I Heard I Was the Scumbag Alpha of a Top-Tier Celebrity (GL) - Chapter 15

Gu Xin actually had no artistic sensibility. She didn’t like listening to music, watching movies, let alone going to a play.

Gu Xin’s biggest imagination of a play was a group of exquisitely dressed people sitting in the audience, giving their full attention, solely to experience an immersive performance where their emotions were controlled by others. They would laugh when the actors wanted them to laugh and cry when they wanted them to cry.

Unfortunately, Gu Xin was not one of those people who could get it. Perhaps she was naturally lacking in appreciation ability; she found these “high arts” only made her sleepy.

But Yan Shuangshuang was an actress. Her talent was so high that she could empathize and become another person anytime, anywhere. Her profession was also a part of “art.”

How did Gu Xin, who was insulated from art, and Yan Shuangshuang, who was full of inspiration—two leaves from completely different worlds—converge into one shape and enter into marriage?

The words of Professor Ma interrupted Gu Xin’s inadvertent reverie. She said gently, “The institute is not closed on weekends. You have a single day off on Saturday, though.”

The underlying meaning of the sentence: It’s paid, go ahead and have fun.

Gu Xin immediately snapped back to reality and said with certainty: “I’ll go.”

To not be a salary thief is to let down the working class!

After Professor Ma left, the male colleague in the cubicle next door leaned over: “Newbie? Director Ma invited you to a play? I’m so envious. Cherish this opportunity, it might be the only time you get paid to have fun. You won’t have time later, nope.”

Gu Xin asked curiously: “Have you all been?”

“We all went through that.” The female colleague who passed by pushed her glasses up coldly. She stood next to Gu Xin, sizing her up condescendingly: “I heard you’re very capable. Director Ma is going to give you the latest project.”

Gu Xin thought, How come I don’t know about a new project? but she said calmly, “Everything is subject to Director Ma’s decision. I am merely an assistant.”

They looked at each other. Gu Xin didn’t know how she had annoyed the female colleague, but she gave a noble and cold humph and turned to leave.

The male colleague leaned in to comfort Gu Xin: “She’s famous in the institute as a workaholic, the kind who treats the place like home. Her ability is good, though. She’s always wanted to lead a project independently, but Director Ma never approved it. The moment you arrive, there are rumors that the opportunity will go to you, of course she can’t swallow that. Although she’s a bit too competitive, she’s actually a decent person. Don’t worry about her.”

Gu Xin was puzzled: “But I really don’t know anything about it.”

The male colleague froze: “You really didn’t take on a new project?”

“Director Ma didn’t mention a word.”

The male colleague hissed, rubbing his thick hair. Gu Xin could almost visualize the question marks blooming all over his forehead.

“Oh, well, you should get used to the work environment first, then wait for Director Ma’s arrangement.”

Then Gu Xin heard him muttering, “Impossible,” “Why else would they hire someone,” and “What is Ma, the King of Hell, up to now?” His feet slid, and his office chair drifted back.

Gu Xin did not show curiosity toward her colleague’s odd behavior. She didn’t think twice, simply logging into her account on the computer according to routine. But no one assigned her work, and there was no data to read, so she just stared blankly at the screen.

For Gu Xin, her heart had always been very narrow, small enough that she only cared about two things: herself and science. She didn’t care about too many things. Many things that others found intolerable, she felt fine about, which made her seem indifferent and good-tempered at the same time; she wouldn’t get angry even when provoked directly.

Unlike the stereotypically arrogant geniuses, Gu Xin’s ability and character were widely praised.

Although the X City Communications Institute was not as famous as the Capital Communications Institute, it wasn’t a place just anyone could enter. Gu Xin didn’t know how much effort Professor Ma and Professor An had put in behind the scenes to get the “tainted” her accepted.

This was Gu Xin’s last chance, but she herself did not know it.

A staff member from the logistics department pushed a small cart over. When passing Gu Xin’s workstation, they handed her a large box of suppressants and instructed her to inject them regularly according to the cycle.

Suppressants are generally divided into three types: long-acting, short-acting, and special suppressants. A long-acting shot lasts half a month, a short-acting one lasts only three days, and special suppressants are used for Alphas in rut or Omegas in heat, greatly alleviating symptoms.

Gu Xin used the short-acting ones at the hospital, and later bought short-acting ones herself. She still had a pile of them at home.

The logistics department was very thoughtful, equipping Gu Xin with all three types.

The cart only stayed for a moment, but the naturally gossipy male colleague immediately rushed over.

“Wow…” The male colleague was shocked by the sight of the suppressants. He said in disbelief, “You’re an Omega?”

Gu Xin finally looked properly at the male colleague’s badge—Huo Yuanfei. The name sounded nice, but unfortunately, his perception was not keen.

Gu Xin did not answer directly, instead asking: “Are you a Beta?”

Upon hearing this, Huo Yuanfei thumped the table in excitement, saliva flying: “Nonsense! Our entire institute is Beta! What is your background? Director Ma actually made an exception and recruited an Omega?!”

His voice involuntarily grew louder, causing everyone around to hear. Although no one gathered around, they all raised their ears in shock. The area immediately fell silent.

