Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 24

Shen Xian glanced at Lin Qinghan, then turned around and took a few bottles of chilled beer from the fridge. She opened two of them and placed one in front of herself and one in front of Lin Qinghan. Although they were sitting on the same sofa, there was still a distance between them — enough space for two or three people to sit.

“Qinghan, don’t push yourself too hard. Some things are just beyond your control. Besides, it’s not your fault. Don’t be too hard on yourself. We’re at home, after all — if you’re feeling upset, have a bit of beer. Even if you get drunk, it’s fine. You’ll feel a lot better once you sleep it off.”

Lin Qinghan’s current state was caused by a number of factors, but the main reasons were the original owner of her body, Jiang Fang, and Lin Zhixin.

Lin Qinghan only started to regain focus when she heard someone talking beside her. She glanced at the bottle of beer in front of her, then slowly reached out, grabbed it, and tilted her head back, downing half the bottle in one go.

Seeing her like this made Shen Xian feel heavy-hearted. “Qinghan, slow down. You’ll choke if you drink too fast.”

Lin Qinghan shot Shen Xian a cold glance and let out a light laugh. “Heh, my problems have nothing to do with you. If you have the time to waste sitting here with me, why don’t you figure out how to please your sponsor instead? Though, from what I’ve heard, she seems pretty decent? Even helps you look after the kid?”

Although she was smiling, there was not the slightest hint of joy in her eyes.

Being spoken to like that did make Shen Xian feel uncomfortable, but when she thought about how the original owner had repeatedly deceived Lin Qinghan, she let it go. If just these few harsh words made her feel bad, who knows how many worse things Lin Qinghan had been forced to hear — and from the people closest to her.

Shen Xian sighed softly and explained gently, “Qinghan, Jiang Xi really isn’t my sponsor — she’s just a work partner. These days, I’ve been with Tian Tian every single day, and I’ve also been here with you all in the evenings. How could I have time to see some sponsors? I did mess up a lot before, but I won’t anymore…”

While Shen Xian was talking, Lin Qinghan had already finished her bottle. Shen Xian opened another one for her and placed it in front of her. She had no idea whether Lin Qinghan had taken in anything she just said.

Lin Qinghan picked up the freshly opened beer. It seemed the alcohol from the first bottle was already hitting her. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she stared at Shen Xian for a moment before speaking.

“You don’t have to report your affairs to me. The only connection between us is Tian Tian. Everything else — do whatever you want. Be with whoever you want. It’s none of my business. Shen Xian, don’t think your recent little gestures are enough to fool me. Don’t waste your effort on me. I won’t believe you again.”

As Lin Qinghan said this, her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She threw her head back and drank several gulps of beer. The bitterness of it filled her throat, and when she lowered her head again, she had forced back the tears.

“I never meant to deceive you — at least, not since the day I picked Tian Tian up from kindergarten. From then on, everything I did wasn’t to lie to you. I know I’ve disappointed you too many times before, but I won’t anymore.” Shen Xian tried to explain as much as she could.

When she turned her head, Lin Qinghan had already finished her second bottle. She looked somewhat drunk but was still reaching for a third.

By now, Lin Qinghan was clearly tipsy. One hand held the bottle opener, and the other held the beer, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the opener to hook onto the cap. Frustrated, she tossed the opener onto the sofa and mumbled, “What kind of junk is this? Been fiddling with it forever and it still won’t open.”

Seeing someone sitting nearby, Lin Qinghan, in a blur, just threw the bottle and opener in that direction. Thankfully, they were only about two or three seats apart, and Shen Xian managed to catch them in a fluster.

Sighing, Shen Xian looked at Lin Qinghan’s flushed cheeks, then opened the beer for her and handed it back.

Lin Qinghan rubbed her forehead and needed a couple of tries before she could grab the bottle. She hadn’t eaten anything while drinking, so the alcohol was hitting her fast. By the time she finished the third bottle, she was completely drunk. Leaning back on the sofa, her head tilted upward, her eyes half-closed, and her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol.

Worried that she’d have a headache the next day, Shen Xian went to the kitchen and made a cup of warm honey water. She returned to the living room, sat beside Lin Qinghan, gently helped her up, and softly coaxed her, “Qinghan, have some warm water, okay? Otherwise, you’ll get a headache tomorrow.”

