The Stand-In Alpha Goes Viral on a Dating Show - Chapter 19
“Mhm, the next one will be even more obedient.”
Chi Wan smiled and nodded, but her eyes drifted—almost instinctively—toward An Ran. The tail of her eye arched like a teasing hook, and paired with that comment, the glance was full of implications.
An Ran: “…”
She suddenly felt uneasy, even restless. With a frown, she shot Chi Wan a sharp glare, then quickly lowered her gaze, her mind racing:
What did she mean by that?
Is she treating me as a backup plan? Or just some toy to mess with when she’s bored?
And what’s with “even more obedient”?
Was I obedient?
I’m not obedient at all! she thought indignantly—yet somehow, her lips curled into a smile that carried a chilling edge.
If Chi Wan dares mess with me like that, I won’t let her off so easily.
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“The next photo! I’m so curious! Why are there only three? I want to see more!”
Mo Wei deliberately raised her voice, adding a fake girlish charm. As expected, Lu Xin and the others immediately shot daggers at her.
Hah. As if they have the right to glare. They made the mess and can’t clean it up—and now they’re bold enough to throw shade at me? Where do they even get the nerve?
Mo Wei had been a little hesitant to provoke Meng Lan and Chu Rou, since this was a livestream and all, but then she remembered—among the Endless Heartbeats crew, probably no one dared to offend the Mo family. With that, she relaxed.
Once she let go, she actually started enjoying the chance to stir things up. After all, these women were her rivals in love—if they were miserable, she would be thrilled.
Never go easy on your romantic rivals.
Under Mo Wei’s relentless prodding, Chi Wan’s final photo appeared—fashionably late.
At first glance, the photo was so overexposed it was impossible to tell what it was. But Lu Xin and the others stared like hawks, practically squinting through a magnifying glass. After ten full seconds, something finally emerged—
A pair of hands, and a single leg.
The photo had been taken against a dark background. The hands were slender, elegant, with prominent bones and vivid red polish—clearly Chi Wan’s. But the leg… it was pale, smooth, and slim. Just a partial shot, but definitely not Chi Wan’s.
Chi Wan had someone else. That was the first conclusion Lu Xin, Su Yao, and the others jumped to.
Chi Wan’s hand on someone else’s leg—immediately their minds spiraled. They began imagining her expression, her posture, the intimacy of the moment.
Back when they had dated her, all they’d shared were a few hand-holds and awkward hugs.
Even those had felt somewhat perfunctory.
But now, judging from this photo… Chi Wan looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself.
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“Who’s that? Your new girlfriend?”
Ruan Xiao couldn’t help herself. Her voice dripped with sarcasm, a sharp contrast to her usual sweet persona.
The livestream chat blew up instantly:
“What’s wrong with Ruan Xiao? Did something happen?”
“Honestly, she can be kinda sharp-tongued—old fans know she doesn’t even realize it. She’s just blunt.”
“Still, it really sounded like she was interrogating Chi Wan. These are private photos. If she wants to share, fine—but you shouldn’t press her like that.”
“I bet Ruan Xiao was just too curious!”
Regardless of how her fans tried to spin it, most viewers agreed—Ruan Xiao had overreacted.
And come on… a new girlfriend? Anyone with a brain could figure it out—Chi Wan wouldn’t be on a dating show if she was currently seeing someone. Obviously, she was single now.
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An Ran, meanwhile, was staring at that photo, a flicker of realization flashing in her eyes.
She recognized it.
That photo had been taken the moment Chi Wan was sitting by the lake—and she herself had fallen into the water.
Why was that photo placed before the “breakup gift” photo?
Her eyes darkened. Suddenly, everything felt too calculated.
Chi Wan had planned this. She had come prepared.
Which meant… An Ran was being used. Again.
The thought alone made the cut on her finger start to ache all over again.
