A Scumbag Alpha Gets the Simp’s Script - Chapter 24
Since the night she painted the balcony’s exterior, Yu Jinzhao hadn’t touched her brush for three days. She didn’t know where to start—light, shadow, color, contrast…
All these elements were intertwined in her mind, making her hesitant to begin, yet afraid to try.
She had a long-standing habit: whenever she encountered confusion or something she couldn’t resolve, she would lie on her bed and stare at the ceiling to clear her mind.
Back in university, her dorm had a “loft bed over a desk” setup. Whenever she climbed into bed, she was very close to the ceiling; that plain white surface always helped her empty her thoughts.
This wasn’t the white ceiling of her memories, nor was it the apartment she used to rent. This was a ceiling with exquisite, ornate molding that obscured its original form.
In her school days, the dorms were in the old campus and were quite aged. If she looked closely, she could see the cracks left by time, and occasionally, bits of plaster would loosen and fall.
Such a thing couldn’t happen here, yet she felt her heart drifting in mid-air, unable to find solid ground. The school she rarely missed was now slowly surfacing in her mind.
Those times were truly wonderful—carefree and boundless. She had been full of youthful spirit and unbridled confidence.
With a light sigh, Yu Jinzhao didn’t feel defeated; she just felt lost—confused by the unknown and bewildered by her own emotions. She lay there with her hands pillowed behind her head, her gaze vacant, her thoughts drifting to parts unknown.
Next door, Pei Daowan had no idea of Yu Jinzhao’s internal journey. She was feeling a bit ashamed and annoyed. For all these years, she had remained confident in her beauty, but having been rebuffed by Yu Jinzhao several times left her pride bruised.
It wasn’t about love; it was a sense of dissatisfaction. She wanted to see Yu Jinzhao show the same obsessed, intoxicated expression as everyone else.
Pei Daowan couldn’t quite define this mindset. She wanted to prove that Yu Jinzhao was no different from the rest—just a mortal with the same base thoughts, not some so-called “good person!”
Several times, fully aware that Yu Jinzhao liked women, she had subtly enticed her. Yu Jinzhao seemed to genuinely like her, but that affection was too pure; it wasn’t what she wanted.
She had never liked anyone, and she didn’t like Yu Jinzhao. She had never even considered the concept of “liking” someone. Because of her looks, she had been targeted and ostracized; she didn’t like humans, and she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life with anyone.
The only people she cared about in this world were her mothers, and yet…
Yu Xincheng, that beast!
The System suddenly jolted. Usually, it wouldn’t appear without Pei Daowan’s command, but sensing its Host’s intense emotional fluctuations, it grew frightened. It was terrified that Pei Daowan would repeat the path of her previous life and choose a mutual destruction.
“Host! Host! Calm down! You must stay calm! A beast like Yu Xincheng isn’t worth throwing yourself away for. As long as you utilize Yu Jinzhao’s identity to slowly get closer to him, you don’t need to worry about not finding his weakness!”
“Shut up!”
The frustration in Pei Daowan’s heart only grew. She could tell herself she was using Yu Jinzhao, but she didn’t want to hear it from the System.
The System was on the verge of tears. What to do? What to do? Who can help me?
Suddenly, it thought of Yu Jinzhao. She was still awake. She could definitely help.
“Yu Jinzhao, Yu Jinzhao! Quick, wake up!”
The System didn’t care what she was doing and began calling out directly in her consciousness. Yu Jinzhao took a moment to process the voice. It was the System, which hadn’t appeared in a long time.
“What is it?”
“Intense emotional fluctuations detected in the Female Lead. She’s showing signs of ‘blackening.’ Go comfort her, quickly!”
“Me?”
What right did she have? In what capacity was she supposed to comfort Pei Daowan?
“Yes, you! Just go!”
Yu Jinzhao pursed her lips and asked the critical question: “What caused it?”
“Uh… that…” The System stammered, afraid to speak.
