Acting as the Powerful Background Character in a Scummy Alpha Novel - Chapter 12

Xiao He had finished her meal at the old estate and returned quite late. She hadn’t intended to disturb anyone, but she didn’t expect Jing Shen to still be awake.

“Why aren’t you resting yet?”

“I couldn’t really sleep. I have a big exam tomorrow, so I wanted to do a few more problems.” Jing Shen stood up, holding her exercise book.

Xiao He glanced at it; in her memory, Jing Shen was quite a good student. “Get some rest early. Do your best tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Even though it was just a brief encounter, Jing Shen felt content. She watched Xiao He go upstairs, packed her things, and returned to her room to rest.

Xiao He placed the box she had brought back into the bedroom safe. She would investigate this matter further; until things were clear, the contents of this box couldn’t be seen by anyone.

The next morning, as everyone headed off to school, the house grew quiet. Xiao He handled some minor company affairs and began formally arranging her healthcare regimen. Health was the foundation of everything; all else was secondary. Her only goal now was to live a long life.

Even if that seemed a bit difficult.

Dr. Guan (Guan Shanyue’s mother) and several other medical experts from related fields formed a medical team. They tailored a recuperation plan based on Xiao He’s physical condition, determined to try any method possible.

However, Xiao He’s case was truly unique. No similar cases had been found in medical history. They couldn’t let her try purely hypothetical treatments; if something went wrong, no one could bear the consequences.

After much deliberation—with Xiao He sitting in her chair, sipping tea and listening quietly—they reached a conservative “wait-and-see” plan. They would monitor her vitals constantly and do their best to maintain the delicate balance in her body, hoping for a miracle.

Xiao He wasn’t surprised. She had dealt with too many doctors across two lifetimes; most were cautious, seeking to avoid mistakes rather than chasing breakthroughs. No one dared to take a risk.

This was reasonable, and Xiao He knew she couldn’t afford the risk herself right now. Once everything was properly arranged and there were truly no other options, she would consider more adventurous methods.

“Let’s do it that way.”

Xiao He agreed, and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

“President Xiao, since that’s the case, you must pay extra attention to your body during this time. Shanyue will stay by your side to look after you. Remember, keep your mind calm. Emotions have a huge impact on the body—especially anger. Do not rush into anything, or it could be dangerous,” Dr. Guan instructed.

In other words, Xiao He had to be careful with every single move. It was beyond just having someone nearby.

Xiao He set down her cup. Though having someone constantly around was still hard to accept, she reminded herself it was for her health and nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon, when the five returned from school, they found that someone else had moved in: Guan Shanyue.

“There are more and more people in this house,” Xiao Shuyuan remarked directly at the dinner table. Xiao He was the only one absent.

Guan Shanyue glanced at the kids. “By the way, I’ll be suggesting to President Xiao that your classes and meals be moved to the side wing. It’s too noisy here, and it interferes with her rest.”

“Who’s noisy? And who are you to make decisions?” Xie Qingyu slammed his chopsticks down. Aside from Xiao He, no one talked to them like that.

“You can shout louder if you want. See if you can wake the President,” Guan Shanyue said, glancing upstairs. Xie Qingyu gritted his teeth but lowered his voice.

Jing Shen lowered her head and ate, quietly tightening her grip on her chopsticks.

After dinner, they were indeed invited out of the main building. Even their tutoring sessions were moved to the side wing, meaning Jing Shen had to go with them.

However, the four were distracted during the lesson. Xie Qingyu felt his pride had been wounded.

“What is Auntie thinking? Why bring someone like that here? And let her stay in the main building?”

“Who knows? Now we even need her permission just to see Auntie?” Xiao Shuyuan was furious but helpless.

Xiao Lincu’s expression was also very grim. Guan Shanyue had originally entered the Xiao household under the guise of being her psychiatrist. She had been very clear: she liked Xiao He and was only here to get close to her. Does this mean they are actually together now? Had Guan Shanyue actually succeeded in using her?

Jing Shen, rarely for her, was also spacing out, listening to their discussion with a vacant mind. The tutor looked at the group of students openly chatting and ignoring the lesson, sighed, and continued teaching to no one in particular.

Chu Yuelan, sitting diagonally behind Jing Shen, could see her distracted profile. She didn’t need to guess why. Seeing Jing Shen so preoccupied with Xiao He, jealousy and resentment began to spread in her heart.

“Don’t you realize we’re still in class? What are you doing acting so scattered?”

Chu Yuelan’s sharp voice interrupted Xiao Shuyuan and Xie Qingyu, snapping Xiao Lincu and Jing Shen back to reality.

“Are you crazy? Stop pretending!” Xie Qingyu was startled, and his pent-up anger immediately flared toward Chu Yuelan.

“If I’m crazy, you can go ask President Xiao yourself instead of whispering here,” Chu Yuelan retorted. Arguing with them was a daily occurrence; she wasn’t about to back down.

“What did you say!”

Xie Qingyu kicked his desk aside and stood up, looming over Chu Yuelan.

The tutor, seeing the atmosphere turn sour, hurried over to intervene. “Students, please, let’s not fight, let’s not fight.”

Xiao Shuyuan stood up and blocked the tutor with her arms, clearly determined to let the conflict escalate. “Teacher, this is none of your business. You can end the class now.”

The tutor couldn’t afford to offend any of them. After looking back and forth, they packed their things and left in a hurry.

Once the teacher was gone, Xie Qingyu became even more arrogant. He flipped Chu Yuelan’s desk over and looked at her provocatively. “I’ve tolerated you for a long time. Who do you think you are?”

