Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 51

Lin Qinghan’s ears turned red from Shen Xian’s words. Looking at the dessert in front of her, the corners of her lips lifted slightly. She picked up the small spoon beside her and began to eat the matcha cake. The sweet fragrance of matcha melted in her mouth, and Lin Qinghan couldn’t help but recall everything Shen Xian had done today. Everything she had asked Shen Xian to do, Shen Xian had done it all, and had even been so thoughtful toward her, without showing the slightest hint of anger.

As Lin Qinghan’s thoughts drifted, Shen Xian finished handing out the cakes to the employees and came back. In a few steps, she was standing beside her desk, leaning sideways against it. With a faint smile, she looked at Lin Qinghan and said,
“President Lin, do you have any other instructions for me?”

For some reason, Shen Xian rather liked it when Lin Qinghan used her like that, it made her feel that Lin Qinghan saw her as one of her own.

Lin Qinghan shot Shen Xian a glare, but the smile tugging at her lips couldn’t be suppressed.
“No, that’s all. And stop teasing me. Go eat your cake.”

“Alright, I’ll go eat my cake,” Shen Xian said with a smile, picking up the slice of Black Forest cake from the table and sitting on the sofa to eat it.

Lin Qinghan also picked up her own small cake and returned to sit on the sofa.

Shen Xian smiled softly and asked, “Why aren’t you sitting down earlier?”

“I don’t want to delay your work. Do you still have things to finish today?” Lin Qinghan asked, scooping at her cake a bit guiltily. Was she distracting Shen Xian by coming to the office with her?

“No, I’ve finished everything. You don’t need to worry about that,” Shen Xian said as she moved a little closer, smiling as she looked at Lin Qinghan.

Lin Qinghan was about to retort, but then swallowed the words back down. Normally, when Shen Xian said things like that to tease her, she would immediately snap back, but this time, Lin Qinghan decided to play along. Raising an eyebrow, she met Shen Xian’s gaze and said,
“That’s right. I am worried about you.”

That completely threw Shen Xian off. This wasn’t what she expected, why didn’t Qinghan argue back? Feeling a bit flustered, Shen Xian waved her hand to fan her face, suddenly feeling warm, and took another two bites of cake.

Seeing Shen Xian’s flustered expression, Lin Qinghan leaned back on the sofa and burst into laughter.

Around five o’clock, the two of them went to the parking garage together to pick up their little one.

Shen Xian’s car was very simple, there weren’t any decorations inside. Back when Lin Qinghan and Shen Xian weren’t that familiar yet, she never brought it up. But now, Lin Qinghan’s eyes lit up as she turned to Shen Xian and said,
“Shen Xian, why don’t you have anything in your car? Don’t people usually keep little ornaments or decorations in here?”

Shen Xian was taken aback. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, it was just that she never thought about it. In her previous life, she had always been busy with work; she didn’t have the time or mood for such things. Even after buying a car in this life, the thought hadn’t crossed her mind.

“I forgot. And I don’t even know what to buy,” Shen Xian admitted after a moment. “Once we pick up Tian Tian, you two can help me choose something.”

She thought about it, it really was a bit too plain in here, lacking a bit of warmth.

Lin Qinghan smiled and looked sideways at her. “Alright then, Tian Tian and I get to decide, and you’re not allowed to back out.”

Shen Xian chuckled softly and said, “Okay, I’ll listen to you two obediently.”

Lin Qinghan nodded with a pleased smile. “That’s more like it.”

They parked the car in front of the school. The kindergarteners hadn’t been dismissed yet, and several classes of children were still lined up on the playground, waiting for their teachers to lead them out.

Before long, their little one came out hand in hand with Li Mengmeng. When Shen Tian saw Lin Qinghan and Shen Xian, she immediately said goodbye to Li Mengmeng and bounced happily toward them.

“Mom! Mommy!” Shen Tian hugged Lin Qinghan first, then Shen Xian.

Shen Xian scooped her up into her arms, making the little girl giggle with delight.

Lin Qinghan watched the two play, smiling softly. “Be careful, you two. No roughhousing, save it for when we get home.”

Shen Xian glanced at Lin Qinghan with a grin. “Alright, we won’t. Let’s go shopping with Mommy first, okay?”

At the mention of shopping, Shen Tian’s eyes widened in excitement. Kids always loved going out. “Okay! Tian Tian will go with Mommy!”

“Alright, you can pick anything you like later,” Shen Xian said with a laugh as she set the little one into her car seat and buckled the safety belt. Lin Qinghan sat in the back seat beside her.