Yu Jinzhao’s gaze turned cold. She realized now that this System was useless; it only appeared when Pei Daowan needed help. “If you don’t tell me, I’m not going.”
Approaching someone to comfort them without knowing the cause could backfire. If comfort were that easy, the world wouldn’t be so full of love and hate.
The System gritted its teeth and closed its eyes, risking a forced shutdown by Pei Daowan: “It’s about her mothers. They died unnaturally. Tonight, the setting triggered her grief.”
Yu Jinzhao’s pupils shrank. Unnatural death! The investigation from a few days ago and her own suspicions were being validated. Perhaps it wasn’t as simple as the original soul forcing a marriage; perhaps Pei Daowan had her own designs.
She stopped the thought there. One shouldn’t judge a whole picture by a single detail; before the truth fully surfaced, she couldn’t make baseless assumptions.
“Alright, I understand.”
Yu Jinzhao moved quickly. Without hesitation, she got out of bed, put on her robe, and went to knock on Pei Daowan’s door.
Knock, knock, knock.
As expected, there was no answer. Yu Jinzhao didn’t give up and knocked again.
“Get out!”
Pei Daowan naturally knew what the System had said. She didn’t want to see anyone or say anything; she just wanted to be alone.
That “Get out!” sounded sharp in Yu Jinzhao’s ears—cold enough to freeze the atmosphere they had spent so long building.
She wisely stopped knocking and spoke in a deep, steady voice: “I’m sorry. I don’t know exactly what happened, and I don’t know what you’ve gone through. I won’t tell you to just let it go. I only want to say that if you’ve been treated unfairly, try to reclaim what’s yours through the right channels.”
After a pause, she continued: “If the law can’t protect your rights, you can consider necessary means. But the prerequisite for all of this is that you must protect yourself. Don’t sacrifice yourself, because once a person is gone, they are truly gone.”
“Your family wouldn’t want you to live in pain. You should seek justice for them, but for the result to be right, the process must be right as well. Only then can everyone live in the sunlight.”
There was still no sound from the room, but the “Get out!” didn’t come again. Yu Jinzhao didn’t move or speak further. She stood patiently by the door, waiting in the silence.
After an unknown amount of time, there was a creak, and the door slowly opened.
Yu Jinzhao saw Pei Daowan clearly. Her eyes were slightly red, her expression stubborn. There were no traces of tears, but she looked icy and unapproachable.
Their eyes met. Yu Jinzhao’s eyes were like a bottomless lake—deep, yet containing a vast capacity for acceptance, as if they could take in all of Pei Daowan’s pain.
Pei Daowan’s gaze was obscure, as if sparks were jumping within it. Time froze, and the noise of the world vanished. In the silence, something began to flow.
In the next second, Yu Jinzhao was pulled into a tight embrace. A cold fragrance mixed with the scent of snow filled her senses. For the first time, Yu Jinzhao felt this scent tangibly. It was like snow being slowly warmed by the sun—chilly, yet carrying a hint of vapor as it drifted in the air. It wasn’t sweet or heavy; it was a soul-cleansing coolness.
Yu Jinzhao was dazed for a moment, then slowly extended her arms. Avoiding certain areas, she gently returned the embrace.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. It will pass.”
Pei Daowan didn’t speak; her only response was to hug her tighter, her fingers gripping Yu Jinzhao’s arms. Yu Jinzhao accepted all of her with a steady, inclusive grace.
After a long while, Pei Daowan slowly let go. She seemed a bit bashful, her eyes darting away to avoid Yu Jinzhao’s gaze.
Because of her height advantage, Yu Jinzhao saw a distinct flush on Pei Daowan’s earlobe—as vibrant as a peach blossom in spring or a small, flickering flame.
Yu Jinzhao thoughtfully didn’t ask what was wrong. “Do you feel better?” she asked instead.
Pei Daowan didn’t answer directly. She only whispered a “Thank you” and fled back into her room.
For the first time, Yu Jinzhao saw a trace of fluster in Pei Daowan’s silhouette. She stared at the closed door for a long time.
