A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 30

The researchers lowered their heads to look at the food container, then raised their eyes to look at Zhu Yu and Bai Shuzhou, swallowing down the food in their mouths along with this sudden, heavy dose of gossip.

Even though they weren’t sitting particularly close, they were still well within a clear line of sight.

The spot Zhu Yu had specially selected wasn’t very prominent, but there was absolutely no obstruction between them. Their gazes sketched out a small Milky Way, spanning across a small pot of swaying, fluorescent baby’s breath.

If they were both seated, Bai Shuzhou would look across this baby’s breath and catch a vague, shifting silhouette of Zhu Yu and her high, neatly tied ponytail.

This subtle, clever bit of planning wouldn’t normally have been detected.

But at this very moment, the researchers—heads raised and brains working at hyper-speed—looked exactly like the Stargazy pies Zhu Yu had freshly baked: steaming hot, their eyes following her instinctive movements to look straight at Bai Shuzhou.

The entire dining hall plunged into a bizarre silence. The quiet thumping of Zhu Yu’s heartbeat echoed all the way through the Academy of Sciences.

—Oh, so Zhu Yu made this specifically for the Princess.

Shifting from shock to a sudden epiphany, their act of snatching food from the Dragon’s mouth suddenly made the dishes on the table seem even more delicious.

No wonder Zhu Yu had actually plated such ordinary, everyday food. Although a slight jolt of the food container had scattered the meticulously arranged patterns, and the heart carved out of a radish had slipped slightly out of alignment, the intent was undeniable.

Just a moment ago, someone with quick eyes and fast hands had snapped a photo. Then, under Zhu Yu’s watchful gaze, they had divided and consumed the food with a tremendous sense of ceremony—as precise and rigorous as a surgery, slicing it into highly uneven portions.

The researchers, fully aware that taking a bribe leaves one short-handed, thought: Uh oh, we seem to have eaten something extraordinary.

Bai Shuzhou merely spared a casual glance, appearing as though she genuinely didn’t care at all. This left Zhu Yu standing there, swaying alongside the baby’s breath, flickering between light and shadow.

“Go on, Your Highness Zhu Yu,” the person beside her urged in a whisper.

“The Princess is waiting for you, Your Highness!”

A certain researcher pushed up her glasses. “Isn’t this exactly what you came here for?”

“Yeah, the Princess never used to dine in public areas before. These past few days, only Your Highness Zhu Yu ate out here…”

The crowd whispered in blatant, open collusion, throwing small matches onto the woodpile that was on the verge of awkwardly burning out. With a soft whoosh, the flame was weak, but it still caught fire once again.

Zhu Yu maintained her proud, upright posture. She lifted her eyes, her lips slightly pursed, projecting an unyielding aura of youthful high spirits.

—After all, the Academy of Sciences didn’t have a hole in the ground, and she wasn’t a mole; she couldn’t dig one on the spot in front of all these watching eyes.

Zhu Yu held her dashing posture for a moment, taking a deep breath.

The researchers sharing her table grew intensely nervous, their hearts suspended in anticipation.

Zhu Yu took another deep breath.

It was truly bizarre. When she had voluntarily stepped onto the speech stage the other day, facing countless journalists and flashing lights, her heart hadn’t felt this up-and-down. It felt as though a whole rack of condiments had been upturned, rolling through her burning heart, leaving behind nothing but a rich, caramelized glaze.

Finally, with one hand tucked casually into her pocket, Zhu Yu moved.

She put on her trademark sunny smile and walked over to Bai Shuzhou’s side. The Snow Leopard Knights tactfully refrained from blocking her path.

Across a distance of a dozen steps, she had already cycled through every single possibility in her mind: how to open her mouth, how to strike up a conversation, how to display her feathers like a peacock.

As for the perfect guidebooks provided by Feng Jiyan—even though Zhu Yu had outwardly dismissed them with utter disdain and a stern refusal—she had still silently and thoroughly memorized every word, keeping the essence while discarding the dross!

This picture of absolute confidence carried a tremendous presence. Her Highness the Princess remained unmoved like a mountain, while Zhu Yu advanced toward her like the morning sun.

The moment to witness history had arrived!! Everyone involuntarily held their breath.

Hello, how did you rest last night? Was lunch to your liking? If it wasn’t enough, I can go make more for you; I’ve already become exceptionally practiced with the dishes you love, and I even newly learned carving. The pheromones on my body… the ones belonging to you… are fading a bit… Wife… I miss you very much.

A thousand words—whether tender coaxing or ambiguous whispers—needed to proceed step-by-step. The manual had heavily stressed this point, warning that the tone of voice and tempo of speech required careful attention.

