Not a Scummy Alpha, But a Sweet Puppy (Transmigration Into A Novel) - Chapter 15

Her voice was softly spoken, with a slight nasal catch hidden in the final syllable. It made the words feel like a dense forest just after the rain—a hazy mist soaking the moss. The lightest brush against it would leave a gentle, moist trace on the skin, intimately caressing Gu Zhibai’s ear.
Then, her breath was like the wind passing through the trees, sweeping up the raindrops and dew, directing them to tap, one by one, against the doors of Gu Zhibai’s heart.
“Sister?”
When there was no response for a long moment, the slightly questioning voice sounded in her ear. Gu Zhibai snapped out of her daze and said simply, “Okay.”
She spoke only that single word, then quickly stood up, as if some horrifying beast were standing nearby, startling her and causing her to scramble back upstairs in a desperate flight.
What was that all about?
Jiang Zhenmian stood rooted to the spot, looking bewildered. She felt the urge to let her mind wander and try to guess, but she didn’t even know where to begin.
The act of smelling her hair was a little sudden, but not offensive. Given their current relationship, which could probably be termed “friends,” it wasn’t overly familiar.
Besides, she had offered a reason first, and it seemed plausible and understandable. Though the sentence itself could be taken as flirting, she had purposefully delivered it in a way that stripped away any ambiguous undertones.
So, why was Gu Zhibai acting so strange?
Jiang Zhenmian pondered the matter for a while, but she was hardly an expert on emotional dynamics.
It doesn’t matter if I can’t figure it out. Apologizing first is always the safe bet.
She lifted her foot to walk upstairs, but she had only gone halfway when Gu Zhibai reappeared at the stairwell. She was holding a bottle wrapped in white packaging and spoke with a completely normal expression: “Here you go, my shampoo. Hurry up and take a shower. Your hair is still wet, you’ll catch a cold.”
Wait, so she rushed upstairs just to get me shampoo because she was worried I’d catch a cold?
Jiang Zhenmian woodenly took the heavy bottle. She looked down at it, then back up at the woman with the faint smile, and stammered, “…Oh, I’ll go now then?”
The other woman gently nudged her. “Go on, now.”
Jiang Zhenmian, completely baffled, felt like that explanation didn’t quite fit, but with nothing else to go on, she hugged the bottle and returned to the guest room, turning on the shower again.
The warm water poured over her head, washing away her exhaustion. Jiang Zhenmian pressed one pump of shampoo into her hand and massaged it into her scalp, creating a lather. Gu Zhibai’s signature scent filled the small space of the bathroom.
Jiang Zhenmian, like some sort of fanatic, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, telling the System: “Your mission isn’t without its merits, after all.”
She wasn’t a socially anxious person, but she always became a bit tentative and shy around the person she liked. If she had followed her own instincts, she probably wouldn’t have felt the time was ripe to say those slightly intimate words until next year.
The System’s mission had, in a way, forced her hand.
She took a quick, “combat shower” and finished drying her short hair in no time. She then picked up the slip dress hanging nearby.
The smooth fabric was clutched in her hand. On a sudden whim, Jiang Zhenmian lowered her head and took two light sniffs. There was a very faint scent, most likely from the laundry detergent, but for some unknown reason, her ears slowly began to turn red.
They were similar in height and body shape, save for Gu Zhibai’s slightly more pronounced curves. As a result, the dress fit her well, covering her knees exactly.
Yet, as Jiang Zhenmian checked her reflection, she found it strange. When Gu Zhibai wore it with her hair down, she looked soft and almost saintly. When Jiang Zhenmian wore it, perhaps due to her inherent demeanor, she looked like a delinquent who had stolen her older sister’s clothes—awkward no matter how she looked at it.
She dried the shampoo bottle, and with an uncomfortable, self-conscious air, walked out of the room and knocked on the door across the hall.
Gu Zhibai was sitting on a chair in her bedroom, staring at her own reflection in the glass window, her mind filled with remorse.
She didn’t yet know this person’s true stance, yet she was already starting to fall for her—and the funniest thing was, she knew exactly why.
They say love is merely the combined result of chemical substances—hormones, neurotransmitters, dopamine—it is the need for emotional connection, dependence, the demanding of desire, and the expectation of a response.
She hadn’t even given anything, yet she had already received an emotional reward. The deficiency in her soul was being filled, her clamoring needs were satisfied, and so she felt her heart stir.
If it were someone else who offered this companionship and showed her the same warmth and concern, she would likely give her heart to them too.
Ignoring their motives, ignoring the reason, uncaring of whether she might be hurt—isn’t that pathetic?
Such a minor interaction, a few soft words, had already made her drop her guard, sending her heart racing and nearly causing her to lose control. She had to quickly escape the scene just to calm her turbulent emotions.
Humans are creatures capable of self-control. She refused to become a beast purely manipulated by emotion.
Gu Zhibai looked at herself coldly, locking eyes with the projection on the window. She thought of Jiang Zhenmian, and the goodwill was still there. The joyful satisfaction of her needs surged through her veins, trying to make every cell feel happy, trying to make her abandon her resistance.
But she absolutely would not.
The moment she recalled her foolishness in her previous life, that budding flame of affection was instantly doused, and reason quickly regained the upper hand.
Perhaps Jiang Zhenmian was a genuinely good person, or perhaps she was only approaching her for the System’s mission. Whatever the possibility, her performance was certainly enough to make her heart stir.
Let it stir then.
Gu Zhibai took a deep breath, but she would not waver.
Even if she truly fell in love with this person in the future, she would absolutely not be with her; the two of them would not define any kind of relationship.
She swore it!
Never again will I be a slave to emotion and desire!
The knock-knock-knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Having solidified her resolve, Gu Zhibai was no longer conflicted. She quickly adjusted her mood, pulled the door open, and saw the very culprit who had caused her loss of control standing outside.
The person rubbed the back of her head, a little flustered, and handed over the shampoo bottle with a shy tone: “Sister, I’m all done using it.”
Her hair looked faintly damp, her skin was well-hydrated, and she felt warm and carried a faint fragrance. Her cheeks were flushed, and the corners of her lips were slightly upturned, like a little pink flower that had just pushed its way out of the grass after a watering, adorably nodding its head in the breeze.
Gu Zhibai heard the sound of her own heart beating.
She paused, took the bottle back, and said in a gentle tone, “Good. Go to bed soon after your shower. You need a good rest today.”
Remembering something, she added, “If you get hungry later, there’s food in the fridge, and we have snacks on the coffee table.”
Her amber eyes held all the comfort and tenderness of the entire universe. As Jiang Zhenmian gazed into those two caramel-colored seas, she started to feel dizzy. “I’ll sleep well!”
Gu Zhibai let out a soft chuckle and ran a hand through her hair before turning and closing the door.
Jiang Zhenmian: !!!
Jiang Zhenmian: “System! System! Did you see that? She touched me!”
System: “To be precise, she only touched the Host’s hair.”
Jiang Zhenmian, beaming with delight, said, “I don’t care! You tell me, isn’t my hair part of me? Touching my hair is the same as touching me—what’s wrong with that logic?”

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