The Scumbag Alpha is Courting Death Again - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Double Skin Milk – Everyone Who Doesn’t Reply to Private Messages Should Be Thrown into a Pig Cage…

The curtains blocked most of the daylight. The room was filled with an unknown fragrance, accompanied by a surging emotion that made the bl00d race. Sunlight passed through the crack, forming a thin line on the floor. With the help of the faint light, one could glimpse a woman kneeling by the wall, struggling to survive like a beast at death’s door.

Is that… Xia Jinzhao?

Ming Xi was disoriented. She was clearly standing in the corner, yet she couldn’t feel the presence of her body, as if she were a disembodied spirit.

A faint moan was accompanied by a strong smell of bl00d. She looked down and saw that bl00d had stained Xia Jinzhao’s nightgown. Red, plum-like stains covered the pure white fabric, a shocking sight.

The woman raised her head, her moist eyelashes veiled in mist. She seemed to be crying, her mouth opening and closing…

Strange, why can’t I hear Xia Jinzhao speak?

The environmental sounds became faint and distant, leaving only a drawn-out buzzing. She could barely make out three words from the shape of her mouth.

Save me.

Pain, like pinpricks, densely stabbed at her heart. Anyone who saw this scene would feel compelled to help.

Ming Xi did try to do so. She squatted down, and as her fingertip reached for Xia Jinzhao’s, her hand gently passed through the other’s body, like a gust of wind; the two inevitably missed each other.

Huh?

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the room. Low heels slowly scraped the floor, making people uneasy. The woman beside her obviously heard it. She pressed her lips together and dragged her dying body toward the wide-open window.

Click.

An abrasive unlocking sound rang out, and shallow, patent leather low heels came into view. At the same time, Xia Jinzhao looked back deeply, struggled to climb onto the window frame, and pulled a sarcastic smile at the corner of her mouth.

Realizing what she was about to do, Ming Xi’s eyes widened. Before she could stop her, the white skirt stained with bl00d, like fluttering butterfly wings, disappeared at the edge of her vision.

Ming Xi suddenly sat up, looking at the clock on the wall. The hands were already pointing to 8:20, and she would soon be starting work.

She was covered in fine sweat, the short hairs on the back of her neck sticky against her skin. She raised her hand to touch the gland that was shaped like a ‘wealth bump’ (a term for the neck/shoulder area). After many days in this world, she had mostly adapted to this body.

Recalling the bloody dream she had just had, Ming Xi felt a chill.

I didn’t expect to be terrorized by the previous渣A (scum Alpha) in real life, and now the female lead’s resentment won’t even spare me in my dreams TvT.

She threw back the covers and quickly got out of bed, washed up, got dressed, and, biting into the red bean toast she bought last night, hurried downstairs.

Changguan Studio and the apartment provided by Lu Litong were not far apart, about a ten-minute walk after passing a subway entrance. Ming Xi rushed downstairs. Seeing that there was still some time before work started, she leisurely pulled out the hot milk from her pocket and sipped it as she went upstairs.

When she opened the door, Lu Litong was clad in a large, faded pajama top, her face still bearing signs of drowsiness. She yawned and turned to walk towards the bathroom.

Ming Xi was used to her boss’s laziness and laxity. In the past, she would never have considered working in a tiny studio like this.

But Lu Litong had helped her during her most difficult time. Out of her inherently good nature, she couldn’t be ungrateful.

Why do I look more like the boss of this studio?

Ming Xi sat in her chair, reviewing the backend data from the weekend. Unsurprisingly, the numbers were mostly sparse single digits.

“Didn’t you go to pick up goods over the weekend? How did it go?” Inside the bathroom, Lu Litong randomly picked up cheap toner and lotion from the counter, patting it onto her face.

Just bringing up the weekend made Ming Xi angry :).

“I’m not going back to the previous place. The styles are too old-fashioned, with designs and color palettes from years ago.” Ming Xi closed the webpage, tidying up the mess on the desk in preparation for the upcoming broadcast.

