I Heard I’m the Scumbag Alpha of a Top-Tier Leading Actress? - Chapter 17

Backstage.

Yan Shuangshuang seized the time backstage to drink water. Before this scene, she had gone almost five hours without eating or drinking.

If Ying Lu had not said that there was a major scene coming up and asked her to listen to how hoarse her voice had become, Yan Shuangshuang might even have forgotten that she was still acting—she had completely immersed herself in the role, no longer knowing what was inside the play and what was outside it.

The makeup on Yan Shuangshuang’s face was so thick it felt stifling. Because of that, even when drinking water, she was extremely careful. Only at this moment did Yan Shuangshuang’s overheated mind manage to spare a little attention.

At the end of that scene just now, Yan Shuangshuang seemed to have seen someone who absolutely should not have appeared here. At the time, her heart had trembled, but in the end, the character’s emotions had taken the upper hand. She stabilized herself in time and did not break character.

Besides, the lights beneath the stage had been far too dim. She also thought that perhaps it had merely been someone who looked similar, or maybe it was an illusion.

—Then let it be an illusion.

No matter how much that person looked like her, nothing was more important than today’s performance.

Behind Yan Shuangshuang, Ying Lu was writing and sketching, occasionally exchanging opinions with the assistant beside her.

In the tense atmosphere, Ying Lu was like a clear stream. Only her side looked relaxed, as if she were a VIP audience member at the theater.

After Yan Shuangshuang finished drinking water, the makeup artist immediately came forward to touch up her makeup. Outside, the segment between the Omega and Alpha was almost over. Soon, it would be Yan Shuangshuang’s turn to go onstage again.

Ying Lu said to the assistant, “Discuss it with Teacher Sun. The lines need to be a little more decisive. This section is a bit too soft.”

“Also, make the styling for this character uglier in the early stage. Otherwise, it’ll easily steal the spotlight.”

“Have logistics hurry up and rent the vehicle. Let’s move the props in earlier.”

The assistant nodded repeatedly and took notes quickly.

Just as Ying Lu was issuing commands with great authority, Zhong Ying, the director of this stage play, walked over with a smile. “Director Ying, are you using my place to practice?”

“How can you call it practice? I’m obviously here to learn advanced experience.”

Zhong Ying was a petite female Omega. She looked frail, and her appearance was also unremarkable, but it was this kind of director who could find the most suitable state for actors the fastest and draw out their talent. Everyone in the industry knew she had a gift for training actors, though she was terribly grinding.

Ying Lu bringing Yan Shuangshuang here was not without the intention of seeing where Yan Shuangshuang’s limits were.

Zhong Ying neither confirmed nor denied Ying Lu’s teasing. She turned to Yan Shuangshuang and said gently, “Don’t be nervous. I saw you lose focus at the very end just now. Did something happen? You performed very well yesterday. The rehearsal feeling was good.”

As expected of a director, she had seen the abnormality at a glance.

Yan Shuangshuang bit her lower lip and was just about to say something when Ying Lu took over the conversation. “My female lead definitely has no problem. You saw it just now too. What a beautiful voice that was.”

However, for the effect of that one cry, Zhong Ying had slowly ground Yan Shuangshuang down for almost three days. She could not say exactly what was wrong, but she kept making her redo it again and again. By the end, even Ying Lu had watched until she had no temper left and cried out that she had seen a true demon king.

Yan Shuangshuang said in a hoarse voice, “It was a small matter. I’ll adjust properly.”

Zhong Ying smiled. “I believe you. Next is your key scene. Go do well.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a staff member reminded Yan Shuangshuang that it was time to go onstage.

Yan Shuangshuang’s gaze sharpened. She swiftly entered her state, lifted her costume, and walked forward.

Ying Lu raised her chin toward Yan Shuangshuang’s back. “What do you think? My eye for talent isn’t bad, right?”

Zhong Ying said, “Director Ying does have some skill. A discerning eye for pearls.”

“Letting her act in your play was still too risky. I saw she almost couldn’t get out of it. You should cherish my actor a little.”

Zhong Ying said calmly, “Director Ying should have confidence in an actor’s psychological state. I actually think she’s doing quite well.”

“Nonsense. Anyone who goes through your treatment has to shed a layer of skin. If they don’t improve a bit, they won’t survive.”

Zhong Ying laughed. “Is Director Ying complaining on her behalf?”

