A Scummy Alpha Supporting Character Accidentally Marks the Heroine After Transmigrating into a Book (GL) - Chapter 22

A limited-edition Porsche sped past her, gradually slowed down, and then reversed. A pitch-black window rolled down.

Bai Wan’s eyes were half-lidded, her gaze filled with a cold, heavy mixture of boredom and malice.

“…Bai Wan?” Inside the car, Ji Ziyi called out the name, sounding somewhat uncertain.

Bai Wan looked up.

The hazy night shrouded her; her figure seemed almost to merge into the infinite darkness—sorrowful and mournful. Despite having an exceptionally beautiful face, the eyes revealed beneath her dark hair were filled with sinister ferocity, like an unsheathed longsword: cold, sharp, and bone-chilling.

Her state was so poor that even Ji Ziyi, just passing by, could tell something was wrong.

Bai Wan spared her a glance, then lowered her eyes again, a nearly burnt-out cigarette held between her fingers. Her attitude was one of complete indifference.

An unfamiliar Omega in Ji Ziyi’s passenger seat leaned out slightly to look. “A-Yi, is she your friend?”

Ji Ziyi nodded. “I suppose so.” She soothed the Omega with a few words. “I have something to take care of; wait for me a moment.”

The Omega gave her a displeased glare, unhappy that their date was being interrupted.

“Be good.” Ji Ziyi kissed her cheek. The Omega blushed instantly as Ji Ziyi stepped out of the car.

“Bai Wan, why are you on the side of the road so late?”

No response.

Bai Wan kept her head down from beginning to end, immersed in her own world, seemingly uncaring that the cigarette butt was about to burn her hand.

Ji Ziyi’s expression turned strange, wondering what was wrong with her today. “Should I call A-Yan then?”

Bai Wan suddenly snapped her eyes up to look at her.

The look was so vicious that Ji Ziyi’s hand, hovering over her screen, actually froze before she could press the button.

She paused, making several guesses in her mind. Instead, she messaged Chen Wanjun, telling her she had run into a distressed Bai Wan.

[Chen Wanjun: Ask Shuqing where she’s been the last few days first.]

Ji Ziyi did as suggested. After receiving a reply, she reported back to Chen Wanjun.

[Chen Wanjun: . ]

[Chen Wanjun: It’s definitely related to her.]

[Ji Ziyi: What do I do next? It feels wrong to leave her alone on the road. She’s A-Yan’s wife, after all. Even if their relationship is mediocre, she looks like she’s having a mental breakdown. What if something happens?]

[Chen Wanjun: My advice is don’t meddle. Don’t message Shuqing either. Just tell A-Yan you saw her. Don’t say anything else. Stay out of trouble.]

[Ji Ziyi: I can’t. You know I’m a meddler at heart.]

She put her phone down and asked, “Did you and A-Yan have a fight?”

Still no reply.

Ji Ziyi thought it over and finally decided: “I can’t stay here. I’ll tell Assistant Lin to come pick you up. I remember you two get along okay. I’ll tell her not to tell A-Yan about tonight; she’ll keep the secret.”

Bai Wan’s gaze remained fixed on the asphalt road as she walked on in a daze. Ji Ziyi had no choice but to wait patiently for half an hour.

Lin Furuo arrived in her car. She stepped out. “Young Master Ji.”

Ji Ziyi tilted her chin, her red lips slightly pursed. “Your Madam… she’s in your hands.” She turned and got back into her car.

Lin Furuo said cautiously, “Madam?”

Seeing the person before her remained motionless, she paused subtly and changed the address. “Miss Bai, let’s get in the car first.”

Hearing this, Bai Wan reacted slightly. She tossed the burnt cigarette into the trash and sat in Lin Furuo’s car, bringing the icy night wind with her.

The car doors blocked out the noise of the traffic. The interior was exceptionally quiet. Lin Furuo didn’t speak, driving in silence.

She pulled up to her own apartment building. From the back seat, Bai Wan’s voice came out—each word incredibly difficult, low and raspy like a dilapidated bellows.

“…When?”

