The Ex-Wife of the Scumbag A Who Abandoned the Female Lead - Chapter 29

The staff member specifically reminded her, “Also, it seems the new season of the child-reality show hasn’t been officially announced yet.”

Shi Nuocen held An’an in one arm and pulled her ID card from her pocket with the other, handing it over. “I’m not in the wrong place. I’m a contestant on the girl group variety show. The reason I brought a child is because a friend had an emergency and asked me to look after her.”

“Ah, I see.” The staff member smiled understandingly, registered her name, and then fetched a uniform in her size.

The uniform for the new season’s girl group was a white blazer paired with a pleated skirt. The color was pure and vibrant, the cut simple and elegant, yet it accentuated the figure beautifully. The craftsmanship was exquisite, evident from the metal buttons, accessories, and the subtle patterns on the fabric.

From what her ex-wife had mentioned, the uniforms were provided by a clothing brand under the Shi Group. It seemed her older sister took this collaboration very seriously.

“Miss, please remember to wear your name tag on your chest.” The staff member handed her a small metal plate.

Shi Nuocen glanced down. The name tag was shaped like a golden star, with her name engraved on it. Just then, a few girl group contestants walked out together, all wearing the same uniform, though the colors of their pleated skirts varied slightly; some were light, others dark.

Taking a closer look at the uniform she had received, she couldn’t help but ask, “So, the darker colors are for Alphas? The colors differ based on gender?”

“Yes, that way the secondary gender characteristics are clear at a glance.”

Shi Nuocen glanced at An’an again. “Is there a quiet, empty room available? Preferably one with a view of the filming set and close by.”

The staff member thought for a moment. “Yes, there is. Follow me.” With that, she led the way, and Shi Nuocen quickly followed, carrying An’an.

Along the way, they encountered many girl group contestants. Seeing the pair, one adult and one child they were charmed. “Wow, is this your child? So tiny!”

“She’s my friend’s child,” Shi Nuocen replied with a smile.

“Does she like candy? I have some milk candies here, they’re quite tasty.”

“Thank you.” Unable to refuse such kindness, Shi Nuocen accepted them.

The staff member took out a key, unlocked the door to a room, and gestured inside. “This is it.”

Shi Nuocen peeked in. The room was sparsely furnished, with only a few prop boxes inside. She sniffed the air, no unusual odors. The door was made of glass, offering a direct view outside, which was reassuring.

She thought the place was suitable, so she set An’an down and crouched to meet her gaze. “An’an, I have to go to work for a while. Can you stay here? We can see each other through this door, so there’s no need to be afraid, okay? If you need anything, just wave, and I’ll come right over.”

Under Shi Nuocen’s gentle and hopeful gaze, An’an slowly nodded. She opened her mouth, her voice soft and faint. “Sister, good luck with work.”

Shi Nuocen was overjoyed and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that An’an could speak meant she was recovering from the shock. Earlier, when she had taken the child away, she had sent a WeChat message to her ex-wife. Now, after a moment’s thought, she sent another:

[Nuocen: An’an can speak now. I’ll make sure she’s settled, so don’t worry.]

Come to think of it, she wondered how her ex-wife was doing now.

Shi Nuocen’s willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly, but the immediate priority was still her work with the girl group.

She mustered her energy to complete both the photoshoot and the short video. During the short video segment, she noticed how the contestants constantly switched up their styles and dropped trendy catchphrases, all in an effort to leave a lasting impression on the audience.

As she stepped down from the photography set, a blonde woman approached with light, cheerful steps. “Hi, mind if I introduce myself? You can call me Amy. I really like you. Out of everyone here, you were the first one I noticed.”

“Really? I’m honored. My name is Shi Nuocen.” Worried that the foreigner might not recognize the characters, she even showed her name tag.

“This show from your country is super popular, and the contestants are all incredibly talented. I wanted to challenge myself here. Earlier, I saw you carrying a child—that’s not your kid, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

“That’s good. Actually, I fell for you at first sight and want to pursue you. No need to answer right away, I have plenty of patience.” Before leaving, the blonde woman threw her a flirtatious glance but couldn’t help feeling a bit defeated when she noticed the other person didn’t blush at all. She pulled out a compact mirror, checking her reflection while doubting her own charm.

Shi Nuocen’s heart remained completely calm from start to finish. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been abroad before. She’d encountered similar approaches more than a few times.

Before the interview segment began, the contestants gathered in small groups. Most of those who had formed cliques early on were from the same company. Shi Nuocen overheard them talking about the blonde woman: “Amy is pretty famous overseas. She’s highly skilled and comes from a great background. Barring any surprises, she’ll likely secure one of the seven spots in the final lineup.”

“Ah, so that leaves only six spots left?”

“Don’t boost others’ morale while dampening our own! Maybe we can outperform her.”

“Yeah, yeah, we all need to work hard!”

They didn’t harbor much jealousy but possessed a competitive spirit that thrived on challenges!

What Shi Nuocen didn’t realize was that her own striking looks had also made her a topic of discussion among the contestants. Comments like:

“That person who just walked by, is she an Omega? She’s so gorgeous. When I made eye contact with her earlier, I embarrassingly blushed.”

“Looking at her uniform, she should be an Alpha.”

“Eh? Really? I’m a Beta, and I’ve always wanted an Alpha as a partner. Maybe I should pay more attention to her?”

As Shi Nuocen walked forward, she glanced sideways and noticed a girl standing outside the glass door, waving toward the room. And right by the glass door stood An’an.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurried over. She had expected An’an to be scared, but instead, the little girl just tilted her head curiously.

Hearing the movement, the girl turned around, revealing a sunny smile. “Is she your little one? I was just passing by and saw a child peeking around adorably, so I couldn’t resist coming over to play with her.”

