I Heard I’m a Scummy Alpha? [Transmigration] - Chapter 36

Yan Zui had her bodyguard, Zhou Xiao, escort Xuan Mingzhu and her party to the elevator. Xuan Baiquan, distracted by his own thoughts, slowed his pace until he fell behind. Zhou Xiao seized the opportunity, leaned close, and whispered, “Mr. Xuan, this is from our President Yan.” With that, he slipped a small note into Xuan Baiquan’s hand.

For a moment, Xuan Baiquan just stared blankly at the note. It wasn’t until Zhou Xiao strode forward to catch up with Xuan Mingzhu that he snapped out of it, his heart thudding wildly.

He recognized Zhou Xiao—Yan Zui’s personal bodyguard.

Clutching the note tightly, Xuan Baiquan followed along, a feverish heat surging in his chest.

This was from Yan Zui herself! And delivered so secretly!

What could it say? Excitement flickered in his eyes.

Once they exited the Yan Corporation headquarters, Zhou Xiao saw them to their car. Standing outside, he put on a simple, earnest smile. “President Xuan, Manager Xuan, our President Yan attaches great importance to this cooperation.

She instructed me to make sure you were sent safely to your car. Task completed.”

Xuan Mingzhu merely gave him a cool nod; she had no interest in talking to a bodyguard who looked rather slow-witted.

Xuan Baiquan, on the other hand, forced himself to appear calm. Smiling brightly, he said, “Please thank President Yan for me.”

Zhou Xiao nodded. “Of course.”

After the car pulled away, Zhou Xiao turned back, unable to hide the grin spreading across his face.

This was his first time participating in a counterintelligence scheme—it was thrilling!

Thank you, President Yan and Boss’s wife, for giving me this chance!

In the car, Xuan Mingzhu and Xuan Baiquan sat in the back seat. She quickly noticed how restless her brother was, fidgeting every few moments and disturbing her rest. Opening her eyes, she gave him a sharp look. “Baiquan, be steady.

How can I trust you with the project if you act like this?”

Startled, Xuan Baiquan clutched the note tighter, hiding it with his leg. He forced a sheepish smile. “Don’t worry, sis. Get some rest, I won’t bother you.”

When they finally returned to the hotel, Xuan Baiquan trailed after his sister, practically impatient for her to go slower so he could rush to his room and read the note.

At her door, Xuan Mingzhu swiped her card and stepped inside. He quickly said, “Sis, rest well. See you tomorrow!”

Without waiting for her reply, he darted into the neighboring room, sliding the keycard, opening the door, and shutting it all in one swift motion.

Xuan Mingzhu paused, assuming he was just in a hurry to use the bathroom, then closed her own door.

Inside his room, Xuan Baiquan not only shut the door but also locked it from within and secured the safety chain.

Only after confirming no one could interrupt him did he sit carefully on the sofa, trembling slightly as he uncurled his palm to reveal the crumpled note.

His palms were damp with sweat; the little scrap of paper was wrinkled, edges blurred by moisture.

Panicking, he hurriedly unfolded it, praying the writing hadn’t smudged.

Luckily, though a little blurred, the words remained legible.

He stared, wide-eyed.

It was a string of numbers followed by three words: WeChat ID.

Xuan Baiquan: “!”

Xuan Baiquan’s breath caught. Disbelief flooded him, followed instantly by overwhelming joy.

Yan Zui had given him her WeChat! Proactively!

Hands trembling, he pulled out his phone and rushed to add her. His fingers shook so badly that he kept pressing the wrong numbers, taking almost a full minute to type the ID correctly.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he pressed search, then send friend request.

He stared fixedly at the screen, heart pounding.

At last—request accepted. The screen jumped to the chat interface.

A smiling emoji appeared.

Round cheeks, flushed pink with blush.

Xuan Baiquan nearly leapt to his feet.

Yan Zui had taken the initiative to greet him—with such a cute expression!

A surge of ecstasy washed over him, mixed with a twisted sense of triumph.

He thought of Qi Yunwei. The pleasure of betrayal bubbled inside him.

Qi Yunwei, you’re about to be cast aside. The one replacing you is me—an Alpha equal to Yan Zui in family, intelligence, character, and looks.

