The Stand-In Alpha Goes Viral on a Dating Show - Chapter 29.2

What’s more, when she first signed up for this show, Chi Wan’s goal had been nothing but a counterattack—
to change the original body’s doomed fate, and to save the “villain.” Falling in love with An Ran had never been part of the plan. After all, she was someone who would eventually have to return home. Investing in a relationship with no possible future was meaningless.

But the system’s string of missions had, almost without her realizing it, pulled her closer to the “villain,” even making her consider the possibility of a relationship with An Ran.

And now, all of that seemed to have come to an abrupt halt—
because of a single conversation in the restroom.

Chi Wan couldn’t even sort through the jumble of emotions she felt at that moment.

“I… I’m sorry. I can’t answer that. Maybe it’s because… I haven’t figured it out myself.” Chi Wan lowered her head and trudged toward her room, dejected. Right now, she couldn’t face An Ran.

An Ran froze, not expecting her to just turn and leave. Irritation rose unbidden.

Fine—just go then! she thought. I’ll pretend that everything between us today was nothing but smoke in the wind!

Chi Wan kept one hand on the wall as she shuffled forward, inch by inch. Her arms and legs were perfectly fine, yet she moved slower than an old woman with a limp. For some reason, her heart ached dully with each step—painful and heavy.

She knew that once she left like this, everything between her and An Ran would dissolve into nothing.

Flashes of An Ran’s expressions—her smiles, her moments of dejection, her joy, her dazed looks, her shyness, her vulnerability—only made Chi Wan’s heart clench tighter and tighter.

The overhead light in the corridor cast a glow on Chi Wan’s head, stretching her shadow long—long enough to completely cover An Ran, long enough for An Ran to hide herself within it.

From inside Lu Xin and Su Yao’s room, muffled but heated arguments seeped into the otherwise quiet air.

Each tap of Chi Wan’s foot against the floor sounded unbearably loud. Every step she took was one more step away from An Ran, the frantic beating of her heart like a departing ship’s whistle, fading into the distance. Was she really going to just leave like this?

“That… I’ve been thinking.”

Her slow steps came to a halt. The sudden stop of her toes made the floor creak under the pressure. Finally, she turned back, scratching at her cheek with a sheepish, almost negotiating tone.

“About what you asked me earlier… do I have to choose just one?”

#Kids make choices. Adults want it all.#

“Hm?” An Ran blinked up at her, puzzled.

“I mean…” Chi Wan scratched her head, quickly stringing her words together. “Can I… take revenge on them and date you at the same time?”

“…Huh?” An Ran stared at her, eyes wide, and when she finally processed the meaning, her face flushed scarlet. Even the tips of her ears began to burn.

“Don’t worry, I take relationships seriously. I’m not saying I can promise you ‘forever and always,’ but I’ll give my all until I literally can’t anymore. I know you probably don’t like me yet, but… can you give me a chance to court you?” Chi Wan said.

#I just want a single (lady) chance.#

“Please? Pretty please?” Chi Wan noticed her shyness and instantly cranked up the charm, blinking at her with exaggerated cuteness.

“I…” An Ran’s heart was pounding out of control. The feelings she had tried to suppress came flooding back all at once.

“Say yes. Please?” Chi Wan saw her wavering and hurried back toward her, closing the distance until they were near enough to hear each other’s breaths.

Oh, pushing her luck? That was Chi Wan’s specialty.

With pitiful, unblinking eyes, she hooked a finger around An Ran’s and gave it a gentle sway.

“Say yes?”

Chi Wan’s voice was soft, playful—more like a child asking for candy than a grown woman.

It was intentional.

And though An Ran knew it, she still found her face burning hot, surrendering to the deliberate charm. “O-okay…”

“Yes!” Chi Wan’s eyes curved instantly into delighted crescents. She was breathtaking when she smiled like that.

An Ran was secretly annoyed at herself for having no principles, but caught under that beauty, her irritation slipped away without her noticing.

It’s just a chance I’m giving her, that’s all, she reassured herself.

The heavy weight pressing on Chi Wan’s chest finally eased with An Ran’s agreement. But she knew—when you were pursuing someone, you couldn’t hide the truth. Some things had to be said, no matter how difficult.

Chi Wan hesitated, then exhaled slowly.

“An Ran, I need you to remember—whatever I do to them, it’s only for revenge.”

“Really?” Distrust flickered plainly in An Ran’s eyes.

Chi Wan’s promise to court her—An Ran could believe. But the claim that everything she did to her exes was purely revenge? That was harder to swallow.

“Really. Please believe me. There is absolutely no way I’d ever get back together with them.” Maybe a mirror with only a couple of cracks could be mended—but the mirror between the original body and those five exes had long been ground into dust. There was nothing left to piece back together.

An Ran thought for a moment, then gave a reluctant nod. “I can’t just take your word for it. I’ll judge by your actions.”

“Fair enough. Actions speak louder than words.” Chi Wan accepted this without argument.

And so, the two of them—who had nearly split for good—managed to reach a fragile truce.

Back in Lu Xin and Su Yao’s room, the two were in the middle of a vicious quarrel, flinging each other’s past mistakes in each other’s faces with no mercy.

“Lu Xin, you have no right to call me out. You’re no better! Back then, you played cruel tricks on Chi Wan more times than I can count. You’d tell her you were drunk somewhere, make her come pick you up, and when she arrived—running through the freezing wind—you made sure the waiter turned her away. Then you and your friends stood in that lavish room, watching her pathetic state through the floor-to-ceiling windows, didn’t you?”

Lu Xin froze, clearly remembering, but at the time she hadn’t thought it was wrong. She believed there were no feelings between her and Chi Wan, and that Chi Wan had actually benefited from meeting people she otherwise wouldn’t have—so what was wrong with using her for a little entertainment?

“You say I have emotional issues, but you’re worse—you’re just a scumbag who doesn’t even understand what feelings are, only how to toy with them!”

Su Yao took advantage of her daze to shove her down onto the sofa, finally venting some of her long-held frustration. But her own mouth throbbed painfully—split open from the slap Lu Xin had landed during their earlier scuffle.

Still, knocking Lu Xin down wasn’t enough. She leaned over her, mocking her from above. “So, do you actually like Mingyu? If someone like you likes her, that’s the real tragedy.”

“Shut up!” The jab struck right at Lu Xin’s sore spot. She shot up and lunged at Su Yao again.

Lu Xin had always known she didn’t truly understand what “liking” meant, but she was certain her feelings for Mingyu were her “redemption.” To Su Yao, though, it was nothing but a self-soothing excuse—a shield.

The two fought until they were both utterly exhausted.

Then, a steady knock sounded at the door.

“Su Yao, Lu Xin, what are you doing? Dinner’s ready. You’re the only ones not there yet!” Ruan Xiao’s voice came from outside, full of reluctance. She’d wanted to keep chatting with Mingyu, but that annoying Mo Wei had shoved the task onto her.

“Ruan Xiao, aren’t you good friends with Su Yao and the others? They’re not downstairs yet. Shouldn’t you go call them?” Mo Wei had said.

Faced with Mingyu’s gaze, Ruan Xiao couldn’t refuse. So here she was, reluctantly knocking on their door.

But the moment she arrived, she’d heard alarming thuds from inside. If not for the fact that both women usually cared about their image, she might’ve thought they were demolishing the place.

Yet after she spoke, the noise stopped—but no one replied. Her brows knitted tighter.

“Seriously? Su Yao, Lu Xin—what the hell are you doing in there?”