After an Alluring Alpha Provokes an Unhinged Omega 14

Chapter 14: Thoughts

The shower passed by eleven o’clock, and the sky actually began to show a bit of sun.

In the afternoon, the ground was dry. Except for the puddles under the eaves of the old houses, it was as if the dampness had never occurred.

So, Jiang Qu stuck to the original plan. After lunch, they continued with today’s filming—the scene of Qin Shui and Liang Yongping’s first meeting.

Jiang Mi and Yan Wei listened attentively to Jiang Qu’s instructions. After she finished and went to adjust the monitors, Yan Wei said, “The clothes are dirty. I’ll return them to you after they’re dry-cleaned.”

Jiang Mi said, “It’s okay, you really don’t have to.”

Yan Wei had returned the script to her this morning. She had given it to her personally, not through Bai Qiu. Thinking of the notes she had made in the script, she felt inexplicably guilty.

But then she felt that being timid was worse than just admitting it openly. “Um, Teacher Yan, did you see the notes in my script?”

Yan Wei: “What notes?”

Jiang Mi: “Nothing, just a little something about some minor acting issues.”

She pinched her thumb and forefinger together, making a small gesture.

Yan Wei averted her eyes, pretending not to see the look of relief on Jiang Mi’s face.

It had been exactly twenty days since the beginning of spring.

At a little past ten in the morning, Liang Yongping was sitting on the steps in front of her house, snapping the string beans she had just bought that morning.

She was wearing a black cotton jacket from a few years ago, slim-fitting dark blue jeans, and a pair of mint green sleeve protectors with lace trim on her wrists.

The buildings were close together, and at this time of day, the sun could just reach her doorstep. But it was only for a short time, and she cherished this moment every day.

She suddenly heard the sound of high heels. This remote, old residential building in the small county town was mostly inhabited by the elderly, so this sound was not often heard.

She looked toward the alley entrance, wondering which family’s “young lady” had returned to the village.

A corner of a dark green dress first entered her eyes, and then she was completely stunned, so stunned that it was enough to make her feel ashamed of her own appearance.

“Hello.”

The woman’s voice reminded Liang Yongping of spring. She nodded, then lowered her eyes.

“My name is Qin Shui. I just rented the second floor yesterday, right above you.”

Liang Yongping looked up. “Hello.”

Qin Shui approached and stood in front of her. For the first time, she smelled the unique rose scent on the woman’s body. She belatedly realized that the sunlight above her head was being blocked by the woman.

The woman smiled. “Do you live here? Then we’ll be neighbors from now on.”

Liang Yongping returned a polite smile. Only then did Qin Shui walk up the stairs in her high heels, “Clack,” “clack,” “clack,” each step slow.

Suddenly, the sound of high heels stopped.

Liang Yongping looked up from the low stool by the door. She saw the woman standing on the slanted staircase, her figure graceful, her features picturesque. Charm and elegance coexisted in one person. No matter how you looked at it, this person didn’t seem like someone who would appear here.

A breeze blew past, and the hem of the cheongsam fluttered, revealing a pair of slender, fair calves that unexpectedly crashed into Liang Yongping’s vision.

She almost frantically averted her gaze and heard the woman say with a smile, “By the way, you’re very beautiful.”

Only after the sound of high heels started again and then disappeared did Liang Yongping stop her mechanical vegetable-prepping. She stared at her own hands. They were long, but for the convenience of snapping beans, she had kept her thumbnail long, and there was still green juice from the string beans inside. The pads of her fingers had become rough and dry from years of labor and housework.

Her face was the same. A few years ago, it might have been considered presentable, but after years of wear and tear, she no longer felt she looked human. Let alone beautiful… how long had it been since she had heard someone say those two words to her?

She felt it was more like sarcasm.

The building above had already blocked the sun. Liang Yongping stood up with the vegetables, almost digging her nails into the basket. Then she shut the door tightly.