The girl’s voice was slightly raspy, held with an even more beautiful cadence than during her speech, condensing into a single phrase:

“Hello, wife.”

“…”

That’s it?

A researcher who had been itching to cheer her on nearly spat out her drink. After holding her breath for so long, this was the single sentence she produced? Wasn’t she quite the smooth talker on television?

Zhu Yu was simply too nervous. With a mind overflowing with longing, she grabbed a line from the beginning and a line from the end, condensing it into a crude, bare-bones version.

The sheer gap between her words and her thoughts was no different from the gap between her carrot heart and the massive table of land and sea delicacies before her.

Lowering her head, she realized she was still clutching a pair of chopsticks.

Bai Shuzhou said nothing, entirely unsure of how to respond.

This wasn’t good. Wife…?

Plunged into despair, Zhu Yu simply threw caution to the wind. Her voice lost its poised cadence; she rubbed her hands together and said bashfully, “Can I eat with you guys?”

If Feng Jiyan were watching the surveillance footage right now, she would probably pass out from pure rage.

She had gone through a labyrinth of calculations to position people around Bai Shuzhou, spreading tales of Zhu Yu’s exceptional deeds and their past romantic encounters. Although the ratio of truth to fiction remained unknown, it at least painted a perfectly flawless, inspiring image of a heroine. Who wouldn’t like a high-spirited youth?

Zhu Yu, with absolute ease, shattered that stereotype in just two sentences.

Instead, it felt as though a fracture had split open across that perfect, near-artificial stone statue of a heroine, and a tender green sprout had popped out from within.

Bai Shuzhou narrowed her eyes, the elongated corners of her eyes lifting ever so slightly. She neither agreed nor refused.

The white bird stole a glance at Bai Shuzhou, immediately holding her tray as she obediently shuffled a bit further to the side, patting the space next to her with great delight toward Zhu Yu. The intent of her invitation was crystal clear.

Zhu Yu took her seat smoothly. The atmosphere fell back into a certain subtle awkwardness, though it seemed strictly confined to the space between her and Bai Shuzhou.

The white bird truly achieved the state of burying her head to eat heartily, her ethereal aura on the verge of transcending the mortal realm. No matter what it was, as long as it was placed into her bowl, she would consume it.

Bai Shuzhou placed a piece of meat into her bowl, she ate it; Zhu Yu tentatively placed some vegetables for the child, she ate those too.

She wondered if all white-haired individuals were naturally born aloof. Across this massive table—or more accurately, across this entire surrounding circle—Zhu Yu was the only person speaking.

Zhu Yu racked her brain to recount some beautiful memories from before. Bai Shuzhou appeared completely unmoved, her slender knuckles tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, revealing a beautifully pale earlobe.

Her eating speed slowed down a fraction; she ate less herself, focusing instead on constantly placing food for the white bird.

She placed food, and Zhu Yu placed food too. Even though she was also here to hitch a free meal, maintaining a balanced diet was never a bad thing.

The poor white bird resembled a child caught squarely in the middle of a parental cold war, her rice bowl piled high into a miniature mountain. Finally left with no choice, she lifted her face expressionlessly, unable to burp, and gently spat out a tiny fireball.

“Ah, are you full? If you’re full, don’t eat anymore; don’t bloat your stomach.” Zhu Yu poured her a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to soothe her throat.

The detachment in Bai Shuzhou’s features softened a fraction. Her eyelashes lowered gently, and she elegantly uttered a single syllable: “Mmh.”

Meanwhile, before the white bird, a glass of milk pushed forward by Bair Shuzhou and a small crock of bird’s nest and cordyceps soup were already waiting.

The white bird seemed to freeze, completely motionless.

The supervisor from the adjacent table could endure it no longer. Braving the bizarre low pressure between the two women, she stepped forward, stuffed a pack of digestive tablets into the bird’s hands, and hurriedly whisked her away.

With the white bird gone, leaving only Zhu Yu and Bai Shuzhou, the atmosphere grew colder still.

Until this very moment, Zhu Yu finally discovered that Bai Shuzhou’s clear, elegant detachment was seared into her very bones. Her surroundings seemed to carry an innate chill; even when seated very close, she lacked the typical arrogance of common nobility, yet still appeared to hold people a thousand miles away.

A detached, vast sky that accommodated all things, yet cared for none.

Back then, she had likely just lucked out; stranded in an unfamiliar environment, Bai Shuzhou had been forced to rely on her, and that was why… She didn’t want to think any further down that line.

Dining, Bai Shuzhou was as beautiful as a carving of jade. Her illness was a misty white veil, lightly enveloping her, yet it still failed to obstruct the regal grace in her every gesture.

