I Heard I’m the Scumbag Alpha of a Top-Tier Leading Actress? - Chapter 12

Silence was tonight’s Cambridge.

The two of them looked at each other for a long time. The atmosphere was extremely awkward—on Gu Xin’s side alone.

Could someone please tell her how one was supposed to handle running into one’s ex-wife while working a part-time job? Especially when the ex-wife was still dazzling and glamorous, while she herself looked this down-and-out.

Yan Shuangshuang, someone whose page she checked in on every day and whose photos she saved and stared at, had suddenly appeared alive and in the flesh right in front of her. For a moment, Gu Xin could not tell whether she was unable to accept a 2D figure becoming 3D, or whether she could not accept being seen by her ex-wife looking like she was struggling to survive. She could not help pinching herself. The pain instantly cleared her head.

Mm. So it was not a dream. All of this was real.

Yan Shuangshuang’s expression became even stranger.

When she met Yan Shuangshuang’s incredulous gaze, Gu Xin did actually want to explain, but then her mind flashed through all the various jobs she had done since the divorce… and bartending actually counted as one of the more high-end ones.

The strange silence finally drew the attention of the woman opposite them. Belatedly, she said, “You two… know each other?”

“We do.”

“We don’t.”

Gu Xin, who had flatly denied it, could not help glancing at Yan Shuangshuang. She had not expected Yan Shuangshuang’s first reaction to still be admitting they knew each other. What happened to going their separate ways after the divorce?

“We don’t.”

“We do.”

Gu Xin’s head hurt a little.

The results of speaking in unison twice were completely opposite. A bit rebellious, honestly.

This time, before Yan Shuangshuang could speak, Gu Xin rushed ahead and waved at her as naturally as she could, thoroughly ending this little game of “guess whether we know each other or not.”

“Long time no see, Shuangshuang.”

Yan Shuangshuang’s expression was complicated. “…Long time no see.”

“You ordered my specialties. Remember not to drink too quickly. Take your time and savor them.” After a pause, Gu Xin added, “The alcohol is a little strong. Be careful not to get drunk.”

The woman looked at Yan Shuangshuang, then at Gu Xin, and a deeply interested smile slowly appeared on her face.

Yan Shuangshuang ignored her and looked at Gu Xin. “How long have you been working here?”

Gu Xin said, “Only about two weeks.”

“You…” Yan Shuangshuang wanted to say something, but swallowed it back down. She crossed her arms, her tone somewhat cold and stiff. “When you have time, properly look for a serious job. You’re not cut out for this.”

Gu Xin looked at Yan Shuangshuang. After a month of not seeing her, Yan Shuangshuang had lost even more weight. She had already been thin before, and now it was even more obvious, making Gu Xin wonder whether Yan Shuangshuang had not been eating properly after leaving her. With such a slim waist, Gu Xin could probably lift her up with one hand.

That brief moment of distraction fell into the woman’s eyes, and the smile in her gaze deepened.

Gu Xin quickly pulled her thoughts back. She said, “I know. This is only temporary. Last week, I interviewed at two research institutes in X City. I’m waiting for news.”

Yan Shuangshuang restrained the urge to ask more. In an attempt to cover it up, she picked up her glass and took a light sip, then said expressionlessly, “Mm. Nothing else. Go get busy.”

After Gu Xin left, the woman crossed her legs with a smile, propped her face in her hand, and looked at Yan Shuangshuang.

“Ex-girlfriend?”

Yan Shuangshuang tugged at the corner of her mouth, set down her glass, and changed the topic. “Director Ying, I’ll be direct with you. I only want the role of Wu Lan. For that, I’m willing to take no pay at all.”

The woman swung her long legs lightly and smiled. “No rush. First, tell me about you and that woman just now… What’s your relationship? From what I saw, it didn’t seem ordinary. That woman looks decent. She’s an Alpha, right?”

“Director Ying, I don’t think this has anything to do with what we’re discussing—”

“I actually think it has quite a lot to do with it.” The woman nodded solemnly, as if this were very serious. “If you tell me, I’ll give you the role. If you don’t, then there’s nothing to discuss.”

Yan Shuangshuang was stunned by the woman’s childish words. She tightened her grip around the glass, her knuckles turning white and veins rising. Seeing that she was about to turn hostile and leave, the woman remained unhurried, still swinging her leg. Under the deep blue lighting, their gazes met, and neither was willing to give in.

