The Stand-In Alpha Goes Viral on a Dating Show - Chapter 9

“Chi Wan! You!” Lu Xin rubbed her slightly bruised shoulder and stormed forward, fury blazing in her eyes.

“What gives you the right?!” She grabbed Chi Wan’s wrist. There’s an old saying: ‘People don’t mind having less, they mind inequality’. Lu Xin was feeling extremely unbalanced—and even a little wronged. Why did Su Yao get a hug, while she got shoved away?

This wasn’t fair!

Was it just because Su Yao was the CEO?

She couldn’t wrap her head around it. Her voice, full of accusation, carried fire—not just toward Chi Wan, but toward Su Yao too.

“You really are stupid,” Su Yao finally spoke up, unable to hold back. Sure, she had been watching from the sidelines for her own amusement, but now that the fire had spread to her, she wasn’t going to just let it slide.

“What did you say?! Say that again if you dare!” Lu Xin snapped like a leopard whose tail had been stepped on. Just then, Chi Wan casually placed a pair of leopard-print ears on her head, making her look uncannily fitting in her angry state.

Chi Wan burst into carefree laughter.

“Still don’t get it? Chi Wan didn’t want to hug me,” Su Yao stretched her arms to show off the damp patch on her blazer, speaking helplessly as Chi Wan’s laughter continued, “It just looked different, but she was messing with both of us.”

Lu Xin finally noticed the large wet stain on Su Yao’s jacket and cursed under her breath, realization dawning on her a little too late.

She was just about to snap at Chi Wan again—only for Chi Wan to cheerfully admit, “Yup. I was annoyed by what you two were saying earlier, so I thought I would mess with you both a little.”

“You—!” Lu Xin’s anger lost steam all of a sudden, melting away at Chi Wan’s blunt honesty. Instead, she couldn’t help but feel secretly delighted: So she didn’t really want to push me away… It means she still has feelings for me, right?

Unlike the composed Su Yao, Lu Xin wore her emotions plainly on her face.

Su Yao noticed her smug little smile and rolled her eyes with a look that said, I can’t even…

But as Su Yao looked away and spotted the bizarre costumes hanging on the racks, she couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. She was soaked. She had to change—but wearing these?

No way. The thought alone made her feel like she was digging her own grave. Meanwhile, Chi Wan laughed like she didn’t have a care in the world.

Just then, a soft click sounded. An Ran stepped out, fully changed. She wore Bai Yueguang Mingyu’s outfit, and in the dim light, it stunned both Su Yao and Lu Xin into silence.

Chi Wan, seeing An Ran emerge, beamed and walked over. She grabbed a packet of disposable underwear, ducked into the dressing room, and put the red dress she’d previously draped over An Ran back on herself.

Then, waving goodbye to Su Yao and Lu Xin, she left arm in arm with An Ran, heading to the recording location for the dating show.

As for those two? One with water stains, the other covered in dust? Not her problem.

Before they reached the villa, Chi Wan had asked An Ran if she wanted to change out of her current outfit. After all, there was a chance someone else might be wearing the same thing. But An

Ran shook her head.

Chi Wan thought about it—matching outfits wasn’t the issue. The problem was that the original host and Mingyu looked a bit alike, which might spark gossip. Still, she draped a sheer wrap over An Ran’s shoulders. At first glance, it made the outfit look less similar.

By the time they entered the villa, most of the guests had arrived. Chi Wan quickly scanned the room and realized—there were two extra people. The original lineup should’ve been five Alpha and five Omega guests. Now, each group had one more.

The heiress Mingyu was already there, chatting about makeup and fashion with other guests. Since Endless Heartbeats was an all-female show, there were plenty of shared interests.

“Mingyu, your bracelet is gorgeous! It’s from that new international collection, right? So jealous,” a girl in a pink puff dress, holding a dainty parasol, rested her chin on her hand and admired Mingyu’s wrist.

One look at the girl’s outfit, and Chi Wan knew—this had to be Ruan Xiao, the Omega influencer with millions of fans, known for her versatile fashion and dreamy, girlish vibe.

“Want the link? The price isn’t bad. Take a look,” Mingyu’s voice was soft and clear, like mountain spring water. She added Ruan Xiao as a friend.

Moments later, Ruan Xiao’s phone chimed. She smiled brightly—until her eyes drifted to the doorway and landed on Chi Wan. Her smile vanished instantly.

Ruan Xiao was one of the original host’s exes. Chi Wan hadn’t expected someone so sweet and radiant could’ve used her predecessor as a stand-in, only to coldly abandon her later.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Mingyu, sensitive to emotional shifts, immediately noticed Ruan Xiao’s change and followed her gaze toward the door.

Her eyes locked with Chi Wan’s.

Mingyu’s expression cooled slightly—clearly, she recognized who Chi Wan was. The rumors online about their side profiles being nearly identical couldn’t have escaped her attention.

