A Scummy Divorcee Alpha: Ex-Wife’s Top-Tier Soothing Agent - Chapter 9

“Retch—”

Zuo Yijia leaned over the sink, dry-heaving painfully.

Du Wan stood behind the door, clutching her wounded arm and keeping watch. Hearing the sound, she turned back with an expression of pure disgust. “Keep it down. Don’t lead those people straight to us.”

Zuo Yijia: “Urgh—blegh—”

Du Wan walked further inside and patted her shoulder. “Switch places with me.”

The movement accidentally pulled at the gash on her arm. Fresh blood began to stream down. Du Wan hissed in pain and clamped her hand back over the wound.

Zuo Yijia splashed her face with cold water and untied the silk scarf from her neck.

“For me?” Du Wan was flattered.

Without looking up, Zuo Yijia said coldly, “If you don’t want it, throw it away.”

Classic tsundere.

“I want it, I want it!” Du Wan knew when to quit while she was ahead. She grinned mischievously. “How could I dare refuse Boss Zuo’s kind intentions?”

The scarf carried a faint, lingering sweet scent. Gritting her teeth, Du Wan used her teeth and hand to expertly tie the scarf around her wound as a bandage.

Zuo Yijia’s expression softened slightly. She used a towel to cover her nose and mouth, standing stiffly by the door, terrified of touching even a hint of the stench.

“Where did you learn to bandage like that?”

Du Wan replied, “I have a Red Cross first-aid certificate.”

What is that? Do we have such an organization here? A flash of doubt crossed Zuo Yijia’s mind.

“And that shoulder throw? Did you learn that there too?”

The sound of rushing water filled the room as Du Wan washed her hands. Pinkish blood swirled and disappeared down the drain. She shook the droplets off her fingers. “That move? I practiced that specifically with people back at the orphanage.”

“Orphanage?”

Zuo Yijia realized where that sense of incongruity was coming from. She lowered the towel and narrowed her eyes like a predator spotting prey. “Your file says your father didn’t pass away until after you became an adult. Why would you be in an orphanage?”

Du Wan’s back stiffened.

Her brain went into overdrive as she frantically recalled which sentence had just given her away.

She followed up nonchalantly, “With a man that irresponsible, what’s the difference between him being alive or dead?”

“Fair point.”

Zuo Yijia let out a short laugh, but the suspicion in her heart didn’t fade in the slightest.

Du Wan hurried to change the subject. “We can’t stay here. They’ll find us eventually. If we get cornered in here, we’re finished.”

Du Wan looked around, her gaze suddenly locking onto the window in the inner stall.

“You should go. Those people are after me; they won’t make things hard for you.” Zuo Yijia stepped aside to make a path for her.

Du Wan blinked. “Boss Zuo, are you scared?”

The expression on Zuo Yijia’s cold, arrogant, and beautiful face shifted several times. Finally, she gave a haughty smile. “You think I’ll fall for reverse psychology a second time—”

Du Wan didn’t care if she was sneering, raging, or mocking. She just knew that if she abandoned the mermaid and ran off alone, her ending would likely be miserable.

Dealing with a temperamental, violent, and paranoid boss like this, who’s to say this wasn’t just another test?

Without another word, Du Wan pushed her toward the inner stall.

Accompanied by muffled sounds of gagging, they climbed out the window. Just as their feet hit the ground, they came face-to-face with the thugs emerging from another alley.

The two groups met on a narrow path, staring each other down.

While the other side was still dazed, Zuo Yijia wasted no time. She whipped off a high heel, aimed, and threw. It was fast, ruthless, and accurate—instantly knocking one man down.

“Boss Zuo has great martial skills!”

Du Wan offered a sarcastic bit of flattery.

Zuo Yijia turned back and rolled her eyes hard.

She held her other high heel in her hand—a sharp, thin stiletto with a crimson sole. A very handy weapon.

This alternative form of “violent aesthetics” made the thugs present feel a chill of fear. One strike from that heel and they’d end up with a face full of bloody gashes just like their comrade on the ground.

“I already know who your boss is.” Zuo Yijia brushed back her long hair, returning to her insufferable CEO persona. “No matter how much he’s paying you, I’ll pay triple!”

“Boss Zuo is so generous!”

Du Wan turned into a clapping sea otter, clearly enjoying the chaos.

The thugs began to stir. A man who looked like the leader shouted, “Brothers, if we don’t finish this job, we won’t just lose the money—we’ll be left for dead right here!”

At those words, the thugs quieted down again.

Zuo Yijia gritted her teeth. “So he really wants me dead!”

“Pity. I don’t die that easily.”

