The Scummy Alpha Transmigrated into a Tragedy Novel and Went Viral! - Chapter 40

The next morning, the alarm dragged the working masses back to reality right on time. Ji Yufu was the first to get up and wash. Cheng Jingling was pulled from deep sleep, feeling as though her soul had been yanked from sweet heaven back into the mortal world. Squinting, she sat up, her head pounding. She vaguely remembered drinking a lot of rice wine at lunch, but everything afterward was a blur.

She rubbed her temples in agony, instantly regretting all that alcohol. When Ji Yufu finished washing and saw her still collapsed on the bed, she couldn’t help but urge her—if they were late, dozens of cameras would be waiting on them.

That would be a disaster.

Dragging her exhausted body out of bed, Cheng Jingling stood in front of the mirror with her eyes closed, brushing her teeth. Ji Yufu looked at her worn-out back and could only shake her head.

“Cheng Jingling, I have something to tell you.”

The hungover alpha, hearing her full name spoken, snapped her eyes open in terror—completely awake now. She immediately checked the tracker on her wrist. Ji Yufu’s “Happiness Index” was still at 1. No risk of getting erased. Only then did she breathe again. She spat out the foam, took a sip of water to rinse, and finally turned around.

“What is it?” She was still nervous. Ji Yufu rarely called her by her full name—never for anything good.

“Starting today, we’re setting three rules.”

“Huh? Why suddenly set rules? About what?” Cheng Jingling was baffled. What was happening now?

“Because your performance yesterday shows we very much need them!”

Cheng Jingling’s eyes widened. “What did I do yesterday?” She had zero memory of the afternoon after all that rice wine. Did she harass Ji Yufu again? Oh no. She might as well die. The more she thought about it, the more her legs felt weak.

“You got drunk, acted like a lunatic, and kidnapped the hotel’s cat.”

“Oh—just that?” Cheng Jingling let out a huge sigh of relief. At least she’d survive this.

Of course, that wasn’t all.

Ji Yufu was extremely displeased by her nonchalant reaction. But some things could only rot in her stomach!

For example—last night Cheng Jingling had clung to her like an octopus while sleeping, claiming this was the most efficient use of bed space and made her feel safe. Ji Yufu tried to push her off, but the moment her tone got even a little stern, Cheng Jingling started whimpering, accusing her of cold violence, verbal abuse, emotional abuse—throwing every “crime” you only ever see in slanderous gossip headlines onto Ji Yufu. Ji Yufu had felt breathless all night—she didn’t know whether it was Cheng Jingling crushing her or the giant black cauldron of accusations weighing her down.

Thinking about all that still made Ji Yufu furious. This “house rule” decree would absolutely be implemented today.

“First: from now on, unless absolutely necessary, you are not allowed to drink anymore. If you must, then only in moderation.”

“Mm, okay.” Cheng Jingling nodded. That was reasonable.

“Second: you cannot bring random animals back to the room, and absolutely not onto the bed.”

“Uh, alright.”

“And third,” Ji Yufu fixed her eyes on her. The third rule was hard to say aloud. She cleared her throat and steadied her tone. “You need to show me proper respect.”

No forcing responsibilities onto me. No making me sing you to sleep. No sneaking kisses!

The completely blacked-out Cheng Jingling didn’t really understand. “I do respect you. I respect you the way I respect my mom!”

Ji Yufu, victim of many sufferings, let out a cold laugh. “You’d better.” She then pulled out her phone and showed Cheng Jingling the precious recording from last night.

“Mimi! So cute—Mimi, gimme a kiss.”

Cheng Jingling stared at the flushed, blurry-eyed pervert on the screen—herself—and her pupils dilated in horror. “Delete that! Delete it right now!”

Instead of deleting it, Ji Yufu turned the volume all the way up, filling the whole room with “demonic audio.” Cheng Jingling clutched her ears in despair. “You’re ruthless! You secretly filmed me!”

“You were the one who got drunk. This is your leverage now. If you don’t follow our rules, I’ll send this video to every gossip account and expose your true nature.”

Cheng Jingling could already picture hordes of netizens watching her insane cat-kissing montage. She panicked and lunged for the phone, but Ji Yufu dodged easily.

“Relax. As long as you behave, it’ll never see the light of day.”

Cheng Jingling could only surrender, silently accusing Ji Yufu of being black-bellied—pure “dark forces.”

The two finished getting ready and headed to the restaurant together. They hadn’t filmed yesterday afternoon, so today’s schedule definitely wouldn’t be easy.