Another woman operating the camera turned too. Her eyes held a chilling sharpness. That was likely Meng Lan, the original host’s other ex and one of the show’s videographers.

Chi Wan, however, acted like she hadn’t noticed the tension in the room. Carrying her suitcase, she entered with An Ran and greeted everyone with a friendly smile.

When it was Ruan Xiao’s turn, her face stiffened slightly. She instinctively looked around for Lu Xin and Su Yao—but found neither. Her face paled.

“Looking for someone?” Chi Wan asked with a smile.

Ruan Xiao flinched. Seeing the avoidance in her eyes, Chi Wan instantly guessed she was aware of Lu Xin and Su Yao’s scheme. She just hadn’t expected the wrong person to show up first.

Ruan Xiao didn’t answer, and Chi Wan didn’t care.

Soon, assistant director Chu Rou arrived. The moment she saw Chi Wan, her body tensed—likely remembering being cornered against the wall not long ago.

Heh. Why did all these exes look like they’d seen a ghost the moment they saw her?

Probably because they had ghosts in their hearts.

Chi Wan smirked inwardly.

“Director, are there any updates for us?” one of the Alpha guests asked.

Chu Rou snapped out of it and replied, “Everyone’s nearly here, so please go choose your rooms—any room on the second or third floor is available.”

She cast Chi Wan a quick glance, then hurried out.

Room selection, huh… Chi Wan thought for a second, then grinned. That matching-underwear task… maybe I’ve got a lead.

She turned to An Ran. “Hey, Miss Beauty, where do you want to stay? I’ll take the room next door, okay?”

An Ran paused. Her gaze fell on Chi Wan’s perfectly manicured, crimson-red nails. Then she nodded softly, “You choose. I’ll go with you.”

Chi Wan beamed. Perfect. Being close makes it easier to snag her panties later. And returning them secretly will be a breeze too.

She was a little genius.

Giving herself a mental thumbs-up, Chi Wan glanced around. Mingyu looked like she wanted to stay on the second floor. Chi Wan was going to avoid her by picking the third floor, but then she reconsidered.

No, the second floor would be more fun.

Free drama? Front-row seats? Yes, please.

So while the other Omegas trying to cozy up to Mingyu were still packing, Chi Wan quickly grabbed the room directly across from hers.

Prime real estate for drama-watching!

An Ran remained quietly by her side. She seemed to be going along with Chi Wan’s antics—but beneath the surface, she was watching everything closely.

Chi Wan really is something else… Why didn’t I notice in my past life? she thought. If I had, maybe I would have lived a little longer… Maybe I wouldn’t have ended up at the bottom of the ocean so soon.

Chi Wan… stay this interesting, will you?

An Ran’s lips curled slightly in a subtle smile, though her eyes remained detached, almost bored.

When Lu Xin and Su Yao finally arrived—disheveled and changed—the room selection had already ended. Only one room on the second floor remained. The other person would have to take the third.

They exchanged glares, sparks flying.

“Screw it. I’ll go talk to Chi Wan. If she won’t move, I’ll make her!” Lu Xin huffed, storming over to Chi Wan’s room.

Inside, Chi Wan had just spritzed perfume and was basking in the lingering scent when—bam bam bam—came a series of loud knocks.

Ugh, who’s so annoying? she grumbled and opened the door.

Seeing Lu Xin, she leaned casually against the wooden frame, her eyes languid and charming.

“Oh, it’s you. What’s up?” Chi Wan asked.

“Pack your stuff. Move to the third floor. This room is mine now.” Lu Xin said.

Lu Xin said it quickly, ready to barge in—but a pale, slender arm stopped her.

She was about to tell Chi Wan to move when she looked up—and paused.

Chi Wan’s eyes shimmered, lashes wet, the corners tinged pink.

Wait… is she crying?

The thought stunned Lu Xin. Her anger drained away like a popped balloon.

“You’re such a jerk, Lu Xin,” Chi Wan said hoarsely, her voice low, “I’m not moving—ever. Go bug someone else. I’m sick of this.”

Then—bam!—she slammed the door shut in Lu Xin’s face.

Lu Xin stood there dumbfounded—not even mad that Chi Wan refused to move. She kept replaying the image in her mind.

Was she crying…?

Back in her room, Chi Wan tossed the eyedrops onto her nightstand.

Of course she wasn’t crying. Only an idiot would cry over someone like that.

Her eyes were just dry, and she needed some moisture, that’s all.

She flopped onto the bed and started gleefully rolling around.

Just then—ding!—the system chimed with a new side quest.

[Mission: Within 3 hours, plant a hickey on any one of your exes. Success reward: +2% to your bombshell body stat. Want a sizzling hot figure? Then get to work!]

Chi Wan grinned.

A mischievous glint sparkled in her eye.