After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Alpha, I Marked the Crazy Hotshot – Chapter 102

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The Sun, the Moon, and You

The office was filled with ample light, the afternoon sun of the spring day shining brightly.

            

On the desk sat a bouquet of lilies, so lush and dewy. They had just been delivered this morning, and at this hour, water droplets still clung to the petals, glistening and full.

“President Zhou asked me to come and get your opinion, to see what you think. She feels that although the competitor’s conditions are good in all aspects, the profit share they’re demanding is too high…”

The assistant stood opposite the desk, reporting her work with professional caution.

            

She wondered if President Bai was feeling unwell; although her expression was icy, her face was flushed with an unnatural redness, and her lips were more lustrous than usual. The assistant didn’t dare to stare, so she could only continue her report with her gaze half-lowered.

She didn’t know that under the desk, Bai Xin’s legs were trembling.

With just a slight drop of her gaze, Bai Xin could see Cheng Jiqing’s head buried from view. She took a deep, shuddering breath, her fingertips landing on Cheng Jiqing’s earlobe. With a trembling hand, she lifted the other’s chin, temporarily stopping her.

            

She could no longer hear a word the assistant was saying…

She felt the bone of Cheng Jiqing’s jaw move.

Cheng Jiqing raised her head, her eyes meeting Bai Xin’s. The image was so stunning that Bai Xin’s heart seized.

            

A slow curl touched Cheng Jiqing’s lips. She turned her head, opened her mouth, and drew the very finger that had pried up her chin inside.

Warmth enveloped her.

Bai Xin’s hand gripped the edge of the desk, her knuckles white.

            

“I feel the other party isn’t being very sincere. They also want you to go and negotiate in person…”

Suddenly, Cheng Jiqing once again drew deeply near.

Thump—

            

Bai Xin’s palm slammed down on the desktop.

The assistant jumped, thinking her words had angered Bai Xin. She immediately fell silent and looked toward her.

She saw that Bai Xin’s flushed face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. She took a few steps forward. “President Bai, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?”

            

The veins on Bai Xin’s forehead throbbed. Her breathing was heavy as she said, almost through gritted teeth, “You can leave.”

As her words fell, Cheng Jiqing seemed to deliberately work against her, growing even more ferocious.

Bai Xin nearly surrendered her weapons​¹ right there in front of her assistant.

            

She was no longer sitting so straight, her legs tensed, propped up on Cheng Jiqing’s shoulders.

“President Bai, you look very unwell…” The assistant didn’t dare to just leave. Bai Xin’s condition looked terrible, and deeply strange. Although it was improper to have such a thought, it was indeed a sight that would make one feel quite embarrassed.

If it weren’t for this setting, it would be all too easy to be reminded of… certain prohibited films one might have seen.

            

“Get out!”

Cheng Jiqing could feel the strength in the muscles of Bai Xin’s neck; her own breathing was not so smooth either.

She could also feel Bai Xin’s tension when the assistant drew near.

            

Hearing the command, the assistant dared not linger. She left one more sentence, “Call me if you need anything,” and then departed in a hurry.

Bai Xin pressed the remote to lock the door.

She tilted her head back and let out a long, shuddering breath, her hand sinking into Cheng Jiqing’s hair.

            

The passion of spring bent her waist and moistened the flower’s pistil.

The scenery was perfect.

Half an hour of obsessive entanglement ended with the buzzing vibration of Bai Xin’s phone on the desk.

            

That pair of peach blossom eyes still seemed as if they hadn’t awoken, heavy with a thin layer of dew.

Cheng Jiqing straightened up, helping Bai Xin clean up first. Then, she leaned back against the edge of the desk, wearing that gentle smile, and slowly, deliberately, pulled out another tissue to wipe the white jade bodhi.

She thought to herself, What a sin, what a sin.

            

“Aren’t you going to answer it?”

Bai Xin shot her a glare. Cheng Jiqing’s lips curved, and she leaned over to press a kiss on those parted lips. “Don’t be angry anymore, okay?”

Bai Xin: “Cheng Jiqing, you’re getting better and better at using your little tricks on me.”

            

Cheng Jiqing, innocently: “How can you call them tricks? It’s clearly because President Bai is an excellent teacher.”

Bai Xin raised her foot to kick again, a habitual motion.

And every time, it was easily caught and neutralized by Cheng Jiqing.

            

Cheng Jiqing pinched her calf. The high-heeled shoe, which hadn’t fallen off during all that activity, fell to the floor at this moment, its sound mixing with the phone’s vibration.

