A Scummy Alpha Supporting Character Accidentally Marks the Heroine After Transmigrating into a Book (GL) - Chapter 28

The battle on the screen remained deadlocked for over ten minutes. Bai Wan appeared to get distracted for a split second, and Chen Wanjun seized the opportunity to take her down with an ultimate. Half of the screen flashed a grey “death” effect, while the other half surged with a bright victory animation.

Chen Wanjun won.

She put down the controller and offered a word of praise: “You’re very good. For someone just starting out, being able to play like this shows immense talent. When Ziyi first started, she didn’t last two minutes.”

Ji Ziyi, who was sitting cross-legged on the rug, swatted Chen Wanjun’s knee in dissatisfaction. “What do you mean ‘not two minutes’? It was clearly two minutes and forty-five seconds!”

Bai Wan retracted her gaze from the screen. She had played similar games before—five years ago.

Yan Nanjue keenly noticed that Bai Wan was spacing out. While the crowd cheered for Chen Wanjun’s “invincible legend” status, Bai Wan sat with her long lashes lowered, her expression hollow, as if her soul had been pulled away to another time and space.

Ji Ziyi asked curiously, “Have you played something like this before?”

Bai Wan’s lashes fluttered as she pulled herself out of her thoughts. “I played a little long ago, but it’s my first time using a controller.”

Yan Nanjue watched her from the corner of her eye. Connecting this to the original book, she could vaguely guess what lay behind those words.

Just then, there was movement at the spiral staircase. Luo Shuqing walked down slowly, having changed into a halter-neck sleeveless princess dress. A deep blue gradient flowed from top to bottom, the hem flaring like a blooming flower. The dress shimmered like a galaxy; even in the shadows, it sparkled with the crystalline ripples of moonlight on water.

Luo Shuqing’s gaze swept through the crowd and landed precisely on one person. She curled her lips to call out, only to realize one thing: Yan Nanjue’s attention was entirely on Bai Wan.

…She’s actually looking at Bai Wan.

Luo Shuqing’s hand holding her skirt suddenly tightened. After a long moment, she let out a soft breath and skipped down the remaining steps.

“Sister Nanjue! Ziyi! Wanjun!” She twirled. “Does it look good? Does it?”

Ji Ziyi whistled. “Wow, this outfit… it’s gorgeous, Your Highness. We were just watching them play. Who won? Is that even a question? Of course, our human cheat-code, Ms. Chen, won this brutal match!”

Looking at the dress, Ji Ziyi found it vaguely familiar but couldn’t place it. “Where did you order this? I feel like…” She was halfway through her sentence when she caught herself. She glanced at Chen Wanjun, who gave a quick, subtle blink. Ji Ziyi knew that meant her suspicion was correct.

She cut herself off and smoothly shifted the topic, joining the others in praising Luo Shuqing’s outfit.

Yan Nanjue caught this small detail. Digging through her memories, she realized she recognized the dress too. It was from a foreign fashion show. The original host had praised it once; she didn’t expect Luo Shuqing to have actually bought it.

Amidst the chorus of compliments, Luo Shuqing’s eyes remained on Yan Nanjue. “Sister Nanjue, do I look good in it?” Her face held unmasked anticipation.

Yan Nanjue’s nerves tightened. She chose the safest possible praise. “It’s fine. It suits you well.”

A very flat reaction. The kind of compliment given between ordinary friends.

This wasn’t what Luo Shuqing wanted. She clenched her palms beneath the folds of her skirt. Yan Nanjue looked away after just a few seconds, missing the moment Luo Shuqing shot a look at Bai Wan behind her.

Bai Wan was sensitive to gazes. She swept a cold look at Luo Shuqing but said nothing.

Since the star of the party had arrived, the festivities naturally centered around her. The scattered crowd gathered together. A socialite in a white skirt asked curiously, “Shuqing, I heard them say your friend is incredibly accurate with tarot cards. Is that true?” She was a friend of Luo Shuqing’s and didn’t know the inner circle well; she was referring to Ji Ziyi.

The person sitting next to Luo Shuqing nodded immediately. “Young Master Ji is a master of tarot! Ziyi! Shuqing happens to have a deck here. How about it?”

Ji Ziyi leaned her head on her hand with a mix of helplessness and amusement. “If I knew you’d all haunt me, I wouldn’t have helped you earlier. Fine, fine. But only one question per person.”

Yan Nanjue watched Ji Ziyi shuffle the cards with practiced ease, her long fingers making the cards look beautiful. Suddenly, Luo Shuqing’s voice rang out.

