Reborn a Scummy Alpha, Happily Ever After with the Movie Queen - Chapter 51

Wen Tang finally breathed a sigh of relief—she no longer had to endure Madam Ning’s endless probing.

Standing up, she exchanged a few polite words with Madam Ning before following a servant out of the living room.

Behind her, Madam Ning smiled in satisfaction. When she caught sight of the servant discreetly making an “OK” gesture, she finally set her worries aside.

They entered a small courtyard adorned in pink and white tones, the decor sweet and girlish. Wen Tang immediately recognized it as Ning Xu’s private residence. She had planned to wait in the sitting room, but the servant continued to lead her further in.

She frowned. “Isn’t Miss Ning meeting me in the parlor?”

Judging from the servant’s intent to go upstairs, Wen Tang suspected she was being taken directly to Ning Xu’s bedroom.

But as an Alpha, how could she casually enter an Omega’s room?

The round-faced servant halted at her question and turned respectfully. “My lady hasn’t been feeling well. Madam fears she might catch a chill if she leaves her room, so she’s been resting in bed.”

“You’re her future spouse, miss,” the servant added with a deferential smile. “There’s no need to stand on ceremony.”

Wen Tang’s brows furrowed. “We’re not married yet. This doesn’t seem proper.”

“But Madam has instructed that Miss Ning mustn’t come downstairs.” The servant looked somewhat troubled. She had assumed the young heiress of the Wen family was truly devoted to her mistress, coming here personally to check on her condition.

“Perhaps you could just greet her at the door?”

Wen Tang considered this. Since she was already here, leaving abruptly would only give her grandmother another excuse to nag and threaten her later. Besides, a quick glance at Ning Xu’s condition might help her find a way to dissolve this engagement.

“Alright then,” she said, and followed the servant upstairs.

The upper floor was silent—so quiet that only the sound of their footsteps echoed down the hallway.

They stopped before a door, and the servant knocked softly.

“Miss, Miss Wen has come to see you.”

No response came from within. After a pause, the servant knocked again. “Miss, Madam said Miss Wen is your future wife—you don’t need to be shy.”

At that, a faint and fragile voice came from inside. “Come in.”

The door creaked open. Wen Tang stood at the threshold and immediately spotted a graceful silhouette reclining sideways on the bed. She quickly averted her gaze and greeted coolly, “Miss Ning, Grandmother said you’ve been unwell, so I came to see how you’re doing.”

Ning Xu slowly sat up, her eyes landing on the tall figure by the door.

Once upon a time, she had looked forward to this marriage with great anticipation. Now, she could feel nothing but disgust for it.

Her lips curved into a soft, weary smile. “Oh? You’ve come to visit me?”

When Wen Tang didn’t reply, Ning Xu simply lay back down, closing her eyes again. “Well, you’ve seen me now. You can go.”

Suppressing a surge of emotion, Wen Tang nodded and quietly closed the door behind her. “Rest well, then. I’ll be going.”

Once she left the Ning estate, Wen Tang closed her eyes and began speaking to the system in her mind.

“Judging from Ning Xu’s attitude, she clearly doesn’t want this marriage. Could it be she’s already met the original male lead, Cheng Ye?”

The way Ning Xu had looked at her with such indifference—it was completely unlike the girl who once clung to her and begged her to stroll through the gardens together.

If she hadn’t met Cheng Ye and fallen in love with him, Wen Tang truly couldn’t imagine what else could have caused such a change.

Besides, her grandmother had mentioned that the Ning family’s eagerness for this union seemed suspicious—hardly the same as before when both sides were negotiating on equal terms.

Perhaps they already knew about Cheng Ye and were trying to separate the two by forcing Ning Xu into an early marriage.

And as it turned out, Wen Tang’s guess wasn’t far from the truth.

The system rubbed its chin and nodded. “You’re right. Ning Xu met Cheng Ye a long time ago. Remember that day you waited for her at Xingyue, but she never showed up? That was when they first met!”

“What—that early?”

Wen Tang recalled hearing later that Ning Xu had missed their meeting because of a near-fatal elevator accident.

“Exactly. The elevator stopped midway—stuck between floors—and nearly plunged. Ning Xu was terrified, and Cheng Ye, who was inside with her, held onto her until rescue came. When they were finally saved, they were still in each other’s arms.”

“So that’s what happened.”

No wonder Ning Xu never came to the Wen household after that, and the Ning family had gone unusually quiet, never mentioning the engagement again.

“Afterward,” the system continued, flipping through the original plot timeline, “Ning Xu and Cheng Ye secretly kept in touch. As the story went, they fell in love. But when the Ning family found out, they were furious. They looked down on Cheng Ye—a small-time actor—and wanted to maintain their alliance with your family. So, they locked Ning Xu up and cut off all contact between them.”

“Didn’t you think she looked weak—like she barely had any strength?”

Wen Tang paused. She had only stolen a brief glance before looking away, but thinking back, Ning Xu’s voice had indeed sounded faint and frail. She nodded. “She did seem unwell.”

The system crossed its legs and clicked its tongue. “She’s pitiful, really. After the Ning family broke them apart, they even drugged her so she wouldn’t have the strength to escape. Poor girl.”

That genuinely surprised Wen Tang.

