I Heard I Was the Scumbag Alpha of a Top-Tier Celebrity (GL) - Chapter 9

Yan Shuangshuang’s mood hadn’t been good since she learned Gu Xin went to the Capital.

She had just come out of her mother’s apartment. Facing a woman who was equally cold and astute, Yan Shuangshuang’s acting skills failed to fool her.

In just a few words, Yan Chuxiang had uncovered Yan Shuangshuang’s true predicament.

She remembered the beautiful, intimidating woman elegantly sipping her tea and sharply pointing out that Yan Shuangshuang was merely wasting time. Their marriage had entered an unhealthy phase, and if Yan Shuangshuang didn’t want the rest of her life ruined, she’d better cut her losses immediately.

Yan Shuangshuang said, “I’m preparing to divorce her.”

Yan Chuxiang took a lukewarm sip of tea: “‘Preparing’ is the future tense. You can’t bear to let go, so there’s still a ‘preparation.'”

Yan Shuangshuang smiled bitterly: “Mom, don’t expose me.”

“Have you signed the divorce agreement?”

“Signed it.”

“When are you going to file?”

“She said Monday.”

Yan Chuxiang frowned: “The sooner the better. If you drag it out, I’m afraid you’ll change your mind.”

Yan Shuangshuang was already depressed, but her mother’s words amused her: “I never change my mind about things I’ve decided.”

Now it was Yan Chuxiang’s turn to smile. She put down her teacup with a half-smile: “Once you met Gu Xin, your word stopped counting.”

Yan Shuangshuang choked, having to admit her mother was right.

Recalling this, Yan Shuangshuang raised her hand and repeatedly checked the message on her phone screen.

Unlike Gu Xin’s side, Yan Shuangshuang’s chat history with Gu Xin was perfectly preserved.

During the peak of their love, their WeChat records were sparse. Because Gu Xin was impatient, she was always rushing to see her, either asking where she was or arranging when to meet; she could hardly bear to be apart for a moment. At that time, Yan Shuangshuang’s roommate nicknamed them “Campus Lovebirds,” they were incredibly clingy. This was also Yan Shuangshuang’s happiest time.

The chat records were most numerous immediately after they got married. Gu Xin seemed to have suddenly unlocked a ‘sweet talk’ skill, often saying mushy things. Yan Shuangshuang wasn’t used to it but tried to adapt. It was also from this time that Gu Xin started spending money lavishly. Yan Shuangshuang was often so charmed she lost her bearings. Later, after graduation, Yan Shuangshuang struggled in the entertainment industry and finally became a hit, and it was also from this time that Gu Xin’s descent became obvious.

Even now, Yan Shuangshuang didn’t understand why a person would change so much after entering a marriage.

They had clearly overcome their most difficult days, but the person who held her hand in the darkness and said they would never separate was the first to leave, leaving her alone to wander in the vows.

Yan Shuangshuang hesitated for a while, then, out of a softness she herself was unwilling to admit, she made a call.

It rang until the busy signal, and no one answered.

Yan Shuangshuang frowned, a layer of chill creeping onto her face.

*

When she woke up the next morning, the sky was drizzling, shrouding the entire world in a hazy mist.

Unlike the somber tone of the Qingming Festival itself, the rain was not sticky. It fell continuously, a fine drizzle, but it was surprisingly crisp and clean. It was as if pedestrians could simply shake their clothes and shed some sadness and pain, then step forward.

Gu Xin only saw Yan Shuangshuang’s missed call when she woke up in the morning. Her expression was stunned, and she took a long time to fully wake up.

The three characters ‘Yan Shuangshuang’ had a powerful impact. Gu Xin had to suppress the pain in her heart and take many deep breaths, but she couldn’t bring herself to press the redial button.

The first thing she remembered turned out to be the death of her loved ones. During that time, half-awake and half-dreaming, Yan Shuangshuang was by her side. She was in pain, and Yan Shuangshuang was in pain, too.

It was only past seven in the morning; it was too early to call back. Gu Xin didn’t have time for breakfast and decided to go to the institute first.

However, upon reaching her destination, she realized how heavily guarded the institute was. No matter what she said, the armed PLA officers at the gate would not let her in.

Gu Xin sighed at the closed iron gate and silently hurried back.

Her memory was fragmented, hazy, and as elusive as the Qingming rain, but the pain was deeply imprinted in her mind. A slight touch, and her heart would suddenly clench.

