After an Alluring Alpha Provokes an Unhinged Omega 57

Chapter 57: Want to Break Up

For a period of time after, Jiang Mi and Yan Wei’s contact went from once a day to once every two or three days. It was still Jiang Mi who initiated the inquiry. Once, Yan Wei had asked her if she had eaten. At that time, Jiang Mi was on the phone with Jiang Yuying, talking about her recent situation.

So she only saw it half an hour later. By the time she replied, and the other party replied again, there was another seven or eight-hour time difference.

The number of times Jiang Mi stared at her phone in a daze increased, and then decreased…

Zhao Jia also noticed that Jiang Mi was deliberately immersing herself in work, staying up until eleven or twelve every day, exhausting herself. Especially during the two days she was in Nanjing, she hadn’t met Director Zhao and had followed the news to another city. In order to leave an impression on Director Zhao, she was even willing to do an emergency job for the crew for free—a beggar leader with an ugly appearance.

This was what it was like to desperately seek a role, but Jiang Mi clearly didn’t have to go to this extent.

And in the past, Jiang Mi didn’t have this kind of drive.

To be precise, Jiang Mi seemed to be undergoing a transformation that even she herself couldn’t feel. She was growing at a crazy rate.

Zhao Jia had a premonition that after Spring wrapped up, Jiang Mi’s real spring was about to come.

“I asked around. Director Zhao’s assistant said that the role is almost decided. I guess the reason she didn’t see you is because of this.” Zhao Jia paused. “Although it’s a bit of a pity, there’s nothing we can do about it. There have been some pretty good scripts coming in recently. Why don’t you choose one, and we’ll go straight into the next project?”

Sometimes, hard work was useless.

But the traces of hard work would always exist, until one day, a discerning eye appeared.

Jiang Mi didn’t speak. She was seriously considering Zhao Jia’s words. If the role was already decided, then there was indeed nothing to fight for. If she insisted on seeing Director Zhao, she might even offend her colleagues.

But to let go of that role just like that, she also felt it was a real pity.

“With so many scripts, there will definitely be one that moves you.”

“Alright.”

Jiang Mi relented.

She couldn’t just hang herself on one tree.

The weather at the end of July was terrifyingly hot. The weather forecast reported 39 degrees, with a feels-like temperature of 41 degrees. The heat outside the car was steaming, and all living things became limp, as if they were about to die.

Jiang Mi’s gaze withdrew from the drooping green plants. She said, “Let’s go have a good meal.”

“It’s rare to see you have a request.”

“It’s too hot. What if the world suddenly explodes, and I haven’t even had a good meal? What a pity.”

Even the driver laughed at this. Jiang Mi shrugged. Actually, for that one moment, she really thought so.

This feeling made her suddenly want to cherish everything around her.

Many people flashed through her eyes at almost the same time.

Jiang Youshu, Jiang Hu, Jiang Yuying, Zhao Jia, Zhou Shanshan, and even Shen Ruoxi…

Another name was constantly remembered, constantly blurred, and could be put at the end.

In the end, it still appeared in her mind.

It was even as if her world was left with only that name—Yan Wei.

It was already the end of July. Her promise to go home at the beginning of the month had been postponed again and again, but she was willing to stay up late waiting for a message from Yan Wei.

Jiang Mi occasionally felt that she was quite unfilial.

So her contact with Jiang Hu also became more frequent. She often sent things to Jiang Hu and asked her to take them to Jiang Youshu. In her spare time, she used the time she had once spent contacting and waiting for Yan Wei’s messages to contact Jiang Youshu.

This state finally eased her emotions. At least at the moment she saw Jiang Youshu, she felt that she was being healed by her mother.

No one in the world would love her more than Jiang Youshu.

Once this thought arose, she found that the pain in her heart had eased a lot.

She would no longer make demands on Yan Wei.

Fortunately, she hadn’t contacted her for the past two days.

Her mood… of course, was not very good, but she felt very lucky that this sadness was not entirely because of Yan Wei, but because of the script she had lost before she had even gotten it.

On the sixth floor of a shopping mall in Huai City, there was a very famous Cantonese stir-fry restaurant. It was the place Shen Ruoxi had originally suggested, but they had never found the chance to go.

Her gaze fell on a brand’s poster. Last month, it had been a large picture of Shen Ruoxi.