The cold wind blew into the alley, lifting the hem of her coat. Her red lips curled into a vicious smile, and her eyes turned lethal in an instant. “Even if I die, I’ll crawl back from hell to claim his soul.”

Du Wan listened from the side, her heart pounding.

It was confirmed: Zuo Yijia was a “reborn” regressor.

Could she ever forgive the scummy Alpha who had hurt and betrayed her in her past life?

The mermaid might be putting up with her now for the sake of the “treatment,” but she was definitely waiting for the right moment to strike. When the time came to settle old and new scores, Du Wan’s ashes wouldn’t even be left behind.

I’m doomed. What do I do?

Du Wan had zero confidence.

Maybe she should find an opportunity to run away?

But before running, she had to scrap for survival.

“So what? Do you have nine lives? We’ll each give you a cut and make sure you stay dead!” the thug leader yelled. “Brothers, get them!”

The thugs raised their blades and were about to swarm.

Zuo Yijia raised her hand and snapped her fingers at the sky.

A drone with a flashing red light dove down, hovering low over her head.

At the same time, at the end of the alley, Secretary Liang stood on a chair with a megaphone and began to shout: “Listen up inside! You are surrounded! The sea of bitterness is boundless—turn back to the shore! Drop your weapons now and you’ll have a chance to live!”

Zuo Yijia smiled grimly. “The police will be here in five minutes. You’re dead!”

The thugs stopped dead in their tracks.

“Boss!”

“What do we do!”

“I don’t want to get caught!”

“You’re all a bunch of f***ing useless cowards!” The leader’s face twisted. He pulled a glass bottle from his coat and held it high. Under the moonlight, the semi-transparent liquid inside sloshed around.

Zuo Yijia’s face went pale. “A pheromone inducer.”

A pheromone inducer was the equivalent of a biochemical weapon in this world. Just a few drops could make Alphas and Omegas within a several-kilometer radius lose their minds and fall into a frenzy.

The thug leader clearly didn’t have the connections to get such a thing. The mastermind behind this didn’t just want Zuo Yijia dead; they wanted to cause a massive catastrophe—one that would shake the very foundation of the Zuo family.

The leader gave a cruel grin. “You high-and-mighty rich people always look down on everyone. Under the control of pheromones, you’ll just turn into slaves to your own desires!”

The situation reached a deadlock again.

Du Wan thought: My turn to take the stage.

She cleared her throat and suddenly called out to the leader, “Hey, are you lacking love or something?”

Thug Leader: “???”

“I see your shifty eyes and sleazy behavior—it’s obvious you haven’t been loved for a long time. Your soul is so twisted that you have to come out and take it out on society.”

The leader’s eyes nearly popped out. “Stop talking s***!”

“A fight only gets you a few years. If you break that bottle, the nature of the crime changes. You could get the death penalty. Before you take your revenge on society, have you thought about your little brothers behind you?” Du Wan paused. “They didn’t follow you just to die.”

The man waved the bottle, screaming, “Don’t listen to her! She’s lying!”

But those words had already caused the thugs’ morale to crumble. They became a disorganized mess, unable to pull themselves together.

“Let’s surrender!”

“I’m still young, I don’t want to die.”

The scene turned into a chaotic mess instantly.

The leader was jostled into the middle of the crowd. Stumbling, he held the bottle high—his only bargaining chip. “Don’t move! I-I’ll…”

Du Wan rushed to grab the bottle. She took a large stride forward, but accidentally stepped into a puddle. Her feet slid out from under her, and with a loud clack, both her knees slammed into the ground. She had essentially performed a deep New Year’s kowtow to the entire crowd.

Thugs: “…”

Zuo Yijia: “…”

The crowd went silent for a few seconds. Every eye was focused on her.

The pheromone inducer was a ticking time bomb. It could break at any moment; they had to end this fast.

Zuo Yijia thought: Du Wan is actually somewhat useful. With just her clumsy self, she had captured almost all the enemies’ attention. The distraction only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough for Zuo Yijia to hurl her remaining high heel.

Zuo Yijia wound up and threw.

The shoe traced an arc through the air.

Thud! A direct hit.

“AAAAAGH!”

The leader let out a scream as the stiletto heel smashed into his mouth, making him spit blood. He fell backward, his grip loosening, and the glass bottle fell with him.

At the critical moment, Du Wan reached out.

Under the pitch-black night, no one could see if she had caught it. Everyone held their breath in tension.

Du Wan’s head was lowered, her hands held reverently together in front of her. After a momentary freeze, she finally moved, slowly raising the item above her head.

“I caught it—”

She grinned so wide her teeth showed.

Good performance this time. Looks like I might get to live a bit longer.