After Transmigrating Into the Scummy Alpha’s Rebirth Story - Chapter 23

Chaoxi finally managed to get her out.

As the sound of the door closing echoed from outside, Chaoxi immediately started pounding on the bed.

“Aghhh! I didn’t provoke any of you! How did it turn into this? Now, if I lose my temper, will it seem like I’m being unreasonable? Will it ruin my persona? Seriously, what a total troll!”

After her flurry of complaints, Chaoxi calmed down and realized it wasn’t all bad.

When Yuan Xiao left just now, Chaoxi had made her point: she had “suddenly” discovered her marriage was a business transaction, and naturally, she couldn’t accept it right away.

This meant she could still follow the original plot.

Chaoxi jumped off the bed, found the shorts she had worn during the day, fished her phone out of the pocket, and sent a message to Qingqing.

Chaoxi: Yuan Xiao went back to her room. You can come over now!

Qingqing replied instantly: On my way, baby! I’ve been waiting. I even booked a room on your floor. Be there in a sec!

Chaoxi turned off her screen and smiled knowingly.

This bestie of hers was a “troll” too—secretly sneaking over to stay at the same hotel. Truly, “heaven rewards the diligent.” This made their secret meeting much more convenient.

Chaoxi didn’t have to wait long before Qingqing arrived. Instead of ringing the doorbell, she messaged Chaoxi to open the door.

Meeting like two spies, Qingqing was both nervous and excited. Once inside, she took a deep breath, clutching her chest. “Man! That wasn’t easy. Yuan Xiao really is my former goddess—even on such a remote island, she almost got recognized.”

Catching the keyword, Chaoxi asked with a grin, “Why ‘former’? Is she not your goddess anymore?”

Qingqing smacked her lips and flopped onto the sofa, looking disappointed. “Sigh! I found out a huge secret. About you!”

Chaoxi pretended to be a curious child, leaning in close to Qingqing and pouring her a drink.

“Tell me, tell me! What huge secret? And it’s about me?”

Qingqing frowned and sighed. “Ugh! If I tell you, you can’t get mad at me.”

Chaoxi urged, “Just say it! How could I ever be mad at my favorite girl?”

“Looking at your expectant face.” Qingqing took a sip of water, then looked up with eyes full of pity. “I can’t bear to tell you, but I can’t bear to keep it from you either. Oh, my poor little darling.”

You’re killing me with the suspense, Chaoxi thought.

“Don’t worry!” Chaoxi patted her chest. “I’m pretty resilient. Just spill it!”

Qingqing wasn’t the type to beat around the bush; she didn’t even know how to be subtle. Being straightforward to a fault, she closed her eyes and blurted it out: “Yuan Xiao didn’t marry you because of high pheromone compatibility! She signed an agreement with Auntie Zhao. As long as she married you, Auntie Zhao would solve her financial problems, sign her to Xinle, and turn her into a cash cow!”

Chaoxi fell silent for a full five seconds.

Inside, she was blooming with joy.

Talk about efficiency. Everything’s out in the open now.

Unaware of the inner thoughts, Qingqing was worried sick. She tried to soothe her: “Baby? Don’t be angry yet. No matter how you look at it, this is Yuan Xiao’s fault. Auntie Zhao only did it because she knew you liked Yuan Xiao. She spent a fortune to bring her under her wing. She kept it from you with good intentions. Don’t be mad at her. Let’s think about what to do next.”

“What to do?” Chaoxi pursed her lips. “I’ll ask my mom if it’s true.”

Seeing her skepticism, Qingqing added, “Why would I lie to you? It’s the truth. I got it from Shuanzi. It’s absolutely certain. If you don’t believe me, I can call Shuanzi right now and you can ask her yourself. I’m just saying, Yuan Xiao doesn’t like you at all. I don’t want my best friend’s lifelong happiness to be ruined by a business deal.”

Watching Qingqing’s righteous indignation, Chaoxi struggled to suppress a laugh.

Since Qingqing was being so sincere, Chaoxi couldn’t blow her cover. She immediately played along, looking miserable. “If this is true. I want to go back and divorce her. Do you support me?”

Qingqing slammed her hand onto the coffee table. “Divorce her! If she doesn’t truly love you, then good riddance! There are plenty of great Alphas in the world; you don’t need her!”

The loud bang made Chaoxi flinch. She subconsciously looked at Qingqing’s hand on the table and whispered, “Um, does that hurt?”

“Ow—hiss.” Qingqing rubbed her paw. “It really does.”

