Chapter 30 Part 2

Even if she stayed, the place wasn’t safe anymore.

Zhu Lexing hesitated. “What’s your plan after this?”

A hotel? Did Shi Ruofeng even have the cash?

Shi Ruofeng shot a glance at Li Nian, then said offhandedly, “What can I do? Wait for someone to take pity on me.”

Li Nian jumped in at once. “Then stay at my place for a bit!”

It was summer break. Her parents were swamped with work, and as a Beta, bunking with Shi Ruofeng for a while made perfect sense.

Friends were supposed to help each other out!

Shi Ruofeng looked hesitant. “You sure that’s okay?”

Li Nian nodded vigorously.

Zhu Lexing felt like a total background character, just passing through.

When she got back to the table, the AB pair were locked in a one-on-one duel.

Xu He had racked up eight deaths. Zhu Lexing took over from her, flipping the score from 0-8 to 1-8 in half a minute.

Qiao Qiao tapped surrender and asked Zhu Lexing offhandedly, “Where’s Yan Mian?”

“She wrapped up filming today,” Zhu Lexing said. “She’s heading to the management company later to drop off her resume and see if anything fits.”

Qiao Qiao asked without thinking, “Didn’t Auntie Liu set something up for her?”

In elite circles, if someone wanted to break into the industry, scripts and agents would come knocking at their door—no need to go chasing after opportunities themselves.

Zhu Lexing said, “She wants to check it out herself.”

Xu He cut in. “But Mianmian has such a soft personality. Won’t she get taken advantage of? What’s the company? Is it legit? I can have my family look into it—”

Xu He’s family had some ties to the entertainment world, so checking out a single company was no trouble at all.

Zhu Lexing recalled the background check from the System.

The company was perfectly legitimate, with a solid public image and investments in plenty of dramas.

It all sounded fine, and she felt much more at ease. But after she named the company, Xu He’s expression turned peculiar.

“Xinghong,” Xu He said hesitantly. “Their general manager… doesn’t have the best reputation. I knew a few internet celebrities online, and they all said they’d been sexually harassed there before.”

Zhu Lexing paused. “The manager… Gu Ling?”

Xu He nodded.

Gu Ling’s primary gender was female, a Beta—and yet she targeted female Omegas. In a world where Alpha-Omega pairings were the norm, some Betas felt cheated out of their share. Once they climbed to positions of power, they lashed out at those beneath them with even greater unfairness.

Zhu Lexing’s expression turned icy in an instant.

She lowered her head and dialed Yan Mian’s number, but no one picked up.

Xu He said, “Maybe she’s still auditioning. That part should be safe…”

Zhu Lexing stood and headed straight for the door.

The others at the table exchanged bewildered glances.

Qiao Qiao spoke up. “I’ll… go ahead and reserve a hot search spot for Zhu Lexing.”

The sun dipped below the horizon.

Inside the Xinghong Entertainment building, shadows stretched long and the halls stood nearly empty.

In the audition room, Yan Mian finished her performance. The director sat behind a long table, flipping through her resume. “You did very well,” he said earnestly. “Even as a newcomer, you’re—”

He seemed about to offer more praise, but the agent beside him pressed two fingers together and tapped the table lightly—a subtle signal.

The director faltered, his gaze shifting to one of regret.

Yan Mian, who had been smiling in anticipation: “…?”

She was still a bit dazed when the agent ushered her out of the room. As they walked, the woman smiled. “You were excellent—there’s a strong chance you’ll land the role. Oh, right, you’re Yan Mian? If I may be so bold, are you connected to that Zhu Lexing… you know, the one rumored to be Director Zhu Lin’s daughter?”

Yan Mian could guess where this was going.

If she had ties to Zhu Lexing, the role was as good as hers.

If not, all the flattery was just empty words.

Thinking of Zhu Lexing’s face, Yan Mian replied without hesitation. “Zhu Lexing and I are just classmates.”

The agent studied her expression. “How close are you, exactly?”

Yan Mian frowned. “I said we’re classmates.”

Nothing more, nothing less.

The agent caught the hint of resistance in her tone and arched a brow, her politeness thinning. “I see. Noted.”

She glanced sideways with a half-smile. “Casting isn’t just up to me, though. It also requires approval from our company’s president, General Manager Gu Ling. She’s the key decision-maker on this project. You’ll meet with her alone shortly, and she’ll ask you some questions about the role.”

“…What’s her primary gender?” Yan Mian asked on instinct.

The agent smiled. “Female Beta.”

The same primary gender as her own.

Yan Mian lowered her guard a fraction, but as they drew nearer to the office, a wave of reluctance washed over her.

The agent went in first. Moments later, she opened the door with a smile and waved Yan Mian inside.

The office was spacious and immaculate, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun.

A woman in a sharp suit sat at the desk, propping her chin as she leafed through some documents.

When she spotted Yan Mian, her brows lifted slightly, and a spark of interest flickered in her otherwise calm gaze.

Yan Mian clutched her script and gave a small nod. “President Gu.”

Gu Ling didn’t respond right away. Instead, her eyes trailed slowly downward—from Yan Mian’s eyes, to her nose, to her lips.

The gaze felt almost like undressing her, and Yan Mian frowned. “President Gu?”

Gu Ling blinked as if snapping out of a trance and smiled. “Yan Mian? Nice to meet you.”

