Why Did the Top Alpha Suddenly Stop Acting Out? - Chapter 16

The warm-toned room no longer carried the pure scent of first snow, as it was now mingled with the rich fragrance of tea plum blossoms.

After the snowstorm, the tea plum flowers bloomed amidst the snow.

Yi Qian gently wiped away the tears from the corners of the person in her arms, patting their back soothingly. “Oh dear, my heart aches for you. Don’t cry, my love.”

Ye Shuyi didn’t respond, lying motionless in her embrace. Tears kept welling up in her eyes physiological, involuntary. Truthfully, she wanted to break free from this scoundrel Yi Qian, but her body felt weak and limp, utterly incapable of moving. All she could do was let the other woman continue patting her back in comfort.

After a while, her strength gradually returned. She immediately pushed Yi Qian away and turned to lie on the edge of the bed, her back facing her.

The once warm embrace was suddenly left empty. Yi Qian froze for a moment before lifting her gaze to the sulking figure. She scooted closer, wrapping her arms around Ye Shuyi from behind, her voice soft and coaxing. “Are you angry?”

Ye Shuyi clenched her fist and pressed it against Yi Qian’s forehead, pushing her away. Her voice was muffled with emotion. “You jerk… stay away from me.”

Yi Qian rested her head against Ye Shuyi’s shoulder and neck again, gently turning her around to pull her back into her arms. She patiently soothed, “I’m sorry, my love. I was wrong. Don’t be mad, okay?”

Ye Shuyi’s deer-like eyes glistened with tears as she glared at her, struggling to break free from Yi Qian’s hold. Instead, the latter only tightened her embrace. After struggling for a while and realizing there was no chance of escape, she gave up, burying her face against Yi Qian’s shoulder as tears spilled over once more, as if she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world. Her voice was choked with sobs, her words fragmented and incoherent. “You jerk… I told you to stop, but you just kept going… You don’t care about me at all. I don’t want to be your wife anymore, wu wu…”

“I do care, I do. I was wrong, I was wrong. Don’t cry anymore, okay? Next time, I’ll listen to you. From now on, I’ll listen to everything you say,” Yi Qian murmured, holding her close and comforting her patiently.

“Hmph.” Ye Shuyi let out a soft, nasal scoff.

Yi Qian continued smoothing things over. “No more tears, no more tears. I promise I’ll listen to everything you say from now on.”

In certain moments, an alpha’s pheromones had a powerful calming effect on an omega’s emotions. Yi Qian slowly released her gentle first-snow scent, enveloping the person in her arms with warmth.

As Ye Shuyi breathed in the lingering traces of Yi Qian’s pheromones, her emotions gradually settled. Only then did she belatedly demand an explanation. “So why didn’t you answer my call?”

Yi Qian shifted slightly lower, meeting Ye Shuyi’s gaze at eye level. She wiped away the remaining tear tracks on her face, her starlit eyes filled with sincerity and remorse. “Tonight, I was supervising the freshmen and sophomores during their team-building event. My phone was on silent and set aside. I only saw the missed call after it was over. I didn’t ignore you on purpose.”

Ye Shuyi averted her gaze, mumbling, “Fine.”

“How about this you record a special ringtone just for me, okay?” At this suggestion, Yi Qian’s already bright eyes sparkled even more. “That way, I’ll never miss your calls again.”

“No.” Ye Shuyi refused without hesitation, already turning away. “That’s too embarrassing.”

Yi Qian swiftly caught someone trying to escape, coaxing softly, “Please? Just record something simple, like… answering the phone. ‘Yi Qian, you big jerk, if you don’t pick up, your wife will get angry!'”

“No way.” Ye Shuyi struggled futilely against her hold. “That’s too embarrassing.”

“How could it be? Think of it as asserting your dominance in front of others,” Yi Qian continued persuading. “Then when people ask for my number, I can play this for them they’ll definitely back off.”

Ye Shuyi frowned thoughtfully, recalling Yi Qian’s endless admirers at school. She’d witnessed several incidents herself, with some refusing to believe Yi Qian had a girlfriend and persistently pursuing her.

Seeing her hesitation, Yi Qian wrapped her arms around Ye Shuyi’s waist, pleading, “Please?”

After a long look, Ye Shuyi seemed to reach a decision. “Bring me your phone.”

Yi Qian immediately turned to grab the phone from the nightstand, unlocking it with Ye Shuyi’s face recognition before eagerly placing it in her hands.

Clearing her throat, Ye Shuyi opened the voice recorder. Her deer-like eyes met Yi Qian’s as she spoke slowly, “A-Qian, answer the phone… Your beloved Ye Shuyi, who loves you most in the world, misses you… Pick up already…”

“A-Qian…”

“Hello.”

When the phone rang for the fourth time, Yi Qian finally answered.

The caller seemed surprised by her prompt response this time, pausing briefly before saying, “Director Zhang said your performance wasn’t great today. Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine.” Yi Qian hesitated. “In the future, have them contact me directly if there’s anything. I’ll hang up now if there’s nothing else.”

