Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 52

The next morning, Shen Xian drove Lin Qinghan and their little one. Seeing the row of bouncing pig toys lined up on the dashboard, Lin Qinghan’s mood couldn’t help but lift. However, since leaving the house, Shen Xian had already put on a pheromone blocking patch. Now that the familiar scent was gone, Lin Qinghan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

Still, she thought maybe it was for the best, this way, no other Omega could smell Shen Xian’s scent.

After dropping off their child, Shen Xian drove Lin Qinghan to work. Lin Qinghan fiddled with the bouncing pigs in front of her, unable to hide the smile in her eyes, and reminded Shen Xian,
“Remember to eat lunch on time.”

“Don’t worry,” Shen Xian replied, smiling. “I won’t starve myself.”

When Lin Qinghan arrived at work, Han Rui spent a long while fussing over her, making sure she was really okay before finally relaxing.

“Hey,” Han Rui said, “I heard Lu Jianbai applied for a month-long leave, said he broke his arm. Think he’s just too guilty to show up?”

Lin Qinghan shook her head. “Don’t know. Best to stay away from people like that.”

“Mm, yeah. It’s just a pity we didn’t get any proof, it feels like Lu Jianbai’s getting off too easily.” Han Rui frowned, still angry at the memory of that day.

“By the way,” she continued, “has your Shen Xian been taking care of you these past few days? I have to say, she’s really dependable now. That mountain wasn’t small, yet she carried you all the way down by herself. You two really don’t look like there’s nothing going on.” Han Rui grinned as she spoke, glancing teasingly at Lin Qinghan.

“Yeah, she’s been looking after me. And… she really is great,” Lin Qinghan said, the corners of her lips never once falling during the conversation.

Han Rui bumped her shoulder playfully. “Oho, not denying it anymore, huh? Sounds like something good’s about to happen?”

“What? Not necessarily,” Lin Qinghan pouted. Shen Xian was good to her, yes, but Lin Qinghan couldn’t feel any romantic intent from her. Thinking back on how she’d tested Shen Xian yesterday, she wondered if maybe she hadn’t gone far enough.

“What’s wrong? She treats you that well and you’re still not satisfied?”

Lin Qinghan pressed her lips together and thought for a moment. “It’s not that… It just feels like something’s missing. She’s good to me, but it’s like there’s nothing more to it. I can’t quite figure her out.”

“Then why not make a move yourself?” Han Rui teased. “Your Shen Xian’s started her own company now, don’t let some young girl snatch her away.” She fiddled with the instrument in her hands as she spoke.

Lin Qinghan laughed softly. “I don’t think that’ll happen. She doesn’t seem interested in things like that.” Jiang Xi was considered an outstanding Omega, and even though Shen Xian said they were just business partners, she really did treat her as nothing more than that, not a single stray thought beyond work.

Han Rui gave a knowing smirk. “Right, right, your Shen Xian only has eyes for you.”

Meanwhile, Liu Wenwen and Zhao Qing, who knew Lin Qinghan had returned to work, were gossiping in the office.

“Did you hear? Lin Qinghan came in today,” Zhao Qing whispered.

“Yeah, I heard. She still has the nerve to show up? Almost went into her susceptible period in front of everyone! Good thing her ex-wife was there, otherwise, who knows, maybe she’d have tried to seduce Dr. Lu again,” Liu Wenwen sneered.

“True. Now that she’s always with her ex-wife, it’s actually nice. No time to cling to Dr. Lu anymore.”

Elsewhere, Shen Xian’s company was still under renovation. She and Mu Siyu went over the final design details and confirmed the specifics for upcoming interviews. Mu Siyu agreed to arrange three interviewers for Shen Xian. After finalizing things with her staff, Shen Xian rented a small meeting room at a nearby hotel to use for interviews.

Once everything was set, she let her employees go home early. With the renovation noise outside, there was no need to linger after finishing their work.

On Sunday, when Lin Qinghan had a day off, the three of them went out shopping as a family. Shen Xian planned to buy some clothes for both Lin Qinghan and their child. After breakfast, they left home around nine. Shen Xian drove to the biggest shopping mall nearby, parked in the underground lot, and then she and Lin Qinghan each held one of their child’s hands as they walked in.

The little one had been excited all morning upon hearing she’d be getting new clothes. Now, walking happily between them, she was practically bouncing with joy. Just as the three entered the mall, someone suddenly called out to Shen Xian.

Hearing the voice, Shen Xian turned around, frowning as she looked at the person for a while. Then she remembered, the woman calling her was none other than Yu Qingwan, the “white moonlight” from the original book.

Yu Qingwan approached with a smile as Shen Xian froze in place. Glancing at the three of them, she said sweetly, “Shen Xian, long time no see. How have you been?”

