A Scummy Divorcee Alpha: Ex-Wife’s Top-Tier Soothing Agent - Chapter 1

Inside the dim and spacious dining room, a few candles flickered with an ambiguous glow, casting dancing shadows of two figures.

Du Wan sat at the table with a dazed expression, staring blankly at the person opposite her.

The table was spread with delicious delicacies, including a life-like mermaid-shaped cake coated in a special finish that refracted a dreamy, rainbow luster. Yet, compared to the great beauty sitting across from her, everything else paled in comparison.

The beauty wore only a wine-red nightgown. Her skin was as white as snow, and her silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall. She leaned forward lazily, resting her chin on her hand. A pair of beautifully shaped phoenix eyes locked onto Du Wan’s face as she called out, seemingly full of deep affection: “Du Wan?”

In her trance, Du Wan pinched the back of her hand hard.

Sizzle! It hurt!

This wasn’t a dream.

Just moments ago, Du Wan—a corporate slave who had just worked a week of straight overtime—was walking home like a zombie when a large truck suddenly charged toward her. The headlights flashed, brakes screeched, and she had tried sluggishly to dodge. The expected pain never came. When she opened her eyes again, she was here.

She had transmigrated into a book.

Specifically, she was now a character with the same name in a dogblood “scum-abusing” novel she had once read—a wicked, scummy Alpha.

The “Scummy A” was an eighteenth-tier small-time celebrity in the entertainment industry whose side hustle was being a romantic con artist. Possessing nothing but a handsome face and a love for unearned wealth, she spent her days dreaming of catching a “big fish” instead of honing her acting skills.

And she actually caught one.

That big fish was the woman sitting across from her: Zuo Yijia.

Zuo Yijia was the protagonist of this melodramatic novel—an S-grade Omega with rare mermaid blood and the youngest power player in the Zuo Group. For some reason, this favored child of heaven had been bewitched by the Scummy A and entered a whirlwind marriage with her just days after meeting.

Even after marrying into the Zuo family, the Scummy A didn’t stop. She plotted to force her wife to have a child to further control her and secure her own status. Thus, on her wife’s birthday, she prepared this candlelight dinner and spiked the red wine, waiting for her unsuspecting victim to drink it.

In the original plot, the plan failed. Zuo Yijia realized the truth in time, “kept the child but discarded the Alpha,” broke the Scummy A’s limbs, and threw her out of the house. The Scummy A left with nothing, ended up in massive debt, and eventually died a miserable death on the streets, hunted by creditors.

While the ending was satisfying to read, the thought of this fate befalling her made Du Wan’s legs shake. She looked at the wine glass to the woman’s right and swallowed nervously.

She had to find a way to switch that glass.

Du Wan shifted restlessly in her chair, looking for an opportunity. Suddenly, her hand brushed against a gift box hidden behind her.

“I almost forgot about this!”

Du Wan opened the box with a forced cheerfulness. Before she could even see the contents clearly, her lip twitched, and she slammed the lid shut.

“Is that a gift for me?” Zuo Yijia bit her lip and chuckled. Her captivating sapphire eyes sparkled, seemingly emitting electricity at every moment.

Faced with such beauty, Du Wan was in no mood to appreciate it.

The box was opened again. When the heavenly beauty saw what was inside, she too fell into a strange silence.

“Your hobbies… are quite unique.” Zuo Yijia curiously picked through the box. She wrapped two thin strips of cloth around her fingers and gave them a flick, smiling half-heartedly. “This is my first time seeing these things. Since you’re experienced, why don’t you teach me how to use them?”

The box was filled with various pairs of skimpy underwear—blue, pink, orange, leopard print, laser-finish… the variety was vast, and the amount of fabric used was shockingly “economical.”

“…” Du Wan tried to clarify, “It’s my first time seeing them, too.”

“Is that so?” Under the yellowish candlelight, Zuo Yijia’s profile looked blurry and ethereal. She leaned back against her chair absentmindedly, swirling the red wine in her glass.

The liquid rippled in circles. Du Wan watched it intently—so intently her eyes ached and cold sweat broke out on her back. Just as Zuo Yijia pressed her red lips to the rim of the glass to drain it, Du Wan lost her cool. She lunged forward and swiped her arm, knocking the glass over.

Zuo Yijia’s smile vanished completely. “I’ll give you one minute to explain.”

“Boss—no, President Zuo!” Du Wan fell to one knee with a thud and grabbed Zuo Yijia’s leg.

“Actually, I came to confess!” Halfway through, Du Wan thought about how she was only in her early twenties and about to die in an alien world. Real grief welled up, and she squeezed out a couple of tears. “I’ve been living in fear every day. I have self-awareness; I’m not worthy of you. Let’s just get a divorce!”

