After Being Transmigrated as the Cannon Fodder Scum Alpha, She Relies on Acting Cute to Survive - Chapter 14

“…Thank you,” Ruan Ci said softly, quickly lowering her eyes.

A trace of sweet orange fragrance wafted past her nose, fading away as the person moved off.

Ruan Ci rubbed her nose.

In her limited memories, she didn’t eat Western food often—and even when she did, she’d never had a steak that cost 1,800 per serving.

Trying her best to keep her hands from trembling, she eventually ordered the same steak as Xu Yayi, but asked for it well-done.

“Didn’t you used to take it medium-rare?”

Guan Jianyue asked out of the blue. Ruan Ci’s heart skipped a beat, but she maintained a natural expression: “I’m trying… different tastes.”

Guan Jianyue let out a snorting laugh and turned her head back—she appeared not to be paying attention, yet she had questioned Ruan Ci immediately after she ordered. Clearly, her ears were wide open.

Xu Yayi, withdrawing her gaze from the Omega, leaned over and said, “It’s fine. This place does a good well-done steak.”

Ruan Ci smiled.

As she slowly relaxed and leaned back in her chair, she realized a piano piece was playing in the private room. It was her favorite, Mariage d’Amour.

She had always felt that piano was something you needed to learn from childhood; now that she was older, she had the desire but never the courage to act on it. Listening to it on her phone occasionally was enough for her.

Before she knew it, her eyes drifted to the window, looking out at a bustling cityscape entirely different from her memories.

The waitress was a clean-cut Beta with a clear, crisp, and pleasant voice.

Before serving the steak, she brought over a black box for Ruan Ci to choose a steak knife. Ruan Ci blanked for a moment, instinctively looking at Guan Jianyue and Xu Yayi.

One chose a knife from the third row, the other from the seventh.

Their choices were different.

So, this was purely based on personal preference and not some strict etiquette, right?

Ruan Ci pursed her lips, intending to pick one at random based on intuition—

Perhaps seeing her dangerous grip, the Beta waitress gently reminded her: “Let me, please be careful of your hands.”

Awkwardly retracting her claws, Ruan Ci’s face heated up. “…Okay.”

The other snacks and pastries were served one after another, leaving only the steak to wait for a while longer.

It was getting late and Ruan Ci was indeed hungry. She was curious about a dish said to have caviar but didn’t know how to eat it—so she chose a simple cranberry scone.

The Beta waitress was very punctual; whenever Ruan Ci finished her lemon tea, she would push the door open to refill it.

Xu Yayi didn’t eat much; she mostly rested her chin on her hand and watched Ruan Ci eat. Occasionally, she’d reach out to move a plate of snacks closer so Ruan Ci wouldn’t feel embarrassed about reaching across the table.

During this time, Guan Jianyue kept talking to the Omega, frequently engaging in intimate physical contact. Whenever Ruan Ci accidentally caught a glimpse, she immediately looked down, focusing on her meal.

However, the heat in her ears never quite faded.

After another ten minutes, the steak was finally served.

Ruan Ci was delighted that this pointless meal was finally nearing its end. Guan Jianyue also seemed to have reached a certain point, saying with a smile: “Hey, that Lin Shu of yours has quite the nerve. She dares to snatch any business.”

“Hey” (Ruan Ci): “…”

What was bound to come had come; a meal from the eldest Miss Guan was never free.

Ruan Ci had been playing the role of President Ruan’s “good baby” at the company lately. Even though she wanted to check on Lin Shu, she was afraid of bothering her. Given her unpopular status, she felt it was best to wait until Lin Shu actually needed help.

So, the only snippets she had heard about Lin Shu were the two times Director An mentioned her. But he was busy, too; he couldn’t keep his eyes glued to a fifth-billed actress all day.

In other words, Ruan Ci had no idea what business Lin Shu was doing lately. She didn’t even know Lin Shu was doing business.

Ruan Ci ignored Guan Jianyue’s slightly ruthless smile and replied: “Business is made, not snatched.”

“Those words—”

The eldest Miss Guan paused, then suddenly scoffed.

The Omega beside her, named Yaoyao, nudged her arm and said softly, “Jianyue, don’t talk about this in front of me. I don’t understand it anyway.”

Ruan Ci had expected that with the eldest Miss Guan’s arrogant temper, she wouldn’t give anyone face. She was about to look up and say something when she saw Guan Jianyue actually just roll her eyes and eat a small piece of bread.