“It’s fine.” Shi Nuocen returned the smile but froze abruptly upon clearly seeing the other’s name tag.

Zhao Zhao.

It was actually the name of the other Alpha female lead from the original novel!

She never expected to run into her here. Shi Nuocen couldn’t help but reassess the person before her. Her figure and looks were top-tier, and she radiated a genuinely sunny, healing aura, which suggested a truly kind-hearted nature.

This is the person who, in the original novel, became Ru Xi Cheng’s ultimate destiny.

“Are you okay? Why has your complexion turned so pale? Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to go to the hospital?” The girl walked over, asking with concern and even preparing to support her toward the door.

Shi Nuocen stared fixedly at this person, thinking: Is my complexion really that bad?

An’an also ran out from behind the glass door and hugged Shi Nuocen’s leg: “Sister, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing much. I just suddenly felt a bit dizzy.” She patted An’an’s little head.

Another ten minutes passed, and footsteps echoed at the entrance. Everyone looked up and saw representatives from various major sponsors arriving.

Shi Nuocen spotted Shi Fanxing, the representative from the Mu Group, the representative from the Gu Group, and, of course, the representative from the Ru Group.

The heiress of the Mu Group was the third female lead in the original novel, while the heiress of the Gu Group was the second female lead. Rumor had it that she had concealed her identity and, through her own efforts, successfully became one of the contestants in the girl group’s preliminary selection.

Now, the Shi Group and the companies of the first, second, and third female leads had all appeared in the same variety show.

Most importantly, all these companies were highly influential industry leaders. The girl group contestants were utterly astonished!

Shi Nuocen glanced at Zhao Zhao beside her and couldn’t help but sigh: Could this be the prestige of the original female protagonist?

Shi Fanxing, dressed in a white suit dress, was all smiles as she asked the contestants about their thoughts on the uniforms and whether any adjustments were needed for comfort.

“Moreover, there will be several sets of uniforms throughout the show. Feel free to share your opinions on what elements you’d like to see.” Shi Fanxing took notes on her tablet, exuding an air of professionalism.

“President Shi, you’re too kind to come in person. We never expected it.”

Hearing this, Shi Fanxing blinked, leaned in closer, and whispered, “To be honest, I came this time to get a closer look at a certain contestant. I’ve been following her for a while now, so I guess I’m half a fan.”

The girl group contestants exchanged surprised glances: “Really? Who’s so lucky?”

But Shi Fanxing mysteriously shook her head and said no more.

Just then, someone suddenly remarked, “Come to think of it, there’s a contestant here with the surname Shi, and she looks quite similar to you, President Shi.”

Shi Fanxing thought to herself, That’s my younger sister; of course we look alike, but she feigned complete ignorance: “What a coincidence! I must meet her then.”

And so, the Shi sisters met under the watchful eyes of everyone. Though it appeared to be their first encounter, it felt incredibly awkward.

Shi Fanxing, however, found it thrilling. Her eyes swept over Shi Nuocen as a cryptic smile played on her lips: “So it’s you. They say you look like me. What do you think?”

Shi Nuocen curled her lips, her expression unreadable: “I think President Shi could join the girl group too. After all, we do bear some resemblance, don’t we? With your looks and talent, you could probably eliminate me outright.”

Shi Fanxing’s smile faded slightly, realizing her sister still held a grudge over the matter involving her and her friend.

“What elimination? The competition hasn’t even officially started yet. Have some confidence in yourself.” Shi Fanxing brushed it off with a few vague words.

The others exchanged puzzled glances, wondering if there was some unresolved conflict between the two. If Shi Nuocen had offended the sponsor, they couldn’t help but worry about her future.

After finishing the uniform feedback notes, Shi Xingchen passed by her younger sister and gave her a subtle look, signaling that they needed to talk privately later.

An hour later, the two sisters stood facing each other in a secluded corner, with the little girl An’an between them. Leaning against the wall, Shi Nuocen lifted her eyes indifferently and asked, “Well? What did you want to talk about?”

Shi Xingchen studied her carefully, even reaching out to pinch her cheek. “Just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

“Hah.” Shi Nuocen brushed her hand away and let out a cold laugh. “Thanks to you, I couldn’t be better.”

“I thought so too.” Surprisingly, Shi Xingchen agreed without a hint of guilt. She bent down to look at An’an. “This must be Ru Xi Cheng’s little niece. How adorable.”

An’an clenched her small hands, feeling slightly nervous but not overly so. Although the older sister’s gaze seemed complicated, it was also warm and kind, like how one looks at family or a younger relative.

Shi Xingchen smiled gently at the little girl before straightening up to face Shi Nuocen again. “Look at your life now. Living in the Ru family’s mansion, accompanied by a beauty like Ru Xi Cheng, with such an adorable little angel clinging to you, not to mention your thriving career. You have a home and a career, you’re practically a winner in life.”

Shi Nuocen turned her head away, thinking to herself that she was merely living under someone else’s roof. Now that the other female lead had appeared, she figured her own role would soon be over. But she couldn’t say these things in front of An’an.

Shi Xingchen sensed something but refrained from mentioning it out of consideration for the child.

After finishing her work for the day, Shi Nuocen returned to the Ru residence feeling an indescribable weariness. Knowing that her ex-wife was away on business and that she hadn’t received any replies to her WeChat messages only amplified this emotional exhaustion.

She took out her key and entered her ex-wife’s room, intending to take a petal bath. The bathroom was filled with steam, and the water’s surface was covered with pink petals. After undressing, she let her body sink into the bath.

A relaxing and comfortable sensation enveloped her. Gradually feeling at ease, she tilted her head and fell into a deep sleep.

Sometime later, she faintly heard the sound of a lock turning. She stirred slightly but paid it no mind.