Transmigrated Into a Scummy Alpha Who Stole the Male Lead's Mermaid Fiancée - Chapter 48

After hanging up the phone, Lan Xing asked Sang Jiu to deliver the entire table of food to a nearby welfare organization.

On previous occasions, Lan Xing had secretly been learning to cook. Since she often made too much to handle, she later contacted a welfare institution that distributed food to the poor and homeless, sending over the dishes that didn’t turn out quite right or were simply made in excess.

“Why not put them in the refrigerator?” Sang Jiu said, looking at the table full of dishes with a hint of regret. “Your Highness worked so hard to prepare this meal. If we store it, you’ll have a chance to eat it later.”

“Once it’s refrigerated, the taste won’t be the same. When my sister returns next time, I’ll cook for her again. I’ve already learned several dishes, and I’m sure I’ll do even better next time,” Lan Xing replied.

“The Princess will be overjoyed to know you cooked for her personally,” Sang Jiu said, taking out her phone to snap a picture of the food on the table.

“Don’t send it!” Lan Xing exclaimed urgently upon hearing the shutter sound.

“Too late, it’s already sent,” Sang Jiu grinned triumphantly. “Even if the Princess can’t taste your cooking, she should at least know your intentions, right?”

“Unnecessary,” Lan Xing retorted. “She went to Hongdu overnight yesterday and hasn’t had a proper rest since. Telling her will only make her feel guilty.”

“But she replied,” Sang Jiu blinked. “Dear Princess, would you like to know what she said?”

Lan Xing craned her neck to look at Sang Jiu’s phone, but Sang Jiu dodged, teasingly hiding it and adding mysteriously, “Her Highness is truly such a considerate person!”

“What did she say?” Lan Xing asked impatiently.

Sang Jiu tilted her head and blinked playfully. “Little Princess, didn’t you just say you wanted to send this meal to the welfare home?”

Lan Xing pouted and huffed, “Xiao Jiu! Stop being mischievous!”

Sang Jiu hid the phone behind her back, laughing. “If you want to know what Her Highness said, just send her a message yourself. I’m sure she’ll reply right away!”

“She’s busy,” Lan Xing puffed out her cheeks in frustration. “I’ve managed not to disturb her for a whole day and night. I won’t bother her just to find out what she sent you!”

“So thoughtful,” Sang Jiu shook her head teasingly. “And yet, you worked so hard to prepare this feast and can’t bear to let the Princess know.”

Lan Xing sat down, sulking.

“Sang Jiu is just too mean, too mean!” Lan Xing picked up her phone, staring at her chat history with Yu Ke, her lips pressed into a thin line. After a long moment, she put the phone down again, still fuming. “I won’t listen to you!”

Sang Jiu was so amused by her reaction that she laughed uncontrollably, tumbling off her chair and landing with a thud, crying out, “Ouch!” in pain.

“Serves you right! Serves you right!” Lan Xing said.

Tears welling up from the pain, Sang Jiu grabbed Lan Xing’s hand to pull herself up, then finally showed her the phone.

On the chat screen, Sang Jiu had sent Yu Ke a photo with the caption: “Xing’er specially made this meal.”

Yu Ke’s reply was: “Save it for me, I’ll be back tonight!”

Lan Xing looked up, a smile spreading across her lips, her dimples gently appearing as she gazed at Sang Jiu.

“You see?” Sang Jiu said. “Should we still send the food to the welfare home now?”

Lan Xing shook her head, happily hugged her phone, and read the message once more before settling onto the sofa, thinking about the preparations she needed to make for her evening meeting with Yu Ke.

…

Yu Ke first went to the hospital to ask the doctor to conduct a comprehensive check-up for Hepburn.

Hepburn was very well-behaved, cooperating fully whether it was drawing blood or examinations of more private areas.

“The blood tests and genetic tests will take two days to produce results,” the doctor said. “I’ll contact you then.”

Yu Ke thanked him and informed Ivan.

Ivan: “Oh, that’s good. Very thoughtful indeed. It really is necessary to take her to the hospital for a check-up.”

