After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Alpha, I Marked the Crazy Hotshot – Chapter 41

Rain Today

Cheng Jiqing used to live alone and wasn’t in the habit of locking her bedroom door. After her contractual marriage with Bai Xin, she would lock it when she remembered.

Today, she hadn’t locked it.

The doorknob turned halfway. Bai Xin forced herself to stop and raised her hand to knock.

It was past one in the morning, the only light faint illumination.

Afraid of hurting her eyes, she had only turned on the orange-yellow bedside lamp.

Cheng Jiqing, still groggy from being pulled out of sleep, murmured, “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t wait for Bai Xin’s answer.

Cheng Jiqing yawned, got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and went over. As soon as she opened the door, she met Bai Xin’s eyes, brimming with mist.

She looked like she was about to cry.

Startled, Cheng Jiqing looked closely, only to realize it was an illusion created by the dim light.

But the fine sweat on her forehead and the restless, dissatisfied mood were real.

She instantly became wide awake. “Are you feeling unwell?”

Cheng Jiqing looked down and saw Bai Xin’s small, delicate feet. “Why aren’t you even wearing shoes?”

Bai Xin seemed not to hear. The restlessness in her body made her step closer, but instead of hugging Cheng Jiqing directly as she might have before, she reached out with both hands to grasp the fabric of Cheng Jiqing’s clothes at her waist.

Cheng Jiqing didn’t step back. There had been two previous occasions when Bai Xin came back late and sought her out because she wasn’t feeling well. But she hadn’t seemed this uncomfortable then.

Cheng Jiqing asked, “Do you want a hug?”

Bai Xin didn’t speak, merely tugged at the clothes, pulling Cheng Jiqing slightly towards her.

A faint pull, yet filled with certainty and… suggestion.

As she did this, Bai Xin’s gaze remained fixed on Cheng Jiqing. Her forehead was slightly damp; she seemed dehydrated after sweating in her room earlier, and her lips looked a bit dry.

She licked her lips, which immediately gained a transient, moist sheen.

The color of pink lilies nourished by water.

A vein throbbed momentarily on Cheng Jiqing’s temple. Now, she truly had not a trace of sleepiness left.

Cheng Jiqing swallowed, mentally preparing herself several times, then pulled Bai Xin into her arms, holding her gently.

Bai Xin closed her eyes, greedily inhaling the scent of peach blossom wine. Sometimes, the wine fragrance didn’t resemble peach blossoms, but rather datura. Intoxicating. Addictive.

Today’s embrace couldn’t suppress her agitation.

Cheng Jiqing could feel the heat of Bai Xin’s sweat, causing her own calm composure to slowly heat up. She heard Bai Xin murmur into her chest, her voice low, “Cheng Jiqing, can you give me something else?”

In the empty room, Cheng Jiqing felt as if she could hear her own heartbeat. The woman’s voice was too lethal.

Playing for time, needing a second or two to think, she asked what she already knew: “Still not feeling well?”

“Mhm.”

“Then…” Cheng Jiqing only started thinking as she replied. Then—what should I do? Restraining herself somehow, she recalled what happened in the car that time.

“Should I rub it for you?”

Although it wasn’t what Bai Xin might have hoped for, this was the first time Cheng Jiqing had offered proactively.

Bai Xin: “Mhm.”

Holding her with one arm, Cheng Jiqing raised her other hand, her cool fingertips landing on the gland on Bai Xin’s neck.

The moment she touched it, she could feel the heat and the pulse there, beating at the exact same frequency as her own heart.

She could also feel Bai Xin’s breathing deepen, her legs grow weaker.

In just over ten seconds, Bai Xin’s strength had completely drained away. Cheng Jiqing had to support her waist.

“How can you be so…”

Cheng Jiqing was too embarrassed to finish the sentence. Bai Xin’s sensitivity was astonishingly high.

Bai Xin’s slight weight was entirely supported by Cheng Jiqing. Fortunately, Cheng Jiqing had excellent strength and could easily keep her steady.

After a moment, Bai Xin bit her lip. The air conditioning was clearly on, yet it didn’t feel cool at all.

She grabbed Cheng Jiqing’s hand, stopping the motion.

“Forget it…”

Cheng Jiqing paused.

Bai Xin frowned tightly and pulled away from Cheng Jiqing. Her legs were so weak she nearly fell, but luckily Cheng Jiqing reacted quickly and pulled her back again.

The orange-yellow light couldn’t reveal the flush on Cheng Jiqing’s face. She tried her best to make her voice sound calm, “Still not working?”

In reality, it was low and raspy, as if filled with sand.

