After the Bigshot Turned into a Gold-Digging Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 17

“I believe in all of you. That day will come. Let’s work hard together—back to training.”

Jiang Shuiyun hadn’t expected such an unexpected gain. The fact that these people were willing to open up to her and set aside their reservations was an excellent sign of progress.

“Yes!”

With their hearts cleared, the team felt much lighter. After tidying up a little, they returned to practice. They didn’t even need rest—everyone was energized.

Training days were repetitive and simple, always passing by quickly. In the blink of an eye, a week had gone by. Yi Jinbai’s injury was fully healed, and every day while Jiang Shuiyun and the others trained, she tended to the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

Another morning of training ended. Jiang Shuiyun stretched lazily, then shooed the group upstairs to the gym for some workout time. She lowered her head to check her phone. Recently, she’d learned something new: online shopping.

Her original world had something similar, but there it was called a “holographic store,” which was vastly different—almost indistinguishable from a real shopping experience.

After learning about online shopping, Jiang Shuiyun decided to try buying a few things. She had just received a message saying her package had arrived and she should go outside to sign for it.

When she stepped out of the house, she saw Yi Jinbai at the courtyard gate speaking with a stranger. A cart stood before them, piled high with wooden crates.

“What’s going on?”

Jiang Shuiyun walked over and asked.

“He says he’s looking for someone named Jiang Bai.”

Yi Jinbai looked confused. They didn’t have anyone here named Jiang Bai.

“Jiang Bai?” Jiang Shuiyun turned toward the deliveryman. “Are you looking for me?”

“It’s your delivery. Please sign here, thank you.”

After confirming the information, the deliveryman unloaded all the wooden crates from his cart. “All right, these are yours. Goodbye.”

Jiang Shuiyun blinked. Did I buy this much stuff?

“Jiang Bai?” Yi Jinbai repeated the name.

“Yeah, that’s my new in-game ID. When Jiao Yang taught me how to shop online, I used it.”

Jiang Shuiyun heaved one of the wooden crates upward as she explained.

“Let me help you carry it.”

Yi Jinbai froze for a moment at the explanation, but seeing Jiang Shuiyun acting so casually, she didn’t press further and reached out to help.

“No, no—this thing is way too heavy.” Jiang Shuiyun put the crate back down and exhaled sharply. Something this heavy definitely shouldn’t be carried by Yi Jinbai. What if she bumped into something or got hurt?

“What are you two doing?”

As Jiang Shuiyun and Yi Jinbai stared helplessly at the pile of crates, a voice came from the side. Shen Yunyi leaned out of the window of her black car.

Jiang Shuiyun looked at her, then at the crates. Perfect timing.

Shen Yunyi—who might as well have had volunteer labor written on her forehead—took off her suit jacket and rolled up her sleeves. “It’s just a few wooden crates. How heavy can they be?”

Holding her jacket, Jiang Shuiyun nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly, how heavy could they possibly be?”

“Are you kidding me? Jiang Shuiyun, what on earth did you buy?”

The moment Shen Yunyi lifted one crate, her back nearly gave out.

“It’s nothing. A couple of days ago, I overheard Jinbai chatting with Auntie and saying a wooden pavilion looked really nice. I thought the courtyard looked a bit empty, so I bought one.”

Jiang Shuiyun had assumed that purchasing it meant a fully assembled pavilion would be delivered. Reality clearly didn’t match her imagination—this looked nothing like the picture online.

As soon as she finished speaking, both Yi Jinbai and Shen Yunyi turned to stare at her. Yi Jinbai was shocked that an offhand comment had led Jiang Shuiyun to actually buy one, while Shen Yunyi was looking at her like she was a lovable fool.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of someone buying a pavilion online. If you’d told me earlier, I could’ve hired someone to build one!”

For the first time in a long while, Shen Yunyi felt a familiar sense of exasperation while talking to Jiang Shuiyun. But unlike before, the irritation was tinged with amusement instead of dislike. She was actually close to laughing.

