The Villain Turned Out to Be a Scummy Omega? [GL] - Chapter 7

“Qingqing, what exactly is going on here?” Mother Lu spoke first; her eyes fixed on Song Ziqing with a look of immense tenderness.

Song Ziqing glanced at the tablet nearby. On the screen, a video played showing her carrying a tool bag and sneaking into Lu Qinnian’s office. On the other side were photos of her purchasing explosives, along with a shot of Xiao Ran, who was currently standing nearby with her head bowed.

Lu Qinnian watched her with a cold, detached expression before shifting her gaze to Xiao Ran. “Speak. How did she convince you to help her find a seller?”

Xiao Ran shivered. Looking at the majestic, imposing figure of Lu Qinnian—who despite wearing a simple black tracksuit with her hair in a high ponytail, radiated an undeniable pressure—she felt her resolve crumble.

Xiao Ran knew perfectly well that if she didn’t tell the truth, Lu Qinnian had countless ways to retaliate. Her family would inevitably be dragged into it, too. She had only associated with Song Ziqing to get closer to the Lu family in the first place; because of that connection, her parents’ jobs had stabilized and her younger sister had been admitted to a prestigious private school.

She didn’t want to betray Song Ziqing, but she couldn’t afford to lose her hard-won happiness. She knew exactly who held the real power in the Lu family. Besides, Song Ziqing wasn’t even a Lu by blood; she was just a child with the surname Song fostered in their home a fact everyone understood. Thus, she made what she considered to be the sensible choice.

Opening her mouth with great difficulty, she said, “It was Miss Song Ziqing. She didn’t say what it was for, so I just helped her find someone selling gunpowder. If I’d known she intended to harm you, Miss Lu, I wouldn’t have dared to do it even if I had a hundred times more courage!”

Lu Qinnian glanced at the panicked girl who was so busy shifting the blame, then looked at the stunned Song Ziqing. “Look at the kind of friends you keep.”

Song Ziqing was speechless. Chairman Lu knit her brows, glaring at Xiao Ran in a fury. “Utter nonsense! Pure lies! Who told you to frame our Qingqing? My Qingqing is pure and kind; she can’t even bear to eat rabbit meat. How could she harm anyone—let alone her own eldest sister whom she loves the most?!”

“Exactly!” Song Ziqing immediately put on a look of grievance, looking toward her aunt before shooting a tentative glance at Lu Qinnian. Lu Qinnian remained calm, her eyes clear and unreadable. This made Song Ziqing even more anxious; after all, she had been caught in the act with ironclad evidence. She could only try to tough it out.

Mother Lu took her hand with an aching heart. “Qingqing, tell Auntie… did you really do it? And what is the deal with these videos and photos?”

The moment she finished, Xiao Ran fell to her knees with a loud thud. “Chairman, Miss Lu, I am really not lying! She made me do it. I just helped her find a seller without knowing the context. I truly have no reason to lie and harm her!”

“You might not, but someone else does,” Lu Ge said, stepping forward angrily.

Song Ziqing held her breath, watching her nervously. Everything depended on whether Lu Ge would help her; otherwise, it would be impossible to explain her way out of this.

“What do you mean?” Lu Kui, sitting nearby, could no longer stay silent. “Do you know who is trying to harm Qingqing?”

Lu Ge glanced at her, then turned a dissatisfied gaze toward Lu Qinnian. “The very ‘Big Sister’ you admire so much and treat like an idol.”

Lu Kui’s eyes widened in shock. The room went still. Lu Kui stood up quickly to grab her. “Lu Ge, don’t talk nonsense.”

“I’m not talking nonsense,” Lu Ge sneered, looking Lu Qinnian up and down with disdain. “She has never treated Qingqing as a member of this family. I bet she decided to kick her out long ago.”

Lu Qinnian’s expression shifted slightly. She looked at Song Ziqing—who had just let out a subtle sigh of relief—and understood everything. This little ungrateful wolf could come up with the most ridiculous excuses, and it seemed Lu Ge had been completely won over by her “sugar-coated bullets.”

