Transmigrated as the Top-Tier Alpha's Secretly Married Ex-Wife - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

This week was chaotic.

Su Tuantuan bounced between five different groups, primarily focusing on Bai Xue’s group.

Bai Xue went from initial discomfort to gradually getting used to it.

She only tried her best to avoid private contact with Su Tuantuan.

The moment she saw Su Tuantuan in private, she ran faster than anyone.

The live stream ended this day. Bai Xue always struggled with one particular scene. She practiced alone in the rehearsal room for a long time, unable to grasp the essentials. Su Tuantuan, who had finished washing up, glanced over as she passed by.

Bai Xue, in her rehearsal outfit, was clenching her buttocks and saying her lines with an awkward posture in front of the mirror.

Su Tuantuan kicked open the rehearsal room door and leaned against the doorframe, watching.

Bai Xue stiffened. She wanted to continue rehearsing, but seeing Su Tuantuan remain, she tried the scene several times without succeeding. Bai Xue got agitated, lifting her neck. “Can you please leave?!”

Perhaps Su Tuantuan’s teacher image had been too imposing these past few days; she didn’t even dare to look back.

Su Tuantuan stood there motionlessly. “I’m responsible for your group. If you mess up, you mess up my image and reputation. Why should I leave?”

Bai Xue: “…”

She pouted. Although she was unconvinced internally, it was a fact that Su Tuantuan had been guiding her these past few days.

Su Tuantuan placed her toiletries on the floor. She was wearing a long, cotton nightgown with no definite waistline. She stood behind Bai Xue, carrying the fresh scent of a post-shower—a faint, ripe apple aroma.

She spoke with a look of disdain. “You’re too scared to act in front of me. How do you expect to act in front of so many audience members?”

Bai Xue turned her head and glared fiercely at her.

“Glaring at me is useless.”

Su Tuantuan crossed her arms and said coldly. “I told you not to be so stiff when acting. Stop thinking about showing off like a peacock fanning its tail. What are you here for, acting or a beauty pageant? Do the audience have to cooperate with a 360-degree perfect angle to highlight your beauty?”

Bai Xue: “…”

Her eyes ached from glaring. She looked away and glanced back at Su Tuantuan in the mirror, feeling a little sting in her nose.

Neither of them came from a good family. Su Tuantuan grew up with her grandmother and was poor. Bai Xue’s family ran a small company, so her conditions were decent, but her parents preferred her Alpha elder sister, believing that an Omega like her was naturally destined to be mediocre.

She insisted on studying acting.

In a fit of anger, her parents cut ties with her.

They all felt she was an embarrassment to the family.

After graduation, she didn’t humble herself to her family for help. She attended drinking parties, signed with a company, and sought resources on her own.

At that time, she and Su Tuantuan squeezed into a small, cheap rental apartment. That type of apartment was divided into several small rooms within one suite. She and Su Tuantuan shared a bed and only had two decent outfits each.

One would stand guard outside while the other showered, fearing someone might barge in and take advantage.

They never gave up on their dream pursuit through such difficult times.

It was just that she thought, maybe she really was mediocre, as her parents said, because she was an Omega.

She could never be anyone’s pride.

“Improving your acting doesn’t require much trouble. For this part of the scene, you’re too nervous. You should relax, like this—”

Su Tuantuan demonstrated once in the mirror and looked back at her. “If you space out again, I’m leaving.”

Bai Xue immediately snapped out of it.

Su Tuantuan saw her eyes were red, looking close to tears, and thought her words just now had been too harsh and shamed her.

“Don’t cry.”

Su Tuantuan pointed her index finger at Bai Xue and took a step back. “If you cry, people will think I bullied you. Don’t frame me; the surveillance is on.”

It was better when she didn’t speak. The moment she did, Bai Xue’s tears streamed down. Su Tuantuan was alarmed and took a few more steps back. “Hey, why are you crying? I didn’t do anything—”

“Waaahhh…”

Bai Xue squatted on the ground, covering her face with her hands. Tears smudged her hand, and her shoulders sobbed convulsively, like she was doing a Xinjiang dance.

Su Tuantuan hadn’t expected her guidance to make the person cry.

She searched for a tissue for a long time but couldn’t find one, so she grabbed a washing towel and handed it to her.

Bai Xue didn’t take it and continued to cry.

She even pulled her shoulder back, bumping Su Tuantuan’s hand, signaling rejection.

Su Tuantuan: “…Stop crying.”

Bai Xue didn’t listen. She looked up and roared, “I want to!”

Su Tuantuan was so scared she sat down on the floor, still holding the washing towel. Bai Xue snatched it and smeared it all over her face.

“Tsk.”

Su Tuantuan slowly stood up. “If you had this level of acting skill normally, how great would that be.”

Bai Xue: “…”

She yelled with all her might, “You’re too—Ah!”

Her voice cracked.

Su Tuantuan felt that if she stayed any longer, this person might lose it completely.

She picked up her basin, ready to retreat. Before leaving, she looked back at Bai Xue. “You have talent. It’s just that you want to succeed too much and want to act too well, so you always try to meticulously refine every expression. But—”

“Acting is like life. If you constantly keep a string pulled tight, the string will eventually break.”

Su Tuantuan left.

Bai Xue, sitting on the floor, gradually stopped crying.

Su Tuantuan’s words just now echoed in her mind.

After the failure of the previous plan, the company stopped giving her even small roles.

She had to beg and plead to secure a spot in this program herself.

She didn’t care about being taken advantage of.

She could be unscrupulous to achieve her goals.

She knew this might be her last chance.

But after hearing Su Tuantuan’s words, she was deeply confused again.

In the beginning, did she truly love acting, or did she just want to become a big star?

Su Tuantuan had an event to attend on Friday.

