A Scumbag Alpha Gets the Simp’s Script - Chapter 13

After breakfast, Pei Daowan headed out, even going so far as to tell Yu Jinzhao when she would be back.

Yu Jinzhao was quite flattered, instantly forgetting the tension from before the meal. She spilled her own plans for the day like pouring beans from a jar.

Pei Daowan looked at her with a gentle smile. “Believe in yourself. You can do it.”

Yu Jinzhao couldn’t help but blush again. She had to admit, Pei Daowan was truly a gentle person—both in her demeanor and the cadence of her voice. It was hard for anyone to imagine that the terrifying pressure from before had come from her.

Inexplicably, Yu Jinzhao attributed all of that to the Yu family. Perhaps Pei Daowan was naturally gentle, and the Yu family had simply forced her into a different shape.

Since she hadn’t read the original novel, she was ignorant of the finer details. She could only rely on what the System told her: the story ended with Pei Daowan practically exterminating the entire Yu family for revenge, using some very dark methods in the process.

Yu Jinzhao began to wonder if there was more to the story. If it was just because the original soul had forced her into marriage, would she really go that far?

Though the System hadn’t revealed Pei Daowan’s ultimate fate that day, Yu Jinzhao could guess from its snippets that even though she succeeded in her revenge, her life hadn’t been easy afterward.

Revenge?!

Yu Jinzhao caught the keyword. Forced marriage alone didn’t seem enough to warrant “exterminating the entire family.” What kind of event could drive Pei Daowan to such an extreme?

Based on their interactions these past few days, Yu Jinzhao felt that Pei Daowan wasn’t that kind of person. Even though she had shown that deep, dark side earlier, Yu Jinzhao still felt her essence was gentle.

There was no other reason than the fact that true gentleness cannot be faked. Having met many people and experienced many things, Yu Jinzhao could distinguish between what was real and what was a mask.

“System? System?”

As expected, the System didn’t respond. Yu Jinzhao grew a bit anxious. Not only did this System only appear when Pei Daowan was around, but it also seemed to know nothing when asked important questions, only offering trivial details. How was she supposed to make progress?

Other transmigrators had “gold fingers” or at least knew the plot. But her? She had nothing but a useless System.

Yu Jinzhao cursed inwardly. It looked like she’d have to investigate everything herself!

Pei Daowan had grown up with her aunt and uncle. It seemed she had two mothers, but they had died in an accident long ago. There was no clear starting point.

I should visit her aunt and uncle when I have time. Maybe I can find some useful clues.

Coming back to her senses, Yu Jinzhao realized it was almost 9:00 AM and hurriedly drove to the office.

Although she had passed by the Yu Corporation building several times, she had never stepped inside or even looked at it closely.

The location was prime—situated by the Pujiang River in Jiangcheng, right next to the World Trade Center, one of the city’s landmarks. The Yu Corporation building didn’t pale in comparison, seemingly locked in a silent architectural battle with the skyscraper next door.

Yu Jinzhao was privately stunned. This Yu Xincheng was truly wealthy and arrogant to build such a massive headquarters in the city center.

But something was strange. Yu Jinzhao had researched earlier; Yu Xincheng seemed to have risen to power almost overnight. While the Yu family had been wealthy before, they had never reached these heights. Now, calling them the richest in Jiangcheng wouldn’t be an exaggeration. What had happened in between?

Yu Jinzhao wasn’t a fool. She had started a business and managed a company. You don’t just “rise” like that out of nowhere. He must have climbed onto a very powerful branch.

Walking into the office, many employees recognized her face. Everyone bowed and greeted her from a distance the moment they saw her.

Yu Jinzhao’s brow furrowed slightly. It seemed Yu Xincheng loved playing the “Local Emperor” both at home and at the office.

As midnight approached, Yu Jinzhao let out a long sigh of relief. It was finally over. The workload was even heavier than she’d imagined, especially since she lacked the original owner’s memories and was starting from scratch.

However, she had pieced some things together. The Yu family started in mining. Since Yu Xincheng took over, he had invested heavily in various projects—real estate, education, medical care, entertainment. Without fail, every venture turned a massive profit.