Lin Qinghan, feeling awful from the alcohol, had already forgotten that the person beside her was someone she disliked. She simply leaned her head against Shen Xian’s shoulder and murmured, “Don’t want any medicine. It’s too bitter. Tastes awful.”

Shen Xian held Lin Qinghan close to keep her from falling and picked up the glass from the coffee table, bringing it to her lips. She coaxed gently, “It’s not bitter — just a few sips, and we’ll go to sleep. It’s really sweet. Try it.”

Maybe it was because she felt too sick, or maybe she just wanted Shen Xian to stop nagging, but Lin Qinghan furrowed her brows slightly and took a sip. The mild sweetness filled her mouth, and her tight expression relaxed a bit. She continued drinking a few more sips from Shen Xian’s hand.

Seeing Lin Qinghan obediently drinking the honey water, Shen Xian’s lips curved into a small smile. Sure enough, Lin Qinghan was always the most well-behaved when she was drunk. Normally, she was like a prickly little hedgehog, but when she was dazed like this, she turned into a soft bunny — no cold stares, no distant courtesy.

“Alright, let’s go back to the room now.” Shen Xian put the cup down and helped Lin Qinghan up. But Lin Qinghan was feeling so dizzy that the moment she stood, she collapsed into Shen Xian’s arms. She could barely stand without support and couldn’t even take a few steps on her own.

Lin Qinghan rubbed her cheek against Shen Xian’s shoulder and neck, as if doing so could ease her headache a little. She mumbled softly, but Shen Xian couldn’t understand a single word no matter how long she listened.

All she could do was wrap one arm around Lin Qinghan’s waist and slide the other under her knees, lifting her up horizontally. A drunk person always felt much heavier than usual, and Lin Qinghan wasn’t exactly cooperative — one moment wrapping her arms around Shen Xian’s neck, the next pounding lightly on Shen Xian’s chest. Fortunately, Shen Xian had good physical strength, and the bedroom wasn’t far away, so with just a few steps, she carried Lin Qinghan into her own room.

Maybe Lin Qinghan was too drunk — by the time Shen Xian wiped her face with a damp towel, she had already fallen asleep. Shen Xian couldn’t help but chuckle. Lin Qinghan when drunk was like a completely different person from when she was sober. Drunk, she was like a little cat with a bit of a bad temper; sober, she turned into a cold and aloof ice queen. Frankly speaking, Shen Xian much preferred Lin Qinghan when she was drunk — that was her true personality. It was the original Shen Xian who was the real culprit behind her becoming like this.

Shen Xian stared at Lin Qinghan for a moment, wondering when she would finally be able to break through this cold, hard shell wrapped around her little kitten. By then, the two of them would surely be close sisters, right? Thinking like a straight woman, Shen Xian couldn’t help but curve her lips into a small smile.

After sitting by the bed for a while longer and seeing that Lin Qinghan was sleeping soundly, Shen Xian finally returned to Shen Tian’s room to keep her daughter company.

The next morning, when Lin Qinghan woke up, she found herself in Shen Xian’s room. Her head was slightly sore. Whether it was due to their time spent together recently or some unconscious trust she shouldn’t have had toward Shen Xian, Lin Qinghan surprisingly didn’t feel like Shen Xian would do anything inappropriate to her — and as it turned out, she hadn’t.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by the now-familiar daily scene, Shen Xian bustling around in the kitchen, while her daughter had brought over a little stool to sit at the doorway. Her small hands rested on her knees as she quietly watched Shen Xian work.

Sensing someone watching, Shen Xian turned around and saw Lin Qinghan. She smiled at her, then turned back to pour a cup of warm honey water, preparing to bring it over. Whether it helped or not, it could at least ease the discomfort from the hangover.

But just as Shen Xian reached the kitchen doorway, her thigh was suddenly hugged by her daughter. The little one looked curiously at the cup in Shen Xian’s hand and blinked her big eyes as she asked, “Mommy, what’s that?”