It was a charity gala hosted by a magazine, and many artists were invited.

Originally, Su Tuantuan wasn’t qualified, but perhaps the combined popularity of Bright Day and this program allowed her to meet the threshold.

Jiang Zhizhi was very envious of her, but envy was useless. Tomorrow was the third competition, and Jiang Zhizhi’s teammates this time were incredibly driven, keeping her up for two consecutive nights.

Jiang Zhizhi came to find Su Tuantuan, with dark circles under her eyes, looking exactly like a little zombie cartoon.

“Tuantuan, I have a competition tomorrow. I might be eliminated. If I leave tomorrow, I won’t have time to give you anything.”

She handed Su Tuantuan a bunny doll. “This is the little bunny I sleep with every night. I’ve always thought it brings me luck. I hope it can bring you luck too. Thank you for helping me so much during this time.”

Su Tuantuan didn’t take it. “Since it’s your lucky charm, you should keep it yourself. That would be more valuable than me taking it.”

Jiang Zhizhi looked wronged. “I don’t have anything else to give you. This is the only valuable thing to me. Tuantuan, don’t you like it?”

The little bunny was cute. It had a white body, wore a floral skirt, had a bow on its ear, and its mouth was smiling widely.

It looked very much like Jiang Zhizhi.

Su Tuantuan accepted it and patted Jiang Zhizhi’s head. “Thank you.”

Jiang Zhizhi smiled widely, happily went back to rehearse. Bai Xue, standing not far away, saw the scene and remained motionless. Su Tuantuan glanced at her, didn’t pay it any mind, and turned to leave.

Xiao Yu’s car was waiting outside.

“Wait!”

It was Bai Xue who suddenly became anxious. Su Tuantuan paused. Bai Xue hurried over, shoved a note into her hand, and then rushed away again.

After Su Tuantuan got into the car and opened the note, she raised an eyebrow slightly.

It was written with an eyebrow pencil.

“Be careful of Nova Star Entertainment, be careful of Bai Qi.”

Su Tuantuan tore the note to shreds and tossed it into the trash can.

Although the gala was still a while away, styling took a long time. Xiao Yu kept chattering the whole way. “Sister Tuantuan, your performance last time was amazing! You have no idea how many calls Sister Zhou received this week! Everyone wants you to act! They’re mostly female supporting roles! Female supporting roles! You’ve never been offered a role of that caliber before!”

Xiao Yu put her hand on the steering wheel, unable to contain her excitement. “I truly thought I was going to be jobless before. Other artists are constantly busy with film crews, but ours was always busy with scandals. Sister, you’ve finally turned over a new leaf. I’m so happy.”

The light turned red.

Xiao Yu didn’t get a response. She turned her head and saw Su Tuantuan leaning against the car window, wearing headphones, and already asleep.

Xiao Yu: “…”

So, was all my excitement for nothing?

Sister Zhou’s chosen studio was very high-end. Su Tuantuan entered the makeup room and immediately saw Mo Xian sitting on the sofa.

Sharing a styling studio with a top celebrity… does that mean I’m semi-famous now?

She found a sofa and sat down.

Staff members went to pick out gowns, and Xiao Yu went to buy coffee. When Su Tuantuan put down the magazine, she realized there were only two people in the room: her and Mo Xian.

The atmosphere made her feel a little awkward.

Coincidentally, Mo Xian also put down her magazine at that moment, and their eyes met.

Su Tuantuan hadn’t seen Mo Xian for several days and assumed she was doing well, but Mo Xian actually looked quite haggard and had lost weight.

Thinking of what she had said to her on the phone before, Su Tuantuan felt a little bad.

She had been very angry at the time, but she hoped she hadn’t wounded the top celebrity’s pride too much, right?

Su Tuantuan flipped through a magazine and started a light conversation. “Stressed lately?”

“Hm?”

Mo Xian was taken aback. She had wanted to talk to Su Tuantuan but was afraid Su Tuantuan would reject her.

She didn’t expect Su Tuantuan to initiate a conversation. She snapped out of her daze. “A little.”

Su Tuantuan wanted to advise her not to be too stressed and to earn a little less money, but then she remembered she was driving Mo Xian’s car, living in Mo Xian’s house, and her spending money was provided by Mo Xian. She felt too embarrassed to say that.

“Right.”

Su Tuantuan was somewhat perfunctory. “Everyone’s under a lot of pressure.”

Mo Xian caught the underlying meaning. She thought Su Tuantuan looked thinner, her chin sharper. She had watched the live stream and noticed Su Tuantuan barely ate every day.

She didn’t know if she was deliberately dieting or if she had a poor appetite.

She was afraid that showing concern would cause aversion, so she deliberately kept her tone lighter. “How is that competition you’re participating in?”

Su Tuantuan: “…”

This atmosphere is like chatting with unfamiliar relatives during the New Year!

Help me!

Who can save me?!

Does an ex-wife count as half a relative?

Am I going to have to keep making awkward small talk with Mo Xian?!

She regretted starting the conversation.

Su Tuantuan reopened the magazine, covering her face. “It’s fine.”

Let it end. Let it end.

Let this dreadful conversation end quickly.

Su Tuantuan didn’t get a response and just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the staff would be here soon. Then she heard Mo Xian’s voice from above her head. “Tuantuan, I’m sorry. And, thank you.”

The magazine in Su Tuantuan’s hand slowly slid down. She looked up and saw Mo Xian standing in front of her.

Mo Xian’s eyes were vulnerable, and her black hair rested obediently on her shoulders. The apology and thank you were genuinely sincere.

Su Tuantuan was confused. “Huh?”

A staff member called Mo Xian’s name at that moment. Mo Xian glanced at her, turned around, and went to select a gown.

Su Tuantuan was bewildered.

What was Mo Xian thanking me for?