“Cut—”

The moment Jiang Qu shouted, Jiang Mi put down the basket and immediately went outside to find a well-lit spot. She had been too engrossed in the scene just now and had gotten a splinter in her finger while gripping the basket.

Zhao Jia got a needle from the props department and was picking out the splinter for her under the sunlight.

Yan Wei came down from upstairs. The makeup artist came up to touch up her makeup and asked faintly, “What’s wrong?”

Bai Qiu also looked over at Jiang Mi and replied, “I don’t know, something seems to be wrong with her hand? Should I go take a look?”

“No need.”

The splinter wasn’t thick, but it was deep. It took a full ten minutes to get it out.

At a little past two, Jiang Qu needed to adjust the camera positions and told everyone to take a half-hour break. Jiang Mi wanted to go back to the break room and lie down for a bit. Because Zhao Jia had been unexpectedly called back to the company, she walked to the break room by herself, holding her script.

Soon, she saw Yan Wei a few meters ahead, also alone, with a shawl draped over her shoulders. Sometimes, before the next scene, Yan Wei wouldn’t speak to anyone, so she wasn’t sure if Yan Wei wanted to be alone right now. After thinking about it, she decided not to disturb her.

Perhaps because she was wearing flats, she walked faster. In just a few steps, the distance between her and Yan Wei had shortened considerably. By the time they entered the actors’ area and were at the door of the break room, they were only a few steps apart.

Only then did Jiang Mi say, “Teacher Yan.”

Yan Wei turned and saw her, stopping where she was, seemingly waiting for her to approach. Jiang Mi was taken aback, then quickened her pace with a pleasant surprise and walked up to Yan Wei.

Although Yan Wei was wearing high heels, they didn’t seem to have much of a height difference.

Jiang Mi couldn’t think of anything to say for a moment, but her eyes and face were filled with a smile.

Yan Wei asked calmly, “What are you smiling about?”

Jiang Mi said truthfully, “I’m just happy to see you.”

Yan Wei’s expression flickered, but she didn’t respond to her words, probably knowing that even if she said nothing, Jiang Mi would have endless things to say. Jiang Mi asked, “Teacher Yan, is your hand better?”

Hearing this, Yan Wei stared at her for a few seconds, then held out her hands.

They were beautiful hands, with only a faint, almost healed mark visible on the palm.

Jiang Mi: “…”

You’re so ridiculous, Jia.

She was a bit embarrassed, but fortunately, she was good at shifting responsibility. “They were the ones who said your hand was cut and bleeding.”

Yan Wei stared at Jiang Mi’s expression, her long eyelashes veiling her gaze. She effortlessly glanced at Jiang Mi’s own uninjured, fair hands, and then her gaze returned to Jiang Mi’s face. “In this place, what anyone says is not as reliable as your own eyes and ears.”

Jiang Mi once again smelled the intertwined scents of rose and brandy.

She nodded. “Okay, I’ll remember that.”

Yan Wei’s gaze didn’t move, but an inexplicable thought began to sprout from the depths of her heart, itching uncomfortably.

Sunlight shone in through the transparent glass windows of the corridor, elongating their shadows.

Yan Wei was still in her Qin Shui costume—a dark green, patterned cheongsam, high heels, and a hollowed-out shawl that swayed slightly with the cross-breeze. In just a second or two, the sunlight shifted, shining from behind Yan Wei’s waist, passing through the gap between her arm and her waistline, and refracting onto Jiang Mi’s mint green sleeve protectors.

The light and shadow floated, and Yan Wei let out a soft “hmm.”

She didn’t seem to want to chat much, however. She looked at Jiang Mi again. “Go rest.”

Jiang Mi smiled. “Okay, see you in a bit.”

A second passed.

Yan Wei nodded.

Jiang Mi stood at the door, watching Yan Wei’s departing back. She couldn’t describe the feeling, but suddenly, even the dust on the floor seemed pleasing to the eye.