But the real event that propelled him into the upper echelon of Jiangcheng’s elite was a successful bid twenty years ago. At that time, several companies were competing for the power grid construction in Jiangcheng and the entire Southeast.

Yu Xincheng was the one who secured that qualification. With such a massive transfer of interests, who would believe there wasn’t something fishy going on? It seemed Yu Xincheng had someone backing him from above.

Yu Jinzhao tapped her fingers on the desk, creating a dull sound. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Wait! I missed something!

In a flash of realization, she remembered a few names she had glanced over. Among them were Pei Jingqiu and 向婉娩 (Xiang Wanmian)!

Weren’t those Pei Daowan’s mothers?!

Yu Jinzhao hurriedly reopened her computer to search the database for information on these two. If she remembered correctly, the Pei family had also been involved in that bid against Yu Xincheng, and the people in charge of the Pei family at the time were those two.

Jiangcheng’s Rising Elite Couple Dies in Car Accident! Leaving Behind a Six-Year-Old Daughter!

Shocking! Both Pei Family Mothers Pass Away! Billions in Assets Left with No Heir!

How Will the Six-Year-Old Orphan Inherit the Family Business?!

Yu Jinzhao couldn’t find much else, only these old news stories from twenty years ago. Back then, headlines loved using sensationalism to grab attention.

Car accident! Both dead! The bid!

Yu Jinzhao couldn’t be blamed for being a conspiracy theorist; this was far too coincidental!

The bid proposal backup! That must still be in the records. I can look at it.

Rubbing her aching eyes, Yu Jinzhao decided to look for the proposal tomorrow. The amount of information she’d processed today was already overwhelming.

When Yu Jinzhao drove home, it was past 1:00 AM. Looking back, the massive corporation building looked like a giant shadow she couldn’t escape. Fortunately, she didn’t look back; she just kept driving forward.

She was extremely careful when opening the front door, afraid of waking Pei Daowan. It was so late; she hadn’t expected her first day of work to go this long.

The living room was pitch black. Not only was Pei Daowan asleep, but the butler was as well.

Yu Jinzhao didn’t have a habit of eating late-night snacks unless she was starving. She was quite disciplined and planned to just wash up and go to bed.

As she passed Pei Daowan’s room on her way upstairs, the door suddenly opened. Yu Jinzhao jumped; she hadn’t expected the woman to still be awake.

Her mouth moved faster than her brain, voicing her thoughts directly: “It’s so late, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

The moment the words left her lips, she regretted them. What right did she have to ask Pei Daowan such a question?

“Waiting for you to come back.”

Pei Daowan was perfectly candid, without a hint of concealment.

Yu Jinzhao was momentarily stunned. How could she say it so directly? And she was actually… waiting for her?

“Waiting for me?”

“Yes. Since I chose to trust you, of course I’m going to pay attention to why you haven’t returned so late.”

“You don’t have to wait next time. You can just send me a text.”

As she said it, Yu Jinzhao awkwardly realized they didn’t even have each other’s contact information.

Pei Daowan fell into a rare silence. This was her fault; she hadn’t given it to her.

“Give me your phone.”

Beep beep…

A string of numbers was entered.

“I’ll contact you if there’s anything.” After a pause, Pei Daowan added, “You can contact me too.”

Yu Jinzhao’s throat felt dry. “Okay…”

“You haven’t said why you’re back so late.”

For some reason, Yu Jinzhao hid part of what she had discovered, choosing to give a simplified account of what she’d done at the office today.

“I see. You worked quite hard today.”

“I wouldn’t say hard, just a lot of information to process. I need to digest it.”

“Mm, I understand. It’s late, get some rest.”

Yu Jinzhao was a bit dazed. She had waited up this late just to ask what she’d done during the day? Just for a few sentences?

A faint sense of disappointment welled up. Yu Jinzhao looked at Pei Daowan with a bit of a puppy-eyed expression. She couldn’t even explain where this disappointment came from—it was inexplicable and elusive.

