A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 29

Separated by that cold silver-white door, Zhu Yu did not know whether Bai Shuzhou could hear her.

But she still introduced herself solemnly, hoping to win even a little more chance through the cracks.

The emperor had not given an explicit order. Words like “Do not let Zhu Yu approach Bai Shuzhou” were something the emperor would never say aloud. She had only ordered the Snow Leopard Knights to protect Bai Shuzhou well.

And opposite protection was danger.

Yet the young woman who had fought her way through one obstacle after another now put away all her unruliness. Her eyes were faintly red, and there was not a trace of hostility in her clear brows. She hooked both arms around the Snow Leopard Knights who were desperately blocking her and squeezed forward bit by bit.

There was no intention to resist or defy them. She only pushed slowly and continuously, like kneading dough.

The Snow Leopard Knights were all agile Alphas, selected one in ten thousand, heroic and valiant. Even their tails were powerful.

So Zhu Yu secretly scratched their tails.

It was very despicable, but quite effective.

When had the bright and noble Snow Leopard Knights ever seen such a low-down trick? They could not help shifting aside a little.

After squeezing up to the door, Zhu Yu pressed her burning cheek against the crack. Her hot blood had not yet cooled. She tried hard to let her voice pour in with the wind.

“If you’ve lost your memory, then we can get to know each other again. Isn’t that nice?”

“When heaven closes a door for you, we’ll open it again. That’s what doors are for.”

“As long as you open the door, you’ll see me—”

The Snow Leopard Knights finally could not bear it anymore.

If they kept letting this slide, this slippery little fish would probably swim through the crack in the door. This was truly too outrageous.

One of them covered Zhu Yu’s mouth and threatened her with a stern face. “Stop shouting. The princess can’t hear you. If you keep making trouble, you’ll only disturb public order.”

Around the corner, the researchers who had been faintly glanced at by the Snow Leopard Knights hurriedly drew their heads back.

The Academy rarely had such a lively moment. It was hard not to notice.

The reporters who had swarmed after Zhu Yu were already surrounding the outside so tightly that not even water could pass. The guards who hurried over as reinforcements were dazed for an instant. At first glance, they almost thought the Federation had attacked.

Zhu Yu blinked and measured the wall’s thickness with her eyes. The soundproofing did indeed seem very good. Her blazing confidence wilted just a tiny bit.

But no one acted, and no one tried to kill her. Did that mean the people above had tacitly allowed this?

That made Zhu Yu’s careful little thoughts begin swaying again.

If the jar was already broken, then she might as well smash it harder.

How would she know unless she tried?

She was good at reading people’s expressions, and gradually, she had also learned how to take an inch and reach for a foot. After realizing Bai Shuzhou truly seemed unable to hear, she simply changed her face.

When the Snow Leopard Knights tried to drag her out, she hugged the door handle tightly. The magnetic voice she had been holding up turned shameless.

“I’m not leaving. If you have the ability, beat me to death.”

“Even if I die, I’ll stay here to protect my wife!”

She deliberately bit the words “my wife” very heavily. On one hand, she was grasping at this identity because others would not dare act rashly. On the other hand, she had a bit of bluffing pride, once again announcing it to the world.

Snow Leopard Knights: “…”

What happened to not making things difficult for us!

Zhu Yu had rushed over at the sharpest point of the storm. She herself was a ticking time bomb.

Forget killing her. If she even fell here and got a bruise on her face, then walked out afterward, the public would probably suspect the royal family or the Academy of abusing private punishment and wonder whether they were trying to hide some shocking secret.

The Snow Leopard Knights nervously pulled at Zhu Yu, terrified she would suddenly punch herself in the face. If that happened, they would have no way to explain themselves!

On the hospital bed, the woman blinked very lightly.

Although she could not see the scene outside, her hearing was very sensitive. Vaguely, she sketched the image of “Zhu Yu” in her mind.

At first, it was a soft bun, served steaming hot, filled with rose red-bean paste. Its voice was a little hoarse, very magnetic.

If pinched, it would be soft and sink in a little.

But this image did not last very long. That bun soon went splat onto the ground, and even its voice changed—

“If you have the ability, beat me to death.”