This pain urged her, supervised her, compelling her to remember quickly and then properly face her life.

Gu Xin was not prepared to turn back just like that. The word ‘give up’ wasn’t in her dictionary. She quickly turned a corner and arrived at W University next door. Gu Xin had discovered during her search yesterday that Professor An Pingyu had several well-known students doing research at W University.

There were many students going in and out. Thanks to Gu Xin’s simple clothes and scholarly demeanor, the security guard didn’t stop her at all. She easily slipped in behind a student.

But Gu Xin overestimated her ability to navigate. She stood bewildered at a fork in the road, checking her navigation, then the path, completely lost as to where to go.

Just as Gu Xin was contemplating whether to randomly grab a student for directions, an astonished voice called out from behind: “Gu Xin?”

Gu Xin turned around. The person who called her was a slender young man, who looked to be in his thirties. He wore a brown jacket and thick black-rimmed glasses, holding an umbrella in one hand and a document bag tucked under the other arm. He was clearly a research Omega. He looked at her with a complicated expression: “It really is you.”

Gu Xin said, “Hello, do you know me?”

The young man was stunned: “That’s not a funny joke.”

Gu Xin said, “If you know me, you know I never joke about things I remember.”

The young man realized that Gu Xin’s expression was serious, not feigned, and finally spoke in disbelief: “You really don’t remember?”

“Yes, my memory only goes back to the day before yesterday. If you want to hear more, let’s find somewhere else to talk.”

The young man rubbed his hands and then scratched his head in shock. The class bell rang at that moment. He snapped back to attention, hurried forward, and signaled her to follow: “Go to my office first. In two hours, after my class, we’ll talk in detail.”

Gu Xin was self-aware: “I don’t know the way. What class are you teaching? Can I attend?”

The young man stopped and looked at her with a look of near helplessness: “With your level, attending this kind of class? Are you waiting to pick out flaws?”

Gu Xin sighed: “My mind is completely blank right now. Forget knowledge; there’s not even water in there.”

The young man finally agreed. He told Gu Xin to enter through the back door and he would follow. The two entered the classroom one after the other.

As soon as Gu Xin sat down, the boy next to her asked, “Which class are you in? I’ve never seen you before.”

Gu Xin said, “I’m auditing.”

The boy understood: “Another person fooled by Teacher An. Give up. Teacher An is married.”

Gu Xin looked at the young man on the podium, then at the boy, not understanding how he came to that conclusion, but she shook her head seriously: “I’m married too.” Although it would soon be dissolved.

The boy was clearly a poor student. Gu Xin, when not releasing pheromones, was very calm and looked like a gentle, approachable Beta.

He easily assumed Gu Xin was also a poor student who only looked at faces, and earnestly advised Gu Xin not to think that good-looking people were gentle when they got down to business. Last semester, Teacher An failed two-thirds of the class; he was an absolute devil. If she had chosen Teacher An’s course, she should drop it quickly, or she would regret it sooner or later.

Unfortunately, due to Gu Xin’s presence, their corner was a focal point for the young man.

The young man was quickly distracted and called out by name: “The girl sitting in the back corner on the left, please come up and write the formulas for continuous periodic signals and discrete periodic signals.”

The boy instantly shut up. The classroom fell silent. Gu Xin looked around, then met the young man’s gaze, pointing at her nose silently: Me?

The young man neither confirmed nor denied.

Gu Xin was shocked. She thought he was an acquaintance, but he could still trick her like this?

In the young man’s gentle yet irresistible gaze, Gu Xin nervously walked up to the front. Everyone watched her with the eyes reserved for a brave warrior. The embarrassment made Gu Xin curl her toes.

She picked up the chalk. The dark green blackboard filled her entire field of vision, making her want to write something on it, but Gu Xin’s mind was a blank slate.

Continuous periodic signals, discrete periodic signals.

What on earth were these?

After a five-second pause, Gu Xin hardened her heart and put chalk to board. Even if she wrote gibberish, the young man couldn’t do anything to her.

But magically, the moment the chalk touched the blackboard, her hand seemed to have a consciousness of its own, fluently and smoothly writing two formulas.

Both correct.

Write something more, write something more.

