After Becoming a Scumbag Alpha, I Protect the Female Lead’s Love - Chapter 12

Xi Zhou returned Nan Zhiyi’s smile.

“There’s no need to be so polite,” Xi Zhou said.

“Then why were you so stubborn with me at the mall?” Nan Zhiyi teased. “You helped me so much, yet you were getting upset just because I bought you a few clothes.”

Xi Zhou was instantly rendered speechless.

Seeing Xi Zhou pressing her lips together, clearly at a loss for how to respond, Nan Zhiyi’s mood brightened even more.

“I didn’t,” Xi Zhou finally blurted out.

“Didn’t what?”

“I wasn’t getting upset with you.”

Xi Zhou explained herself with deadpan earnestness. Nan Zhiyi knew when to quit while she was ahead and nodded in agreement. “Understood.”

“Xi Zhou, you don’t owe me anything. Just like you, I can’t comfortably accept help from a stranger without doing something in return to set my own mind at ease.”

Xi Zhou had already understood the subtext while they were in the car. She didn’t argue further and accepted Nan Zhiyi’s kindness. “Mhm, I know.”

That morning, the lawyer Xi Jiahua helped contact had sent over the representation agreement. Nan Zhiyi waved her phone at Xi Zhou. “I have some work to catch up on. By the way, if An-an isn’t awake by 2:30 PM, could you please wake her up? If she sleeps too long in the afternoon, she won’t be able to sleep tonight. And then…”

“And then play with her for a bit?” Xi Zhou finished the sentence.

“Not exactly.” Nan Zhiyi looked slightly sheepish. “Could you… accompany An-an while she practices her violin?”

Is that all? Xi Zhou didn’t think twice and agreed immediately.

It was just after 1:30 PM. Since Xi Zhou didn’t have a habit of taking naps, she went back to her room, turned on the original owner’s computer, and picked a random game to play.

As the loading bar stuck halfway, the System’s energetic voice rang out.

“Host, please take note! Host, please take note! Please achieve economic independence as soon as possible.”

Xi Zhou ignored the System, focusing on the game’s tutorial. The System became somewhat exasperated. In all its years of operation, Xi Zhou was the first person to ignore it so completely.

Very well, woman. You have successfully captured my attention.

“Hey! I’m here to help you. Could you have a better attitude?”

Hearing this, Xi Zhou’s fingers paused on the keyboard. She picked up the cigarette pack from the desk, deftly pulled one out, and lit it. After taking a drag, she asked, “And how exactly do you plan to help me?”

“Do you remember the project you participated in during your university internship?”

“I do. It was the development of an RPG game.”

“Be more specific.”

“I was responsible for optimizing the graphics algorithms.”

Xi Zhou remembered it clearly. That game studio had been started by her classmate. After she started her postgraduate studies, she continued to help out there for a while; she was essentially a founding-level employee.

The System stopped playing coy: “Shen Ke is currently preparing to enter the gaming industry. You can sell that patent to her.”

“Good idea.”

The System’s words pointed Xi Zhou toward a clear path. The original book hadn’t mentioned Shen Ke entering the gaming industry, likely because the story unfolded from Nan Zhiyi’s perspective and only provided a brief sketch of Shen Ke’s background. Xi Zhou paused the game and searched for information on Shen Ke.

Personal information on Shen Ke wasn’t hard to find. Like Xi Jiajun and Xi Jiahua, she had taken over her family’s business early. The Shen family’s Zhenye Group was an internet giant, so there were plenty of reports about her.

Shen Ke, female, 30 years old, CEO of Zhenye Group, graduated from the Management Department of Qinglin University.

In the original book, Nan Zhiyi and Shen Ke met at Qinglin University’s anniversary celebration. That they were alumni was no surprise to Xi Zhou. After browsing Shen Ke’s profile, she read a few of her interviews.

Gentle and reserved in personality, yet sharp and bold in business.

