After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Alpha, I Marked the Crazy Hotshot – Chapter 73

The first snow

‘I feel like I’m standing with my arms wide open in a desert, and you’ve descended upon me like rain.’¹

Inside the room, the movie continued to play.

Faintly, with almost no presence.

Because it was drowned out by louder, heavier breathing.

Frustrated, tinged with anger, almost a vent.

The strength difference between an Alpha and an Omega was truly significant. If Cheng Jiqing wasn’t willing to yield, Bai Xin had no way out.

Bai Xin’s hands were pinned by one of Cheng Jiqing’s, rendering her immobile.

There was a coolness on her legs; her skin was directly exposed to the air, and the edge of her stockings dug painfully into her.

Her breathing was rapid. She stared into Cheng Jiqing’s eyes, and upon seeing Cheng Jiqing’s emotionless expression, she grew annoyed.

“Let go.”

She tried to raise her knee to jab, struggling in Cheng Jiqing’s grip.

“Struggling for what? Didn’t you want this?”

Those words from earlier had pierced Cheng Jiqing’s heart. When Bai Xin’s claws had come out fiercely, she hadn’t cared if Cheng Jiqing lived or died. She was genuinely furious too.

Bai Xin gritted her teeth, her tone cold, yet her voice was hoarse. “Now I don’t want to. Can’t I?”

She was sweating profusely from the struggle. Her exquisitely beautiful features, even in her struggle, were breathtakingly stunning.

The soft bed trembled.

Bai Xin only heard Cheng Jiqing let out a soft laugh.

Cheng Jiqing’s consistent gentleness suddenly changed. She knew Cheng Jiqing’s demeanor was different when angry, but it was rare for it to be so overtly displayed like today.

Cheng Jiqing’s fingers brushed over her skin, the damp coolness reminding her of how pathetic she was beneath her arrogant words.

“Is that so?”

Cheng Jiqing showed no intention of softening, not even giving Bai Xin any mental preparation.

In that instant, Bai Xin’s lips parted, unable to utter a single word.

Cheng Jiqing was too familiar with the rhythm she liked. Numbness and tremors shot from her toes to her spine; she instinctively lost all resistance.

…

Bai Xin gazed at Cheng Jiqing with hazy eyes, her sight falling on the small mole on her neck. She only saw sweat glistening there, about to drip.

When Cheng Jiqing released her hands, she was like a trapped beast escaping its cage. She abruptly pulled Cheng Jiqing down and bit down retaliatorily on her gland!

Cheng Jiqing winced in pain but didn’t dodge. However, her actions underneath became even rougher.

Bai Xin reached the edge, her dark hair splayed by the bedside. Her hand fell, hitting the tablet…

The progress bar slid erratically, and a young woman’s magnetic voice sounded.

‘I miss you.’

‘I miss you.’

---

The wind beat against the window, and the room quieted down.

Amidst the dim lamplight, snow had unexpectedly begun to fall outside.

The first snow in Beicheng had arrived just like that.

“Just because of that sentence?”

—I think I need to calm down for a bit. Why don’t you go back first and celebrate Tang Jia’s birthday?

Cheng Jiqing was still on top, her voice calm, though her breathing hadn’t settled.

Bai Xin turned her head away, not looking at her. Her body was still trembling. After a rare, thorough release, her heart still felt heavy, and she didn’t want to speak.

After a moment.

Cheng Jiqing got off the bed without a word.

The living room lights were still on. Cheng Jiqing stood in the center of the living room, looking at the balcony’s French windows. The rustling snow seemed to come alive, then fall, drifting and unsettled in the human world.

Her body and hands were sticky. Perhaps because her mood was heavy, Bai Xin’s words had provoked her, making her angrier today than ever before.

She turned and went to the bathroom.

In the bedroom, the sweet, cloying scent was heavy.

Bai Xin lay flat, surrounded by disarray, much like herself.

She knew she couldn’t blame Cheng Jiqing for being angry; she herself had even less reason to be angry with Cheng Jiqing.

She actually understood better than anyone why she was like this.

It was her problem that things had turned out this way.

But then she thought, this was the first time Cheng Jiqing had been so cold after they finished. Even last time in the pool, before they had reconciled, Cheng Jiqing had carried her to the bathroom…

She couldn’t help but feel a tightness in her chest.

However, a person with a guilty conscience has no grounds to be angry.

Perhaps because it was snowing, the wind outside was exceptionally strong.

Cheng Jiqing and Bai Xin slept with their backs to each other. After an unknown amount of time, there was a faint rustling of the quilt in the room. A warmth pressed against Cheng Jiqing’s back.

She opened her eyes in the darkness.

“I want you to need me too.”

Cheng Jiqing sighed and said, “How do you know I don’t need you?”

“You didn’t say it.”

