Marked by the Milk-Soft Alpha I Picked Up (Entertainment Circle) - Chapter 17

Jiang Hui still remembered the first time she saw Guan Yinghan. She was standing under the sycamore tree in front of her house, and the sunlight was dancing on her body through the gaps in the leaves. 

In that moment, Guan Yinghan was bathed in a halo of light, and Jiang Hui’s eyes could not move away from her. The Second Miss of the Guan family was very beautiful, but her personality was arrogant and cold, like an iceberg that was difficult to melt. 

How could Jiang Hui not understand? She put all her effort into giving off warmth, but she still couldn’t melt this iceberg.

But Lin Ruoyun just had to stand there and do nothing, and Guan Yinghan would completely melt in her faint light.

In fact, many things have a predetermined ending from the beginning. All the struggles afterward are just to delay the end of the show. Clinging on looks particularly ugly and pathetic. 

Today, Jiang Hui could finally let go of this unrequited crush, pack up her dignity and self-respect, and quietly retreat to the position of a good friend.

The director’s voice from the loudspeaker in the studio interrupted their conversation. Guan Yinghan turned her head. Lin Ruoyun had already changed into her costume and was adjusting her state, standing by the props table, a meter away from the supporting actor.

 With the director’s “Action,” the supporting actor immediately took a step forward, wrapped his arms around Lin Ruoyun’s slender waist, and leaned in…

Lin Ruoyun shivered, instinctively pushed the supporting actor away, and her face turned almost transparent. The director frowned slightly. The supporting actor held Lin Ruoyun’s shoulders and said soothingly, “Don’t be nervous. It’s just a fake kiss.”

Lin Ruoyun’s head began to throb faintly. A voice was constantly yelling in her ear. “Ruoyun, you can’t film a kissing scene. You can’t film a bed scene…”

The supporting actor noticed her strange behavior and asked with concern, 

“Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. Let’s do it again.” Lin Ruoyun apologized, went back to her original position, and signaled for the director to shoot the second take.

Lin Ruoyun closed her eyes, trying to calm her emotions, but as soon as the supporting actor got close, that familiar voice echoed in her ears again. The moment the supporting actor’s lips came down, Lin Ruoyun pushed her away, painfully clutching her heart and gasping for air.

After a couple of seconds, Lin Ruoyun looked up and was caught off guard by a pair of lonely, sad black eyes. It was Naitang! Guan Yinghan’s eyes were slightly red as she stared at her without moving. 

She couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but Lin Ruoyun felt a glimmer of tears in Naitang’s eyes. The way she looked at her was deep and intense, but also complex, mixed with an indescribable emotion.

Lin Ruoyun’s heart ached. She couldn’t explain the feeling. It was as if the softest part of her heart had been squeezed, and the pain was unbearable. After a long time, Guan Yinghan’s eyes moved slightly, but her gaze was empty. She slowly turned and walked away, step by step.

The surrounding sounds became a blur. Lin Ruoyun couldn’t hear the director’s questions. Her eyes were fixed on that cold, lonely back. A memory suddenly came to her mind. She seemed to have seen it before… seen the exact same back, walking away, forlornly, bit by bit.

******

Guan Yinghan walked silently on the stone path. The cold wind blew across her cheeks, but she didn’t feel the cold.

When Ruoyun was thirteen, her father suddenly got sick and died. In less than a month, her mother couldn’t wait to move into the Qin family’s house. The eldest daughter of the Qin family, Qin Yeli, fell in love with Ruoyun the first time she saw her. 

To see her, she even chased her all the way to Dawan Village.

For Ruoyun’s nineteenth birthday, Qin Yeli meticulously prepared a fireworks show for her, and the expensive gifts were too many to count. On that day, Guan Yinghan used the money she earned from odd jobs to buy a cake and happily went to find Ruoyun. 

When she was almost at Ruoyun’s house, Guan Yinghan saw a small black car parked at the entrance.

She hid in a corner and watched from a distance as Ruoyun’s fair, soft hands were held by the surprised Alpha across from her, who was about to put a pigeon-egg-sized ring on her finger. The wind howled, lifting the hem of Guan Yinghan’s clothes, revealing the small cake she had hidden inside. 

Guan Yinghan looked down, her hands tightly clenching the cake box until her fingertips turned white. Her eyes were red. She couldn’t bear the sight of Ruoyun wearing the ring. She turned around mechanically and walked back, one step at a time.

When she got to the sycamore tree at the head of the village, Guan Yinghan hugged her knees and curled up into a shadow. The mist on her eyelashes turned into tears, which silently fell to the ground in the darkness where no one could see.

