I Was Just a Scumbag Extra, But She Loved Me Anyway [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 43

There was no way she could be with Su Chenli.

Pei Nanxu told herself this calmly, firmly.

There could never be a proper relationship between them—nothing that could ever see the light of day. Even if Su Chenli held a special place in her heart now, it didn’t change that.

She had been sent to the Su family by the Chengs—as nothing more than a beautiful, convenient “gift.” Not just she and Su Chenli knew that—the chairman of the Su family, Su Chenli’s father, knew it too.

If she dared get involved with Su Chenli, the way President Su treated her now would instantly change.

They’d never spoken openly about it, but both she and Su Chenli’s father understood the unspoken message.

As long as she kept to her role, President Su was willing to treat her like a foster daughter, to let her into the company and teach her how to handle real business. But if she ever dared think beyond that—if she so much as leaned toward the Chengs or tried to seduce someone in the Su family—he wouldn’t tolerate it for a second.

Pei Nanxu lowered her lashes and quietly pulled the blanket up to cover herself.

…She’d been lucky enough. She had grown up safe, never lacking food or opportunity. But that was where her luck ended. She should stop dreaming of gaining real approval from the head of the Su family. At best, she’d live her life as a shadow at Su Chenli’s side—someone to shield her from risk and keep her secrets.

In that kind of arrangement… staying emotionally detached was the only smart choice.

Before Pei Nanxu could fully gather her thoughts, Su Chenli stirred awake beside her. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Pei Nanxu already sitting at the edge of the bed. She sat up groggily, rubbing her forehead.

“…You’re already up? Feeling better?” she asked.

Neither of them could remember how long last night had gone on. Su Chenli had been worried—even when Pei Nanxu seemed completely overwhelmed, she’d refused to stop.

“Does it still hurt?” Su Chenli reached out, gently trying to check on her—but Pei Nanxu stopped her hand.

“What’s wrong?” Su Chenli asked, confused.

Pei Nanxu frowned, trying to suppress the strange longing she felt toward Su Chenli. Her voice remained calm as she said, “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Su Chenli blinked, tilting her head. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing serious,” Pei Nanxu replied flatly, letting go of Su Chenli’s hand and pulling the blanket up to her chest. Her expression was cool and distant. “Last night… I might’ve acted a little impulsively. I’m sorry. It was my decision, so I won’t blame you for anything. But you heard what Cheng Xi said before—about why I was brought into the Su family. I was sent here to seduce someone. If word gets out that you and I slept together… it won’t be good for either of us. So I think it would be better if we just—”

Before she could finish, Su Chenli leaned over and kissed the edge of her ear, then looked at her with a small smile. “If we just what?”

Pei Nanxu froze.

The warmth of Su Chenli’s breath against her sensitive ear, the soft touch of her lips—it all sent heat rushing through her. That deep, quiet yearning she’d tried so hard to bury came roaring back without warning.

Her heart skipped a beat, completely out of rhythm. She squeezed her knees together on instinct.

Why was it so easy to lose control?

Embarrassed, she pressed her legs tightly together and turned her face away, frowning slightly. “Don’t get so close.”

Su Chenli hesitated, then leaned back just a little. “…Why?”

Pei Nanxu paused for a moment before answering, still not looking at her. “Because… we only slept together by accident. There’s no need for us to be this close.”

Su Chenli was stunned.

Yesterday, Pei Nanxu had initiated everything. She had kissed her, embraced her, pulled her in without hesitation. Su Chenli had thought—just for a moment—that maybe she remembered, that maybe she felt something real too.

But now… it felt like that hope had vanished.

“…Accident?” Su Chenli repeated softly. “You’re calling what happened between us an accident?”

Pei Nanxu went quiet, then finally gave a soft, emotionless reply.

“…Yeah.”

“…Then what about yesterday?” Su Chenli stared at Pei Nanxu, her voice filled with disbelief. “You asked me to kiss you. You were the one who held me.”

Pei Nanxu closed her eyes. “That was because my gland was out of control.”

“So you’re saying… it was all because of your gland?” Su Chenli’s voice wavered.

“…Yes,” Pei Nanxu forced the answer out, her tone flat but firm.

Su Chenli froze for a second. Then she grabbed Pei Nanxu’s wrist, unwilling to let this go. “So you really don’t like me? Not even a little?”

If it had been the old Su Chenli, then no—she wouldn’t have felt anything.