The corners of Bai Xin’s eyes trembled. When she wasn’t speaking, wasn’t retorting sarcastically, wasn’t being cold and gloomy, Cheng Jiqing sometimes couldn’t tell when she was feigning her nature and when she was showing genuine vulnerability.

But it didn’t stop her heart from wavering.

Cheng Jiqing’s gaze darkened. Cupping Bai Xin’s cheek, she gently compelled her to expose her neck, then leaned down. “I won’t bite into it.”

---

The dependency created by a temporary mark was too great. Unless absolutely necessary, Cheng Jiqing wouldn’t do it easily again.

Earlier at the door, Bai Xin’s reaction when she got close to her neck had been very strong, which was why she wanted to try this.

Just marking the outer area, perhaps Bai Xin could feel better.

Bai Xin’s hands gripped Cheng Jiqing’s hem again, all her remaining strength focused in her hands.

A few minutes later.

Bai Xin leaned against Cheng Jiqing’s chest, trembling.

Cheng Jiqing held Bai Xin with both arms. They were still by the doorway, only now Bai Xin had completely lost her ability to stand on her own.

“Should I carry you back to your room?”

After a few seconds, Bai Xin shook her head. “Shower.”

Cheng Jiqing: “Okay.”

Just as she was about to lift her, Bai Xin used the support of Cheng Jiqing’s arm on her lower back to straighten up slightly, leaning back a little, her chin tilted upwards.

As she tilted her head back, the dark green silk robe slipped down, revealing a round, smooth shoulder and making her collarbones more distinct. Her hair, loosened by the movement, clung to her cheeks, damp with sweat.

Her red lips were slightly parted, her breathing tight. Her features, as beautiful as a painting, seemed otherworldly.

Cheng Jiqing thought, even without makeup, Bai Xin wasn’t always that pale. At certain moments, Bai Xin was more vibrant and rosy than a red rose.

In the dim, yellow ambiance, such beauty held a myriad of charms in a single glance.

“What is it?”

“Looking… at your expression.”

“…”

Cheng Jiqing wasn’t sure what expression she had worn when Bai Xin suddenly looked up just now. An inexplicable trace of panic surfaced.

Bai Xin’s brow had mostly smoothed out. She glanced at Cheng Jiqing and curled her lip slightly. “You’re sweating too.”

Cheng Jiqing said, “…So hurry up with your shower. Let me use it after you.”

She bent down to pick Bai Xin up. Bai Xin leaned softly against her, listening to Cheng Jiqing’s heartbeat. “You know what I mean.”

Cheng Jiqing fell silent, carrying her towards the bathroom.

Afraid she wouldn’t be able to stand, Cheng Jiqing brought a chair from the living room into the bathroom.

---

When Bai Xin came out, Cheng Jiqing was sitting on the sofa, holding a glass of water.

“You can go wash up.”

The fragrance of the milky-salt body wash drifted into Cheng Jiqing’s nostrils. She turned her head and saw Bai Xin was able to walk back to her room on her own. She nodded in reply, “Okay, go get some sleep.”

Bai Xin was indeed tired.

She looked at Cheng Jiqing. “Goodnight.”

Cheng Jiqing paused, reminded of when she was little and did something good – though she received no praise, she got an attitude of commendation.

She said, “Goodnight.”

Bai Xin said nothing more and entered her room.

Cheng Jiqing took a sip of water, pressing her lips together, hiding away the pleasant sensation from moments ago. She thought, I’m just fulfilling the agreement—but this had long surpassed the scope of the agreement.

She was tacitly allowing Bai Xin to cross the line, and she herself was crossing it too.

She thought for a while.

Cheng Jiqing stood up, grabbed clean pajamas, and walked into the bathroom.

The scent of body wash, the scent after an omega used body wash. She looked at the chair under the showerhead, and an image of Bai Xin sitting there automatically surfaced in her mind. Her face grew hot again.

Especially since on the first night they met, Bai Xin had also been sitting on a chair…

Cheng Jiqing quickly stopped that train of thought.

When had she ever started having such thoughts so easily? Ever since interacting with Bai Xin, she had become increasingly strange.

She felt like she was heading towards another hidden domain of ‘lust,’ and under Comrade Bai Xin’s guidance, she would become increasingly proficient in the future.

Cheng Jiqing was already in a state of semi-resignation. She chose to let nature take its course.

But looking at that chair, Cheng Jiqing felt an itch of annoyance and carried the chair out.

She tossed her clothes into the laundry basket, her straight legs stepping into the shower.

That night, Cheng Jiqing spent quite a long time showering, and also quite a long time falling asleep.

The next two days.

Cheng Jiqing sent the carefully recorded video, photos, and self-introduction via email, formatted according to the production team’s requirements.

She had added the casting assistant’s WeChat. The first post on their Moments feed had slightly more detailed character introductions, two lines of dialogue; the main roles would have a few more.

