After Transmigrating into a Scummy Alpha, I Became a Tool Person - Chapter 40

Afterwards, Shen Qiulan and Xia Fuchun were also taken to the police station, and the remaining portions of the estate were returned to her.

Once everything was settled, Xia Ruoxi returned to the villa, utterly exhausted, planning to take a proper rest.

Back at the villa, she didn’t see Xie Yinian anywhere. Over the past few days, she had been busy running around, handling countless matters, and had unintentionally neglected her. Now, she thought, it was time to take a break and spend some quality time with her.

With that in mind, Xia Ruoxi searched the living room but still didn’t see Xie Yinian, so she went upstairs to her room.

She turned on the light—and the room was completely empty, as if it had been cleared out.

Xia Ruoxi froze, an inexplicable sense of panic creeping into her chest.

She pulled out her phone and called her.

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is turned off.”

She tried several calls, but each time, the same automated message.

Then she sent a message via WeChat:

Xia Ruoxi: Where are you?

A large red exclamation mark appeared next to the message.

It said that she wasn’t on her friend list yet; she would need to send a friend request and wait for approval before chatting.

Xia Ruoxi: ?

Frowning, she quickly re-added Xie Yinian and tried messaging again.

Xia Ruoxi: Where did you go?

Xia Ruoxi: Don’t scare me.

The same exclamation mark appeared—her messages weren’t going through.

Frustration mounting, Xia Ruoxi’s eyes caught a piece of paper tucked under a cup on the table. She rushed over to see what it was.

“By the time you read this, I’ll probably have left. You may be shocked, confused as to why I left so suddenly. This wasn’t a rash decision—I’ve thought it through carefully. I think, we’re probably not a good match. You deserve someone better. So, let’s end it here. — Xie Yinian”

Reading the note, Xia Ruoxi panicked completely. She ran downstairs and found the butler, her face etched with desperation.

“Where did Xie Yinian go? Tell me!”

“Miss, please calm down first.”

“How the hell am I supposed to calm down.” Xia Ruoxi’s eyes turned red as she shouted.

The butler sighed. “Madam didn’t say anything. She just packed her belongings and left on her own, returning the keys to you.” He handed the keys over.

Xia Ruoxi waved the keys away angrily. “I don’t need them! I just want her back!”

The butler exhaled, silently noting that Miss usually managed her emotions well and had never seen her this furious. Clearly, Madam was very important to her.

“You’re lying to me, right? She couldn’t possibly leave.” Xia Ruoxi’s voice choked with grief.

The butler, unwilling to cause more pain, said nothing.

“You’re lying to me, right? She likes me so much, how could she leave me behind?” Xia Ruoxi sobbed.

The butler quietly left the room, giving her space to be alone.

Xia Ruoxi sank to the floor, hugging her knees, and quietly wept.

Meanwhile, Xie Yinian was elsewhere.

“This is the rent for the apartment. Once you pay, you can move in immediately.”

Looking at the price, Xie Yinian noted it would cost a few thousand dollars. The place was small, a bit cramped.

“This is a bit expensive,” she muttered. She wasn’t poor and could afford it, but paying almost double the normal rent for a slightly better place didn’t feel worth it.

“Love it or leave it. I only have this one room, and this is the price. You won’t find a better place outside,” the landlady said, hands on her hips.

Sighing, Xie Yinian said, “Fine, I’ll take it.”

She decided to stay here for now—the landlady was right. Rent outside was more expensive, and this was the best room available.

After paying, Xie Yinian received the keys from the landlady, who then left.

Xie Yinian opened her suitcase and unpacked everything, arranging it neatly before lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

This would be her life now. She wondered how Xia Xia would react when she realized she was gone.

A bitter smile crossed her lips. Why think about her? She was probably with Lin Chen by now—long forgotten.

A tear slid down her cheek, followed by another, until they streamed freely.

“Why am I crying? What’s there to cry about, it’s just a breakup,” Xie Yinian whispered, wiping her tears—but more kept falling. She gave up and let them flow, soaking her pillow as she cried herself to sleep.

A few days later.

Xia Ruoxi had calmed down and began reflecting on the past few days. What had driven her away?

Since the birthday party, Xie Yinian had been distant—was it because of the party?

Xia Ruoxi quickly made a call.

“Ms. Xia, what can I do for you?” An Lin answered.

“During the birthday party, did you see Yinian?” Xia Ruoxi asked. An Lin had been outside the banquet hall and likely would have seen her.

“See her? More than that—she was furious. She watched Lin Chen confess and propose to you, and she even crushed a glass in anger. I was so startled I asked if she was okay, but she said nothing and left. Probably just upset, oh, by the way, did you try to comfort her when she returned?”

Xia Ruoxi’s mind went blank as she recalled that day.

—I wasn’t feeling well, so I left early by myself.

—How was the birthday party? Did you have fun?

