Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 41

Recently, Shen Xian had been working overtime at the office due to the expansion of the new company. If Lin Qinghan finished work early, she would go pick up their daughter from school. Around 7 p.m., Shen Xian was still working on a proposal. Because it was an important one and the new employees weren’t much help, she simply let them get off work on time.

Stretching her neck a bit, Shen Xian stood up to move around. She grabbed her coat, ready to go home. Work would never be finished, but she didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of her past life — family was far more important than work.

Just as Shen Xian opened the office door, a strong scent hit her in the face. Her brain froze for a few seconds. The gland at the back of her neck faintly heated up — something was clearly wrong. An Omega must be releasing pheromones.

With that thought, Shen Xian looked up and saw Yuan Zhenzhen inside the office. Her face was flushed, and she was lying on the desk. It must have been her susceptible period. But Shen Xian had already told everyone to go home — why was Yuan Zhenzhen still here?

Yuan Zhenzhen also noticed Shen Xian and, in a weak voice, said, “President Shen, I feel really uncomfortable… Can you help me? I forgot my susceptible period was coming.”

Shen Xian frowned deeply. The pheromones in the air irritated her like fire. She hated this feeling — the fact that her body could react just because of someone else’s pheromones. She gave Yuan Zhenzhen a glance, then decisively locked the door and returned to her own office. She quickly turned on the exhaust fan and sprayed a large amount of pheromone-blocking spray until the entire room was filled with its scent. Only then did the heat in her body begin to subside.

Shen Xian despised the sensation of her body being out of her control. Being led around by others like this was something she absolutely couldn’t tolerate.

It was just her in the office when Yuan Zhenzhen’s susceptible period happened. Shen Xian thought back to her previous life — back then, countless people had tried to get close to her, men and women alike, using every trick in the book. She sneered. The company had just started, and someone was already having such thoughts about her? She called emergency services, clearly explained that someone was having a susceptible period, gave them Yuan Zhenzhen’s location, and then hung up.

Ever since she arrived in this world, Shen Xian had always injected inhibitors before her susceptible periods. She also regularly wore pheromone-blocking patches on her neck, so the world didn’t feel much different from her real one. The few times she had been affected by pheromones were rare — like when Lin Qinghan had used hers to calm her at the hospital. But that was different. Shen Xian didn’t mind Lin Qinghan’s pheromones.

Outside, Yuan Zhenzhen didn’t seem ready to give up. She called the phone inside Shen Xian’s office. Shen Xian frowned and answered.

On the other end, a soft and weak voice pleaded, “President Shen, I really don’t feel well. Can you please help me?”

Shen Xian replied coldly, “If I remember correctly, you’re an Omega, right? Why would you call an Alpha to help during your susceptible period? What’s the meaning of this? Didn’t I already tell everyone to leave at five? Yuan Zhenzhen, don’t try to be clever.”

With that, she hung up the phone. When the office phone rang again, Shen Xian didn’t answer it.

About ten minutes later, the ambulance and medical staff arrived. These situations weren’t uncommon, so the staff handled it calmly and took Yuan Zhenzhen away. However, someone needed to take care of the paperwork and payment, so one of the medical workers knocked on Shen Xian’s door.

Shen Xian opened the door, found Yuan Zhenzhen’s file, and called her family to inform them. She had no intention of going to the hospital herself.

After handling everything, Shen Xian turned on the exhaust fans in all three rooms and sprayed more pheromone blocking spray. By the time she finished, it was nearly 8 p.m. Her phone rang — it was Lin Qinghan calling, and Shen Xian answered right away.

“Shen Xian, still busy? When are you coming home?”

Just hearing Lin Qinghan’s voice eased some of Shen Xian’s irritation. She replied gently, “Something came up, but I’m heading home now. Is Tian Tian asleep?”

“Yeah, I just got her to sleep. Drive safe. See you in a bit.”

“See you in a bit.” After hanging up, Shen Xian felt a little better, but the strong smell on her body made her feel nauseated. The scent of pheromones mixed with the blocking spray was overwhelming. Shen Xian felt like her head was about to explode.

