After Becoming a Scumbag Alpha, I Protect the Female Lead’s Love - Chapter 19

Early that morning, Nan Zhiyi’s mother called. The elderly couple missed An-an and wanted her to come over and play for the day.

After dropping Nan Jing off at her parents’ house, Nan Zhiyi turned the car around to pick up Xi Zhou and head to the hospital to visit Li Qingyu.

As Xi Zhou was leaving, a light drizzle began to fall. Remembering that Nan Zhiyi was only wearing a silk blouse that morning, Xi Zhou grabbed a clean jacket for her from the balcony before heading out.

“Put this on,” Xi Zhou said, handing the jacket to Nan Zhiyi as she got into the car. “You never check the weather forecast. You didn’t even think to add a layer when the temperature dropped.”

“Thank you.” The moment Xi Zhou opened the car door, Nan Zhiyi finally felt the chill in the air.

Xi Zhou looked listless once she sat down. Guessing she hadn’t slept well, Nan Zhiyi didn’t let her drive. Xi Zhou leaned haphazardly against the car door, propping her head up with her arm and letting out a lazy yawn.

“Try to sleep for a bit.”

“Can’t.” Xi Zhou pulled out her phone and opened Anipop.

“Do you… have some kind of psychological… issue?” Nan Zhiyi hesitated. Xi Zhou’s mental state didn’t seem as stable as she had thought.

“It’s nothing. Truly, it’s just nightmares,” Xi Zhou replied, seemingly indifferent.

“Are you sure?” Nan Zhiyi was skeptical. “I really think you should see a therapist.”

“It’s all things from a past life.” Xi Zhou’s hand paused, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force of her grip.

Xi Zhou fell silent, and Nan Zhiyi respected that silence. Some things grow in the heart like a thorn; if you don’t endure the pain of pulling it out, you have to relive the agony it causes over and over again.

In the ward, Li Qingyu was restlessly refreshing Weibo. Nan Zhiyi and Xi Zhou brought in some supplements they had bought.

“Everything is resolved,” Nan Zhiyi said. “Don’t worry, Liu Jinyan doesn’t have any backups anymore.”

“Thank you.” Li Qingyu set her phone down and covered her face, sobbing quietly. “Thank you,” she murmured repeatedly.

Nan Zhiyi handed her some tissues. “Stop crying. Live your life well from now on. Don’t throw everything aside just because you’re in a relationship, and don’t be so gullible. Don’t just assume every person you meet is your ‘true love’.”

“Also, if anything like this happens again, you should preserve the evidence and seek help from the police immediately. You’re afraid of the scandal affecting your reputation, but the law stipulates that such cases can be handled with strict confidentiality.”

Li Qingyu took the tissues, though she still muttered, “Nan Zhiyi, stop being so self-righteous and lecturing me.”

“But thank you anyway. You helped me this time; I owe you one.”

Nan Zhiyi brushed it off. “Forget it, Miss Li. I can’t afford your favors.”

Li Qingyu came from a well-off family in City X. Like the original Xi Zhou, she was the youngest child and grew up spoiled and arrogant. While Nan Zhiyi didn’t like her, she recognized her as a victim here. Fortunately, Li Qingyu hadn’t actually done anything to hurt Nan Zhiyi; otherwise, with Nan Zhiyi’s clear-cut sense of love and hate, she’d be settling scores right now instead of offering kind advice.

Xi Zhou hesitated, then spoke up sheepishly: “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he forced you to film that video before. I shouldn’t have used it to threaten you so many times.”

Nan Zhiyi stood by the bed, watching them both, unsure of what had transpired previously.

Li Qingyu was only civil toward Nan Zhiyi because she was her savior. Xi Zhou, however, had done nothing but irritate her. She didn’t want to deal with her at all and snapped, “Get out! Get out of here, Xi Zhou, you bastard!”

Xi Zhou knew she was angry and continued her apology: “Whether you want to hear it or not, I still want to say it: I’m sorry.”

Li Qingyu kept telling her to get lost.

Nan Zhiyi couldn’t listen anymore. She narrowed her eyes and warned sharply, “Watch your attitude.”

Xi Zhou blinked, then became even more sincere: “I’m sorr—”

“I’m talking to you,” Nan Zhiyi interrupted Xi Zhou’s apology, tilting her chin toward Li Qingyu. “Accept the apology properly. Don’t throw a tantrum with us. If you keep acting out, we’re not sticking around to serve you.”

Then, she tugged on Xi Zhou’s sleeve and whispered, “Enough with the apologizing. Once is plenty. Saying it more just irritates me.”

Xi Zhou: …What did I do wrong now?

Xi Zhou rubbed her nose. “Oh. Okay.”

Li Qingyu’s temper was effectively stifled by Nan Zhiyi’s bluntness.

“If you’re fine, we’re leaving.” Seeing Li Qingyu had enough energy to be moody, Nan Zhiyi figured she was better than she was yesterday. Staying there only made her annoyed, so she prepared to go. “Recover well. Don’t joke with your life so easily.”

Xi Zhou felt that as Nan Zhiyi said those last words, she glanced at her significantly.

“Mhm.” Li Qingyu awkwardly let them leave, pulling her phone up to hide half her face. Nan Zhiyi noticed the corners of her eyes were still red.

“Wait,” Li Qingyu called out. “Liu Jinyan was arrested for financial issues at Liu Corporation. Was that your doing too?”

