruo—her ethereal, otherworldly grace and quiet nobility were unlike anything they had seen in years.

@Don’tStealMyGoddess: Honestly, I started watching for Huan Yan, but after finishing the film, I think Xian Ruo completely stole the show. That unrequited love and selfless devotion—ugh, I’m obsessed!

@IceCreamBandit: I have to say, Xian Ruo really broke my heart! Huan Yan sometimes feels so fake—always acting pitiful to win Liu Yue’s sympathy. I’m sticking with my Xian Ruo forever!

@MyCPIsLocked: Wuwuwu I’m shipping Liu Yue and Xian Ruo so hard! They grew up together as childhood friends and divine partners, and then that little fairy from the mortal realm came and ruined everything! I’m furious!

@yxcpszd: Aaaahhh why did Huan Yan have to appear at all? Xian Ruo’s too pitiful! I swear Liu Yue must still love her—she’s just temporarily blinded by something new and exciting! She has to love Xian Ruo!

Li Zheng wasn’t surprised by the flood of comments.

Even during filming, she had felt that Ye Youyi possessed a rare spark—able to enter character in an instant and capture every nuance of Xian Ruo’s temperament and inner turmoil with striking precision.

What she hadn’t expected was that audiences would ignore the official pairing and instead start shipping the female lead with the third female lead.

After some thought, she realized this was an opportunity. She immediately instructed the editing team to compile more behind-the-scenes footage of Xu Zhao and Ye Youyi together and upload it online to keep the buzz going.

Once that was handled, Li Zheng dialed Ye Youyi’s number.

“Hello? Director Li Zheng?”

On the other end, Ye Youyi sounded a little dazed, not sure why the director was suddenly calling her.

“It’s like this,” Li Zheng said, her voice calm and warm. “When we filmed The Moon Spirit Chronicles, I felt you had remarkable intuition as an actress. Your grasp of the role was spot-on. So, I’d like to invite you to join my next film.

Would you be interested? Is your schedule open?”

“What?”

Ye Youyi froze, certain for a moment that she had misheard.

But when Li Zheng gently repeated, “Well? What do you think?”—she realized it was real.

Her heart raced wildly. It was the first time a renowned director had ever personally invited her for a role. Her hands trembled with excitement.

“Yes! Absolutely! My schedule’s completely open!” she said quickly, pressing a hand to her pounding chest. “May I ask, Director Li—what role did you have in mind for me?”

Li Zheng smiled faintly. “My next project is a contemporary drama titled Release. I’d like you to play the female lead.”

Ye Youyi gripped her phone tightly, every word—female lead—echoing in her ears.

“No problem at all! My schedule’s wide open—I can join the team anytime!”

Li Zheng could hear the excitement in Ye Youyi’s voice and couldn’t help but laugh. “No need to get too worked up yet. The filming schedule hasn’t been confirmed, but production will definitely start by April at the latest. I’ll send you the script ahead of time so you can get familiar with it.”

When the call ended, Ye Youyi was so thrilled she didn’t know what to do with herself. She jumped to her feet, dashed to Qiu Qiu’s room, flung the door open, and shouted at the girl who was gaming, “Qiu Qiu! I, I got the lead role!”

In the middle of a team fight, Qiu Qiu didn’t catch that. “What did you say?”

Ye Youyi ran up beside her, eyes shining with delight. “Director Li Zheng just invited me to play the female lead in her next film!”

This time, Qiu Qiu heard her loud and clear.

Her eyes went wide. She dropped her keyboard and mouse, shot up from her chair, and exclaimed, “Are you serious?”

“Just got off the phone with Director Li herself! I confirmed it several times!”

Qiu Qiu grabbed Ye Youyi’s hand, then pinched her own arm—hard. Ouch. It hurt. So, this wasn’t a dream!

“Waaaah—you’re finally going to play the female lead! I’ve waited four whole years for this! We’re finally making it!”

Ye Youyi gently wiped the tears from the corners of Qiu Qiu’s eyes, smiling softly. “It’s just the lead role for now. Whether we really ‘make it’ or not is another matter. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves—if I mess it up, you’ll only be disappointed.”

Qiu Qiu clapped a hand over her mouth immediately. “Bah, don’t jinx it! I believe in your acting! Just look at Moon Spirit Chronicles—everyone praised your performance as Xian Ruo!”

Hearing that, Ye Youyi’s racing heart gradually calmed. She shook her head slightly. “Still, I bet Yu Mianyue will hate me even more after this.”

“Who cares? She already couldn’t stand you anyway. The entertainment industry is full of scheming—don’t tell me you still plan to tiptoe around everyone like before?” Qiu Qiu sighed. “That’s the price of fame. You can’t stay low-key forever.”

Ye Youyi nodded. From the moment she decided to fight for that role, she’d already steeled herself for everything that came with it.

“Hey, are you going to tell Wen Tang the news?” Qiu Qiu nudged her playfully with her shoulder.

Ye Youyi waved her phone with a little grin. “I already texted her before coming here to tell you.”

At that, Qiu Qiu clutched her chest dramatically, feigning heartbreak. “Oh no, I’m no longer your favorite little cutie. My heart is shattered!”

Ye Youyi burst into laughter at her exaggerated expression and patted her hand. “I’m planning to go home for a bit too. I want her to see that I’m doing just fine as an actress now.”

Qiu Qiu stopped joking, hesitation flickering in her eyes. “You still have hopes for her? Aren’t you afraid she’ll kick you out again?”

Ye Youyi’s Omega mother had once been a brilliant dancer. But after being sabotaged by her own junior, she’d suffered a severe leg injury that ended her dancing career forever.

She pinned all her shattered dreams on young Ye Youyi instead. But Ye Youyi had never cared for dancing—what she loved was performing in front of the camera.

After the accident, Ye’s mother’s gentle temperament twisted into something harsh and self-centered. She forced her daughter into relentless dance training, demanding that she one day win an international gold medal—for her.

It was impossible, of course.

As Ye Youyi grew older, the rift between them only deepened. Especially after her mother discovered she’d secretly acted in a film called Fragile, she nearly beat her to death out of fury.

When Ye Youyi went off to college, she stopped going home. Her mother eventually opened her own dance academy and completely severed ties with her.

After thinking for a while, Qiu Qiu tried again to dissuade her. “She doesn’t even want to see you. Why put yourself through it?”

She still remembered that one birthday years ago—Ye Youyi had gone home, hoping to celebrate with her mother. But her mother had chosen to stay at the academy to tutor a student instead, leaving her daughter alone at home to blow out her candles and eat her cake by herself.

Ye Youyi lowered her head, her tone calm. “I just want her to know that I wasn’t wrong.”

Of course Qiu Qiu understood. Ye Youyi’s drive to climb higher in the industry came from that same obsession—to prove to her mother that her choice to act had never been a mistake.

It had become her conviction. Now that she was finally starting to shine, she naturally wanted to show her mother what she’d achieved.

“When are you planning to go back?”

“In about ten days. It’ll be my birthday then.”

Qiu Qiu reached out and patted her head. “Want me to come with you?”

Ye Youyi shook her head. “No need. I can handle it on my own.”

“All alone?” Qiu Qiu clicked her tongue twice. “Aren’t you bringing your girlfriend along to meet the mother-in-law?”

“Wha—what are you saying!” Ye Youyi clamped a hand over Qiu Qiu’s mouth, her cheeks flushing bright red. “It’s way too early for that kind of meeting.”