After Desperately Pretending To Be An Omega In Front Of My Girlfriend - Chapter 11

“Scene One, Shot Three, Take Nine. Action!”

Xu Sheng was shoved hard to the ground.

Her knees and palms were already torn and bloody, the pain long since numbed into a distant throb. A man’s furious curses filled her ears, foul language piercing through the broken doors and windows and echoing throughout the cold, shadowed alley.

Just like all the countless times before, no one would come.

No one would say anything.

And certainly no one would stop it.

It was as though this violence had become a classic performance regularly staged in this nameless little alley.

Suddenly, even the sunlight seemed ready to withdraw the last scrap of mercy it had granted her.

A dark silhouette appeared beyond the broken window, backlit and impossible to make out clearly.

It seemed to be a woman.

Expressionless, Xu Sheng looked toward the window.

Her still, unfathomable eyes met the stranger’s for a fleeting instant, like a bird skimming across a lake without disturbing even a single ripple.

She was accustomed to being watched by an endless succession of bystanders, all staring at her with the same uninspired sympathy, curiosity, and surprise.

She hated the way those gazes clung to her, as though she were some pitiful monkey being whipped in a circus.

Xu Sheng lowered her long eyelashes and turned her face away indifferently.

“Cut! That’s a pass!”

Director Wang shouted, unable to hide the delight in his voice.

The moment Qi Yu heard the word “pass,” the tension suspended inside her finally released.

Only then did she belatedly become aware of the piercing pain radiating from her knees and palms.

Members of the crew immediately hurried over to clean her wounds.

“Little Qi, that was excellent.”

Director Wang gave her a thumbs-up.

“That shot was extremely difficult to grasp. I thought you’d have to wrestle with it for several days, but you got it today. Hahaha! I knew I hadn’t chosen wrong!”

His usually stern, profound gaze now carried open and unreserved approval.

A trace of worry lingered between Gu Qian’s brows.

She took several steps in Qi Yu’s direction, only to be stopped by Director Wang.

“Little Qi, get some proper rest!”

“Everyone else, prepare for Scene Two. Gu Qian, Shi Yunwei, hurry over and rehearse your marks.”

The electric fan in the rest tent roared loudly, pushing waves of hot air through the cramped, stuffy space.

Qi Yu’s back was already drenched in sweat.

She was still immersed in the emotions of the previous scene, and her heartbeat refused to settle.

“Sister Qi, you were seriously amazing!”

Coco cheerfully dabbed the sweat from her face with a tissue.

“I had so many failed takes.”

Qi Yu sounded discouraged.

“And I made Senior Feng and Gu… Senior Gu film the same thing over and over with me.”

“Wow, Sister Qi, aren’t you being way too hard on yourself?”

Coco widened her eyes dramatically.

“Director Wang is famous for being strict and obsessing over tiny details. Some actors have had to repeat a scene hundreds of times under him and still couldn’t pass.”

“The actors he’s made cry could gather together and fill an entire battle royale match!”

Coco quickly glanced around to make sure no one was listening before whispering the complaint.

A knock sounded at the entrance of the rest tent.

A crew member walked in, interrupting their conversation.

“Miss Qi, there’s an on-set interview with Starlight Entertainment today.”

“The reporters have already arrived. Please get ready as soon as possible.”

The makeup artist hurried over to touch up Qi Yu’s makeup.

By the time she reached the interview area, Gu Qian and Shi Yunwei had already finished filming their scene.

Shi Yunwei was currently speaking to the media.

Gu Qian spotted Qi Yu from a distance and walked over.

“Let me see your knees.”

“That really isn’t necessary.”

Qi Yu shifted backward awkwardly.

“It’s honestly nothing serious…”

In the next second, Gu Qian gracefully crouched in front of her.

She reached out and rolled up the legs of Qi Yu’s sweatpants, her movements gentle yet leaving no room for resistance.

Coco’s eyes became perfectly round.

Her mouth fell open.

Qi Yu was startled and hurriedly looked around.

Embarrassed, she whispered,

“Gu Qian, I’m really fine. There are so many people watching!”

The media were standing not far away.

Best Actress Gu truly seemed to have no fear of appearing in the headlines.

Once the fabric was rolled up, Qi Yu’s fair knees were revealed to be covered in large patches of angry red skin.

Thin streaks of blood still seeped from the wounds, and several carelessly applied adhesive bandages covered the worst areas.

Gu Qian frowned in displeasure.

She stood and took Qi Yu by the wrist.

“You can’t treat a wound like this.”

“It’ll become infected.”

Under the ambiguous gazes of the nearby cast and crew, Qi Yu was led all the way to a sunshade by Gu Qian’s warm hand.

“Xiaofan, bring me gauze and alcohol.”

“It’s fine. It’s only a small injury.”

To prove her legs weren’t badly hurt, Qi Yu even stomped one foot against the ground.

Gu Qian smiled in a way Qi Yu couldn’t quite interpret.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, she leaned closer and gently rubbed Qi Yu’s sun-reddened earlobe between her fingers.

Her voice was slow and teasing.

“Haven’t you always claimed to be a delicate Omega?”

“What happened?”

“Are you trying to act tough now?”

Hearing that familiar teasing tone, every hair on the back of Qi Yu’s neck stood up.

She stopped resisting.

Gu Qian’s slender fingers carefully peeled away the adhesive bandages, which had begun loosening from Qi Yu’s sweat.

