After Transmigrating Into the Scummy Alpha’s Rebirth Story - Chapter 22

Chaoxi woke up.

Sitting by the bed was a little “puppy,” watching over her with wide, expectant eyes.

“Um, sorry, I accidentally drifted off again.”

Yuan Xiao shook her head and reached out to feel Chaoxi’s forehead. “Fortunately, no fever,” she said with relief. “I let you get too tired today. You need proper rest.”

Having slept, Chaoxi felt much more refreshed. She hadn’t forgotten that she had business to attend to tonight, so she maintained her “weak and pitiful” facade.

“Yeah, today was exhausting. How long was I out? What time is it now?”

Yuan Xiao picked up her phone from the charging cable on the nightstand. “Eleven-thirty. You slept for about an hour. If you’re not hungry, do you want to keep sleeping?”

Chaoxi propped herself up. “I worked up a sweat during that run tonight. I want to shower before I go back to sleep.”

Yuan Xiao’s expression remained neutral. She stood up, poured a glass of warm water from the side table, and handed it to Chaoxi. “Drink some water first. I’ll wait for you to finish your shower.”

Chaoxi’s feet had just touched her slippers. “Huh?”

The glass was already at her lips. Chaoxi reached out to take it, but Yuan Xiao had no intention of letting go. Instead, she leaned down and tilted the glass to feed her.

Chaoxi had no choice but to drink. Then she heard Yuan Xiao say, “There’s something I want to confess to you. Let’s talk once you’re out of the shower.”

Confessing in the middle of the night? Looking at Yuan Xiao’s solemn expression, Chaoxi feared this wouldn’t be a short conversation. But she had a plot to advance! If Yuan Xiao kept talking and refused to leave, Qingqing would be waiting forever.

Chaoxi swallowed the water and tilted her head. “What is it? Why don’t you tell me now, then I’ll go wash up?”

Yuan Xiao set the glass aside and gently smoothed Chaoxi’s hair. “I’m in no hurry.”

Her smile was incredibly tender, making Chaoxi scream internally: You’re not in a hurry, but I am!

If the original character weren’t such a “simp,” Chaoxi would have followed her own instincts and told the girl to beat it. She was beginning to realize this Alpha wasn’t easy to fool. Rather than wasting her breath here, it was better to be efficient: shower fast, talk fast, and message Qingqing fast.

“Fine, I’ll shower first,” Chaoxi compromised with a forced smile. “I’ll be quick.”

Yuan Xiao seemed slightly distracted, repeating, “Mhm, no rush.”

No rush, my foot. This kid.

Chaoxi put on her slippers and headed for the bathroom. The moment her back was turned to Yuan Xiao, her soft smile vanished, and she gave a massive eye-roll.

While the shower ran, Yuan Xiao walked over to the armchair and sat down. She calmly picked up a cup of coffee, took a sip, and immediately covered her mouth, nearly gagging.

“So bitter,” she muttered, her eyes rounding in a pout. “I shouldn’t have ordered the ‘extra strong’ wake-up coffee.”

Regret was useless. Yuan Xiao set the cup down and vowed never to touch the hotel’s complimentary coffee again. She picked up a magazine and began flipping through it with zero concentration.

Chaoxi was true to her word; she emerged in less than thirty minutes, rubbing her hair with a dry towel. The moment Yuan Xiao saw her, she went to find the hairdryer. “We have to dry your hair first.”

“No need, no need,” Chaoxi waved her off. “I’ll just towel-dry it; it’ll dry on its own in a bit.”

Yuan Xiao was just as stubborn as Chaoxi. When she didn’t want to listen, she simply pretended to be deaf. She brought the hairdryer over, pulled Chaoxi down to the sofa, and prepared to do it herself.

“Be good,” Yuan Xiao said, plugging it in. “I’ll talk while I dry.”

That works. It saves time, Chaoxi thought, letting the girl proceed.

Yuan Xiao’s fingers moved through Chaoxi’s long hair, smoothing the strands before the warm air hit them. She stood behind Chao Xi, leaning down slightly until her lips were near her ear.

“There’s something I’ve been keeping from you.”

Enjoying the attentive service, Chaoxi closed her eyes. “What is it?”

Yuan Xiao paused for two seconds before continuing. “Before I met you, I met your mother—Auntie Zhao Hua, the Chairwoman of the Zhao Group.”

“Oh, we’re all family now. If you’re not comfortable, you can just call her Mom Zhao.”

Having spent years in the business world, Chaoxi was an expert at social graces. The polite response slipped out of her mouth subconsciously.

“Mhm.” Yuan Xiao accepted the suggestion and steered the topic forward. “When I met her, things weren’t going well for me. I was buried in scandals and had a mountain of messes to deal with. At that time, she—”

Chao Xi’s heart skipped a beat.