Zuo Yijia stood up. Her long human legs transformed into a silver-blue mermaid tail, making her appear exceptionally tall. She glanced down coldly, and Du Wan immediately flashed her best professional “corporate” smile.

Then, the world flipped upside down.

Du Wan was thrown to the ground by a massive force. Sharp pain radiated from her tailbone. Her cry of pain was muffled as a damp, salty scent filled her nose. A smooth, flexible mermaid tail wrapped around her neck, forcing her head up.

Du Wan could barely breathe. “Zuo… President Zuo, give me another chance…”

Zuo Yijia leaned down close to her ear, her voice unreadable. “That red wine—would you dare to drink it yourself?”

She knows? How does she know?! Du Wan’s pupils constricted.

“Now, the only ‘chance’ you have is a chance to go to hell,” Zuo Yijia said, tightening her tail. She watched Du Wan struggle with cold satisfaction. “I want you to taste what it feels like to wish you were dead!”

Du Wan struggled to open her eyes, seeing the ferocity and hatred in Zuo Yijia’s gaze.

She was doomed.

Either the original host had left a trail when spiking the wine, or Zuo Yijia—like her—had somehow learned the plot in advance. Either way, Zuo Yijia wasn’t going to let her off.

In despair, Du Wan closed her eyes and held her breath. Time passed slowly in the darkness, yet the woman didn’t make another move.

Something was wrong. The grip of the tail was loosening.

A cloyingly sweet fragrance began to fill the living room, growing from faint to overwhelming.

What is this? Pheromones?

Du Wan peeked through a slit in her eyelids.

Zuo Yijia was on the ground, clutching her head. Her nightgown had pulled open slightly, revealing a patch of flawless, pale pink skin. Sensing Du Wan’s gaze, she glared over. Her eyes were rimmed with red, making the look more like a sulk than a threat.

Du Wan immediately moved to help her, only to be violently slapped away by the mermaid tail.

“Get out! Don’t touch me!”

Zuo Yijia stumbled toward the sofa, groping for something on the back of it.

The next second, alarms blared through the villa. A group of people rushed in. The housekeeper shouted “Miss!” and before Du Wan could react, she was pinned firmly to the floor.

“You better pray the Miss wakes up soon, or you’ll pay with your life!”

She fainted? But she didn’t even drink the wine?

Du Wan looked up in confusion, but the bodyguards formed a human wall in front of the sofa, shielding the red-clad beauty from view.

They dragged Du Wan to an empty room and threw her inside.

“Wait—stop—”

The door slammed into her forehead. Ignoring the pain, Du Wan pounded on the door. After a long while, someone opened it, snapped “Behave yourself,” and tossed a large suitcase inside.

It contained the Scummy A’s personal belongings, packed haphazardly. When it opened, things spilled out across the floor.

Du Wan had no heart to tidy up. She sat on the floor in a daze until her phone chimed in her pocket. She unlocked it, saw a new message, and her heart sank into an abyss.

A seven-figure debt bill?!

And the payment is due in three months?!

Du Wan’s fingers trembled as she checked the bank balance. There had been no income for over half a year—only large expenses. The three or four thousand yuan left in the account wasn’t even enough to cover a fraction of the interest.

The Scummy A had checked out easily, leaving this mess for Du Wan. As a corporate slave who had only been out of school for two years, she had never seen this much money, let alone a way to gather over a million in three months.

Besides, Du Wan didn’t know how long she’d be locked in here. Would Zuo Yijia ever let her go?

Du Wan collapsed onto the soft mattress.

It’s a dream. This has to be a nightmare! Just sleep, and when I wake up, I’ll be back in the real world.

She kept hypnotizing herself. Whether it was exhaustion or her prayers working, she fell into a deep sleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

As dawn approached, a sharp knocking startled her awake. She stretched her numb arms and yawned as she walked toward the door.

The door was opened from the outside. The housekeeper stood there, expressionless.

“Miss Du, please come with us.”

Du Wan snapped awake, realizing she hadn’t returned to reality. She was still trapped in the nightmare.

The housekeeper frowned. Two bodyguards closed in from both sides, ready to take her by force if necessary.

Suddenly, Du Wan’s body swayed, and she fell straight over. Everyone panicked—some tried to catch her, others pinched her pressure points to wake her.

“Sister Lan, what do we do?”

“Quick, call the doctor!”

In the chaos, Du Wan slowly “regained consciousness.” Her lips trembled as she weakly raised a hand.

The housekeeper, Lan, leaned in quickly to listen.

Du Wan, pale and looking like she could drop dead at any moment, whispered with a faint, airy voice: “I haven’t eaten in a long time… my blood sugar is low. Can I… get some food first?”

Housekeeper: “…”