This was prepared for the offline open auditions, but the lines could also be used in the video auditions.

Although there were only one or two lines, with the rest relying on improvisation, catching the casting director’s attention with just one line was enough.

Actually, somewhat famous directors wouldn’t usually find actors this way, especially for lead roles.

Most would recruit from professional acting academies. It showed that Tong Yanxi was different.

Cheng Jiqing felt a growing curiosity about this director she hadn’t met yet. Capable in both literary and martial arts – quite a remarkable woman.

Cheng Jiqing was fairly confident about the materials she had prepared.

She had polished the dance in the video many times. The photos were bare-faced; she had never felt insecure about her appearance. The only potential flaw might be her resume…

---

“Director Tong, I found a pretty good prospect. Do you want to take a look?”

The speaker was Tong Yanxi’s assistant, Lucy. “Just screened this one. My eyes were starting to glaze over, but this person was a breath of fresh air.”

Hearing this, Tong Yanxi took the lollipop out of her mouth and said, “Such high praise?”

She sat down next to Lucy, who clicked open the video.

The background was a spacious balcony. A woman wore a black tango dress, her movements elegant yet sharp, proud yet possessing a unique feminine softness.

Several moves were executed brilliantly, making it impossible to look away.

Especially her expressions. Tong Yanxi’s gaze remained fixed on the woman’s face. She didn’t use any lines throughout the video, but her expressions drew people in.

Unlike typical videos, her self-introduction was at the end.

“Hello, teachers. My name is Cheng Jiqing.”

Tong Yanxi watched for a moment, then hissed softly. “I think I’ve seen this person before…”

She thought for a moment. “Ah, at the movie theater. I even gave her a copy of 《Shang An》.”

Her temperament and face were the kind one wouldn’t easily forget after seeing them once, especially with that sentence she still remembered.

“Which agency is she with? Let me see her resume.”

“I was just about to say, everything else is great, but her resume is rather… well, take a look.” Lucy chuckled. “There’s nothing on it. Name, age, and a passion for acting. No agency, no acting experience, not professionally trained either. But based on that video performance just now, she’s better than several A-list and B-list actors sent over by companies previously.”

“I don’t care about A-list or B-list when casting.” Tong Yanxi gestured with her chin. “Well then, notify her for the open audition in a couple of days. We’ll see then.”

The day Cheng Jiqing received the audition notice was also the anniversary of Bai Xin’s mother’s death.

At the same time, she also received a call from Song Ling.

Bai Xin planned to go to the cemetery in the afternoon, so she had time in the morning. Cheng Jiqing thus went to Song Ling’s hotel in the morning—the Feng Ling Hotel.

She had seen the proposal and the rough AI simulations, but seeing the exterior in person still surprised Cheng Jiqing somewhat.

Although the themed hotel didn’t have a star rating, its furnishings and facilities were definitely on par with starred hotels.

Song Ling looked only about 20, but she had grown up in a prominent family after all, and the Song family were major players in the hotel industry. Song Ling herself had considerable taste and experience.

“There’s a public entertainment area on the third floor, and then this whole floor is billiards rooms and game rooms. What I’m most satisfied with is the rooftop suite’s open-air swimming pool! Come on, I’ll take you up to see.”

Cheng Jiqing followed her up for a tour. Her eyes immediately fell on the sparkling blue swimming pool, visually satisfying.

It was surrounded by glass on all four sides, with no taller buildings nearby. However, if the light was even slightly good, anyone swimming inside could be seen.

But plenty of people sought thrills.

Cheng Jiqing thought to herself.

“And also! The fantasy rooms! Sis, I absolutely have to let you experience them.”

Cheng Jiqing: “…Be careful you don’t get swept up in a vice raid.”

Song Ling: “Oh, come on! I’m a law-abiding citizen, okay! Come on, it’s really interesting. There are trampoline beds, water beds too. When you bring women over in the future, I’ll give you a discount.”

Cheng Jiqing: “? If I recall correctly, aren’t I also a shareholder?”

“Huh? Oh right.” Song Ling laughed heartily. “I forgot.”

Cheng Jiqing scoffed lightly. Before leaving, she glanced outside the swimming pool area.

The weather was very gloomy. It wasn’t even noon yet, but the sky looked like it was about to turn dark. Seeing the thick, dark clouds in the distance resembling an approaching army, it seemed a heavy rain was inevitable.

Cheng Jiqing sent a text message to Bai Xin: 【Want to go earlier? It’s going to rain today.】

She received a reply half an hour later. Cheng Jiqing had just finished touring the hotel with Song Ling and gone downstairs. Song Ling dragged her to a nearby commercial street.

They reached a shopping mall. It was the weekend, and it was crowded.