Cheng Jiqing criticized, “That’s robber’s logic².”

Not saying it means not needing? Besides, hadn’t she said enough? Hadn’t she done enough?

It was quiet for a while.

Cheng Jiqing asked her, “What’s been wrong with you lately?”

Bai Xin didn’t speak. Just when Cheng Jiqing thought she was about to fall asleep, Bai Xin’s face was behind her neck. “Did it hurt when I bit you?”

“I’m wondering if I should go get a rabies shot.”

“…”

A few seconds later, Cheng Jiqing said, “Sleep.”

Neither of them spoke again.

There was only the sound of the wind.

It rustled throughout the city.

Late at night, the two of them held each other, under the same quilt, the warmth temporarily warding off the cold from outside.

---

A few days passed quietly.

In the blink of an eye, it was December.

The trip to Jiangcheng had been postponed for a few days due to adjustments by the film crew, but it finally arrived.

The filming of 《Cat and Mint》 was actually nearing its end. In another half a month, it would be finished.

On the fourth day of her business trip, Cheng Jiqing was on a small bridge over Jiangcheng Lake when she received a message from Song Ling.

【My god, did you know something happened to the Bai family’s company?】

【It was just announced an hour ago. Did your someone tell you?】

Below it was a Weibo link. Cheng Jiqing didn’t need to click on it to know the general content.

The Bai Corporation had declared bankruptcy.

She replied: 【She told me.】

Bai Xin had mentioned this a few days ago.

Song Ling: 【Then did you see how much money the Bai family owes? Three billion. Let me tell you first, don’t be a hero and step up for them. Tighten your belt³!】

This was her fearing Cheng Jiqing would pay off Bai Zhaoliang’s debts.

Cheng Jiqing chuckled at the message: 【Alright, don’t worry, I won’t pay a single cent.】

She wondered what mood Bai Xin was in today.

The argument from that day had passed uneventfully, but the aftereffects lingered for several days. Both she and Bai Xin had taken a step back, but she always felt that Bai Xin had something on her mind.

Thinking about it now, perhaps it was because of the Bai Corporation.

It hadn’t snowed in Jiangcheng yet, just continuous overcast rain, but the temperature was indeed higher than in Beicheng. Not much better, though.

When it was supposed to be cold, it was cold everywhere.

The afternoon shoot ended early. Cheng Jiqing had a simple meal at the cafeteria and then returned to the hotel.

After showering, she moved a chair to the balcony and then called Bai Xin.

Same room, same direction.

Still facing that not-so-bright tall building. The nights in Jiangcheng were truly not as beautiful as the daytime. She lamented this again.

The silence of the night on her end contrasted with the liveliness on Bai Xin’s end—the sounds of car horns and voices.

She asked her where she was.

Bai Xin said, “On the road, just walking around.”

“Are you happy?”

“Can’t quite say.” Bai Xin’s cool voice carried a hint of weariness, transmitted through the night to her ears. “I don’t know why, but my heart suddenly feels a bit empty.”

A wish cherished for over a decade, fulfilled in a single day.

It was inevitable to feel it was unreal.

“If it’s empty, then think of me.”

“Already thinking of you.” After a brief silence, Bai Xin asked, “You have three more days before you come back, right?”

“Depends on the progress, around that,” Cheng Jiqing replied.

“Mm…”

Cheng Jiqing stood up from the chair. It was raining again outside. Thankfully, there was air conditioning in the room, enough to keep it dry.

So much rain in the south.

She looked down. Under the bright yellow streetlights, pedestrians with umbrellas hurried by.

“Is there anything else on your mind?”

The other end probably didn’t expect her to suddenly ask this question. Cheng Jiqing said, “If not, then be a little happier.”

She heard a ‘click.’

Then the sounds in her ear suddenly quieted.

Bai Xin must have gotten into a car.

She said, “Then you have to stay by my side always.”

The next day, after a night of rain, the morning air was exceptionally fresh.

Having slept early and woken up early, Cheng Jiqing felt refreshed and energetic, and her inner state for filming also improved.

A scene with Li Yunlan.

After the teacher and student get together, they walk on a stone path beneath white walls and black-tiled roofs. The student holds an umbrella, escorting the teacher to the end of the alley.

“Teacher, for tomorrow’s class, let’s not have it in the classroom, okay?”

“No.” The teacher’s hair was simply tied back, her cardigan thin, her cheeks flushed. “I’m here. You should go back.”

“I mean, let’s change to a more relaxed environment. Why are you blushing?” the student asked with a smile.

“…It’s hot. Hurry back.”

The teacher’s soft hand pushed the student, lacking force. She didn’t notice what was behind her foot and was pulled by the student. The distance between them suddenly closed.

“Teacher, can you say you like me again?”

“I’ve already said it.”

“But I want to hear it every day.”