Since arriving in this world, this was the setting she hated most. Even when it came from someone she disliked or didn’t know well, an Omega’s pheromones during their susceptible period could affect nearby Alphas — and vice versa. Shen Xian couldn’t stand being manipulated by people she had nothing to do with, her brows tightly furrowed.

She closed the company doors and went to the underground parking lot. Once inside the car, the enclosed space made her feel suffocated. She quickly rolled down all four windows and opened the sunroof and air circulation system. Even so, she couldn’t shake the sense of irritation inside her.

It wasn’t a cold night, but Shen Xian drove fast, and with all the windows and vents open, she felt like she might have caught a cold by the time she got home. As soon as she walked in, Lin Qinghan smelled the scent of another Omega on her and noticed her pale complexion. She asked quickly, “What happened?”

Sniffling, Shen Xian replied weakly, “That female employee at the company — the Omega you’ve seen before — she had her susceptible period today. I don’t think it was a coincidence. I had told everyone to leave around five, but Yuan Zhenzhen stayed until past seven. Then she called me, saying she was having her susceptible period and asked me to help. I called 120 and had her taken away by ambulance.”

Shen Xian frowned and said, “I didn’t expect something like this to happen just after starting a small company. I’ll fire her tomorrow. Someone with such a devious mindset can’t stay. That’s enough talk — it smells awful. I’m going to shower.”

Lin Qinghan was initially angry seeing Shen Xian come back carrying the scent of another Omega, but when she saw Shen Xian looking utterly lifeless and disgusted by the scent, her anger faded. Besides, she thought Shen Xian had been acting properly lately. Aside from that one time at the hospital, she hadn’t even caught a whiff of Shen Xian’s pheromones, so she felt reassured.

“Alright, go ahead and shower first,” Lin Qinghan said, nodding from where she sat on the sofa.

“Qinghan, could you help me get a nightgown? With this smell on me, how am I supposed to sleep in the bedroom?” Shen Xian said with a pout.

Seeing how Shen Xian looked like she was about to throw up if she smelled it any longer, Lin Qinghan immediately stood up and said while walking, “Okay, I’ll get it for you. Won’t take long.”

Lin Qinghan quickly entered Shen Xian’s room and casually took a nightgown from the wardrobe, handing it to Shen Xian. Shen Xian thanked her and hurried into the bathroom.

The area Shen Xian had just been in still held an unpleasant odor — an unfamiliar pheromone mixed with pheromone blocking spray. Lin Qinghan turned on the exhaust fan in the house before returning to sit on the sofa.

She thought about how just two months ago, her relationship with Shen Xian had been tense to the extreme. She had even worried that Shen Xian might sell Tian Tian when she went to visit her. Lin Qinghan remembered when Shen Xian first came to the house, she had sprayed pheromone blocking spray all over, afraid Shen Xian might try something. But over time, Shen Xian had become more and more reliable, to the point that Lin Qinghan even forgot about the pheromone blocking spray entirely.

Half an hour later, Shen Xian came out of the bathroom, hair dried and her clothes tossed into the washing machine. Lin Qinghan noticed Shen Xian still looked pale and got up to ask, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Shen Xian looked at her, took a few steps forward, and then raised her arms to hug Lin Qinghan. She whispered in her ear, “It’s my heart that hurts, Qinghan. Can I hug you for a bit?”

The moment Shen Xian hugged her, Lin Qinghan felt like her heart stopped — then started beating rapidly, much faster than usual. But even so, she didn’t push Shen Xian away. Her hands just clenched tightly into fists by her sides.

The whole hug lasted only a little more than ten seconds. Shen Xian then let go, showing a somewhat awkward smile and said, “Thank you, Qinghan. I think I feel a little better now. I’ll head back to my room. You should go to bed early too.” With that, she pressed her lips together and returned to her room.

It was the first time since Shen Xian moved in that Lin Qinghan had seen her like this. Seeing her looking so despondent, even the flicker of emotions Lin Qinghan had felt earlier was swept aside, replaced with deep concern. She stood outside Shen Xian’s door for a while, but in the end, did nothing and simply turned off the living room light before going to her own room.