Nan Zhiyi was composed. “I wasn’t aware of that. It wasn’t me.”

“What?” Xi Zhou was more surprised than Nan Zhiyi.

“Look.” Li Qingyu held up her phone so they could see the news. Liu Jinyan had indeed been jailed for financial crimes.

Xi Zhou guessed it was Shen Ke’s work, but the timeline had shifted significantly—Shen Ke and Nan Zhiyi weren’t even supposed to have met yet.

“He deserved it,” was Nan Zhiyi’s only comment.

On the way home, Liao Dong called.

“Liu Jinyan is in jail!” Liao Dong said gleefully. “Justice is served!”

“Let’s go. I’m happy today—my treat,” Nan Zhiyi cheered.

Xu Zhilan was apparently cooking, as Nan Zhiyi heard Liao Dong howl into the background, “Stop cooking! Someone’s treating us!”

“What are we eating?” Nan Zhiyi asked.

“Hotpot!” Liao Dong replied immediately. “The more people, the better. I’ll go book a table; you guys head straight there.”

“Alright.”

Liao Dong sent the address. Nan Zhiyi couldn’t stop smiling; she was genuinely thrilled. “Xi Zhou, we’re going for hotpot!”

Seeing her mother so visibly happy, Nan Jing was also excited. “Yay!”

Xi Zhou, however, failed her level of Anipop. The screen flashed a giant “GAME OVER.”

“What’s wrong?” Nan Zhiyi asked. “You’ve been absentminded since we left the ward.”

“Nothing. I was just wondering which ‘good samaritan’ did the world a favor by taking out Liu Jinyan.” Xi Zhou put her phone away. If the timeline was a mess, would Shen Ke meet Nan Zhiyi early? Would they still fall in love?

“Doesn’t matter who did it,” Nan Zhiyi said, indifferent to the identity of the person as long as the result was good. “Regardless, he’s behind bars.”

“Mhm.”

Liao Dong and Xu Zhilan had booked a private room and arrived with a bottle of alcohol. Despite being a teacher, Liao Dong loved a good party. Xu Zhilan was more composed, but only slightly; she enjoyed playing along with Liao Dong’s antics.

“Want a drink?” During dinner yesterday, Liao Dong had discovered Xi Zhou was quite the drinker and wanted a rematch. Today was the perfect opportunity. She shook the bottle at Xi Zhou provocatively.

“Bring it on.” When it came to drinking, Xi Zhou wasn’t afraid. Back in her lab days, she was always the last one standing. These two were no threat.

“Are you sure? Dong-dong is a lightweight who thinks she’s a pro, but Zhilan can really hold her own,” Nan Zhiyi warned.

“Easy.” Xi Zhou smirked, her dimple reappearing. “Trust me.”

Seeing her confidence, Nan Zhiyi let it go.

Xi Zhou poured for everyone. While Nan Zhiyi was busy putting meat in the pot, Liao Dong kept moving cooked food into Xu Zhilan’s plate. Liao Dong knew she was the backup and Xu Zhilan was the main force for the night. Meanwhile, Xu Zhilan was busy feeding Liao Dong. “Open up.”

The three of them had grown up together. Before Liao Dong and Xu Zhilan got together, it was fine, but now they were quite “ruthless” toward the single Nan Zhiyi. Nan Zhiyi was immune by now, but worried Xi Zhou might feel awkward, she put some meat on Xi Zhou’s plate, then some on her own. “Let them show off. We’ll eat all the meat and leave them none.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Xi Zhou nodded with a grin.

Once they were mostly full, Liao Dong and Xu Zhilan began trying to outdrink Xi Zhou using various excuses. Xi Zhou downed everything without a change in expression. Liao Dong was the first to fall; as Nan Zhiyi said, her tolerance was mediocre. Seeing Liao Dong drunk and babbling, Xu Zhilan stopped.

“Continuing?” Xi Zhou asked with a smile.

Xu Zhilan found the smile a bit chilling. She knew when to quit; she had drunk quite a lot herself and still had to look after Liao Dong. She waved her hands frantically. “No, no, that’s enough.”

Nan Zhiyi was happy and had also drunk a fair amount. She sat in her seat looking dazed and foggy.

Xi Zhou, the victor, was still in high spirits. “Next time, then.”

When Nan Zhiyi moved to pay the bill, Xi Zhou smilingly stopped her swaying form. “You stay put.”

Nan Zhiyi thought Xi Zhou’s smile was so gentle—just like the way she normally coaxed An-an. She felt a fleeting illusion of being cherished.

By the time Xi Zhou returned from paying, Nan Zhiyi was sitting there obediently, smiling at her. Liao Dong’s “drunk personality” was poor; she was clinging to Xu Zhilan at the door, calling her “Wife” and “Baby” over and over, demanding a response. Xu Zhilan, clearly experienced, simply picked Liao Dong up in a princess carry and headed for the car.

Xi Zhou had already called a designated driver.

“Thanks! See you next time!” Xu Zhilan called out.

Xi Zhou waved back. “Let’s go.” She offered her left arm for Nan Zhiyi to lean on.

Nan Zhiyi didn’t stand on ceremony; she hugged Xi Zhou’s arm, leaning most of her weight on her. Xi Zhou let her latch on. Throughout the drive, Nan Zhiyi rested her head quietly on Xi Zhou’s shoulder, but once they got home, she completely let loose.