After Transmigrating Into a Scummy Alpha, I Have Unlimited Krypton Gold - Chapter 30

“The scene was utterly ridiculous. A stepmother, stark naked, clinging to her supposed daughter and demanding a kiss.”

*******

After Chunhe Hall opened, Xue Cheng dedicated most of her energy to the new shop. She didn’t know if she was using her busy work as an excuse to avoid the awkward situation with Liu Wuyuan or if she was truly working from dawn till dusk.

Liu Wuyuan may have noticed Xue Cheng’s strange behavior, but she still didn’t show any reaction, remaining silent as always. The two of them were physically closer than ever, but they had lost their desire to communicate.

This made it difficult for Xue Cheng to pretend everything was fine. She was afraid to go home and face Liu Wuyuan, feeling lost and not knowing what to say. There was already one person in the house who didn’t talk much; with two, it felt too quiet. The silence was suffocating. She didn’t know what the problem was, so she didn’t have a good solution. Since she couldn’t solve it, Xue Cheng decided not to dwell on it.

Making money was more important. Xue Cheng cheered herself on.

After being open for half a month, Chunhe Hall’s business was so prosperous that everyone in the county knew about it. The storybooks produced by Chunhe Hall were of a much higher quality than those from other shops, yet they were cheaper. Most importantly, the content of Chunhe Hall’s storybooks was very novel. The ladies and young women who were tired of the traditional scholar-and-fox-spirit tropes highly praised them.

Then there were the unique audio dramas at Chunhe Hall. For a few dozen cents, a customer could sit in the outer hall with a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds and enjoy a long performance. The customers were happy with their purchases, and Xue Cheng was making a huge profit. The other Xue family members, who had been waiting for Xue Cheng to fail, were now unhappy. This was because the old grandmother was more satisfied than ever with Xue Cheng’s recent performance and was already considering giving her more businesses to manage.

The Xue family might have been wealthy, but in a small county, how many businesses could be divided among the family members? The most profitable business was the tea plantation. Many people in the Xue family, both big and small, relied on the tea plantation to make a living. But the tea plantation was not originally owned by the Xue family; it was bought by Xue Cheng’s parents and should have belonged to Xue Cheng in the first place. Of course, that was the principle, but when that principle involved their own interests, many people would stop being so reasonable.

The relatives who just did physical labor on the tea plantation didn’t mind, but the other family branches who lived comfortably off the annual profits from the tea plantation absolutely couldn’t stand the thought of losing it. Hearing that the old grandmother was considering returning the tea plantation to Xue Cheng, the Xue family members couldn’t sit still. They took turns trying to convince the grandmother not to be so foolish.

Xue Tingwei’s daily expenses were high. He was a proud man. Although he didn’t visit brothels or gamble, he loved to act like a big shot, often inviting three to five friends out for a lavish meal. When any of his friends had a celebration, he always gave them an expensive and impressive gift, under the guise of paving the way for Xue Baiguang’s future. Lu Wanniang had tried to advise him, but Xue Tingwei always replied, “Baiguang is going to pass the imperial exam and become a high-ranking official. The more connections she has, the better it will be for her.”

For so many years, if they hadn’t been benefiting from the profits of the businesses that belonged to the first branch, their family wouldn’t have been living so comfortably. He himself had no talent for business, nor was he as clever as Xue Lingyu and Xue Tingfu. If they lost the profits from the tea plantation, their family’s life would become much more difficult.

So these days, Xue Tingwei would run to the grandmother every day, telling her to “observe a little longer” and praising his daughter’s excellence. The next imperial exam would require a lot of travel expenses, and he even had to arrange things in advance.

Although the grandmother favored the first branch, she didn’t completely disregard her other grandchildren. Xue Baiguang did have a talent for studying. So the grandmother only agreed to cover all of Xue Baiguang’s study and travel expenses. As for making connections for Xue Baiguang, the grandmother just snorted and said, “The Xue family might have some reputation in this small county, but outside of this county, who should we make connections with?” She then shooed Xue Tingwei away, saying, “Whether she passes or not is up to her own ability. The Xue family, going back several generations, couldn’t find anyone who could curry favor with the examiner.” Not to mention that today, the Xue family could only be considered gentry in this tiny county.

Xue Baiguang herself knew better. She was too proud to throw a tantrum in front of the grandmother like her father. She just closed her door and studied diligently, wanting to prove to the grandmother after the exam that she was far more capable than Xue Cheng. In her heart, she felt resentment. Among the grandchildren, she and Xue Cheng were both Alphas. Yet the grandmother would rather reserve all the most important things for Xue Cheng.