“It’s boring to always have Ziyi pull cards. Tarot is just metaphysics; accuracy can’t be proven. Let’s play something more definitive. We can do tarot anytime. Today is my birthday, so let’s follow my lead.”

Yan Nanjue’s eyelid twitched. Luo Shuqing sat with her chin in her hand, the center of the crowd.

“How about we play,” she smiled, “—The King’s Game.”

“Some people here might not have played it, so I’ll explain. One person draws the King card. As the King, you can order your subjects to do anything—Truth or Dare. Subjects are identified by numbers so no one knows who is who.” She added, “But let’s keep it civil. Nothing too over-the-top.”

The others agreed eagerly. Yan Nanjue’s heart began to race. In this room, the only person she knew for certain had never played this… was Bai Wan.

This game was too unpredictable. What if she and Bai Wan were called? Was Luo Shuqing targeting her, or Bai Wan? Or both? It was no wonder she had been so insistent on inviting Bai Wan to a private gathering; she was planning to use her as a laughingstock.

“System, can you see which card is the King?” Yan Nanjue asked urgently.

【System: Yes. But I cannot tell you. That is cheating. Unless it’s an emergency, I cannot interfere with the mission world.】

“What if the heroine gets called?!”

【System: She will choose to drink three glasses of wine.】

“What if it’s a dare she can’t forfeit?”

【System: Then there’s no way around it.】

Chen Wanjun took the deck before Ji Ziyi could. “I’ll deal.”

“Hey! Wanjun is so sly, the dealer doesn’t have to play!”

Ji Ziyi turned around. “No way, you’re playing too.”

Chen Wanjun sighed. “I’ll play. I’m just faster at shuffling.”

Yan Nanjue watched as the cards were taken one by one. She was so nervous her heart was thumping. Suddenly, a slender, well-defined hand reached out.

Bai Wan proactively took a card.

Yan Nanjue froze. A few seconds later, the remaining card was shoved into her hand by Ji Ziyi. “Don’t think about escaping, President Yan. I’m watching you.”

“Who is the King?” Chen Wanjun asked.

“Oh?” The girl in the white skirt showed her card. “It’s me! Let me think… Number 13, go do a doggy paddle in the pool outside. Is that okay?”

Yan Nanjue’s heart was in her throat. Please don’t let Bai Wan be 13…

Ji Ziyi looked at her card and her eyes bugged out. “You’ve got to be kidding me… even this can hit me?”

Luo Shuqing laughed. “Go on, Ziyi. Everyone knows your luck is abysmal.”

The next round’s King was a shy Omega who ordered Number 4 to give Number 9 a bridal carry and spin three times. It happened to be two Alphas who finished the task while pinching their noses in distaste.

Several rounds passed uneventfully. Neither Bai Wan nor Yan Nanjue were called. Yan Nanjue remained on edge, watching those around her.

“I can’t think of a Dare, so I’ll ask a Truth. Number 2, is there someone present you hate? Have you talked behind their back?”

Luo Shuqing flipped her card. Her brow rose slightly. “…Yes. As for ‘behind their back,’ I usually don’t wait until they leave to say it.” She smiled. “As for who it is, don’t ask. I won’t say.”

She was blunt. The people in the room exchanged looks, curious who she meant. Aside from Bai Wan, Yan Nanjue couldn’t think of anyone Luo Shuqing hated. She bit her lip. She really is here for the heroine. Truths in this game are more vicious than Dares!

Luo Shuqing drew a new card. Her eyes curved as she flipped it with two fingers. “Ah, I’m the King this time.”

“I’ve been troubled lately, so I hope Number 7 can answer me: if someone took something precious from you without permission, how would you deal with them?”

The crowd began to gossip.

“Depends on what was taken. If it’s just jewelry, whatever.”

“No way, that’s theft. You call the police!”

“I hate people touching my stuff. I’d make them regret it.”

A voice like clear spring water rang out. “Me.”

Bai Wan flipped her card, her face indifferent. “I am Number 7.”

“Oh, it’s Sister Bai Wan,” Luo Shuqing looked her in the eye, repeating the question. “Can you give me your answer?”

The air was thick with subtext. Yan Nanjue’s palms were sweating.

“Make them return it, then make them disappear from my world. I hate people touching my things,” Bai Wan said.

Her voice was cold, but Yan Nanjue felt extremely guilty, her heart rate spiking. Luo Shuqing’s question targeted Bai Wan, but Bai Wan’s answer… pointed at her. In the original book, Bai Wan did exactly that. The original host moved her family and destroyed her sanctuary; the host’s ending was indeed “disappearing” from this world.

