A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 13

The sun was shining perfectly when Zhu Yu woke up.

It had been a long time since she’d had the luxury of sleeping until she naturally woke. The lingering headache from the hangover throbbed faintly, and her memories of the previous night were fragmented, scattered like shards.

A familiar scent of roses made her turn over. She unconsciously nuzzled into the soft quilt, letting the sunlight toast her other side to a golden warmth.

Wait. Roses.

That was Bai Shuzhou’s scent.

Zhu Yu, who had been drowsy a second ago, snapped her eyes wide open.

In disbelief, she lifted her wrist and collar, sniffing herself all over. Her entire body was drenched in the fragrance of roses, and her unchilled clothes were a wrinkled mess.

Help! What happened…?!

She surely didn’t—she couldn’t have—done anything offensive to Bai Shuzhou while drunk, right?!

Zhu Yu scrambled into a half-kneeling position, and a ring tumbled out from her shirt.

Literally from her shirt, against her chest, warmed to a steady heat by her body.

She did indeed have a habit of hiding “treasures” close to her skin for peace of mind, but before she could cover it up, a subtle gaze fell upon her.

Zhu Yu jerked her head up. Those pale blue eyes were cold and imperious, looking down at her from the bed. Clearly, she had witnessed the entire process.

The ring was meant to be worn on a finger.

Not hidden in one’s cleavage.

This was Bai Shuzhou’s ring—one of the many eighteenth birthday gifts given to her by the current Emperor, Bai Qianze.

Through the splitting headache, Zhu Yu vaguely recalled that cold voice saying: “Take it. Sell it. Quit.”

So overbearing.

But she had also poured her water… the embrace of the vines… the beautiful roses… and the fact that the pain subsided the moment she got close… Ugh, she’s actually so nice!

Zhu Yu frantically picked up the ring and handed it back to Bai Shuzhou. “Giving this back to you. We’ll have money soon, don’t worry.”

The gemstone ring, still carrying the girl’s body heat, was thrust into the woman’s hand. Bai Shuzhou’s gaze landed on Zhu Yu’s open collar. Her expression grew dark, and she beckoned with a finger.

The girl hesitated for a second, seemingly wanting to refuse such an overly precious gift, but Bai Shuzhou narrowed her eyes slightly and her aura chilled. Zhu Yu, at a loss, obediently leaned closer.

The gem dangled from a jade-like fingertip. With a graceful flick of her slender wrist, Bai Shuzhou naturally pushed it down past Zhu Yu’s collar.

She scrutinized Zhu Yu’s reaction with an aloof, haughty air—from the sudden flush of her earlobes to the tremor of her body as she restrained the urge to recoil. The gem caught right in the middle, appearing as red as blood against the pale skin.

Ah… Zhu Yu bit her lip. Her first thought was: Why are her hands so cold? Even colder than the gemstone.

Looking up at the “moonlight” from below, it felt like a rainy day; those pale blue eyes were always melancholy and misty, but now they held a rare, strange light.

This was already the whitest part of Zhu Yu’s body, yet against that flawless hand, a visible contrast was still forced into existence.

The tiny red mole on the woman’s wrist was strikingly vivid, like blood seeping from the pulse, then condensing into a jewel resting over her heart.

For a moment, Zhu Yu couldn’t tell if the rapid thumping was her own heartbeat or Bai Shuzhou’s pulse.

Almost instinctively, she reached out and covered the woman’s freezing hand, pressing it against her chest in an attempt to melt a block of ice with her own warmth.

No humiliation, no calculation, not even much thought. Like a fuzzy creature appearing in a snowstorm, she pressed close with such heat.

The girl remained half-kneeling; a test intended as a humiliation felt more like a knight’s coronation.

No games needed. She offered a sincere heart.

A dragon’s blood is cold, but a faint pink hue rose from the woman’s wrist. Bai Shuzhou remained expressionless and did not pull her hand away. She called out softly:

“Zhu Yu.”

“You…”

The syllables had shifted subtly. Though they were the same characters, they were bitten out with a completely different flavor—sounding colder, yet with a faint magnetic resonance that brushed past her ear, sparking a wave of numbness.

Zhu Yu instinctively held her breath.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

However, a mocking tone followed immediately, booming from outside the door: “Smiling Angel Xiao Yu, open up! Your senior is here to bring you some warmth.”

Nan Gong leaned against the door, fiddling with a mechanical part. She clearly heard a shameful cry from the girl inside, sounding very much like a puppy’s whimper.

The girl shouted in embarrassed rage: “You’ve got the wrong person!”

“I haven’t! Wasn’t it right here last night?” Nan Gong asked knowingly. “Smiling—”

Clack. The door flew open at light speed.

Zhu Yu warily covered Nan Gong’s mouth and dragged her into the house, looking very much like she wanted to “silence the witness.”

It was one thing to be called that stage name at work, but to have it shouted after hours… Zhu Yu felt her stomach start to ache again.

And—and more importantly—in front of Bai Shuzhou! That title sounded so strange no matter how you heard it!

She specifically didn’t want her to know.

Backing away from Bai Shuzhou, Zhu Yu clasped her hands together, pleading frantically with her eyes.

