The Heartless Alpha Just Wants to Follow the Plot - Chapter 12

After walking out of the company building, Qiu Fu still hadn’t fully processed what had happened.

So, this was freedom?

She blinked, turning back to look at the place where she had spent the last five years of her life. The unreality of it all made her chest feel strangely hollow.

Was she really done worrying?

“If you have anything to say, save it until we get to the company.”

Sorting through a stack of documents, Pu Ying seemed to be messaging someone at the same time. Her tone was flat. “We don’t have the luxury for you to stand here getting sentimental.”

Qiu Fu froze. “Huh?”

Pu Ying stepped onto the aircraft without looking up. “You’re leaving Qi Huan Entertainment now. Yes, I’m the one taking you out, but you have no background. If they want to crush your future, there are plenty of ways. And the threat I used on them just now—one time only.”

There were plenty of unspoken, unclean things in the industry. She could choose not to dirty her hands, but that didn’t mean others would do the same. Once you stepped into this circle, it was a dye vat—you soaked in it long enough, nobody could guarantee they’d never misstep someday.

A threat like that only worked once. Do it again, and the other side would go down fighting.

Qiu Fu bit her lip. “Then, what do I need to do?”

Pu Ying finally lifted her eyes from her light-brain. “Sign a contract. Pay back the money.”

“Whose money?”

“Su Mo’s.”

Her voice was cold, and her words even colder. “Aside from having money, she’s not capable of much else. It’s fortunate your penalty fee wasn’t higher, or Su Mo might’ve died from the heartache.”

When it came to how rich—and how stingy—Su Mo was, Pu Ying spoke from deeply personal experience.

The fact that she had paid Qiu Fu’s penalty fee so readily, even Pu Ying had been surprised. But looking at it now, the little heiress was genuinely invested in Qiu Fu.

She tilted her head and gave Qiu Fu a once-over, her gaze sweeping from her figure to her face. Satisfied, she nodded. Yes—exactly Su Mo’s type.

“She.”

Qiu Fu clenched her fists and asked quietly, “Why, why would she pay my penalty fee?”

Shouldn’t something like that be the company’s responsibility?

Pu Ying didn’t reveal Su Mo’s intentions. She only said, “She has money. Just treat her as a walking wallet.”

“But she’s very attached to her money, and very stingy. Spending this much on you, she’ll definitely come after you for it.”

“But don’t worry. She’s not a good person, but she’s not the kind who’d force you to do that kind of thing. When necessary, you can trust her.”

To Pu Ying, Su Mo was someone who woke up every day thinking about how to squander money while somehow still looking perpetually tight-fisted. But remembering how decisively Su Mo had paid just now, a faint warmth flashed beneath Qiu Fu’s lowered lashes.

Honestly, Su Mo’s personality wasn’t so bad.

Meanwhile, Su Mo—who knew absolutely none of this—was sprawled lifelessly on the sofa, staring at the enormous transfer amount on her screen. Her eyes were full of depression, regret, and deep, bitter pain.

“Tongzi, how could I have sent it off so easily? This isn’t five bucks—it’s fifty million! Fifty million!”

She gripped her long hair and aggressively tousled it until she’d turned her head into a bird’s nest, still not satisfied. Flipping over, she kept replaying the moment she made that decision.

【This should have been the company’s job! Sure, I own a third of the shares, but that doesn’t mean I can just throw money away like this! Even if I’m rich, I shouldn’t burn money like a maniac!】

Having listened to her rant for an entire hour, the system wanted nothing more than to rip out its auditory module. This was unbearable.

【You already paid it. What, do you expect to take it back?】

Su Mo slowly sat up, eyes heavy as she stared at the screen. Then a spark flashed across her mind. “Yes. I’ll take it back!”

The system was speechless. 【And what about Qiu Fu? Are you giving her back too?】

At the mention of Qiu Fu, Su Mo’s shoulders slumped. She curled weakly into the sofa like a boneless cat, mumbling gloomily:

【I already rescued her. I can’t just toss her back, can I?】

She wasn’t someone who went back on her word.

It’s just that.

Fifty million.

Her heart spasmed just thinking about it. No wonder entertainment companies were loaded—how could they not be, with penalty clauses like these?

Her hands trembled from the pain, but in the end, she forced herself to turn her face away and focus on anything else.

Because of yesterday’s incident, the site inspection became far stricter. They even discovered another Zerg insect, so filming had to be suspended again.

Su Mo had another free day. After sending Jiang Xi off to amuse herself, she lay on the hotel bed in a daze.

“Tongzi, you brought me into this world, but you still haven’t told me what I’m supposed to do next.”

Because this was a novel whose plot had already been derailed, the system hadn’t given her all the information at the start. Instead, only when she encountered characters relevant to her mission did the system reveal the corresponding storyline.

Before that, however, it had at least given her the names of the important characters so she wouldn’t mix them up.