Back in her bedroom, Shen Xian still felt uncomfortable. She opened all the windows and turned on the exhaust fan. Only then did she feel slightly better.

The next morning, when Lin Qinghan was helping her daughter wash up, she didn’t see Shen Xian. Usually, Shen Xian would be up by then and even have breakfast prepared. Lin Qinghan made some simple toast and milk for her daughter, told her to eat obediently, and then went to check on Shen Xian.

She knocked on Shen Xian’s door, but there was no response. So she turned the doorknob and went in herself.

She saw Shen Xian curled up on the bed, breathing unevenly. The windows were wide open, the exhaust fan and electric fan still running. Lin Qinghan grabbed the remote to turn off both fans and closed the windows partway before walking over to Shen Xian. She saw that Shen Xian’s cheeks were slightly flushed and reached out to feel her forehead — immediately feeling how hot it was.

Lin Qinghan quickly shook her awake. “Shen Xian, wake up. You’ve got a fever. Get up and get dressed, we’re going to the hospital.”

Shen Xian groggily opened her eyes. Whether it was due to a cold or the fever, she looked completely out of it and replied hoarsely, “It’s fine, Qinghan. I just caught a cold. I’ll take some medicine and sleep it off. Go take Tian Tian to school. Don’t worry about me.” After speaking, she buried herself back under the covers.

Left with no choice, Lin Qinghan fetched some fever and cold medicine from the first-aid kit, helped Shen Xian sit up and take the medicine, then left to take Shen Tian to school.

Afterward, Lin Qinghan took the day off from work. She couldn’t rest easy leaving Shen Xian alone at home in this state. When she returned, Shen Xian was still sleeping deeply. Probably due to the fever medicine, sweat had started to bead on her forehead.

Lin Qinghan brought a wet towel from the bathroom and gently wiped Shen Xian’s face. At that moment, Shen Xian’s phone, which was on the bedside table, started ringing. The noise made her frown slightly in her sleep.

Seeing that it was a call from Shen Xian’s company and not wanting to disturb her, Lin Qinghan went outside to take the call.

“President Shen? There are a few documents that need your signature today. Will you be coming in?” Yan Qiang asked on the other end.

“I’m not Shen Xian. She has a fever and probably won’t be able to make it today. Please inform the others for her.” Lin Qinghan said a few more words before hanging up.

Yan Qiang said excitedly, “The boss’s wife answered the call just now. She said President Shen has a fever and might not be coming in today.”

“I knew it! That day, the one holding Tian Tian must’ve been the boss’s wife,” Li Xing chimed in.

Song Min chatted with the two for a while but felt something was off. Yuan Zhenzhen also hadn’t shown up at the company today, and when she sent a FeiXin message, Yuan Zhenzhen didn’t reply either.

On the other side, at noon, Lin Qinghan tried to wake Shen Xian up for lunch. Shen Xian only mumbled that she didn’t want to eat and buried her head back into sleep, but her forehead was still warm.

Lin Qinghan sat by Shen Xian’s bedside and saw that her brows were still tightly furrowed. She sighed, brushed aside the long hair on the back of her neck, and peeled off a bit of the pheromone blocking patch. Then she reached behind Shen Xian’s ear, moved aside her hair, and did the same with Shen Xian’s patch.

When one partner is sick, although the other’s pheromones don’t have the effect of medicine, they can still provide a great deal of comfort. Even though she and Shen Xian were divorced, their bond mark hadn’t been removed.

Seeing Shen Xian in this state, Lin Qinghan felt a twinge of sympathy. She knew that using pheromones was a very intimate act and wasn’t even sure why she was doing this for Shen Xian. But in the end, she released the osmanthus Longjing scented pheromone, letting it gently gather at Shen Xian’s gland and soothe her slowly.

Shen Xian didn’t wake up, but her body reacted instinctively. Soon, the sweet orange scented pheromone was drawn out and intertwined with Lin Qinghan’s.