Yu Qingwan had a delicate, fragile look, her eyes curved prettily as she spoke to Shen Xian. Seeing Shen Xian hesitate, Lin Qinghan frowned slightly and gave a soft cough.

That finally brought Shen Xian back to her senses. So Zhao Qiang had been telling the truth that day. She gave Yu Qingwan a calm look. “I’ve been fine. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be going.”

Yu Qingwan blinked, momentarily stunned by Shen Xian’s indifference. She had recently run into Zhao Qiang and the others and had subtly asked about Shen Xian. Back then, Shen Xian had been utterly devoted to her, generous and eager to please. Zhao Qiang mentioned Shen Xian had even bought a car recently, so Yu Qingwan figured, until she found someone new, she could reel Shen Xian in again and let her spend money on her. After all, she’d done it before.

Yu Qingwan had assumed that after running into Zhao Qiang, he would have immediately told Shen Xian she was back. That way, they could continue to tag along and freeload. But several days had passed, and Shen Xian never called, let alone came to find her. Yu Qingwan refused to call first, thinking it would make her look cheap. Luckily, she happened to bump into Shen Xian today.

Yu Qingwan raised her eyes again to glance at Lin Qinghan and Shen Tian. She remembered that Shen Xian used to hate her wife, even completely ignoring the child, so how could she possibly be out shopping with them now? Moreover, after seeing her, she didn’t even come over to greet her, and she even seemed unwilling to speak more than a few words to her? She had clearly heard that Shen Xian was already divorced.

When she saw Shen Xian about to leave, Yu Qingwan quickly spoke up,
“Hey, Shen Xian, wait a moment. We haven’t seen each other in so long, I have a few things I’d like to talk to you about.”
As she spoke, she smiled and gave Lin Qinghan a provocative look.

Little Shen Tian, seeing this strange aunt calling out to her mommy and not letting them go, felt a bit scared. She loosened her hold on Lin Qinghan’s hand, then wrapped her two chubby arms around Shen Xian’s leg.
“Mommy, weren’t we going to buy pretty dresses for Tian Tian? Tian Tian wants to go now~” she said in her soft baby voice, hiding behind Shen Xian’s leg, afraid of Yu Qingwan.

Yu Qingwan looked at Shen Tian and merely smiled without speaking. Shen Xian used to put her first, she thought. How could she possibly listen to a child instead of me?

But the next second, Shen Xian was already bending down with a smile, scooping the little one into her arms. She gently pinched her chubby cheek and said with a grin,
“Alright, Mommy won’t chat anymore, let’s take Tian Tian to buy some pretty little dresses.”

Then, still smiling, Shen Xian turned to Lin Qinghan and said,
“Qinghan, let’s go. Tian Tian can’t wait any longer.”

Yu Qingwan’s face stiffened for a moment but quickly returned to her earlier smiling expression.
“Shen Xian, it’s just a few words, it won’t take much of your time,” she said with forced cheer.

Seeing that Shen Xian said nothing, Yu Qingwan turned to Lin Qinghan with a polite smile.
“Miss Lin, would that be alright?”

Lin Qinghan frowned slightly, noticing that Shen Xian clearly didn’t want to bother with Yu Qingwan. Feeling somewhat satisfied, she said,
“Sorry, we’ll be going now.”

With that, she and Shen Xian headed upstairs to the second floor of the mall. Throughout the entire time, Shen Xian didn’t give Yu Qingwan another glance.

Yu Qingwan hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. She raised her voice behind her, calling out loudly,
“Shen Xian! Are you still angry because I suddenly went to the capital before? I’m sorry—”

But Shen Xian only felt more irritated hearing her voice. Holding the little one securely in one arm, she took Lin Qinghan’s wrist with the other and quickened her pace.

Lin Qinghan glanced at the hand holding her wrist and let a faint smile curl at her lips. She pursed them and asked teasingly,
“Why didn’t you stay and catch up with her? You didn’t even introduce me.”

Turning his head to her, Shen Xian sighed helplessly.
“She’s just someone unimportant, she’s not worth your attention.”

“Unimportant?” Lin Qinghan frowned, pouting a little as she kicked at the step in front of her. “Funny, I remember you used to like her quite a bit. Now that she came to you herself, suddenly she’s unimportant?”

Shen Xian nearly wanted to cry. That was the original owner, okay? And honestly, the original’s taste was terrible, to actually like such a two faced omega! Compared to Qinghan, she was nowhere near as good.
“That was ages ago. I can barely even remember what she looks like. Qinghan, forget her, let’s go buy clothes.”

To steer the conversation away from Yu Qingwan, Shen Xian held Lin Qinghan’s hand and quickly led her into a children’s clothing store. She set the little one down, and Shen Tian’s eyes lit up as she looked around at all the colorful clothes.

