The Stand-In Alpha Goes Viral on a Dating Show - Chapter 54

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

The woman had already downed several drinks, her tongue loosened and her words spilling nonstop. Yet, Gu Lin remained unresponsive. At first, the woman thought her silence meant her words had struck a nerve, that Gu Lin was secretly wallowing in sadness.

So she went on and on, talking even more. But as the minutes ticked by, Gu Lin stayed quiet, as if she wasn’t even there at all—or worse, as if she treated all those words as nothing but air.

How could that not make the woman furious?

With a loud bang, she slammed her glass on the table, startling half the bar.

“What’s wrong with her? So rude!” Discontented voices rose from every direction.

Gu Lin calmly set down her own glass. Looking toward the bartender, she said softly, “The bill.”

“Of course.” The bartender quickly named a number. Gu Lin swiped her card, turned, and walked out, leaving the uninvited guest dumbstruck in place.

“Well done, Gu Lin! You really do treat me like I’m invisible, don’t you?”

Seething with rage, the woman grabbed an empty glass and was about to hurl it to the ground when the bartender stopped her.

“Miss, that kind of behavior isn’t acceptable. You haven’t even paid yet.”

“How much?” she demanded through gritted teeth.

Gu Lin, however, knew her temperament too well. The moment she stepped out of the bar, she immediately hailed a cab, directing it to a more private residence she kept.

In the back seat, she closed her eyes, weary. To be honest, it was impossible to say she wasn’t bothered by Tang Qian beating her to it. At the start, it had clearly been her that Mo Wei liked more. Somehow, Tang Qian had stumbled her way into Mo Wei’s favor.

Tang Qian must be feeling very pleased right now.

And indeed, she was. Her fledgling company had just secured a massive capital injection—an immense advantage for its future growth.

From noon onward, her phone hadn’t stopped ringing—family, friends, even several college classmates all calling to ask questions. Some even invited her out for dinner.

She knew exactly what those dinners were for: to probe how far things had gone between her and Mo Wei, to ask about the purpose of Mo Wei’s investment, whether her company would collaborate with Mo Corporation in the future, whether it was worth investing alongside her, or even if they could get themselves a position in her firm.

Still, she went anyway. Because she wanted to bask in the feeling of being courted and flattered.

“Qianqian, you’re finally here! You’re even prettier in person than on livestream!”

The first classmate who greeted her fired the words like a veiled barb—on the surface a compliment, but implying she looked unflattering on camera.

“That’s right. I wonder if that Chi Wan is the same? Honestly, she already looks gorgeous on the livestreams. If she’s even prettier in real life, no wonder so many of the Omega guests like her.”

Another comparison. Another deliberate attempt to stir things up, using Chi Wan as the yardstick.

Tang Qian’s smile stiffened. She was about to snap when that same classmate suddenly exclaimed, “Unless I’m mistaken, isn’t Miss Mo quite fond of Chi Wan?”

Before anyone else could chime in, Tang Qian let out a cold laugh. “Then you are mistaken. After all, the person Mo Wei chose to invest in—is me.”

The air grew tense at once. Everyone realized Tang Qian was displeased. A few discreetly tugged at the classmate’s sleeve to warn her not to push further. But the woman pressed on, deliberately raising her voice:

“Maybe I am mistaken. But Mo Wei has been following Chi Wan around on more than one occasion. Anyone could easily misunderstand.”

“That’s just your lack of comprehension,” Tang Qian shot back, eyes narrowing with scorn. “From where I stand, you’re the only one misunderstanding.”

“Really? Just me?”

The woman let out a sharp, mocking laugh. Yet without anyone echoing her, the scene quickly turned awkward.

The truth was, she simply couldn’t stomach Tang Qian’s smugness. Everyone knew Tang Qian’s company was shaky at best. If Mo Wei invested, she’d be throwing money away.

But since the rest of the classmates kept their tact, Tang Qian settled herself at the main seat with deliberate composure.