Shen Xian felt much better, like the weight that had been pressing on her chest had been lifted. She felt like she was floating on a soft cloud, her entire body relaxed. Even her tightly furrowed brows slowly loosened, and her breathing became steady.

Once she saw that Shen Xian wasn’t as uncomfortable anymore, Lin Qinghan stopped releasing her pheromones. She re-covered both their glands with the blocking patches and turned on the room’s exhaust fan. She didn’t want Shen Xian to know she had used pheromones to comfort her.

Soon, the scent in the room completely dissipated.

When Lin Qinghan came out of the bathroom, she remembered that Shen Xian’s clothes from the night before hadn’t been hung up yet. She opened the washing machine and saw that the clothes hadn’t bled color, so she simply helped Shen Xian hang them to dry. But when she got to the underwear, her ears flushed red involuntarily.

She called Fang Jinglan and asked if Shen Tian could stay over at her place for the night — partly to avoid infecting the child with a cold, and partly because she was worried Shen Xian might get worse and she wouldn’t be able to care for both of them at once.

Around 5 PM, Shen Xian finally woke up and, sitting up, immediately saw Lin Qinghan sitting not far from her bed, watching her from a stool.

Still a bit dazed from sleep, Shen Xian was no longer in as much pain as she had been that morning. Her throat wasn’t hurting as much either. Rubbing her eyes with one hand, she asked, “Qinghan? You didn’t go to work?”

As she moved her arm, her already loose shoulder strap slid down her right shoulder, revealing a portion of her fair chest to the air.

Lin Qinghan’s gaze was naturally drawn to it. After looking for a moment, she quickly looked away, though the blush on her ears lingered. Meanwhile, Shen Xian acted as if nothing had happened and kept chatting with her.

Clearing her throat, Lin Qinghan replied, “Mm. You had such a bad fever, I was worried, so I just took the day off.” As she spoke, she stood and walked over to Shen Xian, avoiding looking at the exposed skin. One hand touched Shen Xian’s forehead to check her temperature, while the other gently pulled the slipped strap back up.

“Seems like the fever’s gone, but you should still take another dose of medicine tonight, just to be safe,” Lin Qinghan reminded her.

“Okay. But I do feel a little hungry now,” Shen Xian replied, her voice still stuffy from the cold.

Lin Qinghan glanced at her and then took out a set of long-sleeved pajamas from the cabinet. “Change into these and bundle up to sweat it out. Wearing so little, you’ll catch another cold. I’ll go cook some noodles — something light, since you’re sick.”

Shen Xian nodded. “Alright.”

By the time Shen Xian changed and came out, Lin Qinghan had already finished cooking and brought the noodles to the table. Seeing Shen Xian now dressed in long-sleeved, full-length pajamas, Lin Qinghan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then reminded her, “Eat slowly. The noodles are still hot.”

“Thank you, Qinghan.” Shen Xian smiled at her. After eating a few bites, she paused and asked, puzzled, “Qinghan, did you give me some other kind of medicine later on? I was in so much pain earlier, but then I suddenly felt much better. It was like lying on a bed of cotton…”

As Shen Xian spoke, Lin Qinghan’s cheeks turned visibly red. In the end, she simply picked up a piece of ham from Shen Xian’s bowl and fed it to her, just to stop her from saying more.

It was the first time Shen Xian had been fed by someone, and especially by Lin Qinghan. She was quite happy and said gratefully, “Thank you, Qinghan.”

Seeing that Shen Xian had dropped the topic, Lin Qinghan finally relaxed. Still, the meal felt more exhausting than usual.

Shen Xian, on the other hand, was in a great mood. While eating, she noticed the string of virtual numbers above Lin Qinghan’s head had increased to [“20″]. It had been stuck at [‘10′] for a long time.

After dinner, Shen Xian went to the bathroom to freshen up and suddenly remembered she hadn’t hung up her laundry. She opened the washing machine and found it empty. When she looked out on the balcony, she saw all her clothes neatly hung up. Glancing toward the kitchen where Lin Qinghan was still doing the dishes, she felt deeply touched. Qinghan was really so good to her!