So, Ning Xu had been forced into this marriage, drugged, and confined—all because of family power plays.

It seemed that in the great houses of the world, nothing was too sacred to sacrifice for the sake of ambition.

It seemed, in the end, that she and Ning Xu were both trapped in the same unfortunate situation.

Wen Tang’s impression of Ning Xu had never been bad, and now that she knew the girl didn’t want the arranged marriage either, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for her.

“Then do you know where Cheng Ye is now?”

As she asked, Wen Tang’s mind was already piecing together the outline of a plan.

The system threw up its hands. “That, I can’t say.” Before Wen Tang could retort with her usual biting sarcasm, it quickly added with a cheerful laugh, “But come on, your little Miss Wen Qi is so capable—she’ll definitely find Cheng Ye’s whereabouts soon!”

Wen Tang arched a brow, a faint guess already forming in her mind.

With this bit of progress, the oppressive weight that had been pressing on her chest seemed to ease at last.

Yet whenever she thought of Ye Youyi, pain still welled up uncontrollably within her. Only now, that pain was laced with a trace of hope.

She thought to herself, Once the engagement is officially canceled, I’ll go find Ye Youyi. I’ll tell her everything and then—ask her if she’s still willing to be with me.

Back at the Wen residence, Wen Tang greeted the matriarch respectfully before being questioned about Ning Xu’s situation. Wen Tang responded fluently, using the explanations she had already prepared in advance.

Satisfied, the old lady finally allowed her to leave.

When Wen Tang returned to her private villa, she was just about to dial Wen Qi’s number when her phone lit up—Wen Qi was already calling.

She answered at once. “Go on.”

Hearing the urgency in her voice, Wen Qi didn’t dare waste time. “Miss Ning has gotten involved with another Alpha, but the Ning family forbade them from seeing each other and locked her up.”

It was exactly as the system had said earlier, but what Wen Tang really wanted to know was Cheng Ye’s whereabouts. “Have you found that Alpha?”

Wen Qi quickly flipped through her files again. “We searched thoroughly, but there’s no trace of that Alpha at all.”

“Then find him,” Wen Tang ordered curtly. “The sooner, the better.” After a brief pause, memories of Ye Youyi’s kidnapping flashed through her mind, and her voice hardened. “Keep a close watch on Wen Xin. Don’t let her stir up trouble again. And what about Bai Yuqing and Lin Shuang—how are they being handled?”

Wen Qi’s heart skipped a beat. “Second Miss has been fixated on finding your mistakes lately. She’s already turned her attention away from Miss Ye. As for Bai Yuqing and Lin Shuang, our people are keeping them under guard for now.

They haven’t been dealt with yet.”

Wen Tang let out a soft, low laugh. “Do I need to teach you how to deal with them?”

Wen Qi shuddered. “Understood! I’ll take care of it immediately!”

Days passed, one after another, and before long it was already May.

Having returned to the film crew, Ye Youyi buried herself completely in her work. She paid no mind to what was happening outside the set.

That day, Qiu Qiu watched Ye Youyi perform in front of the camera—her movements fluid, her emotions precise—and sighed once again.

Over the past weeks, she’d seen it all: Ye Youyi’s fierce dedication during the day, and the dazed, faraway look in her eyes at night. Of course she knew—Ye Youyi still couldn’t forget Wen Tang, and was using work to numb herself.

Ah, love always had a way of breaking people apart.

Just as Qiu Qiu was sighing for what felt like the three hundred and twenty-first time, she overheard two crew members gossiping nearby.

“Hey, hey, hey! Look! Bai Yuqing’s gone mad! She’s been locked up in a mental hospital!”

“What? No wonder we haven’t heard anything about her lately—she’s actually lost it?”

“Can’t really blame her. She used to be a pampered heiress, a shining star in the spotlight. Then overnight she hit rock bottom, that kind of fall would drive anyone insane.”

Qiu Qiu’s ears perked up. She caught every word and immediately pulled out her phone. The moment she opened Weibo, the top trending tag flashed before her eyes: #Bai Yuqing reportedly institutionalized after family bankruptcy#.

She read through the post in detail, then couldn’t help but grin.

That wretched woman and that snake Zhou Min had tormented Xiao Ye so cruelly before—now that karma had finally come for them, it felt so satisfying!

Down at the very bottom of the trending list, however, was a small, easily overlooked post: #Rising actress withdraws indefinitely from entertainment industry due to family issues#.

It mentioned that Lin Shuang, the actress who had played the tree spirit in Moon Spirit Chronicles, had quit the industry entirely.

But since she’d never been especially famous, few paid attention. Compared to the dramatic downfall of Bai Yuqing, her quiet disappearance barely stirred any conversation.

That evening, after Ye Youyi finally wrapped up her scenes for the day, she took the water bottle Qiu Qiu handed her and sipped slowly. When she saw the excitement dancing in Qiu Qiu’s eyes, she blinked in confusion. “What’s got you so happy?”

Qiu Qiu waited until Ye Youyi had finished drinking, then whisked the cup away, tugging her toward the dressing room to remove her makeup.

Once they were back in the car afterward, Qiu Qiu couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Bai Yuqing’s gone insane! Completely! She’s been committed to a mental hospital! You see? After everything she did to you—she finally got what she deserved!”