Transmigrated as the Heroine’s Perfect Alpha - Chapter 5

After all these years, how could Xie Ling still remember her original obsession?

She changed into soft, comfortable pajamas and pulled open the door to her walk-in closet. Before she could even finish a hearty yawn, she saw He Rong sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at her with a stern expression.

“Mom?” Xie Ling touched the face cream she had not quite rubbed in yet, feeling inexplicably guilty.

He Rong had not even had time to change her clothes yet. She looked down at herself, then at her youngest daughter who had already changed into pajamas and was preparing to climb into bed. She suppressed the rising flames of frustration in her heart, trying her best not to let them turn into a wildfire.

“Mom.” Xie Ling felt uneasy under her gaze. She reached back to close the closet door and sat down cautiously beside Madam He.

He Rong looked at Xie Ling, who seemed to be reading the room reasonably well, and let go of her stern expression. She curved her brows and eyes, pressed the power button on her phone, and asked, “Did you and Lin Man have a fight?”

“Hmm? A fight? Lin Man?” Upon hearing Lin Man’s name, Xie Ling’s body subconsciously shifted backward. “Us? We fought? That is not the case at all.”

“Is that so?” He Rong asked again. “If you did not fight, why did she arrive empty-handed today? I saw that you were quite indifferent when you saw her. What exactly is going on between you two? Did you break up?”

“Break up?” Xie Ling’s voice rose sharply. Realizing she had been impulsive, she muttered in a low voice, “Did I ever date her?” She looked exactly like a little girl who was having a spat and still had not let go of her anger, using defiant words.

In reality, she was thinking: This cannot be, right? Lin Man did not give me a single kind look tonight the moment she appeared. Before she left while holding Ji Xue, she looked at me with that kind of gaze. How could I be in that kind of relationship with her?

Oh!

Yes, Xie Ling likes Lin Man!

This is the main reason why Xie Ling became a villain who courts death!

Xie Ling hates Ji Xue and targets and frames her at every turn. It is not just because she envies and is jealous of the beloved face and popularity that comes with the female lead halo.

It is even more because of the Lin family’s only daughter, Lin Man!

So, in fact, Xie Ling has a one-sided crush on Lin Man.

That explains why she would look at her that way.

Thinking back to that terrifying moment of abuse and murder, Xie Ling sneered. Dare to snatch a woman from the female lead? That is truly courting death.

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Do you still need to ask me if you have dated or not?” He Rong felt it was completely baffling. When she first found out her daughter liked Lin Man at the beginning of the year, she had tried to persuade her more than once. She had said over and over that a same-sex relationship would not be happy, to the point of wearing her tongue thin, but Xie Ling had not listened to a single word.

Now that they were finally willing to accept the fact, the person who had yelled at them the loudest back then was claiming they had never dated?

Then what was the point of all that dramatic behavior before?

“Forget it, forget it. Do as you please. It just so happens that I did not favor it in the first place.” After saying this, He Rong stood up, feeling stuffy. Before leaving, she took a small square box out of the handbag she was carrying and tossed it over.

Xie Ling, whose mind had been drifting, caught it subconsciously. She lifted her thumb to open it. Inside was a glittering diamond ring. The diamond was yellow, but it was very large. Being someone with little experience, she thought it looked very expensive the moment she saw it.

“A birthday gift from your sister-in-law. Her company had business, so she went back to work overtime. She had your eldest brother bring it over. Later, when your second brother and his wife get home, come downstairs to greet them before you go to sleep. Do you hear me?” He Rong stood at the doorway, hands on her hips. Compared to her gentle, bird-like demeanor in front of Xie Hongfei, it was a night-and-day difference.

Xie Ling nodded obediently in agreement. Before the door closed, she finally could not help but ask, “Mom, did you not say we would not be inviting classmates tonight?”

He Rong let out an “oh” and, holding the doorknob, said, “I discussed it with your father. Your father felt it was not appropriate to invite no one at all, so he let the school choose a representative from your class. Why? Are you not on good terms with her?”

“No, no, I was just asking. It is nothing. You go ahead and be busy.” Xie Ling waved her hands repeatedly, acting as if she had just asked casually. She reached back to touch the phone under her pillow and only after confirming the door was closed did she sigh and lean against the headboard.

Xie Hongfei and He Rong had three children: two sons and one daughter. Xie Ling was the youngest daughter of the Xie family.

The eldest son, Xie Zeyu, had been abroad for the past six months and only returned yesterday. Since they had already eaten together last night, they did not go out of their way to spend time together to bond today.

After all, the eldest brother and younger sister were ten years apart. From the time Xie Ling could remember, Xie Zeyu had already gone abroad to study, so the bond between them could hardly be described as deep.

