The Reborn Scummy A and the Sickly O Got Together - Chapter 6

Lu Xi, relying on her status as the elder sister, was still more considerate: “Our family isn’t lacking, but compared to the Feng family, we’re still just a bit behind.”

Lu Jia leaned in and asked in a sweet, soft voice, “Second Sister, is the Feng family richer than the Lu family?”

Lu Xi and Lu Le had played with Lu Jia when they were younger, but after entering middle school, the two sisters changed their attitudes and took pleasure in bullying their younger sister whenever they could.

Lu Ping and Luo Mingyue were the only two alphas in their generation of the family. Lu Ping occasionally stepped in to help, but more often than not, he simply watched the drama unfold with amusement. Only Luo Mingyue would stand in front of Lu Jia without fail.

But today, Luo Mingyue was bedridden with a high fever.

Without Luo Mingyue to shield her, and with Lu Ping coldly observing from the sidelines, Lu Jia should have known better than to cross paths with Lu Xi and Lu Le.

No one knew why Feng Baiming, the eldest daughter of the Feng family, was coming to stay with the Lu family temporarily, or why Lu Jia had to insert herself into the situation.

Lu Le bluntly stated, “Lu Jia, Feng Baiming is an omega. There’s no need for you to get involved.”

Lu Jia shot a pleading glance at Lu Ping. “Eldest Brother, I just want to build a good relationship with Miss Feng. After all, she’s an honored guest staying with us for a year.”

Lu Ping looked down on Lu Jia, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the admiration of an omega.

He magnanimously explained, “Don’t measure the Feng family and our family by wealth alone. The Fengs have been in politics since the previous generation, while our family has focused on business. Throughout history, power has always come before profit.”

Lu Ping sighed. “Indeed, power precedes profit.”

The three siblings watched as Lu Jia wore a thoughtful expression. Lu Xi and Lu Le exchanged a glance.

Lu Ping guessed his younger sisters were about to play another prank on Lu Jia. He was more than happy to watch the show, he had never been one to lend a helping hand.

But Lu Ping still offered a mild warning. “Feng Baiming is the eldest daughter, highly regarded by the Feng family’s matriarch.”

He was hinting to his sisters that, at the very least, they shouldn’t behave inappropriately in front of the Feng family’s eldest daughter today.

Thinking of their grandmother’s intentions and the Feng family’s background, Lu Ping outright suggested, “Lu Jia, Mingyue has always been so good to you. She’s been running a high fever these past few days, shouldn’t you be by her side? I’ve had high fevers before; you can’t leave someone alone in that state.”

Lu Jia pressed her lips together and said pitifully, “There are already servants taking care of Mingyue-jie.”

Though Lu Ping didn’t consider himself a particularly virtuous person, even he found this response hard to stomach.

He spoke more sternly to the seemingly fragile omega before him. “If you had even a shred of gratitude for Luo Mingyue, you wouldn’t say something like that.”

Lu Xi was even more blunt. “You’re trying to cozy up to Feng Baiming, an omega? Since when did your tastes become so broad?”

Facing the three siblings, Lu Jia knew she wouldn’t get any sympathy, but she still gazed at Lu Ping with wounded eyes.

Lu Ping pulled out his phone and started scrolling through short videos, pretending not to see her.

This left her seething with frustration. Not to boast, but as an omega, she had never encountered an alpha who treated her so dismissively.

Finally, she stood up and said softly, “I’ll go check on Mingyue-jie. Eldest Brother, Second Sister, Third Sister, you all carry on.”

As she left the living room, none of the three paid her any attention. Lu Jia bit her lip, if Luo Mingyue had been here, she wouldn’t have had to endure such humiliation.

No matter what she said, Luo Mingyue would always back her up.

But Luo Mingyue had developed a high fever late last night. In her heart, she felt the arrival of the Feng family’s eldest daughter was imminent, and Luo Mingyue falling ill at this critical moment was truly a stroke of divine intervention.

What a nuisance.

Yet she still rushed over, more motherly than Luo Mingyue’s own mother, rolling up her sleeves to personally cook porridge.

But when she carried the porridge to care for her, recalling that scene now still made her grit her teeth in confusion.

