After the Bigshot Turned into a Gold-Digging Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 14

Watching Yi Jinbai softly hum the tune to its end, Jiang Shuiyun finally remembered—at the beginning of the original novel, there had been a brief mention of Yi Jinbai’s background. She had graduated from a music conservatory, and it was during the performance at her graduation ceremony that the original Jiang Shuiyun had fallen for the girl standing onstage. Everything that followed stemmed from that single moment.

Jiang Shuiyun didn’t know what became of Yi Jinbai in the original narrative, but now, she found herself thinking that perhaps she could try. Try helping Yi Jinbai return to the stage that once belonged to her.

Just as this thought surfaced, the sound of a book dropping to the floor snapped her back to reality. She looked up to see Yi Jinbai staring at her in fright, clearly startled enough to drop the book in her hands.

Jiang Shuiyun opened her mouth to explain, only to find her tongue tied. “Um, I, I came to get you for dinner. Just now I—”

Yi Jinbai bent down to pick up the book first and hurried to explain at the same time, “I saw this while tidying the room earlier and got a little too absorbed in it.”

The two of them spoke at once, then fell silent at the same time. When Jiang Shuiyun met Yi Jinbai’s eyes, the brief eye contact made Yi Jinbai’s face flush. She lowered her head, pretending to straighten the pages. Jiang Shuiyun scratched her head with a small smile. “I’m here to take you down for dinner.”

“Alright. Let me put the book back.”

Yi Jinbai avoided her gaze, holding onto the chair for support as she stood up, intending to return the book to the shelf.

“I’ll do it.”

Jiang Shuiyun stepped forward, took the book from her hands, glanced at the title, and slid it into an open space on the middle shelf—easy to reach, easy to put back.

“You already sorted everything? Oh—where did you put your medicine? Take it with you. You can have it after dinner.”

After shelving the book, Jiang Shuiyun glanced around. Everything they had bought at noon had already been neatly arranged. Even the shopping bags had been folded into perfect squares and stacked in a corner.

“In the drawer by the bed.”

They had just bought the medicine that afternoon. Yi Jinbai’s fever had subsided, but Jiang Shuiyun still wasn’t reassured. Since she had to buy ointment for Yi Jinbai’s ankle anyway, she’d picked up some fever medicine just in case.

Jiang Shuiyun took the medicine, held Yi Jinbai with one hand, and the two walked out together.

They took the elevator down. As soon as the doors opened on the first floor and the two stepped out, everyone seated at the dining table immediately turned toward them.

Yao Yao Ling was the first to greet them.

“Oh? Sister-in-law is here? Captain and sister-in-law are really loving!”

The sudden 180-degree shift in attitude left Yi Jinbai momentarily stunned. She looked at Jiang Shuiyun, confused. What exactly did Jiang Shuiyun do to make them change so drastically?

Meeting Yi Jinbai’s questioning gaze, Jiang Shuiyun thought about how she appeared in Yi Jinbai’s mind. Yi Jinbai probably wouldn’t like being called “sister-in-law.” She coughed lightly, hiding her embarrassment. “Ahem. Let me introduce you properly. This is my wife, Yi Jinbai. But you can just call her ‘Jiejie.’ No need for ‘sister-in-law.’”

Hearing this, Yi Jinbai lowered her eyes, struggling to hide the brief flicker of disappointment and complicated emotion in her chest.

“Jinbai-jie!”

Jiao Yang called out cheerfully, his trademark bright smile genuinely sincere.

The others didn’t speak, but nodded politely in greeting.

Yi Jinbai, already overwhelmed earlier by their hostility, now found their sudden friendliness equally hard to handle. After stiffly returning their greetings, she sat down in the chair Jiang Shuiyun pulled out for her.

The food provided for the Shenji team wasn’t bad. The part-time auntie’s cooking was at least much better than Jiang Shuiyun’s awkward attempts in the kitchen. Jiang Shuiyun felt she might finally be freed from culinary duty.

“Captain,” Viper spoke up, restless with anticipation, “our training’s back on track now—why don’t we ask Brother Xi to start arranging competitive matches for us? We haven’t played in so long that my hands are itching.”

Ever since their former captain, Shen Dao, left, their performance had plummeted. They lost match after match, and each loss only made Xi Rong enforce stricter training, telling them they would play again only when they were truly ready.

But a professional career was painfully short. No one had time to waste. They all knew the company was already preparing to invest in another team. Before Jiang Shuiyun arrived, they had silently accepted that they might retire without ever stepping onto the stage again.

Caught in that spiral of frustration and demoralization, they had nearly collapsed. Fortunately, Jiang Shuiyun’s arrival changed everything.

Once Viper spoke, all eyes turned toward Jiang Shuiyun—even Blade’s usually calm expression revealed a quiet, burning hope.

“We can,” Jiang Shuiyun said. “But we’ll need to increase training intensity. If Brother Xi doesn’t see real improvement, he’ll never agree.”

She understood that hope mattered. It was the force that kept a team moving forward, so she didn’t shoot down their eagerness.

“Yesss!”

“Long live the Captain!”

Yao Yao Ling and Jiao Yang practically bounced out of their seats, abandoning their meals to grab their phones and message Xi Rong. The group was buzzing with excitement, unable and unwilling to hide it.