Xie Yinian’s expression then, she had seemed eager to say something, but Xia Ruoxi had been too tired to talk, saying she’d go upstairs.

—Who are you going on a date with?

—Lin Chen?

—I won’t allow you to go.

Looking back on everything, Xia Ruoxi was filled with regret. She had gone to find Xie Yinian at her birthday party, and later, when Xie Yinian messaged her saying she had gone back, Xia Ruoxi thought, thought that Xie Yinian had truly left early and had missed the part where Lin Chen confessed to her.

After returning home, she clearly still had the chance to explain, but she didn’t. Instead, she chose to conceal the truth.

Now, Xia Ruoxi was consumed by remorse. If only she had explained back then, would Xie Yinian have stayed?

But there was no cure for regret in this world. What was done was done, and regretting it now served no purpose.

Meanwhile, Xie Yinian was in her room, drawing comics, when suddenly she received an email:

“Hello, I am from XXX Publishing. We’ve been following your comics for some time. Would you be willing to sell the copyright to us?”

Xie Yinian was surprised and quickly replied, “I’m willing.”

The reply came almost immediately: “Great. Let’s discuss the next steps.”

Since Xie Yinian left, Xia Ruoxi had looked completely lost and distracted. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, and last night had even caught a cold from the draft.

An Lin teased, “Look at you—like you’ve lost your soul and even made yourself sick. It’s just a fight and running away from home. Why don’t you just go and bring her back?”

“It’s not that simple,” Xia Ruoxi coughed into her mask. “I’ve been looking for her for so long, and I still don’t know where she is.”

“President Xia! There’s news! The person you’re looking for is in XXX Community.” Her assistant pushed the door open to announce.

Hearing this, Xia Ruoxi’s eyes lit up with a hint of hope. She nodded, “Got it. You can leave now.”

Once the assistant had left, Anlin raised an eyebrow. “Well, there you go. You found her.”

Xia Ruoxi called the driver, “Bring the car around. I’m going to XXX Community.”

An Lin looked at her with concern. “You’re just going to go see her like this?”

Xia Ruoxi nodded.

“Not even a little gesture of apology? You’re going empty-handed? At least buy a bouquet to go see her.”

Xia Ruoxi thought for a moment. “You’re right. I’ll go get some flowers.”

After buying the flowers, Xia Ruoxi drove to XXX Community.

Standing at Xie Yinian’s door, she nervously swallowed and knocked.

“Coming!” a stranger’s voice called from inside.

A woman with brown hair walked over, wearing a bathrobe, a distinct red mark on her neck.

Xia Ruoxi froze.

Lu Anran looked up, seeing a woman in a mask and cap, and didn’t recognize her. “Hello, can I help you?”

Xia Ruoxi asked with difficulty, “Yinian, is she here?”

“She went out to buy groceries. I don’t know what’s going on—she’s so late coming back, I’m starving,” Lu Anran complained.

“Are you looking for her?” Lu Anran asked again.

Xia Ruoxi’s heart sank. She shook her head and turned to leave.

Watching Xia Ruoxi walk away, Lu Anran muttered, “What a strange person.”

Meanwhile, Xie Yinian was in the supermarket, selecting ingredients. As she looked at her shopping cart, she realized all the items were foods that Xia Xia loved.

She chuckled bitterly. Even now, she was still thinking about her, maybe she was off kissing Lin Chen right now.

There’s a saying: the favored are always fearless. Xie Yinian finally understood its meaning. Xia Xia was the favored one, which was why she was so confident, completely disregarding others’ feelings.

A cashier noticed Xie Yinian staring blankly at her cart. “Are you done weighing these?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Xie Yinian forced a smile. “Sorry, I got distracted. I’ll put these back.”

The cashier looked at her strangely, thinking she might be sick—picking items up only to put them back.

Xie Yinian ignored it, returning everything to the shelves. She picked out a few ingredients for hot pot, weighed them, and paid.

After leaving the store with her purchases, she entered the community.

At a corner, she saw a trash bin stuffed with a large bouquet of yellow roses. She muttered, “Who’s wasting flowers like this?”

Using her key, she unlocked the door and entered.

“You’re finally back! My neck is killing me. Did you get the ointment?” Lu Anran said, scratching at her neck.

Xie Yinian handed her the ointment from her bag.

Lu Anran applied it while complaining, “There are so many mosquitoes here—they left a huge red mark on me.”

“Spray some more mosquito repellent,” Xie Yinian said, moving to the counter to prepare hot pot.

“I did, but it’s too strong. I couldn’t use much. The mosquitoes kept chasing me—it was miserable.”

“I think I have a mosquito coil in my bag. Try to find it.”

“I’ll look,” Lu Anran said, searching as she spoke. “By the way, someone came looking for you just now.”

“Who?” Xie Yinian asked, unpacking the ingredients.

“Not sure. She had a mask and a cap on, so I couldn’t see her face. She just asked where you’d gone and left. Strange, huh?”