Transmigrated Into a Scumbag Alpha In a Melodramatic Novel and Been Targeted by My Love Rival - Chapter 26

Shen Ruofei scoffed. “What could I possibly say? You’re all so disappointing!”

Xia Wu was speechless.

Instead of wasting energy blaming yourself, you might as well go crazy and blame others. Shen Ruofei had clearly internalized this mantra and mastered its application.

When Qin Rong called, Shen Ruofei sounded utterly drained.

Qin Rong, being considerate, asked, “Are you still having headaches?”

“Mm-hmm. I’ve been in pain ever since the car accident. And with all the recent Shen family matters, I’ve been swamped.”

Xia Wu shook her head in exasperation, likely amused by Shen Ruofei’s audacity.

Shen Ruofei’s “swamped” meant reading a single chapter of a book each day and throwing a tantrum when she couldn’t memorize it.

Qin Rong seemed puzzled. “But I remember you underwent a thorough neurological examination here, and everything came back normal. Your recovery from the accident has also been excellent. There shouldn’t be any lingering headaches.”

“It might be psychological. I’m already seeing a therapist. Thank you for your concern, Director Qin.”

*****

After this perfunctory exchange, Qin Rong finally got to the point of her call.

“I saw the message in the group chat. A few days ago, when Shuchen, Nanzhen, and Xiao Yu went out to eat, Xiao Yu said something… very hurtful to them.”

Qin Rong spoke with some tact, refraining from bluntly stating that Fang Yu had thoroughly rejected the two Alphas.

Xia Wu wasn’t the type to flaunt her wounds in public. Reserved and low-key, she rarely spoke in the group chat unless Shen Ruofei wasn’t around.

Shen Ruofei glanced at Xia Wu, gesturing at the microphone with a mischievous look, implying, I’m going to spill your secret now.

Xia Wu blinked, silently acquiescing.

Relieved, Shen Ruofei sighed and began to salt Xia Wu’s wounds. “You have no idea how brutally she was rejected!”

Xia Wu, sitting across from her, raised an eyebrow. “?”

Shen Ruofei made a calming gesture, signaling Xia Wu to hold back her retort.

Qin Rong seemed to realize something. “So she was the first? I heard you poached Xia Wu from OmniTech recently, and I assumed she’d have a unique advantage being by your side. Looks like I overthought it.”

How cruel.

Unique advantage? More like a pitiful employee forced to endure her bullying.

Shen Ruofei knew Xia Wu was watching her intently. She couldn’t reveal any slip-ups. Putting on her most sympathetic expression, she said, “Xia Wu was devastated that day. I’ve never seen her so heartbroken.”

“That’s why I called you today. Xiao Yu invited me to dinner tonight, and I think she might…”

Qin Rong trailed off, but Shen Ruofei understood her concern.

The master of inspirational advice, Shen Ruofei, began her persuasion: “Director Qin, what are you afraid of?”

Qin Rong seemed stumped by the question.

She was more mature than Ning Shuchen, more reliable and steady than Lu Nanzhen, and kinder and gentler than Xia Wu.

Even compared to Fu Ling, who was perpetually glued to Fang Yu in the lab, Qin Rong didn’t feel inferior; rather, she found Fu Ling too rough and self-assured.

Yet Qin Rong was terrified.

She didn’t want to become a mere passerby in Fang Yu’s world.

Her feelings for Fang Yu went beyond mere admiration; there was also…

There were reasons Qin Rong couldn’t voice aloud, but how could Shen Ruofei, who knew the entire story, not understand?

From the moment she first saw Fang Yu, Qin Rong had resolved to never let her escape from her world.

Back when Qin Rong was studying at the medical school, she had a very close relationship with a junior student.

That junior student had addressed her with the same sweet voice Fang Yu used with Shen Ruofei, calling her “Senior.”

Though they were only a year apart, they often studied together in the library and even ended up interning at the same hospital.

They liked each other, but the unspoken affection remained unacknowledged.

Then tragedy struck without warning.

During a medical incident, Qin Rong’s junior colleague was stabbed to death by a crazed family member.

