A Scummy Divorcee Alpha: Ex-Wife’s Top-Tier Soothing Agent - Chapter 11

Du Wan walked over and placed the mannequin’s hand on her shoulder, but it was as if she had ignited a flame. Zuo Yijia felt like she was being roasted over an open fire.

She didn’t want to say “yes,” but she couldn’t bring herself to say “no.” Her lofty pride wouldn’t let her bow, yet a complex emotion surged restlessly in her heart. By the time she snapped out of it, Du Wan was already leading her out.

Fine, I’ll reluctantly agree.

The water bed in Zuo Yijia’s bedroom was large enough to hold seven or eight people rolling around at once. Du Wan lay down in her pajamas, feeling the gentle undulations of the water supporting her body. She splayed her limbs and paddled around aimlessly, having the time of her life.

The mattress suddenly dipped; Zuo Yijia had lain down with her back to her.

“Boss Zuo, come closer,” Du Wan reminded her dutifully. “Can there be any therapeutic effect from all the way over there?”

Zuo Yijia didn’t listen, didn’t look, and didn’t respond.

After a while, only Du Wan’s faint breathing could be heard. Zuo Yijia couldn’t help but turn her head. Du Wan was sleeping spread-eagled, reaching a hand into her pajamas to scratch herself, intermittently revealing her lean, firm midsection.

Her abs were well-defined.

Her skin was pale.

Those are my advantages; she doesn’t have them, the “Boss” thought, her competitive streak exploding as she began to compare them point by point.

Perhaps her gaze was too direct, as Du Wan rolled over restlessly. Opening her eyes, their gazes met.

“It’s fine… fish sleep with their eyes open…” Du Wan murmured, about to return to her unfinished dream.

Suddenly, the mermaid blinked. Her lashes—long enough to balance a toothpick—flickered like two small brushes, jolting Du Wan awake.

“Boss Zuo, where do you feel unwell?” Since she wasn’t sleeping in the middle of the night, Du Wan guessed she was having an episode. She reached out to feel the woman’s forehead, but as expected, the mermaid dodged.

Du Wan hopped into her shoes and clattered out of the room.

A section of the water bed emptied, and as the indentation of the body slowly faded, a strange sensation crossed Zuo Yijia’s heart.

Du Wan walked back in, holding something.

“Aah, open up—”

The audacity! Who is she commanding?! Zuo Yijia raised an eyebrow, a retort on the tip of her tongue. But the moment she opened her red lips, a thermometer was shoved inside. The cold glass tube clinked against her teeth. Her eyes widened, and she pouted her lips, ready to spit it out.

Exhausted, Du Wan gave her a perfunctory pat on the back: “Be good now, stop acting up.”

Zuo Yijia retorted muffledly: “Shtop ushing thish as an excushe to touch me!”

Du Wan: “…”

For the sake of survival, I will endure. And endure again.

She yanked the covers and lay back down.

In the end, the thermometer wasn’t spat out. Zuo Yijia narrowed her eyes, and her cheeks actually began to feel hot. Suspecting she had a fever, she tested the temperature with the back of her hand, but she couldn’t settle her mind.

Five minutes passed. Zuo Yijia was still pouting.

Ten minutes passed. Her mouth was almost numb from pouting.

She sat up to look, only to find the culprit had long since fallen fast asleep.

Zuo Yijia gave her a hard shove.

Du Wan’s sleep quality was too good; she didn’t even wake up. Her hands clawed at the air as she muttered, “Zuo Yijia, if you dare kill me, I’ll take you down with me!”

Zuo Yijia sneered: “Heh.”

It’s rare to hear a word of truth from Du Wan’s mouth.

Zuo Yijia lunged toward her, hands poised in a mock choking gesture. However, the next second, a look of struggle appeared in her eyes. She closed them and let out a long sigh.

What is actually going on with this!

Zuo Yijia took out the thermometer and tossed it onto the nightstand.

When Du Wan woke the next morning, the spot beside her was empty. She didn’t see the mermaid in the dining room either, which was unexpected.

Sister Lan told her: “The Miss will be reducing contact with you from now on to decrease her pheromone dependency on you.”

“What!?” Du Wan nearly choked on her fried egg.

She carefully recalled last night—she’d been diligent and devoted, yet instead of praise, she was being pushed away? Did Zuo Yijia have no appreciation at all?

Du Wan chewed resentfully. She couldn’t hold back a sigh—Sigh, can’t I earn this 200,000 for just a few more days?

Du Wan was only worried about the money then, but when she saw a suitcase by the entrance that evening, she realized the severity of the situation.

Zuo Yijia was distancing herself on purpose.

Once she was no longer needed by Zuo Yijia, what did that mean? It meant her death date was coming! Aaaaagh!

No, no, no. Du Wan paced the room with her hands behind her back. She had to put her escape plan on the fast track.

Du Wan’s mood remained low for several days. In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the month—time to sign the contract. Jiang Ni didn’t consult her and brought a male actor along for the trip.

The drama I Like You Too wasn’t a large production, with only four or five major roles. Jiang Ni’s implication was that for the sake of being in the same agency, Du Wan should help the guy out.

Du Wan was like a “clay Buddha crossing a river”—unable to even save herself. She couldn’t make any promises. She didn’t take a stand and just brushed her manager off with vague answers.

Failing to bring more value annoyed Jiang Ni. Once they got in the car, the male actor sitting next to her kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye, his lips curled in undisguised contempt.

Du Wan looked closer—it was the “gossip guy” from the performance classroom who had mocked her weak pheromones.