Soon, flattery came at her from all sides. Mixed in with the compliments were veiled probes. Tang Qian answered every one smoothly, hinting again and again at how close she and Mo Wei were, and how there was every chance their relationship would deepen.

After a few rounds of toasts, the alcohol buoyed her higher. She began to half-believe her own boasts—that what she spoke of wasn’t just possible, but already unfolding.

What else she said afterward, she couldn’t recall. Only that many classmates had eagerly asked for her business card, hoping to use their school ties to secure a position at her company.

Today was probably the most triumphant day since she had started her business.

Yet in truth, she hadn’t even signed an official contract with Mo Wei. All she had was a verbal promise. Still, she told herself—businesspeople value their word above all. Mo Wei wouldn’t go back on it.

________________________________________

At the Ming family’s estate, a curl of cigar smoke drifted up as Mr. Ming narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

“Tell me, what exactly is going on between you and the Mo heiress?”

Standing stiffly to the side, Mingyu’s expression betrayed unease.

Since returning from the variety show recording, she had endured no shortage of mockery, both open and veiled. People constantly compared her with Chi Wan. Everyone had thought she would be the most popular Alpha on the show, that it wouldn’t be strange if every Omega guest sent her a “heart message.”

But the Alpha who received the most was Chi Wan, while among the Omegas, it was Mo Wei.

No one was surprised about Mo Wei—the heiress of Mo Corporation, a wealthy young lady. Her temper might not be great, but her advantages easily outweighed her flaws.

But Chi Wan? What did she have? Just a pretty face and the reputation of a gold-digger—infamous across the internet. And yet, somehow, she had received more heart messages than Mingyu.

Even worse, those who had once pursued Mingyu ardently—Lu Xin and Su Yao—had now both turned to orbit Chi Wan.

It was the ultimate humiliation.

Some even speculated the reason Lu Xin and Su Yao abandoned her was that they had discovered something—that Mingyu wasn’t as perfect as she appeared.

Why else would such lasting affection vanish so suddenly?

To make matters worse, her very first heartbeat message had been mistakenly sent to Qu Huan. That blunder alone could have pushed them away.

On this, Mingyu had no way to defend herself.

President Ming had no interest in Lu Xin or Su Yao; his attention was fixed solely on Mo Wei. After all, the daughter of the Mo family had openly shown favor toward Mingyu at the very start of the show, and President Ming was more than happy to see their connection deepen.

“Father, I…” Mingyu hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice and whispering, “You know, I was threatened by Qu Huan and Chi Wan. I had no choice but to send the confession text to Qu Huan. From that moment on, Mo Wei’s attitude toward me completely changed.”

President Ming drew on his cigar and paused thoughtfully. “I believe that’s exactly why. Mo Wei, as the heiress of a powerful family, is proud and arrogant. She showed you goodwill at first, yet you chose someone else. If I were her, I’d resent you too.”

Mingyu bowed her head in silence. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through.”

“Forget it. If we can’t win Mo Wei over, it’s no great loss. She doesn’t look like the type to stay devoted anyway.”

President Ming’s original intention had been to use Mingyu’s relationship with Mo Wei to strengthen ties between the Ming and Mo families, thereby gaining leverage in his power struggle with Old Master Ming.

But after discovering Mingyu’s true parentage, he realized that compared with Mingyu’s biological father’s influence, the Mo family was nothing.

Why bother picking up sesame seeds only to lose a watermelon?

Hearing her father say this, Mingyu finally let out a breath of relief. But before she could feel any lighter, he added, “You should start preparing. I plan to take you to meet your biological father soon.”

At those words, Mingyu’s heart leapt again—nervous yet filled with anticipation. She had long been told that her biological father’s position far surpassed that of the Ming family. If he acknowledged her, her future would be limitless.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did your dad scold you?” her childhood friend, visiting at the house, hurried to meet her the moment she came out.

Mingyu shook her head. Not exactly scolded, but at first, I did feel pretty bad inside.

