I Heard I Was the Scumbag Alpha of a Top-Tier Celebrity (GL) - Chapter 13

All of her low self-esteem, timidity, and willingness to compromise come from me.

This sentence echoed repeatedly in Gu Xin’s mind on the way home from work.

Sometimes it was Ying Lu’s flippant tone, but more often it seemed like Gu Xin herself was saying it.

Every step Gu Xin took, this sentence revolved once above her thoughts. She clearly possessed extraordinary rationality, but no one told her how to face a chaotic life when she was out of control.

Night had fallen deeply, and the carnival of the night market had also concluded, leaving behind a trace of madness for the lonely to taste sobriety.

Gu Xin didn’t go home. She couldn’t tell if she was mad or sober, or neither of the two, but just very lonely, so at this moment, she just wanted to walk outwards.

The night wind rustled, and there were only scattered drunks on the road. Gu Xin expressionlessly avoided those who bumped into her, recalling the words of many people.

Her Senior Brother said: “You used to be a genius envied by everyone, but everything changed after you married Yan Shuangshuang.”

Her Junior Sister said: “I thought you would be my biggest rival in research, but I didn’t expect you to willingly degrade yourself and become a gold-digger Alpha. What a shame.”

The Professor said: “I once wondered more than once if I was wrong to let that child Shuangshuang go and heal you. But thinking that way is also unfair to Shuangshuang. She sacrificed everything she could to remake you, but in the end, the one who destroyed both you and her was yourself.”

Gu Xin had no memory of that spirited time. Since opening her eyes, she had only faced a fragmented reality.

At five, she displayed an intelligence far exceeding the ordinary. At thirteen, she entered the W University gifted youth class. At sixteen, she graduated and joined the institute as a core project member. Since then, she had been a valuable national talent, with no problem she couldn’t conquer.

Such a life was glorious, brilliant, and smooth sailing.

But Gu Xin felt no sense of reality about it, feeling that everything sounded like it belonged to someone else.

Her Senior Brother sighed regretfully while eating.

At twenty, Gu Xin’s life took a sharp downturn.

Her Senior Brother heard that Gu Xin’s two mothers and older brother tragically died in a maritime disaster. From then on, Gu Xin never returned to the institute, and her original research project was shelved.

The institute immediately granted Gu Xin leave and some consolation money. Afterwards, they would occasionally hear that Gu Xin provided external assistance, helping others in the institute solve problems. Therefore, her Senior Brother had always believed that Gu Xin was only taking a temporary break from science and would eventually return to her world.

But two years later, twenty-two-year-old Gu Xin suddenly announced her marriage to Yan Shuangshuang. The Senior Brother thought Gu Xin had moved past the grief of losing her family and was ready to embrace a new life, and happily sent a wedding gift.

However, after the wedding, Gu Xin suddenly had a huge argument with the professor and the institute’s leadership, ending on bad terms. The subsequent result was that the institute immediately expelled Gu Xin and placed her on a classified information list, subject to immediate arrest if she committed any act of leakage.

And then…

Her train of thought was abruptly cut off. Gu Xin realized she had reached the seaside.

The sea in this season was gentle. The black ocean was mysterious and vast. A huge moon hung in the air. From the embankment, the surface of the sea reflected shimmering moonlight, appearing like broken clouds in her eyes. When the wind blew, it looked like streaks of silvery fish swimming, magnificent yet ethereal.

Gu Xin sat by the shore, feeling that the sea was simply too large, so vast that its limits were invisible.

If she cast herself into the seabed, the sea would embrace her just as it embraced the moonlight. Then, she too would look upon the bewildered people on the shore, like the moon over the sea.

A person’s life is a constant rush toward death. Perhaps after leaving the human world, she would be broken down into atoms and protons, then reassembled. By then, she would be cosmic dust, she would be the brilliant galaxy. She would transform into ten thousand things, and after completing the task of gathering and separating, she would rush toward the next magnificent life, loving another magnificent person—if there were one.

