Transmigrated as the Heroine’s Perfect Alpha - Chapter 3

Ms. He was an Omega with a delicate appearance and charming pheromones, but her drive was stronger than that of the average Alpha. Ever since returning from her parents’ home, she had begun organizing the birthday banquet for the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

Watching the extraordinary efficiency of the character she had created, Xie Ling felt a mix of complex emotions. She sat at the front door, unpacking packages while inwardly cursing the event, hoping it would fail to happen on schedule.

Over a dozen keyboards had arrived like they had taken a flight, delivered to her doorstep by a courier who worked through the Spring Festival. Xie Ling had been so preoccupied that she forgot about them. It was only when the butler knocked to remind her that she woke from her daze, grabbed a small household trolley, and sat at the door with a box cutter to slice through the tape.

He Rong was sitting on the living room sofa, talking on the phone. Between sentences, she caught sight of Xie Ling, through the open front door, meticulously placing the flashy, colorful keyboards into the trolley. She asked curiously, “Xiao Ling, why are you buying so many keyboards?”

“For my collection,” Xie Ling answered casually, appearing quite indifferent.

Ever since she discovered that this world was built by her own hands, she had lost the vitality and passion she possessed when she first arrived. She no longer loved to giggle, nor did she want to butter anyone up with flattery. She grew more silent and somber with each passing day.

With drooping eyelids, she turned to glance at He Rong pacing the living room before returning to unpack the fifth keyboard box. The thought that the banquet Ms. He had painstakingly prepared for her would officially begin tonight made the keyboards she had been obsessed with lose their appeal; the vibrant colors now only made her feel dizzy.

He Rong hung up the phone. Standing by the frosted glass between the living room and the entryway, she carefully inspected the keyboards in the trolley. After deciding that they truly had unique features and looked like collectibles, she turned back to the living room to continue her calls.

After finishing the deliveries, Xie Ling emotionlessly pushed the trolley into the home elevator, which was rarely used, and returned to her bedroom on the second floor. She placed the keyboards one by one onto the display rack against the wall, then stared blankly at the evening gown hanging by her bed.

Perhaps because the female lead was about to make her entrance, or perhaps because the mental pressure was too great, she had been dreaming of the scenes from the beginning of the novel for days.

In one moment, she saw the Xie Ling from the book arrogantly looking down at Ji Xue, who was wearing bargain-bin clothes. In another, she saw a three-thousand-yuan woman’s watch being disdainfully thrown into the villa’s swimming pool. Then, she saw Ji Xue, shrouded in the female lead’s halo, being forced back by the overbearing and imperious Xie Ling, only to fall into the pool just like the watch. Finally, she saw the female lead’s official match, Lin Man, dressed in a slim-fit suit, pulling the soaking-wet female lead out of the water.

After being lectured by Ms. He at her grandmother’s house, she had naively imagined various ways to avoid the female lead. But after that night, her nightmares had been relentless. As a result, her calm exterior masked an even deeper panic. It felt as though the grievances and conflicts destined for them were bound to begin at some specific moment.

Xie Ling rubbed her hands anxiously. She picked up a pair of overly ornate scissors from her display stand, thought about it for a moment, and decided to cut off the pigeon-egg-sized diamond embedded in the bust of her gown. Without it, she could at least reduce some unnecessary jealousy and trouble. After all, the plot was fully propelled by the embellishments and speculations of onlookers. Those annoying rumors sounded absurd, but they always seemed to play an unexpected role at critical moments. With a heavy heart, Xie Ling believed that comprehensive precautions would surely be safer.

However, reality gave her another harsh lesson. If her failure to convince He Rong to cancel the banquet was due to her own initial dismissal and soft-heartedness, then running into the female lead face-to-face must surely be the work of fate itself.

The birthday banquet began on time at eight o’clock in the evening. Brilliant fireworks bloomed above the villa. Xie Ling’s deep blue birthday gown, which should have shimmered with starlight, looked much duller due to the missing focal point. One did not even need to look closely to notice that there was not a single diamond over thirty points on the entire dress; only the hem was embellished with countless tiny, fragmented diamond dust.

The men at the party might not have noticed, but the girls spotted something off. By the time He Rong saw it, it was too late to change anything, so she simply pretended not to see it at all. And so, the birthday girl, Xie Ling, who was supposed to stun the crowd with her expensive dress, successfully minimized her own presence. In order to avoid the female lead, Ji Xue, she greeted the arriving guests and then, draped in an ordinary-looking warm shawl, hurried to the backyard.

Compared to the front yard and the main hall of the villa, the backyard, which had little scenery and few people, was quite desolate. Looking at the pitch-black backyard, Xie Ling secretly congratulated herself on her wit. Unfortunately, before she could finish her thought, she saw a woman turning a corner from who-knows-where, walking slowly toward her from the front. That woman was exactly as she had written: dressed in a cream-colored coat.

“…”

Wasn’t it said that no classmates were invited? How did Ji Xue still end up here? Was it a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road? Or had Ms. He gone back on her word?

The moment Xie Ling saw Ji Xue clearly, a light ding sounded in her ear. It sounded like a phone notification, but she was empty-handed; she had not brought anything with her. Xie Ling frowned in confusion. Then, a voice that sounded exactly like a voice assistant spoke up beside her ear.

“System activated.”

“What?” Xie Ling’s brows locked together. As she ruminated on the word “system,” she felt a deep sense of dread. Sure enough, the voice rang out again.

