Acting as the Powerful Background Character in a Scummy Alpha Novel - Chapter 17

During her last accidental loss of control, Xiao Linchu had been in a daze, but she seemed to have vaguely overheard a conversation between Guan Shanyue and Xiao He. It concerned the cause of her pheromone disorder—something about prohibited drugs—but it seemed Xiao He had rejected the suggestion to call the police.

Linchu wasn’t sure if she had been dreaming or if she truly heard it. To verify her suspicion, she secretly contacted a medical institution and underwent another examination. This confirmed that what she had heard that day was no dream.

She couldn’t understand why, after such a serious discovery, Xiao He only wanted everyone to keep it a secret instead of choosing to involve the police. Could it be that it was actually related to her?

Unwilling to accept this possibility, Linchu was in agony. She had been tormented by this for a while and finally decided to take a risk; she wanted to see Xiao He’s true reaction.

She heard an answer that left her heart like cold ashes. She realized that over the past two years, while she had been suffering from pheromone instability, the person she had looked to for hope was actually the culprit—or an accomplice.

Turning off the recording and monitoring equipment, Linchu angrily swept everything off her desk. Was it all just for the sake of an “excellent” child? Do children who aren’t excellent not deserve to exist?!

After smashing everything in the room that could be broken, Linchu lay exhausted amidst the ruins, covering her eyes with the back of her hand.

Why did reality have to kick her back so hard just when she felt closest to happiness? Was this some joke played on her by the heavens?

The violent emotional fluctuations plunged Linchu into a state of extreme fatigue. She lay among the debris, and even as shards of broken glass cut her hand, she felt nothing as she watched the blood seep from the wound. She ignored it and closed her eyes.

At that moment, something surfaced from the depths of her mind. She saw herself in what looked like a dilapidated hospital. The thought made her intensely uneasy; she wanted to flee, but found herself a small child, easily caught by others…

A wave of immense fear and pain swept over her. She saw one terrifying face after another before snapping awake with a scream.

Drenched in sweat and with the blood on her hand already dried, Linchu tried to tell herself it was just a dream, but the memories from the dream were becoming clearer and clearer.

Her head throbbed with a splitting pain she couldn’t alleviate; she could only curl up in agony, clutching her head.

It took a long while for her to recover. The fragmented memories in her mind began to piece together. She suddenly realized it wasn’t just a dream, but a memory buried deep in her mind—the source of her pain.

Was that her lost childhood memory? But why was there so little? What else did she not know? And why did she forget?

The persistent knocking on the door didn’t stop. Linchu stood up expressionless and opened it.

Guan Shanyue, who had been sent by Xiao He to see if Linchu had lost control again, was startled by the sight inside the room—and even more so by the blood on Linchu’s hands.

“This… this… what happened here?”

Linchu gave Guan Shanyue a cold look, turned back indifferently, and sat on the only chair that was still intact.

Everything was fine earlier, why is it like this now? Guan Shanyue wondered. She stepped forward to check on Linchu but found no signs of another pheromone collapse.

“Are you in a bad mood? Is it because you woke up and found President Xiao wasn’t here?” Guan Shanyue had seen this often; patients are particularly fragile, and if no family is present when they wake, they can become despondent or irritable. Thinking this was the case, she couldn’t help but say a few kind words for Xiao He.

“Actually, President Xiao stayed with you for a long time. But her health is poor, and she’s come down with a severe cold over the past two days. She couldn’t hold out any longer and went back to rest. She’s still—”

CRASH!

As Guan Shanyue was speaking, Linchu stood up and hurled the chair. It shattered into pieces at Guan Shanyue’s feet, cutting her off.

“Don’t mention her in front of me. Get out!”

Looking at the shattered chair, Guan Shanyue was practically laughed with fury. Kids these days are beyond arrogant; they really think too much of themselves.

Kicking the debris aside, Guan Shanyue wasn’t the type to just take it. “As if anyone cares about looking after you!”

With that, she left Linchu’s room, unaware that her angry words struck the most painful nerve in Linchu’s heart.

She was right. No one truly cared about her. So, it was better to let her just waste away.

Xiao He was in her room making a call when Guan Shanyue returned fuming. Xiao He glanced at her, said a few quick words to the person on the line, and hung up.

“Don’t you know how to knock?”

“I almost got killed by your daughter just now, and you only care about whether I knock?” Guan Shanyue sat down.

“Did Xiaocu lose control again? I’ll go see her.” Xiao He frowned.

“It’s not a loss of control. She’s just in a foul mood. She smashed everything in her room to bits and told me to get out. So, I got out.”

Guan Shanyue came from a medical dynasty and was exceptionally talented herself. Even though she was informal with those around her, no one had ever dared to tell her to “get out.” Just a little brat—truly spoiled beyond measure.

“Xiaocu shouldn’t be that rude.”

Xiao He found it hard to believe. While Linchu’s personality was awkward and reclusive, she didn’t have the habit of being arrogant or overbearing. Not long ago, even in her state of collapse, she hadn’t done anything so outrageous.

“You don’t believe me? So I’m lying then?” Guan Shanyue looked at Xiao He, her frustration mounting. “Do you know why she told me to get out? Because I told her you sent me to check on her since you weren’t feeling well. She told me never to mention you in her presence. I don’t understand—she treats you like this, yet you still think she’s a ‘good kid’?”

Xiao He was even more skeptical of this. Linchu had just called her “Mom” for the first time. How could her attitude shift so drastically so fast?

“Fine, you still don’t believe me,” Guan Shanyue saw the doubt in Xiao He’s eyes. “The people in your family are truly more difficult to serve than the last. I’m not up to the task. You’d better find someone more capable. Goodbye.”

Without giving Xiao He a chance to speak, Guan Shanyue packed her things and left the Xiao estate. Before leaving, she left her notes on Xiao He’s health on the table.

Sitting in the car, Guan Shanyue booked a flight for an overseas vacation. She rubbed her brow and let out a sigh of relief.

Actually, she was angry when Linchu yelled at her, but not that angry. On her way back to the main building, she realized there might be more to Linchu’s outburst. Combined with her suspicions about the drugs in the girl’s system and Xiao He’s vague attitude, everything seemed to connect.

An outsider shouldn’t know too much about the secrets of a wealthy family—especially a conflict between a ruler and an heir. While she liked Xiao He, she had no desire to drown in this mud. While things were still peaceful on the surface, before the other heirs and the various factions of the Xiao Group joined the fray, and while Xiao He was still standing, it was best for her to make a timely exit for self-preservation.

You couldn’t blame her for not being “sincere” enough to Xiao He. Adults must weigh the pros and cons. Putting oneself in danger for an affection that might never be returned is something only a fool would do.

Thinking this way made her feel much better. Guan Shanyue stretched; she had a bright future ahead. She would give herself a holiday and pretend none of this ever happened.