Striving for Harmony After Transmigrating as an Alpha Female Supporting Character - Chapter 24.2

They gathered in front of the hotel. They weren’t far from their destination now, and there were local tourist shuttles available to take them to the scenic area.

On the bus, Li Shuqing looked radiant. Her expression was bright, and her voice carried a light, cheerful tone. Although she usually wore a smile, today she looked genuinely happy, filled with a sense of anticipation.

Ai Xiaoyu leaned over to Xiaomi, another student organizer from the Painting Club. “What’s up with the President today? She’s so happy she looks like she’s about to take flight.”

Xiaomi, who was Li Shuqing’s roommate, grinned. “You didn’t know? The President’s girlfriend is coming today.”

Li Shuqing has a girlfriend?

“Yeah,” Xiaomi said, diving into the gossip. “Her girlfriend is a college student at the City A Academy of Fine Arts. Pretty impressive, right?”

After a few minutes of gossiping, Ai Xiaoyu had a whole new understanding of their President and her partner. The girlfriend’s name was Yuan Wen. She was an alumna of their high school and a former President of the Painting Club. She had been accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts with the highest score in the city for the arts category.

Back when Li Shuqing was still a junior student, she had a massive crush on Yuan Wen and vowed to follow her to the same academy. Later, when Li Shuqing took over the club, the two became close through various club handovers and events. By the time the members realized what was happening, they had already been together for a while.

“Tsk, tsk,” Xiaoyu remarked. “I guess we won’t be seeing much of our President for the next few days. She’ll be too busy in her world of two.”

Xiaomi shot her a look. “Oh, please. What about you and your friend, Student Jing? Didn’t you two have a good time last night? You better pull your collar up—your ‘strawberry marks’ are showing.”

“Huh?” Xiaoyu remembered the mysterious red marks on her neck and laughed it off. “What are you talking about? I’m just a restless sleeper.”

Beside them, Jing Nianxun, who had been staring out the window, suddenly stiffened.

Fortunately, the conversation ended there. Claiming she hadn’t slept well, Xiaoyu put her headphones back on and closed her eyes for a nap.

A while later, Jing Nianxun gently removed the headphones and pointed outside: they had arrived.

The area was surrounded by mountains with a clear, shallow stream flowing through. The water only reached ankle-deep in most places, with various odd-shaped stones peeking above the surface.

They left the main road and followed a path into the scenic zone, everyone carrying a drawing board and a bucket of paints. Xiaoyu had a small camera hanging around her neck; since she couldn’t sketch, she planned to take photos instead.

They eventually settled on a flat area by the stream. Everyone found a large rock to sit on and began to sketch the landscape. Jing Nianxun propped her board on her lap, lined up her colored pencils, and began to trace the scenery.

Xiaoyu set her board aside and took a few photos. She then helped Jing Nianxun sharpen her pencils and, driven by a bit of perfectionism, rearranged the pencils by color gradient. Finally, with nothing left to do, she scoured the area for pretty stones, stacking a few favorites in the water bucket.

Seeing the bucket fill up with rocks, Jing Nianxun asked, “Do you want to try drawing?”

Xiaoyu found a stone shaped like a sunflower seed and tossed it into the bucket. “I’m an expert at third-grade stick figures at best. I can draw a few bunnies, but landscapes are beyond me.”

Jing Nianxun thought for a moment. “It’s okay. You can just play with the paints. Pick any color you like and put it on the paper.” She placed a set of paints on the ground and handed Xiaoyu a few brushes.

Xiaoyu scratched her head, dipped a brush into some light green, and began to dab aimlessly at the paper. Horizontal strokes, vertical strokes, flowing lines…

Eventually, a winding stream took shape, with a few round brown dots representing stones in the middle.

“It’s actually quite good,” Jing Nianxun said, giggling behind her hand.

“Forget it, I’ll stick to finding stones. Oh! Look at this!” Xiaoyu leaned down and rummaged through some grass, pulling out a tiny heart-shaped stone. It had likely been smoothed by the current over a long time; it was perfectly polished and reflected the light, its heart-shaped outline unmistakable.