The “high-EQ” Nan Gong acted as if she noticed nothing, setting things down on her own. “The business we talked about yesterday—see how long it takes to fix. Also, I heard you were sick; everyone’s concerned. Xiao Fu asked me to bring you hangover medicine, Hai Bao sent sea shells… and Xiao Haitang sent a manual on pressure points. Are you two actually researching massages?”

The bag was full of “get well” gifts. Zhu Yu’s popularity was indeed excellent; her “fluffy” colleagues were even willing to entrust the Federal Nan Gong with the task.

Zhu Yu turned pale with fright: “What… what research? Can you stop talking like that!”

Boozy, suggestive, and with an ambiguously lingering tone—Nan Gong had it all. Even a serious topic sounded bizarre coming from her, as if that Old Earth TCM massage manual had turned into something unspeakable.

“Xiao Haitang is a person’s name! Pressure points are from Chinese medicine! I just want to learn massage to improve my technique and make people more comfortable!” Zhu Yu turned her head to explain, but the more she described it, the worse it sounded. The woman’s expression, which had just softened, had now sunk back into shadow.

Zhu Yu was almost in tears from anxiety: “I just want to help you with a massage to relax your muscles and help you recover sooner…!”

Probably only the person framing her knew just how wronged she was.

Nan Gong stood to the side watching the show with her arms crossed, murmuring meaningfully: “Oh, massage—”

The white gauze curtain was only half-pulled. Through the gap in the light and shadow, Nan Gong glimpsed the woman on the bed—a sharp chin, thin lips, and as the breeze blew, the flicker of pale blue eyes.

Nan Gong froze on the spot, her smile stuck at that exact curve.

She had never seen eyes so captivating—shimmering like inorganic gems, so cold that a chill seeped out from the gaps in her bones. There wasn’t a trace of emotion in them.

It wasn’t an illusion… What is with this person?

Zhu Yu watched as Nan Gong walked closer and closer, reaching out to pull the curtain as if she weren’t an outsider at all.

Zhu Yu fiercely pushed Nan Gong away and warily dragged her out of the room. At this moment, she suddenly empathized deeply with the Emperor, Bai Qianze—the original Zhu Yu had almost been killed when she first proposed to Bai Shuzhou.

“Heh.” Nan Gong actually had the nerve to laugh, though she reined in her flippancy, becoming serious and subtle. She asked tentatively: “Who is she?”

Zhu Yu lowered her voice: “My wife!”

Nan Gong arched an eyebrow: “I don’t believe you.”

Zhu Yu couldn’t stand hearing that. She bristled like a ruffled animal and hissed: “None of your business! You’re not allowed to look, or I’ll hit you.”

“No wonder you’re working so hard to make money.” Nan Gong’s smile turned meaningful.

Zhu Yu: “…”

She grit her teeth: “What exactly are you here for?”

Coming all this way with bags of gifts just to frame her? Wait, did this person take a liking to her last night… hmph, an ‘ex-wife in waiting’ is still a wife!

“Didn’t I say? To bring you business. Go back and see if you can fix that part. If you take this job, you can quit the bar.”

“Your ‘family’ wouldn’t approve of you doing that, would they?” Her tone was mocking and threatening.

Zhu Yu grit her teeth: “What do you mean by ‘that‘? The business on the first floor is perfectly legal, okay? We earn money through our own efforts. If it hadn’t been for last night…”

If she hadn’t played the hero last night, she usually just had a few easy drinks and still had the strength to help her colleagues out of tight spots.

Friendship was mutual. While struggling at the bottom, they supported each other, all dreaming of saving enough money to make life better.

In fact, many colleagues didn’t even like biscuits that much, but hearing that Bai Shuzhou had injured her legs, they enthusiastically bought out those expensive snacks.

Xiao Haitang taught her techniques for caring for patients, Hai Bao often shared fish with colleagues, and Xiao Fu recommended a hospital on a neighboring planet that was great value—chattering away about how her internet friend had been treated there with amazing results…

“Paradis isn’t as simple as you think,” Nan Gong said, flicking Zhu Yu’s forehead. “Don’t be so ‘simple-stupid,’ kid.”

Zhu Yu’s tone was firm: “I know. I’ll fix the parts and get them to you.”

Nan Gong shrugged, letting the matter drop. “Then let us wait and see.”

She left several damaged samples, intentionally hiding an old-fashioned mecha part among the junk.

Federal technology was far ahead of the Empire’s. The things they discarded were decades beyond the Empire. On a trash planet like this, without blueprints, identifying it at a glance was practically a fantasy.

If Zhu Yu could even distinguish what that part did or where it was installed, she could be called a genius.

Nan Gong loved discovering geniuses; it was a very profitable investment.

Unfortunately, three days passed, and Zhu Yu went to work as usual without making any sign.

Informants said she was frequently running to major scrap yards. Nan Gong briefly suspected that the “bastard” had secretly sold the parts. When she saw her at Paradis, Zhu Yu actually dared to pretend she didn’t know her, not even offering a greeting.

She seemed to hold a deep grudge.

