Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 31

Dinner that night was cooked by Lin Qinghan. Shen Xian was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, resting. When Lin Qinghan finished cooking, she came over to call her, and only then did Shen Xian get up to eat.

This was actually the first time since she entered the book that she was having dinner alone with Qinghan. Before, the little one was always there with them. Shen Xian couldn’t help but feel a little happy. Thinking about what happened at the hospital earlier, Shen Xian felt a bit uneasy and said, “Qinghan, did me going to the hospital cause trouble for you? I didn’t think it through. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Their mouths are on them. They can say whatever they want, I don’t care about that. You just need to focus on recovering,” Lin Qinghan glanced at Shen Xian and replied.

“Okay, I’m already feeling much better now. Probably just a few more days and I’ll be fully recovered,” Shen Xian smiled at Lin Qinghan. She felt that being able to talk like this without any barriers was truly the happiest thing.

A few days later, the wounds on Shen Xian’s back were completely healed, and the redness and swelling on the corner of her lips had faded as well. She had promised the little one that she would pick her up from kindergarten, so Shen Xian arrived at the kindergarten entrance early to wait. Sure enough, when the little one saw Shen Xian, her eyes lit up, and she ran over with her short little legs, throwing herself straight into Shen Xian’s arms.

“Mommy, why did you only come to pick Tian Tian now? Tian Tian missed you,” the little one snuggled in Shen Xian’s arms, hugging Shen Xian’s neck and acting spoiled.

“Mommy has been a little busy lately. But as soon as I finished, I came to pick Tian Tian up. How about Mommy makes big lobster for Tian Tian tonight?”

“Okay! Big lobster! Awoo~” Shen Tian hadn’t seen Shen Xian for a few days and refused to let go of her. Shen Xian simply picked the little one up and hailed a cab to the hospital to find Lin Qinghan.

Shen Xian got out of the cab with the little one outside the hospital and called Lin Qinghan. It was just about time for the end of her shift, so Lin Qinghan and Han Rui were also coming out of the hospital. From afar, Shen Tian saw Lin Qinghan and waved her chubby little hand, “Mom, Tian Tian’s here!”

Lin Qinghan had just walked out the door when she heard her daughter’s soft baby voice. The smile on her face never faded. She greeted Han Rui and quickly walked over to Shen Xian and their daughter.

“Tian Tian, you came too? Did you miss Mom?” Lin Qinghan pinched her daughter’s chubby little cheeks with a smile and smoothly carried Shen Tian into her arms, handing the electric scooter keys to Shen Xian.

Shen Xian looked at the keys in her hand, smiled, then turned to the parking shed to get the scooter.

Coincidentally, all of this was seen by Lu Jianbai, who had just come out of the hospital. He was frozen in place, unable to take a step forward. His open hands clenched into fists, his expression darkening.

A doctor behind him thought something was wrong and patted Lu Jianbai’s shoulder, “Dr. Lu, what’s wrong? You don’t look so good.”

Lu Jianbai snapped out of it, his face returning to its usual gentle, spring-like smile, “It’s nothing, just thinking about something. Let’s go, time to head home.”

Shen Xian came out pushing the little electric scooter. Lin Qinghan, carrying their daughter, approached with a smile, “You drive us today.”

“Sure,” Shen Xian stepped over the scooter with her long legs, took the little one, and placed her standing on the front footrest. Lin Qinghan sat on the back seat, her hands gently resting on Shen Xian’s waist. Seeing that both the little one and Lin Qinghan were settled, Shen Xian twisted the handlebars and drove off.

Not long after they got home, the Australian lobsters Shen Xian ordered from the app were delivered. The little one curiously stared at the bag in Shen Xian’s hand. Shen Xian simply pulled out a lobster, its head even bigger than the little one’s.

The little one was startled, “Mommy, this shrimp is huge! Tian Tian’s scared.”

Shen Xian chuckled, “You won’t be scared once it’s in your tummy. It’ll taste great once it’s cooked, Tian Tian will definitely love it.”

Shen Tian blinked her big eyes and nodded, “Okay! Tian Tian will eat it, then I won’t be scared!”

Letting the little one watch cartoons in the living room, Shen Xian turned and went into the kitchen. Lin Qinghan was already washing the vegetables. Seeing Shen Xian carrying three Australian lobsters, she asked, “You know how to cook these?”

Shen Xian nodded, “A bit. I’ll cut them in half later, drizzle some sauce on them, then steam them in the big steamer at home.”

“Alright, you make that, I’ll stir-fry a few dishes,” Lin Qinghan smiled. She felt like ever since everything that happened, talking to Shen Xian had become much more natural.

Shen Xian cut the lobsters in half, made a sweet-salty sauce with cheese, and steamed them. The delicious aroma soon filled the air.

While stir-frying, Lin Qinghan teased, “Where’d you learn this? Looks pretty professional.”

Shen Xian smiled and casually replied, “I figured it out myself, but it should taste pretty good.” In her previous life, Shen Xian had eaten this kind of thing often, so of course she knew what flavors worked best.

Lin Qinghan didn’t overthink it. Soon, all the food was ready and served on the table.

Shen Tian was especially excited today. Kids are always happiest with their mommies around. When the lobsters were served, her eyes widened, “Mommy, the big shrimp smells so good!”

“Alright, I’ll get some for you,” Shen Xian scooped out half the lobster meat with a spoon, mixed it with the sauce and cheese, and served it to the little one, “Tian Tian, try it.”