“Well, it’s already bought. What else can we do?”

Jiang Shuiyun took off her jacket as well and handed it to Yi Jinbai, rolling up her sleeves as she looked at Shen Yunyi. “Come on. I refuse to believe we can’t get this thing inside.”

She flexed her hands. If her physical strength hadn’t weakened so much after arriving in this world, she could’ve handled all of this herself.

After Jiang Shuiyun and Shen Yunyi used every ounce of strength they had to haul the crates to the spot where they planned to build the pavilion, both of them were on the verge of collapse. Yi Jinbai brought over two glasses of water, finally letting them catch their breath.

After a short rest, Jiang Shuiyun began unpacking the crates. She refused to believe she couldn’t handle assembling a small pavilion.

But once the boxes were open, Jiang Shuiyun realized—she really couldn’t handle it.

Shen Yunyi leaned over for a look and couldn’t help pinching the bridge of her nose. “Jiang Shuiyun, you really are something. You managed to buy a pavilion with traditional mortise-and-tenon construction.”

Jiang Shuiyun didn’t even want to speak. She just stared blankly at the wooden pieces in her hands.

“There’s a blueprint here.”

Just when the three of them were at a loss, Yi Jinbai pulled out a toolbox and a folded instruction sheet from a box hidden under the wood. The diagram clearly laid out the steps for assembly.

Jiang Shuiyun and Shen Yunyi immediately crowded in to look. The instructions were fairly straightforward. Under Yi Jinbai’s direction, the two of them began searching for the corresponding wooden parts and assembling them step by step.

The process was grueling, but at least they found a workable method and managed to piece the structure together bit by bit.

“Hiss!”

A sharp pain shot through Jiang Shuiyun’s finger, making her suck in a breath. She let go of the wooden beam and saw that a splinter had stabbed into her skin.

“Did you prick yourself?”

Shen Yunyi—her white shirt now half gray with dust—was hammering a beam into place. At the sound, she lifted her head.

“It’s nothing.”

Jiang Shuiyun shook her hand dismissively, ready to continue, when Yi Jinbai suddenly caught her injured finger.

Seeing the slight furrow between Yi Jinbai’s brows, Jiang Shuiyun went a little flustered. Even her voice softened unconsciously. “It’s really fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“No. If a wooden splinter is stuck inside, you need to take it out quickly and disinfect the wound. Let me take care of it.”

Yi Jinbai’s tone was unusually firm.

The refusal Jiang Shuiyun was about to give died on her lips when she met Yi Jinbai’s worried gaze. She swallowed it back down, nodding obediently. Then she glanced at Shen Yunyi. “I’m going to deal with the wound. I believe you can handle the rest.”

Shen Yunyi, sitting on a beam, watched Yi Jinbai take Jiang Shuiyun’s hand to lead her away for treatment. Then she looked at the pile of lumber in front of her. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the hammer aside. She was done.

Upstairs, Jiang Shuiyun watched as Yi Jinbai efficiently retrieved a medical kit and took out a pair of tweezers. Jiang Shuiyun automatically extended her hand.

Yi Jinbai was clearly a little nervous. Jiang Shuiyun used her free hand to gently hold Yi Jinbai’s. “Don’t be nervous. It really doesn’t hurt.”

Yi Jinbai met her gaze, nodded, then lowered her eyes as she carefully maneuvered the tweezers toward the splinter. She grasped the exposed end, paused for a breath, and tugged it out cleanly.

Jiang Shuiyun held back any sound of discomfort, letting Yi Jinbai disinfect the wound, wash her hands, and finally place a tiny flower-patterned bandage on her finger.

Watching Yi Jinbai seriously fuss over her hand, Jiang Shuiyun’s expression softened without her realizing it. In her past life, every injury she had suffered involved life and death. This was the first time she’d learned that even such a small wound was still considered an injury—one that someone would genuinely worry over.