The Scummy Alpha Who Transmigrated Into a Book Was Tricked by the Actress Omega - Chapter 39

Yan Xunzhen’s breath intertwined with that of the person beneath her, their movements so intimate they could be described as seamless. Their arms one warm, the other slightly cool pressed together, while the dim yellow light filtering through the curtains blurred their faces, leaving only their lips strikingly red.

With some effort, Yan Xunzhen managed to push herself up.

From her collarbone upward, her skin burned not an unpleasant sensation, but enough to make her ears flush slightly. Clearing her throat twice, she casually grabbed the hairdryer the maid had left in the cabinet. “Be careful not to catch a cold,” she said.

Du Zuilan obediently sat up as well, responding with a barely audible “Mm.”

The ancient castle had long since embraced modern technology. Yan Xunzhen found an outlet by the bedside and began drying Du Zuilan’s hair for her. The warm air flowing from the machine brushed against the nape of Du Zuilan’s neck, making her instinctively shrink back.

Yan Xunzhen adjusted the angle of the hairdryer. A soft towel cushioned Du Zuilan’s shoulders as Yan Xunzhen’s fingers combed through her hair, taming a stray lock of black strands.

A soft “Hiss” escaped likely from a tug, a sign of discomfort.

“It’s my first time drying someone else’s hair, so…” Yan Xunzhen mumbled awkwardly. “Tell me if it hurts.”

Her movements gentled further, her cool fingertips massaging the roots of Du Zuilan’s hair, smoothing out the tangles as if soothing a fluffy little cat’s head, watching as it curled up contentedly in its owner’s arms.

Yan Xunzhen felt Du Zuilan’s slender back press against her, radiating complete trust.

“Doesn’t hurt.”

Her voice was as soft as a kitten’s.

The longer Yan Xunzhen continued, the more her thoughts wandered. Not daring to dwell on it, she quickly changed the subject. “What’s on the agenda for you all tomorrow?”

Du Zuilan pondered for a moment, recalling what the production team had hinted at earlier. “We’ll use the leftover money from today to buy ingredients and cook our own meals. Then, we’ll place the finished dishes at a spot arranged by the production team to see if they’ll be completely eaten later and how many ‘flowers’ we can earn.”

Yan Xunzhen paused mid-stroke. “This variety show of yours, why is everything about earning and exchanging? Is the ultimate goal just to make you all work for free for a week?”

Du Zuilan chuckled, her eyes curving into crescents.

With a “click,” the hairdryer turned off.

Yan Xunzhen had mostly dried Du Zuilan’s hair by now.

After a moment of hesitation, she said, “Rest for a bit. I’ll go take a shower and try to be quiet so I don’t disturb you.”

Du Zuilan nodded obediently.

The weight in Yan Xunzhen’s heart, carried all evening, lightened considerably. Earlier, she had her assistant bring over all the clothes she had brought from Hualing to the castle, arranging them just as they were in her office. She grabbed a nightgown from the wardrobe, took a quick shower, and dried her own hair.

When she emerged, her body still carried a slight chill. She climbed into bed with careful movements.

The person beside her was warm and fragrant, soft as jade.

They lay close enough that their body heat mingled, the angle just right for Yan Xunzhen to pull Du Zuilan into her arms with a simple turn, an undeniably intimate position. Yan Xunzhen could easily pretend to be asleep and do just that.

But she merely placed her hands on her abdomen, maintaining a restrained and exceedingly cautious sleeping posture.

Despite the sprawling 2.8-meter-wide bed, one of them nestled in softly, deliberately scheming.

The other, oblivious and blushing, quietly tucked her feelings away.

“Can you cook?”

The next morning, around five o’clock, the two descended early. The maid had already prepared breakfast for them to take in the car, prompting Yan Xunzhen to ask about the day’s variety show theme.

Du Zuilan, cheeks puffed adorably with a mouthful of toast, obediently chewed before looking up.

Rarely playful, she swallowed the toast, her eyes twinkling. “Guess?”

Cooking? Yan Xunzhen’s mind raced. She recalled a detail from the original novel Du Zuilan’s character in an upcoming film was a skilled police officer who could cook. The story was quite good.

So, she probably could?

But Yan Xunzhen’s ears burned. Composing herself, she said, “It’s fine if you can’t. Li Ma handles it at home, and…”

I could cook for you.

The car screeched to a halt.

Neither continued the conversation. Though the topic was innocent, Yan Xunzhen suddenly imagined deeper implications and left the words unsaid.

Even if, even if Gu Yueli’s description of Du Zuilan’s ideal type didn’t match her, and yesterday’s encounter with Ainuoer showed the original love interest wasn’t favored.

