I Heard I’m a Scummy Alpha? [Transmigration] - Chapter 25

There were twenty-two days left until the month mark; Qi Yunwei felt as if a weight had been lifted. On the way home she hummed to herself, looking light and happy.

When Yan Zui glanced at her while waiting at a traffic light, Qi Yunwei immediately smiled back and tilted her head, practicing a cute little look.

Yan Zui turned away with a blank face. She couldn’t understand what Qi Yunwei had to be so pleased about.

Because she’d won Yan Zhao’s approval?

Or because she could finally be away from her?

If she disliked her so much, why had she drugged her in the first place?

Thinking it over on the ride, Yan Zui came to a conclusion: Qi Yunwei wasn’t interested in her as a person — she was after her money.

That was easy to deal with. Huang Momo had originally suggested using someone to keep Qi Yunwei hooked; now it would just be a different approach.

Using money to tie Qi Yunwei down would be more convenient. As long as there was always money, she could make her do whatever she wanted — no need to worry about her losing control.

After getting out of the car, Yan Zui called after Qi Yunwei. Qi Yunwei smiled and asked, “What is it?”

Yan Zui’s gaze swept across her face. The pallor that had been on Qi Yunwei’s features cleared; her dark eyes sparkled, lively as a flourishing tree.

“Qi Yunwei, I know what you want,” Yan Zui said.

Other trees need water or fertilizer to grow. Qi Yunwei’s only nourishment was money.

Qi Yunwei narrowed her dark eyes and returned a bright smile. “What you think I want is definitely not what I actually want.”

What she wanted was to become stronger and protect Yan Zui — Yan Zui’s guess was a million miles off.

Over the next few days Qi Yunwei finished assembling the parts she had on hand and then focused on earning money to buy more components.

She hadn’t logged into the forum in days. When she finally did, she discovered she’d received over ninety-nine private messages from strangers.

Qi Yunwei ignored them at first and opened the jobs board. A pile of posts on the front page made her eyes widen in surprise.

Typically the front page listed high-paying, hard projects. Qi Yunwei had always kept a low profile and taken jobs from the second or third pages. But now her pockets were empty, so she clicked into the front page — only to find every single task was looking for someone called “Weilan.” Whoever could contact Weilan would be rewarded ten thousand yuan.

Qi Yunwei: “…” Weilan was her username.

Ten thousand yuan for doing nothing — couldn’t she just claim the reward herself?

When she had first registered on the forum she’d used a small, throwaway email and had been careful about privacy. All communication had been through the forum; she hadn’t left a single other contact method.

She opened the private messages page. Red dots crowded the screen. It would be impossible to read them all, so she scanned a few from higher-level accounts. Some messages asked for her WeChat, some for her phone number; others offered high-paying jobs they hoped she would take.

Qi Yunwei replied to an account she’d worked with three times before.

“123123: Boss, boss, the whole world is looking for you — where have you been? Please come back!”

“Weilan: I haven’t logged in these few days. What do you need?”

After sending the message, Qi Yunwei returned to the front page and started reading the posts searching for her.

“Is Weilan here? If you see this post please contact me — there’s an urgent job that needs you.”

“Rush job, extremely high pay, Weilan we need you!”

“Why did you disappear after I found out about you? Weilan, I can’t do without you! Please come back!”

Qi Yunwei: “…” The more she read, the more she felt like a heartless jerk.

There were so many talented people on the forum; she’d been lurking on page two or three, never taking on the hardest jobs. How had everyone suddenly decided she was a top expert?

At that moment the private-message indicator in the top-right blinked again. She opened it and found 123123 had replied.

“123123: Ahhhhh boss, you replied to me! Am I the first one you replied to?”

“Weilan: So far you’re the only one. If you don’t answer my question I’ll ask someone else.”

“123123: No, no, no, I was just too excited, I’ll answer your questions properly, please don’t look for anyone else!”

“Weilan: Why are you suddenly calling me ‘boss’?”

“123123: Because you, boss, ARE a boss! How could I not recognize you earlier? We’ve worked together three times and I still didn’t see your true talents.”

“Weilan: Keep it brief.”

“123123: Okay, okay, sorry boss I got carried away.”

Only then did Qi Yunwei learn that a few days earlier she’d taken a job from someone at a top domestic internet company. The task itself wasn’t difficult — the poster had simply been too busy to finish it and paid someone to do it.

But when “Weilan” took the job and completed it within an hour, the poster was surprised. The segment of code later appeared in a company meeting.

The poster’s supervisor was an industry heavyweight — someone the poster revered — and when he saw the code he was visibly stunned. He grabbed the poster’s hand and said this was a rare gem, a promising talent.

The poster, lacking the courage to take credit, confessed that he’d paid someone to do the work. His supervisor immediately demanded that he contact Weilan and try everything to recruit her.

The poster messaged Weilan, but Qi Yunwei had been busy assembling parts and hadn’t logged in for days.

Unable to find her and under pressure from his boss, the poster impulsively made a public post asking for her contact information.

The forum had never seen anyone look for someone so desperately; people asked why he needed Weilan. The poster didn’t think much of it and just said Weilan’s work was excellent and his boss wanted to poach her.

His description sounded suspect, and some users thought he was staging a self-promotion stunt. To prove it he panicked and posted his work ID and a photo of the industry heavyweight from the meeting, insisting his story was true.

Because the heavyweight’s name carried weight, Weilan suddenly became famous on the forum. Others who had worked with her began to speak up, praising her clever solutions, high completion quality, and — most importantly — speed.