Gu Xin followed her impulse and wrote another section of the formula. She began to hypothesize and deduce on her own. Strings of formulas emerged from her mind. Known results automatically became part of the deduction. She skipped many steps because her calculation progress was already ahead of what she was writing on the blackboard. Her hand only had time to write down the rough outline.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment. The whole world was just herself. Gu Xin was immersed in her own ocean. She kept writing and writing. The shocked gazes of the people around her were not worthy of any attention. All that mattered was the present moment.

The fluid strokes ended with the sound of the chalk breaking. Snap, the piece of chalk that was almost finished broke sharply. The shield separating Gu Xin from the outside world was broken. She suddenly woke up, staring blankly at the blackboard she had filled.

Every character was familiar, and every character was foreign. What did she write?

The young man’s complicated gaze fell on her. He looked at the blackboard, then at Gu Xin, and said, “Alright, you can go back.”

He didn’t erase the blackboard.

Gu Xin walked back to her seat light-headed, not even noticing the boy’s look of admiration.

She sat down and zoned out, remaining stunned until the class ended, and the students left one after another, leaving only the young man and Gu Xin in the classroom.

The young man unscrewed his cup, took a sip of water, and walked over to Gu Xin.

He said, “This was your last research topic before you left the institute. After you left, no one could follow your line of thought. The professor put it aside, and surprisingly, it was shelved for three years.”

As if struck by a loud bell, Gu Xin violently shuddered. Tiny fragments of memory rushed up instantly. A stinging, dull pain made her clench her jaw.

The young man seemed unaware. He looked at her calmly: “You say you have amnesia, but your instincts still remember, even the breaking point is exactly the same as three years ago. Gu Xin, welcome back to the world of physics.”

*

After talking with the young man for over two hours and having lunch, Gu Xin had a general idea of the first half of her life. Only then did she send a WeChat message to Yan Shuangshuang: [Yes, I’m in the Capital.]

The next second, Yan Shuangshuang’s call came in.

“Hello?”

Yan Shuangshuang’s cold voice sounded in her ear, asking the same question: “Why are you going to the Capital?”

The image of Yan Shuangshuang in tears flashed through Gu Xin’s mind. When she spoke again, her voice was slightly hoarse: “I came to ask my teacher a question.”

“Teacher An?” Yan Shuangshuang guessed correctly immediately. She said, “Teacher An retired two years ago. Although she’s still at the institute, if you go directly to the institute, you’ll be stopped.”

Gu Xin didn’t mention that she had found Teacher An’s son, her Senior Brother, and instead said, “There’s always a way, right?”

Yan Shuangshuang couldn’t help but jab at her: “Then what about our divorce?”

Gu Xin: “I’ll be back on Monday.”

“You.” Yan Shuangshuang laughed out of exasperation. “Quite true to your word.”

Yan Shuangshuang couldn’t resist lighting a cigarette. A surge of nameless anger didn’t leave with the smoke; instead, it burned hotter.

Gu Xin heard the click of the lighter at her end and was silent for a while: “Let’s talk nicely. Don’t smoke.”

Yan Shuangshuang deliberately clicked the lighter repeatedly, making sure Gu Xin heard it: “Who are you to lecture me?”

Gu Xin sighed: “I’m not lecturing you. I’m worried about your lungs.”

“They’re my lungs.”

“I’m worried about your teeth.”

“They’re my teeth.”

Gu Xin said: “Okay, then I’m lecturing you.”

“You can’t lecture me anymore.” Yan Shuangshuang took a deep drag and blew a perfect smoke ring, but her eyes were red. “So childish.”

“Mhm.”

“Boring.” Yan Shuangshuang’s tears began to fall in large drops. Her fingers, holding the cigarette, trembled. The sobs were no longer hidden. “Marrying you was so boring.”

Gu Xin was silent for a long time. Her shallow breathing was audible near Yan Shuangshuang’s ear, but Yan Shuangshuang could no longer feel any sweetness or flutter. This relationship had finally reached its end.

Yan Shuangshuang said: “Hurry back. Don’t delay the divorce.”

Before Gu Xin could even say ‘Good,’ Yan Shuangshuang had hung up the phone.

Gu Xin didn’t hear Yan Shuangshuang’s loud crying on the other end, and Yan Shuangshuang didn’t hear Gu Xin’s silent “Don’t cry” on this end. Emotions were released in their respective spaces, overwhelming both of them like a flood.

They were like two people whose timelines crossed, only walking together for a brief distance before brushing past each other.

Yan Shuangshuang could no longer understand anything about Gu Xin.

The golden match, the solemn vows, in the end, were nothing but an empty void.