Transmigrated as a Scum Alpha: Now I Have a Wife via the Heartless Dao - Chapter 4

Rong Shu stormed off, seething, feeling that her act of sneaking over to eavesdrop was utterly ridiculous.

Yu Qianyan, however, quietly lifted her eyes, which were still crinkled with a smile, and let them linger on Rong Shu’s retreating figure. She looked much more vibrant this way; that sullen, reticent appearance from earlier hadn’t suited a young girl who had just come of age. Yu Qianyan thought to herself that she should bring her out to play more often. Staying cooped up at home all the time probably wasn’t doing her any good.

Seeing that Rong Shu had returned to her seat to flip through the brochures, Yu Qianyan turned her full attention back to her conversation with the shop owner.

The shop owner was a man of leisure and refined taste. He had a penchant for niche, retro items. Or, perhaps, wealthy people with time on their hands simply developed these obscure hobbies—not necessarily out of genuine passion, but as a way to showcase their sophisticated taste. Once Yu Qianyan asked, he became quite interested. They immediately exchanged personal contact information, and he promised to inquire about it over the next couple of days. If he found something that met her requirements, he would have it delivered directly to the Duke’s mansion.

In this world, traditional “ancient Eastern swords” had long since vanished into history before the interstellar era began. Nowadays, short, lightweight, retractable lightsabers were the trend. Traditional ancient swords couldn’t even find a proper successor, and unlike Western fencing, which had simply pivoted to become a performance-based sport, traditional Eastern swords had been left completely ignored.

Without fame, there was naturally no market. Over time, not only were finished products impossible to buy, but even if one wanted a custom piece, there were no masters left who understood the craft. It had become a legendary, intangible cultural heritage on the verge of extinction.

Compared to Yu Qianyan, a newcomer in a strange land, the shop owner had much wider avenues for finding rare items. Otherwise, relying solely on herself, she didn’t know how long it would have taken to find what she needed. Actually, it would have been best if Yu Qishan could help, but she likely thought Yu Qianyan was just fooling around and remained adamantly opposed, leaving Yu Qianyan to her own devices.

Now that the sword had a glimmer of hope, Yu Qianyan felt a sense of relief wash over her. With her mood improved, her expression naturally softened. She chatted with the shop owner about other topics for quite a while, both of them high-spirited and feeling as if they had met too late in life.

Suddenly, Yu Qianyan felt a light tug on the corner of her clothes. She turned her head and saw it was Rong Xin. This girl had found a sales assistant to help her pick out sizes, tried on several pieces of the latest ready-to-wear clothing, and now came running over, delighted, with a few pieces draped over her arm and another set already on.

The smile in Yu Qianyan’s eyes vanished instantly, and she replied only with polite detachment, “Is there something you need?”

After Yu Qianyan turned back, a flush rapidly crept up Rong Xin’s cheeks. She seemed to possess some special talent; she could make herself blush on command. It had been the same back at the Rong residence, which had piqued Yu Qianyan’s curiosity enough to make her take a few extra looks earlier.

“Sister Yu!” Rong Xin called out crisply. Her voice was soft and sweet, and she shook the corner of Yu Qianyan’s sleeve slightly, exerting that artificial, candy-coated sweetness to its absolute limit, “Do you think this outfit looks good on me?”

“No need for such familiarity,” Yu Qianyan said with a polite nod, “Just call me Miss Yu.”

The smile on Rong Xin’s face stiffened, “Sister Yu, you love to joke.”

“I am not joking.” Yu Qianyan’s expression turned serious, and her tone grew colder, “You haven’t been in a relationship yet, so you wouldn’t understand. This is called keeping a proper distance.”

Rong Xin’s smile was barely hanging on. She let out a few awkward laughs, then suddenly raised her voice on purpose, “Sister Yu, you don’t need to worry about that. My sister isn’t that narrow-minded! Besides, I’m still young, what is there to keep a distance from? My sister won’t mind.”

