I Heard I Was the Scumbag Alpha of a Top-Tier Celebrity (GL) - Chapter 20

The rain was truly heavy. Yan Shuangshuang grabbed an umbrella and walked out, her pant legs soaked within two steps.

The wind howled against the umbrella’s canopy. Without strong hands, it was impossible to hold onto.

Yan Shuangshuang struggled to walk up to the person and asked loudly, “Where is the car? What’s the situation?”

Standing at the doorway was the village party secretary, whom she had only met once upon entering the village. He originally looked like a delicate scholar, but now, wearing a thin raincoat and exposed to the downpour, his glasses and hair were a mess, making him look quite disheveled.

He wiped his face, his expression anxious: “The village received word a few days ago that a scientific survey team was coming. This morning, they encountered a torrential rain when entering the mountain. The driver of the lead car didn’t see the road clearly and drove straight into a field. The cars behind didn’t dare to follow. The rain was too heavy, and the car got completely stuck in the mud.”

Yan Shuangshuang’s expression sharpened: “Were the people in the car saved?”

“They were all rescued. The two cars behind are in trouble now. There are over twenty people combined in the two cars, and the vehicles are almost completely stuck in the ground. I heard they are all scientists.”

“I’ll go with you.” Yan Shuangshuang made an immediate decision, ran back inside to grab a towel and change into rain boots, and didn’t forget to bring the window breaker hammer.

He Xin heard the commotion, changed clothes inside, and followed without a word.

The village secretary thanked her repeatedly: “If this wasn’t the closest place, I wouldn’t have come. I heard you are a big production crew, here to film.”

“Saving people is the priority. Let’s not worry about what people do.”

The village secretary thanked her again and again, continuously wiping his face. He said, “We called people to help as soon as we got the news, but those coming in this weather can only walk. Your place is the closest. Thank you for being willing to help, truly, thank you so much.”

He Xin said: “There are more of our crew members in the adjacent buildings. If you need more people, you can go call them. If you see our director, tell her we came over here to help with the rescue.”

The village secretary thanked them repeatedly. After walking together for only five minutes and turning a few corners, Yan Shuangshuang saw three cars on the muddy road: “Is that it?”

The village secretary said, “Yes, yes!”

Looking from a distance, people were already busy, moving back and forth around the cars to rescue the passengers.

The rain was falling even harder, stinging their bodies. He Xin darted out from under the umbrella and said, “We’ll go ahead. You go call for more people.”

“Okay.”

Yan Shuangshuang followed behind He Xin. The ground here was a slope, and her feet slipped abruptly on the mud, but thankfully the rain boots were of good quality. Yan Shuangshuang quickly stabilized herself, carefully folded her umbrella, and approached the first car.

Yan Shuangshuang banged twice on the car door: “Is anyone still inside?”

“Yes!” A female Beta was struggling to pull the car door open. She was slender and looked like someone who spent most of her time sitting in an office without exercising. She was covered in mud, looking very disheveled. “Our team leader is still inside! In the passenger seat! She’s stuck!”

Yan Shuangshuang held up the window breaker hammer and said, “Do you mind if I smash the car?”

“Uh, what?!”

A calm female voice came from inside the car: “It’s fine, I have insurance.”

“Watch out for the glass.” Yan Shuangshuang swiftly and decisively slammed the hammer against the window a few times. Clatter, the glass instantly shattered.

The female Beta immediately reached in to grab the “team leader.” Yan Shuangshuang and the female Beta pulled the person out together. The car rocked a few times in the field, almost two-thirds submerged.

Even after being pulled out, the car would need major repairs.

“Thank you.” The person who emerged straightened her clothes. Only then did Yan Shuangshuang get a good look at the team leader. She wore gold-rimmed glasses, her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her expression was cold. Her appearance was superior, not losing to any newcomer in the entertainment industry.

Even though she was covered in dirt, her demeanor was very calm, and she was constantly directing the rescue.

Yan Shuangshuang felt that this person’s aura was very familiar. She replied, “You’re welcome. Didn’t your car have a window breaker hammer?”

The team leader said: “We borrowed the car from a local. It’s quite old.”

“Ah…”

“No need, I’ll compensate for the damage.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Yan Shuangshuang said, “I only brought one tool. If anyone here is out of strength, they can work as a transporter and go to our place to grab some tools. It might be faster.”

The team leader immediately agreed. She quickly directed two people up the slope to fetch tools. Then she turned and shouted: “Gu Xin! Do you still have strength?”

A voice came distantly from the rear of the second car: “Of course! I exercise every day!”