“Why phrase it so unpleasantly? This is called cherishing talent.” Ying Lu rolled her eyes disdainfully. She pointed and commented toward the stage. “It’s just that the script is a bit weak. Clichéd, unbearably clichéd. Without the actors holding it up, half the audience would run. How did Gu Jingqi write this script? It’s rotten to the core.”

Zhong Ying said slowly, “Don’t be impatient, Director Ying. Keep watching.”

Onstage, a new character appeared.

She had a lovely face and fair skin. Her brows and eyes were clearly sharp, yet they were blurred by the timidity and delicate weakness in her expression.

She was the widow in town. Usually, she made a living as a milkmaid and was one of the targets many libertines liked to tease.

After the Alpha and Omega married, they always seemed to “coincidentally” encounter the widow being bullied. Once, twice—finally, the Alpha could not help stepping in and saving the pitiful widow. The widow was grateful, but because the Alpha was a married man, she had no choice but to keep far away from him.

Yet the admiration and sorrow in her expression were visible to the naked eye.

In the end, the rumors still reached the Omega’s ears. She had a huge fight with the Alpha, then stormed off to see the widow. But the moment she saw the widow’s face, the Omega’s expression changed drastically. Lifting her skirt, she fled in a hurry.

That night, the Omega once again saw the monster in the mirror.

The Alpha returned reeking of alcohol. He said he had gone out to socialize, then came back and gently asked the Omega whether she wanted to have a child together.

Time froze at this moment.

The monster roared and rushed out.

A second before the monster touched her, the Omega said, “I don’t want to.”

As if by magic, the monster abruptly vanished.

The Omega was silent for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

Her uncle’s illness worsened day by day. He had no children, and the only ones taking care of him were the Omega and her husband.

The Omega was devastated, nearly fainting from grief. The Alpha was also beside himself with sorrow, but in private, he repeatedly confirmed with the mayor who exactly would inherit his uncle’s title and fief.

The mayor said, “She loves you so much. Naturally, she’ll give them to you.”

His friend said, “You’re an Alpha. Of course they’ll be given to you.”

But the widow said, “Even if she’s an Omega, as long as you permanently mark her, what’s hers will naturally become yours too.”

Gasps immediately came from the audience. Someone even cursed quietly, “Is she insane?”

A permanent mark was a very sensitive act. In most situations, no one liked hearing about it.

But after the Alpha heard the widow’s words, he felt much better. Happily, he returned home and saw his usually proud wife gently pouring him a cup of wine.

She said, “My dear, for the sake of our future, I’ve made a decision that will be good for both of us.”

He said, “What?”

Snap.

The lights suddenly went out.

After several seconds of silence, a woman’s murmuring voice slowly rose in song.

The lights abruptly came back on. The widow was holding the sleeping Alpha, pressing her face intimately against his as she sat on the ground, swaying while singing a love song.

Wearing the ring that belonged to the lord, the Omega was in a cheerful mood. “A pleasure doing business with you.”

The widow’s expression was still pitiful, but at this moment, it carried an innocent cruelty. She tilted her head and gave a salute. “Madam, thank you for being willing to share him.”

The Omega said, “It’s fine. I no longer need him. He’s yours now.”

The widow—no, the witch—abruptly became delighted. Happily, she took the Alpha and spun him in a circle. “Did you hear that, my dear? You finally belong to me!”

Like a marionette, the Alpha wore an intoxicated yet wooden smile and danced with the witch.

After spinning two or three times, the two suddenly stopped. The witch lovingly stroked the Alpha’s face, leaned closer, and said, “I forgot. You can no longer say those words against your heart.”

The witch said, “How wonderful. I like you staying by my side forever.”

From then on, the Omega never saw the monster again, nor did she ever hear news of the widow and the Alpha again.

Touching her ruined gland, she calmly stepped into old age.

At the end of her life, she heard that there was a jealous monster at the border. Anyone that monster set her sights on would become her plaything.

The Omega said, “What jealous monster? It’s nothing more than a desperate soul plundering the love she cannot obtain.”

From beginning to end, the witch had always believed that the one she loved was the Alpha.

The curtain slowly fell, representing that the play had reached its end.

The audience remained silent for a very long time.

Ying Lu looked silently at everything onstage. She turned to Zhong Ying and said, “Terrifying. If I weren’t sure you didn’t know her past, I’d almost think this role was tailor-made for her.”

Zhong Ying said modestly, “You flatter me. Well? Are you satisfied?”

Ying Lu said, “Completely convinced.”