What if Du Zuilan felt differently about her?

She couldn’t avoid their interactions. If she wanted closeness, it had to be open and honest. The only caveat, she had to maintain self-control!

Gu Yueyi yawned sleepily at the door, perking up at their arrival. “Back? Filming starts soon!”

Yan Xunzhen clenched her fist, smiling naturally. “I’ll head off first, then?”

“Okay.” Du Zuilan beamed softly at her.

Watching her leave, Du Zuilan lingered before withdrawing her gaze, her gentle smile unwavering.

“Wow~” Gu Yueyi sighed. “So nice! By the way, where did you stay last night? Some pricey downtown hotel?”

Recalling the mansion that put the show’s rented castle to shame. Du Zuilan chuckled, unsure how to explain. “She has a place here. We didn’t go out.”

Gu Yueyi cheered. “Nice! I’d have crashed there too never stayed in a Rongguo house before! This dump the crew rented doesn’t count!”

After a brief chat, they tidied up and headed to the filming location.

The director glimpsed Du Zuilan, suppressing a sweat as he feigned normalcy. “Good morning, everyone! Sleep well last night?”

The question stirred instant complaints. Gu Yueyi groaned first. “Director, I couldn’t even wash my hair properly!”

The celebrity host and his team naturally got pranked yesterday too, their beds collapsed in the middle of the night, all caught on camera by the sneaky production crew. Clutching his waist, he deliberately stuck his butt out in an exaggeratedly comical pose: “Director, is this the ‘surprise’ you promised me?”

The female beta added dryly, “We’re fine. We just got woken up to eat two plates of midnight snacks until we were stuffed sick.”

The group burst into laughter.

The director wrapped it up: “Alright, seems like everyone had a great night! Today, we’ve prepared plenty more surprises for you. The first one is everyone will redraw lots to form new teams!”

“Perfect! I couldn’t even change clothes yesterday because I was stuck with you!” the celebrity host immediately deflected blame, eagerly drawing his lot. When he saw the color, he jumped up. “Hey, I’m teamed with Zuilan today! You’re all doomed, we’re gonna crush it!”

Gu Yueyi was paired with the female beta, which she was quite satisfied with. The veteran actor ended up with Ainuoer, leaving the remaining male beta to form his own team.

Today, Ainuoer was actually in a team and with the veteran actor, no less.

Du Zuilan found it a bit absurd. How was she planning to rig things behind the scenes while still making life difficult for her?

But Du Zuilan didn’t have much time to dwell on it.

The entire day passed in a whirlwind, with barely a moment to rest. The celebrity host’s desperation to win drove him to drag her around shops and markets, haggling with locals in broken foreign languages, unintentionally becoming the episode’s comic relief. By the time they’d gathered all their ingredients and set them by the stove, even he looked a little sheepish.

He glanced at Du Zuilan, hesitant. “Zuilan, uh, can you cook?”

She nodded softly. “A little.”

He seemed to relax slightly, though still embarrassed. “I’m not great at it. Mind if I just assist you?”

Du Zuilan smiled. “Of course.”

The crew would film their cooking process, but not extensively. Once they’d captured enough footage, the celebrity host lowered his voice to chat with her.

Beneath his outwardly goofy and “clueless” persona, he was sharp. Smiling at her, he said, “Zuilan, be careful. Ainuoer, isn’t someone to mess with. She’s the illegitimate daughter of some noble family in Rong Country. Did you know that?”

Du Zuilan’s knife paused mid-chop. “Thank you for the warning, Teacher Li.”

He waved it off. “Ah, it’s nothing. Just wanted to say, I don’t know why she’s suddenly active lately, but she’ll probably fade back into the shadows soon, busy with her family’s power struggles. Do your best now, so you’re not defenseless against her later.”

Trouble seemed endless.

Yet Du Zuilan’s knife hovered in place.

She’d always felt life had dealt her a hard mode, as if fate delighted in making nothing easy for her. But ever since meeting Yan Xunzhi, things had begun to turn around.

These turbulent waves would surely be calmed.

Still, the celebrity host’s worried expression didn’t fade. He sighed again, looking at her.

His concern didn’t seem to be about Ainuoer at all.

Du Zuilan smiled and asked, “What’s wrong with Teacher Li?”

“To be honest, what veteran actors excel at most is cooking.”

“How can we earn more little red flowers than them?”

Ainuoer had set her mind on coasting to victory today.

But then again.

Du Zuilan chuckled softly.

Junyan has so many people, why worry about the little red flowers?

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