Su Yao’s initial suspicion had actually been An Ran. But the photo order convinced her otherwise. There’s no way, she reasoned. Chi Wan only just met An Ran. How could a recent photo come before the breakup gifts?
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“Chi Wan, who do you really like?”
Lu Xin suddenly blurted, her voice oddly dazed, as she stared at the overexposed image.
The room had gone quiet—everyone heard it.
“I…” Lu Xin quickly realized her slip and tried to laugh it off, scratching her head:
“Haha, I’m just curious! I mean, Chi Wan’s had so many exes—who did she love the most?”
Chi Wan lowered her eyes, voice soft and sorrowful:
“We should all move forward. I’ve already decided to let go… No point in digging up the past, right?”
The implication was clear: that final photo was just another piece of her past.
The other guests, unaware of the truth, all nodded in understanding.
But for Su Yao and the rest—who did know—the bitterness was unbearable. That girl in the photo clearly wasn’t any of them.
And yet… they couldn’t say a word. It was suffocating.
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An Ran’s mood sank too.
Everything that had happened so far—every smile, every word—it was all manipulation. Chi Wan had been using her.
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“All right, we’ve seen the photos. Time for messages and contacts.”
This instantly revived everyone’s interest.
Chi Wan opened her latest three messages and held them out.
Everyone crowded around the screen.
—Do you still like her?
—Yes. But her heart doesn’t belong to me. Maybe I lost my chance to go back to her a long time ago.
—Then stop liking her. Try to move on. Forget her.
It was a short exchange with someone she’d met online, but the pain in those lines was unmistakable.
When Su Yao read the line “her heart doesn’t belong to me,” her own heart started racing in panic.
Don’t say it, Chi Wan—don’t tell them the truth about being a stand-in!
Thankfully, Chi Wan didn’t.
Still, the relief was fleeting. The question that followed hit her hard: Who is “her”?
Was it the woman in the last photo?
Could it be that they weren’t the only ones who had used Chi Wan as a stand-in?
That realization stung.
Even if we only saw her as a substitute, Su Yao thought bitterly, there’s still a part of me that didn’t want anyone else to have her…
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Next was the “contact list” segment. And that’s when things got really tense.
Lu Xin and the others felt like their hearts were about to burst.
Why did Chu Rou even add this segment? they all thought miserably.
Chi Wan might be fine, but we’re all dying inside! What if her contact list exposes us?
They doubted even Chu Rou was calm right now.
And in truth, Chu Rou was sweating bullets. She hadn’t expected this part to go so deep—and now it was out of her control.
Now they had to see three contacts—and if any of them were their real names?
Game over.
Luckily… Chi Wan hadn’t saved any names.
Just three plain numbers. To most people, boring. But to Su Yao and the others?
They froze.
The numbers were: Chu Rou, Ruan Xiao, and Su Yao.
During their relationships with Chi Wan, they’d used private numbers barely anyone knew—just in case. Chi Wan hadn’t saved their names.
Thank god.
Su Yao and Ruan Xiao nearly collapsed with relief.
Another round of this and we’ll need oxygen masks.
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“What are these numbers?” Xia Meng tilted her head, curiously reaching for the phone.
Chi Wan swiftly pulled it away.
“Nothing. Just some annoying spam calls. You know the type.”
Xia Meng nodded empathically, while the rest of them stiffened in dread.
Mingyu, watching closely, caught every micro-reaction—and was clearly displeased.
Chu Rou felt increasingly uncomfortable. This segment hadn’t exposed anything it was supposed to. But then she spotted Chi Wan’s jacket—and inspiration struck.
“To satisfy the fans’ curiosity, we’re not quite done yet! Let’s check one more viewer comment!”
“Me, me, me! Please pick me! I don’t care about anything else—I just want to know what’s inside the inner pocket of Chi Wan’s coat! Please! I’m dying to know!”
Chi Wan: “…”
She was nearly petrified.
How could she explain what was in that pocket?!
That bra wasn’t even hers.
It belonged to sweet little An Ran.