The Scumbag Alpha is Courting Death Again - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Caramel Macchiato: This Pickup Line is So Outdated…

Xia Jinzhao was unexpectedly easy to talk to, so much so that Ming Xi couldn’t believe things went so smoothly. The excuses she had prepared for persuading her went around on her tongue four or five times, almost slipping out.

“I don’t deal with these things. I’ll send you Sister Cui’s contact information.” With that, Xia Jinzhao shared Cui Jinyu’s business card in the chat box.

The relationship between an actor and her agent being this strained was probably unheard of in the entire industry. Ming Xi’s eyebrows were furrowed into a twist, still recovering from the other person’s frightening demeanor just now.

Seeing her stunned, Xia Jinzhao tapped her on the forehead: “You don’t want it?”

“No,” Ming Xi covered her forehead. “What if Zhen Wenjing extorts money?”

Xia Jinzhao put her phone away and looked at her strangely: “You were the one who offered to help, and now you’re feeling sorry for me, being so indecisive.”

“I’m helping her out of a favor. I care about you because—”

Before the words landed, the woman put her index finger to her lips, signaling to be quiet: “When you say nice things too often, they sound fake.”

The light reflected off the tiles and shone on the sink, making Xia Jinzhao’s profile appear smooth and jade-like, reducing her intimidation factor. Ming Xi always felt that talking about such things on a sober morning ruined the good atmosphere between them.

Seeing the person turn around, she followed like a tail, gossiping: “Were you really kidnapped when you were little?”

At this point, she wasn’t afraid of opening old wounds. She loved gossip. She had skimmed the book before, resulting in not remembering a single plotline. If she had known it was closely related to Xia Jinzhao’s childhood trauma, she would have devoured it.

“Why are you so chatty?” Xia Jinzhao squinted at her, opening the door to the living room.

“Were you injured?” Ming Xi sized her up and down, displaying a determination to get to the bottom of the matter.

“What do you think?”

“I think with the Xia family’s efficiency, they must have found you in minutes.”

“Don’t be greedy after getting a benefit.”

“Weren’t you scared back then?”

“After being kidnapped six times, would you be scared?”

“Did you become desensitized? Are those bodyguards incompetent?”

“…”

Okay, Ming Xi admitted that this topic was indeed not suitable for drawing closer. She cleared her throat, justifying her curiosity: “You don’t mind yourself, so what’s wrong with me asking?”

She imagined the young Xia Jinzhao, under duress, expressionlessly calling home for a ransom, and the kidnappers having to treat her well… Sure enough, with her personality now, she must have been an annoying child when she was little. No wonder she ended up with Song Yu in the grand finale. Song Yu must have been completely obedient to her! If it were her, she definitely couldn’t tolerate it for a month, no, a week!

While she was lost in thought, a burning gaze was cast over her. Ming Xi’s thoughts returned. She widened her eyes and glared back: “Can’t a person even tell the truth anymore?”

“I was thinking about how you’re cursing me in your heart.”

“If I’m cursing, I’m cursing your childhood self.”

“I was more likable than your childhood self.”

Ming Xi let out a sharp laugh: “Oh, you’ve seen my childhood self?”

Silence permeated the air. Hearing this, Xia Jinzhao indeed stopped. Her long eyelashes lifted. Those sharp, keen eyes fell on Ming Xi’s face, as if breaking through a fog to search for obscured past events.

Seeing her taking it seriously, Ming Xi’s nerves were taut, yet she also felt she was overthinking. She was a favored child who had transmigrated into a book. It was impossible for her to have crossed paths with Xia Jinzhao. Even if they had, it could only be the original body.

Just then, Xia Jinzhao’s phone rang, breaking the tense atmosphere. Ming Xi broke out in a sweat. She glanced at the memo, which was “Zhou Zhenhui,” and boldly spoke: “You absolutely must not say you’ve seen me before.”

Xia Jinzhao clicked on the chat box. Her assistant was waiting outside to pick her up. She turned off the screen and nodded in agreement: “Somewhat familiar.”

“That kind of pickup line is so outdated,” Ming Xi spread her hands. “Married first, then falling in love, only to find out the other half is your dream unrequited love—the main plot becomes a long-awaited reunion of mutual secret crushes.”

“Ah,” Xia Jinzhao sighed, tidied her things, and walked towards the door. “I hope this kind of cliché and stale script doesn’t end up in my inbox.”

“I’m sorry, I’m basic. I love this kind of thing.”

“So you were hoping for a marriage first, then love story with me? Were you deliberately being argumentative to get my attention?”

Xia Jinzhao knew exactly how to hit Ming Xi where it hurt. That classic cheesy line alone was enough to cause 10,000 points of critical damage to the latter.

While Ming Xi’s face was pale and she was holding the wall, Xia Jinzhao smiled sweetly, carrying her bag. As she pushed the door open, a blast of cold wind rushed in, billowing her clothes.

Zhou Zhenhui was in the car, gnawing on an egg pancake. She felt the back door open. Xia Jinzhao bent down to get in. The curled ends of her hair were dusted with morning frost, and her cold demeanor was offset by the curve of her lips.

“Sister Xia is in a good mood,” she greeted her vaguely.

“I was talked back to.”

Zhou Zhenhui choked. Having learned to read the room, her attitude immediately did a 180-degree turn. She pulled out her usual perfunctory response: “Huh? That’s too… much…”

The morning mist gradually dissipated. The broad leaves on both sides of the road were pale, much like Xia Jinzhao’s current mood. She clasped her hands, her gaze distant: “Xiao Zhou, what if someone who used to keep a distance from you—”

As soon as she heard her sister bring up interpersonal topics, Zhou Zhenhui instantly became alert. She shoved the rest of the egg pancake into her mouth, crumpled the plastic bag, and tossed it into the trash can, afraid of missing out on shocking gossip.

