The Scumbag Alpha is Courting Death Again - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Madeleine – One Hundred Steps Away from the Finish Line…

Since that unpleasant conversation, Xia Jinzhao had immersed herself in acting, so much so that Ming Xi didn’t see her for a long time afterward.

The public’s enthusiasm for gossip always fades eventually. Once the spotlight was gone, she immediately packed her bags and rushed back to S City. After a week of working like a dog to make up for lost hours, she finally had a moment to breathe.

October had painted the forests in layers of color. The wind swept the fallen leaves on the streets, making them roll like golden waves. Saying goodbye to Lu Litong, Ming Xi prepared to return to her apartment to move her belongings to Huayang Qingyuan.

Starting today, she would be living in a luxurious villa, and it was free, too =3=.

She truly hadn’t expected the dream she’d fought for half her life to be realized in a novel.

Ming Xi was both rueful and envious. Last lifetime, she worked her fingers to the bone for her boss, only to end up with a tragic death from overwork.

Therefore, the difference between people is sometimes greater than the difference between a person and a pig.

After a moment of reflection, she hummed a cheerful tune. Arriving at the subway entrance, just as she was about to go downstairs, her peripheral vision caught a familiar figure.

The stick-thin, triangular-eyed man was hunched over, carrying a plastic bag from a convenience store and walking towards the residential area.

My God, isn’t that… him!

Ming Xi had an impression of this face. He seemed to be the small sidekick of the paparazzi, Zhen Wenjing. Remembering the days she was “soft-confined,” she was immediately filled with rage.

“Hey, you over there!” she shouted across the street.

After calling out several times, the person finally heard the commotion. He looked around, his gaze finally settling on Ming Xi’s face.

“Yes! You!”

The countdown ended, and Ming Xi trotted across the crosswalk.

As she got closer, the triangular-eyed man was first startled, then his pupils contracted, clearly remembering who she was. Especially seeing her posture, ready to demand an explanation, he was so frightened he turned and ran.

“Hey, why are you running? Stop!” Ming Xi picked up the plastic bag the man had dropped and quickly chased after him.

Thus, a beautiful scene unfolded on the street. The man frantically ran ahead, with the woman close behind.

A Beta’s stamina was ultimately no match for an Alpha’s. The triangular-eyed man quickly lost ground, running into a dead-end alley, where he leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

The walls on both sides of the small alley were peeling, and the barred windows were covered with dark blue cellophane, making the area feel oppressive and gloomy.

Seeing nowhere to go, the triangular-eyed man’s legs trembled. He cautiously kept his distance from Ming Xi.

“You, you stay away! If you come any closer, I’m calling for help!”

Ming Xi tossed the plastic bag at his feet, smiling meaningfully, just short of letting out a villainous jiejiejie laugh.

It’s a small world. I actually found a chance to deal with this guy!

It’s just that the man seemed too timid and didn’t look like he was in charge.

Ming Xi’s eyes quickly darted around: “Fine, take me to your boss, otherwise…”

This threat was effective. Seeing her slowly pacing closer, the man’s tightly wound nerves snapped, and he cried out in collapse.

“I’ll take you! I’ll take you, okay!”

Half an hour later, Ming Xi stood in front of an old office building.

The white paint had been washed by rain for years, faintly showing vertical black mildew stains.

The triangular-eyed man led her upstairs. Pushing open the frosted glass door, crowded, low-ceilinged cubicles came into view. The people at their desks all looked up simultaneously upon hearing the noise.

The man furtively poked half his head inside and waved to the woman by the water dispenser: “Sister Jing, come here for a second.”

Zhen Wenjing was rushing a deadline, her keyboard clattering. Hearing him, she got up impatiently.

“I asked you to buy afternoon tea. Where is it?” She walked to the stairwell, and seeing the man’s empty hands, she clicked her tongue softly.

After that, she finally noticed Ming Xi beside him. The girl quietly observed her surroundings, her dark, shining eyes revealing a hint of shrewdness.

Zhen Wenjing instantly recognized her. Seeing the triangular-eyed man’s submissive demeanor, what more was there to understand?

She immediately switched to an eager, deferential facade.

“Isn’t this the girl who acted so bravely? Are you here looking for…” She deliberately drew out the ending, pretending to be clueless.

“Oh, Sister Jing is making a fortune here!”

“You talk me up so much, why is it different from what the trending post said?” Ming Xi lowered her voice, a vein throbbing on her forehead.

She remembered the comments section uniformly saying she was brainless, impulsive, easily angered, and definitely prone to domestic violence…

Please, putting aside the original owner’s image, I’m the one who’s been domestically abused, okay!

Emotional abuse counts too!

With her tone, the experienced Zhen Wenjing understood. This little girl looked innocent and obedient on the surface, but she was here to stir up trouble today!

She roughly guessed the relationship between Xia Jinzhao and Ming Xi, but didn’t know whose side the latter was on. Thinking it best to avoid complications, she proactively admitted fault.

“You can’t put it that way. We were just doing a job for money. You know what kind of person Shi Dezao is. Our small operation can’t afford to offend him.”

