A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 7

Zhu Yu felt like a wretched criminal, a monster of the highest order!

How could she let the Princess go hungry while following her? How was she any different from the original scumbag owner!

Actually, even that scumbag probably never let Her Highness starve.

The image of Bai Shuzhou’s reddened ear tips flashed before her eyes again, and Zhu Yu’s own face began to burn. The intense wave of guilt was even stronger than that one time she had forgotten to feed her cat back home.

Pocket empty, stomach empty. Zhu Yu hated owing people things more than anything, but fate was currently chasing her down and kicking her in the rear.

Whatever, forget about dignity. Feeding my wife is the top priority!

Zhu Yu practiced her pitch to the air all the way there, her confidence growing with every step. However, the moment she saw Helan, her courage hissed out like a punctured balloon.

She pinched her wrist and stammered, “Sister Helan.”

Helan arched an eyebrow, scanning Zhu Yu from head to toe.

Yesterday, the girl had been covered in grime and looked pale and weak. After a night’s rest, the clear, bright energy unique to youth was now evident.

Zhu Yu was actually a bit taller than Helan. With her top two buttons undone, her collarbone was perfectly framed. She had broad shoulders and a narrow waist; a few stray hairs escaped her high ponytail, giving her an air of untamed elegance.

Yet her eyes were remarkably clear. She squinted her eyes sheepishly and offered a smile.

Helan, a woman who had seen it all, immediately understood the situation, but she asked leisurely, “What? It’s not work time yet. Too early.”

Zhu Yu squeezed her wrist tight. “Sister Helan, can you lend me some money? I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my wages tonight, including the rent.”

They had only known each other for a day. Asking for a loan now felt incredibly abrupt. Zhu Yu quickly added, embarrassed, “I can tutor Xiao Ming for free tonight…”

Helan laughed. “University student, with your personality, you’re going to suffer in the real world.”

“Keep business as business. Don’t sell your labor short. If you devalue yourself, others will only see you as cheap.”

“Knowledge is precious.” Helan tapped her head and reached for her wallet. “How much do you need?”

Zhu Yu asked cautiously, “About how much is a day’s wage around here?”

Helan had saved them, provided shelter, and was setting her up with work. Such kindness surpassed even that of a thesis advisor.

“Depends on what you’re willing to do. Something easy is about a hundred, paid daily.”

Zhu Yu spoke up instantly: “What about something harder? I’m very capable.”

With an Alpha’s constitution, it would be a waste of efficiency not to work like a beast of burden.

Helan opened her personal terminal and scanned a few entries:

“Nutrient Solution Factory: 180 coins, six-hour shifts. It’s a rotation system; you can apply for overtime. The more you work, the more you earn.”

“Flora and Fauna Classification: 270 coins, eight hours. That’s high pay for this district, but if you haven’t had the ‘Mad Grass’ vaccine, I don’t recommend it. It’s not worth it if you get bitten.”

It was the first time Zhu Yu had heard of classifying plants and animals as a job. Her eyes lit up, but she immediately shrank back upon hearing about the biting. She gave a forced smile: “The nutrient factory, then. I’d like to borrow fifty.”

Helan handed her fifty star-coins, not forgetting to warn: “Eating at my place is expensive. Keep that standard in mind and don’t get cheated when buying things outside.”

“Got it! Thank you so much!”

On this planet, Imperials and Federals were mixed together. Policies and ideologies were stuck decades in the past. National feuds blurred at the edges of the Chaotic Zone, and there were many mixed-bloods like Zhu Yu.

The “personal terminal” was similar to an old Earth smartphone—it could connect to the Star Net, but its functions couldn’t compare to an advanced light-brain. Zhu Yu vaguely remembered they were relatively cheap because of government subsidies for backward regions, but when she asked the price, it was several thousand. She immediately backed off.

Probably because this backward planet didn’t even have a government; they were beyond the reach of the “backward regions.”

Ha, ha, ha… I’m literally laughing at my own poverty!

Zhu Yu tried to force herself to stay positive. She ran to a nearby breakfast stall and spent a staggering twenty coins on ten steamed buns.

But when she got them, she realized they were machine-made. They looked like clones—every single one was identical, rigid, and cold. They were a world away from the fragrant, steaming handmade buns of her memory.

Moreover, one bite revealed there was barely any meat. They couldn’t compare to Helan’s cooking at all.

Whatever, maybe this is just how people eat in an isekai. Zhu Yu grit her teeth. She lingered at the stall for a moment before buying a separate cup of the most normal-looking soy milk.