But this Su Chenli… how could Pei Nanxu possibly say she didn’t?

She had searched for so long, tried every wrong answer—Yu Xi included—and none of them were right. Only Su Chenli gave her that overwhelming sense of peace, just by being close.

After all the false hopes, after nearly giving up, she had finally found the person she’d been looking for. Only Pei Nanxu knew how painful it was to let that go.

But she also knew she couldn’t be with Su Chenli.

“Look at me,” Su Chenli said softly. She gently cupped Pei Nanxu’s cheek and turned her face toward her. Her voice was calm but persistent. “You really don’t want me? You don’t want me to kiss you… hold you… be near you?”

Pei Nanxu tried to hold it in, but her voice finally cracked. “Why don’t you understand? I can’t be with you. I was sent here by the Cheng family—”

“To climb into the bed of someone from the Su family, right? It didn’t even matter who.” Su Chenli cut her off, her tone calm but cold.

Pei Nanxu went silent. She looked at Su Chenli in surprise, then quickly turned her gaze away.

She could accept that truth when she said it herself. But hearing it come from Su Chenli—hearing it so bluntly—still made her feel ashamed.

Su Chenli took a deep breath, no longer able to hold anything back.

The story was already halfway over. Even Chu Ningxin was about to start her part of the romance.

And once the plot reached the designated happy ending, the system would pull her out of this world. Who knew when—or if—she’d see Pei Nanxu again?

Even putting the story aside, could she really watch Pei Nanxu drift closer to Yu Xi?

“If it really doesn’t matter who… then why not me?” Su Chenli’s voice trembled with frustration. She held onto Pei Nanxu’s wrist and pulled her closer. “I’m a Su too. I’m the heir to the Su family. If you’re going to pick someone from the Su family, wouldn’t I be the most logical choice?”

Pei Nanxu sat there stunned, kneeling in front of Su Chenli. The blanket slipped from her shoulders, revealing the soft curve of her body. She opened her mouth to respond, but Su Chenli quickly covered her lips with her hand.

“Why don’t we work together?” Su Chenli said softly. “You don’t hate me, right? I won’t ask for a public relationship—we can stay like this. I’ll take care of the Cheng family, and I’ll handle Cheng Xi too. In exchange… just stop seeing Yu Xi.”

Pei Nanxu frowned and tried to push Su Chenli’s hand away.

But Su Chenli let go willingly, continuing calmly, “Even if you want to leave the Su family someday… I won’t stop you. I might even help you do it.”

Pei Nanxu paused, surprised. Her hands slowly relaxed.

Su Chenli looked her in the eyes. “Do you agree?”

Pei Nanxu stared back at her, caught off guard by how serious and sincere she looked.

So, Su Chenli did understand—understood that she hated everything: the Su family, the Cheng family. That none of it really mattered to her. If she’d had a choice, she would’ve rather stayed in that orphanage, working her way up on her own terms, than spend years constantly on edge because of something she didn’t want to admit.

Pei Nanxu’s lips moved slightly. “But… I already promised Yu Xi.”

“You promised to help her leave Chu Ningxin, right?” Su Chenli pulled the blanket up around Pei Nanxu again, her gaze shifting away. “That’s fine with me. If you want to help her, I’ll even help too. Just… don’t be with her.”

Besides, helping Yu Xi actually matched the story’s plot. When the time came, Yu Xi and Chu Ningxin would meet again like they were meant to. Su Chenli didn’t care about that part.

Pei Nanxu looked down at the blanket wrapped snugly around her shoulders, then quietly pulled in her long legs under it.

“So, what you’re saying is…” she asked softly, “you want to stay in a secret relationship with me?”

Su Chenli froze for a moment, finally realizing—maybe this kind of secret, almost affair-like relationship really wasn’t fair to Pei Nanxu. If her father found out by accident, the consequences wouldn’t fall on her—they’d most likely fall on Nanxu.

“Then you…” Su Chenli hesitated, trying to backtrack a little.

“I agree,” Pei Nanxu said quietly, lowering her lashes. As if she was hiding something, she reached up and tugged at the edge of the blanket. When she looked up again, her expression was calm, meeting Su Chenli’s surprised gaze. “We’ll do it your way. No going public.”

Su Chenli blinked in surprise and answered softly, “…Okay.”

