A Milky-Orange Scented Omega Became a Sensation via a Dating Show [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 1

“Ding-ding—”

“Ding-ding—”

A piercing alarm rang in her ear. Zhong Lin rolled over lazily. Awakened by the noise, her long, curled eyelashes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes. Her hazel orbs were misty with sleep as her fair legs kicked the quilt aside.

Zhong Lin sat up slowly and looked around. To her right was a windowsill with curtains half-drawn; the sunlight spilling in was somewhat blinding. To her left was a white wardrobe. On the low cabinet by the bed sat a half-finished glass of water and a smartphone.

The environment was completely foreign. Zhong Lin tilted her little head slightly. Perhaps because she sat up too fast, her head throbbed with a dull ache. Where… on earth is this?!

Zhong Lin shook her head. Her messy bangs, flattened from a bad sleeping position, poked up and swayed as she moved. Her memory began to return piece by piece, gradually recalling what had happened…

Her name was Zhong Lin, and she was the youngest of the Baize (auspicious divine beasts) clan, who had been sealed by the Celestial Master Zhong Kui. While drifting in the chaos, she had been struck by a burst of white light and forced into an illusion. In that illusion, she was reading a book titled I Became a Sensation After the Green Tea Male O Rose to Power. There was a character in that book also named Zhong Lin.

This person shared her name and looked exactly like her human form. However, the elders of her clan always said that Zhong Lin was the smallest and cutest cub of the Baize! The Zhong Lin in the book was merely a common mortal.

Zhong Lin carefully sorted through the plot in her memory.

First, this was a “Female Alpha/Male Omega” novel. Humans were divided into six genders: Male A/B/O and Female A/B/O. Simply put, it was a highly liberated society with gender equality across all six types. In this technologically advanced era, people began to pursue a “spiritual life” after satisfying basic material needs, giving rise to an ecological system known as the “Entertainment Industry.”

The Zhong Lin in the book was a flop internet celebrity trying to break into showbiz. Her agency signed her up for an ABO dating show called 31-Day Heartbeat Challenge, featuring a mix of Alphas and Omegas for a free-love social experiment.

The original Zhong Lin was brainless. Though simple and dim-witted, she loved to act out, was incredibly self-centered, refused to do chores, loved to insult others, and shamelessly clung to the female lead Alpha… Single-handedly, she served as a foil to highlight the kindness and loveliness of the male lead Omega.

While the male lead Omega was a delicate flower that inspired pity, Zhong Lin was the weed everyone wanted to uproot. She had recommended her “best friend”—a commoner male Omega—to join the show. Every time she acted like a spoiled brat, the male lead Omega would do his best to make excuses for her, making himself look pure, unpretentious, kind, and beautiful.

Recalling the full plot, Zhong Lin felt the original host was a bit pitiable, but her behavior was so extreme she was essentially the ultimate villainous “Drama Queen.” This male lead Omega was her high school classmate; he followed her lead in everything and never corrected her behavior, encouraging her EQ to become a literal mudslide.

In daily life, a “brat” is just a willful little princess. But on a dating show, every expression and movement is magnified and over-interpreted, making her look both wicked and stupid.

Naturally, the original host failed to debut. After the show aired, she was mocked by the entire internet. The overwhelming abuse and being blacklisted by her company led her to develop severe depression. She eventually jumped from a high-rise, ending in a tragic “Bad Ending.”

Having cleared her thoughts, Zhong Lin picked up her phone. It was 6:30 AM. It was still early; the production crew required everyone to gather at 7:30 AM.

Zhong Lin got out of bed and picked out a designer off-the-shoulder white shirt and denim shorts from the wardrobe. The shorts ended just above her knees, making her legs look long and straight. After changing, she went to the bathroom to wash up. She dampened her messy bangs to smooth them down and glanced at the jars and bottles on the counter. She opened one, sniffed it, and her gaze turned blank.

As a Baize divine beast, she had no idea how to use these. Ancient cosmetics looked nothing like this.

…I don’t know how to use any of this!

(╬◣д◢) So annoying! I just won’t wear makeup then!

However, perhaps because her true form was a divine beast, Zhong Lin possessed an innate ethereal aura. Even without makeup, her face was as fair as porcelain with a perfect natural flush. Her eyebrows were elegant and her lashes thick, as if carefully drawn. Even her lips were a perfect pale pink.

Zhong Lin walked straight out the door. How could she change her “Bad Ending”? She felt she needed to solve the problem at its root.

The original “Zhong Lin” was self-centered, lazy, rude, and a stalker. Zhong Lin figured if she just did the exact opposite, she’d be fine, right? First, she had to work. She remembered her elders saying: “The cub who works is the cutest cub! (^▽^)”

“Excuse me, do you need any help?” Zhong Lin walked up to a staff member setting up the scene.