Swapping out defective parts, finding a similar-looking shell, and charging a high repair fee—such “old-timer” tricks were common.

I guess ‘simple’ was just a persona. This is the Chaotic Zone, not an ivory tower; what good could grow here? Nan Gong sneered to herself. I’ll give her credit for having the nerve.

However, when Zhu Yu produced the simplified device model, Nan Gong silently realized that this girl actually was capable. Very capable.

She hadn’t just fixed it; she had improved it. It was equivalent to making a dying heart beat again and growing a whole person around it.

Specifically, “half” a person—she was too poor, so the torso was made of cardboard scavenged from who-knows-where.

The girl warily hid the small machine in a bag: “To fix this, I had to buy a lot of things. It all has to be included in the cost. You need to pay extra.”

Hearing this actually made Nan Gong feel a bit better.

I knew it! How could someone hand-craft this from scratch? This tech was only decrypted by the Federation five years ago. She asked pleasantly, “You bought the core components from White Horse, right? You’re her student, I guessed as much. We’re actually quite well-acquainted.”

White Horse had come from a decommissioned Federal research institute, wanted for “crimes against humanity.” She fled to this planet and lived incognito as a repair technician; half the smuggling army’s gear passed through her hands.

Small towns rely heavily on social connections. Helan had introduced Zhu Yu to White Horse earlier, though Zhu Yu herself was unaware, believing “true kindness exists in the world” and that everyone she met was simply a good person.

Zhu Yu said, “I know you know each other. Sister White Horse said to put the parts and books on your tab. What I’m raising is the labor fee.”

She obviously wasn’t going to pay for materials out of her own pocket; if Nan Gong ran off, she’d be ruined.

Although she was earning a decent amount now, the food bill for “raising a dragon” was a massive expense. And she still didn’t know when those “useless” royals would show up.

Ah, people really do get arrogant when they’re in their element. Otherwise, how would I dare call the Guard ‘useless’.

Nan Gong, smiling benevolently, agreed immediately and pulled out her light-brain: “What’s your card number?”

Zhu Yu looked troubled: “I want cash.”

Nan Gong was even more satisfied: “Oh? Are you wanted too?”

“No problem. But I don’t have that much on me. I’ll have to pull cash from the city. I’ll give it all to you in a few days. I have a few more things here; I’ll drop them off tonight for you to look at.”

Zhu Yu’s lip twitched. She felt Nan Gong was also pretty poor if she had to “pull from the city”—what a poser.

After Nan Gong left, she went straight to White Horse’s studio to demand the bill. To her surprise, White Horse was also shocked to see the finished product Zhu Yu had repaired.

The two of them went over the books together.

Zhu Yu had bought some high-value “trash,” sourcing replacement parts at the lowest prices from several shops, along with several maintenance books.

《Starship Structures and Flight Control System Maintenance Tutorial (9th Revised Edition)》

《Maintenance Operation Manual: Junior Engineer Edition》

They were as basic as it gets—one was even a Federal textbook.

White Horse pointed out that the girl had “sneaked in” some extras—buying several expensive books on central nervous systems and brain-machine interfaces. Even second-hand, they cost a fortune.

But the two women forgot about the bill, staring at each other in confusion: “She’s not one of your people??”

A treasure. We’ve literally found a ghost.

That night, Nan Gong brought a truckload of new parts and extra gifts. Her enthusiasm made Zhu Yu’s skin crawl.

Zhu Yu: “I don’t accept goods as debt payment!”

Nan Gong: “You’ve really got ambition, heh.” She barely swallowed the word “not.”

When Nan Gong smiled, Zhu Yu got even more scared. “Giving gifts for no reason”… Wait, is this person trying to pursue Bai Shuzhou?

Zhu Yu grabbed her hair in agony, pushing and pulling to order Nan Gong not to set foot in the house, whispering a threat: “She’s my wife!!”

Nan Gong arched an eyebrow: “Oh. And?”

Zhu Yu was completely stunned by her “it goes without saying” and shameless attitude.

Nan Gong smiled again: “Don’t you want her to have a better life? Heh.”

Zhu Yu: “…”

In an instant, a million thoughts flashed through her mind.

So Xiao Shan was right. Federals really have no moral standards!!

Zhu Yu stared with wide, angry eyes, completely unaware that her “wariness” looked like a “passionate gaze” in Bai Shuzhou’s eyes.

White gauze curtains, iron doors—separated layer by layer, with only one window open. The two women’s voices, kept intentionally low, sounded exceptionally intimate in the darkness.

The girl threw a punch, which the tall woman caught easily.

The knuckles gripping the mirror turned white. Bai Shuzhou leaned back against the soft pillow, the soft sensation from earlier in the day seemingly lingering on her fingertips.

She could see through her less and less.

The old Zhu Yu was shallow and malicious, wearing a bright, arrogant smile.

The current one loved to smile too, but she had no sharp edges; even when bullied, she would only curl up.

Soft, cowardly, and as clear as water.

And yet, during the day, she had half-knelt before her, pressing her hand against her chest in a gesture of submission…

Or… is she simply like this with everyone?

A crack appeared on the edge of the mirror. Bai Shuzhou’s pupils went completely dark.