A Scummy Alpha Supporting Character Accidentally Marks the Heroine After Transmigrating into a Book (GL) - Chapter 42

Yan Nanjue stayed in the hospital for a week and a half. During that time, Bai Wan delivered meals to her at scheduled times every day until her discharge, never uttering a single word of complaint.

The calmer Bai Wan remained, the more Yan Nanjue felt a faint sense of dread.

“I keep feeling like the heroine is poisoning the food, preparing to kill me…”

The System gave a mocking laugh. 【Then why don’t you say that while you’re eating it?】

“Setting the eating aside for a moment, don’t you think her expressionless face is terrifying?”

Yan Nanjue was currently pouring hot water. The temperature had dropped suddenly yesterday afternoon, and she hadn’t dressed warmly enough. When she woke up this morning, her throat was sore—she had likely caught a cold. Fortunately, she was on leave at the apartment, only handling business online, and Assistant Lin would deliver important documents directly.

Because she was distracted by her conversation with the System, a bit of hot water splashed out of the kettle. Her hand jerked, and she hurriedly looked down; the scalded skin turned a faint, barely-there shade of red.

The System glanced at it. Seeing the water wasn’t that hot, it ignored her. 【I don’t think she’s scary. By human aesthetic standards, her face is exceptionally beautiful.】

“That’s because it’s me who has to face her.” Yan Nanjue grumbled a few complaints. “Every time I lock eyes with her, I feel guilty. I constantly feel like she’s about to blacken.”

The Blackening Value was like a wire hanging before her eyes. She was frequently stunned by the heroine’s beauty, only to realize the next second that the person in front of her was a genuine “white-lotus-turned-black.”

Forget about taking liberties; she didn’t even dare to watch from a distance.

Yan Nanjue carried her glass back to the study. Seeing the laptop screen filled with text gave her a surge of exhaustion.

“I’ve only rested for a few days. Why is there so much overtime?”

She looked down at her watch. “Is the heroine about to take her lunch break?”

【Yes.】

Yan Nanjue immediately perked up and asked Lin Furuo for an update on Bai Wan’s status at the company. The reply was that everything was fine and nothing was out of the ordinary.

Leaning back in her study chair, holding her hot water in one hand and her phone in the other, she was about to exit the chat with Assistant Lin when a photo was sent over.

[Lin Furuo: The Madam is eating lunch in the staff canteen.]

Clicking to enlarge, it was a photo of Bai Wan’s back.

She was walking among several colleagues, her head tilted as she talked to someone. Her expression was calm and composed, her skin as white as translucent jade. A stray strand of hair clung to her neck, tracing a slender line.

Yan Nanjue studied the photo for a few moments. Only after confirming that Bai Wan looked well did she put the phone down.

After a while of groggily reviewing documents, there was a knock at the door. It was the cook.

“Miss Yan, lunch is ready. Eat while it’s hot.”

Yan Nanjue got up and went out.

“By the way, Miss Yan, I heard you coughing this morning. You must have caught a cold. I brewed some brown sugar water. Since you don’t like ginger, I didn’t add any. Drink some to warm your stomach before you eat.”

Yan Nanjue paused on her way to the dining room. How did the cook know she disliked the taste of ginger?

The cook smiled. “A few times I made dishes with a strong ginger flavor, and there were more leftovers than usual. So I guessed you didn’t like it.”

So that was it.

Yan Nanjue didn’t deny it. “Mm.” She really didn’t like it.

After lunch, she returned to the study to look at files. Toward evening, the butler called. She had heard about Yan Nanjue’s coughing from the apartment’s cook and was very worried about her health.

“Miss, if you feel unwell, please take some medicine. I had someone restock the daily necessities at the apartment last time. Common medicines are in the cabinet near the window in the dining room.” The butler prattled on about what she should take.

Yan Nanjue didn’t even blink. “I took it.”

The System exposed her lie: 【You didn’t take it.】

“The butler can’t see me anyway. I don’t want to eat it.”

The System found it strange: 【Why is making you take medicine like asking for your life?】

Yan Nanjue was silent for a few seconds before confessing honestly, “I hate the smell of medicine.” She frowned slightly. “Chinese medicine, Western medicine, brewed or granulated—I hate that smell.”