It was well known that Xia Jinzhao rarely interacted with people and was mostly alone. Anyone who could cause her distress was not simple!

“And recently, they keep talking back to you. Why is that?” Xia Jinzhao lowered her eyes, assuming the posture of sincerely seeking advice.

Zhou Zhenhui took 0.01 seconds to guess who the person in question was. She cautiously asked: “Is this talking back… physical… or verbal?”

No surprise, she was met with Xia Jinzhao’s icy expression. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly tried to compensate: “Then maybe…” Maybe Ming Xi has reached her limit and is finally going to explode after a period of silence? After all, Xia Jinzhao’s temper was well-known. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but she was mostly indifferent and reserved. When occasionally unhappy, she would criticize others without using vulgar language.

Just as Zhou Zhenhui was racking her brain for an emotionally intelligent answer, the woman in the back seat spoke.

“Do you think she likes me?”

…Unbelievable. Why didn’t I realize my artist had a masochistic tendency before?

“That is a possibility,” she affirmed solemnly.

Let this woman who’s never been in love immerse herself in her fabricated fantasy and self-conquer.

Although she had chatted with Zhen Wenjing online, Xia Jinzhao’s attitude was ambiguous. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, the two still decided to meet at a coffee shop in the city center.

It was one in the afternoon. The shop was sparsely populated. Most of the people were busy office workers getting takeout at the counter. Ming Xi sat by the window, lazily basking in the sun, occasionally checking the time.

“Have you been waiting long?” Zhen Wenjing pushed the French toast she bought at the counter toward Ming Xi and pulled up the chair opposite her to sit down.

“Not too long.”

“I saw you kept checking the time.”

So she had noticed me all along. Ming Xi was no longer shy: “I have to work in the afternoon. I’m a bit rushed.”

“You’re rushing to meet me. It’s not just about Xia Jinzhao, is it?” Zhen Wenjing handed her the menu.

The private coffee shops in the city center were generally expensive. Most of the customers were young people checking in and taking pictures. The air was filled with the fresh scent of dark-roasted coffee beans being ground, mixed with the smell of fermented dough baked to a toasty brown. Even in the cold winter, the sun was still intense, gathering into a golden beam at the corner of the table.

“Actually…” Ming Xi found it a bit difficult to say, “I want to ask you about something.”

Zhen Wenjing was clever enough to instantly see through her thoughts and said helplessly: “If even you, as a member of the Xia family, don’t understand it, how would I, an outsider, know?”

The waiter brought a Mocha coffee, the rich chocolate color blending with the latte art. She picked up the stirring spoon. Seeing Ming Xi remain silent for a long time, she sighed: “Go ahead and ask. Maybe I really do know something.”

“You mentioned before that there were two children kidnapped after the explosion: one was Xia Jinzhao, and who was the other one?”

This question had been lingering in her mind for many days. She had intended to ask Xia Jinzhao this morning, but the other person was more tight-lipped than a clam, always unintentionally steering the topic away, which only deepened her suspicion.

Zhen Wenjing frowned. The few seconds of silence felt agonizingly long. Ming Xi herself didn’t understand why she was so concerned about this matter. She wasn’t one to meddle, maintaining a laissez-faire attitude until now. It was pointless to dig up old history.

Only this matter, like a woman’s unique sixth sense being triggered, gave her a subtle headache.

“Xia Ji.”

A name she had never heard before was lightly spoken.

Ming Xi was stunned, an inexplicable sense of unease arising. She was absolutely certain that this person was never mentioned in the original book!

As if catching a glimpse of a corner of a worn-out page, she curled her palms, her chest throbbing.

Not sensing her abnormality, Zhen Wenjing asked curiously: “Why are you asking about that? That’s ancient history.”

“I just suddenly thought of it,” Ming Xi took a deep breath, steadying her mind. A guess began to form. “Is that child doing well now?”

“Who knows? Xia Ji is Xia Yuanhua’s daughter. Her mother died of depression, so the daughter is probably not doing well. She might even be gone.”

This explanation was more convincing and further corroborated why the person was never mentioned in the book. But a sudden image flashed in Ming Xi’s mind: the girl in the rain, pushing a wheelchair, fragile like an illusion floating on the surface of a bubble.

Does she not exist… or is she living in the incomplete ending?

Wait, according to the plot of the book, Xia Jinzhao should marry Song Yu in the end, inherit the family fortune after Grandma Xia’s death, and have both love and career success. If a Xia Ji really popped up, what would be her role? To fight for the family fortune?

Recalling the other party’s frail appearance, Ming Xi immediately dismissed that possibility.

Just as she was logically analyzing the situation in her mind, Zhen Wenjing suddenly lowered her voice.

“Someone is following us, eight o’clock direction.”

Hearing this, Ming Xi subconsciously followed her gaze, but was immediately stopped by the latter: “Don’t look!”

She immediately froze, not daring to take a breath.

Who was being followed? Her or Zhen Wenjing?

Zhen Wenjing pretended to chat casually, but in fact, she had already typed a line on her phone and showed it to Ming Xi. To outsiders, it looked no different from sharing an interesting post with a friend.

Ming Xi lowered her head to read the message.

Zhen Wenjing: [Watch my eyes. Get in the car with me in a bit. Someone is coming to pick us up.]

They exchanged glances, understanding each other implicitly. Ming Xi stood up, using her peripheral vision to inadvertently glance in the direction the other person mentioned. A small, thin man was huddled in the corner, playing with his phone. He seemed to notice Ming Xi’s gaze and deliberately didn’t look up, continuing to stare at the screen.

Too deliberate.