Yu Ke felt uncomfortable hearing a grown man constantly adding “oh” and “indeed” to his sentences, and couldn’t help interrupting his flow: “Can you shut up?”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Ivan paused. “May I see what Hepburn looks like now?”

“What’s the point? Aren’t you planning to take her heart?”

Ivan fell silent for a moment before laughing lightly. “I just want to see if she really looks exactly like my sister did when she was young. My sister was very, very cute as a child.”

Yu Ke said calmly, “Your words only disgust me.”

Ivan wasn’t bothered and chuckled. “I’ll be waiting for you to bring Hepburn over. If you dare stand me up, there will be consequences.”

After finishing the call in the hospital corridor, she turned around to find Hepburn standing behind her, looking up at her face. Judging by her expression, Hepburn seemed to have understood the content of the conversation.

Seeing her somewhat surprised and sad expression, Yu Ke pretended not to care and said, “Let’s go back.”

Hepburn whispered, “Are they… my family?”

Family? No, how could they deserve to be called family?

“Isn’t Hepburn’s family Angel and the others?” Yu Ke said.

“Oh, right.” Hepburn smiled foolishly, her disappointed expression vanishing instantly. She took Yu Ke’s hand actively and followed her steps as they left the hospital.

The little girl’s understanding was heartbreaking. She remained quiet the whole way. Yu Ke bought her some pastries, and after taking a couple of bites, Hepburn carefully packed the rest away, likely intending to save them for her other companions.

After hiding Hepburn away, Yu Ke began investigating the Rum family.

One detail bothered her greatly: Hepburn had been with them on this planet for over a month now. Why had the Rum family chosen this particular time to kidnap their people?

Yu Ke had a theory, she believed it might be related to Isabelle.

She was almost certain that Isabelle wasn’t dead and was scheming something on some planet. These matters not only concerned Hepburn’s life and death but would also affect Lan Xing.

Remus was a hacker Yu Ke had found on the black market. When Yu Ke mentioned investigating a cabinet minister’s family, he directly asked for 80 million gold.

Yu Ke said, “Let’s round it up. I’ll give you 100 million. Can you handle this properly?”

Remus was stunned. He’d seen people haggle before, but never someone offering more. He happily agreed on the spot.

After handling these matters, Yu Ke drove straight home. It was already very late.

At the intersection, there was a girl selling flowers, carrying two buckets of lisianthus. The branches and leaves looked somewhat tattered, and the flowers appeared listless.

A light drizzle was falling, and the flower girl was calling out to passersby, but no one paid her any attention.

In Gana, almost no one buys goods from street vendors, as they are seen as cheap and illegal.

Yu Ke was slightly surprised by the appearance of the flower girl, but she could understand.

On this planet, not everyone is glamorous; there are also many poor and homeless people.

She drove over to the flower girl and bought all her flowers. When she reached the hotel entrance, she asked someone to dispose of the flowers, keeping only two of the most perfectly bloomed ones. Tying a ribbon around them, she brought the flowers to Lan Xing’s door.

She pressed the doorbell, and the door opened almost instantly.

Lan Xing was wearing a spaghetti strap dress with a gentle, lovely purple floral pattern. Her soft, long hair cascaded loosely, and she rested one hand on the door handle, smiling with her lips pressed together. She gazed at Yu Ke for a moment before reaching out to embrace her and kissing her cheek.

Yu Ke hid the flowers behind her back, leaning against Lan Xing and breathing in her gentle, sweet scent, feeling a sudden wave of sadness.

At that moment, she felt like those two pale eustoma flowers, utterly mismatched with the princess before her.

“Are you tired, sis?” Lan Xing looked at her gently and asked, “Would you like to eat first or take a bath?”

Yu Ke lowered her gaze, her voice slightly hoarse, “Xing’er, I’m sorry I’m back so late.”

“Not at all,” Lan Xing said, looping her arms around Yu Ke’s neck and standing on tiptoe to kiss her forehead. “Are you hungry? Let me warm up some food for you.”

Yu Ke returned the kiss softly and replied, “Okay.”