【More than you hate ginger?】

“About the same.” Her face wrinkled up like a little fox that couldn’t lick its own nose, her whole body radiating gloom. “I don’t like either flavor.”

The System seemed to understand, mocking her ruthlessly: 【Just like a child. Spoiled.】

Yan Nanjue ignored it, took her laptop back to her room, and curled up on the small sofa. After finishing the backlog of files, she crawled into bed and fell into a daze.

---

When Bai Wan returned from work, the apartment was silent and dark. She paused for a few seconds while closing the door, instinctively checking the shoe rack. A pair of house slippers was missing.

So she is home.

She closed the door, switched on the living room light, and took some bread out of the fridge. This was her dinner. Bai Wan’s appetite had been diminished for years; eating seemed to be merely for maintaining vital signs. She didn’t care if it tasted good.

As she was opening the plastic wrap, the phone in her bag rang.

“Butler Li, is something wrong?”

The butler’s tone on the other end was full of worry. She relayed what the cook had said. “Only the Madam is at the apartment, so I wanted to trouble you to see if the Miss is still coughing?”

“A cough means a cold, and she refuses to take medicine. If it gets serious, she’ll run a high fever. I’m worried.”

Bai Wan swallowed a bite of dry bread and fell silent.

The butler could likely guess what she was thinking. “I just need you to take a look. If I keep calling her, she’ll get annoyed. Just check if it’s serious; you don’t need to worry about the rest. Once I know her condition, I’ll find a way to make her take the medicine.”

With the request so thoroughly explained, Bai Wan had no reason to refuse.

She finished her bread in a few bites and knocked on the bedroom door.

Knock, knock, knock.

No response.

Bai Wan knocked again. It was silent inside. She reached out and turned the doorknob; the door pushed open a crack, and the light from the hallway spilled in, illuminating a small patch of the floor.

As she was about to step in, she hesitated.

Bai Wan couldn’t help but frown. Why was she meddling?

The darkness behind the door was like a deep swamp. It felt as if once she stepped in, she would be covered in filth and doomed forever.

The butler’s worried voice echoed in her mind. She closed her eyes and pushed the door all the way open.

…Just like last time, she was only helping the butler.

The room was very dark. The curtains were drawn, and the only light source was a laptop plugged into the wall on the nearby desk; its owner had gone to bed without even shutting it down.

Bai Wan scanned the room and saw a lump on the bed. She walked soundlessly to the bedside, looking down at the sleeping person in the dim light from the hallway.

The Alpha’s eyes, usually so arrogant, were closed tight. Half of her face was tucked into the duvet. Without her usual icy edge or cold sharpness, her gorgeous face showed a softness never displayed in public. She looked exceptionally good-tempered.

She was naturally beautiful in a passionate way, but her personality was so terrible that people often failed to notice she had such a soulful face.

The hair on the Alpha’s forehead was slightly damp, sticking to her cheek. She seemed to have broken a sweat from the heat.

Bai Wan lit up her phone screen. With that bit of light, Yan Nanjue’s face was fully exposed.

The tip of her nose was red, and her ear, peeking out from her black hair like white jade, was also tinged with red. Her eyeballs trembled under her thin eyelids; she wasn’t sleeping soundly.

Bai Wan called the butler. “She’s sleeping. Her face is flushed; she seems to have a fever.”

The butler’s tone was so anxious she sounded like she wanted to fly to the apartment immediately. “Is that so? Madam, feel her forehead and the back of her neck. Is it hot?”

Bai Wan lowered her gaze. She brought the back of her hand close and slowly pressed it against Yan Nanjue’s forehead.

It was burning.

On the other end of the line, the butler made a fuss. “Try the back of the neck too, Madam. Check the temperature everywhere.”

The back of the neck?

Bai Wan’s fingertips stopped abruptly. She frowned deeply, as if making a difficult decision. The next moment, her fingertips pushed back the duvet that Yan Nanjue had pulled up to her nose.

The person beneath the duvet had lips flushed an unnatural crimson. Perhaps because the covering was moved, she stirred restlessly, her lips murmuring blurred words.

“Hot… don’t touch me…”

Bai Wan’s fingers reached for the back of her neck. Her palm almost completely covered the skin of Yan Nanjue’s neck. This posture represented absolute control and restraint; if she wanted to, she could leave a mark on this fragile neck at any time.

