Transmigrated Into a Scumbag Alpha In a Melodramatic Novel and Been Targeted by My Love Rival - Chapter 23

“Ah, so she’s just trying to be nice?” Shen Ruofei’s lips twitched slightly as she spoke.

She desperately wanted to laugh but had to suppress it, making Xia Wu feel rather awkward. She couldn’t bring herself to keep playing along.

Seeing Xia Wu staring silently, about to start shifting the blame, Shen Ruofei calmed herself down and tried to empathize with Xia Wu’s feelings.

Failing to win her affection and being given a “friendly gesture” instead… It was truly heartbreaking.

With that thought, Shen Ruofei sighed and patted Xia Wu on the shoulder sympathetically. “Don’t be too upset. It looks like you’ve already gone to a bar to drown your sorrows. Since you’ve started, don’t hold back. If you want to keep drinking, I’ll keep you company.”

Her expression was utterly sincere, but Xia Wu could tell that Shen Ruofei simply wanted to drink and hoped to use this as an excuse to escape the evening’s spot check.

Would Xia Wu grant her wish?

Of course not.

“Don’t you think there’s a problem with your teaching method?” Xia Wu’s tone and expression were icy.

Shen Ruofei wore a look that said, I knew you’d try to pin this on me.

She pulled out her rehearsed response: “How could it be my teaching? Sometimes, people just aren’t meant to be. There’s no forcing chemistry. Let’s stop pointing fingers at each other. After all, Xiao Yu is the one who judges these things. Didn’t she tell you why you lost the competition?”

Xia Wu scoffed. “I followed your advice and let my true self shine a little in front of her. I scared her off! She said it’s better if we stay friends and hopes I stop making excuses to pursue her.”

Wow.

Has the Heroine finally seen the light?!

Unconditional indulgence only encourages these clueless Alphas to persist, thinking there’s still a chance with Fang Yu. But Fang Yu’s kindness to them is merely polite courtesy.

Now that Fang Yu knows how to kick these annoying Alphas off the battlefield, it seems her reunion with the Official Couple is just around the corner!

Shen Ruofei scratched her chin thoughtfully. “Well, it just means you’re not Xiao Yu’s type. Didn’t I tell you from the start? It’s perfectly normal to fail. A true gentleman knows how to take a loss.”

With such clear words, Xia Wu naturally couldn’t keep pestering her. She locked eyes with Shen Ruofei for a moment, only looking away after confirming that Shen Ruofei truly had no lingering feelings for Fang Yu. She let out a shallow sigh.

Xia Wu draped her coat over the chair and walked to Shen Ruofei’s desk, picking up the accounting textbook, its corners nearly crumpled from stress.

Seeming a bit flustered, Shen Ruofei leaned in close to Xia Wu, peering at her expression. “You’re still going to check my homework after all this? President Xia, you’re too dedicated! How about we forget about this tonight and leave it for tomorrow? We can drink until we drop—what do you say?”

“What is the purpose of a balance sheet?”

Seeing Xia Wu’s unwavering resolve, Shen Ruofei reluctantly pursed her lips.

After sitting down on the stool, Shen Ruofei glanced around the room, looking at the ceiling, the crystal chandelier, and the decorative items on the desk before finally managing to say, “It reflects the financial condition of a company at a specific point in time, um, and then…”

Xia Wu asked a few more questions, but Shen Ruofei’s answers remained hesitant and disjointed.

Xia Wu closed the book and tossed it onto Shen Ruofei’s desk, her usual cold and calm expression betraying nothing—whether satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

At that moment, Shen Ruofei had shed all her usual boldness, looking more like a timid grade-school student waiting for her teacher to announce her exam results.

“How do you manage to pinpoint the exact core of every question, Miss Shen? You’re not entirely useless, are you? If you work a bit harder from now on, Aunt Hong won’t have to be so busy.”

Xia Wu’s tongue was sharp as a blade, her tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of mockery. Shen Ruofei couldn’t tell if she was being praised or insulted.

Faced with such ambiguous remarks, Shen Ruofei always chose to play dumb.

She stood up, pounding the practical textbook Xia Wu had tossed onto the table as if venting her anger. She walked around the table, grabbed Xia Wu’s arm, and dragged her out of the study. “Alright, the exam is over. Now it’s time for some fun!”

The Shen family’s wine cellar wasn’t hidden away. Deep within its recesses sat a sofa, a table, and a flat-screen TV. The bright lighting and towering wooden cabinets exuded the Shen family’s wealth and a sense of decadent indulgence.

Shen Ruofei could usually sit here for hours, surrounded by rows of meticulously arranged, expensive imported spirits. It made her feel like a dragon guarding a treasure trove—simply being here brought her immense satisfaction.

The faint scent of wine filled the air as Xia Wu followed Shen Ruofei, watching her select a bottle for the evening. To help Xia Wu overcome her disappointment at being kicked off the battlefield by the Heroine, Shen Ruofei picked an exceptionally expensive wine. Her generosity was clearly a way of making amends.

After decanting the wine into a decanter, Shen Ruofei effortlessly turned on the TV. Xia Wu sat quietly on the sofa, two buttons of her blouse undone, revealing her delicate collarbone.

When the wine had finished decanting, Shen Ruofei personally poured Xia Wu a glass.

“A drink to wash away a thousand sorrows. The bar’s liquor might not suit your taste and could even burn your stomach. If anything’s bothering you, just tell me! Consider this my all-in effort to keep you company.

Cheers!”

