After the Scummy Alpha Marked the Crazy Beautiful Heroine (GL) - Chapter 26.2

“Midsummer is a historical fantasy drama centered around a powerful female lead. Pei Jiuyao portrays an ordinary woman who plays a pivotal role in leading the heroine down a dark and demonic path.”

In costume, Pei Jiuyao sat quietly adjusting her emotions before the shoot. Her role had no dramatic highs or lows — just calm, everyday nuance.

After ascending to rule the realm, the female lead sacrifices her connection to the Heavens to restore spiritual balance to the mortal world. Though her act is noble, the world brands her selfish. Hunted by all, she escapes wounded to a remote village.

Pei Jiuyao’s character, out gathering herbs, finds her unconscious in the woods and brings her home.

A skilled healer, she tends to the protagonist day and night, slowly nursing her back to health.

By day, Pei Jiuyao collects herbs. The female lead, always dressed in white, meditates in the sunlit courtyard — her aura clearly otherworldly.

Pei Jiuyao never asks questions. Sheng Xia never volunteers answers.

Seven quiet days pass.

On the eighth morning, as Pei Jiuyao leaves with her basket, Sheng Xia — sitting in the courtyard, sipping tea — speaks her first line in days:

“Is your left eye a prosthetic?”

________________________________________

After the shoot, Pei Jiuyao greeted the crew, then discreetly slipped Wen Li’s phone into her pocket.

Sheng Xia approached, her dimples appearing as she smiled. “Miss Pei, want to grab a bite?”

“I’m tired. Gonna rest.”

Pei Jiuyao smoothly tucked the phone deeper into her coat.

“Alright then. See you tomorrow!” Sheng Xia waved sweetly and left with another Omega actress.

When the call connected, it was Chi Qing who answered.

Apparently, the high-and-mighty CEO had temporarily moved into the hospital for her sister. She had even handed the company over to Shen Xinyi.

The wolves of the Chi family — aunts, cousins, and vultures alike — were circling. Now that a nobody legal consultant was in charge, one of them had even tried to organize a press conference to air grievances. Chi Qing shut it down with a single verbal lashing.

Now, with all the time in the world, she spent her days chewing people out.

Ying Ning had subtly warned Wen Li, who in turn openly warned Pei Jiuyao.

In short:

Stay away from those two Chi family lunatics.

And why “two lunatics,” exactly?

They said that after Chi Qing confiscated Chi Yang’s phone, she launched into a half-hour-long lecture — starting with the history of ABO development and ending with a righteously indignant treatise on harmonious intergender relations — before earning herself a well-deserved sedative injection.

When Wen Li handed the phone to Pei Jiuyao, her expression carried a touch of helplessness.

“I used to think it was Chi Yang wrapped around your finger. I even felt sorry for her for a long time. But now… looks like you’re the unlucky one.”

Pei Jiuyao smiled, revealing a hint of a sharp canine tooth — looking even more like the unlucky one.

Chi Qing answered the call with a voice cold enough to freeze water, her tone barely suppressing her temper.

“Miss Pei, do you not have anything productive to do all day?”

Pei Jiuyao dodged the fire in her tone. “Chi Qing-jie, is Chi Yang still not awake?”

There was a brief silence on the other end. Maybe Chi Qing realized losing her temper at Pei Jiuyao wasn’t worth it.

“She’s actually doing well today.”

“Watch your wording when you talk to her. Try not to… provoke her.”

Provoke her?

How? In what way?

Pei Jiuyao didn’t quite understand, but still obediently replied with a soft, “Okay,” and waited for Chi Qing to hand the phone to Chi Yang.

“Hello, Pei Jiuyao.”

She sounds back to normal, Pei Jiuyao thought.

Actually, she sounded… quite good.

“What are you up to?”

Chi Yang sat on the hospital bed, shifted her legs, and took a sip from the nutritional drink beside her.

Pei Jiuyao’s end of the call was noisy — bustling sounds in the background.

Chi Yang slowly pulled the blanket over herself, unfastening her wristband.

Pei Jiuyao’s voice was a little quiet.

“Just wrapped a scene. Heading back to the hotel now.”

“Not getting dinner?” Chi Yang unbuttoned her collar slightly and pressed on the back of her neck.

Her pheromones still carried a faint trace of Pei Jiuyao’s scent — but since it wasn’t a full mark, it wasn’t too noticeable.

“I’ll eat at the hotel. Don’t feel like going out again.”

“Mm. So when are you coming back?” Chi Yang asked.

Of course. Back to this topic again.

Didn’t Chi Qing say she was feeling good today? She still doesn’t sound great.

Pei Jiuyao, following Wen Li, casually changed the subject.

“Did Ying Ning say when you can be discharged?”

“Hmm… should be soon.” Chi Yang replied.

Pei Jiuyao noticed Chi Yang’s breathing sounded a bit heavy, and her voice seemed off.

“Are you okay?” It was getting chilly; Pei Jiuyao switched the phone to her other hand.

“I… mm, I’m fine.” Chi Yang’s voice was faint and halting.

Pei Jiuyao held the phone, a little confused.

Suddenly, Chi Yang let out a soft moan and called Pei Jiuyao’s name in a breathy tone.

Pei Jiuyao froze on the spot.

“What… what are you doing?”

“Me?” Chi Yang gave a low, teasing laugh. Her voice was laced with seduction.

“Come back and see for yourself.”