After breakfast, Zhong Junhong and Cai Keke gathered everyone at the village committee. Village Chief Qi and several staff were already waiting. Zhong Junhong and Cai Keke received the mission cards, discussed the plan briefly, and the recording officially began.

“Today, the cast of Unforgettable Love has arrived at our third stop—Shuanglong Village, a national poverty-alleviation demonstration site. We’ll be exploring how this village achieved prosperity and helping support its development!”

“That’s right. Starting today, each pair of us will work with one local household selected by Village Chief Qi. We’ll be learning traditional handicrafts, assisting with sales, and helping increase the household’s income.”

After the hosts explained the episode’s main goal, staff brought out a box for drawing lots.

“Each slip corresponds to one of the five assigned households. Team pairings and households will all be decided by the draw. Please send one representative per team!”

Everyone drew their lots and announced their numbers one by one. Bai Weilan and Xiao Chengyi got Household No. 1. Huang Yili and Liu Ke got No. 2. Zhao Yimai and Jiao Yanting got No. 3. Cheng Jingling and Ji Yufu got No. 4. The remaining pair—Jiang Yiyu and Wang Zicheng—received No. 5.

Once the drawing ended, Village Chief Qi stepped forward to introduce the households.

“These selected families are among the more disadvantaged in our village. They consist mostly of one or two elderly people. Their children work far away year-round and rarely come home.”

“Once the children grow up and start families of their own, many young couples leave the village to earn a living elsewhere. That means they’re rarely home and can’t take care of their parents. So, the elderly who remain in the village not only grow vegetables and tend the fields to sustain their basic needs, but also produce handmade crafts to supplement their income. The most popular items right now are small bamboo animals and traditional ethnic embroidery.

We hope that, with your help, we can raise Shuanglong Village’s visibility, improve our economic development, and eventually bring back the children who wandered far from home—so they can earn money without having to leave their families behind. We’re counting on all of you!”

Village Chief Qi bowed deeply to the cast members. Everyone was moved and silently vowed to do their best to help the villagers build a better life.

Soon after, each couple was led by the village committee and the production crew to the households they would be supporting. These homes were scattered deep within the quieter parts of the village, far away from the bustling commercial street.

1st Household

Bai Weilan drew Household No. 1, whose living conditions were relatively better. The family had a two-storey brick home, and the residents were an elderly couple in their sixties. Years of physical labor had tanned their skin to a bronze hue, and their hands were rough and calloused.

They welcomed the village leaders and the two stars with warm enthusiasm, invited them inside, and made tea for them. The furnishings were simple: a table placed against the inner wall, cluttered with daily necessities; rows of dusty chairs along the side walls, wiped down repeatedly just for today’s honored guests—the ‘big celebrities,’ as the village leaders called them.

This household produced ribbon crafts and embroidery. The ribbons came in different sizes—small ones like the hair-braiding ribbons commonly found on the commercial street, and larger ones used for clothing accessories or household bundling. Embroidery involved stitching auspicious traditional patterns onto fabric, and embroidered pieces sold for much higher prices. But because embroidery was extremely difficult to learn, Bai Weilan and Xiao Chengyi decided to start with ribbon weaving and clothing accessories.

2nd Household

Conditions for Household No. 2 were also quite good. Another elderly couple lived there. When Huang Yili and Liu Ke arrived, the couple immediately recognized Liu Ke and greeted him affectionately, saying they had watched him grow up. As a child, he had been adorable and mischievous, and they loved seeing him play those naughty kids on TV. Then he suddenly grew up and started acting in romance dramas.

Huang Yili was delighted by all the “exposés,” while Liu Ke’s face flushed red as all his childhood “black history” was laid bare. This household was only about a kilometer from No. 1, and they specialized in the same type of crafts.

3rd Household

Household No. 3 was farther from the first two. Only an elderly grandpa lived there. The old brick house stirred mixed feelings in Zhao Yimai’s heart. The grandpa served them tea politely and explained that he mainly crafted small bamboo animals and insects, as well as palm-leaf versions. He could even make more complex wooden toys. After some discussion, Zhao Yimai and Jiao Yanting decided to learn palm-leaf weaving from him.

4th Household

Household No. 4 was in the direst condition among the five. A grandmother lived alone in an old wooden house. Though the village had later funded the renovation of dangerous homes and built her a single-storey brick house, she gave the new house to her son and daughter-in-law and continued living in the old wooden structure.