Chaoxi smiled dotingly, took Qingqing’s hand, and blew on it. “Don’t get so worked up. I’m just a little sad for the moment. I’ll decide after I clarify things.”

Having a friend who is 100% on your side is actually pretty great, Chaoxi thought.

“Mhm, mhm.” Qingqing nodded. “But if you do ask, when you call Auntie Zhao, whatever you do, don’t say it was me who told you! Otherwise, I’m dead meat.”

Chaoxi: “…”

So much for being 100% on my side—she’s still terrified of my mom.

Suppressing a laugh, Chaoxi said, “Alright, it’s late. I’ll call my mom after I wake up tomorrow. You’ve come a long way and must be exhausted. Go back and get some rest.”

Qingqing felt Chaoxi ‘s expression was unnatural, assuming she was heartbroken to learn her marriage was just a deal between her mother and her crush. As a best friend, she couldn’t just leave her like this. “If you can’t sleep or feel unhappy, just talk to me!”

Seeing her stance, it looked like she didn’t want to leave.

So, Chaoxi said, “Then let’s talk. It’s one thing for my mom to keep it from me, but Yuan Xiao kept it from me too! Why did they have to do this? I really don’t understand.”

Qingqing chimed in, “Exactly! Yuan Xiao is so two-faced! She’s terrible!”

Thinking about her interactions with Yuan Xiao over the past two days, Chaoxi shrunk her neck slightly and said guiltily, “Well, she’s not that bad, is she?”

“I knew you’d defend her!” Qingqing was more upset than the person involved. Her eyes widened as she said, “Baby! You need to think clearly. Shouldn’t a couple treat each other with sincerity? She’s just using you to escape her own mess. I admit, anyone in her situation would have it rough, but intentional deception is a character flaw!”

The information Chaoxi had was provided in advance by the system. Qingqing, being part of the world, didn’t know that Chaoxi was already aware of Yuan Xiao’s past.

Chaoxi thought for a moment and said, “That’s true. But what exactly happened to Yuan Xiao? To the point where she’d sell herself? Marriage is no small matter.”

Qingqing sighed again, sounding uncharacteristically weary. “It’s a long story. Where do I start. Let’s start with when Yuan Xiao was plagued by those scandals.”

Chaoxi curled up on the sofa and nodded. “Okay.”

“She had done four movies and was starting to get a bit of a name, but not many people followed her closely. That was until she landed a role in a major TV series. Right after it premiered, the internet was suddenly flooded with scandals claiming she was an illegitimate daughter of the Wang family. You remember that, right? We even helped her fight the trolls and clear the tags.”

“I remember. There were so many rumors,” Chaoxi said.

Qingqing continued, “What’s the Wang family’s status in D City? They’re high-ranking officials. If the other side made it public, wouldn’t that bring shame to the Wangs? So, you and I both thought it was baseless back then. But because the leaked photos looked so real, even after they were deleted, most netizens assumed they were true. People felt that for Yuan Xiao to get such good resources, she must have a ‘backer.’ Since she wasn’t professionally trained and entered the industry as a commoner, a lot of clues were tied together to form a ‘truth’ that looked real. Once people have a bias, public opinion is uncontrollable. The deletion of the photos only made it seem like she was using the back door. It looked like she reached the top without effort, which made people hate her. I even told you then that I thought she was stepping on someone else’s toes.”

“Mhm.”

Chaoxi listened intently, feeling as though she was seeing her former self—the one who worked so hard after college only to be misunderstood because of her looks.

Her mood suddenly dipped. Qingqing paused and patted her shoulder. “Oh, I got a bit off track. Your little brain might not get all this industry stuff. Anyway, I always firmly believed Yuan Xiao was framed. After the matter was hushed up, I just wanted to be a quiet ‘career fan.’ But the truth is, behind that silence, Yuan Xiao went through some real hardships.”

Chaoxi wasn’t someone who didn’t understand, but she played along.

“What kind of hardships?”

Qingqing said, “Because of that scandal that shook the whole internet, her company couldn’t reach her. They didn’t have her social media logins and didn’t know the truth, so they couldn’t do PR for her. They sued her for breaching her contract by damaging her public image and the company’s reputation, demanding 30 million in liquidated damages. They claimed those four movies were all thanks to their connections.”

Chaoxi thought for a moment. “That’s understandable. They spent so much to train her, and then she gets ‘ruined’ by a murky scandal. Loss was inevitable.”

“She couldn’t afford it,” Qingqing hit the nail on the head. “Thirty million. For someone who started as a commoner, that’s an astronomical fine.”

