I Transmigrated into a Scummy Alpha and Stole the Heroine from Her Tragic Romance - Chapter 19

That night, after dinner, Yu Peirong offered to drive Qi Xiyao home, but she politely declined. She said she wanted to visit her family instead.

Yu Peirong noticed a slight hesitation in her eyes.

That was understandable, she thought. Qi Xiyao was about to join a production. It was very common for artists to handle personal matters before going on set, especially someone like Qi Xiyao who came from a more complicated family background.

She was going to see her parents, and although she and Yu Peirong had grown much closer lately, it was not appropriate for her to tag along. It would have been awkward and possibly even caused unnecessary trouble.

After all, they were not a couple in love, unable to part. Saying goodbye after dinner and going their separate ways was completely normal.

Yu Peirong would never have guessed that Qi Xiyao still harbored deep and lingering doubts about her, if not for one unexpected question she asked at the very end.

They had dined at a hotpot restaurant tucked inside a narrow alleyway. The decor was simple, but the food was excellent, and the broth was authentic and flavorful.

The alley was long. By the time they walked out, the moonlight had gently spilled across the ground, casting long, slender shadows. A few people sat outside their homes, some playing cards. The streetlamp’s soft glow lit the faint mist of smoke in the air.

Seeing this scene, Yu Peirong, who had planned to leave in the opposite direction, turned around and decided to walk Qi Xiyao out instead. Qi Xiyao could not refuse, so she went along. As they walked, Yu Peirong could tell that Qi Xiyao had something on her mind. Halfway down the alley, she finally asked,

“Rong-jie, do you know about Xu Xiaoqi?”

Qi Xiyao spoke softly, her voice almost melting into the gentle evening breeze. The two of them were walking close together, and the faint floral perfume Qi Xiyao wore lingered in the air. It was a sweet and calming scent.

Yu Peirong’s mind briefly drifted to the mission the system had assigned her. It had said the location of the kiss did not matter, nor did the number of times, as long as the total duration met the requirement. At this distance, with Qi Xiyao’s cheek so near her lips, it would be easy to pretend it was an accident and just kiss her.

But before Yu Peirong could really process what was being said, Qi Xiyao subtly stepped back. Maybe she realized how close she had leaned in. A soft, reserved smile curved at the corner of her lips.

Her eyelashes curled naturally even without makeup. Her expressive eyes held emotions that Yu Peirong could not quite read.

After Yu Peirong walked her safely through the alley and saw her into a taxi, Qi Xiyao waved at her from inside the car.

It was only on her drive home, when she received a call from her assistant, that Yu Peirong remembered to ask about Xu Xiaoqi. In the original book, there had not been much detail about this so-called villain character she had taken over. The original Yu Peirong only appeared to either torment the heroine or help build tension in the romance. So she genuinely had no clue who Xu Xiaoqi was.

She could not just directly ask, “Who is Xu Xiaoqi?” in case it turned out to be someone she should know.

“Do you remember Xu Xiaoqi?” Yu Peirong turned on the car’s navigation and raised the volume of the Bluetooth speaker so that her voice echoed softly inside the vehicle.

“Xu Xiaoqi?”

The assistant had originally called to discuss something related to Yu Shang. She had worked here a long time, and when she heard Yu Peirong mention that name, her voice paused immediately.

Silence stretched between them. For a moment, the only sounds were the faint breathing on the line and the soft noise of tires rolling along the road.

Finally, after a long moment, the assistant’s voice returned, dry and hesitant.

“Why are you suddenly asking about her? She was one of our artists, but if you want to see her, I can try to schedule something later. It would have to be discreet though. You and Qi Xiyao were just trending recently. Even though things have calmed down…”

The assistant trailed off. She did not say the rest out loud, but the meaning was clear. It was best not to stir up any more trouble right now.

Inside, the assistant was groaning. This was the last thing they needed.

Of course, she would never dare say that to her boss.

Yu Peirong still had no idea what was really going on. She wondered if Xu Xiaoqi might have been the original body’s secret lover or something. Feeling a bit awkward, she changed the topic and ended the call.

But when she got home and finished her shower, she could not resist opening her laptop and searching for Xu Xiaoqi’s name.

What she found shocked her.

At first, Xu Xiaoqi had been on the verge of becoming a major solo singer. Her new song was gaining momentum. Then, during variety show appearances, she started making strange mistakes. Sometimes she would zone out when the host asked a question and only respond after asking them to repeat it, like she had not slept.

Things kept spiraling until she suddenly posted an inappropriate photo. Under a storm of criticism, she quickly disappeared from the spotlight. A promising solo artist who could have left her mark on the music industry had vanished from the public eye.

But the deeper Yu Peirong looked, the more suspicious everything seemed.

The sudden leak of that explicit photo was especially hard to explain. From the angle, it clearly looked like a selfie, which made some people suspect that Xu Xiaoqi might have had a mental breakdown.

And now, that same woman was living in a psychiatric hospital.

**

Qi Xiyao had not lied. After dinner, she had gone straight to the hospital.

When she arrived at the room, it was empty. She turned and asked a doctor, who explained that the patient had been taken to the testing room. Because she was undergoing psychological treatment, one family member was allowed to accompany her.

Naturally, it was her father who went in. Qi Xiyao, as usual, waited outside.

The sharp scent of disinfectant filled the hallway. Even with a mask on, the smell was strong and unpleasant.

Qi Xiyao had always been sensitive to smells and disliked the scent of disinfectant. After standing there for a while, she could not bear it any longer and returned to the private hospital room.

As soon as she stepped in, she caught a lingering whiff of chaotic Omega pheromones in the air. Her expression changed slightly. She immediately pulled back the bedsheet and saw that it was crumpled and wrinkled from being clenched too tightly. It was clear just how much pain and struggle the patient had experienced.

Qi Xiyao slowly clenched her hand, then relaxed it again. She walked to the window, wanting to open it for some fresh air.

Just as she was about to push the window open, her phone buzzed in her pocket. It vibrated a few times before she finally pulled it out two minutes later to check.

The first thing she saw was a message from Zhao Yayi.

[Zhao Yayi]: Yaoyao, are you still unsure about what I told you earlier?

[Zhao Yayi]: I thought about it a lot and worried it might upset you or hurt our friendship, but I still want to say this clearly. If you do not believe me, just forget I said anything. But please promise me you will never go to Yu Peirong’s house again, no matter what. Can you do that?

Qi Xiyao was just about to reply when her phone buzzed again.

This time, it was a photo. Zhao Yayi had sent her an image of a patient’s hospital admission record. At the bottom of the document was a handwritten signature.

It was signed by Yu Peirong herself.

Support I Transmigrated into a Scummy Alpha and Stole the Heroine from Her Tragic Romance