“Still quite strong,” Cheng Jiqing said, then knelt on one knee. She picked up the high heel, cupped Bai Xin’s heel in her palm, and slipped the shoe on for her.

She asked slowly, “Does this mean there’s no chicken soup tonight?”

            

Bai Xin, her face still flushed, looked down at her imperiously. She wanted to laugh but held it in. “What do you think?”

Cheng Jiqing set that snow-white foot down as the phone on the desk also fell silent.

She stood up, wrapped her hands around Bai Xin’s waist, and with a slight exertion, lifted her into her arms.

            

“Really? None?”

Bai Xin buried her face limply in Cheng Jiqing’s shoulder, taking in the sweet scent. Remembering how Cheng Jiqing had been kneeling just now, her tone softened. “Depends on your performance…”

A romantic affair, endlessly enchanting.

            

Bai Xin hadn’t completely let go of her anger. Cheng Jiqing could understand; if she had seen Bai Xin getting close to someone else, she would also be consumed with jealousy. All she could do was coax her more, yield to her, and let Bai Xin know that her heart held only one person.

They left the company at four in the afternoon.

Cheng Jiqing drove, while Bai Xin rested languidly in the passenger seat.

            

The little mermaid decoration swayed back and forth at the front of the car—the one they had bought in that little shop in Copenhagen.

The car headed towards Nanjing.

The car radio randomly played a female version of 《My Own True Love》.

            

My own true love/At last I’ve found you/My own true love/No lips but yours/No arms but yours…

The car stopped at a red light.

Cheng Jiqing turned her head to look at Bai Xin, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her cheek. “Exhausted?”

            

She touched the slightly dry lips, then passed her own sippy cup to Bai Xin. “Have some water.”

Bai Xin didn’t take it, simply lowering her head to drink from the cup in Cheng Jiqing’s hand.

Only when the light turned green did she reach out and take it.

            

For some reason, she had been easily fatigued these past few days, not to mention the energy she had just expended. It was enjoyable, yes, and she liked it, but her stamina was having trouble keeping up.

But she didn’t say this out loud. After all, she had brought it on herself, and she had to save some face.

Bai Xin bit the straw. “What time are you going to the film set tomorrow?”

            

“Not going. I’m staying with you.”

“…”

Not getting a response, Cheng Jiqing turned her head. “What’s wrong?”

            

Bai Xin: “I have a business trip tomorrow.”

Cheng Jiqing: “…”

This time it was Cheng Jiqing’s turn to smile wryly. She had deliberately switched her shifts for this; it was all for nothing.

            

“Where to?”

“Jiangcheng.”

“Oh? So I coaxed you for half the day, even picked a special date, only to be stood up?”

            

“You didn’t tell me in advance.”

That was true.

Cheng Jiqing sighed. “Sigh. So I can only blame my bitter fate?”

            

Bai Xin’s pear-dimples showed faintly, amused by her tone. She glanced to the side. “How could Film Queen Cheng’s fate be bitter? How many people beg for it and can’t have it?”

“But Film Queen Cheng only wants you. What am I to do?”

When Cheng Jiqing intentionally spoke words of love to coax her, Bai Xin was defenseless.

            

But she wasn’t one to admit defeat. Remembering how Cheng Jiqing had made a mess of her in the office, a damnable desire to win flared up.

She propped herself up on one arm, leaned towards Cheng Jiqing, her voice bewitching. “I’m still missing a personal secretary. Does Film Queen Cheng want the job?”

“Hm? What kind of ‘personal’?”

            

“The bed-warming kind.”

A tingle ran up Cheng Jiqing’s ear. She curled her lips. “Your abacus is clacking rather loudly.”

“Are you in or not?” Her voice was a hook.

            

Cheng Jiqing’s throat moved. “Depends… on your performance.”

She mimicked Bai Xin’s line from the office, returning the words in kind.

Bai Xin tugged at her lips. Although she had bought new pajamas last night for Cheng Jiqing’s visit, she had been stood up. And while seeing the video today had infuriated her, if she could coax the woman into joining her on the business trip… she could tolerate today’s anger.

            

Just the thought of having Cheng Jiqing on that boring trip made her mood lift considerably.

“Then tonight, it’ll be my turn to help you.”

Cheng Jiqing kept her eyes on the road. She had already decided to go, but upon hearing this, heat shot up from the soles of her feet. It was a good thing her driving skills were excellent, or she might have slammed on the wrong pedal.