Wait. This feels wrong.

Is this conversation heading in a weird direction? Yuan Xiao wanting to “chat” was suspicious enough, but bringing up Zhao Hua? Was she about to come clean?

“Wait!” Chaoxi blurted out, her voice louder than intended.

Startled, Yuan Xiao stopped moving. “What’s wrong? I haven’t finished.”

Chaoxi snatched the hairdryer from her, clicked it off, and thudded it onto the coffee table.

“I, I need the bathroom.”

It was a flimsy excuse. Yuan Xiao didn’t react much, simply stepping aside to let her pass.

Chaoxi bolted into the bathroom like a refugee and sat on the closed toilet lid to gather her thoughts.

Why is Yuan Xiao bringing up the marriage contract now? They’d marked, they’d kissed, they’d even slept in the same bed. If Yuan Xiao had suddenly caught feelings, it wasn’t impossible. But if Yuan Xiao confessed that the marriage was just a business deal before Qingqing could reveal the “truth,” what reason would Chaoxi have to demand a divorce?

She couldn’t let this happen. She had to shut this conversation down.

How do I stop her? Chaoxi pondered. I’ll fake an illness!

She raised her hand to slap her own cheeks to get some color, but after a few tries, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The risk of leaving finger marks was too high. Instead, she frowned and gave each cheek a sharp pinch.

“Sss—” That actually hurt.

She leaned into the mirror to inspect the damage. The redness was passable. If she couldn’t fool her, she’d just let Yuan Xiao talk and then pretend to fall asleep mid-sentence.

Perfect. Stay the course. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Chaoxi pumped a fist in the air for self-encouragement. She exited the bathroom, immediately switching to a limp, lifeless posture.

“Ugh, I’m so sleepy.”

The Alpha, back in the armchair with the hairdryer in hand, didn’t even look up. “Come sit.”

Chaoxi slogged over like a snail and sat opposite her. “Ugh, my head feels a bit dizzy.”

No response. The whirring of the hairdryer started again.

Chaoxi doubled down. “I think, I might have a fever.”

She began to seriously suspect that Yuan Xiao was hard of hearing. She hadn’t acknowledged the first two comments, and now with the noise of the hairdryer, it was even worse. Chaoxi took a deep breath, turning her face red with effort, preparing to launch into a fake coughing fit.

Suddenly, Yuan Xiao said, “Wife, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

See? Predicted it.

Chaoxi began her performance, coughing laboriously several times. Yuan Xiao leaned in close and, without warning, planted a soft kiss right behind her ear.

“Be good, Wife. Just bear with it for a moment. Once I’m done, I’ll pour you some water.”

Chaoxi nearly rolled her eyes again. This girl’s stubbornness is exactly like the person she was based on! But, she smirked inwardly—her goal wasn’t just to stop the hair drying.

Throughout Chaoxi’s intermittent coughing act, Yuan Xiao didn’t return to the confession. She focused on getting the hair dry as quickly as possible. The moment the dryer clicked off, Chaoxi scrambled back to the bed and collapsed.

“I can’t, I can’t do it,” Chaoxi moaned dramatically. “Too tired. Feeling sick. Need sleep. Can we talk tomorrow?”

Since she was acting so “ill,” and Yuan Xiao’s whole mission was to dote on her because of the promise to Zhao Hua, surely she wouldn’t push it.

Chaoxi gloated internally. But Yuan Xiao returned with the water, sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled back the duvet to lift her up.

“Wife, that cough sounded terrible. Drink more water. After that, I’ll say a few words, and then you can sleep.”

Yuan Xiao blinked her large eyes, looking even more innocent than Chaoxi. It was written all over her face: I Love My Wife.jpg

If it weren’t for the “Scum Alpha” setting, Chaoxi might have actually believed her.

“I don’t want to drink,” Chaoxi whined, pulling out all the stops and risking making herself nauseous with the “Aegyo” act. “I can’t drink anymore. I really need my sleepy-sleep.”

She let her voice trail off into a weak whisper.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yuan Xiao turned, took a mouthful of water herself, and leaned down. She cupped the jaw of the woman trying to play dead and sealed her lips.

Chao Xi: “!!!”

She felt the warm water flow from Yuan Xiao’s lips into her own mouth, the moisture coating her lips. She let out a muffled hum. “Mmm-hmmm!”

Yuan Xiao seemed to give a tiny chuckle. As she pulled away, she moved to take a second sip.

Chaoxi’s eyes widened, and she hurriedly gulped down the water in her mouth. “Okay, okay! Stop!”

I can’t win.