A scorching heat traveled through the skin-to-skin contact. It was like a spark—light and weak—that suddenly scalded her palm.

Just for an instant.

The Alpha’s body heat stained her fingertips, carrying a lingering citrus scent and a hint of the smell of sunlight on clothes. That spark, rolling into her veins, ignited with the scent and instantly turned into a prairie fire.

This wasn’t the Alpha’s pheromone, yet it was more familiar to her than pheromones. She had smelled it more than once.

Bai Wan had a slight, inconspicuous obsession with cleanliness. Yan Nanjue was sweaty; Bai Wan should have hated the feeling of skin contact. But her ultimate reaction was only a tremor in her fingertips, rather than pulling away.

Perhaps it was because the body heat was too scorching, or perhaps she was simply dazed.

“Yes, the back of the neck is hot too.”

Bai Wan withdrew her hand and instinctively pulled the duvet back up. Only then did the murmuring person on the bed stop fussing. Feverish people usually kicked off the covers, but she was the opposite, liking to nestle inside.

“Madam, the fever medicine and thermometer are in the cabinet. Please trouble yourself to give her a few pills and take her temperature. If it’s a high fever, I’ll send Assistant Lin over now.”

“…I feed her?”

The butler nodded vigorously. The apartment didn’t have many servants like the villa; it was Yan Nanjue’s private territory.

Bai Wan frowned, suddenly regretting taking the call and even more so helping the butler. This was a waste of her time.

Keeping the call active, she found the medicine and the thermometer, poured a glass of warm water, and walked back into the room.

“Get up and take your medicine.”

“Yan… Nan… Jue,” she called. “Get up.”

The person on the bed was delirious with fever and gave no reaction.

The butler offered advice: “She must be out of it. When the Miss has a fever, she sleeps very deeply. Do this: lift her head, pour the medicine in, and she’ll swallow it herself.”

Bai Wan frowned, her palm tightening over the pills.

The butler’s gentle voice said, “Please, Madam. Her fever won’t break if she doesn’t take the medicine.”

“…”

Bai Wan closed her eyes and put the phone on the bedside table. She reached out and pulled Yan Nanjue up from the duvet. Just as the butler said, she didn’t react even when being lifted. Her body was limp, leaning against Bai Wan’s arm, entirely dependent on her for support.

Heat radiated from her body constantly, unhindered by the two layers of fabric. Bai Wan’s brow was locked tight; she inexplicably hated this temperature.

She stuffed the medicine into Yan Nanjue’s mouth. This action didn’t take much effort, but it made her extremely uncomfortable. Her hand accidentally brushed against the full lips; Bai Wan’s wrist stiffened, and she quickly pulled her hand back.

“Bitter…”

Yan Nanjue mumbled, seemingly wanting to spit the medicine out.

Bai Wan reached up and pinched her cheek, threatening her in a cold voice: “Don’t you dare spit it out.”

Aside from her younger siblings, she had never cared for anyone so meticulously in her life. If Yan Nanjue spit it out, she was done; it had nothing to do with her anyway.

Yan Nanjue mumbled and closed her mouth. Bai Wan took the glass, supported her jaw, and poured some warm water in, forcing her to swallow. The person with closed eyes wrinkled her face, looking very unhappy.

After a great deal of effort, the medicine was down. Bai Wan pulled away quickly and tucked her back into the duvet. Enduring the trace of anger in her heart, she waited. Once five minutes were up, she pulled the thermometer out. 38.2°C. A low fever; the medicine would fix it.

Her remaining patience exhausted, Bai Wan picked up her phone to leave.

She was unsuccessful.

Her sleeve was caught by a force. Bai Wan looked back, her cold gaze falling on the hand clutching her clothes. She didn’t know when it had grabbed her; it had wound around her silently.

Her brow showed a hint of impatience. She reached up to pry the hand off, but her gaze inadvertently swept across something.

On the outside of the snow-white arm was a light, flesh-colored scar, tinged with faint pink. It wasn’t deep, but even though an Alpha’s body heals faster than an Omega’s or a Beta’s, it had left a distinct mark.

Bai Wan was silent for a long time. In the quiet room, she could only hear breathing—one light and one heavy.