Suppressing his excitement, Xuan Baiquan typed out his first message:

Xuan Baiquan: Hello, I’m Xuan Baiquan. You can call me Baiquan. [cute smile]

Meanwhile, at the top floor of Yan Corporation headquarters, inside the president’s office.

Yan Zui was focused on her work. Qi Yunwei, instead of going home, lounged lazily on the sofa, eyes sparkling mischievously as she scrolled on her phone.

Suddenly, she burst into laughter, rushing over to Yan Zui to share.

“Look!” Qi Yunwei held up her phone. “Xuan Baiquan is absolutely shameless—an Alpha trying to act cute. Ugh, I can’t.”

Yan Zui glanced over, her tone flat. “Disgusting.”

Qi Yunwei withdrew her phone with a grin. “Exactly. He’s disgusting, which is why you need me to deal with him. I wouldn’t dream of letting you chat with someone like him—not even through a screen.”

With that, she plopped back down on the sofa and continued chatting with Xuan Baiquan herself.

But Yan Zui froze for a moment.

She wouldn’t dream of letting me.

Her red lips pressed together, she silently returned to her work.

The plan between Qi Yunwei and Yan Zui was simple: by the time Xuan Baiquan got involved in the project, the bond between him and Xuan Mingzhu would already be fractured. Then Qi Yunwei would approach Xuan Mingzhu, feigning cooperation to win her trust, while Yan Zui maintained contact with Xuan Baiquan to win his.

As for why they used WeChat—it was Qi Yunwei’s idea.

Xuan Baiquan was so revolting. If he ever grew bold enough to try anything against Yan Zui in person, it would be dangerous.

Qi Yunwei absolutely would not allow them to have any real contact.

Even chatting online, she didn’t want Yan Zui handling it directly. That was why Zhou Xiao had given Xuan Baiquan a WeChat ID—not Yan Zui’s, but an alternate account Qi Yunwei had registered herself.

Both siblings—Xuan Mingzhu and Xuan Baiquan—were vile. Better to let her deal with them personally.

Yan Zui’s pure heart didn’t need to be sullied by their presence.

Xuan Baiquan waited anxiously for two minutes without receiving a reply. Restless, he quickly sent another tentative message:

Xuan Baiquan: President Yan, are you busy? If so, I won’t disturb you.

Qi Yunwei’s alternate account was under the username Heaven in Water, borrowed from the line “After getting drunk, one doesn’t realize the sky is reflected in the water.” (“After drinking, one knows not whether the sky is in the water”).

The profile picture was a wine glass with a shallow pour of white wine.

Heaven in Water: Busy, but chatting with you doesn’t get in the way.

Heaven in Water: This is just between us privately. I heard from your sister that you’re twenty-five this year. We’re peers—just call me by my name.

Heaven in Water: Actually, I have a childhood nickname. Almost no one outside my family knows it. I admire you a lot—you can call me Xiao Jiu (Little Wine).

After sending the last line, Qi Yunwei thought to herself: Forgive me, Xiao Jiu—this is the best I can do.

To her, even hearing Yan Zui’s name spoken by Xuan Baiquan felt like sacrilege.

When Xuan Baiquan read the message, he nearly wanted to run ten laps around the hotel in sheer excitement.

Xuan Baiquan: Xiao Jiu 😊

Suppressing her disgust, Qi Yunwei forced herself to continue the exchange.

Heaven in Water: Mm.

Just that tilde at the end was enough to make Xuan Baiquan’s heart ripple with delight.

But Qi Yunwei knew when to stop. After a couple more trivial exchanges, she typed:

Heaven in Water: Sorry, I have a meeting to attend. Let’s talk later when I’m free.

The smile instantly faded from Xuan Baiquan’s face.

Heaven in Water: It’s been great getting to know you. You’re just as outstanding as I imagined.

Xuan Baiquan: Me too!

He set his phone down, rubbed his flushed face, and walked to the washroom. Staring into the mirror, he saw his own red cheeks and the barely concealed excitement in his eyes. His desire grew stronger by the second. He had to have

Xiao Jiu.

Xiao Jiu.

What an adorable name.

By the time Yan Zui finished her work, it was already lunchtime.

