Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 29

“Thank you, Qinghan,” Shen Xian didn’t think too much about it. Although the system said her injuries would heal in a few days, they still burned painfully now, so applying some medicine would help.

Lin Qinghan looked at Shen Xian, and Shen Xian turned to look at Lin Qinghan. The two exchanged a few glances. Lin Qinghan saw Shen Xian lying there without taking off her clothes and couldn’t understand what she meant.

In the end, unable to bear the awkwardness, Lin Qinghan spoke first, “Sit up and take off your outer clothes first, otherwise how am I supposed to apply the medicine?”

Shen Xian nodded, “Oh, okay.”

But her back still hurt badly. Just getting up from the bed took a lot of effort. She struggled to raise her arms and take off her hoodie, revealing the bruises — green and purple — left by the steel pipe.

At first, Lin Qinghan was a bit reluctant to look at Shen Xian’s body, but when she saw the dense injuries on Shen Xian’s back, she couldn’t hold back anymore. Shen Xian already had fair skin, and now her back was covered with bruises. These were injuries Shen Xian didn’t even have to suffer — she got them protecting her.

Lin Qinghan quickly stepped to the bedside and sat down, reaching out to gently touch Shen Xian’s back. The pain made Shen Xian suck in a sharp breath. “Hiss—”

“Does it hurt a lot?” Lin Qinghan softened her voice and gently began wiping Shen Xian’s back with a warm towel.

It really did hurt, but Shen Xian didn’t want Lin Qinghan to worry. She clenched her teeth and tried to sound relaxed, “It’s not that bad, it just looks scary. Honestly, it doesn’t hurt that much. I’ll be fine in a few days.” As she spoke, afraid Lin Qinghan wouldn’t believe her, Shen Xian even turned around and smiled at her.

Lin Qinghan felt a pang in her chest. These injuries may not have reached the bone, but they looked painful. Shen Xian was clearly saying that just to comfort her. Hearing her say that only made Lin Qinghan feel worse, especially when she saw the bruising on Shen Xian’s waist — where she had pinched her pretty hard earlier. That area was already turning blue. Lin Qinghan gently touched the bruised area, and her eyes reddened a bit.

She took a moment to compose herself before holding back her urge to cry. Some injuries on Shen Xian’s back were blocked by her bra strap. Lin Qinghan reached for the clasp and asked softly, “This part is covered — can I undo the clasp?”

Shen Xian nodded nonchalantly, “Sure.” After all, they were good sisters. It’s just unfastening a bra clasp — what’s the big deal?

Lin Qinghan tried not to overthink it. She reached for both sides of the clasp, and the back of her hand brushed against Shen Xian’s warm skin. Once the clasp was undone, the bruises on Shen Xian’s back became even more visible.

Lin Qinghan gently wiped Shen Xian’s back with the warm towel. The heat relaxed Shen Xian so much that she started to feel drowsy, barely able to keep her eyes open.

After wiping her back, Lin Qinghan poured some medicinal wine into her palms, rubbed it to warm it up, and placed her hands on Shen Xian’s shoulder blades, gently massaging the bruises.

Even though Lin Qinghan was already using a light touch, Shen Xian still felt a jolt of pain that made her fully awake. She tried her best not to cry out. As the medicinal wine was rubbed into the bruises, the pain intensified, and even her ears turned red.

Of course, Lin Qinghan noticed that Shen Xian was holding back the pain and eased her pressure even more, gently massaging the bruises. As Lin Qinghan worked the medicinal wine into Shen Xian’s back, beads of sweat rolled down Shen Xian’s forehead from the pain, and even her back started to glisten with sweat.

Lin Qinghan couldn’t help but speed up her movements. Soon, the room was filled with the scent of medicine. By the time she finished, Shen Xian was completely drained.

Lin Qinghan gently touched the bruised area on Shen Xian’s waist again, regretting having pinched her so hard. Shen Xian probably hadn’t meant anything when she said what she did. “Does this still hurt?”

Shen Xian didn’t have much strength left, but her waist was still sensitive. When Lin Qinghan touched it, her body instinctively trembled, and a blush crept up her ears. Shen Xian figured it was just a physical reaction and turned to say, “It hasn’t hurt for a while now. You didn’t use much force — just tickles a little.”

Lin Qinghan felt awkward continuing to touch her waist and withdrew her hand. She asked softly, “Can you sit up? The medicinal wine’s pretty much dried. Lying like this for too long might give you a chill.”

“I’m fine now. It’s almost midnight, you should get some rest too, Qinghan.” After resting a bit, Shen Xian had regained some strength. She propped herself up with her hands, sat up straight, and casually set aside her bra. The whole process was natural — she didn’t feel embarrassed just because Lin Qinghan was there.

Earlier, Lin Qinghan had been focused on Shen Xian’s injuries and hadn’t thought about anything else. Now, Shen Xian’s upper body was fully exposed to her. Lin Qinghan couldn’t look away in time and ended up seeing everything. Even though she had a three-and-a-half-year-old child, her face still turned red at a visible rate. Realizing what she was doing, she quickly stood up and turned her back to Shen Xian.

“Why — why are you getting up without putting on clothes?” Lin Qinghan’s voice was a little unsteady.

Shen Xian gave her a puzzled look and replied, “I’m going to bed. I smell like medicine, so I’ll just change into my pajamas — what’s the point of putting other clothes on?” Then she endured the pain and changed into a nightdress.

Lin Qinghan waited for a while. Once the rustling sounds behind her stopped, she cautiously turned her head. She saw Shen Xian wearing an off-shoulder nightdress that showed off her glowing white skin around the collarbone, and the hem of the dress only reached her thighs, making her legs look even longer.