Pei Daowan was wearing house pajamas. Compared to her previous styles, this one used much less fabric—it was a camisole style. It was still silk, a deep, quiet black that hugged her figure.

Perhaps because she had been waiting, she hadn’t taken off her earrings yet. When she turned her head, the earring swayed gently, hitting Yu Jinzhao right in the heart.

The perfectly delicate collarbones and the smooth, elegant lines of her shoulders and neck… her skin looked even more exquisite against the black silk. It was a visual clash of black and white.

Yu Jinzhao felt her heart rate accelerate. This time, she truly couldn’t ignore the strange emotion in her chest.

She seemed to… like Pei Daowan. Maybe it was love at first sight, or perhaps it was love at first sight every single time they met!

Realizing this, Yu Jinzhao had a moment of denial. She didn’t belong here; she had to go back.

It must be an illusion!

All her hopes were pinned on Pei Daowan, including her hope of returning. It was only natural to develop strange feelings.

Suppressing her internal restlessness, Yu Jinzhao feigned composure. “Mm, I know. I’ll go to bed. You too. Now that we have each other’s contact info, you don’t have to wait up so late. Just send a message.”

“Okay!”

With that, Pei Daowan turned and went back into her room, as if it had just been a casual inquiry. She left Yu Jinzhao alone to deal with the waves in her heart.

Click.

The door was gently closed. Pei Daowan spoke nonchalantly: “Are you sure Yu Jinzhao likes this? I didn’t see much of a reaction from her.”

The System hurriedly protested: “Absolutely! Based on reliable analysis of all clues, Yu Jinzhao loves your type! I stake my personality on it!”

Heaven knew why Yu Jinzhao didn’t react. Didn’t she like women? Didn’t she love that “Gentle on the outside, a bit fierce on the inside” contrast that Pei Daowan possessed?

How could she have no reaction?!

This shouldn’t be happening; its data analysis couldn’t be wrong. Unless… unless Yu Jinzhao’s composure was faked. Yes, that must be it.

Pei Daowan sneered. “How many times have you been reliable? Your ‘personality’? Are you even human?”

System: “…”

“She’s forcing herself to be steady. It’s definitely an act. Host, next time… try to increase the intensity of the seduction.”

The word “seduction” made the System feel the surrounding temperature drop several degrees. Its voice trailed off significantly.

How could this be? How could this be!

This was a major failure in its career as a System. It was bad enough that the Host didn’t trust it, but now the person it had hand-picked wasn’t following the script either!

“You seem to have forgotten. No matter how much data or how many factors you use to select someone, they are still human. Humans are subject to change. Humans are unreliable.”

Pei Daowan said the last sentence with sharp, cutting certainty, leaving the System unable to argue.

“Yes, yes, yes! You’re right, Host. I’ll reflect, I’ll reflect deeply. But this Yu Jinzhao is still useful. At the very least, she isn’t like Yu Xincheng.”

“Heh! If she were like Yu Xincheng, would she still be alive today?”

Pei Daowan’s expression was a half-smile, carrying a blatant, undisguised contempt as she looked down at the empty corner. The corner was where the System’s phantom form was, visible only to her.

“Fine, you can go now. I have my own plans for these matters. You don’t need to interfere.”

Though disgruntled, the System didn’t dare say anything. It decided to find Yu Jinzhao. Since it had been snubbed by the Host, it could go to Yu Jinzhao instead.

Pei Daowan took off her earrings. She had specifically chosen those tassel earrings to go with the black camisole. Every frame of movement at the door and her tone of voice had been rehearsed in advance.

Since Yu Jinzhao liked women—specifically women with a sense of “contrast”—why shouldn’t she utilize that? She wasn’t afraid of Yu Jinzhao having greed; she was only afraid of her not having a breakthrough point.

Pei Daowan had always known how lethal her beauty could be. Whether in her previous life or this one, she had used this face to win over many people.

To her, Yu Jinzhao was just an Alpha with slightly better self-control, but an Alpha nonetheless—and a transmigrator from another world to boot. With an unclear background and being difficult to control, she had to find a weakness. Otherwise, how could she feel at ease using her?