Xiaoyu held the stone up to the sun. It was nearly translucent on one side, revealing a delicate internal texture.

“Wait here!” Xiaoyu stood up and ran to the stream, crouching down to wash the stone. She hurried back with her hands behind her back. “Open your hand.”

Jing Nianxun, still holding a pencil in her right hand, extended her left. As she opened her fingers, Xiaoyu gently placed the crystal-clear heart-shaped stone into her palm.

“It’s for you.”

Jing Nianxun looked at the little stone. She closed her hand and opened it again; the stone remained there, sparkling like a diamond in the sunlight. She placed the stone on her drawing paper, traced its outline with a pencil, and began to color it in. Soon, a small heart-shaped stone appeared in the bottom-left corner of her landscape.

The painting now featured green mountains, flowing water, and a single heart-shaped stone resting on the shallow bank.

That evening, when it was time to submit their sketches, they finally saw Li Shuqing again. She was accompanied by a girl with a sharp short haircut and a leather jacket. Wearing sunglasses, she didn’t look like a student at all.

This was clearly Li Shuqing’s girlfriend, Yuan Wen.

“Come on, let Senior Yuan take a look at your masterpieces.”

Thanks to the power of gossip, most of the club already knew who Yuan Wen was. After some teasing, they handed their drawings to her. Yuan Wen took off her sunglasses and reviewed each one, offering critiques. While her comments were mostly encouraging, her stern, unsmiling expression made her look a bit intimidating.

Xiaomi whispered to Xiaoyu, “I heard this Senior is actually really scary. Everyone in the club was terrified of her back then, except for President Li. She used to follow her around every day like a little lost puppy.”

Li Shuqing’s voice drifted over from behind. “Xiaomi, what lies are you telling about me now?”

Xiaomi shut up instantly. “Nothing! We were just discussing the President’s glorious history.”

Li Shuqing laughed. “Talking about how I chased Yuan Wen? There’s no secret—I just went for it!” She patted Xiaoyu on the shoulder. “Did you hear that? Be ambitious and get yourself out of the ‘single’ life soon.”

Xiaoyu: “?”

The first and second days were dedicated to sketching. They moved along the trails, capturing the scenery on boards and cameras. By the third day, everyone was tired of drawing and decided to just have fun.

Since there was water, there were water activities. The stream had both calm stretches and rapids, making it perfect for a leisurely bamboo raft trip.

The Painting Club members boarded a small raft. A boatman at the front steered with a long pole while they sat in the middle, trailing their hands through the cool water.

In her past life, Xiaoyu had been buried in work. After her 996 shifts, she only wanted to sleep. Her holidays were rare, usually spent alone at home with her phone. She rarely went traveling. Now that she had transmigrated into a book, the chance to explore like this put her in an excellent mood.

She stood by the edge of the raft, splashing water back and forth with Xiaomi. A few splashes landed on Li Shuqing.

Li Shuqing, who was just sitting there minding her own business, ended up soaked. She rolled her eyes helplessly. Yuan Wen immediately took off her jacket and draped it over Li Shuqing’s shoulders, whispering, “Be careful, don’t catch a cold.”

Li Shuqing smiled. “I’m not that fragile.”

Jing Nianxun sat in the center, watching Xiaoyu play. She had always known she got carsick, but she hadn’t realized she got seasick, too. However, seeing Xiaoyu so happy, she didn’t say a word. She watched Xiaoyu get drenched, a smile tugging at her own lips.

They approached a section where the current accelerated and large rocks obstructed the path. The boatman warned them, “Sit down! Everyone back to your seats! Don’t blame me if you fall in!”

The students laughed. “The water is so shallow it wouldn’t drown anyone, and who here can’t swim?”

Xiaoyu thought to herself: What a coincidence. I actually can’t.

To be safe, she crawled back to the center of the raft. The water on both sides turned turbulent, whipping up white foam.