How could Shen Xian not know what her daughter meant? She bent down and brought the cup to the little one’s lips. “Tian Tian, have a taste — but just a little, or you’ll get a tummy ache.” Kids have sensitive stomachs, and drinking honey water on an empty stomach could cause diarrhea.

Shen Tian beamed and said in her soft, childish voice, “Okay! Tian Tian will just have a little taste.”

With that, her chubby little hands held the rim of the cup, and she took two small sips. Then, blinking at Shen Xian, she said, “Sweet water! So yummy~”

Shen Xian chuckled and patted her daughter’s little hair bun. “You little glutton. You can’t have too much of this, Tian Tian. Mommy will make you some fruit juice later.”

Shen Tian looked at Shen Xian, then at Lin Qinghan standing nearby. Her big eyes turned, and she flashed a grin, revealing her tiny white teeth as she said, “Okay! Tian Tian will wait patiently for juice. This one is to make Mom happy. Mommy likes Mom the most~”

Hearing her daughter’s words made Shen Xian’s back break into a cold sweat. Her hand holding the cup even trembled slightly.

Where did the kid learn all this from? She glanced up a bit guiltily at Lin Qinghan, hoping she had still been groggy and hadn’t heard what Tian Tian just said. But then she heard Lin Qinghan let out a cold chuckle.

Yet when the little one looked at her, Lin Qinghan’s expression softened immediately. She walked over and pinched her daughter’s cheeks. “Tian Tian is such a good girl. Mom loves Tian Tian the most.”

Shen Tian hugged Lin Qinghan’s thigh and rubbed her little face against it, bashfully saying, “Tian Tian loves Mom and Mommy the most too~”

Not long ago, Shen Xian had been just a stranger’s name to Shen Tian. She would even tremble in fear just hearing the name. And now, in such a short time, her daughter claimed to love both her and Shen Xian the most? Lin Qinghan felt a bit sour and shot another glare at Shen Xian.

Shen Xian, holding the cup, gave an awkward smile. She had genuinely just wanted to ease Lin Qinghan’s headache by offering a cup of water out of goodwill and sisterly care. It really wasn’t anything else. And it was Tian Tian who said all that stuff — not her! So why was she the one getting glared at?

“Qinghan, have some water. It’ll help with the headache,” she said awkwardly, extending the cup. Since it was already prepared, not handing it over would make things even more awkward.

Lin Qinghan gave her a glance, took the cup, and said, “Thank you.”

Tian Tian, hearing her mom say thank you, let go of Lin Qinghan’s leg and happily clung to Shen Xian’s thigh instead. Looking up with a proud smile and blinking her big eyes, it was as if she were saying, Mommy! I did great, right? I helped cheer up Mom!

Shen Xian forced a smile in return, but her heart was uneasy. She was afraid that what little favorability Lin Qinghan had for her might have dropped even further.

Without sparing the grinning pair another glance, Lin Qinghan took a couple of sips from the cup and turned to head into the bathroom to shower. If nothing else, Shen Xian had at least behaved herself whenever she got drunk. As for Shen Xian and that woman from the other day — Lin Qinghan didn’t want to think too deeply about it. She already had enough on her plate. Who had time to care about their ex-wife’s affairs?

Watching Lin Qinghan head to the shower, Shen Xian picked up her daughter and asked, “Tian Tian, where did you learn to say all that? So crafty for such a little tummy?”

“I did not! I was helping Mommy cheer up Mom. Was Tian Tian good?” the little one asked, eyes wide with innocent joy.

Shen Xian immediately surrendered. Her little one had only wanted to help her out. “You were great. Tian Tian is the best. Mommy made your favorite shrimp congee — it’ll be ready soon.”

“Yay! Mommy is great too. Tian Tian loves Mommy~” Shen Tian said in her soft, childish voice, rubbing her little head against Shen Xian’s shoulder affectionately. She was now completely at ease acting cute with Shen Xian.

Shen Xian could clearly feel that her daughter had been clinging to her more lately, and that alone lifted her mood. Looking at the string of virtual numbers above her daughter’s head, it had already risen to [50].

Children really were pure at heart. Just doing what a mother should was enough to earn so much favorability. Shen Xian thought that since she was here, she ought to treat the people closest to her even better — not just for the sake of the favorability score, but because she genuinely wanted them to have a better life.