As for the second brother, He Kai, it was much the same. Although an eight-year age gap was better than ten, he had been obsessed with the world of games since he was a child and rarely played with his younger sister.

Xie Ling lay on the bed, feeling simple emotions after recalling this. Such a sibling relationship could not help but be distant. It just so happened that this distant relationship was convenient for her, a transmigrator.

He Rong, as their biological mother, naturally understood this as well, so her only requirement was for Xie Ling to go downstairs to make an appearance and greet them.

Xie Ling sighed again, rubbed her eyes, and began to contemplate her personal problems while resting her head on her arms.

The memories that had been vague before tonight suddenly rushed into her mind like floodgates opening, making her brain ache.

Xie Ling, lying on the bed, was so shocked by the incoming scenes that her eyes widened. Her unfocused eyes reflected the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

She looked in terror at the scenes emerging in her mind and slowly pulled back the little arm that had been cushioned under her head.

Could it be that this memory, like the system, needs to be activated only when the plot officially begins?

“Ding-dong,” a crisp sound played. [Little Fan: Congratulations, you got it right! The plot of “I Want to Love Like This” has officially started. Your journey of experience has officially begun. Please fasten your seatbelt and hold on to your script.]

Xie Ling: “…”

What kind of stupid system is this!

[Little Fan: Friendly reminder: Due to feedback from the experiencer, this system has automatically downloaded a supplemental plug-in in the background. To perfect the experiencer’s sense of immersion, the punishment mode has been refined and an upper limit has been set. Every time a certain value is accumulated, the punishment level will automatically rise.]

[The following are the upgrade requirements for the punishment levels: one violation equals one electric shock; once the violations accumulate to ten times, the electric shock level will automatically rise to level two after the ten shocks; once level two shocks accumulate to ten times, the level will automatically upgrade to level three… and so on.]

Xie Ling: “!!!”

[Little Fan: Your current cumulative number of violations is 2, and the number of times you have been shocked is 2.]

Xie Ling: “…”

The system’s prompt sound disappeared. Xie Ling covered her eyes powerlessly, wailing in her heart. Why am I so unlucky!

Others transmigrate into books, and so do I. Others bind with a system, and so do I. Why am I the only unlucky one, meeting a broken system that abuses corporal punishment and has nowhere to complain about it!

The plot line that she recalled made her feel even more helpless, especially the unspeakable things the original owner did for Lin Man!

And the traps the original owner designed to frame the female lead—it was just too much. It was not rigorous at all, and it was not exciting at all. It was just like a child playing house.

But thinking about it from another perspective, it was something she wrote herself before she had grown up. To be able to write such a cheesy and brainless novel at that age, looking on the bright side, could be considered a talent.

Just as Xie Ling was feeling emotional, there was a knock on the door. The housekeeper, Auntie, reminded her from outside, “Miss, the second young master is back and is waiting downstairs.”

“Coming.” Xie Ling shook her head, got off the bed, and walked out in her slippers.

The banquet had long since ended. The servants in the villa were working overtime to clean up the trash left over from the party. In the front courtyard, they were clearing away champagne glasses that could be seen everywhere, making tinkling sounds. It looked even busier than during the two days of the Lunar New Year.

Xie Ling stood on the stairs and glanced at the auntie cleaning the confetti in the hallway. She rubbed her face hard, squeezed out a barely acceptable smile, and continued to walk down.

He Kai was the first to notice Xie Ling, who was wearing pajamas. He spoke first, “Little sister, happy birthday!”

Xie Ling smiled and thanked him, “Thank you, second brother and sister-in-law, happy New Year.”

The woman sitting beside He Kai smiled gently, took two boxes out of her bag, stood up, and handed them over, “Happy birthday, little sister.”

He Kai smirked and said to his wife, “I told you my little sister is very clever. It is the sixth day of the New Year, and only now she is wishing us a happy New Year. This is obviously aimed at getting a red envelope.”

“There is, there is, I prepared it.” The beautiful-looking woman quickly responded and turned to get the red envelope from her handbag.

Xie Ling had not originally meant it that way, but after seeing the red envelope, she did not explain and silently accepted it.

She did not originally care about money, but after the time she had to eat instant noodles for many days in a row to save money, that high-minded version of herself had already died.

After the siblings exchanged brief pleasantries, He Kai prepared to leave with his wife. Xie Ling, having accepted their gifts, walked them all the way to the door.

Xie Hongfei and He Rong looked at each other, their faces full of surprise. He Rong watched her daughter walking over from the courtyard and just opened her mouth to call her, but Xie Hongfei hurriedly hugged her and turned to walk back, shaking his head slightly.