The shop owner had originally been quite annoyed by the interruption and had been preparing to retreat to his lounge. Now, seeing there was a show to watch, he stayed, looking intrigued. His gaze darted back and forth between Yu Qianyan, Rong Shu, and Rong Xin, and he let out a “tsk tsk” sound, drawing a helpless glance from Yu Qianyan.

The owner didn’t feel awkward at all. He shot Yu Qianyan a rogue-like grin, leaned half his body against the counter, and continued watching the play with righteous confidence. The sales assistant who had been helping Rong Xin pick out clothes handed the owner some snacks at the right moment, and the two stood together, eating and watching the commotion.

Seeing this situation, Rong Xin didn’t know what she was thinking, but she became even more persistent. She reached out, intending to hook her arm into Yu Qianyan’s.

Yu Qianyan saw this, realized the situation was going south, and took a sharp, giant step back. Her back nearly smashed into the shop owner’s nose.

“Whoa, do you have to be so stingy?” The owner rolled his eyes and retreated behind the counter. He decided he wasn’t leaving today!

Yu Qianyan didn’t pay attention to the owner and the assistant moving around. She turned to look at Rong Shu’s reaction. Rong Shu didn’t react at all. She sat firmly on the sofa, unbothered, flipping through a brochure and occasionally turning to discuss modification ideas with the tailor beside her, seemingly unaware of the farce playing out right in front of her.

Yu Qianyan breathed a sigh of relief. She turned back to Rong Xin and said, “This has nothing to do with Rong Shu. It is I who mind.”

Rong Xin pouted in dissatisfaction, stomping her feet on the ground, acting coy like a child.

Yu Qianyan quickly looked away, setting her gaze on a clothing mannequin behind Rong Xin to calm her nerves. She spoke before Rong Xin could, “If you have something to say, just say it directly.”

“Oh my. Sister Yu…”

“Miss Yu.”

“Sister Qianyan…”

“Miss Yu.”

Seeing that Rong Xin still refused to give up, wanting to wear her down, Yu Qianyan decisively turned around. She reached out, grabbed a handful of snacks from the shop owner’s palm, and asked him, “Where were we?”

The owner looked at the scant few snacks left in his hand, feeling quite speechless. He simply handed the rest to the sales assistant, pulled a soft towel from his pocket to wipe the crumbs from his palm, and joined Yu Qianyan in pointedly ignoring a certain restless Omega. “We were talking about which patterns look better.”

“Right, but patterns cannot be judged in isolation. They have to match the color, density, and flow…”

“Yu Qianyan!” Rong Xin roared.

After roaring, she realized she might have ruined her own image, but she was frustrated that the other party had truly stopped paying attention to her just like that. The frustration of being rebuffed by an Alpha for the first time, mixed with a sudden, surging desire to conquer, left her at a loss. She stood there stiffly, habitually waiting for the Alpha to coax her.

Unfortunately, no one present had any intention of giving Rong Xin a way out.

Rong Xin couldn’t lower herself to apologize. She turned to leave, but she truly had something she needed to beg Yu Qianyan for. Her expression twisted. After a long moment of building her psychological defense and adjusting her mindset, she approached again, huddled in a corner next to the counter, tilted her little face up, and stared wide-eyed at Yu Qianyan.

The owner pursed his lips at Yu Qianyan, signaling that someone was starting again.

“Sister Yu, Miss Yu, could you lend me some money?”

Yu Qianyan finally looked her in the eye, but she didn’t say anything, only signaling with her gaze for Rong Xin to continue.

“These clothes are all very beautiful, and I like them a lot, but my allowance is not enough… Miss Yu, you are so rich, could you lend me some?”

“No.”

Rong Xin’s thanks died in her throat. Her eyes went wide instantly, looking at Yu Qianyan in disbelief, unable to utter a single word.

Only then did Yu Qianyan put on an expression of just realizing it, saying apologetically, “Oh, I should have been more tactful, right? My apologies, my apologies. Why don’t you ask again?”

Rong Xin froze for two seconds, then actually asked again, word for word.

This time, Yu Qianyan’s attitude was indeed much gentler. With the concerned, loving gaze of an elder, she said, “Sorry, I don’t have any money either.”