A girl in a pink-and-white striped shirt stopped. Not noticing who was asking and assuming it was a temporary worker, she gestured with her chin while holding a wooden crate: “Go move that box. Take it to the first room on the left in the first-floor lobby.”

If the staff member had looked up at Zhong Lin’s face, she would have been shocked. Two days ago, when this person joined the show, she acted like she couldn’t lift a finger and had never done a day’s work in her life.

The staff member suddenly warned: “Careful, it’s heavy—”

“Okay.” Zhong Lin bent down and hoisted the heavy wooden crate full of props onto one shoulder with a single hand.

Staff member: “…” I’m speechless.

By the time Zhong Lin was moving her third box, she faintly heard someone calling her name in the lobby.

A tall girl in an oversized trendy T-shirt and ultra-short hot shorts stood by the sofa. This “cool girl,” radiating Alpha energy, frowned and asked impatiently: “Why hasn’t Zhong Lin shown up again?”

A girl in a white dress looked worried: “I don’t know… she lives next to me, but her door has been closed. Xiaoduo, why don’t you go check on her?”

The boy, dressed in a Japanese-inspired style with khaki shorts and slender legs, looked toward Zhong Lin’s room. He blinked innocently and said: “I knocked on her door for a long, long time this morning, but there was no response. It’s my fault; I didn’t wake her up in time. Should I go try again?”

Another tall, handsome man in casual clothes stood straight as a pine and curled his lip slightly: “Xiaoduo, you’re the only one who indulges her every day!!”

In short, the male Omega named “Xiaoduo” was the male lead, Zhou Xiaoduo. He was subtly implying that Zhong Lin was “intentionally” late, while the others mocked her.

Zhong Lin was full of question marks. No one knocked on my door at all?

“Hi…” Zhong Lin, holding a box with one hand, turned around and waved with her free arm to greet the group.

At that moment, the cameras on the lobby tea table swiveled toward her. The livestream had quietly begun. On the video app, the bullet comments (danmu) were exploding:

【 Why is Zhong Lin awake? The once-in-three-millennium Sleep Queen and Late Freak actually got up?! 】

【 Seriously? I don’t believe it. This can’t be the Zhong Lin with the weird face, freakishly large eyes, and eyelashes that fly off her lids! 】

【 How did she suddenly become like this? Plastic surgery? Why does she look so cute??? 】

【 Shocking. Let’s see how the #1 Brat of dating shows continues to act out… 】

【 Zhong Lin get out of showbiz! 】

【 Zhong Lin get out of showbiz +1 】

Zhou Xiaoduo waved at Zhong Lin. Perhaps feeling a bit guilty about his lie, he said weakly: “Lin-lin, why didn’t you put on makeup today? We’re on a show… being barefaced is… not great, right?” He was implying that her lack of makeup showed a lack of respect for the program.

Zhou Xiaoduo had a lot on his mind. As her high school classmate, he knew Zhong Lin’s bare face was top-tier—she was practically a school beauty. Back then, she was voted “The Omega Alphas Most Want to Hug.” But ever since she tried to enter showbiz, she started wearing heavy smoky makeup and exaggerated false eyelashes, losing all her natural charm.

That was how he finally got his chance to shine! Now, seeing her natural beauty, Zhou Xiaoduo—who was wearing a “calculated” no-makeup makeup look—felt resentful.

Zhong Lin thought for a moment. She didn’t know how to do makeup, but the original host clearly did. It was better to skip the question.

“I’ll deliver this box first.” Zhong Lin shook her head and continued walking.

【 66666, she’s barefaced?!! 】

【 Why is this brat suddenly so cute? 】

【 So cute, I want to… [redacted] 】

【 Enough already! Did you all forget how much of a brat she is?!! 】

【 Zhong Lin is a Drama Queen. I’m a hater forever. No matter how cute, if her character is bad, it’s useless!! 】

Zhong Lin held the box with one hand. Because she had been talking to Zhou Xiaoduo, she wasn’t watching the path. As she rounded a corner, a figure rushed out from the opposite direction.

The girl was wearing an Audrey Hepburn-style little black dress with a white short blazer. She had just stepped out of the restroom and was leisurely drying her hands.

Unfortuntately, neither of them realized they were about to collide!

“You!” The girl didn’t notice the path either. She was bumped by the wooden box and staggered half a step back. Her shoulder-length hair tucked behind her ears spilled loose, and the two red carnelian clover earrings on her ears swayed like droplets of falling blood.

“Ah—” Zhong Lin’s shoulder took a heavy hit. The arm holding the box buckled, and the heavy wooden crate began to tilt toward the girl. The edges of the crate were rough and unpolished. If it hit her, it would surely injure her delicate face.

【 OH NO!! 】

【 Save our Yiyi! 】

【 Someone come kick this troublemaker Zhong Lin away! 】

Even the staff members were stunned, preparing to rush toward them.