Bai Wan sat back down. She leaned over slightly, pinched Yan Nanjue’s cheek, and spoke in an icy voice, “I don’t owe you.”

“I don’t owe you anything, Yan Nanjue.”

Her hand tightened slightly. She watched as the person’s lips were pressed open, revealing a tiny bit of white teeth behind the philtrum.

A strand of long hair slid from her shoulder, falling onto Yan Nanjue’s collarbone. The ends curled slightly, like a physical chain connecting two people who hated each other. Jet-black hair against snow-white skin—two extreme colors colliding—yet it looked like a mistake an artist had made on a canvas.

Bai Wan brought her laptop over and leaned against the bedside to draw. The glowing light of the screen reflected on her face, and she grew dazed.

The person beside her mumbled something softly. Bai Wan couldn’t hear it clearly. She wanted to ignore it, but the distance between them was too small to ignore.

Bai Wan’s lips thinned into a line. Those who knew her knew this was a precursor to her impatience. She leaned in close to hear what nonsense this madwoman was saying. It seemed to be something about it being late.

“…Late… don’t… I… go back…”

“Bai…”

“…Bai Wan.”

Instant silence. Every tiny sound was amplified. The room was left with only two breaths gradually overlapping, still one light and one heavy.

---

Yan Nanjue woke up half-asleep. She instinctively called out in her mind, “System, what time is it?”

【System: The time isn’t important. Why don’t you open your eyes and look…】

Yan Nanjue opened her eyes groggily. In the darkness, she vaguely saw a figure by the bed, as if someone was sitting there. Her body stiffened, startled by the figure. Her sleepiness vanished.

“What is this? Is this house haunted??”

【System: .】

【System: It’s a person.】

Yan Nanjue relaxed and sat up, straining her eyes to see. Her vision cleared, and when she saw the face hidden in the shadows, her arm went weak and she fell back.

The System slowly typed a question mark.

Yan Nanjue shut her eyes. “Why is it the heroine… am I still asleep or did I see a ghost? Damn it, System, this house really is haunted!”

【System: …】

“Awake?”

A faint inquiry came from her ear. The noise of her falling back was too loud; Bai Wan, who had been dozing, was woken up.

Yan Nanjue couldn’t fake it anymore. She sat up and asked coldly, “Who gave you permission to enter my room?”

“If it weren’t for Butler Li’s repeated pleas, I wouldn’t have stepped foot in here.”

Bai Wan glanced at her. “You had a fever. She guessed you wouldn’t take medicine and asked me to check on you. That’s all.”

Yan Nanjue was stunned. She realized her back was covered in sticky sweat, and a faint taste of medicine remained on her tongue. She was exceptionally sensitive to that bitter taste; even after some time, she could still perceive it.

So, the translation of that sentence was: Bai Wan, at the butler’s request, came to check on her, found her feverish, fed her medicine, and sat by the bed until her fever broke?

Yan Nanjue sorted through the timeline, feeling a faint sense of horror. Holy crap… when did the heroine’s temper become this good?

【System: You’re asking me? Who should I ask?】

【System: When I came back, she was already by the bed, working while watching you. Butler Li called twice to check if your fever had broken.】

“This is your duty,” Yan Nanjue said flatly. Her tone was cold and ungrateful, but her heart was guilty. She instinctively avoided Bai Wan’s gaze, her peripheral vision falling on the laptop screen. The design on it was a pair of rings.

Is the heroine designing rings for a client?

“—You kept calling out a name while you were asleep.”

Bai Wan’s gaze moved down to her face, which was rarely this disheveled. Her words were neither a rebuttal nor a mockery.

Yan Nanjue’s thoughts were instantly scattered. “…What?”

What name?! Would Bai Wan take this opportunity to make a scene about the White Moonlight?! Hadn’t she warned her never to mention that name again?!

Yan Nanjue frowned and opened her mouth to fake anger, but that melodious voice hit her ears first.

“Bai Wan.”

Bai Wan looked straight at her. “You kept calling my name in your sleep.”

“…”

The room fell into a bizarre silence. Yan Nanjue’s breath hitched. The anger that had risen in her brow vanished like a bubble in the light, leaving only shock.

Ah? Did I call the heroine’s name while I was sleeping?

【System: You did.】

No way…

The System said ruthlessly: 【Four times.】

Yan Nanjue: “…………”

She was finished.