Only then did Rong Xin realize she had been humiliated in public. Her whole face turned red with anger.

Yu Qianyan carefully examined the distribution and depth of the red blood vessels on Rong Xin’s face, thinking that this was what a real blush looked like. She had been wondering why she looked so strange the previous two times.

Having cleared up her confusion, Yu Qianyan saw the girl still standing there like a post and asked curiously, “Anything else?”

“No!”

It seemed she was truly angered; she wasn’t even acting sweet anymore.

Rong Shu, who had been eavesdropping the whole time, finally couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing. The sound of her laughter was particularly loud in the spacious room, which had fallen silent at some point.

That was the last straw. Rong Xin could no longer hold up her façade. Humiliated and furious, she threw all the clothes she had chosen onto the counter and slammed her hand down on the table, “I’ll buy them myself! How much!”

The shop owner was amused. He hurriedly pulled out a card reader and held it right under Rong Xin’s nose, “Five hundred thousand Imperial Credits, thanks for your patronage!”

“Five hundred thousand?!”

This number clearly exceeded Rong Xin’s capacity, but since she had already thrown the words out in public, wouldn’t it be even more embarrassing to back down now?

Rong Xin’s expression shifted, but finally, she gritted her teeth, pushed the pile of clothes on the counter toward the sales assistant, and said, “Then I only want this set I’m wearing. The rest, I don’t want!”

The owner wasn’t surprised. He lowered his head and tapped on the machine, “Two hundred thousand Imperial Credits, thanks for your patronage.”

“This set is two hundred thousand? So expensive!”

“The latest model, cost price, no discounts.” The owner said expressionlessly.

Rong Xin looked around and noticed that everyone in the store was staring at her, either openly or discreetly. She couldn’t save face, so she gritted her teeth, paid the bill, and with a gray face, took the bag from the sales assistant.

“Miss Yu, I suddenly remembered I have something else to do, so I won’t disturb you and my sister while you shop. I’ll leave first.”

Yu Qianyan naturally didn’t keep her. Without even a polite gesture of hospitality, she called a nearby assistant to send her back to the Rong residence.

Once Rong Xin left, the shop owner said to Yu Qianyan with a mischievous grin, “Since you treated me to this show, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount on the other Miss Rong’s clothes later.”

There was such a good thing as this? Yu Qianyan’s joy instantly beamed from her face.

The owner was a bit puzzled by Yu Qianyan’s joy. Was the young lady of the Yu family really that short on money?

Rong Shu watched Yu Qianyan walk over with a smile and also found it extremely bizarre. The Yu Qianyan she knew was the most concerned with face and grand gestures. It was true that the clothes in this shop were expensive, but Yu Qianyan had never wanted a single cent of discount, because it would lower her dignity. What she wanted was the brand of a century-old shop, full price, and wearing the most expensive, latest full set to show off her noble status and wealth.

She had never cared about fabric, tailoring, color combinations, or patterns, and would never be happy about saving a little money. Her attitude toward Rong Xin was also completely different from her previous life. Logically speaking, Yu Qianyan loved Rong Xin’s innocent, coquettish routine the most—otherwise, the two wouldn’t have hooked up so quickly in the past life.

Not to mention that Yu Qianyan was a “Straight-A” chauvinist. She absolutely wouldn’t have the knowledge base or the patience to chat for so long with a background-less Beta like the shop owner about patterns and designs.

The more Rong Shu thought about it, the more bizarre it felt. She lost the mood to continue choosing clothes. She simply confirmed the few styles she had just discussed with the tailor and prepared to pay and leave with Yu Qianyan.

The owner was busy registering accounts on his computer when he suddenly looked up and whispered to Rong Shu with a laugh, “I’ve been collaborating with the Yu family for so long, and I’ve never seen Miss Yu bring any Omega here to buy clothes… Miss Yu is really very good to you.”

Rong Shu’s faint smile faltered. A coldness rose in her eyes, and a shocking hypothesis gradually began to emerge in her heart.