When Qin Rong arrived in the corridor, she found her junior colleague lying in a pool of blood, and she froze, unsure what to do.

She didn’t remember how she knelt beside her junior colleague, pressing her hands against the wounds on her body.

She screamed at the doctors and nurses nearby, begging them to rush her junior colleague into surgery. She couldn’t possibly leave me like this!

But the head nurse and doctors held her back, preventing her from touching her junior colleague any further.

The junior colleague was already gone.

There was no saving her.

Qin Rong glanced at the patient’s family member, also lying in a pool of blood, their throat slit in a suicide. She suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

Oh, the irony.

The world had turned upside down.

She had become a lifeless puppet, until she met Fang Yu. Only then did a glimmer of warmth finally thaw the frozen depths of her heart.

“I… I can’t leave Xiao Yu. I can’t live without her. Shen Ruofei, you don’t understand.”

“Is there really someone in this world you can’t live without? An Bing has been dead for so many years. Do you think she’d be happy to see you replace her with someone else?”

Qin Rong choked back a sob. Her voice cracked as she asked how Shen Ruofei knew.

Shen Ruofei sighed. “Director Qin, I sympathize with your situation, but Xiao Yu isn’t a fool. Don’t treat her like a child and try to deceive her.”

Qin Rong’s greatest fear was that Fang Yu would discover she was being used as a substitute.

Perhaps not exactly a substitute.

Fang Yu possessed her own unique charm, but An Bing could never return.

So now—

What foolish thing was Qin Rong doing?

Qin Rong hung up the phone. Shen Ruofei listened to the dial tone, then set down the receiver without getting angry. She simply prayed the Alphas would stop calling her.

None of those Alphas who clustered around Fang Yu had any good intentions.

Ning Shuchen was chasing after her so-called perfection, Lu Nanzhen was a self-righteous romantic fool, Qin Rong was using Fang Yu as a substitute, and Shen Ruofei had been manipulating her even before they met.

The heroine was both adorable and pitiful.

But Shen Ruofei suddenly felt a flicker of confusion.

She looked up and met Xia Wu’s gaze.

The original text described Xia Wu as a deeply scheming Alpha. While her initial meeting with Fang Yu was indeed coincidental, she had ulterior motives for staying close to her. As for what those motives were, that remained a mystery.

Xia Wu would never do anything that didn’t benefit her.

Her arrival at the Shen family must have been part of her original plan. So what did the Shen family need her to do? Or rather, was there someone who needed her to come to the Shen family for a specific purpose?

A headache.

Forget it.

As if sensing Shen Ruofei’s thoughts, Xia Wu offered a timely explanation: “My coming to the Shen family has little to do with Xiao Yu. We all know that our expulsion from her circle was entirely our own fault, and Miss Shen had nothing to do with it. Of course, I harbor no ill will toward Miss Shen. You can rest assured.”

To have such self-awareness is truly rare.

Shen Ruofei spoke with genuine sincerity, “I have complete faith in you, President Xia. There’s no need to be so tense.”

Xia Wu wasn’t tense.

It was just that the fleeting suspicion she saw in Shen Ruofei’s eyes earlier had reminded her of the Shen Ruofei from many years ago.

As if those in power were naturally meant to be this way: decisive, ruthless, and meticulously calculating.

When they arrived at the airport, Shen Ruofei’s phone continued to ring incessantly.

She finally answered only after the group boarded the Shen family’s private jet.

“What do you want now?”

Shen Hong, who sat down beside her, noticed Shen Ruofei’s extreme exhaustion.

Just before getting in the car, Shen Ruofei had been vibrant and eagerly anticipating the trip, but now she seemed drained, as if her energy had been completely sapped away.

Xia Wu remained her usual composed self. No one knew what had transpired between her and Shen Ruofei in the car on the way to the airport, but upon arrival, she had bypassed Shen Ruofei and boarded the plane directly with her luggage.

The caller was, of course, Fu Ling.

Ever since Fang Yu returned to China, Fu Ling had been persistently vying for her attention.