Suddenly, a slender, white hand reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks, the movement gentle and slow. Guan Yinghan looked up in a daze.

 “Ruoyun…”

Lin Ruoyun was squatting in front of her, looking at her gently, and holding out her hand. 

“You said you would buy me a cake. Where is it?”

The tears on Guan Yinghan’s face hadn’t dried yet, but her lips involuntarily curved into a smile. Because… She saw that Ruoyun’s fair fingers were bare. Ruoyun hadn’t accepted Qin Yeli.

Lin Ruoyun’s voice was soft and sweet. 

“Where’s the cake? I’m so hungry.”

Guan Yinghan handed the palm-sized cake she had bought with all her money to her and said softly, “Ruoyun, I’m sorry. I only had enough money to buy a small one…”

Lin Ruoyun held the small cake in her hands, her eyes sparkling with joy. 

“It’s tiramisu! My favorite! Thank you, Guanguan.”

After she said that, she held the cake up to her eyebrows, slowly closed her eyes, and made a wish with a sense of ceremony. 

“I hope to celebrate every birthday from now on with Guanguan.”

******

The memories flashed one by one before her eyes. The wind made Guan Yinghan’s eyes sting. She walked forward aimlessly. Her figure cast a long, black shadow on the ground, giving her a lonely and desolate look.

From behind, the sound of high heels approached. Before Guan Yinghan could turn around, she heard Lin Ruoyun’s soft voice. “Naitang…”

Guan Yinghan’s contracting heart was jolted by the sound. She quickly turned around, her eyes fixed in surprise on Lin Ruoyun’s made-up face. She couldn’t look away.

Lin Ruoyun didn’t know why she had chased after her. All she knew was that the moment she saw Naitang’s forlorn back, her legs uncontrollably followed… wanting to hold her and comfort her.

“Naitang, where… where are you going?”

Under the streetlights, the dim, yellow light fell on Guan Yinghan’s upturned nose, hiding one side of her face in the shadows and illuminating the other.

“Sister… can you… only give rewards to me?”

Lin Ruoyun’s breath hitched. Naitang had seen it. She saw the male actor about to kiss her. To an adult, they knew she was just acting, and it was a fake kiss. But to Naitang, it meant that her love was being shared with someone else. 

It was like how a child doesn’t like their mother hugging someone else, subconsciously feeling insecure.

It was Lin Ruoyun’s first time raising a little one, and her first time being so dependent on and needed. She didn’t know how to comfort this jealous, little troublemaker. All she could do was gently pat Guan Yinghan’s head.

“That’s not it, Naitang. My sister wasn’t going to give a reward to anyone else. That wasn’t a reward. It was just acting. It’s all fake.”

She held Guan Yinghan’s hand and walked back to the studio.

 “Everyone is waiting for Sister to go back and continue filming. Time is tight and we can’t be late. Can you be good and follow the production assistant?”

Guan Yinghan’s clenched fist relaxed, and she quietly said, “Okay.” She was only Naitang now. She couldn’t make demands on Ruoyun as Guan Yinghan. Besides, Ruoyun loved acting. Actors couldn’t avoid intimate scenes. She couldn’t be too selfish and interfere with Ruoyun’s passion and freedom.

Lin Ruoyun saw that she had let it go, and her spirits lifted. When she re-entered the studio, she took the initiative to ask the director to reshoot the scene. However, for some reason, the director rejected her suggestion. “I’ve thought about it, and adding a kissing scene would actually seem out of place.”

Lin Ruoyun was puzzled. Just as she was about to ask, Jiang Hui walked over and explained with a smile. “It’s really not a good fit. The supporting actor’s love for the second female lead has always been suppressed. 

And in this scene, he gives up on her for the sake of his family. Since he’s giving her up, he should do it completely. Adding a kissing scene would just ruin the character’s persona.”

The director smiled along. “Hui is right. I didn’t think it through before.”

Lin Ruoyun wasn’t blamed at all and continued filming. Afterward, the director praised her. “Ruoyun, your performance just now was excellent. You expressed the character’s inner pain with just your eyes. Your acting is outstanding, and you have potential.”

Lin Ruoyun lowered her long eyelashes and said softly, “Thank you, Director Lin.”

Everyone in the industry knew that Director Lin was notoriously creative. He would often revise scripts, and he was extremely stubborn and didn’t allow for any debate. Everyone on the crew had to cooperate with his changes. But this time, why did he… so easily reject his own decision?

Lin Ruoyun was very sensitive. She could feel as if a pair of transparent hands were behind her, firmly protecting her and enclosing her in a safe, warm, and comfortable bubble.

Who was it that had so much power to influence Director Lin’s thoughts?