The Salted-Fish Alpha and the Actress Got Their Marriage Certificate - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“There should’ve been a better way.” Ye Cike nonchalantly brushed off the dust that had accidentally gotten on her hand. “But I couldn’t be bothered to think too hard, so I just went with the fastest method.”

During their susceptible period, alphas didn’t think much and acted purely on instinct. Ye Cike was no exception.

But before she completely lost her rationality, she could still rely on the faint scent of grass on her hand to recall that frail, tail-flicking white cat.

Xi Ling was getting through her heat period with suppressants, and it was best not to expose her to an alpha’s pheromones during this time.

Meng Gujin was a piece of trash and couldn’t be allowed near Xi Ling, so Ye Cike had to deal with the problem.

And since she couldn’t control her own pheromones, she was a danger herself and had to leave.

Ye Cike lowered her gaze, her restlessness growing stronger. Her right hand suddenly clenched, nails digging into her flesh, nearly drawing bl00d.

She wanted to go back and check if Xi Ling had eaten dinner properly.

But she couldn’t.

Ye Cike stepped on Meng Gujin’s fingers, her expression listless, though her actions were ruthless. She ground her foot down hard, and Meng Gujin’s face turned as pale as if it had been coated with paint.

“Stay away from her. If you can’t control yourself, I don’t mind helping you.”

She kicked him a few more times as she spoke, but her gaze had already shifted elsewhere, not giving the person beneath her feet a second thought.

The pheromone concentration around them was already alarmingly high, enough to suppress Meng Gujin’s glands into temporary uselessness.

This was also an alpha’s mating instinct, meant to eliminate rivals, but Ye Cike was using it to teach this piece of trash a lesson.

Meng Gujin nodded without hesitation. The sharp pain in his fingers and the swelling in his glands left him no choice but to agree.

Even so, he couldn’t help cursing inwardly, muttering that Xi Ling wasn’t her omega! Once he got back, he’d make this damned couple pay!

“Get lost.”

At Ye Cike’s command, Meng Gujin struggled to his feet, feeling like his entire body was falling apart. When he touched his head, his hand came away covered in bl00d.

He limped toward the light, gradually disappearing from Ye Cike’s view.

Having dealt with the trouble in an unconventional way, Ye Cike pulled her suitcase from the corner, her face cold as she left the small village.

A film crew’s car was parked on the road outside. She was going to drive herself to the airport to catch the earliest flight that night.

Because she left in a hurry, the lively courtyard was soon left behind, reduced to a tiny speck of light.

Ye Cike glanced back, and for a moment, the cold lines of her face softened. Her downturned lips gave off an indescribable sense of grievance.

“She’s not mine.”

Her fingertips gently rubbed the silk scarf in her hand, and in the end, Ye Cike couldn’t resist taking a soft sniff.

The evening party was still ongoing, with glasses clinking and voices mingling. Xi Ling took another sip of the juice in her cup, patiently listening to the Director ramble about his past.

Until a commotion arose in the crowd. Xi Ling turned her head and immediately spotted Meng Gujin, covered in mud and bl00d.

His expensive clothes were stained with grass, dirt, and bloodstains.

Meng Gujin himself was a mess, with a wound on his forehead still bleeding profusely. His once-handsome face was utterly ruined by his ferocious expression.

He staggered as he walked, no trace left of the refined young man he once was.

Xi Ling could barely suppress the amusement in her eyes.

No one was as honest as Ye Cike. When she said she’d beat someone up, she really did.

“What happened to you?” Several staff members hurriedly gathered around, and someone was sent to fetch a first-aid kit.

Meng Gujin was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot, clearly seething with anger.

He gritted his teeth and spat, “It was—”

“Did you trip and fall?”

A gentle voice interrupted him, soft but clear enough for everyone to hear.

He followed the sound and saw Xi Ling gently swirling the glass in her hand. The rhinestones at the corner of her eyes sparkled under the light, like a tear caught mid-fall.

