Transmigrated as the Heroine’s Perfect Alpha - Chapter 8

After pondering for a long time, Xie Ling still could not bring herself to make a decision. She thought it would be better to wait a little longer. It was better to drag it out for as long as possible and worry about it only when there was no other choice.

After all, once she went through with this, no matter how many reasons or excuses she had, even if she jumped into the Yellow River, she would never be able to wash away the stain. In a student’s world, there is nothing more shameful than plagiarizing someone else’s work.

Thinking about the consequences of the thesis scandal gave her a headache. This act of smearing her own reputation was truly something that left her speechless with no one to vent to.

Just as she was reflecting on this, Xie Ling felt a stir in her heart, filled with wonder.

Yes, why did she write such a plot in the first place? With such a perfect background, why would “Xie Ling” gamble on something like this?

No matter how she looked at it, it felt like her intelligence had been lowered. Even if she were a mediocrity and truly could not submit a thesis, it would be much better to pay for one than to steal it.

It made no sense. It was completely irrational.

Little Fan chimed in with a “Ding-dong”: “Congratulations! The ‘Xie Ling’ empathy index has been activated. The initial value is 0 out of 100. This increase is +1! Please keep up the good work!”

Xie Ling stiffened. She was drinking water and nearly choked from the sudden sound of the alert.

“Next time you pop up, can you control your volume?”

Little Fan: “Beg me.”

Xie Ling: “Pretend I said nothing.”

After two days of interaction, Xie Ling felt like a lab rat. For example, right now, she had already confronted the female lead twice, yet this index was only just activated. The most terrifying thing was that she felt this index had just been invented on the spot.

“What is this index used for?” Xie Ling set down her glass, leaning her elbow on the edge of the table, her fair, pink-tinted fingertips tapping her right temple.

Little Fan: “It is used to record the index of your deep understanding of Xie Ling’s innocence. It is calculated synchronously with the grievance index. Once both items reach one hundred, the system will automatically unbind and return your autonomous choice.”

“Oh. I see.” Xie Ling checked her real-time values with a headache and fell into a deep silence.

By the time she regained her focus, it was half an hour later. She picked up the insulated cup by her side again, took a gentle sip, and opened her favorite communication forum from her past life. She typed out a help post over a thousand words long, eight hundred of which were accusations against this damned system.

She confirmed the post, then clicked “delete” instantly.

Xie Ling looked at the deletion confirmation window and felt a huge wave of powerlessness.

To be honest, she was very worried about how netizens would react to such an absurd thing. She feared being treated like a mental patient and feared being ruthlessly mocked by her former peers.

Forget it. It was all retribution.

Closing the webpage, Xie Ling clicked on the blue icon in the bottom right corner, tapped a familiar old song, pressed play, leaned back in her chair, and let out a long sigh.

“It is all your fault…”

“Falling for me so easily…”

“Making me unknowingly fall into this whirlpool of suffering…”

The lyrics, modified by Xie Ling, echoed in her ears along with the speakers on the shelf.

The more Xie Ling listened, the more she felt the melody was catchy, and she could not help but hum along.

Little Fan, who had been listening for a long time, finally could not bear it anymore. “Shut up! I did not fall for you!”

Xie Ling pressed the space bar, paused the track, and said innocently, “Do not be like that. It is just singing; are you really going to make it about yourself?”

Perhaps it was because that shout had been too emotional, but Xie Ling felt her throat hurt again. She quickly took a sip of the Chuanbei snow pear syrup that had been delivered with her medicine, then turned off the computer to wash up.

Over the next two days, Xie Ling continued to cooperate with the IV drips and medication.

The treatment required three days in total. The family doctor arrived punctually every day, and Xie Ling’s recovery ability was strong. Before the Lantern Festival arrived, she was already fully recovered.

On the eve of the Lantern Festival.

He Rong glanced at Xie Ling, who had been cooped up at home for a long time, and pushed over half a piece of strawberry cake she had not finished. “Do not waste it.”

