Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 8

“Then, we’ll get going first,” Shen Xian nodded and said, giving a casual greeting to Lu Jianbai. As for the male lead from the original book, Shen Xian didn’t have much of an impression of him yet. Anyway, she wasn’t going to blindly believe what the book said. As for what kind of person Lu Jianbai really was, only time would tell.

Lin Qinghan was also standing next to Lu Jianbai. “Sorry, Dr. Lu, for dragging you into today’s situation.”

Lu Jianbai gave a hearty smile and said, “No worries. I’d help anyone in a situation like this. You two go take care of things.”

After Lin Qinghan and Shen Xian had left, the smile on Lu Jianbai’s lips faded. This didn’t go at all how he had imagined. He was thinking he’d get a chance to play the hero, but out of nowhere, Lin Qinghan’s ex-wife showed up and stirred everything up. And he’d heard Lin Qinghan’s ex-wife was supposed to be a scumbag — so why did she seem so normal just now?

Ever since Lin Qinghan came to Ren Nuo Hospital, Lu Jianbai had liked her. But since she had been married, he could only treat her as a regular colleague. He had waited a long time for her to get divorced, but even after that, Lin Qinghan still handled things with her colleagues in a strictly professional manner. She didn’t seem to have any special interest in him. Plus, she hadn’t removed her mark, which made Lu Jianbai feel vaguely uneasy.

It wasn’t that Lin Qinghan didn’t want to remove the full mark — it cost 30,000 yuan. First, she didn’t have that much money to spare, and second, after experiencing someone like Shen Xian, she didn’t want to get married again. So, to her, whether or not she removed the mark didn’t really matter.

On the other side, Lin Qinghan and Shen Xian had walked to the electric scooter. While Lin Qinghan was unlocking it, Shen Xian saw the virtual number above Lin Qinghan’s head change to [-110], and she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At that moment, the system’s mechanical voice rang in Shen Xian’s mind,

“Congratulations, Host, on successfully helping the female lead out of a difficult situation. Reward: <“10,000 yuan”>. Please continue the good work and correct the storyline as soon as possible.”

Shen Xian’s lips curved slightly upward. This really paid off — she not only raised the female lead’s favorability but also earned {10,000 yuan}.

Lin Qinghan was already on the scooter. “Let’s go. What are you spacing out for?” She turned her head to glance at Shen Xian.

“Coming,” Shen Xian stepped onto the back seat of the scooter. Somewhat awkwardly, she gently held onto Lin Qinghan’s waist, afraid that she might lose the hard-earned favorability she just gained.

Seeing that Shen Xian was seated properly, Lin Qinghan twisted the handle, and the scooter zoomed off. In no time, they were back at Fang Jinglan’s place.

After a few knocks on the door, Fang Jinglan opened it, smiling warmly at Lin Qinghan. She always felt that their family owed this daughter-in-law a lot.

“You’re back. Just in time, the food’s ready. Go wash your hands and eat,” Fang Jinglan said with a big smile.

“Alright. Thanks, Mom,” Lin Qinghan replied. Even after the divorce, she hadn’t changed how she addressed her.

As they were speaking, Shen Tian came running toward Lin Qinghan like a little cannonball, hugging her thigh. Her little dimples trembled slightly as she beamed up at Lin Qinghan.

“Tian Tian missed Mom,” Shen Tian said in a soft, childlike voice, full of sweetness.

Lin Qinghan picked her up with a smile, her eyes filled with a gentleness Shen Xian had never seen before. “Mom missed Tian Tian too. Were you good and played nicely at home with Grandma?”

“Yes!” Shen Tian showed off her small white teeth and shook the little tuft of hair on her head.

“Good. Then Mom will go wash her hands first, and we’ll eat together after.” She sat Shen Tian on her small stool before going into the bathroom.

Fang Jinglan tugged Shen Xian’s hand and motioned for her to talk in private. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing. Lin Zhixin came to Qinghan’s workplace asking for money again. I drove him away.”

“You and Qinghan… you two…” Fang Jinglan looked at Shen Xian, hesitant to continue.

“Mom, you’re overthinking it. I just went to help. There’s no way anything could happen between us anymore.” Given all the things the original Shen Xian had done, it was already a miracle Lin Qinghan hadn’t beaten her up. How could they possibly get back together? Her mom was reading too much into it — she needed to shut that idea down quickly.

“Alright then, it’s your business. I won’t interfere. But still… don’t mess with her again.” Fang Jinglan sighed and went to the kitchen to serve the dishes.

Shen Xian gave a helpless smile and followed to help with the food.

Lin Qinghan also joined in. In no time, the table was full of dishes. Shen Tian’s big eyes kept darting around, looking at this and that, shaking her little hair tuft with joy. What child didn’t want both their Mom and Mommy around?

Shen Xian picked up some shrimp and put it into Shen Tian’s bowl. “Tian Tian must be hungry. Go ahead and eat.”

Shen Tian bared her little white teeth in a grin. “Mom and Mommy eat too!”

“Qinghan, eat more. Tian Tian, you too,” Fang Jinglan said, her smile never fading.

Dinner was warm and lively. After the meal, while Shen Tian played in the living room, Shen Xian collected the dishes and prepared to wash them. But Fang Jinglan pushed her out of the kitchen. “It’s already dark. Go walk Qinghan and Tian Tian home. I’ll wash the dishes.”

Shen Xian had no choice but to head back to the living room. Lin Qinghan and her daughter were almost ready to go. Honestly, after what happened earlier in the day, Shen Xian had a gut feeling Lin Zhixin might cause trouble again, so she was a bit worried about them.

“How about I walk you two home? It’s already past eight, and I’m afraid something might happen,” Shen Xian said to Lin Qinghan.

Lin Qinghan gave Shen Xian a cold look. She had long since recovered from the panic earlier. Something might happen? So many things had already happened before — when had Shen Xian ever cared about her and her daughter? Now she was playing the good guy? Or was she up to something again?

“No need. Tian Tian and I are used to it. Thanks for today, but we’ll be going now.” Lin Qinghan spoke calmly, her gaze at Shen Xian no different from how she’d look at a stranger.

Seeing Lin Qinghan’s lack of interest, Shen Xian knew how much hurt the original body had caused her. She didn’t push. “Alright then. Take your time getting back.” She reached out and gently touched Shen Tian’s little hair tuft. “Mommy will come visit you again tomorrow.”

“Okay! Bye-bye, Mommy! Bye-bye, Grandpa! Bye-bye, Grandma!” Shen Tian smiled and said her goodbyes to everyone. Only after that did she walk away hand-in-hand with Lin Qinghan. But Shen Xian sharply noticed the virtual number above Shen Tian’s head had turned to [0].

After Shen Xian finished tidying up, she, as usual, turned on her computer to check the recent stock and fund markets. There were a few promising small companies that had just started out and which Shen Xian was quite optimistic about. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the money to invest, and she also had to work on gaining favor with her family members, so she could only take things slowly.

When Lin Qinghan brought Shen Tian home, they saw someone sitting outside their door. Shen Tian was so startled that her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
“Mom, who is that?”