As she turned around, she saw an advertisement for nutrient solution hanging on the tallest building. The neon lights were bright even in the daytime, with the most eye-catching red letters stating: “HUMAN FODDER.”

Zhu Yu felt a wave of discomfort. Even if they were “workhorses,” food was supposed to be a basic joy; you shouldn’t just label it as fodder.

Yet, drawn by the vibrant colors, she couldn’t help but look at the fine print below.

Various categories were clearly priced. You could be full in three minutes with just a few gulps, and the cheapest was only five yuan!

Five yuan to be full was indeed attractive. The discomfort didn’t fade, but Zhu Yu stopped looking. She tucked the buns into her shirt and ran back.

She’d eat after Bai Shuzhou finished; the leftovers could be lunch.

Back at the house.

Bai Shuzhou picked up a bun. She froze after taking a bite, her beautiful brows furrowing, but her good upbringing forced her to swallow it with difficulty.

The outer skin was as hard as plastic, and the meat filling was definitely not pure meat; it tasted of some low-grade artificial essence.

Was this disgusting thing something Zhu Yu found specifically to humiliate me?

She took a sip of soy milk and forced down a second bite.

The strange texture became even more intense, as if the artificial essence was specifically meant to mask some other flavor.

Frozen, unnatural, industrial… it was nauseating. Bai Shuzhou thought of the massive chimneys in the countryside she had glimpsed from afar during her border inspections, belching black smoke.

Zhu Yu sat on a chair, propping her chin with her hands, watching her with sparkling eyes.

Watching a beauty eat was a pleasant experience. Bai Shuzhou’s posture was so elegant she made the bun look like fine French cuisine. For the first time, Zhu Yu understood what “feast for the eyes” meant; just watching the other’s lips move and her cheeks bulge slightly as she chewed made her feel happy.

Bai Shuzhou stopped. Thinking she was being polite, Zhu Yu quickly looked away and waved her hand grandly. “Keep eating! There’s plenty.”

“Eat more. You can only heal your wounds once you’re full. I’m also trying to use my spiritual power; once I figure out the cycle, I can give you regular treatments.” She spoke with a hint of subtle pride.

Under Zhu Yu’s increasingly strange and fervent gaze, Bai Shuzhou remained silent, slowly taking a third bite.

She knew she needed to eat to heal, but…

“What’s wrong? Is it not to your taste?” Zhu Yu noticed her hesitation and asked gently.

Making an Imperial Princess eat steamed buns was indeed a bit stingy. Unfortunately, conditions were meager; a meal at Helan’s cost about seventy coins for two dishes.

Zhu Yu rubbed her hands sheepishly, secretly vowing to work hard and stabilize a “four-dishes-and-a-soup” standard!

Bai Shuzhou’s hand froze mid-air.

Zhu Yu had said those exact words to her more than once. In the palace, when she had a poor appetite, Zhu Yu would embrace her from behind and whisper in that same tender tone: “Is it not to your taste?”

“Do you have any idea how many people in this Empire, among your subjects, still go hungry?”

“The meal you throw away might be worth dozens of lives, my noble Princess.”

“Are you going to toss it? Such a waste. Why not just eat it? It’s as simple as taking medicine.”

She would trace her fingers along her neck, tapping her throat, pinning her down with an irresistible, seductive force: “Eat it, Princess.”

Her stomach churned. Bai Shuzhou felt like she was going to vomit.

She swallowed mechanically. It got stuck; her strict upbringing wouldn’t allow her to spit it out. Covering her mouth, her chest heaved as she began to cough.

Zhu Yu jumped up immediately to pat her back until the small lump of dough was coughed into her palm. Tears had already leaked from the corners of the woman’s eyes.

Bai Shuzhou closed her eyes in humiliation, tears wetting her lashes as they shivered down.

Zhu Yu wanted to bring up a lighter topic to distract her from the sadness. Those pale blue eyes were filled with depths of melancholy Zhu Yu couldn’t understand; she felt like she was drowning in them.

Zhu Yu held up a bun and pinched it in front of Bai Shuzhou, using a joking tone one would use with a child. “How dare this bun attack the Princess!”

“I won’t eat it!” The woman swept it away with her hand.

Caught off guard, the plastic bag flew out of Zhu Yu’s hand and tumbled to the floor. The clean bun skins were instantly coated in dust.

The atmosphere suddenly turned stiff and heavy.

The woman’s icy eyes were filled with hatred. Zhu Yu was stunned; she hadn’t expected such a massive outburst of anger.