In fact, within the scientific community, there was an unwritten rule—all research institutes tended to recruit relatively stable Betas, rather than the AO genders troubled by ruts or heats. Especially Alphas; once their hormones flared up and they became aggressive, they could destroy the painstaking work of everyone for several years. Some experts even privately stated that Omegas had a slight possibility, but Alphas absolutely lacked the ability to conduct scientific research because they could barely control themselves.

In the complete silence, only Gu Xin’s slightly uncertain tone was heard: “Maybe because I’m good?”

… Honestly, it was a bit provoking.

Huo Yuanfei spoke quickly: “What exactly did you do before? How many papers did you publish? What journal? What’s the impact factor? If someone as厉害 as you existed, I couldn’t possibly not have heard of you!”

Gu Xin’s answer to this was only I don’t know, I don’t know, and still don’t know.

Firstly, she truly didn’t know. Secondly, her achievements were still under a non-disclosure period and couldn’t be casually mentioned.

This attitude was clearly unacceptable to everyone. Huo Yuanfei immediately vented their collective frustration: “Is it that you don’t know, or you can’t say!”

Gu Xin kindly gave the most sincere answer: “I both don’t know and can’t say.”

Not only provoking but also mischievous. This answer made everyone want to gasp for air, but Gu Xin swore that subjectively, she really didn’t mean to create a dramatic effect.

Huo Yuanfei sat back down, his face serene.

At this moment, the female colleague who had given Gu Xin attitude before walked over. She gave Huo Yuanfei a mocking smile: “X City’s little telecom hub? You don’t know anything, so how are you the little telecom hub?”

Gu Xin took a closer look. The female colleague’s name was Hua Ran. Her appearance was bright and graceful, truly living up to her name. But at this moment, her words were cutting, like a blade, clearly intended to make people angry.

“You!” Huo Yuanfei was indeed the first to get angry. He retorted in fury: “You’re so capable, do you know?!”

“Gu Xin, she’s from the Capital Communications Institute and worked on a project with An Pingyu before. Now she’s crossing both subjects and disciplines.” Hua Ran’s fluent words were the best form of mockery. She paused, turned her fire, and looked provocatively at Gu Xin: “You do have some ability, but the research you submitted is too immature. A direction our team adopted a year ago—I didn’t expect anyone to still be working on it. Scientific research is not child’s play. I don’t know why you came to our institute or why you casually changed directions, but if this is all the skill you have, I advise you to go home early. We’re not interested in playing games with you.”

Her words were harsh, but since they weren’t directed at Huo Yuanfei, his attention was still clearly on the previous topic. He grumbled, “Fine, are you two secretly friends? You know all this? I don’t accept it, I don’t accept it. Hua Ran, you’re cheating!”

However, Gu Xin, facing the hostility directly, remained calm. She even had the leisure to put the suppressants into a drawer, then smiled and looked up: “Whether it’s a game or not, we’ll find out later. Anything said now is meaningless.”

“Hmph, then I’ll wait and see. Don’t make empty promises.” Hua Ran stood with her arms crossed, staring directly at Gu Xin with a cold and mocking expression. Gu Xin also smiled, refusing to look away. A terrifying storm of thunder and lightning seemed to be gathering between the two, waiting for a single spark to detonate instantly.

In the extreme low pressure, only one person still failed to read the room, relentlessly asking: “So how exactly did you know? Did you meet her when you were an exchange student in the Capital? Or did you meet her at some conference? Hua Ran, Hua Ran, don’t talk about anything else, just tell me first.”

Hua Ran finally couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She gave Huo Yuanfei a forced smile: “If your brain could remember things, you’d know I was the one who filtered the resumes for this interview.”

Huo Yuanfei looked thunderstruck, shocked: “It was that simple?!”

“Heh.” Hua Ran gave her standard mocking laugh. Gu Xin had already heard it several times in just a few minutes.

Huo Yuanfei got his answer but lost his color. He hit his head in annoyance, finally recalling that Director Ma had been soliciting help in the group chat a few days ago. Everyone held back from speaking, and only the normally most proactive Hua Ran was unfortunately tagged. He had even mocked her privately at the time. Now he realized he was the clown.

“Oh, right.” Before leaving, Hua Ran remembered something and deliberately sauntered up to Huo Yuanfei. “You made a huge mistake. Do you want to know what it is?”

“What?” Huo Yuanfei looked up warily. “If it’s project-related, I don’t want to hear it yet. Don’t speak!”

Hua Ran ignored him: “You entered the data incorrectly a few days ago, because the instrument you used for the experiment was broken that day, but no one reported it. It’s fixed today, so remember to redo it.”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”

“Director Ma wants you to rewrite the report later. The previous one wasn’t clear enough.”

“How much clearer does it need to be!”

“And.”

“Why and?! Can’t you just finish saying everything at once next time! Being so hesitant is disgusting!”

Hua Ran said: “The person next to you, she received suppressants, but she’s not an Omega. Guess what her gender is?”

Gu Xin hadn’t expected the last sentence to involve her. She innocently spread her hands toward the shocked Huo Yuanfei who had turned his head, indicating her own surprise.

“What are you surprised about!” Huo Yuanfei roared.

Gu Xin looked into the distance calmly: “Maybe I’m surprised that my life is always full of surprises.”

After all, she truly did not subjectively intend to create this kind of dramatic effect.