Forced to Pretend to Be an A and Marry the Best Actress Omega - Chapter 10

Yan Chang stood dumbfounded outside, knowing full well she should leave, yet her body remained frozen in place.

At this moment, Xu Mifei’s image in her mind was growing infinitely taller.

“Fire me? You? Just you?” Li Xiuni seemed to have heard the biggest joke of her life. As she leaned closer to Xu Mifei, she lowered her voice, while a faint pulse transmitted from beneath Xu Mifei’s wrist.

It was the pheromone detection chip at work—Li Xiuni was an alpha.

“Little Xu, are you planning to burn the bridge after crossing it?” Li Xiuni narrowed her eyes at her. “If it weren’t for me, how could you have gotten the chance to take those photos with Jiang Lingyu?”

Expressionless, Xu Mifei shoved her phone screen in Li Xiuni’s face, displaying the restored chat logs between Li Xiuni and certain contacts, obtained through technical means.

“Abusing your authority, exploiting artists—are you a manager or a pimp? As for my affairs with Jiang Lingyu, don’t bother. I’ve already come clean with her.” Xu Mifei spoke bluntly. “I’ll give you two choices. One, resign. Two, switch managers—you’ll go to Market Division Four and handle other people. Here’s the contract.”

“And rein in your pheromones. They don’t work on me.” Xu Mifei smirked at her, leaning over the desk with her hands braced on the edge. “What scent is that? So weak, I can barely smell it.”

Provocation—Li Xiuni’s face paled with fury.

Market Division Four was filled with troublesome, well-connected artists who treated the entertainment industry as a playground. Who would want to manage such unruly newcomers?!

Xu Mifei slammed the prepared documents onto the desk in front of Li Xiuni, then lightly tapped the empty wine glass with her fingers.

“Return this glass to Director Zheng yourself.”

Li Xiuni’s expression instantly darkened. “If you think you can just take Jiang Lingyu away from me, Xu Wanzhi won’t let you off.”

“What a coincidence. I was just about to look for her. By the time I return, I expect your office cleared out.” Xu Mifei had barely turned around when Xu Wanzhi walked in.

“Well, well. The sun must be rising from the west today—you actually showed up.”

Xu Mifei studied her eyes. Likely thanks to some special medication and meticulous makeup, Xu Wanzhi bore no trace of last night’s beaten appearance.

“Wanting to change Lingyu’s manager—have you asked for her opinion?” Xu Wanzhi said. “A-Fei, why must you always make decisions for others like this?”

Was she in the way? Xu Mifei owned 30% of the company’s shares and had a say in decisions. She had no intention of playing Xu Wanzhi’s manipulative games. But as she moved to leave, Xu Wanzhi reached out to stop her.

Xu Mifei’s patience finally snapped. “Do I need to report what happens between me and my wife in bed too, Xu Wanzhi? Since when you became such a busybody?”

Xu Wanzhi widened her eyes dramatically. Despite her pure and delicate appearance, her gaze brimmed with arrogance as she feigned hurt. “Last night, Lingyu went back to the company’s recording studio. There’s no need to say such things just to upset me…”

Holy crap! The newlyweds hadn’t even spent their first night together? If word got out, it would be tantamount to confirming rumors of marital strife—proof that Xu Mifei had stolen the engagement.

The door outside had never been fully closed, and countless ears were pressed against it, eager for gossip.

Go ahead and keep pretending.

Xu Mifei also played along, “Sister, if you’re jealous, there’s no need to take it out on others… It’s all thanks to our Lingyu’s dedication to her work. I personally take her there and pick her up—you know her ankle just recovered. Last night, I massaged it for her until late.”

Ahhh, this is so intense! Yan Chang was among those eavesdropping outside, and one of the employees resting their chin on her shoulder voiced the scream in her heart: “Oh my god, is that really just a foot massage? More like foreplay…”

Though her words sounded like complaints, Xu Mifei couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile, her eyes warm and tender. Clearly, she thoroughly enjoyed the delightful task of massaging Jiang Lingyu’s feet.

