After Transmigrating Into a Scummy Alpha, I Have Unlimited Krypton Gold - Chapter 29

“Xue Cheng couldn’t bring herself to face the possibility that Liu Wuyuan might come to hate her.”

*******

Xue Cheng felt that Liu Wuyuan had been a little strange lately, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

In their daily interactions, she always felt something was off. Most of the time, Liu Wuyuan seemed eager to be close to her, but at the same time, Xue Cheng also felt that Liu Wuyuan was secretly trying to avoid her. A strange harmony existed between them—neither distant nor close.

Ever since Liu Wuyuan brazenly slept in Xue Cheng’s room that night, the two of them had become like any other loving couple, falling asleep in each other’s arms and waking up together in the morning. Xue Cheng would affectionately and tenderly kiss Liu Wuyuan’s forehead, but Liu Wuyuan rarely returned the gesture, even though her fluttering eyelashes gave away that she was already awake.

As a pure-hearted Alpha who had never been in a relationship, Xue Cheng felt anxious and insecure. She didn’t know if she was doing something wrong, or if this was just how couples were supposed to act. She had no idea how to navigate an intimate relationship. To keep herself from overthinking, she tried to focus all her energy on her work.

Thanks to Xue Cheng’s generous rewards, all the employees at the shops were working extra hard. The renovations on the new shop were progressing well and would likely be finished in three days. The movable type printing blocks were also ready, and the first batch of books had been bound and were waiting for the grand opening.

The actors Xue Cheng had hired were also being trained successfully. She paid well and was quick to settle their wages, which attracted many part-time workers. During training, they were not only given free meals but also paid fifteen cents a day. Those who learned quickly and performed well received an extra ten cents. The person who learned the fastest would get a job with a base salary of five taels of silver a month and a ten-tael bonus.

The trainees were very enthusiastic about learning to perform. Many were vying for a job with Xue Cheng. Meanwhile, the other Xue family branches, hearing about Xue Cheng’s increasingly “ridiculous” behavior, waited daily for her to drive the businesses into bankruptcy. But they were waiting for nothing. With the incredibly overpowered “in-app purchase cashback system,” Xue Cheng kept spending under the pretense of “investing in her wife,” and the system kept giving her money back. She would pay for something, and a “ding” would sound in her head, followed by a torrent of cashback notifications.

As she spent more, Xue Cheng noticed that the cashback rate seemed to increase slightly, which made her very happy. She realized that as long as she had the system, the more she spent, the more money she would get. Even if the businesses’ ledgers showed a loss, Xue Cheng could just use her own money to fill the gap. As long as she used the loophole of “spending on the female lead,” money would be an endless resource.

The system caught her thought and cursed at her, then reported itself and put itself in “time out.” No matter how Xue Cheng called for it, the system wouldn’t respond. It was so angry that it didn’t want to talk to Xue Cheng anymore, but the cashback function was still working, which reassured her. She thought that her little system was quite a hothead. It was just a little loophole, a small benefit. In the end, the system’s goal was to get more experience points for upgrades by having the host spend more money. Since it was a win-win, why get so mad?

Hearing Xue Cheng’s thoughts, the system was so angry it wanted to curse again. It had chosen to turn a blind eye to Xue Cheng’s cheating. But Xue Cheng was so malicious, always thinking of things to annoy it. As a highly intelligent and human-like advanced system, it couldn’t stand the fact that it had chosen such a wicked host. So, it broke its own rules by cursing at Xue Cheng, and then reported itself to be put in time-out.

The sulking system’s goal was to get Xue Cheng to miss it. Who knew that when Xue Cheng realized the system was still working and just couldn’t talk, she would torment it with even more verbal abuse? The system, unable to respond, felt incredibly frustrated. It silently thought, Sure enough, women get weird when they fall in love. Before, Xue Cheng was a sweet, kind, and innocent little Alpha. Look at her now; Liu Wuyuan had twisted her into something else. All the frustration of not getting a response from Liu Wuyuan was being taken out on the poor little system.

The system is hurt. The system doesn’t want to talk to such a mean host.

Xue Cheng stopped after a while. Since the system couldn’t respond, she was just one-sidedly imagining a lot of drama. She wondered what kind of funny reactions the silly system was having. She didn’t have any friends in this world, and her only connection was Liu Wuyuan. But things between them felt strange now.

