The Scummy Alpha Who Transmigrated Into a Book Was Tricked by the Actress Omega - Chapter 52

Seeing that Yan Xunzhen had finished speaking with the manager and seemed to have resolved the matter, Du Zuilan finally approached, her voice soft as she asked, “Are you very busy? If you are, go ahead and finish your work first. It’s okay if?”

Yan Xunzhen instinctively reached out and gently stroked Du Zuilan’s hair, a comforting gesture.

She was too well-behaved. People often say that crying children get the candy, but Du Zuilan never cried or made a fuss. Even when she got candy, she would carefully lift her face and ask if Yan Xunzhen wanted it back.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Yan Xunzhen quickly replied, “I’m not busy. Your hair was messy.”

Du Zuilan tilted her head slightly, letting her smooth black hair fall further into Yan Xunzhen’s hand, her eyes filled with pure trust. “Then I’ll trouble you with it.”

Yan Xunzhen suddenly remembered the bold claims she had made when she first met Du Zui lan, and how Du Zuilan had exuded an icy “stay away, scummy alpha” aura back then. The once prickly little hedgehog had now revealed her soft underbelly like this.

She tried to steady her emotions, pushing down the news she had just learned about Du Zuilan’s mother. Blinking away the unshed tears where Du Zuilan couldn’t see, she forced herself to appear natural, as if wearing a faint smile.

“All done,” she said, tucking the stray lock of hair behind Du Zuilan’s ear. “Has Ye Qing run ahead?”

Du Zuilan nodded lightly and, as Yan Xunzhen withdrew her hand, she caught the sleeve of her coat.

“Shall we go? Let’s catch up with her.”

When the two arrived at the amusement ride where Du Ye Qing was waiting, they exchanged glances, then measured the height of their eight-year-old sister. After a moment, Yan Xunzhen tactfully said, “Ye Qing, you’re still too small for such a big ride right now. It could be dangerous.”

Du Ye Qing’s small frame stiffened slightly, but this wasn’t something Yan Xunzhen and Du Zuilan could simply allow. A child under 1.5 meters tall sneaking onto the ride would be far too risky. Still not fully understanding, Du Ye Qing asked with visible disappointment, “Sister, why? But I really want to ride it. I want to see the dragon move!”

“Sister, can you ride it for me?” Du Ye Qing’s eyes filled with pleading. “I really want to see.”

Unlike children who throw tantrums and cry on the ground, Du Ye Qing was sensible, even willing to compromise by asking her sister to experience the ride for her.

The two adults couldn’t refuse. Yan Xunzhen wasn’t afraid of such rides in fact, she rather enjoyed extreme sports. So, after boarding the “dragon” roller coaster with Du Zuilan, she waved at Du Ye Qing, who was jumping excitedly below as the dragon slowly came to life.

The ride was still in its slow ascent, the two of them pressed close together, the sound of rushing wind mingling with their clearly audible breaths.

Turning her head, Yan Xunzhen noticed a faint trace of fear in Du Zuilan’s expression.

Her heart clenched. Without thinking, her voice carried a hint of tension. “Are you okay? If you’re scared.”

With a whoosh, the roller coaster that had paused for two seconds at its highest point plummeted downward as if in freefall. Instantly, the crushing force of gravity and the howling wind in their ears drowned out any chance for the two to hear each other.

Yan Xunzhen didn’t scream she didn’t dislike or fear such thrilling sensations. But Du Zuilán, though equally silent, had turned as pale as a frightened kitten, looking utterly pitiful in Yan Xunzhen’s eyes.

The next moment, the back of Yan Xunzhen’s hand brushed against Du Zuilán’s, the fleeting contact enough to pull Du Zuilán out of her dazed state.

Yan Xunzhen was silently telling her not to be afraid.

Du Zuilán pressed her lips together, momentarily forgetting the terrifying height beneath her and the helplessness of having nothing to hold onto.

As long as Yan Xunzhen was there, she felt much safer.

This roller coaster was one of the amusement park’s signature attractions, so the ride lasted a while two or three minutes of weightless drops and surges, enough to send anyone’s heart racing. Even after it came to a stop, Du Zuilan’s pale face hadn’t fully recovered.

Still, compared to when the roller coaster had climbed to its peak, she was doing much better. At least she could stand steadily now, pinching Du Yeqing’s nose lightly. “Your sister and Sister Yan have ridden it for you. It was fun! Yeqing, you need to eat more so you can grow taller. Once you’re tall enough, you can ride it too.”

Du Yeqing cheered. “Okay! Sis, I just saw a merry-go-round over there! That uncle said I could ride it. Can I go?”

The merry-go-round posed no danger, so Du Zuilán nodded. “Of course. Go ahead.”

Watching Du Yeqing skip happily toward the merry-go-round, Yan Xunzhen steadied Du Zuilán from behind.

“A little afraid of heights?” Yan Xunzhen asked, concerned. “Next time, don’t force yourself if you’re scared. What if you feel unwell?”

For some reason, as soon as she finished speaking, unfamiliar fragments of memories long buried resurfaced in Yan Xunzhen’s mind, accompanied by a surge of malice that pressed down on her heart like a massive boulder.

The images flashing through her mind were fragmented and chaotic, leaving her momentarily stunned. The emotions of the original scumbag Alpha hadn’t surfaced in a long time, but whenever they did, it was always when Yan Xunzhen was emotionally charged or at a crucial plot point.

