The Scummy Alpha Who Transmigrated Into a Book Was Tricked by the Actress Omega - Chapter 25

an Xunzhen instinctively replied, “No need, I can manage.”

Du Zuilan held the bowl, her gaze lingering on Yan Xunzhen’s bandaged palm, the implication clear. She patiently added, “It’s not convenient for you.”

True.

Yan Xunzhen fell silent, then finally nodded. Her usually sharp and spirited eyes softened as she looked at the bowl in Du Zuilan’s hands, the worry on her striking face fading into quiet resignation. “Alright. Thank you.”

The porridge in Du Zuilan’s hands was dotted with fine shreds of chicken, so tender they blended seamlessly with the rice. The porridge was thick and rich, garnished with a sprinkle of scallions that Du Zuilan had carefully pushed aside. She scooped up a spoonful and brought it to Yan Xunzhen’s lips.

This was the first time Yan Xunzhen had ever been fed like this.

Her childhood memories of being sick had nearly faded, but she still remembered back then, her parents were always busy with work. Proud of her independence, she had refused to let the nanny spoon-feed her. During her teenage years, it went without saying she had studied harder than anyone to prove she was no less capable than any man, even when feverish, simply bundling herself under the covers to sweat it out before waking up to hit the books again.

So even now, injured, she hadn’t cried out in pain. She had endured the wounds on her hand, the agony in her glands, the chaos in her memories, and the harshness of her circumstances.

Yet Du Zuilan’s unexpected act of feeding her had left her utterly stunned.

The original scumbag alpha had been terrible, and even after taking over, Yan Xunzhen hadn’t managed to protect Du Zuilan from harm as promised. It was she who had temporarily marked Du Zuilan yet here the other woman sat, gently offering her a bowl of warm porridge.

The spoonful held out by Du Zuilan pulled Yan Xunzhen into a daze, so lost in thought that she forgot to open her mouth.

Du Zuilan leaned forward slightly, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with faint confusion. A soft hum escaped her as she tilted her head, silently asking what was wrong.

Yan Xunzhen snapped back to reality.

She parted her lips and took the porridge into her mouth, but in her haste, as she lifted her head, Du Zuilan caught sight of her reddened eyes.

The truth was, Yan Xunzhen couldn’t put into words the tangled emotions in her heart.

But Du Zuilan seemed to think she had been scalded.

“Are you okay?”

Du Zuilan’s slender fingers, usually cool to the touch, had warmed from holding the bowl. When they brushed against Yan Xunzhen’s cheek, the contact left her speechless and flustered.

Du Zuilan only felt the heat rise in her palm. Yan Xunzhen’s face, smooth and fair, gradually flushed with a faint pink.

“I’m fine. It’s just.”

Yan Xunzhen’s phoenix eyes were tinged with red at the corners, but the words stuck in her throat. Du Zuilan leaned in a little closer, her tone questioning, “Can you stick out your tongue and let me see?”

“II’m really fine, it didn’t burn me.” Yan Xunzhen’s face burned as her tongue, seemingly with a mind of its own, darted out to lick her lips before retreating. “Really, I’m okay.”

The delicate hand withdrew, picking up the bowl from the tray again. There was even a hint of indulgent resignation in Du Zuilan’s voice as she said, “Alright.”

But the next moment, as she scooped another spoonful, Du Zuilan lowered her head and blew on it lightly. The cool breeze made the glossy porridge tremble, and her hair, loosened by the motion, slipped from behind her ear, framing her petite face.

“Have a little more?”

Yan Xunzhen nearly clenched her fist tightly despite the wound on her hand, but she managed to hold back with great effort. Her red lips wrapped around the porcelain spoon in Du Zuilan’s hand as she swallowed the mouthful of porridge.

“Mmm, good girl.”

A glimmer of amusement rose in Du Zuilan’s eyes. The words were spoken lightly, but though the speaker meant nothing by them, the listener took them to heart. Yan Xunzhen choked slightly, her ears turning red as she remained silent.

The speaker chuckled again. Compared to the cold beauty, the lively and spirited fairy was far more captivating: “When my younger sister used to get sick with a fever, I’d often coax her like this. She didn’t like eating, but after I spoke to her, she’d obediently finish everything.”

Younger sister?

Yan Xunzhen was startled. In the original novel, this younger sister hadn’t been mentioned explicitly only that the scumbag Alpha had coerced the protagonist’s family. She had initially assumed it was that Ms. Qiao, but after having someone investigate, she learned that Ms. Qiao wasn’t Du Zuilan’s biological mother. Du Zuilan’s real family should be her grandmother and younger sister living in a distant small town.

The saying “a stepmother means a stepfather” was indeed true. Du Zuilan’s life had been truly difficult on one hand, she had to support her younger sister’s education and her frail grandmother, while on the other, she was exploited by her so-called “mother” and father.

Yan Xunzhen could only curse the author in her heart. Why on earth did they have to give Du Zuilan such a tragic backstory?

In novels, “beautiful, strong, and tragic” might be an appealing trope, but after actually getting to know Du Zuilan, Yan Xunzhen only felt.

Heartache.

Silently, Yan Xunzhen ate spoonful after spoonful of the porridge Du Zuilan fed her.

