After I Picked Up the Movie Queen Who Was Pretending to Be an Alpha - Chapter 3

When Pei Suyuan woke up, it was already evening. Her arms were sore, and her head felt like it was splitting open. Her eyes remained hollow for a second, wondering if everything that happened last night was just a dream.

But the physical memory remained in her hands. That person’s waist was so thin and soft it was hard to let go of. Those long, straight, white legs had hooked around her neck so tightly it still ached slightly. As Pei Suyuan’s focus returned, she realized it wasn’t a dream, and her emotions became complicated.

They hadn’t reached the final stage of a “permanent marking,” but they had done everything else leading up to it. The woman’s fragrance still lingered. The room was still filled with a sweet scent—a mix of marshmallow and cheese. More than that, the two scents had intertwined into a cloyingly sweet-and-sour aroma.

Pei Suyuan took a deep breath, got out of bed, and opened all the windows. Then she took a lukewarm shower. She wanted to use cold water, but she didn’t dare risk catching a cold. After showering, she grabbed a glass of milk from the fridge and sat on the lounge chair by the window, staring blankly.

Her “susceptible period” (rut) was approaching, which was why the Omega pheromones last night had triggered such an uncontrollable primal desire. At first, she thought the person was the one she kept in the depths of her heart, so she acted without restraint. By the time she realized it was Wei Jinzhi, things were already beyond her control. She wanted to stop, but everything was too intoxicating.

Pei Suyuan buried her face between her knees, her tired arms hugging herself tight as if trying to hide. The whispers Wei Jinzhi had breathed into her ear and her voice at the height of their passion echoed in her mind. When Pei had tried to retreat, it was Wei Jinzhi who grabbed her hand. Wei had told her they were just “taking what they each needed.”

While she hesitated, her hand had been guided to that soft marshmallow-scented skin. In the heat of the moment, the alluring Omega had bitten her lip, begging for a mark. Pei had been dazed, and though her movements were no longer dictated by Wei Jinzhi, one sentence from the woman had cleared her head just enough.

At the critical moment, it was too late to stop completely. But she couldn’t mark her—not even a temporary mark. That wouldn’t be “taking what they needed” anymore; that would be an Alpha carving a brand into an Omega.

Yet, she had to admit Wei Jinzhi was too captivating. Those flirtatious eyes held only her, which was fatal for an Alpha on the verge of a rut. She had to grit her teeth and endure the urge to mark her through sheer willpower. In the end, things went as Wei Jinzhi said: they were covered in each other’s pheromones, but those would vanish completely after a shower.

But now, with her rut fully setting in, the darker instincts of an Alpha began to flare. Her eyes turned red as she sat with her head down, beginning to regret. She regretted not piercing that fragile scent gland and marking her.

Pei Suyuan felt ashamed of such thoughts. She shook her head, looked at the mess in the room, and after a long silence, began to clean. She had a streak of obsessive-compulsion; the bed was a mess and the furniture had been shifted in the dark. Stubbornly, she put every single item back in its original place.

Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror. Seeing the dark red bite marks left by the Omega, she sighed silently. She couldn’t tell if she was happy or annoyed. She usually hated this—she was even stricter with herself, and a single blemish on her skin normally bothered her for days. But now, her soul felt torn; one part felt she had broken a rule, while the other part found those ambiguous marks heart-fluttering.

Pei Suyuan rested at home for four or five days until the internal conflict faded along with her rut. She stopped obsessing over that night and the scent of marshmallows. Romance wasn’t the center of her life. Once she was back in a good state, she began waiting for the crew’s call or for someone to introduce her to work.

Two days later, the crew called her back. She only had three scenes left, so this was likely her last trip. To her surprise, when she arrived, she was told a new scene had been added—a “redemption” scene for her character.

Her character was a paranoid, domineering, and sinister Alpha villain. Is a forced redemption even possible? Having studied the script, Pei Suyuan didn’t think so. She went to the director and screenwriter to share her thoughts.

Normally, for such a low-budget web drama to add scenes for a “flop” like her was highly unusual. Usually, they would either convince her with logic or simply force it on her because someone in power wanted it. They shouldn’t be looking at her with such troubled, awkward expressions.

Pei Suyuan felt something was wrong. After the three of them stood in silence for a while, the director broke it.

“Yuefeng Media bought our show. Everything is up to Yuefeng now,” the director said with a beaming smile and a very polite tone. Pei Suyuan felt extremely uncomfortable. She was the second lead, but she knew her place; the director had never been this polite to her in over a month.