Xie Ling looked at the exquisite round plate. The cake inside was originally just one bite’s worth, but she had not expected Madam He to leave half of it. Without thinking, she scooped it up with a spoon and swallowed it in one go.

He Rong had originally been joking. She had not expected her daughter, who was usually picky about desserts, to actually eat it. She was stunned on the spot.

“What is it, Mom?” Xie Ling looked at the spoon in her hand in confusion, then looked at He Rong’s surprised expression. “Was my behavior too crude?”

“No, not at all.” Madam He waved her hand quickly. “You were just fine.”

Xie Ling said “Oh” and went back to looking at the shopping website on her phone.

He Rong looked at her daughter, who was addicted to online shopping, and let out a soft “Ah,” casting a suspicious glance. “You seem to be shopping online a lot lately. I have not seen you go out to play in a long time. Where are your friends? Did they not ask you to go shopping?”

“Huh?” Xie Ling had just bought a large particle model and said honestly, “They did, but I caught a cold, so I turned them down.”

He Rong: “You are better now. You have been staying at home since the end of last month. It has been over twenty days. You should go out and get some fresh air. You are so young, why are you acting like a shut-in?”

Xie Ling pondered for a moment. Apart from the trip to her grandmother’s house, she really had not been out. After a brief thought, she agreed. “Then I will go out for a stroll in a while.”

However, before she could even stand up, Madam He asked another question. “There is one more thing. After the Lantern Festival, you are going to intern at the company. Will you continue to live at home, or are you moving back to your own place?”

“Hmm. We will see. I have not decided yet.” Information about the apartment one kilometer away floated into Xie Ling’s mind just in time. While shocked, she pretended to be calm on the surface.

He Rong nodded, said nothing more, and opened the transfer page on her phone to send Xie Ling a sum of money.

“The first time you go out to play in the New Year, buy yourself more things you like.”

Xie Ling went upstairs to change clothes. As she stepped onto the stairs, she received the notification of the deposit, so she turned around to give her a hug. “Thank you, Mom.”

He Rong patted her shoulder, signaling that it was enough.

Since the beginning of the New Year, she had heard her daughter say “thank you” every day. After hearing it for so many days, she was getting tired of it.

When Xie Ling sat in the car, she stared at the steering wheel for a good while. In her previous life, she had passed her driver’s test, but after receiving her license, she had never touched a steering wheel once, preferring to take the bus everywhere.

Now that she was sitting in the driver’s seat, it would be a lie to say she was not nervous.

Fortunately, there was still the system with a sharp tongue but a kind heart, which forcibly retrieved the original owner’s driving memories and had her go through them.

To this, Xie Ling remarked, “This is what you should have done anyway. Do not expect me to say thank you.”

Little Fan did not seem to care at all, quietly admiring Xie Ling’s nervous expression as she looked in the rearview mirror, laughing and mocking her from time to time.

The car slowly pulled out of the garage, slowly pulled out of the villa gate, and moved steadily forward. Finally, as it turned the corner past the Lin family villa, because she turned the steering wheel too slowly, it lightly knocked over a fruit basket someone had placed at the entrance of the Lin villa.

Little Fan immediately stopped laughing. “Congratulations! Grievance index +1.”

“What?” Xie Ling released the accelerator, lightly pressed the brake, and frowned as she looked at the girl in front wearing flat shoes and a ponytail.

The car made a careful turn. Xie Ling was speechless. Why did they have to put so many turns in a perfectly good villa area? It was truly difficult for her, a driver on her first road trip.

Little Fan’s alert did not ring again, nor did it explain the reason for the index increase.

Xie Ling’s sapphire blue sports car passed by the ponytail girl. Xie Ling felt the back of the figure looked familiar, so she turned her head to look and was stunned instantly.

“Ji Xue?”

How could Ji Xue be here?