The little one nodded eagerly, her cheeks puffed up as she stuffed her mouth full, too focused to even talk to Shen Xian.

Shen Xian was amused by the little one’s eating, and helped peel some lobster for Lin Qinghan, handing it over.

Lin Qinghan glanced at Shen Xian, smiling as she took the bowl. She thought, if they never got married, the three of them living together like this didn’t seem bad at all? But she quickly shook her head — she could think that way, but Shen Xian wouldn’t.

The next morning, Shen Xian took a picture of the month’s earnings and sent it to Jiang Xi. Jiang Xi happily replied with several cat-bowing emojis on FeiXin. Shen Xian mentioned withdrawing her earnings for the month, and Jiang Xi had no objections at all.

Shen Xian ended up with over {1.7 million yuan} in hand. The first thing she did was rent an office at Jinxiang Mansion, hire workers for renovations, and later that afternoon, she posted a job advertisement on the Linhai University forum. Only after finishing all these tasks did Shen Xian finally get a moment to relax.

But she had barely laid down when Jiang Xi’s call came through.

“Sis, are you free tomorrow night? I need your help with something,” Jiang Xi’s sweet voice came from the other end of the line.

“I’m free, what’s up?” Shen Xian asked.

“There’s a dinner party tomorrow, but I still need a partner to accompany me. Sis, do you have time?”

“I do have time, but I don’t have a gown or anything,” Shen Xian replied. These past few days, she had mainly been overseeing the office renovations and recruiting for her small company. Other than occasionally checking the stock market, she really didn’t have much else going on.

“Don’t worry about that, I’ve got everything covered. You don’t even know how annoying these dinner parties are. Every time I go alone, so many people try to hit on me — drives me crazy.” Jiang Xi complained over the phone. Those people only approached her because of her family’s wealth and status, and she had always been irritated by such people.

“Alright, I promise I’ll be your walking human shield tomorrow and block all those people for you,” Shen Xian said with a helpless smile.

“Thank you, Sis! You know me too well.”

Shen Xian thought for a moment, feeling a little puzzled, and asked, “What about your Sister Mu? Why not ask her? You two seem pretty close.”

At the mention of this, Jiang Xi’s tone dropped, “Sister Mu is really busy, and she’s handling things abroad right now. She might not even be back by tomorrow. I don’t want to trouble her, but now that I have you, it’s just as good!”

“Alright then, Young Miss Jiang, rest assured. I’ll make sure to fulfill the mission.” Shen Xian chatted with Jiang Xi for a few more moments before hanging up the call.

During lunch, Lu Jianbai showed up uninvited again. Han Rui already knew that Lu Jianbai had feelings for Lin Qinghan, but from the looks of it now, Lin Qinghan obviously treated her ex-wife much better than she did Lu Jianbai. On top of that, considering how Shen Xian had saved Lin Qinghan, Han Rui was becoming more convinced that Lu Jianbai didn’t stand much of a chance.

Seeing Han Rui was almost done eating, Lu Jianbai smiled awkwardly before finally saying, “Doctor Han, I have a few words I’d like to say to Qinghan. Would you mind?”

Han Rui instantly understood — he was basically telling her to stop being a third wheel. She greeted Lin Qinghan quickly and slipped away.

Once Han Rui left, Lin Qinghan’s brows furrowed slightly. She didn’t want any private interactions with Lu Jianbai. She didn’t want to fall in love again, and she certainly didn’t want to get married. She didn’t want to give anyone false hope.

Lu Jianbai softened his tone, “Qinghan, there’s a dinner party tomorrow. I was wondering if I could invite you to go with me?”

Lin Qinghan set down her chopsticks and glanced at Lu Jianbai with an indifferent expression, “Sorry, Dr. Lu, I don’t have time. You should find someone else.” She spoke as she began to get up.

“Hey, Qinghan, wait a second, could you help me out this once? I couldn’t find a suitable date in time.” Lu Jianbai looked at Lin Qinghan and added, “Also, Qinghan, I feel a little embarrassed saying this, but I have helped you out a few times before. Don’t worry, I’ll only bother you just this once.”

Lin Qinghan’s hand tightened slightly around her chopsticks. She hated being pressured, but it was true that Lu Jianbai had helped her a few times in the past. After a long pause, she frowned and nodded, “Only this once, Dr. Lu. You don’t need to concern yourself with my affairs anymore after this.”

After speaking, Lin Qinghan carried her tray and walked away, leaving Lu Jianbai sitting there alone with an unpleasant expression.

In the hospital, regardless of gender, any Omegas would treat him differently, but Lin Qinghan was the exception. No matter how much he tried to please her, she remained unmoved.

Lu Jianbai sneered to himself. He figured after tomorrow, Lin Qinghan wouldn’t be so cold towards him anymore. His family owned a building materials company in Linhai City. They weren’t exactly insanely rich, but they had decent money. The dinner party tomorrow was full of influential figures from Linhai. His family had worked hard to secure an invitation to broaden their connections.

Lu Jianbai believed that as long as Lin Qinghan attended the party with him and learned about his background, she would no longer settle for someone like Shen Xian. Most Omegas were still materialistic at heart. With someone like him — an outstanding Alpha from a good family — what reason would Lin Qinghan have to choose Shen Xian?

Thinking of this, Lu Jianbai’s appetite improved significantly.