That was the conclusion Xi Zhou drew. In the interviews, Shen Ke did indeed mention plans to enter the gaming market, though her tone suggested she wasn’t entirely optimistic about its prospects.

“Will this work?” Xi Zhou stubbed out her cigarette and asked the System.

The System gave a mysterious chuckle. “Who someone is destined to be with won’t change, but it’s up to you whether you can seize the chance to make money.”

Xi Zhou was baffled by the System’s cryptic words, but she didn’t care to dwell on it and indicated she understood.

“But how do I contact her? If she hasn’t announced her move into gaming to the public yet…” Xi Zhou flipped through more search results, starting to feel the difficulty.

The System simply told her to hurry up and apply for the patent and not worry about the rest.

After the System logged off, Xi Zhou didn’t rush to write code. Instead, she controlled her character to finish the tutorial.

When 2:30 PM arrived, her alarm went off. Xi Zhou went out and passed the study; the door was still closed. Nan Zhiyi was still in her meeting. Xi Zhou crept into Nan Jing’s room and woke her up.

“Time to get up, little one,” Xi Zhou whispered, crouching by the bed.

Nan Jing still had a bit of baby fat, but her features were exquisite—she looked forty to fifty percent like Nan Zhiyi. It was clear she would grow up to be a beauty.

“Mm… Auntie Xi.”

The child didn’t have a morning temper. Her cute little hands rubbed her sleepy eyes, and upon seeing it was Xi Zhou, she called out in her milky voice.

“Time to practice the violin,” Xi Zhou said with a smile, lifting her out of the covers. “How about I keep you company while you practice today?”

“Okay,” Nan Jing agreed obediently.

She asked Xi Zhou to wait while she washed her face, then led her to the music room.

The moment Nan Jing began to play, Xi Zhou finally understood the look of “difficulty” on Nan Zhiyi’s face.

By the time Nan Jing finished practicing, Nan Zhiyi had finished her work and was lazily eating snacks in the living room.

“I want some too!” Nan Jing ran down the stairs and dove into Nan Zhiyi’s arms to snatch some snacks.

Xi Zhou followed behind them, looking utterly soul-weary.

“Come, sit,” Nan Zhiyi greeted her with a grin.

“Mhm,” Xi Zhou grunted weakly, sinking into a single-seater sofa. “If there’s a next time for this, can I decline?”

Heavens. Nan Jing’s violin playing sounded like sawing wood. Xi Zhou’s head throbbed.

“I can’t help it. If no one stays with her, An-an won’t practice, and her efficiency is terrible.” Nan Zhiyi threw up her hands helplessly. “I was going to tell you, but you agreed so quickly.”

Xi Zhou opened her mouth but swallowed her retort. Nan Zhiyi was right; she had agreed.

“Does Auntie Xi not want to stay with me?” Nan Jing’s innocent expression stifled all of Xi Zhou’s complaints. “I just started learning. Is my playing that bad?”

Not wanting to crush the child’s enthusiasm, Xi Zhou forced a smile and began coaxing her. “Of course I want to stay with you. Everyone plays like that when they first start. The fact that An-an can stick with it is already very impressive!”

Nan Zhiyi was both relieved and amused by how patiently Xi Zhou coaxed the child.

The two adults spent the afternoon playing with Nan Jing in the living room. When dinner time rolled around, Nan Zhiyi proactively handed the cooking duties to Xi Zhou, gracefully “yielding her position.”

While Xi Zhou cooked, Nan Zhiyi came in to help. They completed the handover of domestic “power.” Xi Zhou felt awkward being supported by Nan Zhiyi while staying at home every day, so she negotiated to take over the housework and the task of picking up and dropping off Nan Jing.

Since Nan Zhiyi was quite busy lately and couldn’t attend to home life as much, she let Xi Zhou have her way once she saw she couldn’t be talked out of it.

After dinner, just like in the morning, Nan Zhiyi did the dishes while Xi Zhou watched cartoons with Nan Jing. Once the chores were done, Nan Zhiyi joined them on the sofa.