So far, she had encountered four characters from the original story. The first was Jiang Xi, and the system had already given her that arc:

The original Su Mo had been stingy beyond reason, constantly cutting Jiang Xi’s pay. Jiang Xi’s mother had been hospitalized and needed a large medical expense. When borrowing money from Su Mo failed, and when the rival company offered her a hefty sum, Jiang Xi betrayed the original Su Mo without hesitation.

This incident was also one of the key triggers behind the original host’s notorious reputation in the industry.

That was why, the moment Su Mo arrived, she immediately wrote a large check—partly to return the bonuses and wages that had been withheld from Jiang Xi.

Second, after reading Jiang Xi’s storyline, she learned that the girl was deeply filial. Her mother had raised her with great difficulty, and without intervention at this point, her mother would soon pass away. Only then did Su Mo decide to step in.

But even that wasn’t enough. She wanted to play the scummy role—but not cross the bottom line. Finding that balance was extremely hard.

Su Mo let out a long sigh. “Shouldn’t you be giving me this Qiu Fu person’s profile by now?”

So far, all she knew was that the original host and Qiu Fu were enemies—rivals, even. The original host hated her, believed she was buying data to suppress her popularity, releasing malicious edits that claimed the original host’s acting was inferior and that she was a “washed-up nobody.”

No matter how little the original host liked acting, she had still been a pampered, celebrated prodigy. Naturally, she hated such comments—and that was why she spent money to buy news that smeared Qiu Fu.

But.

“If she’s just a minor character, the plot wouldn’t make such a fuss about her, right? Exactly what role does she play in the story?”

Even if she was a side character, she had to be a very important one.

The system diligently searched for information on Qiu Fu, only to come up empty. Her identity was actually classified.

The system felt like its data had suffered a major bug. This world was supposed to be the same as all the ones before—normally, it would display the entire plot, fully organize every character’s background and relevance, and all they would need to do was follow the mission.

But now it had nothing. Worse, there was even a classified character. It felt like someone had pulled out its data wires and tied them into knots!

The system peeked at Su Mo timidly and whispered:

【Host, let’s not dwell on this. Since she appeared, she must be a plot character. If she’s important, then let’s interact with her—and scum her!】

The system boldly urged her forward, and the method it proposed made Su Mo want to pin it down and punch it.

Scum her? SCUM WHAT?

You can’t just randomly scum people!

What if she scummed the wrong person and it turned out to be the story’s protagonist?

And the consequences of stealing the protagonist’s love interest.

Thinking of the original host’s miserable end, Su Mo shook her head again and again. She absolutely could not end up like that. She finally had wealth and connections enough for several lifetimes—how could she throw it all away?

At the very least, she should enjoy life first.

Su Mo took a deep breath. “So, there’s really no profile on her?”

The system twiddled its fingers. 【The system encountered a bug.】

Su Mo: “Stop acting pitiful.”

She stood up and looked out the window. Down on the street, crowds of people hurried about, everyone busy with their own lives—while she could do nothing but sit and wait.

That thought pushed her into making a decision: she should go train in the mech simulator. She couldn’t let herself remain defenseless every time something happened.

By the time Pu Ying’s call came through, Su Mo was inside the mech pod, deep in training.

It took her quite a while to answer.

“What is it?”

Covered in sweat, Su Mo casually wiped her forehead with her sleeve. Suspicious and wary, she added, “Don’t tell me you’re here to ask me for money again?”

No way. She wasn’t going to hand out a second payment. She wasn’t some rich fool. Who could afford to burn money every day?

Knowing it was hard to get money out of Su Mo, Pu Ying didn’t intend to scam her again. This time, she was calling about Qiu Fu’s placement.

“The company’s stance is this: since you paid to buy her out of her contract, she belongs to you now. You can handle her however you like. As long as you don’t go too far, the company will cover for you.”

Originally, the company had been thrilled when they heard an award-winning powerhouse actress had joined—but the moment they learned Su Mo had paid the penalty fee herself, their enthusiasm died instantly.

Su Mo paying? Everyone knew what that meant.

Who would dare to fight her for the girl now?

And so, with great reluctance, the company handed Qiu Fu over to Su Mo.

Su Mo: “…”

Great. How irresponsible could they be?

She didn’t have that kind of intention at all!

Pu Ying continued, “If you don’t object, I’ll have her sent to your villa. She can move in tonight. Once you return from filming, the two of you can immediately start—”

“STOP, stop, stop!”

Su Mo’s head throbbed. How could Pu Ying say something so horrifying with such a calm expression?

Pressing her forehead, Su Mo hastily refused that “kindness.”

“I’m really not interested in her. I only said those things because I needed an excuse to go after Qi Huan Entertainment. I’m not actually that desperate.”

“She has your pheromones on her.”

Pu Ying looked at her like she was saying, ‘What nonsense are you spouting? You already made a move, and now you’re pretending you’re not interested? Scumbag.’

“Her temporary mark only lasts three days. If you don’t reinforce it, the suppressant in her system won’t be enough to contain the heat. When it hits, you know exactly what will happen.”

Pu Ying pushed up her glasses. “I don’t care whether you two did anything or not. I only care about one thing: I need an obedient, useful artist—and her? I like her.”