“Whoa!”

The front of the raft clipped a rock and spun. Everyone wobbled. Xiaomi complained, “I thought this part was supposed to be calm? I think the boatman was lying!”

The boatman shoved his pole down to get the raft back on course, shouting, “I wasn’t lying! It was calm before, but the heavy rain the other day flooded the rocks. Some of them shifted positions, and I’m too old to remember where they all moved!”

Seriously?

Suddenly, the raft hit an even larger rock with a violent jolt, spinning 180 degrees. The rushing current sent them surging forward. Ahead, the water level seemed to drop. Everyone crouched low and gripped the bamboo.

Yuan Wen pulled Li Shuqing close. “Hold on tight.”

Xiaoyu was on the side that hit the rock. The impact left her dizzy. Water splashed over her, soaking her through. She tried to shift her position, crouching as she moved her feet.

But her flip-flops cheap ones from the hotel had zero grip. As she stepped onto the slippery bamboo, her foot slid. She lost her balance and tumbled straight into the water!

Flip-flops, you’ve ruined me!

Jing Nianxun heard a massive splash. By the time she turned around, Xiaoyu was gone. She could only see a faint, flickering shadow beneath the surface.

“Someone fell in!” “Ai Xiaoyu! She can swim, right?” “She should be fine. How could an Alpha not know how to swim?”

Jing Nianxun tried to stand up in a panic, but Xiaomi held her back. “Don’t move, or you’ll fall in too! The water isn’t deep; she just needs to stand up.”

The boatman, realizing his paycheck was in jeopardy, scrambled to steer the raft into a calmer stretch ahead. Once the water slowed, everyone sighed in relief. Xiaomi peered back at the rapids, confused. “Where’s Ai Xiaoyu? Why hasn’t she come up yet? Did she already swim to the shore?”

The stream wasn’t wide; a few strokes would take anyone to the bank. No one was overly worried. But after several seconds, there was still no movement at the spot where she fell. The water there had even begun to calm down.

Jing Nianxun stared at the spot where Xiaoyu had vanished. She clearly remembered that the “original” Ai Xiaoyu was an excellent swimmer. She used to go out swimming with friends all the time and had navigated dangerous waters, it was one of her few real skills.

But there was no movement.

One, two, three, four…

Jing Nianxun could hear her own heart racing. Without a second thought, her body moved on its own, and she dove into the water.

Xiaoyu watched the surface drift further and further away. The stream, which had looked so shallow, felt like a bottomless abyss. The cold current brushed against her face. Bubbles escaped from her nose, only to be crushed by the moving water.

Strangely, her mind was hyper-active, filled with bizarre thoughts:

Everyone says Alphas can swim. Yeah, sure, but I’m not actually an Alpha. I’m not even from this world… The original body can swim, but I’m not her.

Why hasn’t anyone come to save me? Where’s Xiaomi? Li Shuqing? Yuan Wen? Hmph, Yuan Wen is probably too busy holding her little wife to care about me…

And Jing Nianxun. She knows how to swim, but why would the heroine save me? She hates me. Although she doesn’t seem to hate me as much lately, what if it’s all an act? What if, in this split second, she remembers how awful I was and wants me to disappear?

And the System, why is it so quiet? Your host is about to become the first person to drown in ankle-deep water. Such a pathetic, useless host doesn’t the System feel any shame?

Xiaoyu was even surprised by how fast her thoughts were racing. She thought of her original world she hadn’t even had a chance to go back. If she died here today, would the System let her go back for one last look?

She felt tons of water pressing down on her eyelids, heavy as a mountain. She was tired. She wanted to close her eyes.

Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her, a slender but powerful arm wrapping around her. Long hair drifted underwater, brushing against her face. She thought she saw a pair of familiar eyes.

Those eyes drew closer, filled with a touch of sorrow that confused her.

A soft, intimate sensation pressed against her lips. In the final second before she lost consciousness, she tasted something sweet.

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