Beep…

Ye Shuyi stared at the ended call screen and sighed softly. Looking out the floor-to-ceiling window, she saw two elderly women walking arm-in-arm along the community path. The one with a bun paused to pull out a handkerchief, gently dabbing the other’s forehead only for her wrist to be caught by the low ponytail-wearing woman, who said something before they continued hand in hand.

Lowering her gaze to Yi Qian’s contact page, Ye Shuyi exited and dialed Manager Zhang instead.

“Manager Zhang, inform Director Lu we’ll take the variety show.”

The next morning, Yi Qian arrived early at the filming location. The assistant director noticed her while checking the set. “You’re here so early today?” She peered uncertainly behind Yi Qian. “Alone?”

Yi Qian smiled. “Can’t I come alone?”

“Of course you can.” The assistant director laughed awkwardly. “Go get ready then. We’ll call you when everything’s set.”

As Yi Qian walked away, the assistant director immediately pulled out her phone, fingers trembling slightly as she typed in the “Blinded by Love, Devoted Till Death” group chat: [Emergency! Sisters! Yi Qian came alone today our ship might be sinking! Waaaah!]

The group chat quickly became lively with new messages popping up constantly. One message read: 【No! Assistant Director, you must be mistaken! Look up again maybe you’ll see Manager Ye there!】

Seeing the message, the assistant director inexplicably lifted her gaze toward the entrance, but the spot was empty nothing there at all. 【I’ve checked three times. Not even a ghost in sight.】

After sending the message, she belatedly realized what she’d said and smacked her own cheeks lightly, muttering, “Well, of course there’s no ghost. If I saw one, I’d have lost my mind.”

“Assistant Che.”

Hearing her name, Assistant Che looked up only to be startled by Ye Shuyi’s stunning face suddenly right in front of her. She let out a yelp and stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the equipment behind her. Luckily, Ye Shuyi reacted swiftly, grabbing her arm to steady her.

Assistant Che patted her chest in relief, her voice trembling slightly. “Th-Thank you, Manager Ye.”

Ye Shuyi released her and teased, “Am I really that scary? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No!” Assistant Che crossed her arms in an exaggerated X. “Absolutely not!” It’s just that I’m shipping you two and don’t want to get caught, she grumbled inwardly.

Straightening up, Assistant Che asked professionally, “What can I do for you, Manager Ye?”

“Oh, I just wanted to ask you something.” Ye Shuyi glanced around the set. “Has Yi Qian arrived yet?”

Instead of answering, Assistant Che blurted, “So you two didn’t come together today?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she froze and immediately covered it with her hands.

Ye Shuyi arched a delicate brow. “Is there a problem?”

“No, no, none at all!” Assistant Che waved her hands frantically. “Yi Qian’s already here probably in the makeup room. You can check there.”

With a slight nod of thanks, Ye Shuyi headed toward the makeup room.

The moment she was gone, Assistant Che immediately typed into the group chat: 【Not completely over yet, girls! Stay calm and wait for good news.】

【Waiting for good news 🙏】

……

When Yi Qian entered the makeup room, she spotted Jiang Shiluo, who was finishing up her post-makeup touch-ups, and greeted her with a wave. “Morning, Shishi-jie.”

Noticing how the other woman kept looking behind her after the greeting, Yi Qian frowned. “What’s so interesting behind me? Everyone keeps looking there when they see me.”

“Beautiful women are always eye-catching, especially when two stunning ones walk in together.” Jiang Shiluo patted her arm but still craned her neck to peek behind Yi Qian. “So… where’s Manager Ye?”

Unlike Assistant Che’s covert behavior, Jiang Shiluo openly danced on the edge right in front of the person involved.

“No idea.” Yi Qian sat down irritably, picking up a foundation bottle and shaking it absentmindedly. “But I’m pretty sure she won’t be coming.”

Noticing the other’s low spirits, Jiang Shiluo raised a surprised brow. “So, is it true what’s being said online? Did you two really have a fight?”

Yi Qian swapped the foundation for a powder compact and a small brush, fiddling with them as if indifferent. “As if I even have the right to argue with her.”

“Oh…” A smirk tugged at Jiang Shiluo’s lips, her dimples deepening as she teased, “So, she’s still different from everyone else, huh?”

Yi Qian’s hands paused briefly while fiddling with the cosmetics before she casually responded, “Other people? Who? My previous agent? No difference really, they’re all just agents.”

Knock knock!

Just as the words left her mouth, someone knocked at the door.

Jiang Shiluo glanced toward the entrance and smiled meaningfully before standing up. She patted Yi Qian’s shoulder and said, “Your agent’s here. I’ll go get ready first.” Then she leaned close to Yi Qian’s ear and whispered, “Remember to behave no tantrums.”

Walking to the door, she exchanged a brief nod with Ye Shuyi as greeting before leaving the dressing room.

Ye Shuyi stood at the doorway, watching that indifferent back still turned toward her. Just as she was about to approach, Yi Qian stood up and walked straight past without even glancing her way. “Whatever it is, we’ll talk later. I need to get ready.”

Ye Shuyi raised her arm to block the path and said slowly, “In such a hurry to leave when you haven’t even changed yet?”

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