What made her even more uneasy was the implication: Yuefeng bought the show and specifically wanted to add scenes for her. It made no sense. Yuefeng was a top-tier company under the Song Group. Why would they buy this crappy web drama? And why add scenes for her?

Pei Suyuan acted for money, not out of grand ambition. Her acting was decent and not awkward, but she viewed this extra scene like unpaid overtime. The lack of an explanation made her anxious.

“The character doesn’t need to be redeemed,” she argued. “Why add a childhood trauma scene now? It’s unnecessary.”

But the director couldn’t listen to her. Yuefeng was the “Big Boss” now. “Just go get ready. Qin Dong and Jiang Yin are waiting for you.”

The new scene was an outburst after the male lead exposes her crimes—a paranoid, twisted monologue about her childhood to guilt-trip the heroine. Pei memorized the lines but hadn’t fully grasped the emotion.

Suddenly, her acting became stiff. After the director called “Cut” several times, Pei lowered her head, expecting a lecture. Instead, the director smiled and patted her shoulder. “Take a break. We’ll shoot this afternoon.”

His kindness was terrifying. Even Qin Dong and Jiang Yin looked at her askance. Jiang Yin sneered and said to Qin Dong, “I guess things are different once you hook up with Yuefeng.”

Because of Yuefeng’s involvement, Qin Dong’s own backer had lost influence in the crew. Both leads now aimed their frustration at Pei Suyuan. But Pei didn’t care about their opinions; she was only worried about why Yuefeng was showing her favor. She didn’t think she deserved it.

A few days later, the director’s behavior got even weirder. Her scenes were finished, but he wanted to add more. Her character’s death in a car crash was changed to a “deep coma,” and she was supposed to meet her “destined Omega” in the hospital.

Pei Suyuan gathered her courage and found the director again. She wasn’t good with words, especially at work. “Director, this scene is really unnecessary. A villain who has committed crimes and broken the law shouldn’t just…”

“Don’t say that. It’s just an open ending,” the director cut her off.

In the script, a nurse was supposed to take care of the comatose Alpha, and when the Alpha woke up, she was supposed to give the nurse a “gentle smile.” A gentle smile did not suit this character.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable,” Pei insisted. “That nurse…”

The director was on the verge of exploding. He cursed inwardly, thinking, No wonder this girl is a flop. How can she survive in this industry with this personality? If it weren’t for Yuefeng, he would never let a D-list celebrity boss him around. But a second later, he forced a smile. “Yuefeng is coming this afternoon. You have to film this well no matter what.”

It was a smile, but it was also a heavy pressure.

That afternoon, before filming, the people from Yuefeng arrived. It was a small group of four or five. Leading them was a tall male Alpha with a steady aura. Pei glanced at him, but her attention was immediately stolen by the person behind him.

Why is Wei Jinzhi here?

…Oh right. Wei Jinzhi is with Yuefeng.

The realization sent a strange shiver through Pei Suyuan. But soon, she was mesmerized by Wei Jinzhi herself. She was wearing a long-sleeved red dress with cutouts at the waist, showing a hint of her soft midriff. It was subtly sexy. Her hair was newly dyed a tea-brown color that shimmered in the sunlight.

Most people focused on the male Alpha as a symbol of power, but Pei couldn’t stop her eyes from drifting to Wei Jinzhi. As the director flattered the group, Pei watched them. When they finally recognized Wei Jinzhi among the group, the sycophancy intensified.

Pei lowered her head, looking at her shoes. Her mind was a mess.

Does she see me?

Could she… be here for me?

In a corner where no one could see, Pei Suyuan’s face flushed red. She felt ashamed for even thinking that. Why would someone like Wei Jinzhi come for her?

Just then, she heard a voice that was both familiar and strange.

“Is this last scene a new addition?”

The voice wasn’t soft and sweet like it had been that night; it was steady and melodic. Pei Suyuan looked up just as Wei Jinzhi turned around. Wei had taken off her sunglasses. Her face was expressionless, but her gaze seemed soft.

It was only for a split second. Then Wei turned back to the director. “The part where the nurse touches her hand—you can delete that. It’s unnecessary.”

Her thought matched Pei Suyuan’s exactly. Because of this, Pei felt a surge of happiness from being validated. She beamed a smile at Wei Jinzhi.

But Wei Jinzhi didn’t seem to notice. After a few more words with the director, she put her sunglasses back on and left in a hurry.