Like a scoundrel, a rascal, and yet very soft and glutinous, without much threat.

Strange and novel.

The attitude of the Snow Leopard Knights, the fact that she could come here, and the way she seemed faintly stained with Bai Shuzhou’s own pheromones…

Bai Shuzhou slowly frowned, revealing a bit of confusion and doubt.

She seemed to have heard this voice before, but the content was very strange. Her nerves ached. She barely remembered a little. It had called out…

Mommy?

Her icy vertical pupils paused.

This was too strange.

Moreover, a faint displeasure inexplicably rose in her heart. That sentence probably had not been directed at her either.

The palace had strict order. Everyone manipulated power within a framework. Bai Shuzhou had never seen this kind of person before.

Even their mother, after having two children, had never called each other wife or darling so loudly and intimately.

She pressed her lips together slightly and silently formed a definition in her heart.

The Academy’s enforcement guards slowly arrived. Before the Snow Leopard Knights could brighten with relief, they discovered these bastards had actually come to take sides.

On the surface, they tried to flatter and scold both sides equally. In reality, it was basically: “You nobles, why bother arguing with a commoner? Forget it, forget it. We’re all from the same nation.”

Naturally, Feng Jiyan’s handiwork was behind this.

Under Zhu Yu’s insistence and after coordination from multiple sides, the Academy reluctantly agreed that Zhu Yu could come visit for ten minutes every night and jointly supervise the Academy’s treatment progress.

It was unexpectedly smooth.

Zhu Yu had originally prepared for worse. She had not expected that fox, that treacherous minister, to really handle matters. As expected of…

My wife’s capable future subordinate.

She felt a little ashamed of her earlier narrow-minded assumptions.

However, that shame was quickly replaced by anger.

When Zhu Yu mentioned human experimentation in front of the reporters, she had hoped to use public power to supervise the Academy, at least to make Feng Jiyan not act recklessly.

Yet Feng Jiyan truly had the nerve to half-publicly reveal the experiments, and grandly received the “wandering outside” white bird phoenix back into the Academy.

A bird with a severe genetic illness, who should have died early, had actually grown healthily until now. Of course, that was a scientific miracle.

That night, the auction had been too chaotic. The escaped phoenix and little birds had been rescued by the Federation. Later, after connecting with the Empire and reaching some kind of agreement, they were sent back.

Human experimentation violated ethics and had been strictly forbidden many years ago. The phoenix’s existence was equivalent to evidence against them.

After being countered by Zhu Yu, the cunning fox saw that the matter was already set in stone and used the fastest speed to create a new public opinion campaign, striving to make people believe they truly were fighting to overcome genetic illness.

To some extent, abilities were indeed genetic illnesses too, and only a very small number of people awakened them.

The ten minutes of visiting time every night were far too short. It was not even time alone together. By the time Zhu Yu was finally allowed in, the princess had already fallen asleep.

Looking at Bai Shuzhou’s pale sleeping face, Zhu Yu could not bear to disturb her.

But she had only six days. If Bai Shuzhou did not recover her memory during this period and was unwilling to continue being with her, then Zhu Yu’s fate seemed like it would be terrible.

Bai Qianze did not set up any further obstacles. With contempt, she seemed certain Zhu Yu would not succeed.

At this stage, Bai Shuzhou was sensitive and wary. She trusted only Bai Qianze. Even Izelia, her childhood friend, did not have many privileges.

The next day, when Zhu Yu entered, Bai Shuzhou was still asleep.

Zhu Yu watched her pitifully for ten minutes. She wanted to say something, but worried she would disturb her, so she could only cover her mouth and mutter softly, counting her curled lashes.

For now, Feng Jiyan very much hoped Zhu Yu would stay. She was a rather useful chess piece, and for the time being, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

She had a very sharp intuition that perhaps only Zhu Yu could drive a wedge between Bai Shuzhou and Bai Qianze.

Yet during these two critical days of life and death, Zhu Yu made no progress at all. She wasted precious opportunities just to watch Bai Shuzhou sleep, making Feng Jiyan so angry her teeth itched.