Yu Jinzhao let out a soft laugh and shook her head. This was truly the first time she felt Pei Daowan had opened her heart to her, even if only for a second. At that moment, Yu Jinzhao felt the clear sensation of being relied upon.
Humans need a spiritual pillar; no one is an exception. She didn’t know the ultimate purpose of her being here, so she had made Pei Daowan her own pillar. Tonight, she truly felt the woman’s genuine emotions. The previous tug-of-war and “closeness” were just bubbles on the surface; in that hug, she felt the real person.
With a sigh of contentment, she felt her efforts had finally received a response. She couldn’t help but hum a little tune. Since she was still outside the door, Pei Daowan could hear her.
Pei Daowan had regained her composure, and hearing Yu Jinzhao’s voice, she no longer thought of her as steady and calm. Instead, she sounded like a bit of a scoundrel—radiating a sense of “petty triumph.”
She couldn’t let it go and opened the door fiercely: “Is your singing really that good? Stop it!”
Yu Jinzhao hadn’t expected her to open the door again. She leaned against the wall, her expression playful and full of smiles, looking a bit like a dashing rogue.
“I think it sounds quite nice. Back in school, I sang at the freshman welcome gala. Quite a few people praised me.”
Something in that triggered Pei Daowan. She gritted her teeth and muttered: “Social butterfly.”
Yu Jinzhao’s smile didn’t fade. “I actually hope to attract someone’s gaze. Specifically, a certain someone’s.”
She said “certain someone” with deep meaning, her eyes fixed on Pei Daowan.
Pei Daowan wanted to sigh. Why hadn’t she noticed earlier that Yu Jinzhao had the potential to be a smooth-talking dandy?
“Glittering tongue!”
Yu Jinzhao narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze long and filled with a hidden light. In the gap of her eyelids, there seemed to be infinite tenderness—a shallow river where Pei Daowan could see her own reflection.
After a long while, Yu Jinzhao looked away and composed herself. “I wish we could have met in a different place…”
Maybe then, I really would fall for you uncontrollably and pursue you with everything I have.
Pei Daowan didn’t respond. She didn’t know what to say and didn’t want to delve into the deeper meaning behind those words. She wanted to retreat into her shell.
Yu Jinzhao continued: “Actually, I’m not just a ‘face’ person. I’m moved by beauty and I’m stunned by it—that’s human nature, and I’m no exception. But something more eternal than beauty is the person—the soul beneath the skin.”
“When I first saw you, I was truly stunned. I felt you were the most beautiful person I had ever seen. That’s not flattery; it’s a fact. Later… I was attracted by other things. I can’t name them, and I can’t find the words to express them.”
Pei Daowan remained silent. Yu Jinzhao felt a bit of defeat but chose to keep going: “I want to understand you. Your past, your childhood, your likes and dislikes, your…”
Yu Jinzhao stopped suddenly. She didn’t know how to continue. She had never truly loved anyone before; her youthful crushes didn’t even qualify. Now, in front of Pei Daowan, she realized all her words were pale.
She couldn’t explain the motive behind these words, nor the psychology—only that the unavoidable emotion came so fiercely and unexpectedly that she couldn’t defend against it. She didn’t even know when she had started liking Pei Daowan. It had only been two months, and they hadn’t even spoken that much.
It felt inexplicable to her because there was no basis for it. Perhaps it was love at first sight—love at first sight every single time she saw her.
“I agree to let you understand me!”
Yu Jinzhao’s eyes lit up almost instantly. Traces of shock remained in her gaze as she stared directly at Pei Daowan, which was actually a bit rude.
“You…”
Author’s Note:
Pei Daowan’s mouth: I don’t like Yu Jinzhao.
Pei Daowan’s body: I want a hug.
She can use Yu Jinzhao, but she won’t let anyone else say it.
She keeps her distance in her heart, but her mouth says: You can understand me.
[Shy][Shy][Shy]
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