“Welcome, original author, to the system. This system was developed by the ‘Villain Is Super Handsome, The Villain Is Innocent’ support group. I am the system’s sole customer service representative, Xiao Fan. On behalf of the development team, Xiao Fan extends the warmest welcome to you. We sincerely hope that during this experience, you can deeply understand the sorrow and innocence of the villainous supporting female lead, give her a second chance, and strive for a reasonable and fair life for her.”

Xie Ling: “…”

Xiao Fan: “I wish you a pleasant experience!”

Xie Ling: “!!!”

It really was a case of “speak of the devil.” She had previously been secretly rejoicing that there were no system constraints, but it turned out it had not been activated because she had not met the female lead yet. If she had known, she would not have stayed home so obediently today.

The stiff, mechanical prompt faded away. Xie Ling reached up and scratched her ear, looking at Ji Xue, who was getting closer and closer. Under the cold white lights, the woman seemed to be wearing very light makeup, yet her brows and eyes were set off by the dim lighting, making her look even more innocent and pure. It was the standard female lead face, alright. Xie Ling watched helplessly as she walked over. The breeze that drifted past from Ji Xue had a faint, milky scent. When she tried to smell it carefully, she could not smell anything at all, as if it were just a hallucination.

Xie Ling, who had not fully grasped what the system had said, took a deep breath. Subconsciously, she tightened her grip on her hands, which were tucked under the shawl, and gave the woman a polite, smiling nod as she walked past. Xie Ling had assumed that would be the end of it. Unexpectedly, she had not even walked two meters away when Ji Xue suddenly spoke up, calling out to her as sweat already began to bead on her palms.

“Xie Ling.” Her voice was soft, sweet, and very pleasant to hear.

Xie Ling froze. A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind. At that moment, all she wanted to do was walk away, but Ji Xue’s call acted like a magic spell, rendering her unable to move.

“…”

“Happy birthday.” As Ji Xue spoke, she reached into her pocket and took out the women’s brand-name watch she had bought by spending all her earnings from her part-time job and her New Year red packets. Xie Ling was incredibly resistant to the fact that the female lead’s dialogue was exactly the same as in the novel so far, but ever since she had seen Ji Xue, her entire body seemed to have lost control. She remained with her back turned to Ji Xue and said, “Thank you.” Miraculously, both she and Ji Xue seemed to ignore the coldness in her tone.

Ji Xue walked in front of Xie Ling, blushing, and handed over the gift personally. Xie Ling looked at this scene, stunned as if struck by lightning. Ji Xue’s innocent and pure little face was radiating endless kindness and charm. Xie Ling was horrified. The text clearly stated that they met in the front yard of the villa, yet she had hidden in the backyard, and what was meant to happen was happening anyway. Thinking of this, Xie Ling suddenly remembered the voice from earlier: “We sincerely hope that during this experience, you can deeply understand the sorrow and innocence of the villainous supporting female lead.”

So, was this a scene she had to experience? Then, what about that miserable ending?

“On the snow-white bedsheets, Xie Ling’s body was covered in blood. A person whose features could not be seen was holding a sharp scalpel, slicing her one cut at a time, like filleting a fish.”

The sudden flash of text in her mind made Xie Ling’s entire body go numb. Simple words, yet the imagery they brought was so intense that it felt as if a knife were truly cutting into her. The unstoppable crimson blood, the broken body that no longer looked human, and the blood-soaked sheets flashed before Xie Ling’s eyes like photographs. She shivered where she stood.

Ji Xue’s hand had been held out in mid-air for a long time. Seeing Xie Ling tremble slightly, she looked up to see that long, fair neck exposed to the cold air. After a brief moment of thought, she shoved the box into Xie Ling’s hands and then moved to untie her own scarf. With her mind in a chaotic mess, Xie Ling had not had time to react when the system’s mechanical voice rang out again: “Key plot point! Key plot point! Key plot point!”

Xie Ling could not help but roll her eyes, thinking, “I know tonight is a key plot point, but do you have to be so dramatic and say it three times?”

Xiao Fan: “Important things must be said three times.”

Xie Ling: “…”

Watching Ji Xue untie her scarf, the intention behind her lifting her hand was self-evident. Xie Ling was stunned, not quite understanding the female lead’s thought process. Her hand, which was holding the square gift box, suddenly went numb.

Splash! Both of them stared at the water feature nearby, stunned.

“!!!”

Xie Ling looked at her empty hands, feeling like she was going crazy. What kind of mess was this? Wasn’t it supposed to be that the gift was thrown by the original Xie Ling into the swimming pool in the front yard? Why could not even a small pond be spared?

Ji Xue stepped back as she watched the ripples on the water, while Xie Ling, feeling guilty, moved a small step toward her, forgetting even to explain herself. Of course, the devastated Ji Xue did not give her the chance. Under the dim light, Ji Xue squatted down, placed the untied scarf at her feet, and then reached her hand into the cold water. No matter what, it was something she had spent a lot of money on. Even if Xie Ling did not like it or looked down on it, she could not just let it sink to the bottom of the water like that.

Xie Ling stood on the side, looking at the arm that had not even had time to roll up its sleeve. Another wave of guilt washed over her; she really did not know what had happened just now. Sigh, it was all fate. After that sigh, Xie Ling reached out to pull Ji Xue up, but before she could grab the arm submerged in the water, her foot slipped. Suddenly losing her balance, Xie Ling ended up pushing the person who had been kneeling by the water’s edge right into the pool.

Xie Ling: “…”

Under the bright moonlight, Xie Ling, who had managed to steady herself, moved her fingers in embarrassment; she really had not done that on purpose! However, the next second, she encountered another gust of cold wind, and she felt like kicking herself for her clumsiness. Xie Ling only felt a shadow flash before her eyes, followed by another “splash” in her ear.