“How did the princess ever take a fancy to you?” Feng Jiyan sneered, hating iron for not becoming steel.

The tips of Zhu Yu’s ears reddened. “Actually, I want to know too.”

Feng Jiyan: “…”

“No one was praising you.”

If there was really no other way, Feng Jiyan still had a professional team. But the moment Zhu Yu heard those overly extreme methods, she was so frightened she waved her hands repeatedly.

If she truly acted according to Feng Jiyan’s methods, there were only two outcomes. Either Bai Qianze would kill her, or she would walk the original body’s old path. Overall, there was actually only one road, and it was death.

Ha. Ha.

Zhu Yu even somewhat suspected that Feng Jiyan had also secretly pushed the original body’s self-destruction along.

This fox was truly too terrifying!

Every night after Zhu Yu left, when the lights went out, the woman who should have been sleeping peacefully would always lift her brows and eyes lightly.

Zhu Yu discovered it, but she did not say so.

She only said softly right before leaving, “You’re so cute.”

Those long lashes lifted by an extremely tiny amount, and her breathing stopped for two seconds.

Zhu Yu had counted many times, so she would absolutely not be wrong.

Bai Shuzhou seemed not to want others to know she was pretending to sleep. She was very good at disguise and paid extreme attention to her privacy and boundaries.

That day, Zhu Yu had also reflected deeply while standing in the corridor. Recklessly pulling open Bai Shuzhou’s quilt that day had indeed not been good. Bai Shuzhou was so proud and did not want her wounds to be seen. Zhu Yu should respect her choice too.

After losing her memory, Bai Shuzhou became even less talkative. She always seemed weighed down by thoughts, cold and distant toward everyone.

She had a little less indifference and a few more sharp edges.

Feng Jiyan said it was because of the medication, but Zhu Yu could tell that Bai Shuzhou could not feel at ease here. So at the slightest movement, she would warily reveal aggression. She was only protecting herself.

Bai Shuzhou only trusted Bai Qianze and would only smile at Bai Qianze.

With Feng Jiyan’s secret help, Zhu Yu racked her brain trying to get closer. But even if they passed each other face-to-face and Zhu Yu bent down to greet Bai Shuzhou, Bai Shuzhou would walk past without looking sideways, as though she had not seen her at all.

Feng Jiyan could only turn a blind eye, then another blind eye, until both her eyes were about to sleep forever. She tacitly allowed Zhu Yu to be a little bolder while Bai Qianze was not around.

During the day, Bai Shuzhou had to receive treatment. Zhu Yu felt sorry for her increasingly thin figure, so she specially borrowed the researcher’s little kitchen and made many dishes Bai Shuzhou liked, stuffing them hot into insulated food boxes.

As it happened, according to the information from enthusiastic members of the public, Bai Shuzhou would rarely eat outside at lunchtime today.

In order to wait for the soup to finish simmering, Zhu Yu came a little late. She had specially hidden some little candies underneath the food boxes.

But from a distance, she saw another familiar figure sitting across from Bai Shuzhou.

White Bird was there too!

The gorgeous square table was covered with rare delicacies. Carrying the heavy lunch boxes, Zhu Yu suddenly felt that what she had prepared seemed a little crude, and also a little too little.

Not enough to share.

Just as she hesitated over whether she should bring it forward, she saw Bai Shuzhou smile faintly and personally use serving chopsticks to pick up some food for White Bird.

…Ah.

This was the first time since Shuzhou lost her memory that Zhu Yu saw her show closeness to someone other than Bai Qianze.

More accurately, not only after her amnesia.

Even before, back in the rented house, Bai Shuzhou had never picked up food for her.

Bai Shuzhou had a bit of a cleanliness habit and a strong sense of territory. If others touched a dish too often, she might not eat it anymore.

So every time, Zhu Yu would prepare her portion separately.

Did Bai Shuzhou know White Bird?

Zhu Yu felt she should go forward to say hello, pat White Bird, and ask how she had been recently. What happened after that night? Did Feng Jiyan bully you?

They could count as sisters-in-trouble too. Surviving such disaster was truly not easy.