Lin Furuo didn’t understand. “What is Miss Bai asking?”

Bai Wan: “When does the construction start?”

Lin Furuo was still confused. She looked in the rearview mirror. Bai Wan was shrouded in a gloomy aura, her eyes dark as water. Lin Furuo thought back quickly but couldn’t recall any Yan Corporation projects related to Bai Wan.

So what construction did she mean?

“The Yan Corporation has many recent projects. Which one specifically does Miss Bai mean?”

Bai Wan looked up, meeting her eyes in the mirror with a cold gaze. “—The place in that planning proposal I personally handed to you. When is the estimated start date?”

Lin Furuo suddenly understood. “You mean the cooperation with the Luo family? That matter is still under discussion. President Yan has the intention to cooperate but is hesitating. The frequent meetings lately are to discuss this, as AR application development is a field the Group has never touched…”

Bai Wan interrupted her long explanation, her palms clenching. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

Lin Furuo showed clear confusion. “But that is exactly what the document you gave me was.”

Bai Wan closed her eyes. “I’m talking about the old houses on Xiuhe Road. When does Yan Nanjue plan to start construction there?”

Lin Furuo’s movements paused. Long ago, on her boss’s orders, she had conducted a detailed background check on Bai Wan. Her excellent memory allowed her to recall the contents of that report now.

Xiuhe Road—the street where Bai Wan’s adoptive parents’ house was located.

The car fell into a brief silence. Bai Wan’s gaze was fixed on Lin Furuo in the mirror, waiting for a date.

“You seem to have misunderstood something.”

Lin Furuo figured out the reason for her distress in a few short seconds. “As far as I know, President Yan has no demolition plans for that area.”

“The document you handed to me was the Letter of Intent for President Luo.” She opened her phone and showed the photos of the meeting images and the file cover. “Look.”

Bai Wan’s gaze fell on the screen, and her eyes suddenly froze. She was stunned.

Lin Furuo continued: “Why did you think that? Can you tell me who gave you this false information?”

She explained on behalf of her innocent boss: “President Yan bought that plot of land a long time ago, but she has never had a demolition plan. After all, that is your home. Someone did inquire about buying it from her before, offering a sky-high price, but President Yan did not agree.”

Lin Furuo’s hand holding the phone was getting tired. She stole a glance and saw Bai Wan staring blankly as if her soul had left her body, so she quietly retracted her hand.

“You might not believe me because I work for her, but President Yan truly has no plans for that land. Whether it’s demolition or selling to others, none of it is in her plans.”

“I think you’ve misunderstood President Yan.”

A deathly silence filled the car. Lin Furuo didn’t speak again. After a long while, she checked the time and said tactfully: “It’s too late; nearby hotels are fully booked. You can stay at my place for the night. I’ve had the guest room cleaned. I’ll drive you back to the company tomorrow morning.”

She got out of the car, but didn’t open Bai Wan’s door immediately, giving her plenty of time to process.

Bai Wan closed her eyes. All her emotions were pulled back into her gaze. Belatedly, she tasted the copper tang of blood in her mouth; her tongue was numb, and the soft flesh of her cheeks throbbed with pain.

Once the initial wave of emotion passed, she realized she had bitten her mouth until it was full of blood.

Bai Wan stepped out of the car. Asking for a moment to smoke, she stood by the flower bed and lit a new cigarette. Tendrils of smoke drifted up, blurring her vision. She lit the cigarette but simply held it between her fingers, letting the red ember crawl closer to her skin.

After a long while, she snapped back to reality and did something that made the waiting Lin Furuo’s eyes widen.

—She crushed the lit cigarette butt into her own palm.

“…Madam!”

The red spark seared into the clean palm. From the moment of contact, a “sizzle” sounded—the sound of flesh being scorched. Intense pain surged up. Bai Wan’s eyelashes trembled, but the hand holding the cigarette didn’t shake in the slightest.

Lin Furuo instinctively ran toward her. Bai Wan closed her left hand, covering the fresh cigarette burn. She lifted her eyelids, her amber pupils soaked by the night, turning them dark as ink.

