I Heard I’m a Scummy Alpha? [Transmigration] - Chapter 24

Qi Yunwei had always wondered why the original owner’s scandals were so thorough—specific times, places, photos, videos, every kind of so-called “evidence,” all painting her as a lifelong scumbag. After listening to Qi Fanghuai, she finally understood: though the rumors were spread by Qin Lifeng, the real source couldn’t be separated from Qi Fanghuai himself.

Yan Zhao asked, “What rumors?”

He wasn’t one for phones and hadn’t been to the company lately, so he hadn’t heard anything about Qi Yunwei’s scandals.

“They’re about Yunwei,” Qi Fanghuai replied, his expression pained as though the words were hard to say. He cast a glance at Qi Yunwei, then told Yan Zhao, “Uncle Yan, the rumors may be true, but I believe Yunwei has realized her mistakes. She’ll never do such things again.”

On the surface, it sounded like he was defending her. In reality, he was confirming every bit of the slander—just as Qi Fangyue had done earlier.

“Yunwei, aren’t you going to apologize to Uncle Yan and promise you’ll change?” Qi Fanghuai urged.

Clap—clap—clap.

Instead of getting angry, Qi Yunwei laughed softly, raising her hands to give him a slow, deliberate round of applause. “Brother, that was beautifully said.”

Her sincere-sounding praise only made the others’ expressions darken.

“Qi Fangyue plays the ‘bad cop,’ loudly scolding my father- and mother-in-law in public under the guise of defending me. You, meanwhile, play the ‘good cop,’ claiming I’m at fault and should apologize. Between the two of you, black and white are covered. Truly impressive teamwork between siblings.

Now I’m confused—who’s in the wrong here? My in-laws? Me? Or perhaps, in your eyes, both I and the entire Yan family are guilty?
Is it wrong that my father-in-law has wealth? Wrong that my wife runs her company? Wrong that I chose not to trouble my wife with baseless rumors circulating about the business?”

Qi Yunwei’s gaze turned cold. “If you truly cared about me, you wouldn’t choose today to bring this up.”

“Yunwei”

Luo Yi tried to speak, but Qi Yunwei cut her off. “You didn’t stop Qi Fangyue and Qi Fanghuai when they ran their mouths. Now you want to lecture me instead?”

Meeting Qi Yunwei’s frosty black eyes, Luo Yi blanched. She tugged at Qi Jiuyuan’s sleeve. “Jiuyuan, say something.”

But Qi Jiuyuan didn’t want a direct clash with the Yan family. The problem was, he’d silently agreed with what Qi Fangyue and Qi Fanghuai had said.

At first, when he learned Qi Yunwei had marked Yan Zui, he’d been thrilled, eager to push the marriage forward. But now he felt regret.

Becoming in-laws with the chairman, having the company president as his daughter-in-law—Qi Jiuyuan had thought he’d gain privileges, maybe a promotion or a raise. Yet since Qi Yunwei and Yan Zui’s wedding, Yan Zui hadn’t given her any special treatment at the company. Worse, rumors about Qi Yunwei spread unchecked, and Yan Zui did nothing to stop them.

Every day, sitting in the office while colleagues sneered at Qi Yunwei and her parents, he felt humiliated.

Yan Zui hadn’t even announced her marriage at work. Everyone assumed Qi Yunwei was merely her girlfriend. No one knew he was Yan Zui’s father-in-law.

The only consolation was that no one at the company knew he was Qi Yunwei’s father, either.

His Alpha pride chafed at the thought. A useless daughter who only brought him shame, and a daughter-in-law who didn’t treat him as an elder—he’d had enough.

When he heard about today’s gathering, he’d expected a turning point. Perhaps Yan Zui, under Yan Zhao’s reminder, would give him more authority in the company. But nothing happened.

Yan Zhao and He Ran barely hid their disdain, while he groveled to stay polite. Then Yan Zui arrived—and couldn’t even bring herself to call him “Dad.”

His own daughter, on the other hand, addressed Yan Zhao as “Dad” without hesitation.

Qi Jiuyuan stood abruptly, his expression dark. “The atmosphere today isn’t good. Chairman Yan, we’ll take our leave. We’ll meet again another time.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and strode out.

