After Becoming a Scumbag Alpha, I Protect the Female Lead’s Love - Chapter 1

The expected pain never arrived. After a brief lapse into chaotic unconsciousness, Xi Zhou opened her eyes.

A warm yellow light bathed the room, coating everything in an ambiguous glow. The scent of Baileys Irish Cream surged through the air, enveloping Xi Zhou’s senses. In this unfamiliar environment, she felt utterly lost, while a searing, tearing pain flared at the back of her neck.

The sound of a woman’s suppressed, soft moans echoed in the silent room. Xi Zhou rubbed her nape and looked toward the source of the sound. The woman on the bed had exquisite features—stunning, in Xi Zhou’s opinion. Her skin was excessively fair, yet her cheeks were flushed with an unnatural crimson.

“Don’t… come over… Xi Zhou,” broken words tumbled from the woman’s lips. “Don’t forget… our… agreement.”

Possess her!

Claim her!

Such a ridiculous thought actually sprouted in Xi Zhou’s mind. The moment the thought surfaced, the intense aroma of whiskey scattered throughout the room. The pain at her nape intensified, and the woman on the bed couldn’t help but let out another low cry.

Agreement? What agreement? Xi Zhou was baffled by the woman’s words, but seeing her in distress, she spoke up to ask.

“Do you need help?” Xi Zhou endured the pain and moved closer to the bed. With every step she took, the urge to possess that woman grew stronger.

Kiss her, embrace her, take her, make her yours! It felt like a craving etched into her genes. Xi Zhou felt she was losing the ability to restrain herself. The pain at her nape worsened; lust and logic tore at her, making her suffer miserably.

“You… lied to me… You’re an Alpha. Get out! Get out!”

The woman shouted at Xi Zhou in a rage. An Omega in heat experiences volatile emotions, and the scent of Baileys poured out even more uncontrollably.

Xi Zhou didn’t dare, nor could she, stay any longer. If she stayed one second more, she wasn’t sure what she might do. Since the woman had ordered her to leave, she had no reason to remain. Clutching her nape, Xi Zhou stumbled out of the room.

Once outside, that absurd impulse continued to swirl in her head, and the pain at the back of her neck didn’t subside. Xi Zhou bit down lightly on the tip of her tongue, forcing herself to focus.

Xi Zhou’s graduation thesis data had been stolen, and then she had jumped from a building. She thought her life had ended there, but she hadn’t expected to end up here. Given that the woman just called her an Alpha, it seemed this was an ABO world. An ABO setting meant this had to be a transmigration into a book.

In her original world, Xi Zhou used to read web novels to pass the time, and when money was tight, she’d even written some. Though her stories had undoubtedly flopped, she knew a thing or two about the tropes.

The woman had called her Xi Zhou, which meant the original owner of this body shared her name. Xi Zhou easily recalled which book this was—it was the one she had finished reading just a short while ago.

The original Xi Zhou wasn’t the protagonist. This was a “female lead growth” story where the heroine was named Nan Zhiyi; Xi Zhou was merely a minor hurdle on her path to success. Her “scum Alpha” behavior included, but was not limited to, forced marking, marital rape, cold violence, and verbal abuse. Later, she even turned to drug use and trafficking. Eventually, after Nan Zhiyi became a powerful figure, she personally sent Xi Zhou to prison.

The timing of Xi Zhou’s arrival was a stroke of luck—it was exactly when the original owner intended to forcibly mark Nan Zhiyi. Nan Zhiyi had been sabotaged in a business deal; her suppressants were swapped with an induction agent, forcing her into an early heat. The original owner had planned to take advantage of the situation. Fortunately, it was Xi Zhou in the body now, so a disaster was averted.

Xi Zhou cleared her thoughts and found the original owner’s phone on the downstairs sofa. It unlocked easily via Face ID, confirming that the original Xi Zhou looked just like her. Taking a deep breath to suppress the Alpha’s genetic possessiveness, she dialed emergency services.

Guessing that this body might be in its rut, Xi Zhou rummaged through her room for Alpha-specific suppressants but found nothing.