Yan Mian nodded, forcing down her irritation. But Gu Ling’s tone carried a mocking edge as she recited Yan Mian’s details: “Omega, seventeen years old, mother living, father deceased—”

“No background to speak of. You know conditions like that make it tough to survive in this industry, right?”

The lingering look had already felt like an invasion. This comment made Yan Mian’s frown deepen.

“If you think I don’t meet the requirements, just say so.”

There was no need for this condescending attitude, as if showing up here was some act of delusion on her part.

At those words, interest deepened in Gu Ling’s eyes. “I never said you don’t qualify, Miss Yan.”

She didn’t press the point, though. Instead, she veered off. “You’re lucky. That forced differentiation stunt got you on the hot searches, drew some traffic, even landed you a spot in a little crew? Doesn’t matter. The buzz will fade, and casual fans will forget you soon enough.”

She kept dancing around the subject without getting to the point. Yan Mian was already on the verge of standing up.

Finally, Gu Ling said something substantial.

“Xinghong invested fifty million in this drama—it’s a big deal. The role can be yours. Nail it, and you’ll shoot straight to stardom.”

Yan Mian turned to look at her.

Gu Ling smiled, then asked abruptly, “Yan Mian, have you ever been marked by anyone?”

For an Omega, that was harassment, plain and simple.

Yan Mian stared fixedly at Gu Ling, still not snapping out of her daze, while the other woman continued speculating on her own. “You’re so young. If you haven’t been messing around with relationships, you probably haven’t been marked. But if you haven’t been messing around… then why were you forcibly differentiated?”

Online, plenty of people still clung to victim-blaming theories about the two Omegas who had undergone forced differentiation. They insisted it was Shi Ruofeng and Yan Mian’s fault that things had turned out this way.

Even after the Lin Family scandal broke, those people refused to change their minds, stubbornly digging in their heels.

Yan Mian had scrolled through those vicious words on the internet, convincing herself she could brush them off.

But now, confronted directly by Gu Ling’s questions, a crushing wave of humiliation crashed over her. Only then did she realize how much she actually cared.

No one could truly remain indifferent to rumors and slander.

Besides, Gu Ling didn’t seem genuinely ignorant of the facts. She was asking these things just to humiliate her.

Yan Mian lowered her gaze to the cup of tea beside Gu Ling’s hand.

And next to the tea sat a small knife glinting in the light.

For some reason, her mind flashed back to their last visit to the Police Station.

Zhu Lexing had been furious over Lin Song’s words, yet she’d held herself back. She’d simply taken Yan Mian and left without clashing head-on.

Even now, Yan Mian couldn’t understand why.

She hadn’t done anything wrong. So why did she have to endure this face-to-face humiliation and all the twists of fate?

But Zhu Lexing’s face came to mind, and Yan Mian finally regained her calm.

Zhu Lexing had kept some composure even in her anger. If Yan Mian lashed out at Gu Ling now, she’d only end up hurting herself.

The door wasn’t fully closed. Yan Mian turned and walked out.

Gu Ling watched her retreating figure, her inner mockery growing thicker. She’d encountered plenty of Omegas like Yan Mian before. They always came off haughty at first, but once her tactics in this industry wore them down a little, they’d come crawling back in tears, begging her not to drop them.

Gu Ling figured Yan Mian would be no different. She sneered, “Miss Yan, you have to seize opportunities yourself.”

Yan Mian didn’t break stride until she jabbed the elevator button. Only then did she stare intently at the doors before dropping her eyes.

Her chat with Zhu Lexing still showed the call in progress—nearly ten minutes now.

Zhu Lexing hadn’t said a word.

She’d only sent one message.

—Wait for me.

~~~

The call had connected while Zhu Lexing was still riding in the taxi.

Earphones in, she started to speak on instinct but caught a strange woman’s voice suddenly questioning Yan Mian’s relationship with her.

From that moment, Zhu Lexing knew something was off.

She hit record, hearing everything Yan Mian did from then on.

Liu Su was still on set at this hour, so Zhu Lexing forwarded the recording straight to Liu Su’s agent.

It wasn’t long before the agent called back, asking what Zhu Lexing wanted to do.

Zhu Lexing figured that since Gu Ling treated other people’s suffering so lightly, she ought to experience the mob piling on herself.

The agent paused for a few seconds but didn’t turn her down. Liu Su had made it clear: as long as Zhu Lexing stayed on the right side of the law, she’d help without question.

When Zhu Lexing pulled up to Xinghong, she spotted Yan Mian waiting outside the company building.

The girl trailed the fading twilight behind her, gaze fixed on her phone as she lost herself in thought.

“Yan Mian,” Zhu Lexing called.

The Omega looked up, her expression cool and detached. She gave a slight nod even upon seeing Zhu Lexing—far chillier than she’d been the past few days.

Zhu Lexing froze. “You…”

Yan Mian went quiet for several seconds before saying, “Will you walk with me?”

Zhu Lexing had no reason to say no.

It felt like the first time they’d walked side by side in such easy harmony.

Sunset lit the path ahead. Zhu Lexing spoke up. “I’ve already told Aunt Gu about it.”

Yan Mian nodded—if Zhu Lexing hadn’t been watching so closely, she might have missed the faint motion entirely.

Zhu Lexing hesitated, then pressed on. “Next time… if you have another audition, I’ll go with you.”