I Heard I’m a Scummy Alpha? [Transmigration] - Chapter 22

Slipping out of Qi Yunwei’s arms with practiced ease and without waking her, Yan Zui returned to her side of the bed. She sat up and glanced at the clock hanging on the opposite wall—it was about the same time she usually woke up.

She picked up the quilt from the floor, folded it neatly back into place, and went to wash up.

When she came out, Qi Yunwei was already awake. Her dark eyes curved in delight as she greeted cheerfully, full of energy:

“Good morning.”

Still preoccupied with the surveillance footage, Yan Zui only gave a faint hum in response and headed downstairs.

Qi Yunwei instantly sensed that something was off in Yan Zui’s mood. She was just about to wonder if Yan Zui had finally believed her words and was planning to fire Qin Lifeng, when Xiaoman suddenly spoke up:

【Master, Xiaoman has detected an unusual energy fluctuation coming from the clock on the opposite wall.】

“What clock?” Qi Yunwei lifted her gaze. Sure enough, hanging on the wall was a clock with an intricate design. Its vivid red floral patterns looked completely out of place in the otherwise simple room.

[That wasn’t there before. Looks like Yan Zui bought it yesterday. Xiaoman, why can you sense an energy fluctuation from a clock?] she asked.

【Xiaoman isn’t sure either. This is the first time I’ve detected such a fluctuation from something other than you.】

Qi Yunwei let the doubt rest for now. After washing up, she went downstairs for breakfast. She had planned to ask Yan Zui about it over the meal, but by the time she arrived, Yan Zui had already left for work.

“So early?” Qi Yunwei was surprised.

The butler smiled knowingly. “Tonight, the Master is hosting a banquet for your family. Naturally, Miss Yan has to get home early to prepare, so she’s finishing her work ahead of schedule. She values you, Miss Yunwei. She was worried the bodyguard might not pick you up in time yesterday, so she drove herself home.”

The first thing Yan Zui did when she reached her office was pull out her phone to check the surveillance footage from last night.

There was still some time before work officially began, but in case someone arrived early, she locked her office door. Only then did she sit down in her chair and open the footage.

She and Qi Yunwei had gone to bed around half past ten. Qi Yunwei fell asleep quickly, but Yan Zui had tossed and turned for a long time before finally dozing off.

She decided to start watching from midnight.

The night-vision function of the surveillance camera was decent, and the scene on the bed was clearly visible.

At twelve o’clock, Qi Yunwei was sleeping properly on her side, the quilt neatly propped between them. Yan Zui, however, curled up restlessly, shifting about from time to time.

Fast-forwarding at 5x speed, Yan Zui saw that a little past one o’clock, her sleeping self—who had only been making small movements—suddenly began inching toward Qi Yunwei, like someone in the snow sensing warmth. She reached out and clutched at the quilt between them. After hugging it for a moment, she shoved it off the bed entirely, then kept rolling, until she landed right in Qi Yunwei’s arms.

Yan Zui: “……”

On screen, after tumbling into Qi Yunwei’s embrace, her sleeping self first buried her face against Qi Yunwei’s shoulder, then, apparently finding it uncomfortable, nuzzled deeper into her chest.

With a quick motion, Yan Zui shut off the footage, her face burning red.

How could she act like that in her sleep?

Not only had she been the one to make the move, she had even behaved so shamelessly.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

“President Yan, are you inside?”

Snapping back to her senses, Yan Zui pressed a hand to her flushed cheeks, forced herself to calm down, then stood to unlock the door.

Secretary Shen was waiting outside. Spotting Yan Zui’s slightly red face, she asked with concern, “President Yan, you don’t look well. Should I arrange for you to see a doctor?”

Yan Zui turned her back on her, walked back to her desk, and sat down. By the time she raised her head again, her expression was perfectly composed. “No need. I’m fine.”

Shen studied her carefully, then, reassured, set the documents she was carrying on the desk.

“President Yan, these need your review and signature. There’s a morning meeting in ten minutes, and President Yang from Qianhe Century is scheduled to meet you at ten.”

After running through the day’s schedule, she waited for instructions. But Yan Zui didn’t respond—she seemed distracted, her cheeks faintly pink again.

This wasn’t the look of someone sick, but of someone lost in thoughts of romance.

Shen’s heart gave a little leap. President Yan must be thinking about her girlfriend!