Shen Xian went over and picked out three little dresses, two animal-themed jackets, and two cute pairs of pants. Handing some to Lin Qinghan to hold, she crouched down and asked the little one,
“Tian Tian, do you think they look good? Want to try them on?”

Shen Tian nodded her small pigtails.
“Okay! Mommy, Mom, help Tian Tian~”

Shen Xian and Lin Qinghan exchanged a glance full of shared amusement. Luckily, the fitting room was spacious, one helped hold the clothes while the other helped the child change.

The first thing Tian Tian tried on was a light pink princess dress, a style for little girls. It looked soft and sweet on her, making her look adorably cute.

After trying several dresses, she moved on to the animal jackets, a deer one and a panda one, both suiting her perfectly. The pants fit nicely too.

“Miss, you’ve got such a good eye,” the saleslady said enthusiastically. “These are some of our best selling designs. Would you like me to wrap them all up for you?”

Shen Xian nodded. “They’re really cute. Yes, please wrap them all.”

“Of course, miss. Please follow me to the counter to pay,” the saleslady said, her tone even more cheerful after realizing Shen Xian was buying everything.

Lin Qinghan saw Shen Xian going to pay but didn’t insist on paying herself. After all, they were buying for the child, and arguing over who paid felt unnecessary, especially since these clothes didn’t look cheap. Her own monthly salary probably wouldn’t even cover what they just picked out.

Shen Tian, now wearing a little kitten dress, looked so cute that Shen Xian couldn’t resist asking the saleslady for scissors, snipping off the tags and letting the little one wear it right away.

When they left the store, Shen Xian was carrying several shopping bags, and the little one, in her new dress, happily snuggled against her.

Shen Xian smiled and said to Lin Qinghan,
“Qinghan, let’s buy you a few things too.”

Lin Qinghan was about to refuse, but then remembered how much Shen Xian had spent on that other woman before. She swallowed her words, her ears turning slightly red. After all, gifts between wives weren’t unusual.

With her fair skin, Lin Qinghan looked beautiful in both light and dark colors. Shen Xian picked out two dresses for her, one red, one white, and asked her to try them on. She herself tried on a black fitted dress and a dark blue one.

When Lin Qinghan came out wearing the red dress, Shen Xian’s eyes lit up. Lin Qinghan usually preferred darker tones, but this red one suited her perfectly.

“All of them look great. Qinghan, try on this suit too.”
Shen Xian handed Lin Qinghan a dark gray suit. It was a fashion style suit, not bulky, with a color blocked collar and a silver chain connecting the sides of the waist, simple yet elegant.

In the end, Shen Xian picked out five outfits for Lin Qinghan. Lin Qinghan tugged lightly on Shen Xian’s sleeve and whispered, “That’s too many. I don’t need this much.”

Shen Xian smiled and said, “It’s fine. We rarely get to go out like this, just let me buy them for you, Qinghan.”

The shop assistant quickly chimed in, “That’s right, miss. The outfits you just tried on all fit you perfectly, and they’re chosen with your wife’s love.”

Lin Qinghan’s face flushed red at the shop assistant’s words.

Including the four pieces Shen Xian picked for herself, by the time the two of them left the store, their hands were full of shopping bags, leaving no free hands to hold their little one’s.

Noticing a small cold drink shop in the public area nearby, Shen Xian said, “Qinghan, you and Tian Tian wait for me there. I’ll take these to the car first, otherwise I won’t be able to carry Tian Tian.”

Lin Qinghan nodded. “Alright, Tian Tian and I will wait for you there.”

Shen Xian headed down to the underground parking lot to drop off the bags, while Lin Qinghan took Shen Tian to the drink shop. She set the shopping bags on a bench to the side and held the child in her arms, letting her pick what she wanted.

The little one chose a mango pudding. Lin Qinghan ordered a milkshake, and while still nestled in her mother’s arms, Shen Tian reminded her, “Mom, get one for Mommy too.”

Lin Qinghan chuckled and pinched the child’s cheek. “Don’t worry, we won’t forget your Mommy.”

Before long, the staff brought over the things Lin Qinghan had ordered.

Meanwhile, Yu Qingwan, whom Shen Xian had just ignored earlier, had actually been secretly watching the three of them. She was surprised to see Shen Xian buying so many clothes at once. Though the clothes here weren’t exactly luxury brands, they were still designer labels. They couldn’t compare to the ones Yu Qingwan bought in the capital, but back when she was trying to reel Shen Xian in, Shen Xian had only ever bought one or two pieces at a time for her.

Seeing all those shopping bags in Shen Xian and Lin Qinghan’s hands made Yu Qingwan’s mood sour.

She thought bitterly, Clearly, she used to be my lovesick fool, so why isn’t she taking the bait now?

A faint smile tugged at Yu Qingwan’s lips as she started walking toward the cold drink shop where Lin Qinghan and Shen Tian were resting.