Mother Lu felt even more pained. She held Song Ziqing’s hand and turned to Lu Chi with a distressed look. “Hubby…”

She then glanced at the stern Lu Qinnian and sighed. “Hubby, say something!”

Lu Chi looked at Lu Ge, then at Lu Qinnian, and finally at the evidence laid out before them. She let out a long, helpless breath. “Qinnian, I am truly disappointed in you. To be so heartless toward Qingqing—forcing her to buy explosives just so you could ‘expose’ her supposed malice in front of us… truly a masterstroke! Your Aunt Song did our family a massive favor; how could you repay that kindness with such enmity?”

Lu Qinnian felt a wave of exhaustion. She wasn’t particularly surprised; in her previous life, she had also presented the evidence, yet even after losing a daughter like Lu Kui, her mother had still believed Song Ziqing’s lies and ended up making Yan Hui the scapegoat.

Consequently, she didn’t bother offering a long explanation. Lu Kui looked at her in disbelief. “Big Sister, you…”

Lu Ge glared at her with fury. “Lu Qinnian, you’ve gone too far! Why? Qingqing loves you so much; why do you always have to target her and bully her? To do something this extreme this time?”

Lu Qinnian stood up, took a deep breath, and looked at the aggrieved Song Ziqing. Suddenly, she let out a short laugh. “It was just a joke. Why is everyone being so serious?”

“Huh?”

The room looked at her in confusion. Lu Qinnian put one hand in her pocket and shrugged. “She claimed that everyone in this house would believe her unconditionally. I bet her they wouldn’t, so I had her buy some explosives to put on a show. I didn’t expect them to actually go off, but it seems she won the bet.”

“Hmm?” The others were still skeptical. The steady, composed Lu Qinnian doing something so childish and dangerous?

Xiao Ran was completely bewildered. Mother Lu, however, let out a sigh of relief. “I knew it! Qinnian might seem cold and fierce on the outside, but she actually cares about Qingqing deep down. How could she ever harm her?”

Lu Kui looked at the two of them in disbelief. “Just a bet?”

“Of course not. It was also to test how much Yan Hui cared about our family members,” Lu Qinnian added, spreading her hands. “As it turns out, she’s even keeping a constant eye on the most useless one, Song Ziqing.”

Song Ziqing: “…”

Lu Chi gave her a sharp look. “Lu Qinnian, don’t think that just because I handed the company over to you, I can’t keep you in line. How can you say Qingqing is useless? I’ve decided to have her enter the company to learn from Lu Kui. Don’t be surprised if she ends up outperforming you.”

Lu Qinnian’s brow furrowed. This time, she absolutely could not let Song Ziqing cause chaos in the company. If the girl had to be there, she had to be kept by her own side where she could be monitored at all times to prevent her from acting out.

Lu Kui, on the other hand, stepped forward excitedly to take Song Ziqing’s hand. “Don’t worry, Qingqing. Second Sister will train you. I guarantee you’ll make rapid progress. By then, certain people might even have to beg you for help.”

“No,” Lu Qinnian said, stepping forward to pull Song Ziqing away from Mother Lu and Lu Kui. She wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulder. “If Qingqing is joining the company, I will be the one to train her.”

The room was once again stunned by this unexpected turn. Mother Lu helped Xiao Ran up and patted her back to comfort the terrified girl.

Lu Kui grew anxious. “Mother, look at her! I want Qingqing to be with me!”

Lu Chi stood up and looked at them helplessly. Lu Ge stared in disbelief at the person holding Song Ziqing so intimately. She said quietly, “Shouldn’t we ask what Qingqing wants?”

Lu Qinnian looked down at the person beside her with a faint, unreadable smile. “Qingqing, are you coming with me, or with ‘someone else’?”

Someone else? Lu Kui’s lips twitched. This cold woman! Would it kill her to say ‘Sister’? Even using her name would be better than ‘someone else’!

Song Ziqing swallowed hard and forced a weak smile. “Can I go with someone else?”

Lu Qinnian tightened her grip on the girl’s shoulder, a dark, predatory smile playing on her lips. “Of course not.”

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