She surrendered, propping herself up. “I’ll drink it myself.”

Gulp, gulp. Chaoxi chugged the water.

Satisfied, Yuan Xiao watched her with a shimmering smile. Her suspicions were confirmed: Qingqing had snuck into this hotel, which meant she and her wife had already reached a secret agreement to meet behind her back.

Her wife was clumsily trying to send her away. I’m so smart, how could I not see through that? Yuan Xiao thought. If you want to play games, let’s play for real.

Yuan Xiao thought deeply while Chaoxi handed the glass back, pushing her away. “I’m sleeping now. You go rest too. Whatever it is, save it for tomorrow.”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Yuan Xiao let out a loud thud and dropped straight to her knees by the bedside.

“Wife! I was wrong!”

Chaoxi nearly fumbled the glass in her hand. The second half of her sentence was physically choked back into her throat.

“What could you possibly be wrong about? What are you even—”

Even though “CEO Chao” had spent years navigating the flirtatious waters of high society, this was the first time she had ever encountered someone who apologized by dropping to their knees. She was utterly floored.

Yuan Xiao knelt there, back as straight as a rod, her face a mask of solemnity. “I had a deal with Mom Zhao. She helped me settle the lawsuits with my previous company, and in exchange, I agreed to register our marriage!”

“Wait—” It’s too late.

Yuan Xiao had beaten everyone to the punch. She had confessed.

Chaoxi was screaming internally: Heaven help me, what is happening? This brat! She isn’t here to play the ‘Scum Alpha’ role—she’s here to sabotage the entire script! Yuan Xiao doesn’t play by the rules at all!

Forget about “OOC” (Out of Character)—this kneeling-apology attitude was so flawless that it didn’t just break her character; it shattered the entire main plotline!

But what now? The story still had to move forward.

Chaoxi forced a strained smile, set the water glass on the nightstand, and reached out to pull Yuan Xiao up. “How about you get up first? Get up, and then we’ll talk.”

To her utter dismay, Yuan Xiao was even more thick-skinned than she had imagined. She was as stubborn as a mule and wouldn’t budge an inch.

Remaining firmly on her knees, she continued, “While it’s true that I originally married you because of that agreement, I’ve already—”

“Stop!”

Chaoxi shouted to cut her off.

Yuan Xiao looked up, eyes brimming with grievance. “Wife.”

Chaoxi: “Stop, stop, stop!”

Is this girl ever going to end? Chaoxi felt completely out of her depth.

Yuan Xiao slumped her head, though her back remained rigid. Her dark eyes began to well up with crystal-clear tears. What a delicate, wronged flower she is!

But even as a “wronged flower,” she took her punishment standing up—or rather, kneeling down. She pushed on with her apology: “Wife, I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but I swear to Heaven, I never intended to take our relationship lightly. I’ve already—”

“Shut up, you!” Chaoxi couldn’t take it anymore and reached out to clap her hand over Yuan Xiao’s mouth. “Say one more word and I’ll never speak to you again, Yuan Xiao!”

Yuan Xiao nodded pitifully. She was even better at acting cute than Chaoxi; her watery eyes stared straight into Chaoxi’s, waiting for her sentence to be passed.

Chaoxi let out a long sigh. This is just too difficult. Who could look at Yuan Xiao like this and not go soft?

Her heart had melted, but a sliver of logic remained. If she didn’t demand a divorce over this deception, and if they didn’t have the big fight that leads to Yuan Xiao abandoning her, the story would deviate completely from the original text. If she failed the main mission, she would never return to the real world.

That absolutely cannot happen.

The flowers at home are waiting for me to water them. My company is waiting for me to manage it. My mother is waiting for me to be a filial daughter. So.

I’m sorry, Yuan Xiao!

Chaoxi gritted her teeth and put on a cold, stony face. “I need to think about this. Can you just let me sleep for now?”

Yuan Xiao, still kneeling obediently, nodded her head like a woodpecker.

Chaoxi waited for her to leave. Glaring at her, she tried her best to use a “negotiating” tone. “So, can you leave me alone for a while?”

It was a clear order for the guest to depart.

Yuan Xiao thought to herself: Wife had an exhausting day, suffered heatstroke, was dragged on a long run tonight, and then suddenly found out a massive secret. She must be tired and angry. If I stay here, I’ll only make her more upset.

So, Yuan Xiao slowly pulled herself up and turned to walk out.

Chaoxi watched her back, just beginning to let out a sigh of relief, when Yuan Xiao suddenly turned around with a fawning smile. “Then I’ll come find you tomorrow morning. Wife, goodnight.”

Chaoxi: “…”

She gave Yuan Xiao a dismissive wave. “Goodnight.”