Chaoxi said, “So she’s not particularly ‘bad,’ then? Just a bit unlucky?”

Qingqing shook her head, her gaze fixed intently on Chaoxi.

“Baby, let’s keep things separate. One thing is one thing,” Qingqing said. “If she ran into trouble, she could have found another way. Auntie Zhao isn’t an unreasonable person; if Yuan Xiao had approached her, things could have been negotiated. If her principles were firm, she should have turned Auntie Zhao down. A contract marriage is basically selling yourself—it’s disrespectful to you, and her motives are impure. If this keeps up, you won’t be happy.”

Did Chaoxi not know this already?

She knew.

She sighed, “Yeah, I’m thinking the same thing. What my mom did, it wasn’t exactly right either.”

Qingqing stopped her usual boisterous act. She smiled gently at Chaoxi, offering comfort. “Auntie Zhao only has one child—how could she not worry about you? She just used the wrong method, that’s all. Even if you wanted the stars in the sky, she’d find a way to pluck them for you. Don’t be too hard on her; I’d hate for you two to have a falling out.”

Chaoxi had to agree with that.

“Mm-hmm, I’ll talk to her properly. But really, am I as unreasonable as you make me sound?”

Qingqing reached out and poked Chaoxi’s forehead. “You’re only as sweet as a submissive kitten when you’re in front of Yuan Xiao. Don’t think I don’t know you—you’re stubborn as a mule, obsessed with logic, and you’ve got quite the temper.”

Chaoxi pouted. “Fine, I’ll try to control myself.”

“It’s late, and we’ve talked enough. I’m heading back to sleep. Don’t overthink things! Call or text me whenever you need me!” Qingqing bumped her fist against her left shoulder. “On call twenty-four-seven!”

Chaoxi laughed. “You’re a real one. Bestie for life.”

“Well, who else is going to look after my little princess?” Qingqing teased.

After seeing Qingqing out, Chaoxi flopped back onto the bed.

She figured it was best not to disturb the ever-busy Chairman Zhao’s rest, so she held off on the phone call. At the same time, she felt a pang of sympathy for Yuan Xiao.

Qingqing only knew about the astronomical legal fees, but Chaoxi knew more: Yuan Xiao’s mother was critically ill and hospitalized. This was a “desperate times call for desperate measures” situation.

If a person loses their job and a lawsuit, they can barely worry about food or shelter—the safety of their family becomes the only thing that matters.

As an outsider, Chaoxi could understand Yuan Xiao’s actions.

But the “original” Chaoxi in the story—spoiled from birth, hopelessly in love with Yuan Xiao, and ignorant of the hidden context—would never have had the chance to understand.

Therefore, tomorrow, she had to stick to the original plot.

With her mind made up, Chaoxi drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, the alarm chirped her awake. Chaoxi groggily fumbled for her phone and sat up to call Zhao Hua.

Yuan Xiao usually came by for breakfast, so she had to make this call before she arrived. That was why she had specifically set her alarm for 7:30 AM.

As expected, the call went unanswered.

Chairman Zhao’s busy day had already begun by 7:30, while her darling daughter could still indulge in a lazy morning.

Chaoxi tried calling twice more before tossing the phone aside and sinking back into the pillows.

This was the kind of life she used to envy.

No worries about food or clothes, no responsibilities.

Someone had written her into a book, fulfilling a dream that was impossible in her real life.

Thinking about this made her nose prickle with sadness. She didn’t want this “long vacation” anymore; she wanted to leave this place and go back to reality. It wasn’t because having her dreams come true was bad, but because she couldn’t face the regrets in her own heart.

She didn’t want to speculate anymore—because the more she speculated, the more afraid she became.

She was afraid of her own guilt.

At exactly 8:30 AM, Yuan Xiao rang the doorbell. Chaoxi patted her cheeks to pull herself together, got out of bed, and opened the door.

“Good morning, Wife.”

Chaoxi glanced at the cart she was pushing. The exquisite breakfast was different from yesterday’s; Yuan Xiao certainly had a thoughtful side to her. Chaoxi stepped aside to let her in, stretching as she followed behind.

“I had a bunch of messy dreams last night and didn’t sleep well. How about we stay in this morning? Where are we going this afternoon?”

Yuan Xiao’s movements as she set out the breakfast were cautious; she didn’t even dare turn around to look at Chaoxi. She simply replied, “If you’d like, we can go to the Cultural Street this afternoon.”

“Sure, Cultural Street it is,” Chaoxi said, ignoring her and heading straight for the bathroom. She tossed a final comment over her shoulder: “I’m going to wash up first.”