That alpha, who in her eyes was only strikingly beautiful in appearance, now looked deathly pale with chapped lips yet the illness added a different kind of allure to her.

Lu Jia found Luo Mingyue’s gaze somewhat unsettling, but she still approached and asked with concern, “Mingyue-jie, I made you some porridge. Is there anything else you’d like to eat?”

Luo Mingyue rasped, “Could you please leave my room?”

She thought she must have misheard or was experiencing some strange hallucination. How could Luo Mingyue speak to her with that expression, that tone?

It was cold as if looking at a complete stranger.

No. Lu Jia walked up to the second floor and stopped outside Luo Mingyue’s door.

Even with strangers, Luo Mingyue was always gentle and patient. Though she was an alpha, the education her grandmother had arranged for her was extremely strict, fearing she might follow in her birth mother’s footsteps.

This ensured Luo Mingyue lacked the typical arrogance, rudeness, and shortsightedness of alphas. She had become exactly what her grandmother wanted polite, diligent, and dutiful.

But at the same time, she was like a canary with clipped wings. The natural confidence and exuberance of an alpha, the boldness expected of an eighteen-year-old, had been worn away day after day by that harsh upbringing.

Lu Jia’s impression of Luo Mingyue’s upbringing stemmed from a small incident likely when she was eight, when she had gone to seek Luo Mingyue’s help in disposing of her unfinished nutritional meal.

After searching around, she found Luo Mingyue on the backyard lawn. When Luo Mingyue saw her, she spread her hands to reveal a hatchling, its mouth gaping wide, chirping loudly, with barely any down on its body.

Lu Jia asked curiously, “Where did you find this bird? It’s so ugly.”

Luo Mingyue looked up at the ancient tree beside them. “It fell from the nest up there. I’m going to put it back.”

Lu Jia wondered should they call a servant to fetch a ladder? But the family didn’t have one tall enough.

Then she watched as Luo Mingyue, always impeccably dressed, the most well-mannered in the household, tucked the bird into her pocket, rolled up her sleeves, and simply wrapped her arms around the century-old tree before climbing straight up.

Lu Jia was more astonished than puzzled. More than the fact that Luo Mingyue could climb trees, she was stunned that Luo Mingyue would even do such a thing.

When she saw Luo Mingyue perched on a forked branch, placing the ugly little bird back into the nest, she looked down with half a smile. “Jiajia, there are three baby birds in here.”

At some point, the tutor her grandmother had hired was already standing sternly beneath the tree.

That day, Luo Mingyue climbed down and repeatedly explained, “I wasn’t fooling around. I just wanted to return the baby bird. The mother and father birds would be heartbroken otherwise.”

Lu Jia also said, “Big brother used to climb roofs and catch fish in the river all the time. Don’t you always say it’s normal for alphas to be a bit mischievous? Is it really so wrong for Mingyue sister to just climb a tree?”

The words of that tutor still echoed in her ears to this day.

The stern, old-fashioned beta woman had said, “Miss Luo Mingyue, you are different from the other young masters and misses. I hope you understand your place.”

That day, Luo Mingyue’s palms were swollen from the ruler’s strikes, and she was made to write a thousand-word self-criticism.

Later, Lu Jia read many psychology books. She realized that day wasn’t just about Luo Mingyue being punished despite doing a good deed.

A fledgling had fallen from its nest, and she had returned it to the ancient tree’s branches yet she herself was like a bird with clipped wings.

No one could protect her. The Lu family ancestral home was like a man-eating monster, devouring the too-young alpha, chewing up and reshaping what should have been an unstoppably sharp alpha.

Until it molded the 18-year-old Luo Mingyue that stood before them now.

Lu Jia envied Luo Mingyue for being an alpha, and thus pitied her all the more for it. Watching Luo Mingyue dance in the palm of her hand with just a little cunning gave her a secret, twisted thrill.

Gentle but too gentle, no different from weakness.

Principled but too principled, no different from dullness.

And that beautiful face.

Lu Jia raised her hand and lightly knocked on the bedroom door, pressing her lips together in jealousy. So what? Even if stunningly beautiful, Luo Mingyue was still just a gentle, weak, bland and boring wooden doll.

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