Fortunately, ten minutes later, an ambulance arrived with sirens blaring. Xi Zhou led the way for the nurses. Most were Betas, but one female Omega caught the scent of Xi Zhou’s whiskey pheromones.

“Ma’am, are you alright?” The nurse looked at the cold sweat on Xi Zhou’s forehead and guessed she might have just recently manifested.

“I’m fine. Take my… wife first.” Xi Zhou waved her off, watching as they injected Nan Zhiyi with sedatives and suppressants. Nan Zhiyi drifted into unconsciousness. Xi Zhou helped the nurses lift her onto the ambulance, but as she was about to close the door and follow, a small child ran down from upstairs.

“Auntie Xi, what happened to Mommy?” Nan Jing stopped about a meter away from Xi Zhou and asked timidly.

“Mommy is a little sick and needs to go to the hospital. Do you want to come along?” Xi Zhou crouched down to ask the child’s opinion.

Nan Jing was actually the child of Nan Zhiyi’s sister, but Nan Zhiyi had never revealed the child’s true identity to the public. Having a “god’s eye view” of the plot, Xi Zhou naturally knew this.

“I…”

“Forget it, come with me.”

While Nan Jing was still hesitating, Xi Zhou simply scooped the child into her arms and strode toward the ambulance.

She didn’t feel right leaving the child home alone. If Nan Zhiyi needed someone to stay the night, the child would be terrified waking up to an empty house. Since tomorrow was Saturday, Xi Zhou decided to take her along; at most, it would just mean a bit more effort to care for her at the hospital.

Nan Jing was surprised and a bit scared. She hadn’t spent much time with Xi Zhou, who usually ignored her or kept a cold expression. Nan Jing was quite afraid of her. Because space was tight in the ambulance, Nan Jing was held in Xi Zhou’s lap. The child didn’t dare lean fully into her. Noticing her stiffness and assuming she was worried about Nan Zhiyi, Xi Zhou gently patted the child’s back and cooed, “Mommy is fine. It’s just a small illness, she’ll be better tomorrow.” Nan Jing slowly relaxed and tucked herself into Xi Zhou’s arms.

The Omega nurse on the vehicle was feeling a bit pressured by Xi Zhou’s pheromones. She was already marked by an Alpha partner, so the scent of another Alpha made her uncomfortable.

“Ma’am, did you just manifest recently? Do you need an Alpha suppressant?” The nurse finally couldn’t help but ask.

Xi Zhou was stunned. Just manifested? In the book, the original Xi Zhou had been an Alpha for a long time—she even had an Alpha lover named Li Qingyu.

Xi Zhou decided to play along. “Maybe. My neck has been hurting a lot tonight.”

The nurse nodded and gestured for her to turn around. After a quick check of the gland, she pulled out an Alpha suppressant from the ambulance kit and expertly administered a shot to the back of Xi Zhou’s neck.

As the suppressant was injected, the pain began to subside. Logic overrode lust, and Xi Zhou could finally calm down and think about her situation.

“Thank you. Sorry for the trouble,” Xi Zhou thanked the nurse politely.

“You should get a proper check-up. Newly manifested glands are fragile. Inhaling a large amount of Omega pheromones can easily trigger a pheromone disorder.”

“Okay,” Xi Zhou agreed absentmindedly.

After arriving at the hospital, Xi Zhou kept Nan Jing by her side and handled the admission paperwork for Nan Zhiyi. After an examination, the doctor concluded there were no major issues. The suppressant had been administered; after some physical therapy tomorrow to flush the residual induction agent from her glands, she could be discharged.

Due to a shortage of beds, Nan Zhiyi had to stay in a shared room. The neighboring bed was occupied by another female Omega who was already asleep and didn’t wake up when they moved Nan Zhiyi in.

Xi Zhou let out a soft sigh in the room, looking at the woman and the child with a growing headache. Nan Zhiyi was now sleeping peacefully, but how was she supposed to face her tomorrow? Nan Jing had been nervous since entering the hospital—perhaps children are naturally afraid of such places. She stared at Xi Zhou with timid eyes, not daring to make a sound.