Jiang Shuiyun felt a faint excitement herself. She turned slightly toward Yi Jinbai. Yi Jinbai might not understand gaming, but she was still happy for them. A gentle smile curved her lips, tinged with envy and wistfulness.

They were all about the same age. Yet while they were still chasing their dreams with everything they had, Yi Jinbai had already endured the harsh disillusionments of life. Jiang Shuiyun knew—Yi Jinbai wasn’t just looking at the team; she was also looking at the girl she had once been before everything fell apart.

Not wanting to disturb her, Jiang Shuiyun knew that no words of comfort could compare to real action.

A moment later, Jiao Yang announced that he had gotten ahold of Xi Rong. Three days from now, Xi Rong would come in person to assess their progress.

The room exploded with energy. Everyone instantly jumped into high gear, insisting on extra training that very night without needing Jiang Shuiyun to say a word.

Jiang Shuiyun had the same idea in mind. After dinner, she made sure Yi Jinbai took her medicine and then brought her upstairs.

“We might be training until pretty late tonight. If you get sleepy, go ahead and sleep first—just lock the door from the inside. I’ll take the sofa.”

Because Xi Rong knew about Jiang Shuiyun and Yi Jinbai’s relationship, he had deliberately arranged a single room for the two of them—with one large bed. Jiang Shuiyun had been wondering how she could slip off to sleep on the sofa without making it obvious. The extra training session had now conveniently given her an excuse.

Seeing Yi Jinbai nod, Jiang Shuiyun felt relieved. She closed the door and headed downstairs.

They really did train until very late—so late that by the time they finished, no one even wanted to move. One by one, they collapsed onto the sofas on the first floor. When Yi Jinbai woke up early the next morning and came downstairs, the sight nearly startled her.

Picking up the blanket that Viper had kicked onto the floor, she gently put it back over the girl. Then she walked over to Jiang Shuiyun. Jiang only had her own jacket draped over her and was sleeping deeply.

Yi Jinbai glanced around—there were no extra blankets left. She could only take off her long coat and lean in to cover Jiang Shuiyun with it. But before the fabric even touched her, Jiang Shuiyun’s eyes snapped open—sharp, clear, and utterly free of any drowsiness. Her gaze locked onto Yi Jinbai with icy precision, cold enough to force Yi Jinbai to take a small step back in fright.

Years of battlefield training had honed Jiang Shuiyun’s instincts into razor-sharp reflexes. The instant Yi Jinbai approached, she woke alert and guarded. But once she realized who it was, she closed her eyes again, pinched the bridge of her nose, and pulled back all of the coldness that had flashed in her eyes.

“Sorry. I wasn’t fully awake.”

“It’s okay.”

Yi Jinbai was still shaken, her fingers tightening so hard around the coat that her knuckles turned white. Not even the old Jiang Shuiyun at her angriest had ever shown a gaze like that—like being stared down by death itself.

Propping herself up, Jiang Shuiyun sat and stretched, every joint cracking loudly. When she lifted her head, she saw Yi Jinbai’s pale face. She reached out and gently held Yi Jinbai’s wrist.

“Jinbai?”

In Yi Jinbai’s eyes, she clearly saw fear—the same kind of fear from the first day she arrived in this world.

She had scared her. Realizing this, Jiang Shuiyun felt a dull ache of guilt. She softly pulled Yi Jinbai down to sit beside her on the sofa.

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean it. I didn’t know it was you. Don’t be afraid of me, okay?”

Her voice was soft, filled with apology and sincerity as she looked at Yi Jinbai.

Old wounds couldn’t simply be erased. And Jiang Shuiyun couldn’t exactly tell Yi Jinbai that she was an entirely different person now—that would sound ridiculous. All she could do was make up for the past bit by bit, guiding Yi Jinbai out of those shadows and back toward the bright life she should have had.

Yi Jinbai seemed to be carefully studying the woman before her. Only after a long silence did she slowly rest her hand on top of Jiang Shuiyun’s.

The gesture surprised Jiang just a little. She enclosed Yi Jinbai’s hand with her other one and smiled.

“Are you hungry? I’ll warm some milk for you. When Auntie gets here, we’ll have breakfast.”

She gave Yi Jinbai’s hand a reassuring pat, stood up, rubbed her stiff neck, and headed to the kitchen.

“Good morning, Jinbai-jie!”

Jiang had just started warming the milk when Viper’s voice echoed from the living room.

“Huh? Where’s the captain?”

“In the kitchen,” Yi Jinbai answered—her voice surprisingly gentle.

“Whoa! Captain can cook?”

Their conversation quickly woke the others. Solar Flare yawned loudly, making a fuss.

“I am just heating milk. Do you guys want some?” Jiang called from the kitchen doorway when the chatter grew louder.

“Yes! Thanks, Captain! I haven’t had warm milk since I graduated elementary school.”

“Same here! I just drink it straight from the fridge. Who cares if it’s warm? As long as it’s not icy chunks.”

“In winter I just leave it outside overnight and eat it like a popsicle—nearly broke my teeth.”

More people meant more noise—especially with a few chatterboxes among them. Standing in the kitchen, Jiang Shuiyun listened with amusement. These little troublemakers even managed to coax a few extra sentences out of Yi Jinbai.