Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 20

While supporting Lin Qinghan, Shen Xian asked, “What’s wrong, Qinghan? Are you feeling unwell?”

Lin Qinghan found Shen Xian’s voice familiar. She looked up, trying hard to see the person’s face clearly, but she was too drunk. All she saw were three overlapping Shen Xians standing in front of her. Her headache worsened instantly. Drunk people tend to be quite strong, and as she leaned toward Shen Xian, she struggled free from Han Rui, who had been holding her.

Just as it looked like Lin Qinghan was about to fall to the ground, Shen Xian quickly caught her.

Lin Qinghan hooked an arm around Shen Xian’s neck, using her entire body to lean on Shen Xian to avoid collapsing. With her other hand, she made a fist and lightly pounded Shen Xian’s shoulder a few times. Looking up at Shen Xian with a slightly aggrieved expression, she said, “Didn’t you say you’d come pick me up? Ugh, why are you only getting here now? My head hurts so much.”

Looking at Lin Qinghan’s flushed face, Shen Xian almost exclaimed. Seriously? She’s drunk and still trying to blame me? Sister, weren’t you the one who told me not to come? You didn’t even give me the address!

If she hadn’t paid {- “a thousand yuan” -} to the system to buy Lin Qinghan’s location, how would she even know where to find her?

But Shen Xian knew reasoning with a drunk person was pointless. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gotten away with just a few punches.

When Lin Qinghan saw Shen Xian not responding, she got upset. She pushed Shen Xian, but instead of moving her, she ended up stumbling herself. Thankfully, Shen Xian reacted quickly and caught her again. But Lin Qinghan wasn’t behaving; she muttered complaints while clinging to her, “I’m talking to you — why are you ignoring me?”

Shen Xian immediately played along and coaxed her, “Yes, yes, yes, it’s my fault. I came too late. Don’t be mad, Qinghan, okay?” As she spoke, she gently patted Lin Qinghan’s back, trying to calm her down.

Finally, Lin Qinghan rested against Shen Xian’s shoulder and looked up at her. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t focus her eyes or make out Shen Xian’s face. Frowning, she complained, “Jerk. Why do you keep swaying back and forth? You’re making my head spin. Can’t you just stand still?”

Shen Xian almost burst out laughing in anger. Was she moving? She had been standing completely still! And when did she become a “jerk”?

Shen Xian sighed, deciding not to argue with someone drunk. Besides, she actually found Lin Qinghan like this kind of amusing.

With a soft smile in her eyes, Shen Xian continued to coax her, “Okay, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t be swaying. Don’t be mad anymore, okay? Let’s go home — Tian Tian is waiting for us.”

Upon hearing “Tian Tian,” Lin Qinghan calmed down quite a bit. She wrapped her arms around Shen Xian’s waist, trying hard to steady herself. “Then let’s go home. I still need to put Tian Tian to sleep.”

Seeing that Lin Qinghan had finally quieted down, Shen Xian sighed in relief. She gave Han Rui and Lu Jianbai a slightly apologetic nod. “Sorry for the trouble, and thank you for taking care of her.”

Han Rui was reassured after watching Lin Qinghan and Shen Xian interact. It seemed that Lin Qinghan had asked Shen Xian to come pick her up. “It’s no trouble. We’re colleagues — it’s what we should do. Just take good care of her. We’ll head out first.”

Han Rui glanced at Lu Jianbai and noticed he had no intention of leaving.

“Miss Shen, is it really appropriate for you to take Qinghan home? You and she are divorced. I mean no offense — it’s just that you, as an alpha, taking her home… it’s a bit improper,” Lu Jianbai said, trying his best to suppress his anger and maintain his usual composure.

Shen Xian gave Lu Jianbai — the original male lead — a faint, almost mocking smile. “Qinghan and I live together. If I don’t take her, would you? Dr. Lu, don’t forget, you’re an alpha too.”

Lu Jianbai was rendered speechless. What truly shocked him was learning that Lin Qinghan was still living with Shen Xian.

In Shen Xian’s arms, Lin Qinghan, impatient that Shen Xian hadn’t moved, urged, “Jerk, let’s go home! Tian Tian’s still waiting for me.”

Shen Xian gently soothed her, “Okay, okay, we’re leaving right now.”

Then she turned to Han Rui and Lu Jianbai again. “The child’s waiting at home for us. We’ll head off first.” With that, she stopped paying them any more attention and helped the swaying Lin Qinghan into a taxi.

But the person in her arms was totally uncooperative. Shen Xian ended up sweating profusely just getting Lin Qinghan into the car. Lin Qinghan, feeling dizzy, reached out and grabbed something soft to lean on — turns out it was Shen Xian’s shoulder.

Afraid Lin Qinghan would fall, Shen Xian held her by the waist and finally breathed a sigh of relief. She really hadn’t expected the female lead to be like this after drinking.

By the time they got home, Lin Qinghan seemed to have fallen asleep on her shoulder. Shen Xian had no choice but to carry her out of the car. Thankfully, she wasn’t heavy, but the distance from the neighborhood gate to their home wasn’t short. By the time she reached the front door, both of Shen Xian’s arms were going numb.