But Yan Shuangshuang would not let her do that.

A short scene naturally emerged in her mind.

She walked into the sea step by step. When the water went over her head, Gu Xin felt no panic; she even felt peaceful. Her ears filled with seawater, all sounds became distant. She calmly closed her eyes, waiting to enter the embrace of the God of Death, to go to the land where her mothers and brother resided.

But a hand grabbed her before she could completely fall.

This hand was faster than the God of Death. It was delicate and pitiful, trembling from the freezing seawater, yet it held Gu Xin tightly, pulling her out of the water with all its strength.

Gu Xin’s eyes were very gritty after being soaked by the seawater and could barely open.

But in the blur, she saw Yan Shuangshuang’s trembling body and her lips tightly pressed until they were white and purple.

“Dream on if you think you can just shake me off like this.”

“Gu Xin, if I live, you live. If I die, you die.”

*

On Wednesday, Gu Xin received several emails. The others were rejections, but the remaining two stated that another interview was required to confirm whether Gu Xin was suitable.

It wasn’t a success until the final step, but compared to the outright rejection she’d faced before, this was already very good.

Gu Xin’s mood was calm. After replying, she tied up her hair, tossed her phone onto the bed, and went to the kitchen to fry herself an egg.

Although it was still burnt, it was much better than the completely inedible ones she’d made before.

After solving her barely-swallowable breakfast and washing the dishes as quickly as possible, Gu Xin sat in front of the computer, took a deep breath, and started reading today’s paper.

English was as fluid as a native language. Gu Xin read effortlessly, scanning ten lines at a time, occasionally writing and drawing on scratch paper. Time passed minute by minute until, ding-dong, the alarm rang.

Gu Xin immediately disengaged from the paper, retrieved the phone hidden under the quilt, and called a number punctually.

The dialing tone lasted for almost forty seconds, but Gu Xin was completely unhurried. Just before it would have automatically disconnected, the call was answered, and a muffled “Hello?” came through.

Gu Xin said: “Director Ying, did you see the email I sent you last time?”

Ying Lu’s impatient voice came through: “That hundred-plus-page PDF? Are you crazy? I don’t have time to read that.”

“You said last time that you would look at it and told me to contact you today at 11 AM.” Gu Xin was persistent. She continued, “If you haven’t read it, I’ll summarize briefly: the file contains concrete evidence that some marketing accounts and whistleblowers were paid to act as internet trolls and fabricate fake stories. It includes many directors and celebrities, and most importantly, someone wants to interfere with your company, Director Ying. They have already bought off the media and will release a wave of news next Monday, some of which concerns your privacy.”

Before Ying Lu left the bar last time, she slipped Gu Xin an ambiguous note saying she could contact her anytime.

After Gu Xin actually added Ying Lu on WeChat, the two didn’t have much interaction because Ying Lu was busy starting production and Gu Xin was busy with interviews. It wasn’t until Gu Xin discovered new activity from the marketing company that had previously smeared Yan Shuangshuang—and this time it even affected Ying Lu—that she compiled the PDF and sent it to Ying Lu’s email.

Ying Lu finally woke up a little. She quickly skimmed it and cursed.

“The person Xiao Shuang offended is really something,” Ying Lu took a drag of her cigarette, her tone menacing. “But trying to mess with me is too naive.”

Ying Lu calmed down. She said, “Xiao Shuang’s ex-wife, thanks for the info. I’ll take it from here.”

Gu Xin said: “It’s fine. I’ve already sent evidence of their tax evasion and improper transactions to the judicial authorities. I’m still gathering more, but this wave of news should not be released. Because by my calculation, the police officers should already be on their way.”

“…6.”

“And also.” Gu Xin lightly frowned. She said seriously, “While I am indeed the ex-wife, I believe I am now back at the starting line and a friend Shuangshuang would prefer not to see. Next time, please, Director Ying, just call me by my name.”

“…”