Xue Cheng wanted to move their relationship forward, but she could never find the right opportunity. Every time she was about to speak, Liu Wuyuan would change the subject. A part of Xue Cheng felt hurt. Was Liu Wuyuan, who kept running away, aware of her feelings but unwilling to accept them? Was she trying to maintain the peace between them?

She didn’t understand. They had been so intimate. They had slept together all night. She had bitten her scent gland and injected her sweet and sour lime pheromones into Liu Wuyuan’s body. They had held each other without reservation, their pheromones mingling as one. But they had never said “I love you” or even had a chance to mention the word love.

Xue Cheng could sense that it wasn’t love yet, but it had to be at least a strong attraction. Otherwise, why…? She felt like she was in a trap, a novice in a high-level game, about to fail at any moment.

Many times, Xue Cheng would look at Liu Wuyuan with a sad, pleading expression, like a lost puppy hoping its owner would change their mind. But Liu Wuyuan would avoid her gaze many times, pretending not to see, even as they continued to sleep intimately in each other’s arms every night. Liu Wuyuan would even check her when she returned home, making sure she hadn’t picked up any other Omega’s scent. It was because of this behavior that Xue Cheng found it hard to believe that Liu Wuyuan didn’t care about her at all. But at the same time, it was hard for Xue Cheng to be sure that this also meant Liu Wuyuan liked her in a way she herself couldn’t understand.

Their relationship had moved too fast. A normal couple would have experienced attraction, flirtation, dates, and a confession. Only after they had established their feelings would they become an indispensable part of each other’s lives. Then, they would naturally progress from holding hands to kissing, and eventually, to becoming intimate and marking each other. Of course, there were some people who only had a sexual relationship. They didn’t need a name to bind them or care about what the other person felt. But Xue Cheng wasn’t that kind of person.

The beginning of her relationship with Liu Wuyuan wasn’t quite right. And, strictly speaking, on an emotional level, they hadn’t even truly begun. They had already shared the most intimate kind of relationship, but it didn’t belong to her as Xue Cheng and Liu Wuyuan. It belonged to the original ones.

Xue Cheng felt dejected. Maybe she was never meant to love openly and honestly because she was a despicable thief who had taken over someone else’s body. Without that, she would have never met Liu Wuyuan, lived with her day and night, and certainly never have done the things they had done. Maybe Liu Wuyuan had sensed something, which was why she kept running away, unwilling to give Xue Cheng a chance to ask for a clear sign of affection.

This made Xue Cheng very anxious. She thought every day about whether she should confess her origins to Liu Wuyuan, but she wasn’t sure if a woman from ancient times could accept what she had to say. She might think Xue Cheng was crazy and take her to a doctor. Or she might think she was a ghost and call a Taoist priest to exorcise her. Then, she might hate her so much she would want to kill her for what they had done when she didn’t know the truth.

The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became. The courage she had managed to gather was like a deflated ball, losing air until there was none left. Xue Cheng couldn’t bring herself to face the possibility that Liu Wuyuan might come to hate her.

She thought that maybe it was okay to just keep things as they were. At least they were living in peace, and occasionally, Xue Cheng would feel as if they were a harmonious couple. Both of them had their own worries, and they spent their days in a seemingly peaceful but inwardly agonizing state.

******

Until the day of the new shop’s grand opening. The new shop was named “Chunhe Hall,” which means “spring is clear and beautiful.” She hoped the books would be like a gentle spring breeze blowing through everyone’s hearts. Chunhe Hall was a large space, divided into an inner and outer hall. The outer hall was mainly for casual tea-drinking and listening to audio dramas. Of course, when Xue Cheng first introduced the concept of an audio drama, many people were confused.

The performers wore masks or veils to create a world where customers could let their imaginations run wild, and the identity of the person behind the mask was unimportant. The same actor could play different roles with different voices in different plays, which helped the audience immerse themselves in the stories without being distracted by a familiar face. The inner hall, however, was more sophisticated, with private teahouses built to resemble the four seasons. Xue Cheng had spent a fortune to create this experience.

The inner hall was clearly more elegant and refined than the outer hall. The scenery for each of the four seasons was naturally matched with different music.

Each seasonal tearoom had a musician to perform for their guests. Accompanied by melodious tunes and the perfect incense, guests could quietly sip a pot of fragrant tea. In addition, each tearoom had special soundproofing, ensuring privacy. This made it a popular choice for guests who wanted to discuss business, so they were willing to pay the high price to reserve a room and talk business over tea.

Support After Transmigrating Into a Scummy Alpha, I Have Unlimited Krypton Gold