Other companies took notice and began trying to recruit her; soon countless posts asked for Weilan’s contact information and even started bidding for her services.

The poster had not expected things to spiral so far and now regretted it deeply.

“123123: Forgive me for not recognizing a great talent when I saw one — you’re a boss even while you keep a low profile.”

Weilan: I have no intention of joining any company. I’m afraid that will disappoint them. But I’ll still be taking orders on the forum.

Weilan: I want to make a post, but my level isn’t high enough. Could you help me post it?

123123: No problem, boss! Just say the word! Though, would it be okay if we added each other on WeChat?

Qi Yunwei couldn’t help but laugh. She sent him her WeChat ID.

A friend request soon popped up. She tapped “Accept” and set the note as 123123.

123123: Boss, hello! [excited] I’ll post right away.

Weilan: Thanks.

The highest forum level was level 20. The higher the level, the more visibility a post would get.

Not many users had reached level 20. 123123 was level 19, so the post he made was pushed directly to the center of the homepage.

【Weilan is back!!! This order-taking post is on behalf of the great Weilan. The harder the job, the better.Everyone, go for it!】

123123: [image] [image] [image] Proof that I’ve added the boss on WeChat～

Qi Yunwei hadn’t specified that she would only take on difficult tasks. The title was something 123123 came up with on his own, assuming that a top-tier figure like her certainly wasn’t short on money. He figured she was here just for fun, and for someone like her, orders were like puzzle games—the harder, the more exciting.

As it happened, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Harder jobs did come with higher bounties.

In the proof screenshots he posted, only Qi Yunwei’s WeChat ID was blurred out. Once the post went live, all the people who had been trying to privately message her immediately swarmed to 123123 instead.

123123: Boss, I have to moderate replies now, but if you need me, I’ll respond right away!

Weilan: Won’t that be too much trouble for you?

123123: Not at all! I’m more than happy to serve the boss.

Weilan: How about this—after you screen and forward an order, I’ll give you a ten percent cut once it’s completed.

123123: Boss, you’re too generous [teary with gratitude].

Weilan: These tasks are tedious and energy-consuming. You’ve earned it.

With 123123 acting as her assistant, Qi Yunwei’s efficiency skyrocketed.

By half past eleven, she handed her latest finished order to 123123, who then passed it along to the original client.

Weilan: That’s enough for the morning. Let’s continue at two this afternoon.

123123: Boss, do you usually eat lunch this early?

Azure: No, I’m going to deliver lunch to my wife.

123123: !!!

123123: Boss, you really are amazing. You actually have a wife. A single dog like me can only cry with envy.

Weilan: No need to envy me [sigh].

123123 froze at that reply. He assumed Weilan’s wife might not be attractive, or perhaps had other flaws, and was about to type a comforting message when another line popped up.

Weilan: After all, there’s only one goddess—you can’t envy your way into that.

Weilan: Just kidding. See you this afternoon [smile].

123123: [cold, merciless dog food slapped across my face!]

Qi Yunwei’s habit of consistently bringing Yan Zui lunch gradually helped repair her tarnished reputation. At the very least, the front desk no longer gave her the cold shoulder every time she came in.

When people are swept up in emotion, they tend to go with the crowd—if everyone dislikes someone, they’ll follow suit. But once things calm down and people think independently, the inconsistencies start to show.

For example, Qi Yunwei herself was cheerful and always smiling, treating Yan Zui with the utmost care. She was nothing like the petty, malicious image painted by the smear campaign.

The receptionist had gone through a rollercoaster of emotions—liking her, then despising her, and finally warming up again. In the end, she chose to trust her own judgment.

She felt Qi Yunwei wasn’t a bad person.

Besides, President Yan was brilliant. The person she liked couldn’t possibly be terrible.

“Good afternoon, Miss Qi.” When she saw Qi Yunwei walk into the lobby, the receptionist greeted her with a bright smile.

Qi Yunwei returned the smile. “Good afternoon.”

“Oh, right, this is for you.” Qi Yunwei walked over and pulled a few throat lozenges from her pocket. “Your voice sounded a little hoarse. These should help.”

The receptionist was caught off guard and flustered. “Thank you, thank you!”

Just yesterday, Qi Yunwei had glared at her. She hadn’t expected Qi Yunwei to be the type to hold no grudges.

Familiar with the routine by now, Qi Yunwei made her way to the CEO’s office, pushed the door open, and set the food down on the coffee table.

“Come eat. Today’s dish is something you’ve definitely never tried before.”

Yan Zui quickly finished scanning the last page of a document, signed her comments, and walked over. “What is it that I haven’t tried?”

“Cherries.”

“Pineapples are out of season, but cherries are at their peak. So Uncle Jiang and I came up with this—sweet and sour pork with cherries. The taste shouldn’t lose out to the pineapple version. Come sit and try it.”

After Yan Zui sat down, Qi Yunwei handed her a pair of chopsticks.

Yan Zui took them, but unlike usual, she didn’t immediately start eating. Instead, she waited until Qi Yunwei sat down as well, then said naturally, “You were right.”

Qi Yunwei raised her brows triumphantly. “See? You haven’t even taken a bite, and already the aroma’s won you over. I never lie.”

Yan Zui’s lips curved slightly, her expression softened by Qi Yunwei’s smile. “I was talking about Qin Lifeng.”

“Qin Lifeng?” Qi Yunwei quickly caught on. “You had someone look into him? What did you find?”

“His real identity is the head of a security company. His family has ties to the underworld. Seven years ago, he differentiated into an Alpha.”