She remembered the day she had found out about Shen Ruoxi’s relationship being exposed. She had sent a message to Shen Ruoxi, saying “Congratulations.”

Shen Ruoxi had sent a video over.

There was not a single trace of loss on her face. Shen Ruoxi was beaming as she showed off to her, “What do you think? My hot search is amazing, right? But I’ve already posed so much, and this damn paparazzi still took such an ugly picture!”

Only then did Jiang Mi know that Shen Ruoxi had done it on purpose.

To expose her relationship with the help of the paparazzi.

“I didn’t plan to expose it at first, but she’s always been insecure, especially since I often go out to film romance dramas, and this time the scale is so big. Her mood was very bad, and we had a big fight this time… it was a rare meeting for a meal, and I didn’t expect to be followed by the paparazzi.” Shen Ruoxi laughed. “So I just went all in and stood there for them to take pictures.”

It was hard for Jiang Mi not to admit that the moment she heard certain words, she was very envious.

And also jealous.

She said truthfully, “I really envy you. You’re so brave.”

“Actually, she’s more brave,” Shen Ruoxi said. “After the exposure, she has to bear much more than me. But it’s okay. I believe that as long as we’re together, we’ll get through everything.”

Jiang Mi nodded. “You will.”

Jiang Mi withdrew her gaze from the poster with another star on it. She didn’t know what she was thinking, but she just became silent.

The noise of the restaurant was blocked by the private room door.

While Zhao Jia was ordering, Jiang Mi quietly stood up and walked to the restroom at the end of the corridor.

The corridor lights were dim, and the air was filled with the aroma of food.

Jiang Mi was wearing a mask. Just as she was about to turn at the corner with the letter A on it, her footsteps suddenly stopped—in front of the clean washstand opposite her, a familiar figure was bending slightly.

As if sensing the gaze behind her, the person’s movements paused, and she slowly looked up from the mirror.

The mirror clearly reflected Yan Wei’s slightly surprised eyes.

Four gazes met silently on the cold mirror surface for a short moment.

Yan Wei also paused for a moment, but then she looked away and at the same time, took a piece of paper and held it in her hand.

She turned her head and stood where she was.

For a few seconds, no one spoke.

Jiang Mi was the first to ask, “When did you get back?” Her voice came through the mask, exceptionally steady.

Only then did Yan Wei approach and reply, “This morning.”

Jiang Mi nodded very lightly, her gaze sweeping over the half-open door of the private room next to her. “It’s not convenient to talk here. You go ahead. We’ll talk later.”

She didn’t even give Yan Wei time to respond. She quickly turned sideways, and her figure disappeared behind the restroom door.

The moment the door lock clicked, Jiang Mi felt a scorching heat suddenly rush up to her eyes, and her nasal cavity was sore and blocked. But she didn’t cry, not a single tear.

She didn’t know how to digest this situation. She just felt a wave of dizziness, and her stomach was also cramping badly.

At noon, two days after they had lost contact, she had met Yan Wei in a restaurant.

“Is this normal?”—this thought suddenly popped up. Perhaps between lovers, it wasn’t necessary to report everything?

But even if it wasn’t necessary to report every detail…

It should be basic courtesy to let her know, right? If she cared, she should have said something, right?

On this day, for the first time, Jiang Mi found that she could no longer deceive herself.

She could no longer empathize with Yan Wei.

After a moment, she took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Not far out, Jiang Mi saw the figure waiting by the pillar. She walked straight over and stopped in front of Yan Wei.

“Come with me.” Yan Wei’s voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable, habitual tone.

Jiang Mi shook her head. “Zhao Jia is still inside.”

“Together.” Two words, so concise they were cold.

Jiang Mi was used to unconditional submission, but at this moment, Jiang Mi had no intention of submitting at all. All she had was rebellion, all she had was resistance.

All she had was annoyance.

She said, “No.”

She was about to turn and walk around her, but her wrist was suddenly seized. Yan Wei’s fingers held her tightly, the force of her fingertips showing a restrained tension. “You don’t want to see Zhao Xi?”

Jiang Mi’s breath hitched.

Yan Wei said, “I’m having dinner with Zhao Xi.”

This was, of course, a temptation, especially for Jiang Mi.

She had run to the Nanjing crew with Zhao Jia so many times. Wasn’t it just to see Zhao Xi?

“You go. I’m not going.” Jiang Mi heard her own voice, calmer than she had imagined.