“Then you stay here. I’m leaving this area completely in your charge. I’ll take the instruments up first!”

The person at the back of the car waved their hand, signaling ‘OK.’

The team leader turned back and asked, “May I borrow your space for a moment? I need to inspect our instruments.”

Ever since she heard the name “Gu Xin,” Yan Shuangshuang felt as if she had been hit by a paralyzing spell. The team leader didn’t get a response for a while and hesitantly adjusted her glasses: “Hello?”

Yan Shuangshuang woke as if from a dream: “Hmm? Instruments? What did you need to do?”

“I’d like to borrow your place to check if our instruments got wet.” The team leader repeated. “If it’s inconvenient, could you please take me to a place where it’s not raining?”

“It’s convenient, convenient. I’ll just go tell my friend first.” Yan Shuangshuang vaguely agreed, her eyes searching around, though she didn’t know who she was looking for. After looking around three or four times, she finally spotted He Xin helping them lift the car. She rushed over and whispered, “I’m taking someone home. The rain is too heavy now. Let them take shelter first.”

He Xin said okay, and Yan Shuangshuang handed the window breaker hammer to her.

Yan Shuangshuang walked quickly, as if being chased by someone: “Come with me.”

*

Gu Xin never thought she would encounter a situation where her car got stuck in the mud halfway through a drive.

They had flown yesterday, arriving in W City in the late afternoon. But since they were on someone else’s territory, they couldn’t just not say hello. Hua Ran went out for dinner with the leadership, and everyone else stayed indoors playing cards without her.

Gu Xin had nothing to do alone, so she went out to wander the night market and even bought a protective talisman.

Then this morning, the talisman fell into the mud.

Damn it, I shouldn’t have been cheap and saved those ten-odd dollars for the consecration ritual.

Gu Xin helped lift the car for half an hour, panting heavily, feeling like she was doing useless work.

Mud and rain streamed down her body, and there were still about twenty people trapped inside the two cars combined. If she rested, what would happen to everyone else?

Gu Xin wiped her face. Just as she was about to ask if there was anything destructive they could use, a tall Omega holding a window breaker hammer approached: “Are you the person in charge here?”

Gu Xin said, “Yes. Are you here to help? Can this be used?”

He Xin said, “If the door won’t open, we’ll have to smash it.”

Gu Xin’s eyes lit up: “Quick, quick, give it to me. I’ll do it. I was just worried about not having the tools.”

Gu Xin took the hammer and, without a second thought, clanged a few times, smashing the first window. The PhD and graduate students inside were all trembling like quails. Seeing Gu Xin smash the window with a poker face, they should have felt she was intimidating and hard to get along with, as they might have before, but at this moment, everyone found her impressive and cool.

“What are you standing around for? Get out!”

As she spoke, Gu Xin smashed the second window, followed by the third car, with an unstoppable momentum, looking very much like a professional wrecker.

Finally, everyone came out one after another, holding hands, each person shaking from the cold rain.

Gu Xin, the car smasher, looked up at the weather station on the hilltop, then at the car halfway up the mountain, with a crowd of lost and fragile researchers behind her like lambs. Finally, she looked at He Xin.

“Is your place far from here?”

He Xin said: “It’s up the slope. You can take shelter there first.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Gu Xin motioned for the people to follow. “The situation is urgent, so we won’t be polite. You can ask our team leader for the accommodation fee, the one who just went up.”

He Xin didn’t say much and led the long line of dozens of people up the slope.

Gu Xin said, “You’re not locals, are you? Your house is so big?”

He Xin said, “The house is rented. We’re only staying here for a few months.”

“Colleagues?”

He Xin pondered the difference between filming and scientific research. She nodded affirmatively: “I guess so.”

They were both working on projects; it was similar enough.

Gu Xin gave a thumbs-up: “Destiny. It’s truly fate to meet in a desolate place like this.”

“If you have a change of clothes, you can use the bathroom to change. If not, we have a small heater here; you can warm up.” He Xin said, “Ah, we’re here. I see our leader. I’ll go over.”

After thanking her, Gu Xin stepped into the yard. The door was wide open, and the people inside had just entered.

Gu Xin was actually very tired. When the car drove into the field, her first instinct was to jump out in time. She had spent the rest of the time exerting strength to save people. Her hand, holding the hammer, was now trembling.

She blinked, wiping the continuous rain from her face with her other semi-dirty hand, also brushing away the slight weariness she had let slip. When she looked up again, she found someone standing at the doorway.

… And it was an acquaintance.