Zhen Wenjing used the same excuse she gave Xia Jinzhao, telling Ming Xi a truncated version of the truth, while constantly checking the stairwell for movement.

After all, at the workplace, a big fuss would be detrimental to everyone, especially Zhen Wenjing and Wu Xian. Even though the post was deleted to settle the matter, anyone with a determined mind could still trace it back to them.

However, the desired traffic was successfully generated, for which she received praise from the editor-in-chief, who even issued a five-hundred-yuan bonus as encouragement.

Thus, Zhen Wenjing reluctantly pulled out her wallet, drawing out the bills that hadn’t even warmed up yet.

“I know you’ve suffered these past few days. I felt bad seeing the insults in the post, so I deleted the thread.”

“How about this, little sister, five hundred yuan, and we put this matter behind us. Let’s just be friends.”

As she spoke, she nervously examined Ming Xi’s face, fearing her clumsy lie would be exposed.

Looking at her righteous expression, she doesn’t look like a villain who would bow for money.

Sure enough, Ming Xi frowned at the waving cash.

Zhen Wenjing’s heart sank, but then she saw the other party extend a finger, showing an eight: “Eight hundred. Not a penny less.”

“You—”

You have the nerve to ask for that much!

Facing Ming Xi, who was suddenly inflating the price and had thicker skin than a city wall, Zhen Wenjing felt for the first time that she had met her match.

“Fine, eight hundred it is!” She squeezed the words through her teeth, opened her phone to display her QR code: “I’ll transfer it to you.”

The two added each other as friends. Zhen Wenjing silently transferred eight hundred yuan. The matter went smoother than she had expected.

It turns out this person just came here to extort money.

“We’re friends now after this little spat. If you ever want any insider gossip, just look for Zhen Wenjing!” The woman gave Ming Xi a fake smile.

Listening to the sweet sound of money hitting her account, the folds of annoyance in Ming Xi’s heart were smoothed out. She gave a perfunctory “Mhm.”

She wasn’t interested in the entertainment industry. Gossip and scandals were nothing more than promotional tactics.

A lot of trouble arises when people are idle. In her opinion, filling her stomach was more important than anything else right now.

But soon, my days of hardship will be over!

Ming Xi got what she wanted and left with Sister Jing’s overly warm farewells. She took the subway and arrived near Huayang Qingyuan.

Although located in a busy city, the area had a unique style due to its vast area and abundant greenery.

She called a moving company and was haggling with them when her bank card suddenly displayed a balance change.

Checking it, half a month’s salary had been deposited. Although it wasn’t much, it solved the immediate crisis.

Oh-ho, Sister Lu really brought a pillow when I was sleepy.

Ming Xi had to admit she was lucky. She clenched her palm, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Xia Jinzhao’s residence was in the villa district—quiet, fresh, and private. A winding pebble-paved path led directly to a lakeside pavilion.

Now, Ming Xi stood in front of the black iron gate, observing the scene inside the courtyard through the gaps, feeling much more relaxed.

Finally, finally!

In trashy novels, the domineering CEO doesn’t come home every night after marriage, and the innocent female lead cries her eyes out on a small mountain of wealth. This miserable life is finally her turn!

All of this!

“Money—what use do I have for it!” Ming Xi trembled as she unlocked the gate with her fingerprint, feeling a surge of excitement rush to her head.

She stepped onto the stairs, opening her arms, ready to embrace her brand new life.

The door was pushed open slightly. The twilight formed a warm yellow line in the closing door. Ming Xi took a deep breath, singing a fabricated tune.

“Guarding an empty boudoir, and it is! So—”

The passionate emotion came to an abrupt halt when she saw the figure reading a magazine on the sofa.

“—lonely.”

The woman’s thighs were crossed, her fair ankle hooked around a pair of house slippers. She twirled a strand of hair by her forehead, and hearing the noise, she raised her cool, weary eyes.

Their eyes met, and time seemed to pause.

“Why are you here?” Ming Xi’s smile froze at the corners of her mouth.

Xia Jinzhao closed the magazine, slowly stood up, and walked toward Ming Xi, not forgetting to remind her.

“Miss Ming, this seems to be my house.”

The light slowly traced her face, casting one eye in a clear amber hue.

By the time Ming Xi reacted, the other party was already standing in front of her, rubbing her earlobe with an ambiguous, magnetic tone.

“I heard you were very lonely guarding an empty boudoir, so…” Xia Jinzhao paused, smiling noncommittally, “Your loving wife is back to keep you company.”

Hehe, zero people would call themselves a loving wife.

Seeing Ming Xi lost in thought, the woman retracted her pleasant expression, a hint of coldness in her eyes.

Remembering everything she had just witnessed, she curled her lips again, but her words were sharp and full of sarcasm.

“What’s wrong? Did you not enjoy the script of ‘Promotion, Fortune, and Dead Wife’?” (A variation of the popular “Promotion, Fortune, and New Wife” trope, implying Ming Xi was wishing Xia Jinzhao would be gone).

Ming Xi: .