“Why?”

“I want you by my side every day.”

Under the umbrella, their eyes met, and emotions stirred.

The teacher didn’t know that, at that moment, the deep affection and possessiveness were mixed with the student’s underlying insecurity, the deeper truth.

“Okay, cut—that’s a wrap.”

Tong Yanxi shouted through the megaphone.

Cheng Jiqing and Li Yunlan each stepped back. Assistants came over to give them their coats. Li Yunlan said, “Chengcheng, you’re truly a natural-born actor.”

Sometimes, the co-actor sees the lines, emotions, rhythm, and state more clearly than the director.

Acting opposite Cheng Jiqing, she even felt pressure.

It forced her to muster twelve-tenths of her spirit⁴ to cope.

“Teacher Lanlan, don’t be modest. You’re guiding me too.”

Cheng Jiqing felt lucky. Her first drama here was with Li Yunlan. They often motivated each other, so they got into character quickly.

Li Yunlan looked at the smile on Cheng Jiqing’s face, a hint of admiration in her eyes. “I was worried you’d be nervous for tomorrow’s scene. Looks like I should be the one who’s nervous.”

Just now, when they were close, the way Cheng Jiqing’s eyes looked at her with deep affection made her heart genuinely skip a beat twice.

As an actor, this was inevitable because one had to get into character.

But that was all.

Tomorrow was considered a major emotional scene for the two female leads of 《Cat and Mint》—a rain scene, and also the only intimate scene in the script.

She and Li Yunlan had walked through the positions. They could ensure a visually intense effect while also guaranteeing it was a camera trick (or angle shot).

Cheng Jiqing wasn’t exactly nervous. In her previous world, she didn’t have a girlfriend, so filming anything was fine; professional ethics, after all.

Now that she had Bai Xin, she indeed thought an extra layer.

For example, if Bai Xin saw that scene on TV, would she get angry…

As she thought about it, she felt it was a good thing Bai Xin didn’t like watching TV or surfing the internet. Otherwise, who knows how much more ‘trouble’ this wild cat would stir up in the future.

Cheng Jiqing held the hot water her assistant Li Meng handed her. Her phone vibrated in her coat pocket.

It was Cheng Jing’s secretary.

“Little CEO Cheng, sorry to bother you.”

“What is it?”

“CEO Cheng hasn’t come to the company for a few days. Several important documents are piled up on my desk. I wanted to ask if you have any way to contact CEO Cheng.”

“You can’t reach her?”

“Her phone won’t go through. She just sent me a message a few days ago saying to find CEO Fu if anything comes up.”

Disappeared just like that?

Cheng Jiqing was taken aback. Cheng Jing didn’t seem like such an impulsive person.

Secretary Liu said:

“I’m really at my wit’s end. CEO Fu did come over, but she can’t handle these things either. Sigh, anyway, the company has been a bit chaotic these past two days.”

After listening, Cheng Jiqing paused for a moment. “If you can’t reach her, what makes you think I can?”

She only had one phone number for her too.

“Then would you like to come to the company and take a look?”

“No. If there’s anything, find CEO Fu.”

“…”

Wasn’t Fu Rongjun very capable? It seemed even her own daughter couldn’t stand her anymore.

She wondered, could it be because of the conversation she had with Cheng Jing that day?

---

Chi Yuan.

One of Beicheng’s famous opera gardens.

The curtain was drawn aside, and Cheng Jing emerged from the opera house entrance. The manager followed behind, asking, “CEO Cheng, the opera isn’t over. Why are you leaving already?”

Cheng Jing listened to the proper singing of the qingyi⁵ behind her and answered indifferently, “It’s nothing.”

The singing was just uninteresting.

Walking out of the opera garden and getting into the car, the vibration of her phone broke the dead silence inside.

Her spare phone.

She glanced at the caller ID and answered.

“CEO Cheng, your assets have all been inventoried. I’ll send the information to you now.”

“Mm.”

“Also, help me prepare a property transfer agreement.”

No emotion whatsoever.

After hanging up, Cheng Jing didn’t rush to drive away.

Heavy snow swirled outside, pelting against her car window, almost obscuring her vision, leaving only a vast expanse of white. In the enormous city, she suddenly had nowhere to go.

No one who believed her, and no one she could trust.

She sat for a long while before starting the car, heading in another direction.

It wasn’t her first time visiting the courtyard house on a snowy day. Some time had passed. Although it was closed to visitors, people were still retained to manage it, but it always lacked a certain vitality.

Cheng Jing stood on the wooden corridor. The withered vines on the veranda were covered in snow. When the wind blew, it trembled and fell.

She didn’t know why she had come here.

Perhaps, upon careful reflection, among the places she was familiar with in Beicheng, the places she still had the mood to visit, this was the only one left.

Even though there was no one here.