While it was true that Xue Cheng was from the first branch, and she had to call her “elder sister,” Xue Cheng had been a troublemaker for so many years. After only two months of being well-behaved, the grandmother saw her as a peerless prodigy. Occasionally, Xue Baiguang would think that she should have been born to her aunt. She looked down on her foolish and useless father and even more so on her stepmother, who had married into the family for a little bit of money. She was tired of Xue Tingwei constantly telling her to study hard and bring honor to the family. Sometimes, Xue Baiguang wanted to ask Xue Tingwei if he could take a look at himself in the mirror. He had accomplished nothing, yet he expected his children to bring him glory. The saying goes, “A dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and a rat’s child can dig holes.”

In truth, Xue Baiguang didn’t love studying, but being born into the second branch, it seemed there was nothing else for her to do. After all, she wasn’t in line to inherit the family business. If Xue Cheng had been a failure, she might have had a chance. But she never expected her foolish elder sister, after so many years of being a troublemaker, to completely turn her life around after getting married. After only two months, the grandmother was already thinking of gradually handing over the Xue family businesses to Xue Cheng. It would probably take less than a year for Xue Cheng’s position as the next head of the family to be set in stone. Xue Baiguang thought that the only way she could ever surpass Xue Cheng was to study hard, pass the imperial exam, and become an official. Who would care about the Xue family’s insignificant little businesses then?

She must have been in a bad mood because she had been staring at her book for a long time without comprehending a single word. Her mind was filled with chaotic thoughts. She realized that she was not in the right state to study today. Xue Baiguang threw the book aside, leaned back in her chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

No one dared to disturb her in her study. As the sole hope of the entire family, even her crybaby stepbrother had to stay away. Xue Tingwei was very protective of his daughter in this regard, doing his best to create the most comfortable study environment for her. Even Xue Tingwei himself rarely entered the courtyard. On two occasions, he had foolishly stumbled in while drunk, and after Xue Baiguang had an outburst of rage, he, as her father, not only didn’t get angry but pathetically apologized. He promised that he would never step foot in this courtyard again without her invitation. The entire courtyard was silent. Even the servants tried to be as quiet as possible. So, when Xue Baiguang heard the rude sound of her door being pushed open, she immediately knew who it was.

She frowned and turned her head to look at the doorway. The person walked in with a graceful sway, and when she saw Xue Baiguang looking at her, she smirked a seductive smile. At the same time, the scent of gardenias drifted to Xue Baiguang’s nose. A faint blush appeared on Xue Baiguang’s face, and lust flickered in her dark eyes. She was too familiar with this scent. Just as she was feeling frustrated and unable to control her emotions, her desires were easily ignited.

But she still scolded her with dissatisfaction, “Don’t be so showy. Do you think there’s no one else in this house?”

Lu Wanniang didn’t mind her cold attitude. After all, some people’s bodies were much more honest than their mouths. As she approached Xue Baiguang, she took off her clothes one by one. By the time she sat on Xue Baiguang’s lap, she was only wearing an undergarment and underpants. “What are you afraid of? The servants are neutrals (Beta), they can’t smell us.”

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around Xue Baiguang’s neck and offered her red lips, exchanging a passionate kiss before pulling away, panting. Her fingertip playfully lifted Xue Baiguang’s chin, and she smiled provocatively. “Besides, your father went out for a social gathering today. He won’t be back until late…”

The scene was utterly ridiculous. A stepmother, stark naked, clinging to her supposed daughter and demanding a kiss. Even without a single drop of blood relation, the strong sense of taboo Xue Baiguang felt towards this woman, who held the title of her father’s wife, made her unable to control her excitement. The scent gland on the back of her neck throbbed. Her pheromones joyfully broke through her skin, mingling with Lu Wanniang’s gardenia scent.

In the quiet courtyard, every sound was amplified. Xue Baiguang’s ears were filled with the woman’s moans and her own heavy breathing. The sound of water splashing as if from a great height occupied her entire mind. Because of this, she didn’t notice the subtle footsteps in the courtyard.

*****

Meanwhile, Xue Cheng had been at Chunhe Hall all day. The sales of the new storybooks far exceeded everyone’s expectations, and the workshop was working overtime to print them. She heard that the writers’ pens were almost smoking from writing the next parts, but Xue Cheng was a conscientious person. Since they were a partnership and she was making money from their good stories, she gave them a generous bonus.

She had also promised the writers that if a storybook sold more than 10,000 copies, they would receive a 10% share of the profits as a bonus. She wanted them to write for high sales, not just to complete a task and earn the base pay by patching together mediocre storybooks.

In the evening, someone rushed to Chunhe Hall, saying that something had happened at the Xue family compound and that the grandmother had sent a servant to ask her to return. At the time, Xue Cheng was busy with the accounts and was quite satisfied with the recent results. Still, it would be another five months to break even at this pace, as the initial investment was huge.

When she heard that the grandmother had sent for her, she worried that the old woman had fainted from anger again. Even though this was the grandmother of the person she had replaced, Xue Cheng had genuinely felt her affection, so she immediately put down her ledgers and prepared to go back to the compound with the servant. Before leaving, she noticed the time; it was almost dinner. She asked a shop employee to go home and tell Liu Wuyuan not to wait for her and eat ahead.

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