            

The atmosphere grew subtle.

Cheng Jiqing slowed the car, her voice laced with indulgence. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting.”

After Bai Xin saw her filming with Li Yunlan that time, on the night they returned to Beicheng, Bai Xin had gotten a taste for being in control. Several times after, she had wanted to ‘occupy the mountain and proclaim herself king’​², but alas, her stamina couldn’t keep up, especially when her pheromones overflowed, often leaving her too weak to move.

            

Today, while still on the road, Cheng Jiqing was forced by the ‘situation’ to agree.

Perhaps because her wish was granted, Bai Xin was in a fine mood.

As they walked upstairs side-by-side, they received a call from Song Ling, who wanted to celebrate her award. A little while had passed since she won, but Song Ling had been abroad on a hotel investment and hadn’t had time to return. Cheng Jiqing had also been stuck on set. Hearing this, she thought a lively get-together was a good idea. Besides the award, their marriage also warranted treating their friends to a meal.

            

She hung up.

“Perfect. I see Tang Jia and Tong Yanxi still have scenes together, so I can even play matchmaker,” Cheng Jiqing said.

Bai Xin had no objections.

            

As they reached the elevator, Cheng Jiqing brought up Cheng Jing. “If you feel awkward, we can forget it.”

In her heart, Bai Xin always had a barrier with Cheng Jing, but after all this time, it was impossible for her feelings not to have changed. More importantly, she didn’t want Cheng Jiqing to be stuck in the middle.

“If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

            

Cheng Jiqing held Bai Xin’s hand as they walked into the elevator. “Don’t force yourself. I’m not asking you to accept her.”

Bai Xin rested her head on Cheng Jiqing’s shoulder. “I’m not.”

She repeated, “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

            

From the elevator mirror, Cheng Jiqing watched the omega’s docile posture and stroked her head. “My wife is so well-behaved.”

Bai Xin looked at her, her beautiful eyes lifting. “Cheng Jiqing, so you do prefer the well-behaved type, don’t you?”

Cheng Jiqing didn’t fall for the trap, instead tipping up Bai Xin’s chin. “No. I like every version of you—”

            

Her kiss landed on Bai Xin’s lips.

A kiss like a dragonfly skimming the water’s surface.

Light, making the heart itch, making it flutter.

            

Because of the client, the business trip only took half a day, so they set the gathering for that evening. But during the day, Cheng Jiqing still accompanied Bai Xin to Jiangcheng.

Neither of them were strangers to the city. In this season, Jiangcheng was in full bloom, enveloped in the air of spring. Taking advantage of the hour they had before returning to Beicheng, Cheng Jiqing took Bai Xin to the old garden. The last time she had come was with the crew of 《Cat and Mint》. The streets were lined with sweet osmanthus, and as they walked along the bluestone slabs, their senses filled with the faint, sweet fragrance.

After leaving the garden was that long street. She had wanted to show Bai Xin the little silver jewelry stall, but unfortunately, the owner wasn’t there today.

            

Bai Xin was clearly disappointed.

Cheng Jiqing coaxed her, whispering in her ear, “It’s alright, we’ll come again. The days to come are long.”

And with that, Bai Xin let it go.

            

It was strange. She had a peculiar temper—she loved to be pedantic, to split hairs. In the past, no matter how she feigned indifference, she would remember every slight in her heart, and thus, many things displeased her. But Cheng Jiqing… she needed only a single sentence, a single hug, a single kiss, to soothe all her turmoil.

In the past, Tang Jia always said she was a ticking time bomb.

If I really am a bomb, Bai Xin thought, then Cheng Jiqing is my safety pin.

            

“You’re right,” she said, her voice light and tinged with a charming allure. “The days to come are long.”

Cheng Jiqing chuckled softly.

“What are you laughing at?”

            

Cheng Jiqing led her forward, a smile in her voice from behind her mask. “Nothing.”

It was just that she felt she was being led astray. Now, even when Bai Xin didn’t have that thought, she herself would always think one step further.

For the evening dinner, Cheng Jiqing had wanted to host it at Nanjin, but the group chat decided it was too much trouble. They opted for hotpot out—easier and more lively. Since she had an early shoot the next day, Cheng Jiqing booked a table at a Chinese restaurant in Beicheng.

            

While still on the long street, she got a call from Song Ling. The sound of wind howled on the other end. It sounded like she was flying in a car.

“Cheng Jiqing, I can’t make it! My dad is chasing me down, trying to force me to go on a blind date, oh my god! What kind of world is this, still having blind dates!”