“It’s okay, if you don’t want it, you don’t have to eat it.”

The girl crouched down, picking up the fallen buns one by one. It had been more than three seconds, but not more than three minutes; they were still edible after a quick rinse.

“How about we eat from that place last night? Did you like that? It’s all handmade, and the vegetables are very fresh.”

Bai Shuzhou leaned against the pillow and closed her eyes, her long lashes casting shadows. Having stayed awake all night, exhaustion and hunger now crashed over her together. Her frost-like aura formed an “Authorized Personnel Only” barrier, keeping herself within a safe zone.

Zhu Yu ruffled her hair, not knowing how to safely cross that barrier. Forcing her way in would only hurt them both, but she couldn’t just leave Bai Shuzhou alone.

Loneliness was dangerous.

And she was still hungry!

Zhu Yu felt as though even the woman’s silver hair was beginning to dull. It was heartbreaking. She wanted so badly to buy a whole table of food and shout: Eat whatever you want, just don’t suffer!

You stupid, gross bun, you almost made the Princess cry!

She fingered the change in her pocket. Unfortunately, reality wouldn’t let her play the “overbearing CEO.” She currently had less money than she did at the end of the month back in university.

Back then, if she had spare cash, she’d give some to beggars. Now, she was so poor she wanted to shout to a beggar: “Senior, please teach me your ways!”

“Are you still hungry?”

Bai Shuzhou kept her eyes closed, unwilling to speak, seemingly determined to starve herself out of spite. But her stomach betrayed her with another growl. She was truly famished; her face was as white as porcelain, but a flush of humiliation rose to her ears.

As an Imperial Princess, how could she… how could she be so…!

She would rather starve to death than wag her tail like a dog just to beg for a bite of food!

“Come on, eat something. Want to try something else?”

Zhu Yu crouched by the bed and asked patiently, feeling like she was back to feeding a friend’s cold, aloof cat—even after opening the can, you still had to coax it to eat.

Bai Shuzhou faced the wall. The silver strands on the crown of her head swayed gently with her breath. Zhu Yu’s heart turned into mush. Her clear voice even began to take on a “baby talk” tone; a “pspsps” nearly escaped her lips.

There was no helping it; when dealing with a great beauty, she had no temper at all.

Furthermore, the beauty was her wife. No matter how cold she was, it was just “meat buns hitting a dog”—wait, that was a very quiet thought—she could only think it in her head. Her temporary legal wife, in the present continuous tense.

She hadn’t even thrown the buns at her! She was already very kind.

The woman’s slender frame froze. She turned her face back in disbelief, her ears reddening further with shame and annoyance. Only then did Zhu Yu realize she had reflexively let the sound out, even if it was very faint…

To the noble Imperial Princess, the Emperor’s beloved sister, a majestic SSS-class Dragon, she had said, “Pspsps.”

For a hallucinatory second, Zhu Yu saw her own cause of death. Above the tragic tortures in the original book, they’d probably add a line: Executed for “Pspsps-ing,” once on the left, once on the right.

Zhu Yu suddenly had a flash of inspiration. she spread out her left and right hands one by one, brought them toward Bai Shuzhou, and said softly: “Hungry. Not hungry.”

The woman hesitated, maintaining her distance. Her wing-like lashes fluttered as her gaze fell toward the left.

Hungry.

She seemed to be wondering why Zhu Yu was acting so strangely. It was like a clever orca watching a human performance; for a moment, she even forgot to be angry.

“The place from last night? Yes. No.”

Yes.

“Do you want meat, or vegetables?” Zhu Yu spread her hands again.

Meat!

This time, her gaze was much firmer. Her thin lips were pressed into a line.

Zhu Yu had heard that people with thin lips were often indifferent… perfect for eating more meat to nourish the body. Zhu Yu continued: “Braised beef noodles, or steamed egg custard with braised pork over rice?”

Before Zhu Yu could finish, Bai Shuzhou’s gaze turned to the left. Braised beef noodles.

“Nice! You’ve got good taste, I love those too. With that creamy white bone broth, thick hand-shaven noodles, a handful of fresh green scallions, drizzled with steaming hot braised sauce, and a big scoop of beef…”

Zhu Yu clearly saw Bai Shuzhou bite her lip. Her pale blue eyes shimmered slightly, and a small tremor went through her throat. The dried-up moonlight suddenly became vivid, falling right into Zhu Yu’s palm.

Zhu Yu closed her hands, pulling back the “firmly chosen” left hand, holding onto this tiny piece of anticipation.

“Thick noodles it is, with lots and lots of beef!”