Chu Yuelan stood up as well. “Who started this?”

Jing Shen saw they were on the verge of blows and knew Chu Yuelan would lose in a physical fight. She hurried forward to separate them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders to try and get them to sit. “Let’s not be so angry. We can sit down and talk.”

Xie Qingyu was in a rage and couldn’t listen to Jing Shen. He shrugged her hand off roughly. “Jing Shen, stay out of this. It’s none of your business.”

In his anger, he didn’t watch his strength. Jing Shen stumbled back, stepped on a pen Chu Yuelan had dropped, and lost her balance. She lurched and nearly fell, barely catching herself on Xiao Lincu’s desk.

Xiao Lincu reached out to steady Jing Shen’s arm. She stood up and looked at the two combatants. “You two can kill each other for all I care, but don’t involve the innocent.”

Jing Shen looked at her in surprise. That’s not exactly how you mediate a fight…

“Jing Shen, are you okay?” Chu Yuelan saw Xiao Lincu holding Jing Shen’s arm and took a deep breath, wanting to go over to her.

“I’m fine…”

“Xiao Lincu, why are you butting in?” Xiao Shuyuan wasn’t about to let the conflict end peacefully.

“If you don’t want me to butt in, why don’t you both get lost?”

There was already no love lost between them. A blowout was only a matter of time, and Xiao Lincu was never one to make peace.

“Who do you think you are, Xiao Lincu?” Xie Qingyu kicked an obstructing chair away. “You’re just a kid Great-Aunt picked up. Auntie hasn’t even legally acknowledged you yet. You really think you’re a Xiao? You have the nerve to tell us to get lost?”

This sentence accurately struck Xiao Lincu’s most sensitive nerve. Her gaze turned as cold as a corpse’s. “Say that again?”

“So what if I say it again? What are you and Chu Yuelan? Auntie just pities you, like she pities a stray dog on the street.”

Xie Qingyu had never been good at reading the room. He didn’t see that Xiao Lincu was on the brink of an explosion. He was simply saying whatever was most hurtful.

Xiao Shuyuan and Xie Qingyu were of the same mind, looking at the other two with arrogant indifference.

Chu Yuelan clenched her fists. “And are you two any better? Aren’t you here wagging your tails for scraps just like us? Who are you to feel superior?”

“You—”

Xiao Shuyuan was about to speak, but Xiao Lincu had no more patience for words. She kicked Xie Qingyu, sending him flying. Before he could scramble up, she grabbed his collar and slammed his head toward the floor. While doing so, she repeated in an eerily calm voice: “Say it again.”

The sudden violence caught everyone off guard. The room was rapidly filled with a chaotic mix of four Alpha pheromones, making Jing Shen feel sick. Realizing she couldn’t stop them, she ran to find Xiao He.

She ran to the main building. Xiao He was in the rooftop garden watering plants, with Guan Shanyue sitting nearby reading—a picture of tranquil peace.

Jing Shen didn’t have time to process the scene. She was panting from the run. “President Xiao! Come quickly! They’re fighting!”

“Who?” Xiao He raised an eyebrow slightly.

“All four of them!”

Xiao He: “…”

Setting down the watering can, Xiao He prepared to follow Jing Shen, but Guan Shanyue stopped her.

“President Xiao, you mustn’t get angry. Let me go see—”

“I’ll be even angrier if you keep blocking me. Move.”

Xiao He pushed past her and went downstairs with Jing Shen. Guan Shanyue sighed; she hadn’t expected such a massive headache so early into the job. Those cubs were truly a handful.

By the time the three arrived, the newly arranged classroom in the side wing was a mess. The fighting hadn’t stopped.

Xie Qingyu was in the worst shape, pinned in a corner with a bruised face and traces of blood. Xiao Lincu had a foot on his back, keeping him down.

Chu Yuelan and Xiao Shuyuan weren’t faring much better. Chu Yuelan had a handprint on her face and was currently clutching Xiao Shuyuan’s throat.

While Guan Shanyue was terrified that Xiao He would fly into a rage, Xiao He remained incredibly calm. Ignoring the stinging mix of pheromones, she walked in, righted an overturned chair in the center of the room, and sat down.

Her presence brought back their straying logic. They all stopped. Even Xiao Lincu let go of Xie Qingyu and stood silently. Xie Qingyu scrambled toward Xiao He’s feet, crying and snotting as he complained: “Auntie! Xiao Lincu is a maniac! She was going to kill me!!”

Looking down at the pathetic Xie Qingyu, Xiao He casually moved her foot away. “You aren’t dead yet, are you?”

“If I were dead, it’d be too late! Auntie, you have to do something!” Xie Qingyu sat on the floor, pushing his hair back to show a bloody scrape on his forehead. “Look! She was going for the kill!”

Faced with the bloody sight, Xiao He immediately looked away toward the silent Xiao Lincu. She set those two aside and looked at the others: Chu Yuelan holding her face, and Xiao Shuyuan clutching her neck and coughing. Both looked at her with teary eyes.

Xiao He stood up and waved her hand to clear the chaotic scent from the air. “All four of you: take half an hour to clean yourselves up. Then, go downstairs and run twenty laps around the estate to clear your heads. It’ll help use up that excess energy.”

With that, Xiao He ignored them and walked out.

“Auntie! You’re biased! Xiao Lincu beat me up, why do I have to run too? Ow!” Xie Qingyu shouted, accidentally pulling the cut on his lip and wincing in pain.

“Fine. Let her break your legs, and then you won’t have to run,” Xiao He said without looking back, knowing exactly how to handle them.