They stopped at a mall and went into a shop that sold accessories and toys. Shen Xian and Lin Qinghan each held Shen Tian’s hands as they walked inside.

It had been a long time since the little one had been in a toy store. Part of it was because Lin Qinghan had always been so busy with work, and the other part was money, back then, between her parents, her younger brother, and Shen Xian all asking her for help, plus rent and tuition for her daughter, Lin Qinghan barely had any money left over.

Shen Xian watched her little one glance here and there, her heart aching a little. She had been so busy with work lately that she hadn’t even noticed how long it had been since she last took her baby out to play.

She gently rubbed the small tuft of hair on her child’s head and smiled, saying,
“Sweetie, if you want something, just tell Mommy. You can have anything you like.”

Although the little one was still young, she knew that in the past, Mom and Mommy often argued about money. Later, Mommy had changed, she became kinder and would buy her lots of tasty treats. Still, the child had developed the habit of not spending money carelessly. Even when she saw toys she liked, she would only look at them and never reach out to touch.

Seeing her child just blushing and staring, Shen Xian picked her up and said warmly,
“No need to be shy, Tiantian. Mommy’s earned lots of little money just so you can spend it.”

Shen Tian blushed even redder and snuggled into Shen Xian’s arms, then pointed toward a nearby bunny plush. Shen Xian chuckled and picked it up. The bunny looked small to her, but in the little one’s arms, it seemed big and full, so adorable that it was hard to describe.

While Shen Xian was picking toys for her daughter, she turned to Lin Qinghan and said,
“Qinghan, help me pick something to put in the car?”

Lin Qinghan smiled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll help.”

She casually took a set of little pink pig ornaments from the shelf and asked,
“Cute, right?”

Shen Xian nodded. She didn’t really mind either way, as long as Qinghan liked them. “Cute.”

Holding back laughter, Lin Qinghan took the whole row of little pigs, planning to line them up across Shen Xian’s dashboard. Then she picked up a cat plush to place on the empty space of the back seat.

Meanwhile, Shen Xian had her eyes on a big teddy bear, twice the size of her daughter. She set her little one down, hugged the bear, and asked,
“Tian Tian, do you like this one? You can sleep with it at night.”

The little girl looked at the giant bear towering over her and nodded.
“Okay. Tian Tian will sleep hugging the bear.”

The bear was big and hard to carry, but after paying for everything, they put the toys in the car before heading back into the mall. Shen Xian decided they might as well have dinner out, so she found a well-reviewed private restaurant and went there with Lin Qinghan and the child.

After returning to the car, Lin Qinghan stuck the pink bouncing pigs across the dashboard and placed the cat plush on the back seat.

Looking at the row of wobbly pink pigs, she couldn’t help but laugh. Shen Xian, a company president now, with a car full of little pigs, it was oddly cute.

Shen Xian glanced over in confusion, noticing the wobbling pigs. “You really like them that much?”

Lin Qinghan laughed. “Mm-hmm. I do.”

Later at home, after helping the little one wash up, the child insisted on sleeping with the big teddy bear. Her small body was almost crushed under the bear’s weight, but she only giggled and nuzzled the bear’s face before falling asleep quickly, probably tired from their day out.

After the child was asleep, Lin Qinghan went back to the living room. Shen Xian was still watching TV. Lin Qinghan sat beside her and leaned against her shoulder.
“What are you doing?”

“Just checking on a few stocks I’ve been watching. They’re looking pretty good,” Shen Xian replied, pulling Lin Qinghan a bit closer so she could rest more comfortably in her arms.

As the two of them were closer, the scent of sweet oranges began to become stronger again. Lin Qinghan felt comfortable and didn’t want to move, though she knew her susceptible period would end completely tomorrow. She worried that Shen Xian would go back to wearing pheromone blocking patches again.

She looked up at Shen Xian and said softly,
“Shen Xian, how about this, when it’s just the two of us, don’t wear the pheromone blocker anymore.”

Shen Xian didn’t mind. She simply disliked smelling other people’s pheromones, or letting others smell hers. But Qinghan was the exception. Since Qinghan trusted her now, Shen Xian nodded.
“Alright, I won’t wear it at home anymore. Honestly, wearing it every day is uncomfortable anyway. The adhesive sticks too much, it even hurts to peel off.”

Lin Qinghan laughed lightly. “Then why wear it every day?”

Shen Xian looked at her tenderly. “Because you used to dislike it, remember? Wearing it made you feel safer.”

Lin Qinghan met her eyes, then looked away, her ears turning red as she buried her face in Shen Xian’s chest. “You’re such a fool.”

Shen Xian smiled gently. “Not a fool. If it makes you and Tiantian happy, then it’s worth it.”