Pei Jiuyao’s lashes trembled. She asked in a whisper,

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Huh? I’m great.” Chi Yang’s voice turned slightly petulant.

“You think I’m sick too, don’t you? You’re all the same.”

“I’m completely fine. I’m the most normal I’ve ever been.”

“Okay, okay — you’re extremely normal.” Pei Jiuyao replied confusedly.

Normal? Is panting on the phone like this supposed to be normal?

So this was what Chi Qing meant when she said she was “in high spirits” today…

Now who’s provoking who?

“Pei Jiuyao,” Chi Yang’s voice was sweet and sticky. “Come back soon. I want to taste your pheromones.”

That sentence sounded exactly like “I want to eat you.”

Pei Jiuyao didn’t know how to respond. She said seriously,

“You should eat real food first, not think about pheromones.”

“Pfft, it’s not because I miss you.” Chi Yang sounded like she turned over in bed, her voice clingy and languid.

“I was just asking when you’re coming back.”

“I’m your sponsor, after all. Is it wrong for me to ask when you’ll be back?”

“Not at all.” Pei Jiuyao answered softly.

No problem at all — but the real Chi Yang would never call herself anyone’s “sponsor.”

She probably forgot she was the one who wanted to cancel the agreement in the first place.

“Probably in three days.”

“Three days?” Chi Yang’s tone cooled, voice regaining clarity.

“Then hang up. Chi Qing’s about to take my phone again.”

After the call ended, Pei Jiuyao got into the car — but she didn’t recover for a long while.

“You cold?” Wen Li touched Pei Jiuyao’s cheek, expecting it to be chilled red — only to find it burning hot.

“You have a fever?”

“Ah, no.” Pei Jiuyao shook her head and covered her face with both hands.

________________________________________

The next day was the scene where the female lead is emotionally transformed.

She asks the plain-clothed woman about her injured eye.

Pei Jiuyao, playing the woman, replies: she once saved a cultivator, who discovered her left eye could see into life and death — so they took it.

Sheng Xia, usually detached from worldly matters, showed a rare trace of emotion in her gaze.

“Do you regret it?”

She didn’t ask whether Pei Jiuyao hated them — perhaps because she had seen too much suffering. Hatred had long burned away.

Only the question of conscience remained.

Pei Jiuyao smiled faintly, still pouring tea.

“I’m no saint. I hate her — but I don’t regret it.”

Sheng Xia’s expression softened briefly, as if a divine being had suddenly descended into the mortal world.

Wen Li had been right — Sheng Xia had a bright future. She was the kind of actress who could draw you fully into the scene.

Her layered emotions and subtle gestures had even pulled Pei Jiuyao into a deep sense of empathy.

“Why no regret?” The heroine stared into Pei Jiuyao’s eyes, trying to find some lingering obsession.

But Pei Jiuyao met her gaze with calm composure and asked in return,

“If you could live your life again, would you still seal the Heavenly Gate?”

“You knew who I was, yet you still saved me.” Sheng Xia didn’t seem surprised.

She was already tainted with demonic energy — what was one more life? Even if she ended up slaughtering the very people she once saved, it meant little now.

In her mind, this woman — dressed in simple robes yet so composed — likely planned to hand her over to the righteous sects. Maybe they were already on their way.

Instead, Pei Jiuyao sat down beside her.

“If you lived again, you would still choose to close the gate — because you’ve always cared only about that moment’s outcome, not the world’s judgment afterward.”

“Just like I saved you — if you choose to kill me now, I can’t stop you. But even if I lived again, I would probably still save you.”

Pei Jiuyao lowered her gaze with a small smile. Her artificial eye turned slightly in its socket — half-real, half-false — unclear and unreadable.

But Sheng Xia stared at her for a long time.

She was waiting for a reason to lay down her sword.

“But in this world, nothing ever really needs a reason. You have your path to walk — and I have mine.”

Sheng Xia noticed a faint glow radiating from Pei Jiuyao’s coarse robes.

“I’ve made my choice. Not for the sake of righteousness, but because I want to become the person I want to be. Even if I must go alone against the world, I will go.”

“If your faith breaks this easily, then what was the point of your pursuit? If people only care about how they’re remembered, then there will be no future left to speak of.”

The heroine never thought she’d be moved — by a rural healer, no less.

She recalled the vow she made when she took her first teacher. Remembered her youthful dream of saving the world. Remembered how she swore an oath with her life when she sealed the Heavenly Gate.

Now that her grand path had nearly reached its end — she was being undone by the very peace and prosperity she had helped create.

What a cruel joke.

Suddenly, the inner demons in her heart dissipated. When the righteous sects finally arrived to slay the so-called “demon,” they were stunned to see her surrounded in divine golden light, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

She became the world’s only living Buddha.

The shoot had gone until nearly midnight by then.

As Pei Jiuyao looked into the heroine’s eyes, her vision flickered — for a split second, she thought she saw Chi Yang’s face.

Director Zheng immediately called,

“Cut!”

Pei Jiuyao snapped out of it — the figure was gone.

“Jiuyao, your expression was off just now. Let’s do another take.”

It was a small mistake, and given how late it was, Director Zheng didn’t push too hard. She just asked for an extra close-up.

After the scene, Pei Jiuyao went to find Wen Li — only to notice something off about her expression.

Wen Li, unusually serious, patted her on the shoulder.

“Chi Yang is here.”