Everyone in the company knew about Qi Yunwei’s negative press. Most thought she didn’t deserve President Yan and were waiting for a breakup. But President Yan had trusted Qi Yunwei’s character from the start, completely ignoring the so-called “scandals.”

The more Shen thought about it, the more excited she grew—but her professionalism quickly reasserted itself.

“President Yan?” she called softly.

“Mm? Something else?” Yan Zui raised her head naturally, as if she hadn’t been spacing out at all.

“No, nothing more,” Shen replied quickly, and wisely took her leave. She wasn’t about to disturb President Yan when she was clearly daydreaming about her girlfriend.

Everyone else may dislike Qi Yunwei, but Shen had no one to gossip with. All she could do was secretly ship the two of them in her own heart.

Meanwhile, Qi Yunwei, after breakfast, wanted to check the clock immediately. But going back so soon would seem suspicious. So she yawned deliberately and told the butler, “We stayed up too late yesterday. I didn’t sleep enough. It’s fine for me since I can catch up at home, but poor Yan Zui has to work. Uncle Jiang, make a few extra dishes for her lunch, would you?”

The butler chuckled. “Of course. Miss Yunwei, is there anything in particular you’d like to eat? I’ll go shopping right away.”

After thinking for a moment, Qi Yunwei listed four dishes and one soup—two of Yan Zui’s favorites and two of her own. The butler, pleased, tidied up and headed straight for the supermarket.

Finally at ease, Qi Yunwei returned to her bedroom and went straight to the clock.

She studied it for a while, but nothing looked unusual. She carefully lifted it off the wall and set it on the bed.

[Is the energy coming from a single point, or the whole clock?] she asked.

【It’s strongest at the upper left corner—that’s where the fluctuation originates.】

Qi Yunwei fetched the tools she’d bought yesterday and carefully dismantled the clock. Sure enough, in the upper left corner, she found an old-fashioned pinhole camera.

She froze. [Why would Yan Zui put a hidden camera in the bedroom?]

Before Xiaoman could reply, realization struck. These past two mornings, Yan Zui had woken up in her arms. Yan Zui must have wanted to know how it happened without alerting her—so she bought a camera.

【Master, this morning you changed clothes at the bedside. Won’t that have been recorded?】

Qi Yunwei jolted. [Damn. Of course it was!]

She reassembled the clock and hung it back up, leaving the camera in place. Now that she knew about it, she would simply be more careful in the bedroom. If the camera reassured Yan Zui enough to keep sharing the bed, then so be it.

Not long after, the parts she’d ordered online arrived. The butler returned from shopping carrying the heavy box.

“It’s so heavy. Good thing I work out, or I wouldn’t have managed. Miss Yunwei, what on earth did you buy?” he asked curiously.

“Just some components for a little gadget,” Qi Yunwei replied vaguely.

The butler blushed, clearly imagining something else, and didn’t press further.

Exactly the effect Qi Yunwei wanted.

Once he left to prepare lunch, she carried the box to the study. After shutting the door behind her, she poured out the silver parts onto the desk. They piled into a small metallic hill—and this was only a tenth of what she needed.

The hundred thousand she had on hand was enough to buy only these. The remaining components had to be custom-made, at an even higher cost. Qi Yunwei planned to take on orders in the forums while working on them bit by bit.

By eleven-thirty, the butler had finished preparing lunch. Qi Yunwei packed it up and headed straight to Yan Zui’s office, sending her a message on the way:

Qi Yunwei: I’m on my way over. There’s something I want to talk to you about.

When she arrived at the company, she ignored the stares of others and went directly to the top floor.

She knocked and entered. Yan Zui didn’t look up, not until she placed two lunchboxes on the desk.

Yan Zui blinked in surprise. “Why two today?”

“Because I brought more dishes this time. One box wasn’t enough.” Qi Yunwei opened them up—four dishes and one soup, beautifully arranged. “Uncle Jiang is a great cook.”

“Mm.” Yan Zui gave a small nod of agreement.

Qi Yunwei handed her a pair of chopsticks. Just as Yan Zui picked up a sweet-and-sour shrimp, Qi Yunwei asked casually:

“This morning, I changed clothes by the bed. Could you delete that part of the video for me?”

“Clatter!”

The shrimp slipped from Yan Zui’s chopsticks, landing on the desk in a splash of sauce.