“It is a good thing that the siblings’ relationship has improved. We, as the elders, should not say too much.”

He Rong: “…”

Xie Ling, who realized a moment too late that it was a bit cold outside, did not see this scene. She trotted a few steps into the house, turned around to take a look, and found that the living room was already empty. After taking a deep breath, she continued to trot up the stairs.

On the large, soft bed, even the duvet cover was fuzzy. Xie Ling curled up inside and opened the shopping app on her phone.

Since returning from Grandma’s house, she had carefully reflected on the old lady’s famous words and felt that Grandma was absolutely right—spending money is the fountain of a woman’s happiness.

So, she bought a pile of things.

After paying with her fingerprint, she remembered Ji Xue, who had looked like a drowned rat. She thought that with such a sudden fall into the water, her phone and other things must have been ruined. Just as the thought of whether she should buy her a new one to compensate the girl popped into her head, the system’s warning sound rang in her ears again.

Xie Ling irritably covered her head with the quilt and then lifted it off.

She knew the thought she just had was a violation, but every time she thought of the last sentence prompted when the system appeared—that the authority to rewrite the plot would be opened after the experience—she could not help but want to leave a way out for herself.

After all, she had been creating stories for many years. Putting aside her slightly eccentric personality, her IQ was still normal.

She knew that being shocked did not feel good, but she also knew she could not be stupid enough to truly follow the original plot line as required by the system. Otherwise, even if the system begged her to break the character settings at the end… once the initial character settings were fixed, rewriting the plot later would be of no use.

Which murderer can avoid going to jail just because of repentance after killing someone?

It might work to fool a three-year-old, but she was twenty-three years old this year.

Xie Ling thought for a moment and asked, “Can I buy it without her knowing it was from me?”

[Little Fan: Please note that your intention is already suspected of being a violation. Please do not try it easily, otherwise, I will shock you without hesitation.]

“Okay, okay! Understood.” Xie Ling, a writer skilled at compartmentalizing, changed her line of thought on the spot. “Then how about I send her money to humiliate her?”

[Little Fan: “…” ]

Xie Ling curled her lips, “Not saying anything means it is okay, then. If you shock me afterward, I will definitely complain until you are fired!”

[Little Fan: Friendly reminder: This system’s complaint function has been discontinued and taken offline after version 1.0. If you have any questions, please contact customer service Little Fan directly.]

“…” Xie Ling’s mouth twitched. After ruminating on the meaning behind it, she gritted her teeth in hatred, “Rogue system! Rogue customer service! You shameless thing!”

The system went quiet again.

Xie Ling gave up helplessly, but the resentment in her heart did not dissipate. Even while closing her eyes to brew some sleepiness, she did not forget to compose a 3,000-word curse manuscript in her mind before she finally felt her anger fade and drifted into a quiet sleep.

When she woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and stood in front of the mirror to brush her teeth, thinking about something as she rinsed her mouth. She choked on the water and coughed several times before realizing that her voice did not sound right.

It was not just the sound; even the sensation of a foreign object in her throat had become much clearer.

“Uh…” Xie Ling opened her mouth wide in the mirror. “Uh???”

The voice, which should have been crisp and loud, now sounded like an old, leaking bellows, making wheezing and rasping sounds.

Did I really catch a cold? That cannot be. My physique… Xie Ling looked down, Fine, I look a bit thin and weak.

After washing up, Xie Ling put on thick loungewear and a mask and went downstairs.

The housekeeper, Auntie, was handing out New Year red envelopes to the kitchen auntie who had returned to work today.

Xie Ling tried to open her mouth, but her voice was truly too hoarse and unpleasant. She had no choice but to reach out and poke the housekeeper, then gesture frantically.

Unfortunately, her rapport index with the auntie was too low, and in the end, she had to give up on non-verbal communication. She took out her phone and typed seven characters on the screen: Does the house have cold medicine?

The housekeeper nodded hurriedly, then shook her head and took out her phone to call the Xie family’s doctor.

Xie Ling watched, stunned. By the time she realized what was happening, she had been pressed onto a single sofa in the living room and forced to open her mouth wide.

She watched helplessly as the woman following the doctor skillfully opened the medical kit on the side table and took out the medicine and needle that had been prepared in advance.

“Miss Xie, your tonsillitis is too severe. It is swollen larger than it has ever been before. If you do not get an IV drip for anti-inflammatory treatment in time, it will very easily cause a high fever. When that time comes, your glands will also…”

Xie Ling waved her hand, leaning weakly against the back of the chair, and made a gesture that meant: Hurry up and inject me, I am already feeling a bit feverish and dizzy.