Since marrying Shen Xian, Lin Qinghan had rarely seen her wear dresses. Not long after their marriage, Shen Xian had completely changed — she even stole and sold the wedding ring and necklace. The two gradually became like strangers. There was no energy left to care about what Shen Xian wore.

But ever since Shen Xian moved back in, Lin Qinghan hadn’t seen her wear a dress — especially not a nightdress this short. Lin Qinghan’s gaze wavered as she stared at Shen Xian for a while, wondering if she was trying to pull something again.

Heaven knows, Shen Xian had picked the nightdress simply because it was easy. One outfit and done. Her back still hurt, and she didn’t want to move more than necessary. Shen Xian, now fully changed, looked at Lin Qinghan — who was still standing there — and asked, “Qinghan? Not going to bed?”

Lin Qinghan finally snapped out of it. Shen Xian wasn’t wearing a pheromone patch, but she also wasn’t releasing any pheromones. After one more glance, Lin Qinghan finally spoke, “Okay, I’ll go. If you feel unwell tonight, call me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m really fine. Go wash up and get some sleep,” Shen Xian said as she lay down on the bed herself. It looked like she’d have to sleep on her stomach for the next day or two.

As Shen Xian got into bed, her skirt brushed against her legs, causing the already short hem to ride up a bit more. Lin Qinghan’s gaze was instinctively drawn over, but she quickly averted her eyes. Whether it was because she saw Shen Xian struggling to reach the blanket or because she wanted to cover her up quickly, Lin Qinghan was the first to grab the blanket, shake it open, and drape it over Shen Xian.

Seeing that Lin Qinghan had helped tuck her in, Shen Xian immediately smiled. “Thanks, Qinghan. Good night.”

Lin Qinghan looked at Shen Xian and, in the end, didn’t say anything else. “Good night.”

Shen Xian had no idea what Lin Qinghan was thinking, but today, not only had she saved Lin Qinghan, just now, when Lin Qinghan applied medicine on her injuries, the favorability rating had jumped from [‘-20′] to [“0″]. If she weren’t in so much pain, Shen Xian probably would’ve jumped up with joy. Ever since she came to this world, Lin Qinghan’s favorability rating had been the lowest among the four main characters. It had only returned to [0] today. There was no way she wasn’t happy — at the very least, this meant Lin Qinghan no longer hated her as much as before.

On the other hand, Lin Qinghan, after lying down in bed, kept tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She kept thinking about Shen Xian’s disheveled appearance just now, and the sweet orange scent of her pheromones in the break room. In fact, she had always liked the smell of sweet oranges — her favorite fruit was even the same. But ever since she and Shen Xian parted ways, she hadn’t touched an orange again.

The chaotic thoughts made Lin Qinghan anxious. She blamed everything on being affected by Shen Xian’s pheromones in the break room earlier. But no matter what she told herself, every time she closed her eyes, that sweet orange scent came rushing back; when she opened her eyes, everything seemed calm again. Lin Qinghan simply sat up, grabbed a pheromone blocker, and sprayed a good amount of it around the room. Soon, the air was filled with a smell like air freshener. Only then did she start to feel her mind quiet down.

Not long ago, in a courtyard on the outskirts of town, a few of Wang Qi’s men returned empty-handed to his place.

“Brother Qi, that punk Lin Zhixin tricked us. His sister wasn’t alone after work — there was an Alpha with her who’s pretty good in a fight. Kang Si’s arm got fractured by her.”

Wang Qi frowned. “Cut the crap. Get someone to take care of Kang Si’s arm first. Then have a couple of guys go grab Lin Zhixin for me.”

Lin Zhixin was still in his room, happily drinking beer, thinking that if his sister just slept with Wang Qi a few more times, his debts would be cleared. He could even freeload some food and drinks. If his sister pleased Wang Qi, maybe he could ride Wang Qi’s coattails too.

Before he could finish his beer, the door was kicked open by Huang Mao and the others.

“Hey, what’s the meaning of this, guys? Did you find my sister? I told you to let the air out of her tires so she’d have to push the car through that stretch without cameras. Hey, what are you tying me up for? Help! — ”

Huang Mao had no patience for Lin Zhixin’s endless babbling. He landed three or four punches square on Lin Zhixin’s face. Lin was pinned down, and one of his teeth got knocked out.

“Cut the nonsense. If we’re tying you up, we don’t need a reason.” Huang Mao signaled his men to tie Lin Zhixin up tightly and brought him downstairs.

“Brother Qi, let’s talk this out — what’s going on?” Lin Zhixin cried, snot and tears streaming down his face.

“Talk? You little shit, you dare mess with me? Your sister had a tough bodyguard with her, and Kang Si’s arm got broken. I’m done talking. Forget the 40,000 yuan — you’re going to work it off. I just opened a shop in the district and need some staff. You’ll work for me to pay off your debt.”

“No, Brother Qi, please — let’s talk! I can still think of something! I’ll go back to my hometown tomorrow. My parents love me the most. I’ll get them to sell the house and pay you back. Please, just this once!” Lin Zhixin fell to his knees in fear. The “shop” in that district wasn’t a legitimate business — everyone knew it was a male escort parlor. The kind of people who went there weren’t exactly good folks. Lin Zhixin was terrified he’d be played to death in there. He trembled all over.

“Now you know you were wrong? Too late. Can’t believe I got played over a woman. I, Wang Qi, have never been humiliated like this. Do it — send him over tonight for some ‘training.’” Wang Qi finished speaking and gave a signal to his men.

Huang Mao and a tall guy immediately understood. They dragged Lin Zhixin into a van. Lin kept screaming, but his cries were finally muffled when Huang Mao stuffed a dirty rag into his mouth.