Xie Ling’s actions were faster than her thoughts. The next second, the sapphire blue sports car stopped right in the middle of the road.

Ji Xue looked at the car that had stopped suddenly. Her steps faltered, and her previously brisk pace grew heavy. Both hands in her pockets slowly gripped the straps of her shoulder bag.

Xie Ling saw it clearly in the rearview mirror. Suddenly, she felt Ji Xue’s reaction was a bit cute, but she was quickly disillusioned by the system’s frantic reminders.

“Stop shouting. Through what method is the grievance index you just mentioned actually obtained?” Xie Ling rubbed her ears, but her eyes remained fixed on the rearview mirror.

Little Fan snorted and said cheekily, “You only get it when you are misunderstood.”

Xie Ling could not believe what she just heard. “Can you speak properly? Also, this ‘misunderstanding’—who was misunderstood? Who misunderstood me just now?”

Little Fan was quite disdainful of Xie Ling’s reaction, and its tone was stained with disgust. “Are you serious? Did you not see the massive surveillance camera at Lin Man’s door?”

Xie Ling was speechless. “What does that have to do with her camera?”

“It recorded the whole scene of you deliberately crushing Ji Xue’s fruit basket.” Little Fan’s electronic voice was faintly impatient.

Xie Ling gave up.

However, while they were speaking, Ji Xue had already walked to the rear of the car. Xie Ling took a deep breath, lowered her head, and pressed a button. The passenger door slowly opened.

Ji Xue saw the door expand, her steps faltered again, and she almost turned and ran. It was thanks to Xie Ling’s quick reaction that she shouted, “Ji Xue.”

Xie Ling’s voice was very recognizable and completely different from Ji Xue’s sweet tone. If one listened carefully, it sounded like a cold, aloof imperial sister voice. But perhaps she lacked age and life experience, so it sounded a bit crisper.

In any case, almost everyone who knew her recognized her voice.

Although Ji Xue was not very familiar with Xie Ling, she recognized this voice too.

Xie Ling regretted it as soon as she called out. The act of opening the door was purely an impulse.

“Please weigh your attitude carefully, otherwise I will shock you to death.” Little Fan swore that this was absolutely the most disobedient user it had ever served, even though, so far, it had only served this one user.

Xie Ling hesitated for a moment. But she had already called out; running away now would make her look very cowardly. According to the character setting, she was an arrogant, overbearing villain who did not see the female lead, and she absolutely could not run away in defeat.

Therefore, she could only confront her head-on.

Ji Xue stood in front of the open car door, looked down for a moment, and opened her mouth after confirming it really was Xie Ling, but said nothing.

Xie Ling leaned over and waited. Looking at the female lead, who was hesitating, she curled her finger coldly. “Get in and talk.”

Little Fan: “I will give you credit for being sensible.”

Xie Ling: “Is it really necessary to talk like this?”

Little Fan: “You do not like it? You can change the voice pack freely.”

“How do I change it?” Xie Ling felt she was going to be driven crazy by this rogue theme.

Little Fan: “If you have the ability, guess it yourself.”

Ji Xue stood in front of the car door and hesitated for a short while before sitting in. Xie Ling had not looked at her again since saying that unfriendly invitation. She just silently pressed the button she had pressed earlier.

The car door slowly closed.

Ji Xue’s crossed hands looked a bit uneasy.

Xie Ling released the brake and pressed the accelerator. As the car continued forward, she thought for a moment and asked, “Was the fruit basket at Lin Man’s door from you?”

“Yes.” Ji Xue nodded cautiously.

Xie Ling also nodded. “That junk you sent, you bought it at a roadside stall, right? She is someone used to eating imported fruit.”

“Huh?” Ji Xue raised her head in shock and looked at Xie Ling beside her. Her innocent, big eyes were full of bewilderment, and a layer of mist formed in her clear eyes instantly.

Xie Ling pretended to be cold and said, “I accidentally crushed them just now. How much does it cost? I will compensate you.”