Yan Wei’s brow furrowed slightly, as if in confusion, and also as if in scrutiny. “Reason?”

Jiang Mi looked up, her gaze unwavering. “I don’t want to use your connections to get a back door.” She laid her heart bare. “I want to get what I want with my own abilities. If I have to rely on your power… to get that role, I’ll look down on myself.”

That would not only be a loss of face, but a complete collapse of dignity—from then on, in front of Yan Wei, she would forever be a weak person who had to lower her head to get an opportunity.

Yan Wei’s expression instantly turned cold.

She scrutinized the persistence in Jiang Mi’s eyes and only felt that that bit of innocence was so out of place in the world of fame and fortune. There was such a good opportunity.

“If I wanted to use my connections to arrange it for you, you should be on the set right now,” Yan Wei said. “Is this your first day in this industry? Jiang Mi, the position you want requires unscrupulous means to get. Put away your kindness and innocence, and go fight for it, understand?”

How did others see her getting to this position?

Talent? She did have it.

But without the secret struggles, without ruthlessly stepping on those opponents who were also desperately climbing up, just relying on talent—how could she stand firm?

The rules of this road had always been cruel: you had to squeeze in first, stand firm, and only then would you have a chance to be seen, to have a chance to shine.

Footsteps came from the other end of the corridor. It seemed to be a curious diner, their gaze briefly on them.

That gaze was like a thorn, so stuffy in Jiang Mi’s chest that she could barely breathe.

Yan Wei’s words, every word was like it had been soaked in the ice water of reality, bone-chilling, but also carrying a certain naked truth. She knew that it contained the cruel rules of survival in the industry, but she just couldn’t convince herself to nod at this moment, to convince herself to just accept it, to just follow her.

What hurt her especially was Yan Wei’s gaze at this moment, the sharp edge when she was analyzing the pros and cons. At this moment, that rational judgment of her made her feel that she was not like a lover she hadn’t seen in a while, but more like an object whose value needed to be assessed.

Jiang Mi found it hard to accept.

Just treat her as naive and ridiculous.

Jiang Mi: “I was naive. I’m sorry, Teacher Yan. Just treat me as a piece of rotten wood.”

When you’re arguing, you don’t think about what you’re saying.

You can only care about your own satisfaction first.

The breath in her heart was let out just like that. “I won’t disturb your good mood. Goodbye.”

Yan Wei stared at her. “…” The unspoken words were stuck in her lips, turning into a stagnant silence. Jiang Mi’s sudden resistance and resolute defiance were clearly beyond her expectations.

She found that she didn’t know Jiang Mi that well either.

Jiang Mi wanted that role. With just one word, she could recommend Jiang Mi for an interview. Since they had just met, it was just an early interview.

This was Jiang Mi’s chance.

An opportunity that others would kill for.

Why was Jiang Mi unwilling?

She let out a heavy breath, her eyes as cold as ice.

Jiang Mi almost fled in panic, every step on the churning sourness and stuffiness. Her chest was like it was filled with a water-soaked sponge, so heavy and painful that she was almost suffocating.

She felt nauseous and didn’t even want to go back to the private room. She rushed straight to the elevator, pressed the button for the underground garage, and her trembling fingertips sent a message to Zhao Jia.

About ten minutes later, Zhao Jia came down from upstairs in a hurry.

The empty first basement level echoed with the slightly hurried sound of her high heels. The driver was not there, and the car was silent.

Zhao Jia opened the car door and at a glance saw the curled-up figure in the back seat—Jiang Mi had wrapped her head tightly in her coat, like a frightened bird, curled up in the corner of the seat.

In the small space, there was only an exceptionally heavy, and faintly suppressed, weak sob, again and again.

The end of every breath carried an uncontrollable tremor.

She was crying.

Zhao Jia’s heart instantly tightened.

“Mimi?” She got into the back seat and anxiously patted the bulging “coat package.”

“What’s suddenly wrong?”

The body under the coat was heaving violently. After a long while, an extremely suppressed, and heavily nasal, and almost-changed voice came from inside:

“…We’re going to break up.”

Three short words made Zhao Jia’s heart sink. She hesitated, “Did you bring it up, or…” She paused, her words carrying an incredible caution, “…did she?”

The coat wrapped around Jiang Mi shook slightly. She shook her head, and the fabric rubbing against the seat made a rustling sound.

“No, but it’s close.”