Xi Zhou really wanted a cigarette—she had a bit of an addiction—but she couldn’t leave Nan Jing alone, so she patiently comforted her.

“Go to sleep, little one,” Xi Zhou suppressed her irritability and coaxed her. “Can you sleep next to Mommy? I’ll be right here; I won’t leave.”

It was midnight. The child had likely been jolted awake by the ambulance sirens and was now sitting on a chair, yawning repeatedly. Xi Zhou had Nan Jing sit on a stool and lean against the edge of the bed to sleep. Nan Jing was very obedient; despite her fear, she crawled over next to Nan Zhiyi. Xi Zhou rhythmically patted the child’s back. “Sleep now.”

Once Nan Jing was finally asleep, Xi Zhou took off her coat and draped it over the child. She then crept out of the ward, having noticed a shop near the entrance earlier.

Xi Zhou bought a pack of cigarettes and crouched by the roadside to smoke. The taste of tobacco calmed her. She was used to finding solace in smoke and mirrors; during those unbearable days, only being surrounded by nicotine and alcohol allowed her to see clearly what kind of person she was.

She finished two cigarettes in a row, staring at the roof of the hospital.

Maybe… try one more time?

“Hello, Host. Please do not attempt suicide so easily,” a lively female voice rang out in her mind. “Even if you want to die, you will be saved—it’s just that you might end up with a limp or paralyzed for the rest of your life.”

This transmigration comes with a system? Xi Zhou’s forehead was lined with metaphorical black lines. This novel had way too many tropes.

“What’s the situation?” Xi Zhou tried to communicate with the system. “Why did I transmigrate? Can you give me an explanation?”

The system’s voice was full of energy, sounding a bit flighty. “Host, you were chosen to be the person who saves this world. You are the Savior!”

“I don’t want to be a savior. I’m tired. I just want to sleep forever. Can’t you find someone else?” Xi Zhou began to act like a slacker, adopting a rogue attitude. “Send me back.”

“That is not possible. The storyline of this world has collapsed to a certain degree. We need someone to correct the narrative.”

“Why me?”

“I’m sorry, I am not authorized to disclose that.”

Realizing she couldn’t go back and couldn’t even die, Xi Zhou could only accept the system’s demands. She began to weigh her options.

“What do I get for correcting the storyline?” Xi Zhou tried to negotiate, hoping to fish for more information.

“You can gain family, friendship, love… the things you craved but could never have. Once the storyline is corrected, this system will depart, and you can live here entirely according to your own will. Even if you fail, we will check if you wish to remain. You can stay, or you can choose to end your life, at which point you will be completely annihilated and cease to exist in any world.”

The system’s tone was full of temptation. This was, in essence, a second chance at life. Xi Zhou fell silent for a few seconds, listening to the voice of her inner self.

“I agree.”

Xi Zhou was moved by the terms.

The system gave a brief introduction to the plot. The general content was similar to the book she had read, but some details differed. For instance, the original owner’s manifestation time. In the book, she manifested at 18 like most people, but since Xi Zhou arrived, it had happened only two hours ago. When Xi Zhou questioned this, the system explained:

“No one can accurately predict every shift in the storyline. Furthermore, this is not exactly the world of that book. One world contains infinite plotlines; that book is merely one possible path, or you could understand it as a microcosm of this world.” The system uncharacteristically explained a lot in one go, and Xi Zhou understood.

Unpredictable phenomena becoming predictable… so, quantum mechanics?

Though Xi Zhou was an astrophysicist whose knowledge of quantum theory was mostly from textbooks, after experiencing this, she figured she could probably transition into researching quantum mechanics later.

“Since the storyline can change at any time, why is it considered ‘collapsed’?” Xi Zhou lit another cigarette, clicking her lighter idly.

“Every storyline has ‘Key Points.’ We must ensure the story reaches these points. For example, in this line, the Key Points are Nan Zhiyi taking her company public and marrying Shen Ke. Currently, the storyline is showing signs of total collapse.”

“How so? Is Nan Zhiyi not taking the company public, or is she not marrying Shen Ke?”

“Neither. Nan Zhiyi died a few months later.”

“What?”