I Heard I Was the Scumbag Alpha of a Top-Tier Celebrity (GL) - Chapter 16

Gu Xin didn’t know yet that the biggest surprise of her life was already on its way.

Time quickly moved to the weekend, and they agreed to meet at the theater entrance.

Professor Ma was neatly dressed, her hair meticulously pinned up without a single strand out of place, and her black attire was very low-key.

Upon seeing Gu Xin, the elegant Professor Ma offered a sharp critique of her clothing: “Why so plain?”

Gu Xin looked at her light, casual attire, not understanding what was plain about it: “Isn’t the classic style good?”

The classic style referred to the most foolproof combination of a shirt and wide-leg trousers, casual enough for any entertainment venue.

Professor Ma smiled: “It’s not the same. Let’s go, let’s go inside.”

Walking in one after the other with Professor Ma, it was Gu Xin’s first time entering a theater. She found it less severe than she had imagined. The ceiling was high, decorated with radiating, undulating shapes that looked like a magnified star fruit, yet it was dotted with countless tiny stars, forming a 3D starry sky, which had a strangely lively feel.

In contrast, the stage below was small and spread out. The audience seating was practically embedded within it, becoming part of the stage. In the closest spots, the audience could even reach out and touch the actors on stage.

The entire design communicated that the stage and the audience were one, inviting everyone to enjoy the performance.

Professor Ma’s seats were in the middle row, slightly distant from the stage. After sitting down, she whispered to Gu Xin: “The position here is the best. It’s not too close to disrupt the performance, nor too far to appreciate it.”

Gu Xin asked: “This is my first time watching a play. It feels wonderful. How many years have you been watching plays, Director Ma?”

Professor Ma chuckled. Even though her hair was gray and her face already lined with wrinkles, Professor Ma’s voice and demeanor were calm and graceful—compensation granted by time after taking her youth.

“I can’t count anymore. Perhaps half a lifetime.”

That was a very long period of time indeed.

After only a couple of sentences, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight fell on the announcer.

Today’s play was newly staged, without any famous stars, but the attendance rate was high. After the announcement, the applause in the hall was sustained, and everyone looked excited.

Gu Xin was puzzled. Director Ma whispered that this was because the audience members were mostly fans of the director and the playwright, both of whom were very talented people. Their last collaboration was twelve years ago. Their first collaboration back then resulted in a classic that instantly swept the nation. To this day, it still has sporadic revival performances in various places, and the few actors who starred in it were, without exception, propelled to fame, becoming the backbone of today’s entertainment industry.

Even more strangely, the director and playwright were a classic combination of a talented man and a beautiful woman. The love and hatred between them were enough to write another drama, but no matter how scandalous their affair was back then, the parties involved always remained silent. The public’s curiosity, however, did not dissipate with time; instead, it burned brighter.

Their second collaboration now ignited the news.

Gu Xin thought, If that’s the case, the tickets must have been quite hard to get. Professor Ma is generous.

Soon, the play began, starting directly with the theme: the protagonist talking to himself in a mirror. He was a handsome Alpha who had recently fallen for a girl. After much inquiry, he found out she was an Omega from the central city who had moved to the town.

Although the handsome protagonist had a good appearance, he was empty-headed and unproductive, a gigolo who lived off others. People in the town laughed, saying he would probably end up selling the family inheritance.

The protagonist didn’t care about the ridicule of others, still flitting around like a butterfly among flowers. His empty shell needed equally empty emotions to fill it. He disdained the mediocre lives of others and was determined to pursue the freedom he desired.

But love struck him without warning. The playboy settled down for the first time. He thought that no matter what, he had to have this girl, even if the relationship was as fleeting as dew. He would be satisfied even if he could only have one night with her.

Nothing new, but flawless for an opening, Gu Xin thought.

The scene shifted, and the second protagonist appeared.

This beautiful Omega had a lovely face and a gentle demeanor. Everyone assumed she had come to relax and perhaps choose a husband for herself. But also facing a mirror, the Omega gently combed her hair while quietly asking her maid whether her uncle was near the end of his days. Beneath the gentle exterior was a ruthless heart. Her ultimate goal was to seize the fiefdom in her uncle’s hands and become the mistress of the town.

The lights shone down, and both protagonists looked into the mirror, but behind the mirror was the other person. If the mirror was removed, they would look like they were face to face.

The Alpha’s face was lost in the delusion of love, the Omega’s face showed the ambition for power—similar yet different.

The story began to develop. The Alpha meticulously orchestrated multiple accidental encounters. His makeup and clothing became increasingly handsome. He didn’t hesitate to express his affection, pursuing his love madly and persistently. The Omega went from initial disgust to subsequent surprise and emotion. Anyone could see her hesitation. Finally, in an act of heroism, the Omega accepted his proposal.