“Given your bold drinking style, you should have opened a bottle of baijiu instead of wine.”

“You want baijiu? Fine.”

Shen Ruofei prepared to stand and fetch the aged baijiu she’d tasted at the Shen family banquet.

This wine needed to be mixed with younger wine, though it went to the head quickly, its aroma was unparalleled.

Today, Xia Wu was in charge. Whatever she said, Shen Ruofei wouldn’t refuse.

Even if Xia Wu later found out and tried to hold her accountable, Shen Ruofei could always use tonight’s bottles of wine as leverage.

She’d never been afraid of beating around the bush anyway.

But before Shen Ruofei could take more than a few steps, Xia Wu suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back onto the sofa.

At first, Shen Ruofei froze, her eyes widening as she turned to ask Xia Wu what she was doing.

But Xia Wu didn’t answer. Instead, she gently gripped Shen Ruofei’s throat.

The corners of Xia Wu’s eyes, already tinged with an alluring crimson from the wine, glowed even more vividly under the bright cellar lights, leaving Shen Ruofei momentarily spellbound.

She hadn’t noticed it in the study, but now…

Tsk, she’s quite striking.

As Shen Ruofei stood lost in thought, Xia Wu leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “Aren’t you being a bit too enthusiastic with me? You’re radiating guilt in waves, hm.”

The smile on Shen Ruofei’s face slowly faded.

She’s seen through me.

When Shen Ruofei composed herself, her expression held a disdainful look reserved for the pitiful. “I could tell you were in a bad mood today, so I was trying to cheer you up. Since you don’t need my help, I’ll be taking my leave. If you want hard liquor, go dig up a shovel yourself. I’m drinking this wine.”

Xia Wu kept her arm raised, her pale, slender fingers resting on Shen Ruofei’s slender neck in an unsettlingly beautiful manner.

Shen Ruofei showed no fear that Xia Wu might suddenly tighten her grip, remaining calm and composed.

Not long ago, Xia Wu had pinched Shen Ruofei’s chin, leaving a mark that lingered for three days.

This time, Shen Ruofei didn’t object to Xia Wu’s attempt to choke her. After all, it was Shen Ruofei herself who had been orchestrating the chaos from the shadows. If Xia Wu wanted to pick a fight or teach her a lesson, Shen Ruofei would simply accept it. There was nothing worth arguing about.

Shen Ruofei had finally shed her outrageous facade. She picked up her wineglass, gently swirled it, and turned her head to brush Xia Wu’s hand away, her expression tinged with impatience.

Clearly, Xia Wu had crossed a line.

Xia Wu’s gaze drifted, lost in thought.

She suddenly recalled a scene from many years ago, when she first saw Shen Ruofei. The young girl had looked at her with the same arrogant and disdainful gaze.

Shen Ruofei’s first words to Xia Wu had been: “Trash.”

She sneered maliciously, surrounded by impeccably dressed bodyguards, her clothing exuding an aura of luxury and expense.

Compared to her, Xia Wu’s attire could only be described as rags.

At that time, Xia Wu had been worn down to the point of exhaustion by her relatives. She spent her days buried in books, forced to pretend indifference even as their overt and covert insults carved deep, irreparable wounds into her psyche.

But Shen Ruofei was not satisfied with Xia Wu’s stoic reaction.

Stepping closer, she frowned in displeasure and said, “If the Shen Family had known how utterly useless you are, they never would have bothered rescuing you, just because you’re a Xia descendant. You should have died with your parents.”

Shen Ruofei’s words were venomous. Xia Wu stared at her, her eyes wide, her lips trembling.

“Ah, finally some reaction. That’s better. How can you seek revenge without hatred? Others won’t remember your Xia Family forever. What remains after a ruined family isn’t regret, but shame and ridicule. Only through slaughter, war, and bloodshed can history record your glory.”

At the time, Shen Ruofei had been only in her teens, her laughter bold and radiant.

Xia Wu didn’t know who had taught her such a thing, but it grated on her ears.

Yet it became Xia Wu’s life motto from that day forward.

That word “trash” haunted Xia Wu for years, but it also taught her that to avoid becoming trash, she had to become stronger.

But at some point, Shen Ruofei had become the very trash everyone mocked, while Xia Wu, fueled by Shen Ruofei’s own words, had clawed her way to where she was now.

Xia Wu knew Shen Ruofei had long forgotten that incident.

As the heiress of the Shen Corporation, she must have encountered countless trivialities growing up. Such a minor incident was clearly unworthy of lingering memory.

But now…

Xia Wu was sitting on the same sofa as Shen Ruofei.

They were in the wine cellar, a place few others could easily access.

Even if Xia Wu were to bind Shen Ruofei here and do as she pleased, few would likely hear a thing.

How would Shen Ruofei react?

Would she look at Xia Wu with the same contemptuous gaze as before?

When Alpha pheromones clashed yet mingled, would Shen Ruofei feel pain or pleasure?

Xia Wu’s fingertips trembled, not from nervousness, but from excitement.

It was as if she were staring at a slab of meat she could devour whole, yet she didn’t know where to begin.

Noticing the Alpha beside her remained motionless, Shen Ruofei turned to look.

Xia Wu’s gaze was direct and unreserved, burning with an intensity that threatened to devour Shen Ruofei whole.

Shen Ruofei narrowed her eyes, her voice tinged with mockery. “President Xia, even if you hate me that much, you wouldn’t really eat me whole, would you? Don’t you know I prefer Alphas? Your reaction only makes me more aroused.”

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