She was already feeling gloomy; he had walked right into the line of fire.

Du Wan pretended to stretch her neck and sniff around, then turned to him. “Your pheromones really are quite potent.”

The actor’s smugness didn’t last two seconds before she added: “Smells like a pile of stinky socks.”

Du Wan added an expressionless finishing blow: “Try wearing more cologne.”

Male Actor: “…”

“Pfft—” Assistant Chai almost suffered internal injuries from holding back her laughter.

The car reached the destination in a strange atmosphere.

The director wanted everyone to meet to save time, inviting the producer, investors, female leads… a grand total of twenty or so people across three tables.

The other agency was more influential than Ying Shan. The producer gave them face, and the director sat with them; that table was full of laughter. Jiang Ni’s table, with her two “unsuccessful” actors, couldn’t get a word in. Her face was long, and she began to nitpick.

“Du Wan, I told you to prepare well. Look at what you’re wearing!”

“Huh?” Du Wan paused her chopsticks and tugged at her mink coat. “Sis, this is the most expensive thing in my closet.”

“Yeah,” Assistant Chai added. “Sis, you didn’t give us a budget.”

Jiang Ni was speechless. She gestured to the side, and the male actor understood, standing up to toast the neighboring table. He had a good tolerance and was soon mingling, playing drinking games and fitting right in.

Jiang Ni rose at the right moment to join the social circle.

Du Wan and her assistant ate enthusiastically while listening to the scheming at the next table, not feeling lonely at all.

Suddenly, something was said that caused the two female leads to stand up competitively. The sound of chairs scraping the floor was loud. Du Wan was enjoying the show until both women started walking toward her. She belatedly raised her glass.

What’s the deal? They look hostile. Don’t tell me this is another romantic debt the Scummy Alpha left behind?

The Beta lead struck first: “I’ll toast you.” She drained her glass and showed the empty bottom.

Du Wan was bewildered but had to follow suit. The Beta lead left with an unreadable look in her eyes, seemingly lingering. The other lead looked familiar—Lou Xuehan, a rising starlet and the most prominent celebrity present. She swayed over and said coyly, “I’ll toast you, too.”

Du Wan was flattered.

Lou Xuehan took a step closer under the cover of the toast. With a half-smile, she lowered her voice: “You shameless villain. Now that you’ve fallen into my hands, I’m going to make life hell for you!”

After dropping that threat, she straightened up and said with a beaming smile, “I look forward to working with you.”

The change of face was so fast Du Wan didn’t have time to react before another person approached.

Du Wan closed her eyes in pain and raised a hand: “Wait, are you here to scold me, too?”

The producer was slightly stunned, then laughed. She sat down, checked her phone, then looked at Du Wan, seemingly confirming something. She was older but still graceful, and her voice was as gentle as a spring breeze: “Why would I make things hard for you?”

“Xiao Jia has good taste.” The producer patted her hand, advising her like an elder, “If you have difficulties, come to me. Don’t worry.”

Du Wan nodded and made non-committal noises. As soon as the producer left, she took the chance to “flee to the restroom,” hurrying out of the private room.

Zuo Yijia hadn’t made their marriage public, yet the producer not only knew her but seemed to know exactly what her relationship with Du Wan was.

Recalling the recent assassination attempt, Du Wan felt uneasy and decided to report the news to the mermaid.

She found the number in her contacts and dialed.

“Hello—” Zuo Yijia was also at a dinner; the background was noisy. Her voice came through lazy and slightly tipsy, carrying a unique sexiness.

Du Wan’s ears tingled, and she forgot to speak immediately.

“Du Wan.” Zuo Yijia lost patience. “I don’t have time to play games with you.”

“Wait!” Du Wan called out hurriedly and told her what had just happened.

“Is such a small thing worth a phone call?” Zuo Yijia stepped out of her booth and chuckled. “So many people in this world know me. Are you going to notify me for every single one?”

“She knows about our relationship,” Du Wan said anxiously. “Aren’t you worried?”

“What am I worried about?” Zuo Yijia tapped the railing with her left fingertip, seemingly thinking. “The one who always wanted a secret marriage was you. As for me—never mind the past, we’re divorced now. I’m even less worried.”

Du Wan was speechless. If she won’t give me even a single chance to prove myself, am I just meant to die?

Just then, Lou Xuehan popped out from the door like a small cannonball.

“Du Wan!!!”

“Did you use despicable means again!” Lou Xuehan started screaming at her without rhyme or reason. “Do you know how long Jiang Tian waited for this lead role? How dare you steal her spot!”

“Wait a second—” Du Wan was completely unaware of the context.

“You’re a thief! You stole my partner before, and now you steal other people’s roles!”

Du Wan didn’t have time to be sad; she just gaped in shock.

What a juicy piece of gossip.

Scummy A, you really were ‘hungry’—you’d go after anyone. Weren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?!

“Are you acting spoiled with your new sugar daddy?” Lou Xuehan snatched the phone from her hand. “Let me see who that person is!”

“AAA… Arowana (Golden Dragon Fish)?” Lou Xuehan was dumbfounded. “What the hell?”

No, are you seriously looking at other people’s privacy?

Du Wan stood there awkwardly. That was the “Scummy A’s” contact name for the mermaid. Actually, Du Wan had wanted to change it to “Highly Flammable and Explosive.”

“AAA Arowana,” the female voice on the phone repeated. Realizing something, she let out a cold snort. “Du Wan, is this your way of trying to attract me?”

“Very clumsy,” Zuo Yijia reviewed.