“Jiuyuan!” Luo Yi scrambled to follow.

Qi Fangyue raised her chin, gave Qi Yunwei a sharp “hmph,” and left as well.

Qi Fanghuai, ever the diplomat, smiled apologetically at Yan Zui. “My father has a bit of a temper. He’ll calm down later. Don’t worry—I’ll speak to him when we’re home.” Then he turned to Yan Zhao and He Ran. “Uncle Yan, Aunt He, I’m sorry. Today wasn’t ideal. Next time, I’ll visit personally to apologize.”

In the blink of an eye, the entire Qi family—except for Qi Yunwei—had vanished.

Qi Yunwei had expected something like this, but she hadn’t thought Qi Jiuyuan would be so blunt as to walk out mid-meal.

She had assumed the evening would end with an awkward dinner at the very least.

Now, Yan Zhao and He Ran were left irritated and unsettled, their frustration needing someone to soothe it. That someone was her.

“Dad, Mom, I’m sorry.”

But before she could finish, Yan Zui cut her off. “It’s not your fault. It’s obvious your family holds their grudges against you. Since you’ve married me and joined the Yan family, my parents and I are your family now. You don’t need to worry about the Qis anymore.”

Qi Yunwei froze for a beat, then quickly caught on and played along.

Looking deeply moved, she said, “Wife, thank you. You really are the one who treats me best~”

Yan Zui was a little taken aback by her slightly exaggerated delivery. “We’re family. No need for thanks.”

Noticing her discomfort, Qi Yunwei stopped teasing her. She turned and bowed her head respectfully to Yan Zhao and He Ran. “Dad, Mom, will you forgive me?”

Yan Zhao remained silent. He Ran, as always, waited for him to speak first, regardless of her own feelings.

Yan Zui stepped up to her father. “Dad, just now Yunwei defended our family with every word. None of this was her fault. Please don’t blame her.”

Yan Zhao gave her a surprised look, taken aback by her seriousness. “Don’t worry, I won’t take it out on her.” Today, his daughter seemed different—more grounded, more human.

Then he rose and said, “About Yunwei’s scandals—come to the study and explain it all to me in detail.”

He and Yan Zui left the table without another word, heading upstairs. The large dining room was suddenly quiet, with only He Ran and Qi Yunwei remaining.

Half the dishes had already been served. Qi Yunwei glanced at the spread—none of it was food Yan Zui liked. No wonder she had left so casually without eating a bite.

“Mom, are you hungry? Would you like to eat now, or wait until Dad and Yan Zui come down? If not, we can have the dishes taken away.” Qi Yunwei had learned a bit about Yan Zhao from the news, but she knew almost nothing about her mother-in-law He Ran and couldn’t quite guess what kind of temperament she had.

“The food doesn’t need to be cleared,” He Ran said gently. “They’ll talk for no more than five minutes. Then they’ll come back down for dinner.”

“Fang-jie, keep serving the dishes.”

At her instruction, the housekeeper quickly brought out the freshly prepared food from the kitchen and set it on the table.

Since He Ran didn’t seem inclined to chat, Qi Yunwei wisely kept quiet and waited for Yan Zhao and Yan Zui to return.

Upstairs, in the study.

Yan Zhao didn’t sit after entering. Instead, he walked to the window and gazed at the lush green lawn outside.

“Tell me,” he said. “What’s going on with this Qi Yunwei? You said you met her online, that you’d looked into her background. Your mother and I trusted you and allowed the marriage. And now what? Her family is utterly unreliable, and at the company she actually dared to shout at me. Completely ill-mannered!”

“Her family being bad doesn’t mean she’s bad,” Yan Zui replied.

“If she’s so good, then what about all that dirt on her?” Yan Zhao pressed.

“Fake.” Yan Zui’s expression didn’t waver.

Yan Zhao turned and frowned at her. “Do you really like Qi Yunwei that much?”

“Yes.” Yan Zui lied without so much as a blink.

“You! You’ve never listened since you were a child.” His face suddenly darkened as if some memory had surfaced. “If you weren’t my only daughter, I wouldn’t even bother with you.” With that, he turned and left the study.