With her delicate and docile appearance, her brows slightly furrowed and her autumn-water eyes filled with concern, she embodied the tender softness expected of an omega to the fullest.

For a moment, Meng Gujin almost believed Xi Ling had nothing to do with Ye Cike.

But he quickly recalled the scenes from the past few days—the two of them always together. To believe they were innocent? He’d never buy it.

The pain in his fingers throbbed relentlessly, and Meng Gujin practically growled through his throat, “It was Ye—”

“Too dark out at night?” Xi Ling tilted her head, cutting him off again.

She walked toward him calmly, as if she didn’t notice the hostility in his eyes.

Even if others sensed something was off, no one dared to intervene. Even the first-aid kit wasn’t handed over in a hurry.

The atmosphere was too strange; no one dared to act rashly.

Xi Ling’s brows remained furrowed, as if recalling something. “A few days ago, Qu Weiyue told me that two months ago, she tripped and fell on set because a staff member gave her the wrong directions.”

Meng Gujin’s heart skipped a beat. Words of rebuttal were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t utter a single one.

Qu Weiyue—the omega he’d forcibly marked. And that incident happened exactly two months ago.

Xi Ling continued, “I comforted her back then, saying it was lucky she had a recorder pen, or how would she have gotten compensation?”

She stood right in front of Meng Gujin, fragile enough to seem like she’d fall with a push. Yet Meng Gujin was already too panicked to muster any strength. Sweat stung his wounds, but he had no time to wipe it away.

He knew exactly what vile things he’d said back then. The so-called susceptible period was nothing but a laughable excuse.

“Qu Weiyue said she couldn’t find a way to resolve it, so it was left unsettled.” Xi Ling raised her eyes, her lips still curved in a faint smile, but her gaze was like a deep, still pond—cold and unfathomable.

Her tone suddenly lightened, almost cheerful. “But that’s okay. I have a way.”

That slightly upturned lilt in her voice sent Meng Gujin’s heart soaring with dread, unable to settle.

This was a naked, unmasked threat.

Instinctively, Meng Gujin wanted to use his pheromones to force Xi Ling to shut up, but the throbbing pain at the back of his neck reminded him that his glands had been rendered useless by the overwhelming alpha pheromones.

Xi Ling’s smile deepened. Under the lights, she looked sweet and lovely, perfectly fitting the stereotypical image of an omega.

She took the first-aid kit from a staff member standing frozen nearby and glanced at Meng Gujin. “So, how did you end up like this?”

Meng Gujin’s fingers trembled violently. Bl00d had flowed into his eyes, blurring his vision until all he could see was a vague white figure. But his mind had never been clearer, and he came to a stark realization.

Xi Ling was no tame lamb.

She was merely cloaked in soft fur, hiding sharp claws that could strike a prey’s throat at any moment, drawing bl00d with a single blow.

His cracked lips moved for a long time before, under Xi Ling’s unwavering gaze, he swallowed hard and rasped, “I fell.”

“I didn’t see the path clearly at night and fell!”

Afraid she hadn’t heard, he repeated it.

Xi Ling nodded gently, then handed over the first-aid kit with concern in her voice. “Hurry and treat your wounds. It’ll be trouble if they get infected.”

The Director, silent until now, finally seized his chance. He grabbed the first-aid kit, subtly stepping in front of Xi Ling to shield her.

“It’s fine now, Xi Ling. Go handle other things. We’ve got this.” He waved a hand, calling over others to help tend to Meng Gujin’s wounds.

Xi Ling obediently walked out of the crowd and found a dimly lit spot to smooth her hair. She pulled out her phone, which displayed a message from half an hour ago.

[Ye Cike: Don’t go to the backyard. There’s residual pheromone.]

Her face expressionless, she typed, her slender fingers dancing across the screen.

[Are you okay?]

She didn’t know how long she waited, but eventually, the crowd dispersed, and the lights gradually went out.

Xi Ling lowered her eyes. The message was still unread.