“Don’t let what those people say get to you. Su Yao and Lu Xin losing interest—that’s their problem, not yours.”

Her friend fumed on her behalf. “They’re blind! What’s so great about Chi Wan anyway? Nothing but a seductress!”

At the mention of Chi Wan, Mingyu’s eyes darkened. So sooner or later, I’ll deal with her.

“Besides, Chu Rou, Meng Lan, and Ruan Xiao still like you, don’t they?”

Of course, the first two were only the show’s director and camerawoman, not contestants, so they couldn’t send her heartbeat message.

Meanwhile, elsewhere—

“What did you drag us here for?”

Lu Xin had just been scolded by her assistant and was in a foul mood. She plopped onto the sofa, hugging a pillow to her chest, sulking.

Su Yao soon walked in too, frowning as she looked at the others already seated. “So what’s the topic this time?”

“Sit down first,” Chu Rou gestured toward the empty sofa.

“If this is about Chi Wan again, I’ll leave.”

Su Yao stayed standing, her tone firm—she really could walk away at any moment.

“All you can think about these days is Chi Wan. Have you even considered Mingyu?”

Chu Rou could hardly believe it—had Su Yao truly forgotten the person she had cherished for so many years? Unless, of course, she had never truly loved Mingyu at all.

“What does this have to do with Mingyu?” Su Yao rubbed at her temple, her patience fraying.

“Don’t you realize that because of the choices you and Lu Xin made on the show, Mingyu has been subjected to endless verbal attacks? People say she’s two-faced, blind, shallow—you name it, she has been called it.”

Su Yao fell silent. Chu Rou thought she felt guilty toward Mingyu. But in truth, Su Yao was thinking back: when Chi Wan was being vilified online, when she was labeled a gold-digger for all the world to see—hadn’t she been just as hurt?

And back then, none of them, the so-called ex-girlfriends, had done a thing.

“You say I owe Mingyu an apology,” Su Yao gave a bitter laugh, “but do you think any of us treated Chi Wan any better?”

“Why are you bringing her up again?” Ruan Xiao wanted to pry Su Yao’s head open to see if Chi Wan’s name had been branded all over it.

“Why not?” Su Yao sneered. “Who knows better than us whether Chi Wan is really a gold-digger? Yet we all stood by and watched her drown in slander.”

“But President Su, this has nothing to do with Mingyu.”

“Oh? Truly nothing to do with her?”

To Su Yao, Chi Wan’s downfall was connected not only to them, but also to Mingyu.

Looking back at the livestreams, many details hinted that Mingyu had long known about their past with Chi Wan. And thinking it over carefully, their attitude toward Chi Wan must have had Mingyu’s silent encouragement behind it.

“Su Yao, I can’t talk sense into you anymore.”

Chu Rou sighed wearily. Truth be told, she too felt some guilt when it came to Chi Wan. How could she blame Su Yao for changing her stance?

“Well, since the topic’s over, I’ll be going.”

Su Yao turned to leave—but suddenly, someone dashed out from the sofa ahead of her, bolting for the door.

“Lu Xin! You too?!”

Chu Rou shouted after her, but the girl was already gone, out of earshot.

“Chu Rou, what’s the point of deceiving yourself?”

Su Yao’s gaze lingered on her for a long moment before she dropped that cryptic remark. It stunned Chu Rou into silence, leaving her slumped on the sofa, unable to speak.

So she saw right through me…

Chu Rou leaned back in defeat. Ruan Xiao, not understanding the full picture, simply thought all the fight had drained out of her.

Ruan Xiao couldn’t help feeling smug: among those who once claimed to like Mingyu, she’d always thought herself the least loyal. Yet now she realized—the most devoted of them all was her.

And as for Chi Wan, the very subject of their heated discussion—at that moment she was wrestling with nerves. That long-delayed, mortifyingly difficult task still hung over her head.

She swore to herself—today, she had to complete it. Even if it meant using her beauty as a weapon!