Yan Zui was already used to hearing such words from him since she was young.

At the dining table.

Even though she was fiddling with her phone, Qi Yunwei couldn’t relax with her mother-in-law sitting across from her. She aimlessly scrolled through Weibo, silently praying for Yan Zui to come down and rescue her. Just as she was chanting in her head, she suddenly heard that familiar set of footsteps. Her eyes lit up, and she stood at once, waving enthusiastically.

“Come eat!”

Yan Zhao, who had entered just ahead of his daughter and was promptly ignored: “…”

Catching her father’s look, Yan Zui did something unheard of—she smiled at Qi Yunwei. Just the faint curve of her lips, but on her striking face it bloomed into a sweetness that was impossible to ignore. Just one glance made people want to smile along with her.

The two sat together, while Yan Zhao and He Ran sat opposite.

The table was filled with the dishes Yan Zui had grown up with, but for the first time she found them oddly unappetizing. After a long pause, she picked at a piece of cabbage, but all she could think about were the meals Qi Yunwei had been sending her these past few days. Compared to those, the flavors here seemed dull. The thought soured her mood, and it showed on her face, growing colder by the minute.

Suddenly, Qi Yunwei turned to the housekeeper.

“Fang-jie, the weather’s been too hot lately. I haven’t had much appetite. I’d like something tangy—could you make a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce for me?”

Yan Zui’s chopsticks paused midair. Her lips pressed together as a thought flickered across her mind: Qi Yunwei always made sure she had dishes she liked. Why didn’t she ask for a portion for her today?

The housekeeper soon brought out a small bowl of sauce. Qi Yunwei dipped a slice of braised beef into it, but as soon as she tasted it, her brows furrowed. Embarrassed to criticize the flavor, she forced herself to say, “It’s not bad.”

Housekeeper: “…” Don’t bother pretending. Your face already gave you away.

Yan Zhao glanced at Qi Yunwei, frowning. For an Alpha, she was far too picky about food. Pointing out flaws at her in-laws’ dinner table—completely inappropriate.

But in the next second, Qi Yunwei pushed the bowl of dipping sauce across to Yan Zui and said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, “I don’t really feel like it after all. You have it instead—better not to waste it.”

Yan Zhao’s eyes widened slightly, and even He Ran’s gaze flicked toward them.

To them, Qi Yunwei was being audacious to the point of reckless.

Both Yan Zhao and He Ran knew Yan Zui’s temper well. When she was upset, she gave no one face—not even her parents. They exchanged subtle looks, waiting to see how Qi Yunwei would react after being rebuffed.

Yan Zui stared at the bowl placed before her, then lifted her gaze to Qi Yunwei, expression unreadable.

Here it comes, Yan Zhao thought, oddly anticipating the moment his daughter would cut her down.

“Alright,” Yan Zui said instead, dipping her next bite of food into the sauce before eating.

Yan Zhao: “???”

Even He Ran was surprised, though her composure quickly returned. She lowered her gaze and continued eating, no longer paying attention.

Yan Zhao, however, couldn’t stop watching.

Every dish Yan Zui picked up afterward, she dipped into the sauce first. The housekeeper had made half a bowl, plenty to spare, and by the end of the meal there was still a good amount left.

Staring at the sauce, Yan Zui frowned faintly, as though troubled about how to explain to Qi Yunwei that she hadn’t finished it.

Yan Zhao: “…” Does she really like Qi Yunwei that much? For her sake, she’s eating something she doesn’t even enjoy. And not just eating—it looks like she’s enjoying it! Her face isn’t nearly as cold as it was before.

Yan Zhao had never realized his daughter was such a love-struck fool.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have entrusted the company to her so quickly.

After dinner, the four moved to the living room. Yan Zhao began asking about their life together. Qi Yunwei, of course, sang Yan Zui’s praises in glowing detail, leaving her cheeks burning under the barrage of compliments.

Before she could stop her, Yan Zhao suddenly said, “I originally planned to have Xiao Jiang stay at your apartment for six months, to help smooth over the adjustment to married life. But from the looks of it, a month will be enough. Once the month is up, let him come back.”