She still felt too embarrassed to bring out the flowers she had bought on the way. While Lan Xing was in the kitchen, she took a seldom-used cup and arranged the two eustoma stems in it.

One tall and one short, the two flowers nestled against each other, their posture strikingly elegant.

She sat on the dining chair for a while before getting up to help Lan Xing carry the plates.

“You look exhausted,” Lan Xing said, holding a dish in each hand, her expression concerned. “Is there no progress with Angel ‘s matter?”

“I’m working on it,” Yu Ke replied, setting down the plate and sitting to taste the dish Lan Xing had made. She praised it repeatedly, “What’s this dish called? It tastes amazing. Xing’er, you’re getting more and more skilled, you can even make such a complex dish now.”

Lan Xing smiled shyly, “I learned it from a livestream. I failed several times, but this attempt is passable. Oh, are these flowers you bought?”

Seeing Lan Xing reach out to touch them, Yu Ke said, “I just picked them up on the way…”

“Only two?” Lan Xing asked, a little puzzled.

“Yeah, I picked two that were still presentable,” Yu Ke said guiltily. “I was afraid you wouldn’t like them.”

“I love them,” Lan Xing said, her eyes curving into a smile. “I’m just happy that you thought of buying flowers for me.”

After a long day, Yu Ke didn’t have much of an appetite, but she made sure to taste every dish carefully. While Lan Xing was taking a shower, she rested on the sofa for a while.

Lan Xing called out to her twice from the bathroom, but when there was no response, she finished her shower, changed into a set of black lace lingerie, and came out to find Yu Ke asleep on the sofa.

She fetched a blanket to cover Yu Ke without waking her, then played on her phone for a bit.

When Sang Jiu came in to help tidy up the room, she noticed the eustoma and couldn’t help but remark, “Aren’t these the flowers you gave away this morning?”

Lan Xing put a finger to her lips, signaling her not to disturb Yu Ke.

Sang Jiu sighed in frustration, “You waited for her all day and even took medicine to maintain your human form.”

Lan Xing smiled, “Xiao Jiu, let’s not let the Princess know about this, alright?”

Sang Jiu nodded obediently and began tidying the room.

Lan Xing continued looking down at her phone when an anonymous message came through, causing her to frown.

“Baby, have you thought it through?”

This unregistered contact, who called herself “Isabelle,” had sent a message two hours earlier: “Yu Ke plans to hand over the cloned Hepburn’s heart. Perhaps next time, she might even betray you.”

“Come find me. I know what to do.”

Lan Xing was deeply conflicted. She stared at the message for a long time before finally typing a reply: “Where can I find you?”

Yu Ke didn’t dare sleep too deeply. She jolted awake to find the lights in the room already off.

“Xing’er?” She threw off the blanket, turned on the light, and looked around.

A note was left on the table: “Sister, Isabelle contacted me. She asked me to meet her at 34N, 110E. I want to ask her about Hepburn.”

Yu Ke grabbed the note and rushed out of the room. Fortunately, Lan Xing hadn’t gone far, she was standing in the hallway, turning back in surprise at Yu Ke.

“Sister, aren’t you going to sleep anymore?” Lan Xing called out to her in a sweet, soft voice.

Yu Ke was somewhat annoyed. “If I had slept through, were you planning to recklessly do something foolish?”

“I…” Lan Xing said guiltily, “I actually wanted to discuss it with you, but you looked so tired… I wanted to help you…”

Yu Ke strode over and pulled her into an embrace, holding her tightly.

Somehow, she believed the flowers she had bought from the poor man that evening had brought her luck, allowing her to stop Lan Xing from taking a risk in time.

“It must be something really difficult,” Lan Xing said, clearing her throat. “Sister has never looked so worried before.”

“Yes,” Yu Ke replied, “but I have a lead now. The fact that Isabelle messaged you means she indeed has that command file and knows how to destroy it. Xing’er, we need to meet Isabelle, but I won’t let you take this risk alone.”

Lan Xing breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid Yu Ke would scold her, but upon reflection, the Princess had always been an exceedingly gentle person.

“Alright, this time we’ll act together.”