Although she was in her fifties, she was quick, capable, and skilled in both embroidery and weaving—but she chose weaving. The accompanying village leader explained that after the tourism industry picked up, many villagers started selling crafts on the street. Competition turned vicious, and people slashed prices to steal customers until no one could earn money.

During that period, villagers focused on quantity over quality, which left tourists with poor impressions. To prevent this from happening again, the village set rules: groups 1 and 2 could only make ribbons, while groups 3 and 4 could only do weaving. They also established a minimum price system to avoid destructive competition.

Cheng Jingling nodded, though a new question arose.

“But embroidery sells for more, right? Isn’t it unfair to restrict them?”

The village leader smiled kindly.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Embroidery is indeed more profitable, but it’s also far more time-consuming and labor-intensive. A single embroidered pouch might sell for eighty yuan, but it takes one or even two full days to finish.

Meanwhile, bamboo or palm-leaf animals can be made several at a time—and even more once you become skilled. So, it all evens out.”

He continued,
“And things are much better now. We’ve relaxed the restrictions—everyone can choose what they want to make, as long as they don’t break the rules. The minimum price system is still in place to keep competition healthy. Most villagers now stick to the crafts they’re best at. Sometimes the village even accepts large external orders and distributes them to households. As long as they complete the assigned quantity on time, they get paid.”

Cheng Jingling nodded in admiration. With such thoughtful leadership, no wonder Shuanglong Village had developed so well—surpassing nearby villages and even sharing poverty-alleviation experience with others. After discussing it, she and Ji Yufu decided to learn bamboo weaving from the grandmother.

5th Household

The last household was another elderly couple who specialized in embroidery and painting. Jiang Yiyu and Wang Zicheng couldn’t manage embroidery, but they could help with painting small decorative items.

After everyone learned the basics, they began hands-on practice. Village Chief Qi had been very considerate—worried that villagers might hesitate to let celebrities touch valuable materials—so he provided each household with extra supplies in advance.

Cheng Jingling and Ji Yufu sat on small stools. The room was filled with thin pre-cut bamboo strips, soft and flexible to the touch. They watched as the grandmother’s hands moved swiftly—up, down, flip, fold—and in no time, a tiny bamboo horse appeared. Cheng Jingling held it in delight. She had never seen such a toy before and found it irresistibly cute. She made the little horse “fly” in front of Ji Yufu, chanting, “Hyah! Hyah!”

Ji Yufu looked at the oversized child in front of her and felt she was discovering yet another side of Cheng Jingling. She responded with exaggerated seriousness, “Wooow.”

“Right? It’s fun!” Cheng Jingling’s happiness was visible to the naked eye.

“So childish.” Ji Yufu turned away, picked up a bamboo strip, and asked the grandmother for weaving tips.

Cheng Jingling’s face fell immediately. Pouting, she set the bamboo horse down on the floor and began working seriously. The grandmother started them with simple projects, securing a basic frame before letting them add to it. Cheng

Jingling mimicked her movements, threading one strip beneath another—but suddenly a sharp sting hit her fingertip. She instinctively let go.

A thin line of red welled up—a bamboo cut.

Ji Yufu and the grandmother rushed over. The grandmother panicked, unsure how to compensate a celebrity for getting hurt in her home. Seeing her anxiously rummaging through drawers, Cheng Jingling quickly comforted her,

“Grandma, sit down, sit down. It’s just a tiny cut—really, it’s nothing!”

Ji Yufu fetched iodine and band-aids from the production crew and reassured the grandmother. Only after seeing Ji Yufu disinfect and bandage the wound did the grandmother finally relax.

Watching Ji Yufu’s slender pale fingers move so gently, and seeing that beautiful face so close, a mischievous thought popped into Cheng Jingling’s mind. She leaned closer and whispered into Ji Yufu’s ear:

“If I just donate money directly to Grandma, does that count as poverty alleviation?”

Ji Yufu paused mid-bandage, speechless.

Ji Yufu paused mid-bandage, momentarily at a loss for words. “Exactly how much were you planning to donate?”

Cheng Jingling glanced around the room and lowered her voice. “Would ten million be enough?”

Ji Yufu: “…” That would be more than enough.

“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’? And there aren’t just one or two people in need—there are five here, and plenty more who are worse off.

You should really think this through.”

Cheng Jingling’s lips curled into a pout at the advice, and she quickly gave up on the idea. “Fine, whatever. I’ll save the money for my future wife!”

Ji Yufu: “?”