However, when Shen Ruofei contacted her relatives in Nation Q, they informed her that the childhood engagement between Fu Ling and Fang Yu was no longer valid. They said that if Fu Ling had someone she liked, she could bring them to Nation Q for their approval, and if not, they would arrange a marriage for her.

Fu Ling asked why this was happening.

Aunt Fu Ling explained that Fang Yu’s biological parents had already spoken to them. Since Fang Yu had been living in the country for so many years, she probably couldn’t remember many childhood details. Given that, there was no need to be bound by outdated childhood arrangements.

Fang Yu was indeed freed from those constraints, but Fu Ling felt uneasy without the security of the engagement.

She knew that Fang Yu occasionally invited those Alphas over for meals. She couldn’t know what they discussed, but the Alphas all seemed visibly upset after eating with Fang Yu.

Fu Ling worried endlessly.

Unlike Shen Ruofei, who knew all the plot twists, Fu Ling feared that one day Fang Yu might push her away too.

“Xiao Yu seems to have changed a lot since her trip to Nation Q…”

“So?”

Shen Ruofei sighed.

She had completely lost her patience for “baby-sitting” and just wanted to close her eyes and sleep.

Xia Wu called the flight attendant over and gave her a whispered instruction. The attendant nodded and, noticing Shen Ruofei was on a call, moved with extra care.

Fu Ling nervously speculated, “Do you think she’ll leave Yusong Research Institute someday? Zenith Research Institute would be a much better fit for her, but then I wouldn’t be able to see her often anymore, would I?”

“…Why are you asking me about this? Shouldn’t we respect whatever decision she makes? Oh, wait, you mean if she leaves Yusong, you won’t be able to control her anymore, right?”

Shen Ruofei’s expression and tone were icy, making the flight attendant’s hands tremble slightly as she set down the juice.

After placing the juice, the flight attendant smiled at Xia Wu and left.

Xia Wu didn’t return the smile. She propped her chin in her hand, quietly observing Shen Ruofei.

Having spoken so much, Shen Ruofei was clearly parched. She drank more than half the juice. After listening to Fu Ling spout her irritatingly direct A-speak, she rubbed her forehead in mild frustration.

If Fu Ling weren’t the heroine’s official couple, Shen Ruofei would have done everything in her power to kick her out.

But the System’s requirements came first. Shen Ruofei’s mission was to bring the heroine and her official couple together.

This was a melodramatic novel, after all. Both the heroine and her official couple were guaranteed to have their own growth arcs, and that wasn’t something Shen Ruofei could control or interfere with.

Now Fu Ling was calling Shen Ruofei, unsure of what to do, because she was worried about losing control over Xiao Yu.

Shen Ruofei ruthlessly exposed Fu Ling’s Alpha arrogance and hypocrisy.

Fu Ling said, sounding a little wronged, “I just want to protect Xiao Yu.”

“You know very well whether you’re protecting her or spying on her. Xiao Yu knows everything too. She used to play along to save both of our faces, but she might not in the future. Shouldn’t you be honest with people? Don’t you know that?”

With this, Shen Ruofei had made her point. Whether Fu Ling understood was up to her own comprehension.

As the plane was about to take off, Shen Ruofei told Fu Ling she’d be very busy for the next few days and not to bother her unless it was urgent, then hung up and put her phone into airplane mode.

Being the heroine is so hard.

The Alphas around me are all ridiculous, and my White Moonlight is a scum Alpha who can’t be with me.

This is so melodramatic.

Shen Ruofei downed her juice in one gulp, slammed the glass down, and glared at Xia Wu. “This is outrageous.”

Xia Wu: “?”

Before Xia Wu could mock Shen Ruofei for her futile efforts, Shen Ruofei launched a personal attack.

“I’m still curious. Why are you helping others chase after Xiao Yu instead of pursuing her yourself? You hold an indelible place in her heart, and Alphas are notoriously possessive. What makes you so magnanimous?”

“Love,” Shen Ruofei shrugged candidly. “Didn’t I say it before? Loving someone means wanting them to be happy. I’m not the one who can give Xiao Yu a lifetime of happiness, so I chose to let her go. Isn’t that reason enough?”

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