They went up to the highest floor, the fifth, and browsed for a while.

Song Ling took a call. Just then, Cheng Jiqing received Bai Xin’s reply and looked down at the message: 【Okay, where are you?】

Cheng Jiqing excused herself to Song Ling and headed towards the restrooms down the corridor, then sent the name of the mall: 【What about you? Should I come find you, or will you come here?】

Bai Xin: 【Nearby. I’ll come over.】

Cheng Jiqing: 【Okay. Song Ling is here. Let me know when you’re close.】

Cheng Jiqing was still washing her hands when she suddenly heard alarms blaring frantically. Like most people, she froze for a second, then immediately rushed out of the restroom!

The fire was spreading quickly. She first tried calling Song Ling, but the line was busy.

She shouted Song Ling’s name a few times on the floor, but her voice was drowned out by the surrounding shouts and panic. People were frantically running downstairs, but the narrow escalator couldn’t possibly accommodate the sudden surge of people.

Someone was pushed right off; from a height of five floors, even if not fatal, it would cause serious injury.

Cold sweat broke out on Cheng Jiqing’s back for a moment. Smelling the faint scent of smoke, she suddenly recalled the suffocating scene from her dream, a chill running down her spine.

She tried her best to stay calm. The fire was coming from below. Cheng Jiqing didn’t know how severe it was downstairs. Maybe it had just started and wasn’t serious, in which case she could choose to head immediately for the emergency exit.

But if it had already spread significantly, then she could only wait here for the fire trucks.

Because this was already the fifth floor; there was no way to run further up.

And if the fire trucks didn’t arrive in time… then she would only face a dead end.

Cheng Jiqing didn’t notice her phone vibrating. Her mind was filled with fragments of the original host’s memories, giving her the illusion that waiting meant waiting for death.

She decided to take a risk and run towards the emergency exit. If the situation looked bad, she could always run back up.

Some people still wanted to take the elevator. Cheng Jiqing stopped a few: “You can’t take the elevator!”

In a life-or-death moment, who would listen? Or perhaps they couldn’t hear—the alarms, the smoke, the screams, the cries cast a huge shadow of terror and panic over everyone’s minds.

Death was close at hand.

Cheng Jiqing couldn’t worry about others; she could only go herself. There weren’t as many people in the fire escape stairwell as crowding the escalator.

But it wasn’t smooth sailing either. Before she even reached the third floor, she heard a loud explosion!

The raging fire spread too quickly. A huge plume of thick smoke billowed up from below…

---

Bai Xin’s car stopped at a red light. Cheng Jiqing hadn’t replied to her message from five minutes ago.

Her snow-white hand rested on the steering wheel, her gaze fixed on the thick smoke ahead. She could vaguely see black smoke from across the street. She had also heard an explosion just moments ago.

The already dim weather seemed to gain momentum.

Bai Xin stared at the smoke, frowning slightly, and unlocked her phone to dial Cheng Jiqing’s number…

The ringing tone sounded until a cold, mechanical voice came on, but Cheng Jiqing’s voice never did.

Bai Xin tried again. The light turned green, but the call still didn’t connect. She drove forward until she was stuck in the congested traffic.

During this time, she tried calling one last time.

Bai Xin took a deep breath. She could now see the shopping mall engulfed in smoke.

It was the exact building Cheng Jiqing had sent her the name of.

Suddenly, her gaze paused. She saw Song Ling, but Cheng Jiqing was nowhere in sight. She got out of the car immediately and walked towards Song Ling.

Bai Xin’s steps weren’t rushed, but her nails were digging almost into her flesh.

She remembered this day many years ago, that night, when she also couldn’t get through to her mother’s phone, also hearing that cold voice after countless rings.

Also a fire like this.

The promise to pick her up was never fulfilled.

A feeling of intense anger and terror suddenly washed over her—would Cheng Jiqing break her promise too?

Just as Bai Xin was about to reach Song Ling, she heard Song Ling crying while on the phone: “Why aren’t your fire trucks here yet?! My friend is still inside! Hurry up! She can’t be near fire, she’ll die in there!”

Bai Xin’s blood ran cold.

---

The author has something to say:

Just a mention, in situations like this, without knowing the layout or having guarantees, there won’t be scenes of rushing in to save someone. But their mental states will start to change, plus a bit of redemption literature.

Also, a reminder to everyone—during a fire, absolutely do not run around blindly. For non-professionals, the priority is self-preservation. Leave rescues to the more professional firefighters¹.

Right now, it might seem like Bai-jie is always the one initiating things, rest assured, Chengcheng will step up.

Chengcheng (chin in hand): Why is my wife so sensitive?

Bai-jie: That’s a secret for you to uncover.

---

---