“…”

            

“Where are you?” Cheng Jiqing asked.

“Speeding through the suburbs!” Song Ling yelled. “Anyway, I can’t make it! This time he really wants to kill me. He found his own match on a blind date, and now he wants to get one for me. Is he crazy? Listen, you’d better turn off your phone, he’ll definitely call you to find me!”

The call ended in a muddle.

            

Cheng Jiqing rubbed her ear and turned to Bai Xin. “Song Ling isn’t coming.”

“Oh,” Bai Xin said casually. “Zhou Yushu has an international conference tonight, she’s not coming either.”

Cheng Jiqing paused, stopping in her tracks. “So, it’s just Tang Jia and Tong Yanxi left?”

            

Cheng Jing had already called to say she was in Copenhagen and couldn’t make it back.

She and Bai Xin looked at each other for a few seconds, then suddenly broke into a shared smile.

In that case, why were they going back? Let those two figure it out.

            

“We’re not going back,” Cheng Jiqing said. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

Bai Xin tilted her head and laughed. “Mm… where to?”

Jiangcheng wasn’t by the sea, but the neighboring city of Ronghai​³ was. It was just a flight of a little over two hours.

            

They rented a plot of land by the sea, along with a tent. The sky had already darkened. Before night fell, the orange glow of sunset was being swallowed by the horizon. By conventional standards, they had missed the most beautiful time.

Cheng Jiqing held Bai Xin, sitting on the sand. A small fire crackled before them. Behind them stood the tent. The firelight glittered in their pupils as Cheng Jiqing gazed at the darkening sea.

“Do you remember the story of 《Going Ashore》 I told you?” she asked in a low voice.

            

“Mhm,” Bai Xin replied. She had read part of it, but when Cheng Jiqing told her the characters separated in the end, she decisively abandoned it. Cheng Jiqing had said their experiences were similar, and she didn’t like the story. She didn’t want people like them to also fizzle out and come to nothing​⁴.

Cheng Jiqing knew why she resisted the story. She turned her head and nuzzled Bai Xin’s cheek affectionately. “But I never told you… it has another ending.”

“It does?”

            

Patiently, Cheng Jiqing told her the rest of the story.

The Mermaid Queen possessed three golden scales, which symbolized her dignity, power, and life. After the human girl went ashore, she fled to the desert farthest from the sea, a place the Queen could never reach. But soon, she received a keepsake from the sea.

It was the Queen’s first golden scale.

            

But the girl’s heart had been broken. She was afraid to believe again, afraid it was just a trick to coax her back. She hardened her heart and pretended not to see it. It’s just one golden scale, she thought.

Not long after, she received the second. The tail of the scale was stained with dried blood, its brilliance dimmed.

“She was heartbroken, crying all day. She was also terrified—terrified of receiving the third scale, because without it, the Queen would die.”

            

In reality, from the moment she received the first scale, the girl had been unable to sleep.

Cheng Jiqing thought of Bai Xin in Copenhagen, abandoning everything to find her. Just like the Queen, fighting with her back to the river​⁵. And seeing Bai Xin suffer, how could she not have felt heartbroken? Every night she had rejected her, how could it not have been agony?

Bai Xin listened. “So did she receive the third one?”

            

“No,” Cheng Jiqing answered.

“No?” Bai Xin was surprised. She thought, She and I are nothing alike. If it was a battle to the death, it was win or die. She thought the Queen would have risked everything to deliver her final love.

“Because the Queen didn’t dare entrust the last scale to anyone else,” Cheng Jiqing said. “She was afraid the girl wouldn’t receive her final message. She was afraid the girl wouldn’t know that she loved her.”

            

So, the Queen went ashore herself.

How arduous it was for a mermaid to go ashore. The sea was three thousand li​⁶ from the desert. The road ahead was vast, life or death unknown.

Within the first thousand li, the Queen collapsed.

            

Bai Xin was silent. That’s right. She too had gone all the way to Copenhagen just to make Cheng Jiqing understand her heart.

“Did she die?”

“No. When she groggily opened her eyes, she saw the girl running towards her…” Cheng Jiqing reached out and pinched Bai Xin’s cheek, leaning in for a kiss. “The girl couldn’t bear for her Queen to die, so she walked two thousand li towards the sea.”

            

This was the true ending of 《Going Ashore》.

Cheng Jiqing still remembered the line vividly: There are many things in this world that cannot be explained, such as love.