She picked up a pair of tweezers, held an alcohol-soaked cotton pad between them, and meticulously cleaned the wounds where the blood had yet to dry.

The instant the cool alcohol touched Qi Yu’s pale skin, it evaporated rapidly.

Qi Yu’s calf trembled involuntarily.

Coco, who had been watching in a daze, nudged Xiaofan with her elbow.

Leaning closer, she whispered,

“Why do I feel like your Best Actress Gu and Sister Qi are really close?”

Xiaofan only smiled without answering.

She gave the utterly confused Coco a profoundly mysterious look.

By the time Gu Qian finished bandaging Qi Yu’s knees, the reporters from Starlight Entertainment had already been waiting nearby for quite a while.

Their expressions looked strange.

As soon as Qi Yu approached, they hurriedly adjusted their faces, squeezed forward with solemn expressions, and held out their microphones.

“Miss Qi Yu, we heard this is your first production.”

“How does your ‘first experience’ feel?”

“It’s exhausting.”

“It’s much harder than I imagined, but I’ve also learned a great deal.”

“Overall, I’m still very happy.”

“Miss Qi, which actor in the production do you admire the most?”

“I admire Teacher Jiang Lan the most…”

As Jiang Lan’s devoted fangirl, Qi Yu blurted out the answer without hesitation.

Then she abruptly paused.

She caught sight of Gu Qian standing nearby.

The Best Actress was smiling at her with obvious ill intent.

Qi Yu’s tongue quickly changed direction.

“…and Best Actress Gu.”

“Could you reveal some of the defining characteristics of the role you’re playing?”

…

“What the hell? How can these shameless media outlets do this?”

Coco lay facedown on the sofa, holding a tablet and cursing loudly.

She was watching an edited video of that day’s on-set interview from Starlight Entertainment.

In the footage, Gu Qian was crouching in front of Qi Yu.

The editors had added a caption above Qi Yu’s head:

Comrade Little Qi Receiving Premium Treatment

Above Gu Qian’s head, they had written:

Gentle Best Actress Gu

At the bottom of the frame appeared another line:

Guess what she’s doing?

The next segment showed the reporter asking Qi Yu which actor she admired most.

Qi Yu answered Jiang Lan first and only mentioned Best Actress Gu afterward.

The editors placed another caption over her head:

Best Actress Gu Has No Status Here

The video didn’t appear openly malicious, and the captions could be dismissed as an attempt at humor.

However, anyone in the industry could immediately tell that the media were deliberately guiding viewers into seeing Qi Yu as a spoiled, delicate Omega who didn’t particularly respect Gu Qian.

Sure enough, the video went viral as soon as it was published.

The comments beneath it were unbearable.

JingJingJingSceneryClearlyDivided:
This Qi Yu is seriously shameless. Who does she think she is? Why should Best Actress Gu have to crouch down and tie her shoes for her?

IsTheHorizonAcrossFromTheCape:
We could only see Gu Qian from behind in the video. We don’t even know what she was doing, right?

GuQiansLawfulWife:
Qi Yu is just a newcomer. A senior was crouching in front of her, and she still looked completely unmoved. How can anyone defend that? I bet rescuing the Best Actress during the pheromone riot and liking her Weibo posts were all just attempts to steal attention.

JustAVisualFan:
Most importantly, when they asked Qi Yu who she admired, she only said Gu Qian at the very end. If she was so reluctant, why pretend? I can’t believe I genuinely thought Qi Yu was Gu Qian’s fan before!

IAmTheVoiceOfReason:
Jiang Lan has been an acclaimed veteran actress for decades. Why can’t a newcomer admire Jiang Lan the most?

NoNewProfilePictureUntilIPassCET4:
If you like Jiang Lan most, why add Gu Qian afterward? I can’t think of any reason besides trying to cling to someone powerful.

SkyLightAndCloudShadowsWanderTogether:
They’re both newcomers, but look at how hard Shi Yunwei works while filming. Everyone else was busy, and only Qi Yu was resting. Omegas really are delicate!

TheLadyByTheWater:
What’s wrong with being an Omega? Did you forget Gu Qian is also an Omega?

Qi Yu hadn’t expected a simple on-set interview to be maliciously edited into something like this, much less provoke such intense discussion.

Coco’s face had turned bright red with anger.

She looked ready to drag the video editor out and beat them personally.

“It’s only a short interview clip.”

Qi Yu’s ability to withstand public criticism was clearly much stronger than her ability to endure failed takes.

She lay back comfortably while playing with her phone, completely unconcerned.

“The attention will die down in a few days.”

“No!”

Coco snapped the tablet shut.

“Sister Qi, you worked so hard. Why should some shameless media outlet make everyone think you weren’t taking filming seriously?”

To Coco, Qi Yu’s indifference looked like the timid cowardice of a helpless Omega who was too afraid to defend herself.

She stared at Qi Yu in frustration and pulled out her phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m calling Manager Wu!”

“I’ll tell her to contact the public relations team and clear this up immediately. Hmph!”

Qi Yu was quite touched that someone genuinely cared so much about her.

She didn’t try to stop Coco.

Lowering her head, she continued scrolling through her phone.

A few seconds later, her finger suddenly froze.

“Coco, you don’t need to contact the PR team.”

Qi Yu’s expression became complicated.

“Best Actress Gu just posted on Weibo.”