Mere words of sympathy were useless. She needed to work harder to help Du Zuilan resolve the troubles weighing her down.

At this thought, her eyes brightened slightly, and when she looked up, she resembled a child waiting for praise after finishing a meal.

Du Zuilan set the bowl aside. Her slightly rounded lips usually carried little emotion, making her appear fragile and clear yet when she smiled, she became far gentler and warmer, like an intoxicating breeze, as enchanting as her pheromones.

“Mmm, very good.”

The portion of chicken porridge earlier had been small, and eating just that definitely wouldn’t fill her up. So, Du Zuilan picked up another small plate, this one containing a light and nutritious vegetable dish: stir-fried broccoli.

The vibrant green vegetable, fresh and plump, was cut into bite-sized pieces. Yan Xunzhen wasn’t particularly picky; in fact, she quite liked broccoli, so she obediently opened her mouth and ate it.

Du Zuilan fed her a few more bites before seemingly recalling her sister again, her tone tinged with faint nostalgia: “My younger sister never liked broccoli much. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen you eat it before either?”

Yan Xunzhen paused mid-chew.

The scumbag Alpha didn’t like broccoli?

Yan Xunzhen smiled, straightening slightly as she replied nonchalantly, “Well, I actually quite like it now. People change, after all. I think broccoli’s pretty good.”

Du Zuilan lowered her gaze, her hands still moving as she picked up another piece for her. “Mmm, true. I feel like you’ve changed a lot.”

She spoke bluntly, her eyes fixed on Yan Xunzhen with a quiet seriousness. “You’re not as detestable as before.”

Yan Xunzhen couldn’t help but laugh.

She took a couple more bites before suddenly thinking of another question: “What time is it now? Have you eaten today yourself? Don’t just focus on me. If there’s still work to be done with the crew, you can go attend to that first.”

Du Zuilan replied nonchalantly, “It’s fine, I ate a little. Today, the crew isn’t too busy.”

A keen sense of unease struck her. The crew Du Zuilan was part of had been swamped ever since she joined, rushing to meet deadlines every day. They hadn’t filmed yesterday afternoon, so they should definitely be making up for it today. Besides, Du Zuilan herself was a workaholic, why would she skip work?

Yan Xun Zhen coughed twice. Despite the pain, she stubbornly pushed aside the covers and stepped down, scanning the room for her phone.

Du Zuilan stood silently in place, placing the bowl and chopsticks aside. Her slender fingers intertwined as she lowered her gaze, resembling a kitten clutching its tattered little ball of yarn wronged but silent, enduring it all, looking utterly pitiful.

Yan Xun Zhen managed to unlock her phone with her fingerprint. The first thing that popped up was a message from Yu Tu Tu.

A voice message, in Tang Ying’s voice: “Tell Zuilan not to come to the set today. Someone’s lying in wait.”

Following that was a somewhat unclear photo, showing a figure lurking in the shadows, clearly up to no good.

Yan Xun Zhen replied with a polite “Thank you.”

She then opened Weibo’s trending topics again. Sure enough, she saw a flood of smear campaigns, pushed so aggressively that even those initially uninterested were annoyed enough to click and leave comments. Strangers couldn’t resist speculating maliciously about this unfamiliar girl.

This time, the orchestrator was even more obvious, mixing a few fabricated images with half-truths. The first accusation claimed she was unprofessional and arrogant, skipping filming in the afternoon just because she scraped her leg. Others recycled the same old rumors about her being kept by a sugar daddy.

Honestly, Yan Xun Zhen thought the King of Rui was incredibly foolish.

Did he really think buying a few smear articles would ruin Du Zuilan’s reputation?

If Yan Xun Zhen were truly that scumbag Alpha, his plan might have had a chance of success after all, the scumbag only wanted Du Zuilan’s body and couldn’t care less about her career. But he had clearly seen Yan Xun Zhen’s good treatment of Du Zuilan and still arrogantly believed this would force her to yield and teach them a lesson.

How naive.

He probably thought their lack of response meant they were scared.

Still, the malicious comments under the Weibo marketing posts were unsettling. Yan Xun Zhen only skimmed through them briefly before encountering the remarks of professional trolls and influenced bystanders. It was truly.

[Du Zuilan? Isn’t she the one who played Liang Xiao before? Her acting was decent, but turns out she climbed her way up through the casting couch. Gross. She puts on this pure, hardworking act, but she’s just another diva.]

[Ugh, so she suddenly moved out of that ordinary hostel and into her sugar daddy’s place?]

[Useless nobodies always cause drama. Buying trending topics every day so annoying! Can’t stand the sight of her!]

[Insider info: she’s nowhere near as innocent as she looks. Total trainwreck. Bet her face is fake too, right?!]

“Tsk tsk, unbelievable that such an entertainer can still get acting gigs. What a joke.”

Yan Xunzhen’s expression turned frosty.

She’d allowed the Prince of Rui to prance around for far too long. Did he really think that by “snatching” this piece of land from her with Tianneng Group’s backing, he could suddenly gain the leverage to challenge her authority?

Her voice was icy as she declared: “Time to reel in the net.”

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