Just as she couldn’t bear to see Bai Xin sad. They were not the girl and the Queen, but their love was the same, their pain was the same, and their final choices were the same.

            

There was something she had wanted to say for a long time.

“Bai Xin,” Cheng Jiqing said, her voice solemn. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

Bai Xin’s heart leaped. She turned and wrapped her arms around Cheng Jiqing’s waist, burying her face in her chest. Her breath carried the tidal scent of the sea and Cheng Jiqing’s light fragrance. She didn’t speak, but her emotions surged.

            

After a long silence.

“I told you before, and you didn’t believe me… I’m not from this world—mmph.”

Cheng Jiqing’s lips were covered by cool fingers. She met Bai Xin’s warning gaze. “I don’t care where you’re from.”

            

Cheng Jiqing let out a low laugh. She pulled that hand to her heart, holding it there gently.

Bai Xin’s eyes still held a residual mist. She stared straight at Cheng Jiqing. “Even if you’re an alien, don’t even think about escaping my grasp. Cheng Jiqing, your every life, every generation, will be bound to me. You’re not going anywhere.”

She kissed her.

            

Lips and teeth mingled, breaths intertwined. She pressed her hand flat against Cheng Jiqing’s heart, demanding a reaction. She didn’t care what those words meant; she refused to hear them.

Cheng Jiqing let her.

Only when the sash of her clothes was about to come undone did she catch Bai Xin’s fingers.

            

Bai Xin felt a slight coolness on her ring finger. Realizing something, she pulled back and looked down.

On her ring finger was a silver ring. By the firelight, she could vaguely make out the pattern: peach blossoms.

“It’s not expensive,” Cheng Jiqing said softly, “but I carved it myself. A small token of my heart.” She showed her own finger; on her long ring finger was a matching ring, carved with the pattern of Bai Xin’s pheromone—a lily.

            

She murmured, “You are in my heart, and I am in yours. It’s still that same sentence: if you need me, if you love me, then we will never part in this life.”

She continued, “We didn’t see the silver stall, and this isn’t the most beautiful time for the sea, but we will still spend a very long time together. As long as you want, we can see them again. Thinking of it that way, it’s not a pity at all.”

As long as they were together, nothing they missed in this world was a pity.

            

“Wife, I love you,” Cheng Jiqing said.

In that instant, it was as if thunder roared through Bai Xin’s heart.

Her gaze flickered, firelight flooding her eyes, illuminating her once-dark world until it was ablaze with light. After a long moment, she bit her lip hard, forcing a sob back down. “I love you more.”

            

But as the words came out, a choked sound escaped.

Cheng Jiqing couldn’t help but laugh, a low, helpless sound. She gently scraped the tip of Bai Xin’s nose. “Why are you so competitive?”

She leaned in, tenderly kissing Bai Xin’s eyes. “Don’t cry.”

            

But it was those two words that made the tears fall.

No one had ever truly loved her. So she never knew that being loved was such a breathtaking, world-shattering thing. So she never knew this world was not, in fact, cold. It was so warm that it made her, at every moment, pray for peace and a long life.

She wanted to be with Cheng Jiqing for a little longer, and then a little longer still.

            

For a long, long time.

For all of eternity.

“Cheng Jiqing, thank you for loving me.”

            

Thank you for coming to love me.

Thank you for saving me, for letting me know in the darkness that all four seasons are beautiful. For letting me understand that this world can be warm and blossoming, and not only in the spring.

Cheng Jiqing held Bai Xin tightly.

            

When watching the movie 《Going Ashore》, she had once written the line, ‘Rather be lonely than suffer.’

Now, her heart had changed, and only now did she know—

If one has never loved, a life of solitude is not so bitter.

            

But if one is still in love, loneliness is the bitterest thing of all.

If Bai Xin were not here, to go anywhere would be to suffer.

Therefore, she was grateful Bai Xin came back for her. Grateful they passed the harshest test. Grateful they both endured.

            

I love you, and it is happiness even if dark clouds obscure the sun and torrential rains rage.

I love you, so even if mountains and seas crumble, and the sky and earth go dark, I will still love you.

That moment was the fall of night, and also a better beginning.

            

It was—

“I love you,” Cheng Jiqing said, over and over.

In this fleeting world of three thousand things, my loves are three: the sun, the moon, and you.
The sun for the morning, the moon for the evening, and you for my every morning and every evening​⁷.

            

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The author has something to say:

The End.

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LP: So beautifull!!!

            

13 EXTRAS to go!!!

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