As long as Jiang Lingyu wasn’t around, Xu Mifei could spout one flirtatious line after another without hesitation. They had an agreement—since they were engaged, they had to act the part.

But after just a few steps, Xu Mifei’s footsteps halted as she spotted the woman striding confidently toward her in high heels.

Xu Wanzhi wore a mocking smile, having caught the brief stiffness in Xu Mifei’s expression. “Lingyu, was what A-Fei just said true? Making up stories just to upset me is a bit much, don’t you think?”

She knew full well that Xu Mifei was a beta. If not for the family’s reputation, she would have exposed Xu Mifei’s lies right then and there.

Xu Mifei’s breath hitched slightly as Jiang Lingyu approached, sensing that she wouldn’t play along—after all, the tension between them last night had been far from pleasant.

Jiang Lingyu frowned as she drew near. “Are you an alcoholic?” She completely ignored Xu Wanzhi’s words, as if the woman weren’t even there, causing Xu Wanzhi’s expression to darken.

“What?”

“You always reek of alcohol.” Jiang Lingyu pinched the lapel of Xu Mifei’s coat, tugging her closer with the slightest pressure.

The scent of alcohol on the fabric was negligible, replaced instead by the lingering warmth of rum—spicy, intense, with a hint of caramel sweetness.

Sweetness was a stimulant that brought the brain joy, while the right amount of liquor could lower one’s guard, lulling them into a tipsy haze.

As their bodies drew near, they looked every bit like a deeply affectionate couple. No one would guess that just last night, they had been wary of each other.

“You were like this last night too,” Jiang Lingyu murmured, a trace of reproach in her voice. “If you smell like alcohol again, don’t come near me.”

To everyone else, her words sounded less like a complaint and more like a coquettish scold—just like Xu Mifei’s earlier remarks.

At that moment, the two-remaining people in the office felt entirely out of place.

Truly worthy of a double-award-winning actress—what… what incredible acting! Xu Mifei was utterly stunned by Jiang Lingyu’s dazzling performance. How could she possibly keep up with such a scene?

Not daring to place her hands on Jiang Lingyu’s waist, Xu Mifei settled for lightly squeezing the back of her hand instead. “Got it. Wait for me, okay? I’m here today to make it up to you. From now on, Li Xiuni won’t be your manager anymore.”

She turned back to Xu Wanzhi, whose expression had soured, and lowered her voice. “No objections, right? After all—this office should have been mine to begin with.”

Li Xiuni’s luxurious office originally belonged to Xu Mifei. After the original owner left the company, Li Xiuni openly moved in, and few knew who the previous occupant had been.

“Of course. I was already planning to have Lingyu change agents and adjust her contract,” Xu Wanzhi soon smiled as well. “Li Xiuni had ulterior motives when she first signed Lingyu. She really shouldn’t continue managing her.”

“It’s all for Lingyu’s benefit—I feel the same way.” Xu Wanzhi leaned closer to whisper in her ear, lowering her eyes with the most harmless of faint smiles. “But… Lingyu and I will be appearing on a show together. It’s just work—I hope you don’t mind.”

“Come out.” Jiang Lingyu’s cool voice snapped Xu Mifei out of her thoughts. Around Jiang Lingyu, Xu Mifei was as obedient as a kitten. She followed Jiang Lingyu out and got straight into the car.

“Where to?” Xu Mifei asked hesitantly. “I have things to do…”

“Thank you for the agent matter.” The words clearly didn’t come easily to Jiang Lingyu, who avoided Xu Mifei’s gaze. “Where do you need to go? I’ll take you.”

In the front seat sat Jiang Lingyu’s personal assistant, Zhao Zhao, who curiously glanced in the rearview mirror. She swallowed her reminder when she met Jiang Lingyu’s sharp look.

Xu Mifei reluctantly gave the hospital’s address, assuming someone of Jiang Lingyu’s fame wouldn’t get out. Yet the car entered the hospital’s VIP lane, and the doctor who examined her was Song Nian, the same beta physician from the night before.