Letting Lin Qinghan lean on her, Shen Xian freed one hand to open the door, then carried her inside. The apartment had three bedrooms, but Shen Wenkang and Fang Jinglan had always slept separately. Now only Shen Xian’s room was vacant.

She carried Lin Qinghan straight into her own room, took off her shoes, and helped her lie down, finally sitting down on the bed and gasping for air.

After resting for a few minutes, Shen Xian went to the kitchen to prepare a hangover remedy and then returned to the room. Once the drink had cooled down a bit, she propped Lin Qinghan up to lean against her.

She lightly patted her a few times. Lin Qinghan frowned and slowly opened her eyes, unhappily pushing at Shen Xian. “Jerk… ugh, my head’s killing me. Why’d you wake me up?”

Drunk and weak, Lin Qinghan didn’t manage to push Shen Xian at all. Shen Xian patiently held her with one arm and brought the cup to her lips with the other, coaxing her in a soft voice. “Qinghan, have some hangover remedy. Otherwise, you’ll feel terrible in the morning.”

The person in her arms twisted around in protest, trying hard to open her eyes wide to see Shen Xian’s face, but all she saw were blurry double images. She murmured, “I don’t want it… Let me go. I wanna sleep…” She tried to struggle out of Shen Xian’s arms, but Shen Xian held her tightly enough that she couldn’t get away.

Shen Xian patiently coaxed, “Alright, drink this and then go to sleep, okay? It’ll be quick, just one gulp and you’ll be done.”

Seeing that she couldn’t break free, Lin Qinghan reluctantly agreed, “Fine, but only one sip like you said.” After speaking, she rubbed her head against Shen Xian’s shoulder, trying to ease her headache.

Shen Xian helped Lin Qinghan sit properly, then brought the cup to her lips. “It’s not hot, drink it slowly.”

But as soon as Lin Qinghan took a sip, she frowned deeply. Because she was drunk, she started whining in a coquettish tone, bargaining with Shen Xian, “I don’t want anymore, it tastes awful. Didn’t you say just one sip? You liar.”

“Just one last sip, okay? After you drink it, you can go to sleep.” Shen Xian gently coaxed her. Lin Qinghan, eyes closed, rubbed against Shen Xian’s arms again. She nodded reluctantly, frowning as she took another sip of the hangover remedy.

“Ugh, you jerk. It tastes terrible,” Lin Qinghan grumbled, clutching Shen Xian’s clothes and rubbing against her unhappily.

“Alright, no more, no more. Now just sleep, okay?” Shen Xian slowly laid her down on the bed, tucked her in, and after glancing at her face, turned to head into the bathroom.

Although Lin Qinghan usually wore only light makeup, Shen Xian figured it would still feel uncomfortable if she didn’t take it off, so she grabbed some makeup remover pads and gently removed her makeup, then wiped her face with a warm towel.

But Lin Qinghan didn’t cooperate, sleepily mumbling while trying to avoid the towel, “So annoying… can’t you just let me sleep? Jerk.”

Shen Xian sighed with a smile and made her movements gentler, trying not to disturb the sleepy Lin Qinghan. By the time she finished wiping her face, Shen Xian was already sweating again.

Looking at Lin Qinghan fast asleep, Shen Xian smiled. A drunk Lin Qinghan was completely different from her usual self — soft and clingy, even scolding her and calling her a jerk. It was like a little hedgehog had put away all her spines. Maybe this was how Lin Qinghan was meant to be — it was just the people around her who had made her heart go cold, turning her into the distant person she was now.

After settling Lin Qinghan in, Shen Xian took a shower and brought a blanket to sleep in the living room.

After all the fuss that night, Shen Xian was exhausted and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Shen Xian was still woken by her biological clock. After washing up, she went out for a morning run, then came back and started preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

Lin Qinghan, who had slept in Shen Xian’s room, slowly woke up. Her heart sank when she realized where she was. This was Shen Xian’s room. Ignoring her headache, she quickly sat up and lifted the covers to check her clothes. Everything was still properly on her, so she let out a slight breath of relief. She also checked the pheromone blocking patch on the back of her neck — seeing that it was still intact, her heart finally settled.

But she had gotten drunk yesterday and couldn’t remember anything that happened afterward. Who brought her back? Why was she sleeping in Shen Xian’s room? Lin Qinghan got out of bed, put on her slippers, and stepped out. No one else seemed to be up yet — only Shen Xian was busy in the kitchen.

Lin Qinghan quickly walked over. Hearing footsteps, Shen Xian looked up, saw her, and smiled. “You’re up. Does your head still hurt? Do you remember that you got drunk last night?”

Lin Qinghan frowned slightly — her head still hurt a bit. She looked at Shen Xian and asked, “Who brought me back last night? Why was I in your room?”

While slicing the flatbread into thin noodles, Shen Xian replied, “Didn’t you ask me to pick you up? I brought you back. But don’t worry, Qinghan — I slept in the living room last night.”