Inside the house, it was quiet and peaceful. On social media, however, Minsen’s statement and legal letter had ignited a storm of public opinion.

Following Nan Zhiyi’s instructions, the PR department released the clarification regarding the “plagiarism” at 8:00 PM sharp, along with the legal letter suing Zhaoxiang for defamation.

With the help of some internet “water armies” hired by Minsen to steer the conversation toward the actual designs of the summer collection, public opinion shifted rapidly. The comments about Minsen slowly began to improve.

Looking at the positive feedback online, Nan Zhiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xi Zhou saw her leaning back into the sofa. She had just scrolled through Weibo herself and saw the response. “Is everything resolved?”

“Resolved,” Nan Zhiyi nodded.

Xi Zhou didn’t ask how it was resolved; even if she asked, she wouldn’t necessarily understand the twists and turns of the business world. “That’s good then.”

Sitting on the rug, Nan Jing couldn’t find the right puzzle piece and tugged on Nan Zhiyi’s hand, acting spoiled.

Just then, Xi Jiahua called Xi Zhou. Before Xi Zhou could speak, Nan Jing’s voice traveled clearly into Jiahua’s ear.

“Mommy, where does this piece go?”

Nan Zhiyi scanned the puzzle and pointed to a spot. To avoid disturbing them, Xi Zhou stood up and went to her bedroom to take the call.

“Where are you?” Jiahua asked.

“At home.”

“Why did I hear a child’s voice?”

“Oh, that’s Nan Zhiyi’s child. She’s very cute.” When Xi Zhou spoke of Nan Jing, a trace of tenderness unconsciously entered her voice.

Xi Jiahua didn’t find Xi Zhou’s sudden fondness for children strange. Xi Zhou was inherently kind; her only flaw was her extreme “simp” nature. When she liked someone, she would change herself for them and accept everything about them.

Nan Zhiyi was infinitely better than Li Qingyu. It was only natural that Xi Zhou would become a better person for someone so positive. This was exactly what the Xi family wanted to see, and why they didn’t oppose the marriage.

“Is everything resolved?” Jiahua had called to check on Nan Zhiyi’s situation as well.

“Yes,” Xi Zhou replied. “Thanks, Sis.”

“No problem.” Jiahua got straight to the point. “You were the one who found the real IP address for Nan Zhiyi, weren’t you?”

Though it was a question, her tone was certain—and if one listened closely, it held a hint of pride.

“Yes.”

“Report to Guanghua’s Network Security Department for work tomorrow.”

“Huh?” Xi Zhou was stunned. “Why?”

“It’s Dad’s decision.”

Jiahua had recounted the morning’s events to the family after going home. Father Xi decided it was time for Xi Zhou to join the company and learn technical skills within a department.

“Can I… can I not go?” Xi Zhou asked weakly. She was still keeping the System’s advice in mind and was afraid of the consequences of going against it.

“Dad says you’re not a child anymore and needs you to think about your future. As an Alpha, you can’t let an Omega support you every day…”

“Accept it,” the System chimed in immediately. “Working at Guanghua won’t affect Nan Zhiyi’s safety.”

The System’s words set Xi Zhou at ease.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go.” Xi Zhou cut off Jiahua’s nagging and agreed.

“My secretary will wait for you downstairs tomorrow morning to handle the onboarding,” Jiahua instructed. “I won’t be announcing your identity as the Third Miss to the public. Don’t think you can slack off by throwing your weight around, understood?”

“Mhm.”

Xi Zhou listened obediently to the lecture, and Jiahua hung up.

When Xi Zhou came out of the bedroom, Nan Jing was already washing up. Nan Zhiyi was still on the sofa scrolling through her phone. Xi Zhou told her she was starting work at Guanghua the next day. Nan Zhiyi nodded to show she heard.

“Good luck, Xi Zhou.”