Jiang Lingyu had schedules to attend to and left after escorting Xu Mifei to Song Nian’s office.

Before she left, Xu Mifei called out, “Will you be back tonight?”

“Don’t know.” Without turning, Jiang Lingyu put her sunglasses back on, once more the untouchable superstar.

For now, the warmest, kindest version of Jiang Lingyu Xu Mifei had encountered existed only in the interactive ads on giant screens.

Her hand wound required six stitches.

“Cosmetic sutures. As long as you don’t reopen the injury, there won’t be major scarring,” Song Nian said, pausing at Xu Mifei’s thoughtful expression before adding bluntly, “And it won’t affect your romantic life.”

After all, it was her right hand.

Hands played quite an important role between female partners.

What? Xu Mifei’s ears flushed red as she looked up, catching Song Nian’s implication. “That’s not what I meant, Dr. Song.”

Song Nian didn’t acknowledge this. “That omega from last night is fine. She checked herself out this morning after sobering up.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“Don’t thank me. As Lingyu’s friend, I dislike you too,” Song Nian said coldly. “But you’re my patient now. Lingyu mentioned you accidentally took a strong inhibitor last night—I recommend a bl00d test.”

Song Nian knew there was more to the rumors between Jiang Lingyu and Xu Mifei, though Jiang Lingyu hadn’t revealed the setup.

Given Xu Mifei’s notorious playboy reputation and numerous omega companions, the bl00d test would screen for any concerning conditions.

“A bl00d test? No, that’s unnecessary…” Xu Mifei immediately slid off the exam table. “I’ll be going now.”

“The results will be ready in just a few minutes with the expedited test.” Song Nian noticed Xu Mifei’s guilty movements and alarm bells rang in her head, realizing things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

“Really, there’s no need!”

Song Nian stood up to block Xu Mifei’s path, “Are you actually hiding some illness from Lingyu?” Just as her hand was about to grasp Xu Mifei’s wrist, the latter quickly retreated to the door.

“No, I just remembered I have something else to do.” Xu Mifei lowered her eyes to check her phone, where she’d already received a message from Zhou Siwu.

It was the video Zhou Siwu had mentioned earlier—the one she hadn’t taken.

“You’re acting guilty—you won’t even do a simple bl00d test? You’re getting your marriage license in two days! Providing a clean health report is basic loyalty to your partner!” As Song Nian spoke, her expression suddenly froze before turning slightly angry. “Xu Mifei, are you releasing pheromones?”

The video thumbnail was completely dark, but she instinctively knew it was nothing good.

Two seconds after opening it, the images that appeared made her pupils constrict. The air around Xu Mifei grew several degrees colder.

Her fingers had just touched the door handle when someone abruptly yanked it open. Jiang Lingyu, who should have already left, now stood before Xu Mifei again. She removed her black mask and sunglasses, gripping Xu Mifei’s shoulder as she stepped forward.

Xu Mifei was forced back into the examination room.

“Didn’t you have an event to—”

“Can’t leave.” Xu Mifei now noticed Jiang Lingyu’s slightly heaving chest and slightly breathless tone. “The hospital’s surrounded by fans. Someone leaked that we’re here, saying…”

“That you injured me last night and are secretly bringing me to the ER today because you couldn’t mark me.” Jiang Lingyu stared into Xu Mifei’s eyes as she slowly peeled off the scent blocker on the back of her neck. The bite mark there had nearly completely healed, leaving only the faintest trace.

Reporters and media had arrived too. Whoever leaked their location clearly wanted to escalate things—to let everyone know Xu Mifei couldn’t mark her, to publicize their incompatibility the day after their engagement announcement.

Yet this marriage was currently necessary for both of them. There was no room for mistakes.

The sight was still too overwhelming for Xu Mifei’s eyes.

She heard herself ask, “…What do you want me to do?”

“Bite me again. Leave a mark.” Jiang Lingyu tilted her head slightly and murmured, “Make it deep.”