Hearing this, Lu Litong leaned against the bathroom door, her upper body sticking out: “That boss is familiar with me. She gives me the rock-bottom price every time; it’s so cheap.”

Upon hearing this, Ming Xi knew the other person wasn’t a businesswoman. Of course, unlike those unscrupulous merchants, Sister Lu at least had a conscience.

Ming Xi adjusted the angle of the phone stand, mimicking the other person’s tone: “Cheap is useless, though. If you can’t sell it, the money is just wasted.”

This made Lu Litong giggle. She said something in S City dialect and walked over to the sofa to lie down.

The live stream room was always quiet. To prevent the platform from restricting traffic due to a lack of active engagement, Ming Xi simply greeted the audience after starting the broadcast. Just as she was about to lie down and slack off, a notification popped up in the bottom left corner.

User 6995999 has entered the live stream room.

She immediately sprang up from her seat, grabbed one of her favorite items, and held it up to the camera to display.

Ming Xi’s hands were beautiful, possessing the delicate and slender quality unique to women. Her fair, smooth back of the hand and her well-defined knuckles easily won over hand enthusiasts. Her crimson fingernails had just the right amount of shine and curve under the bright lighting.

After all, as an un-face-revealed sales host, she needed some appealing advantages.

“Good morning, my dear ’99 wife’~” Ming Xi used a sickeningly sweet tone to greet the person.

Perhaps the enthusiastic reaction scared off the customer on the other end, as there was a long silence without any bullet screen comments. Just as she thought the person had left, she clicked on the viewer count in the top right corner and saw the person was still there.

Why aren’t they talking in the live stream room?

Ming Xi couldn’t figure it out. She thought the person might not like this style, so she changed her demeanor.

“Hello friend, are you still there? You can chat with the host.” This time, she adopted a proper attitude. Some customers don’t like noisy intimacy and might find the sales pitch unprofessional.

It’s fine! Versatile Xiao Xi can transform into a thousand looks they’ll love!

Taking advantage of the moment the other person was typing, Ming Xi quickly turned around and crooked her finger at Lu Litong, who was sprawled out, whispering: “Phone.”

The woman rubbed her messy hair, rummaged for her spare phone under a throw pillow, and tossed it toward the live stream desk.

Ming Xi had a habit: for every customer she served, she had to understand their spending habits. She caught the spare phone, switched to her alt account, clicked into the live stream platform, and then clicked on the avatar of “User 6995999.”

The screen displayed the person’s homepage: completely blank. No followers, fans, or saved preferences; everything was empty.

A newly registered account.

People like this are either scammers looking to cause trouble or hidden big spenders.

At the same time, a message popped up again in the bottom right corner.

User 6995999: Yes

Ming Xi didn’t have time to lament, “Oh my, why are you typing so slowly, like an old person?” Her female intuition told her that with such concise responses and the arrogant dominance of someone who disregards everyone, the other party was undoubtedly the latter.

They had only one purpose for coming to the platform—to clear out the studio’s warehouse!

They would arrogantly order all the styles and declare that their stock was too small, announcing, I’ll cover all your future inventory, blah blah blah, and thus lead her, this obscure host, to the peak of her life (?)…

Ming Xi could already see mountains of wealth waving at her.

“99, do you have a favorite color?”

User 6995999: Black

Ming Xi immediately grabbed all the bags in the studio that were remotely related to the color black, a flattering smile plastered on her face, even though the other person couldn’t see her expression through the screen.

“This is an accordion bag, very suitable for daily commuting. Let me show you the inside.”

With that, she used her thumb to open the buckle. The layered compartments, paired with playful gilded edges, instantly elevated its status with a subtle luxury.

“All are original designs, oh. How about it, do you like it?”

Her gentle attitude was like presenting a carefully chosen gift, and though flattery was involved, it wasn’t off-putting. If it were a naïve young girl, she would be easily swayed by these words and, pressured by the thought of “this host is so nice, it would be rude to refuse,” would grit her teeth and buy it.

Clearly, User 6995999 was no ordinary person.

So composed?