“I have work. If you need to reach me, wait until tonight.” Pei Nanxu sounded distant as she lowered her gaze and began looking for her phone on the bed. “I have two meetings today.”

“Oh—okay.” Su Chenli quickly moved aside to help her find it, still dazed from how smoothly everything was being arranged.

“And make sure no one finds out you were home last night—especially Cheng Xi,” Pei Nanxu added, lifting her gaze to Su Chenli, her tone calm but serious.

“…Got it,” Su Chenli replied, her voice soft, like she’d forgotten how to speak any other word.

After agreeing to this spontaneous “partnership,” Pei Nanxu fell right back into her usual composed rhythm—planning everything clearly and efficiently, even down to when they’d meet.

Still so reliable…

Though, when she said “meet”, did that mean… that kind of meeting? Su Chenli’s thoughts went completely off-track as her mind filled with images not fit for daytime.

Meanwhile, Pei Nanxu finally found her phone. It had slipped off the bed and fallen to the floor. She leaned over, picked it up, and unlocked the screen—only to be greeted with a flood of missed messages.

She skimmed through a few of them—mostly updates and reports from colleagues. She hadn’t completely secured her place in the company yet, and now some people were already using her late arrival as ammunition.

Pei Nanxu took a deep breath. She needed to get to work immediately.

As she sat up and began looking for her clothes, she caught sight of Su Chenli sitting on the bed, staring off into space. She frowned slightly. “What are you thinking about?”

“Huh?” Su Chenli snapped out of it, awkwardly clearing her throat. “Nothing.”

Pei Nanxu studied her for a second, then dropped the matter. She looked down at the underwear in her hands. “I can’t find the rest of my clothes… Do you have something I could wear downstairs?”

“Oh—yeah!” Su Chenli jumped up, tugging on a shirt as she headed into the closet. She came back with a casual outfit. “Might be half a size too big.”

Pei Nanxu glanced at the clothes and gave a soft “Mm.” She turned away slightly and changed quickly. Barefoot, she stepped down onto the floor, picked up her earrings and watch, and said calmly, “I’m heading to work now.”

Su Chenli watched the curve of her waist and sat quietly at the edge of the bed. She nodded, a little reluctant to see her go. “Okay.”

Pei Nanxu kept her expression neutral the whole time. Only when she turned her back did she quietly exhale in relief, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Even if Su Chenli was the person she had been looking for all this time… still, it hadn’t needed to go this far…

“Should I drive you?” Su Chenli asked suddenly from behind her.

Pei Nanxu froze. She hadn’t moved in a few seconds, and Su Chenli noticed something was off.

Startled, Nanxu clutched the clothes in her hands and blurted out, “No! Just… make sure no one sees you.”

“…Alright.”

Su Chenli’s voice drifted from the back of the room as Pei Nanxu stepped outside, clutching the clothes tightly. She planned to sneak back to her room to change.

She moved fast, not paying attention to where she was stepping, and before long—her foot landed on something soft and light.

She stopped, looked down—

It was her missing shirt.

Pei Nanxu froze. She hadn’t even realized she’d left it there. Her usually calm expression turned bright red in an instant. She grabbed the shirt and hurried down the stairs without looking back.

Left alone in the room, Su Chenli lay back on the bed, finally relaxing.

The system, which had been silent all morning, suddenly reappeared—only to immediately scream into her mind:

【AHHHHH!! Host!!! WHAT did you do again?!】

Su Chenli blinked. “We’re in the third world already. Shouldn’t you be used to this by now? The interference filter is on—didn’t that already tell you how serious it was?”

【…】
The system sounded completely defeated. 【Host, I’m begging you. Could you please not treat high-risk, out-of-plot behaviors like they’re totally normal?!】

Su Chenli, still thinking about how Pei Nanxu had said she could “visit” her tonight, casually replied, “Okay, sure.”

That casual tone made the system suspicious. It hesitated, then asked, 【Host, did something else happen between you and the emotionally complex female lead? Because you’re acting… very strange.】

Su Chenli was still thinking about Pei Nanxu. She slowly lay back on the bed with a pleased expression. “Us? Nothing too serious… I’d say we reached a mutually beneficial partnership.”

As she said it, her fingers idly brushed the sheets—right where Pei Nanxu had been sitting earlier. Her hand paused, then pinched the fabric gently.

Her face suddenly turned red.

…The spot was still warm—and slightly damp.

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