Luo Shuqing smiled. “I quite agree. It is rude to touch others’ things. If it were me, I’d be even more ruthless. After all, the thing taken from me… is the most important thing in my life so far.” She stared unblinkingly at Bai Wan.

Yan Nanjue leaned forward, just enough to block Luo Shuqing’s line of sight.

The cards were reset. The King was Luo Shuqing again. She tapped the card against her face, smiling. “Number 3, if you had to pick one person present to marry, who would you choose? And who would you absolutely never choose?”

Yan Nanjue’s sharp eyes saw that Bai Wan’s number was 3. Again? This was too coincidental.

“…No choice,” Bai Wan said.

Luo Shuqing pressed, “No choice for the one you’d pick, or the one you’d never pick?”

Ji Ziyi sensed trouble and cut in. “Bai Wan is already married to A-Yan! Of course she’s the one she wouldn’t pick. It’s not fair to ask married people that, Shuqing baby.”

Luo Shuqing shrugged. “I just drew a number. Who knew it would be her twice?” She didn’t push further but gave Bai Wan a meaningful look.

Three rounds later, the girl in the white skirt was King and called Luo Shuqing. “Call the 15th person in your contacts and have them transfer 100,000 yuan to you.”

Luo Shuqing pulled out her phone. Her thumb stopped abruptly. She looked up at Yan Nanjue, then Ji Ziyi, then Chen Wanjun.

“The 15th person in my contacts is… Senior.”

The atmosphere turned stagnant. Ji Ziyi couldn’t stop stealing glances at Yan Nanjue. Chen Wanjun frowned. Yan Nanjue was confused. Who is this ‘Senior’? Should I know her?

【System: Your “White Moonlight” first love who went abroad.】

Yan Nanjue screamed internally. She frantically dug through her memories to find this background character. Then, she realized with horror: the White Moonlight went to the same university as Luo Shuqing and Bai Wan. Luo Shuqing had played this whole game just to reveal the secret that Bai Wan was a “substitute” for a similar face.

No! No! If the heroine finds out her life was ruined just because of a similar face… the blackening value will hit 100 instantly!

Yan Nanjue’s breath hitched. She shot a sharp, cold look at Luo Shuqing’s hands. Luo Shuqing, seemingly oblivious, tapped her screen and then locked her phone. She didn’t make the call. She simply drank a glass of wine. “It’s late at night where Senior is. It would be rude to disturb her.”

Luo Shuqing then looked at the oblivious Bai Wan and smiled sweetly. “Speaking of which, Sister Bai Wan is also my senior.” She twirled a lock of hair. “What a coincidence, don’t you think?”

Yan Nanjue’s voice was icy. “Enough.” She looked at Luo Shuqing with a silent warning. “Don’t talk to her like that. She is your sister-in-law.”

Luo Shuqing’s smile faded slightly. “‘Sister’ feels more intimate than ‘Sister-in-law.’ Besides, Sister Bai Wan is used to me calling her that.”

Bai Wan’s response was curt. “Whatever.”

The game continued. Yan Nanjue acted as if she were lost in her own thoughts, rubbing the rim of her glass. Finally, Ji Ziyi drew the King.

“Okay! Number 13, kiss Number 6. Face, hand, or forehead. Whoever forfeits drinks three glasses!”

Yan Nanjue looked down at her card: 13. Crap.

“Who is Number 6?” Ji Ziyi asked.

Luo Shuqing was 9. No one else spoke up. Then, Yan Nanjue’s gaze fell on Bai Wan’s hand. Her card was still face down.

“Bai Wan and Wanjun haven’t flipped theirs yet,” Ji Ziyi noted.

Under the pressure, Bai Wan’s pale fingers touched the edge of the card and flipped it over. Simultaneously, Chen Wanjun flipped hers.

Bai Wan was 6.

Yan Nanjue’s vision went dark. “System, I officially hate party games…”

The girl in the white skirt chirped, “Oh, what a coincidence! They’re a married couple, so this shouldn’t be hard.” She didn’t realize the tension in the room.

Yan Nanjue gripped her card so hard her knuckles turned white. She was panicking. Kiss the heroine? She’ll hate me! She’ll push me away in front of everyone! That would be so humiliating—I’d definitely OOC!

Yan Nanjue didn’t hesitate. She reached for her wine glass to take the penalty.

At the exact same time, another hand gripped the glass. It was Bai Wan.

Yan Nanjue looked up into those amber eyes. They had both reached for the wine.