But her nose felt sour. The Academy’s cooling system seemed to be targeting her, nearly blowing her nose into a cold. It was a little uncomfortable.

She lifted her head and looked at the rare treasures they were eating, then lowered her head to look at her own stainless steel food box. Suddenly, she felt it was especially unpresentable.

Dragons liked gorgeous, shiny things.

But she did not have any.

White Bird, like Bai Shuzhou, had beautiful white hair. She looked very obedient, was also an ability user, and could even spit little fireballs.

It seemed… quite normal that Bai Shuzhou would like her.

Forget it. She could think of a way after eating. It would not be good to waste food either.

The young woman’s shining eyes dimmed.

Zhu Yu found a spot outside, not too close and not too far, opened the lunch boxes, and decided to eat it all herself.

A passing researcher glanced over. “Eh, Your Highness Zhu Yu, did you make this yourself?”

The portion had been prepared for Bai Shuzhou. Once spread out, it also covered a large table. Zhu Yu could not finish it alone, so she invited the researcher to sit down and eat together. Soon, groups of two and three gathered into a small table.

Zhu Yu felt these researchers were quite like stray cats. In the office, each and every one of them was an arrogant genius. But once they came out to forage, they became much gentler. As soon as one was invited, a whole group would appear, spreading outward in a radiating pattern.

More and more people arrived, almost surrounding Zhu Yu. Praise sounded without end, making her a little flustered and bewildered.

Zhu Yu did not know that most researchers were also born commoners. The way they looked at her was very similar to: “This is the most promising university student from our village.”

Although everyone could not put aside their identity as geniuses to actively chat with her, once a gap appeared, the researchers who approached one after another discovered that this star of the common people, who appeared extremely approachable on the big screen, truly did not put on airs.

And her cooking was actually quite good.

She had personally cooked for a long time, and ingredients on the imperial capital star were very expensive. Zhu Yu was a bit reluctant, but everyone treated her as Bai Shuzhou’s family by default. Each “Your Highness” sounded so respectful, and the praise was so extravagant that if she refused, she would look very stingy.

Zhu Yu did not want to be a stingy person, so she buried her head and ate in revenge. Very soon, she was full. She simply put down her bowl and chopsticks and looked affectionately at the researchers dividing the food.

At least it was not wasted.

That meant her cooking was not bad.

This was Zhu Yu’s first time being surrounded and praised like this. She was so light-headed she almost forgot herself.

If Bai Shuzhou did not like her, then after fleeing for her life in the future, aside from being a repair technician, perhaps she could also work part-time as a chef.

Just as she was thinking low-spirited, random thoughts, she suddenly sensed an icy gaze fall on her.

She raised her head and looked around. There was nothing.

As a top warrior and the star of the common people surrounded by attention, Zhu Yu pretended to leisurely serve two bowls of soup to the people beside her.

Then she abruptly looked back and caught the Snow Leopard Knight wandering nearby and secretly watching.

A group of researchers, following Zhu Yu’s sudden raised head, all looked toward the Snow Leopard Knight in unison. Zhu Yu’s movement was so dramatic it was practically like some signal for uprising.

Sneaking around like a cat—this was not the style a noble should have.

“Cough.”

The Snow Leopard, who had been tiptoeing, froze. After being discovered, she cleared her throat somewhat awkwardly and waved elegantly.

“I’m only asking on my own behalf. Is it good?”

Only on her own behalf.

This phrasing was especially suspicious, very much like covering one’s ears while stealing a bell.

Is it good?

Want to eat?

Eat!

Zhu Yu understood at once. She immediately turned her head to look at Bai Shuzhou and found that Her Highness was lightly supporting her chin with one hand, casually sending over a glance. It looked very much like an accidental glance, as if she had only just turned around.

Icy cold.

Without any emotion.

Yet for some reason, it made Zhu Yu straighten her back and instinctively stand up, her pair of worn wooden chopsticks still clutched in her hand.

Author’s Note:

The princess ordering food: Zhu Yu. [Gold ingot]

Zhu Yu: Mm-hm, writing it down. What else do you want to eat? [Food please] [Laughing hard]

Princess: Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu: Mm-hm… hm?