Even the action of lightly dabbing her lips with a handkerchief, displaying a brief flash of the tiny red mole on her wrist, was beautiful enough to cause a heart to skip a beat.

The Snow Leopard Knights guarding the perimeter closed in, delivering a magnificent, semi-transparent hand-washing basin and hot towels to them in sequence.

It was too extravagant. Zhu Yu sat frozen, entirely still. She suddenly thought of a joke she had read in her childhood: a poor person goes to a noble banquet and drinks the water meant for rinsing mouths before the meal.

Fortunately, times had progressed; this spatial basin meant for washing hands was quite large, ensuring it wouldn’t be mistaken for a cup, though it wasn’t exceptionally large either—otherwise, this currently awkward little fish might have leaped straight inside to perform a ritual bath.

Bai Shuzhou lifted her eyes gently, casting a glance at her. She methodically slowed her movements, her jade-like fingertips swirling through the clear water, slowly submerging as a beautiful trace of pink flushed across her knuckles.

Zhu Yu’s heartbeat accelerated once more. Perhaps she also needed to register for an appointment to check whether she suffered from an irregular heart rhythm.

This was highly dangerous.

Only after this bright moon departed did the researchers swarm over, geniuses from various fields enthusiastically helping Zhu Yu dissect the encounter.

From psychologists to criminal profilers, someone had even produced a notebook from unknown origins, mapping out the real-time shifts in their facial expressions using coordinates, highlighting the precise data differentials to supply Zhu Yu with decision-making references.

The tips of Zhu Yu’s ears flushed red. She was deeply touched, but she refused.

You people might as well stop calling yourselves the Academy of Sciences and call yourselves the Academy of Gossip instead!

But this brain-trust wasn’t entirely useless. Led by the yellow-haired researcher who had drawn Zhu Yu’s blood that day, they had managed to unearth a vital clue: the white bird and Bai Shuzhou had likely known each other very early on, right here in the Academy of Sciences.

Although that specific batch of files and experimental data from back then had been completely sealed and destroyed, it was impossible to erase every single trace. Serial numbers, timestamps, inventory consumption—gathering all this data together, if given just a bit more time, they would be able to deduce far more useful information.

The young researchers were immensely amazed by their own discovery, appearing even happier than Zhu Yu, and instantly created a new discussion group.

Someone looked around, a belated hesitation entering her voice: “Isn’t this against the rules?”

The yellow-haired researcher caught the remark prudently: “Then don’t get caught.”

They didn’t usually cooperate much; scholars naturally tended to look down on one another, holding a modicum of disdain for their peers.

But Zhu Yu’s appearance perfectly bridged this gap. Although her brain moved a bit slower, she possessed experience in group collaboration, carried a massive reputation, and would praise people with utmost sincerity, making her highly capable of coordination.

Zhu Yu thought about it and changed the group chat name from its originally cold investigation serial number to: [We Are a Loving Family on This Planet]

“This way, it won’t be easily suspected.”

The researchers: “…” It feels as though some attribute has just been downgraded.

Zhu Yu felt a bit embarrassed to let them help for free, but she possessed nothing decent on her person to offer. She didn’t know the original host’s payment password, and she didn’t want to touch the gems Bai Shuzhou had left her, so she could only bashfully paint a grand vision of the future, shaking hands with each one: “There will definitely be a massive reward once this succeeds!”

Competition within the Academy of Sciences was fierce—publish or perish. The researchers gathered here were mostly ordinary commoners, very young, and holding zero actual authority.

The yellow-haired lady waved her hand with a grand perspective: “No need for thanks, you’re being far too polite. We’re all one family on this planet now anyway.”

“Let us strive and fight to secure the rights of the grassroots!”

This burden is a bit too heavy; how about we stick to being polite instead.

Zhu Yu, who had almost let out a sigh of relief, grew tense once more, shaking hands with them forcefully yet again.

Before parting, someone covertly slipped a vial of reagent into Zhu Yu’s hand. It was rumored that drinking it could stimulate pheromones, making a person smell incredibly fragrant in the eyes of their partner.

Highly compatible pheromones would naturally attract each other, but everyone knew Zhu Yu’s pheromones were exceptionally faint; right now, the scent coating her body was still predominantly the Princess’s rose fragrance.

To allow an Omega to leave such a rich, heavy aura over one’s body—Zhu Yu was likely the very first Alpha to experience this.

The person informed Zhu Yu with a lingering attachment that she had originally wanted to use them as research subjects to analyze the impact of the comprehensive spiritual power tier on anomalous pheromone shifts. Zhu Yu got a headache just from hearing the title of the thesis; fortunately, since it involved members of the imperial family, such a sensitive topic was vetoed down with a single stroke.