“Let’s go,” she said indifferently.

“Your wound needs dressing…” Lin Furuo said, forcing herself to speak.

“I’ll handle it myself.”

Simultaneously, the System’s uncertain voice rang in Yan Nanjue’s mind. 【The Blackening Value…】

Yan Nanjue sat up abruptly. “What? What?!” Did it increase again??

【It dropped.】

“Oh… wait, what?”

【System: It rose again.】 A few seconds later, it said oddly, 【How did it drop again…】

The Blackening Value fluctuated wildly before finally stopping at a number that made Yan Nanjue ecstatic.

【Heroine Bai Wan’s current Blackening Value: 70/100】

Yan Nanjue’s lips parted, unable to process this stroke of luck. Heavens. A blessing from the sky! This was the first time since she transmigrated that she heard the sound of the Blackening Value decreasing! It was so crisp, so melodious, so beautiful—!

Yan Nanjue felt a bit dizzy. “System, am I awake?” Why did a trip outside result in a drop for Bai Wan? Was she dreaming?

【System: Our information is the same. If you don’t know, I won’t know the reason.】

Yan Nanjue suddenly felt full of energy. A ten-percent drop! This proved that stopping the blackening wasn’t an impossible task.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Lin Furuo. Yan Nanjue looked at it and was moved beyond words. “A raise! I’m giving Assistant Lin a raise!”

The Special Assistant was truly the most professional person in the book—she was a perfect right-hand woman! Knowing Bai Wan’s whereabouts, Yan Nanjue finally relaxed and went to sleep holding onto that ten-point drop.

When she woke up again, Bai Wan had already been sent back.

Lin Furuo was in the living room. “The Madam has returned to her room. She requested a day of sick leave, which I’ve approved.”

Yan Nanjue nodded with dignity. In her peripheral vision, Bai Wan’s door was tightly shut. She looked at Lin Furuo, wanting to rush over and shake her hand. If she wanted a six-month paid vacation right now, I’d say yes instantly!

Because of the drop in Blackening Value, Yan Nanjue was in a great mood at work. When it was time to leave, she happily returned to the apartment.

There were a few dishes on the dining table. Yan Nanjue messaged the cook and learned that Bai Wan had stayed in her room all day, not coming out or eating a bite. She felt a faint worry.

However, at that moment, she suddenly caught a whiff of floral fragrance.

It was faint, yet her nose captured it. The scent was exceptionally sweet, fragrant, and rich—piercing her soul. The scent seemed to take on physical form, coiling around her and filling her senses.

A very familiar scent. She felt she had smelled it somewhere before but couldn’t recall where.

Yan Nanjue paused, instinctively following the scent forward. After two steps, she stopped abruptly, realizing those steps weren’t her own will but a bodily instinct.

…What is this scent?

Yan Nanjue inhaled softly. “System, it smells so good…” She forgot the System had no physical body and asked unconsciously, “Can you smell it? So fragrant… what flower is this? Did the cook bring it?”

【System: I am a system. How could I smell things in the real world?】

Yan Nanjue turned a deaf ear and followed the scent to the hallway. The closer she got, the richer it became. She felt as if the scent-formed entities were wrapping her tight. Her heart began to beat violently due to an excessive longing and an indescribable excitement.

I want more.

What do I want? She didn’t know.

She suddenly felt very irritable, a sense of urgency born from the inability to get more. She was desperate to find the source.

Yan Nanjue’s nose twitched as she carefully unraveled the scent, finally recalling from her blank mind what it was.

—The scent of Jasmine.

But the earliest jasmine season was May. It was only early April. Where was there blooming jasmine?

【System: You…】 The System looked at her physiological data. 【Your heart rate is very fast, and your hormones are surging… Huh?】

It pulled up the heroine’s real-time monitoring data and let out a sharp, unprecedented shriek.

【THE HEROINE HAS ENTERED HER HEAT EARLY?！！！！！】

Yan Nanjue, almost losing her sanity from the fragrance, gave a dazed “Oh.”

“What heat… Wait, HEAT? WHAT?!!”

Yan Nanjue’s breath hitched.