Previously, she had brought Qi Yunwei to the cafeteria deliberately—only to convince Yan Zhao that their relationship was close, so he’d recall the butler sooner.

Now there was no such need.

Yan Zui picked up the internal line and called the secretary’s office. After Shen the secretary answered, she ordered four dishes and had her pick them up from the cafeteria and deliver them to her office.

When Qi Yunwei overheard the dishes Yan Zui named, her heart skipped.

She almost never revealed her food preferences when eating with Yan Zui, yet out of the four dishes, two happened to be her favorites.

Was it just coincidence? Or had Yan Zui noticed?

Soon, Secretary Shen delivered the food. As usual, Qi Yunwei and Yan Zui sat facing each other across the table.

Qi Yunwei disliked being evasive with Yan Zui. If she had questions, she asked them directly.

Picking up a piece of spicy bullfrog, she tasted it—the heat was mild, mostly the fragrance of chili.

After finishing, she asked, “How did you know I like dishes with just a little bit of spice?”

Yan Zui lifted her gaze briefly. Against her fair skin, her eyes looked like two drops of black mercury in a pool of silver, glimmering faintly. Her lips, reddened by the peppers, curved upward in a subtle, pleased smile.

She looked away and replied calmly, “You made it obvious.”

Usually, Qi Yunwei appeared indifferent to food. But once, when the butler made boiled fish in chili oil, she had kept eating despite the heat. She drank water constantly, her lips swollen and her eyes glistening with tears, yet she couldn’t stop. That day, after the meal, her mood had been uncharacteristically bright.

In her real life, Qi Yunwei was often too busy to buy food; colleagues would bring her takeout, and she ate whatever they bought without complaint. No one had ever asked what she liked.

This was the first time anyone had paid attention to such small details about her taste. The thought moved her, and it showed in the way she looked at Yan Zui.

Yan Zui frowned slightly. “Eat. What are you looking at me for?”

Qi Yunwei blurted, “Because you’re pretty.”

Yan Zui: “…”

Realizing what she had just said, Qi Yunwei quickly grinned. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop staring. Let’s eat.”

[I didn’t say you couldn’t look.]

Yan Zui nearly said it aloud, but swallowed the words just in time.

Letting Qi Yunwei stare at her—it felt far too strange.

After that, Qi Yunwei focused on her meal. When they finished, she cleared the table, and the two of them began discussing their next steps.

“Now that Xuan Mingzhu and Xuan Baiquan have taken the bait, we just need to drag out the contract negotiations for a few more days. In the meantime, all you have to do is play along and keep fanning the flames between them. Those siblings are ruthless. Once they start fighting, blood will be spilled. All we have to do is sit back and watch.”

Yan Zui added, “I also hired a private investigator to look into Xuan Zeming. He has an illegitimate Alpha son outside, named Xuan Xin.”

Qi Yunwei already knew. That illegitimate child’s mother had actually been Xuan Zeming’s first wife. After she got pregnant, he abandoned her and married a wealthy socialite. When the twins, Xuan Mingzhu and Xuan Baiquan, were born, he was so overjoyed that he completely erased his first wife from memory.

She had died in childbirth.

Her son, originally named Yuan Xin, grew up in an orphanage. After his secondary gender differentiated as Alpha, Xuan Zeming finally retrieved him and changed his surname to Xuan.

The novel had written his fate clearly: Xuan Zeming’s illegitimate son coveted the family fortune, only to be set up by the twins and die in a staged car accident.

Yan Zui continued, “According to the investigator, Xuan Xin doesn’t know the truth about his mother’s death. Supposedly, Xuan Zeming told him he was conceived in a youthful fling before marriage, and that the two had parted ways without keeping in touch—he only learned of his son’s existence recently.”

Qi Yunwei sneered, “No wonder Xuan Mingzhu and Xuan Baiquan turned out the way they did. The rot in the Xuan family runs all the way to the root.”

“Do you think Xuan Zeming knew about the trap Mingzhu set for you?” she asked.

Yan Zui’s eyes grew cold. “Of course he did.”

Mingzhu might look like the one in charge, but Xuanqian Group had always been under Xuan Zeming’s control. Nothing that happened in the company escaped him.

Qi Yunwei’s lips curved faintly. “In that case, whatever happens to him next, he’ll deserve it.”