Having been immersed in a high-IQ crowd for the entire afternoon, she still felt a bit lightheaded.

In truth, when it came down to the root of it, she wasn’t jealous of the white bird. How could she care about these things, or those things? It was merely that her cold face smiled only for her, she uniquely placed food into her bowl, and she would seriously admonish the supervisor to take good care of the white bird, Bai Shuzhou’s gaze following the white bird all the way until she departed before withdrawing…

Hey, they are friends, childhood sweethearts who weathered long days of illness together; this is perfectly normal, Zhu Yu doesn’t care about this at all!

When Zhu Yu was a child, she had been hospitalized with an illness, and her older sister had come to take care of her; she had also felt that they were going to be the absolute best of friends for their entire lives.

She was merely a tiny bit concerned that to Bai Shuzhou, she didn’t seem to be the unique one anymore.

Zhu Yu had never feared walking slowly by herself, but once a brief companionship had been shared, a lonely journey would be infinitely elongated.

She only feared that if she walked down a path until it turned entirely black, only to discover at the destination that no one was waiting beneath the lamp, it would be deeply sorrowful.

She feared competition, dreaded conflict, and habitually avoided starting things; in truth, she was merely terrified of possessing something only to lose it. The drop was simply too massive.

Zhu Yu held that vial of reagent until it grew warm against her palm, but ultimately, she still did not open it.

That night, she walked into Bai Shuzhou’s room. Her sleeping beauty still maintained her quiet, elegant posture, the passing time falling gently upon her clear, shallow breathing.

Zhu Yu knew she wasn’t asleep, just as the hand slowly tightening beneath the thin blanket was also waiting for something.

Time ticked past minute by minute. Zhu Yu thought to herself that if Bai Shuzhou’s tail were still here, delivering a subtle signal of permission, then she would charge forward without fear, pestering her like a brave hero or a total rogue.

But that little tail that liked her had vanished, leaving behind only a freezing Bai Shuzhou.

To make an amnesiac Bai Shuzhou change her mind within a mere few days seemed like an impossible task no matter how one looked at it! It was like asking a person to melt a solid block of ice in the dead of winter.

No wonder Bai Qianze didn’t bother making things difficult for her anymore; her future appeared to hold nothing but a dead end.

If Bai Shuzhou didn’t like her, she might as well figure out how to flee as early as possible. Falling from grace or escaping didn’t matter; at the very least, she needed to stay alive safely.

Without her, Bai Shuzhou would still possess a bright, magnificent future, though Zhu Yu did not know how to reach it, and perhaps it had nothing to do with her to begin with.

Her staying together with her didn’t seem to have brought any happiness either.

Only extra risks and sudden, volatile emergencies.

Zhu Yu was best at escaping. She had possessed zero grand ambitions since childhood; while others were envisioning futures as astronauts, great authors, or scientists, only Zhu Yu was thinking: Ah, I want to be a lifestyle specialist!

The type of person who dedicated themselves entirely to researching how to live more comfortably—commonly known as a lazy person.

Having beaten the retreat drum eight hundred times, Zhu Yu silently gazed upon Bai Shuzhou’s sleeping face. Her detached aura receded, her silk-like silver hair draping down the side of her neck, resembling a pure, flawless swan.

Zhu Yu could imagine how beautiful she would look dancing gracefully, like the soft, gentle snow of a bitter winter.

She had merely extended her hand, catching just one of the flakes, only for it to melt in an instant.

Perhaps, during these few days, I should just secretly use my ability to heal her legs, and then leave?

But suddenly, beneath the warm blanket, a very minor, gentle movement occurred. Like a certain, long-delayed signal.

Across a massive snowy plain, that pool of azure lake arrived all of a sudden, suspended beside the bright moon.

Zhu Yu was caught entirely off guard as she watched it pour down from the horizon, the Milky Way cascading directly over her body.

Ah…

Merely being stared at with absolute concentration by this pair of pale blue eyes felt like being immersed in crisp lake water, rippling out circle by circle as the water level continued to rise.

Within the dimness, one’s senses were consistently anomalous and sensitive. The girl’s swaying, flickering emotions—the ones that wanted to retreat—blended into the faint woody fragrance, winding its way into someone’s lungs.

Compared to the rich fragrance of roses, it was very faint, yet it lingered inexplicably within the heart—very bitter, unpalatable, like a plastic bun.

The filling was empty, and the heart was empty too.

This was only the third day.

The woman on the bed turned her back, pulling at the blanket, the water ripples gently shifting along with her. Her thin voice suddenly said:

“Get out.”