Yan Nanjue was so embarrassed her hand clutched the duvet helplessly. She suppressed the rising shame and panic, her mind racing. She countered coldly: “And what does that prove? What are you trying to say?”

“I am merely stating a fact. You are overreacting.”

Yan Nanjue was silent for two seconds, howling in her mind. “System, help…”

【System: Good luck.】

Yan Nanjue shut her eyes, throwing her dignity aside. “Just meaningless sleep-talk.”

“Yes.”

No rebuttal, and not the expected mocking reply.

Yan Nanjue was even more embarrassed. She opened her mouth to speak but bit her tongue instead, the pain making her lashes tremble. After a long while, the pain subsided, and she put on a face of cold dismissal.

“Get out.”

“My room isn’t a place just anyone can enter. This was an accident; don’t let there be a next time.”

Bai Wan looked at her, her expression unreadable—neither angry at being treated ungratefully nor amused.

Yan Nanjue peeked at her, meeting her gaze. Perhaps out of guilt, she felt like Bai Wan’s eyes held a trace of mockery.

Bai Wan left with her laptop. Yan Nanjue dove back into the bed.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?! System! You just let me talk in my sleep?! What if the heroine suspects me? What if I blurt out the mission one day?!”

Before she could finish her aggressive interrogation, there was another knock. Yan Nanjue scrambled back up, resuming her previous posture, and looked toward the door with displeasure.

“The medicine on the table needs to be taken for one more day. The butler said if you don’t take it and it turns into a high fever, she will tell Chairman Yan.”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with me,” the Alpha replied icily.

Bai Wan’s gaze swept over her, passing the collar of her pajamas which had slipped to her shoulder.

The door closed again. Yan Nanjue almost had a heart attack from that second visit. Once she confirmed the heroine was far away, she relaxed and questioned the System indignantly.

The System said drolly: 【I did call you.】

【But you were out of it and couldn’t hear. I also reminded you to take the medicine before you slept, as did the butler, but you refused.】

Yan Nanjue was speechless. If she had known this would happen, she would have taken the medicine. No, she would have gone to the hospital.

“Is there no other way to force me awake? It’s scary if I just blurt things out.” She fantasized: “Like, you could shock me. They do that in novels.”

The System was speechless. 【You think you’re making a wish?】

【Shock you awake… electric shocks are punishment for rule-breaking hosts. Shocking a host for no reason would lead to complaints and docked holidays or bonuses. Seriously rule-breaking systems get dragged back by the Main System for reform.】

Yan Nanjue was oddly disappointed. “No other means?”

【None.】

“Then if I accidentally let something slip while talking in my sleep…”

【System: That’s impossible. Anything mission-related is automatically filtered out.】

Hearing that, Yan Nanjue breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. If she blurted out the mission… it wouldn’t just be embarrassing. She’d be completely doomed.

Thinking of the sleep-talk, she couldn’t help but shut her eyes and scream silently. Argh, why would I dream of calling Bai Wan’s name?!!!

The System ordered: 【Stop with the ‘arghs’ and ‘eeks.’ Get up and take your medicine. You didn’t eat dinner either. Eat something, take a shower, and go to sleep. Get up for work tomorrow.】

Yan Nanjue climbed out of bed, her legs weak, and followed the instructions. She walked to the bathroom like a sleepwalker, washed her face with hot water, and plucked up the courage to walk out.

Bai Wan was nowhere to be seen. It was the middle of the night; she had gone to bed. It made sense—Bai Wan’s schedule was always regular.

Yan Nanjue’s back relaxed. She was about to order takeout when she caught a scent. She followed it into the kitchen and uncovered the clay pot in the warming box. Bai Wan had stewed some wolfberry and pear soup at some point.

Yan Nanjue stared at the soup for a few seconds. The soft, warm steam rose up, and she was dazed for a moment.

【Oh, it’s pear soup,】 the System said. 【Perfect. It soothes the throat and lungs. Good for you. Looks like you don’t need takeout. Drink up.】

Yan Nanjue scooped a bowl and sat at the table. The soft, sweet pieces of pear melted in her mouth. With no one around, she squinted her eyes, a little joy bubbling within her. Once again, she greatly praised the heroine’s cooking.

It was sweet. She liked it very much.