For a moment, Yan Xunzhen held her breath, staring at the vision in her mind, a Du Zuilan with icy, gleaming eyes and a coldly smiling mouth, treating her with utter indifference. It took her a long moment to refocus her blurred gaze on the real Du Zuilan before her, who was still slightly dazed from the roller coaster.

The Du Zuilan in front of her was dependent on her.

Still shaken, Du Zuilan’s beautiful face remained pale as she tugged at Yan Xunzhen’s sleeve, too distracted to notice her momentary lapse.

“I’m fine,” Du Zuilan murmured, pressing closer to her while hiding a trace of her own thoughts. “It’s just, this was my first time on a roller coaster.”

When her mother was still around, she had been too young and too short to ride. After her mother left, no one ever took her to amusement parks again.

Sensing the unspoken words, Yan Xunzhen didn’t press further.

A faint smile appeared on her stunningly beautiful face, her lazy, captivating voice lifting slightly at the end: “Although I’m thrilled it’s my first time riding a roller coaster with you, next time, maybe we should take it easy on the high-altitude rides?”

Her silent thoughtfulness didn’t give Du Zuilan much room to overthink.

Du Zuilan curved her eyes and responded with a soft “Mm.”

Meanwhile, Yan Xunzhen tucked away the inexplicable flashback in her heart, dismissing it as a fleeting anomaly. She composed herself and joined Du Zuilan on a nearby bench, sitting side by side.

A hint of amusement lingered on Yan Xunzhen’s face as she said, “While discussing work earlier, I came across some news about you. Want to take a look?”

“About me?” Du Zuilan nodded lightly, leaning in so close she was practically nestled against Yan Xunzhen, watching as she opened the Weibo interface.

Neither of them had had much time to browse online since waking up that morning. The moment the app loaded, a flood of refreshed trending topics overwhelmed the screen so many it was dizzying.

Though Yan Xunzhen had just been informed by her manager that today’s trending topics were quite interesting, she hadn’t expected Du Zuilan’s popularity to skyrocket to this extent. Multiple hashtags dominated the entertainment hot search list, all without any push from Junyan Entertainment just pure organic buzz from netizens!

“Du Zuilan’s Birthday” and “Du Zuilan Hope Primary School” topped the list.

Scrolling down, the first thing that caught their eyes was Du Zuilan’s official fan club. Even a simple birthday wish post had racked up an astonishing number of engagements, surpassing expectations. Her loyal fans and stellar public image were undeniable, outshining even some of the industry’s top young actresses.

Next came real-time posts from fans and casual observers.

To both their surprise, the most viral post turned out to be an impassioned rant from a random netizen:

[HOLY SH*T! I was absolutely floored walking out of the CBD today. From Jinying to Wanxianghui, plus all the giant screens downtown, it’s like taking over Times Square! Can someone explain why Du Zuilan’s fans are so loaded?!]

[LMAO, I’m a ‘Blue Wine’ (Du Zuilan fan), but I’m broke af. Sorry, I’ve let the fandom down.]

[@above, it’s not that we’re poor, it’s that one particular ‘Blue Wine’ is just insanely rich. Didn’t you hear? The fan club confirmed the screens weren’t crowdfunded. Some wealthy big shot paid for all of them out of pocket.]

[One person?? Covered THAT many screens?? I could’ve believed it, but the cost per minute is unimaginable, and they’ve been running for hours now?!]

[I’ll see myself out.]

Yan Xunzhen subconsciously touched the tip of her nose before swiftly swiping past the post. But netizens’ curiosity only grew stronger, with countless replies speculating about the mystery benefactor’s identity.

Du Zuilan, partially blocked from seeing the full comments, turned her gaze to Yan Xunzhen. Gently tugging at her precarious “little disguise,” she said softly, “I really love it, and I’m so grateful. But next time, don’t spend so much, okay?”

Her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, her pleading look impossible to refuse.

“Okay.”

Naturally, Yan Xunzhen was “utterly obedient” to her though her ears flushed red as she quickly changed the subject, clicking into the “Hope Primary School” hashtag below.

[“Thank you, Zuilan, I’m crying with gratitude on behalf of my hometown. From today onwards, I’m your die-hard fan!”]

[“Damn, this is what you call beauty with a heart of gold. No wonder fans are willing to rent billboards for her!!”]

[“I say Du Jie is forever the GOAT, who agrees? Isn’t this just the script of a power fantasy novel?! Quietly grinding for so many years, enduring the hate while staying true to herself, then befriending big shots, having ultra-rich fans, and being a stunning beauty with killer acting skills who wouldn’t love her?!”]

[“She’s the beautiful and kind-hearted princess, isn’t she…”]

Du Zuilan caught sight of quite a bit of the content this time. After a fleeting moment of distraction, she gently lowered her eyes and murmured, “Xunzhen.”

“I did think about donating, but I don’t have enough money right now. Yet you donated under my name.”

“First of all, setting aside the unreasonable contract from before, considering how much of your money is with me, this elementary school is essentially your donation,” Yan Xunzhen interrupted, her phoenix eyes slightly upturned with amusement. “Secondly.”

Yan Xunzhen curved her lips into a smile.

She cradled Du Zuilan’s delicate, fair fingers in one hand and lightly kissed the back of her hand.

The touch was as soft and gentle as a butterfly’s wing, maintaining just the right distance polite yet heart-fluttering.

Secondly.

I’d be honored, Your Highness.

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