A moment later, Yan Shuangshuang loosened her hand inch by inch, coldness radiating from her whole body. She lowered her eyes to the beautifully colored cocktail and said indifferently, “Not an ex-girlfriend. Ex-wife.”

After receiving the answer, the woman’s expression showed some surprise. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “No wonder…”

Yan Shuangshuang said nothing. Her coldness had practically dragged the room straight back into winter, but the woman seemed completely unaware, murmuring a few incomprehensible words to herself.

“Xiao Shuang.” Very soon, the woman took a script out of her bag. “Compared with Wu Lan, I’d rather see you act in this.”

Yan Shuangshuang frowned. She accepted the script and discovered that it was not any supporting role she had expected.

“—The female lead?”

The woman blew her a kiss and winked. “That’s right.”

“But…” But she had never acted as the female lead in a film before. Right now, not only was she plagued by scandals, she also had no agency backing her. All she had wanted was to beg for a chance to make a comeback.

“If I say you can, then you can,” the woman said. “I’ll give you half an hour to consider. In half an hour, give me your answer. Will you take it or not?”

The woman stood, graceful and charming, and carried her own glass to the door. She smiled sweetly at Yan Shuangshuang. “I’m going out to play for a bit. Take your time thinking. Call me when you’ve made up your mind.”

Once the door closed, only Yan Shuangshuang was left in the silent room, dazed and at a loss.

This was Ying Lu’s female lead role. She should not be hesitating. But Ying Lu was also famous for being moody and unpredictable, the kind of person who would tell an actor to leave on the spot if they did not perform well enough. Yan Shuangshuang had absolute confidence that she could play Wu Lan well. But the female lead…

When Gu Xin came out, her back was already soaked with sweat. She had not stayed inside for more than five minutes, yet every second had felt like a year.

Losing face in front of her ex-wife was one thing. In any case, she probably had no face left in front of Yan Shuangshuang. But could she at least not lose face immediately after showing off to her shift lead? Fortunately, Yan Shuangshuang did not know about that part. Otherwise, she would be even more socially dead.

Gu Xin rapidly took several sea-otter-like oxygen breaths before her expression finally returned to calm, as if nothing had happened, and she returned to her workstation.

She had just received two customers when someone sat down in front of her.

“Hi.” Ying Lu wore heavy smoky makeup, her seductive eyes fixed on Gu Xin. “Hello, beautiful.”

Gu Xin took a deep breath. She thought, Why had Yan Shuangshuang come to this kind of romantic little place with someone this frivolous? It had only been so long, and her second spring had already come knocking?! Had she come here to show off to her? Damn it, how had her taste changed so quickly? Was being with Gu Xin before really that much of a grievance?

Gu Xin used the flattest tone possible to suppress the sourness in her heart. “May I ask what you would like to drink?”

“I want to drink your worries,” Ying Lu said, gazing at her with deep affection.

Gu Xin: “…”

Shocked by this sudden flirtation, Gu Xin belatedly realized that this person seemed to have no moral integrity.

“Don’t ignore me.” Ying Lu propped up her head, tilted it, and gave a skilled, adorable wink, overflowing with charm. “I’m this cute. Don’t you want to chat with me?”

Gu Xin: “…Customer, sexual harassment is illegal.”

“It’s fine. After all, what I want to know is only the tiniest, tiniest, tiniest little bit.”

“Personal privacy. No comment.”

“Then you don’t want to hear about Xiao Shuang either?”

Gu Xin: “?”

“You like Xiao Shuang, don’t you?” Ying Lu went straight to the point, her expression relaxed. “Next month, she’ll join my crew as the female lead.”

Seeing Gu Xin’s face instantly turn ugly, Ying Lu burst out laughing. “Don’t worry. I like Alphas. Although, for the sake of Xiao Shuang’s face, it’s not as if I couldn’t make an exception. But who told her to be so deeply trapped in the swamp of love that she can’t pull herself out? I don’t really love that type. In comparison, a purely physical relationship is more to my taste.”

Gu Xin said, “What do you want to talk about?”

“Let’s talk about your relationship with her.” Ying Lu smiled brightly. “She kept you hidden so tightly. Today, I finally got to see you in person, and you’re actually not bad. So I want to know what exactly you did to make her become weak.”

“Weak?” Gu Xin repeated blankly.

“All of her inferiority, cowardice, and willingness to compromise herself came from you.”