Ming Xi’s competitive spirit was ignited by this taciturn, mysterious person. After years in the retail industry, there was no customer she couldn’t conquer!

“99, if you don’t like it, you can just look for now. No need to rush to place an order. Click ‘Follow’ in the top left corner so you don’t get lost, and let’s be friends, Xi Xi!”

User 6995999: The one in the bottom right corner.

Following the direction indicated, Ming Xi picked up the Boston bag and enthusiastically introduced it.

“99 has excellent taste, oh. This is a classic mini Boston bag, vintage and versatile, and the price is also very appealing.”

She deliberately pulled the fill light closer to show the subtle pattern on the leather surface.

User 6995999: Don’t like it.

“It’s okay. If you don’t like it, I’ll slowly go through the other styles for you.”

Three hours later, nearing noon, Ming Xi was sprawled on the table like a tired dog, her throat dry from talking. Looking at the pile of handbags on her right, she revealed a satisfied smile.

Serving this picky customer throughout the session, her effort was not in vain! It was finally time for the exciting payment process!

She forced herself to cheer up, taking pictures, setting prices, and creating links one by one. Even Sister Lu, seeing the progress, couldn’t help but come over to join the fun.

“99, the items have been added to your cart. You can click ‘Pay’ now!”

The moment she finished speaking, the viewer count in the top right corner instantly turned to zero.

Ming Xi: ?

A bad feeling arose in her heart. She quickly closed the live stream and sent a private message to the person.

Changguan Studio: 99, please pay as soon as possible, oh. The link will expire soon after the broadcast ends [Pleading face]

The avatar still showed the person as online, but… What the heck is “read but no reply”?

After waiting patiently for another ten minutes, the chat box remained silent. Even the most foolish person would understand what had happened.

She, Ming Xi, was! Scammed!

Meanwhile, in the lounge.

The woman in the mirror had an icy temperament. Her lazy eyelids lowered as she stared at the private message on the screen, a rare upward curve on her lips.

The business card Song Yu had slipped into her pocket yesterday. Even with a fleeting glance, she remembered the essential information. So, today, during her makeup time, Xia Jinzhao, having nothing else to do, clicked into Ming Xi’s live stream room.

Unsurprisingly, there was no one else in the live stream room except for her. Seeing her enter, the host, who was about to take a break, immediately livened up, enthusiastically explaining the product information to her.

This fluent speech and unrestrained personality were completely different from her previous timid and hesitant demeanor. Especially the constant use of “baby” and “wife”…

Frivolous.

For no particular reason, Xia Jinzhao felt a playful urge to tease her. Given Xia Xuefeng’s attitude, she couldn’t go too far with Ming Xi, but she could give her a hard time with small daily matters, just to annoy her.

She admitted she was being petty.

Another private message popped up.

Changguan Studio: 99 wife, if you don’t plan to buy next time, you don’t have to waste each other’s time, okay [Star eyes]

Even when being played with, Ming Xi still had to maintain a polite attitude. Imagining her fuming on the other end, Xia Jinzhao couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Her assistant, who was on the phone, looked over, inquiring with her eyes. She knew her artist’s personality too well; she was more challenging to thaw than three feet of ice and rarely even smiled unless it was for work.

“Mind your own business.” Xia Jinzhao cleared her throat, suppressing her laughter.

She closed the app and opened WeChat. The small red dot in the bottom right corner indicated new activity on Moments.

When colleagues in the industry post on Moments, it’s normal for artists to comment on each other’s posts to foster relationships. Although Xia Jinzhao didn’t enjoy socializing, some networking was unavoidable.

As soon as she clicked into Moments, Ming Xi’s nickname floated at the very top.

She had almost forgotten that she hadn’t immediately blacklisted the other person after adding her for convenience during the last visit to the old house.

Thinking of this, Xia Jinzhao was about to proceed but was suddenly drawn to the content of the post, her fingers freezing mid-air.

Ming Xi: Pig spirit has arrived [Image]

Clicking on the image, it was a screenshot of a private message. Even though the ID and avatar were blurred, she recognized the other person was herself.

Xia Jinzhao: …