Seeing that Lin Qinghan was struggling to keep her eyes open, Shen Xian asked,
“Qinghan? Do you want to go to bed?”

Lin Qinghan half-closed her eyes, reluctant to leave Shen Xian’s embrace. She almost wanted Shen Xian to hold her like this while they slept. The thought made her ears flush even redder, though what she said out loud was different,
“Mm, I’ll go now. Good night, Shen Xian.”

“Alright. Good night.” Shen Xian smiled at the sleepy woman in her arms. Worried she might be uncomfortable sleeping there, she added softly,
“Go sleep in the bedroom, it’s not comfy like this.”

Lin Qinghan reluctantly got up and returned to her room.

But without her noticing, the string of virtual numbers above her head had already risen to 50.

At the same time, Lu Jianbai staggered out of a bar with another Omega. Since the last incident, his family’s business had taken a steep downturn, and he’d been constantly scolded by his father. On top of that, his plan to harm Lin Qinghan had failed. He had been drinking frequently to numb himself and often went off with other Omegas for pleasure. Tonight was no exception, it looked like the two of them were heading somewhere else.

The bar wasn’t very clean, and it was tucked away in a secluded spot, three winding alleys away from the main street. Lu Jianbai had his arm around an Omega and, as usual, was heading out. When they were halfway down the alley, a group of people blocked their path.

Half dazed, Lu Jianbai cursed under his breath. “Damn it, who’s in my way?”

But the Omega in his arms froze in fear upon seeing the five tall men standing before them. All five were Alphas. The man leading them gave the woman beside Lu Jianbai a cold glance. “If you don’t want trouble, get lost.”

The female Omega sobered up halfway from fright. She broke free from Lu Jianbai’s arms and ran toward the exit of the alley.

Lu Jianbai frowned and blinked a few times, but the alcohol was still clouding his vision, he couldn’t see their faces clearly. He muttered, “Why’d she run off? Move it, don’t block the way…”

Before he could say more, a piece of cloth was stuffed into his mouth. Then came the punches and kicks. Soon after, there was a crisp crack from his left arm.

The man twisting his arm looked a bit guilty and said to the leader, “I didn’t mean to break it. He’s just… too fragile.”

The leader waved his hand. They’d already done enough. He still remembered what their boss, Mr. Fu, had instructed, don’t kill him, but make sure he suffers.

All their blows had carefully avoided vital areas. The worst injury was the broken arm, which had been accidental. They hadn’t touched Lu Jianbai’s face at all, he still looked as refined and gentle as before.

One of them carried the now unconscious Lu Jianbai back to the bar’s entrance. The bar, though it looked like a normal establishment on the surface, was also involved in many unspeakable activities. Some of the men who came here liked to “play” with Alphas specifically.

After dumping him there, one of the group stayed to make sure a few drunken men picked Lu Jianbai up and dragged him back inside before finally leaving.

When Lu Jianbai woke up again, all he could feel was pain, his entire body ached, and a tearing agony radiated from his lower body. His skin was covered in bruises, and his left arm throbbed with sharp, unbearable pain.

He tried moving a little, but the pain made tears spring to his eyes. Being a doctor himself, he knew exactly what kind of injury that tearing pain meant. He shouted, “Who was it? Who the hell did this to me? Damn it, it hurts!” But everything from the night before was a blur. Now, he was lying completely naked on a sofa in one of the bar’s private rooms.

He tried to get to his feet, but before he could even stand, the pain from behind made him collapse. His shouting, however, drew the bar’s security staff over. They were long used to this kind of scene.

When Lu Jianbai demanded to call the police, the guard replied calmly, “Go ahead. You won’t find anyone anyway. We don’t have cameras here. Besides, you’re an Alpha, if you got done like that, maybe you were drunk and agreed to it yourself. Whatever. Just hurry up and leave; we’re closed during the day.”

In the end, Lu Jianbai still called the police. He couldn’t answer any of their questions clearly, and coupled with his hangover, he only managed to file a simple report. The police helped send him to the hospital.

As fate would have it, the emergency doctor on duty was someone he knew. Linhai City wasn’t that big, and their hospital had once sent young doctors to the First Hospital for training.

Dr. Wang examined him and, seeing the severe tearing at the back and the broken arm, advised him, “You should take it easy, young man. With injuries like these, you might have trouble even going to the bathroom in the future.”

Lu Jianbai was furious, his teeth grinding audibly. He only wanted to know who had done this to him, never realizing that what he had done to Lin Qinghan in the past was no different from what he had suffered last night. Back then, he had been the one causing the harm.