“CEO Cheng, please have some tea.”

The manager of the garden came over, carrying a cup of tea.

Darjeeling black tea, the liquid in the cup a golden quality, No. 2 tea.

The kind she often drank.

Cheng Jing said faintly, “You’ve been attentive.”

Hearing this, the manager smiled. “I daren’t claim credit. Miss Tu prepared all this a few months ago. She personally goes to the tea shop to select it every year.”

Cheng Jing paused, gazing at the tea in the cup for a while.

Her emotions were unreadable.

Seeing this, the manager said no more and prepared to withdraw.

“What else did she leave?”

“Quite a lot of things. There are some in her room too, but we didn’t dare touch them.” They were all valuable items, many of them antiques; how could they dare to touch them?

“Mm, you may go.”

Cheng Jing put the tea down, fell silent for another moment, then turned and opened Tu Xiuxiu’s former room.

There was a combination lock. As she entered the code, she suddenly remembered it was her birthday.

Pushing the door open, the room was very cold, without a trace of human presence.

Only the stiff aura of wood and furniture remained.

From the antique ornaments on the large cabinets to the small hairpins for tying up hair.

Indeed, nothing had been taken away.

Then she saw the set of blue and white porcelain tea cups resting quietly on the table. She remembered that it seemed to be from the first time she took Tu Xiuxiu to an auction.

At that time, she had noticed the person liked it and had casually bid for it.

Such a small item, yet it had been displayed in this room for many years.

In the end, it wasn’t taken away either.

Cheng Jing suddenly smiled, perhaps self-deprecatingly, perhaps just with emotion.

Acquainted for three years, without even a proper farewell. One could call it deep affection, or one could call it heartlessness.

Of course, she herself was no saint. No one knew the ruthless tactics of a businesswoman better than her. When she was cold and unfeeling, she never hesitated. Few of the things she had done in the past could be considered clean and upright.

She had no right to judge anyone.

But looking at this scene, she suddenly felt—Cheng Jing, ah, you truly are a villain.

Having lived for thirty years, there wasn’t a single person she had done right by.

Including herself.

When she went out, the snow was thicker, each step leaving a deep imprint.

Deeper than when she arrived.

---

The next day.

December in Jiangcheng also welcomed a snowfall.

But in a place like Jiangcheng, soft and tenderly sentimental, the rain mixed with snow, and it took a whole long night to accumulate a thin layer on the ground.

Against the backdrop of the surrounding white walls and black tiles, it had a misty beauty, like a landscape painting.

Unfortunately, by the afternoon, that layer had melted, unable to be retained.

She took a picture for Bai Xin.

【Is the snow thick in Beicheng?】

Bai Xin: 【It’s alright. Are you on set?】

Cheng Jiqing: 【Yes.】

Bai Xin: 【Where are you filming?】

Cheng Jiqing sent a location name: 【The environment is nice, just a bit cold.】

Bai Xin: 【Are you there all day today?】

Cheng Jiqing: 【That’s right.】

Bai Xin didn’t reply further. Cheng Jiqing put her phone back in her bag and flexed her fingers slightly.

People online were saying that it snowed early in Jiangcheng this year.

The weather was colder than in previous years.

Colder year by year.

Cheng Jiqing had only been here this one year, so naturally, she couldn’t feel the change. It was indeed cold.

Today’s scene was quite difficult to film.

Because it was a scene set in autumn.

Several important junctures in 《Cat and Mint》 took place in autumn. Today was one such day, and she could only wear a single layer of clothing.

Around six in the evening.

The scene with Li Yunlan was about the teacher being bullied by her ex-wife. While walking alone back to the dance studio, she calls the student, who then rushes over.

The two meet downstairs, embrace and kiss, and finally go upstairs…

It was a scene where the relationship between the main characters deepened.

Ten minutes before filming started, Cheng Jiqing sat alone in a corner, cultivating her emotions. Emotional scenes required immersion the most; this was something skill couldn’t replace.

A gentle breeze stirred, lifting the strands of hair at Cheng Jiqing’s temples. Her eyes were downcast, her stillness evoking pity.

“All departments, positions.”

Cheng Jiqing took a breath, stood up, and walked towards the camera.

At the same time.

A black car slowly stopped not far from the film set. The door opened, a long boot landed on the ground, followed by a figure in a waist-cinching black dress that hugged long legs, her waist slender and graceful.

Bai Xin got out of the car and stood firm, the corners of her peach-blossom eyes lifting slightly as she scanned the crowd.

Then, she strode over.

---

The author has something to say:

Chengcheng: Just asking, what do I do if my wild cat wife visits the set when I’m filming an ‘intimate scene’?

‘I feel like I’m standing with my arms wide open in a desert, and you’ve descended upon me like rain.’ —《Carol》

---

---