The uncle was greatly relieved, agreeing to their marriage and deciding to hand over the fiefdom and the Omega to the young Alpha.

This was a win-win situation.

But the play was only a third of the way through. The beginning had been quite cliché. If not for the actors’ good performances, Gu Xin would have already been sleepy.

Soon, the wedding began. The Omega smiled radiantly, her hand being passed from her uncle’s to the Alpha’s. The handsome young man’s face was flushed with excitement and happiness, as if he couldn’t imagine truly possessing such a love.

The priest asked the Alpha if he was willing to take her as his wife? Whether in poverty or wealth, in sickness or health, would he cherish her forever?

The Alpha couldn’t wait to say “I do.”

The priest asked the Omega if she was willing to take him as her husband?

Just as the Omega was about to say “I do,” the lights suddenly dimmed. The lively wedding scene plunged into darkness, leaving only the female protagonist illuminated by a spotlight, her movement frozen, time suspended.

Crash, the mirror behind the priest shattered loudly, breaking the silence.

A figure rushed out from within, their voice hoarse and unpleasant, making people instinctively cover their ears. She or he roared in despair: “I object!”

What an ugly face it was! Bloodied and terribly disfigured, dense pits and yellowish-black pus covered their whole appearance. Beneath the unkempt hair, only their almost-crazed eyes could be seen.

Many audience members were startled by the realistic makeup, and a collective gasp went through the audience seating.

The figure rushed to the Omega in a frenzy: “I object! I object!”

The Omega was startled awake. She lost her composure and took two steps back, horrified: “Who are you! Why are you here!”

But the figure could only scream “I object!” After a brief struggle, the Omega forcefully pushed them away. The lights dimmed again. When they relit, everything was normal, and the wedding continued. Everyone was watching her, waiting for the bride’s answer.

The Omega looked around blankly, as if hallucinating. There was no trace of the ugly figure’s appearance.

She finally said “I do.” Everyone burst into cheers, and the wedding proceeded smoothly. No one noticed the shards of the mirror lying quietly behind everyone.

The story continued.

But Gu Xin was completely rigid.

Her right hand involuntarily twitched. A phantom pain was squeezing her nerves, stimulating her brain. A buzzing sound rang in her ears, making it difficult to hear what the actors were saying.

Gu Xin quickly placed her other hand over the disobedient one, trying to control the spasms and relieve the physiological anomaly, but no matter what she tried, it wouldn’t stop.

Her body was instinctively trembling, and instinct was not controlled by reason.

The moment the strange person appeared, Gu Xin knew who she was.

When no one else could distinguish the person’s gender, a voice in Gu Xin’s mind was screaming. It was shouting, Yan Shuangshuang, Yan Shuangshuang!

Was that her own voice?

It was, yet it seemed not to be.

Because Gu Xin had never called Yan Shuangshuang’s name with such utter desperation before.

Yan Shuangshuang had lost her proud appearance and her sensual voice. She was dressed in a terrifyingly ugly manner, appearing on the stage in tattered clothes. No one knew she was Yan Shuangshuang. She fearlessly and brokenly portrayed a mad soul, as if this madness had grown out of her own being. The despair she brought seized the audience’s nerves like a tsunami, and everyone heard the wail from her heart.

Such an overbearing emotion. Everyone held their breath.

Gu Xin’s nerves were somewhat scrambled. Her mind flashed repeatedly back to Yan Shuangshuang’s brief appearance, her every word and action, her eyes and face—such ugly makeup, but, that was Yan Shuangshuang. Her despair felt so familiar, as if Gu Xin had personally witnessed a despair deeper than this.

Tears suddenly soaked Gu Xin’s eyes. Her hands were still trembling, but she still touched her tears—wet and warm.

The iceberg forcibly suppressed the volcano. No matter how the magma surged beneath, it firmly blocked the exit.

But as Gu Xin’s tears flowed more and more, this enormous iceberg quietly cracked open a tiny seam.

Gu Xin still couldn’t recall how she had loved Yan Shuangshuang. All the emotions of the past were always separated by a thin membrane. Although she was being pulled, it was like flowers in a mirror or the moon on the water—she couldn’t grasp any reality.

She occasionally felt frustrated, spacing out over the source-less palpitations and longing.

But she thought, if she had seen this Yan Shuangshuang earlier, perhaps at first sight, she would have willingly believed that this was the person she would fall in love with, because it felt as if someone in the air was chuckling mockingly—See how much pain you are in.