Yaoyao blinked and smiled at her, looking clever and spirited—very cute.

Ruan Ci suddenly “got” why Guan Jianyue liked Yaoyao.

Even though she had no intention of spending her life with a girl, having such a gentle and beautiful “bestie” to play and eat with was indeed something to be happy about.

Aside from ignoring the topics she couldn’t join in on, the meal wasn’t too upsetting. After all, the price reflected the quality—the original host’s tongue was accustomed to this, and Ruan Ci found herself quite used to it too.

When it was time to leave, Guan Jianyue gave Xu Yayi an ambiguous glance and said, “Walk us to the door. The night view looks decent tonight.”

Xu Yayi said nothing, simply standing up to leave.

Outside the hotel was a bustling street filled with all kinds of food and entertainment, and the things for sale were far from cheap.

The time they finished dinner happened to be peak hour outside. Looking across, the pedestrian street was filled with people walking together.

When Guan Jianyue said “walk to the door,” she literally meant just to the door.

Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly pointed a finger at a group of three people nearby, teasing: “Hey, isn’t that your little Lin Shu kid over there?”

This caused everyone to follow her finger—

The person standing sideways in the crowd was very eye-catching.

Dressed in formal wear, her slender waist and long legs were emphasized. The nearby lights hit her face, making her skin look soft, white, and smooth, as if covered by a gentle glow.

There were many Omegas and Alphas passing by, but those taller than her weren’t as graceful, and those fairer weren’t as elegant.

She was standing in front of a restaurant talking to an Alpha and a Beta, unclear if they were entering or just leaving.

The two women talking to Lin Shu both looked like elites. The Beta stood very close to Lin Shu, even making some deliberate physical contact.

The Alpha stood a step away from Lin Shu, but her eyes were glued to Lin Shu’s face, looking as if she couldn’t look away.

“…” Xu Yayi looked at Guan Jianyue wordlessly.

Seeing Ruan Ci dazed by the sight, Guan Jianyue rested her hand on Yaoyao’s shoulder, her smile deepening: “What, not going up to say hello? Afraid of bothering her while she finds her next home?”

Guan Jianyue’s words were full of malice, considering the two hadn’t even broken up yet.

Ruan Ci didn’t know who those two people were, but she didn’t fall for Guan Jianyue’s clumsy trap. She retorted bluntly: “What are you talking about? Lin Shu is just doing business.” She couldn’t help but feel angry on Lin Shu’s behalf.

Such a slander was truly disgusting. If Guan Jianyue weren’t Guan Jianyue, Ruan Ci would have turned and left immediately.

After saying this, Ruan Ci truly didn’t spare another glance in that direction. Instead, she silently urged Xu Yayi, wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

Guan Jianyue let out a “Ha”: “You don’t care at all?”

Ruan Ci was going to say there was nothing to care about—it was normal for Lin Shu to have her own social circle. On second thought, she changed her words to: “Doing business isn’t messing around. Why should I care?”

Besides, was Lin Shu that kind of person? In the original host’s circle, she was practically a saint! Such a suspicion was an insult.

Guan Jianyue laughed again, but Yaoyao stepped forward to support her, saying softly: “Haven’t you rested enough yet? Let’s go up; it’s quite windy out here.”

“…”

This drew Guan Jianyue’s attention back.

She had had a few drinks upstairs, and her gaze was slightly hazy—yet the pressure unique to an Alpha didn’t diminish at all. She tilted her head, the scent of wine in her pheromones spreading slightly. Her lips moved as she said seemingly casually: “You didn’t used to talk this much.”

The color instantly drained from Yaoyao’s face. The hand supporting her trembled slightly, and her body instinctively moved a bit further away.

“Don’t you—”

Before Ruan Ci could get to the third word or the harshest part of her protest, Xu Yayi reached out an arm and easily hooked her over, pulling her close to her shoulder.

The tall Alpha waved a hand casually: “We’re off.”

After walking a distance away, Ruan Ci looked back to find Guan Jianyue and Yaoyao gone.

With her hand still on Ruan Ci’s shoulder, Xu Yayi said: “Are you truly stupid or just acting? You didn’t realize that was Bai Yaoyao, the most favored of the Bai family? She’s not the ‘silly sweet’ girl you think she is.”

In other words, there was only one “silly sweet” person at that table.

“…” She had been found out; she really was stupid. She didn’t know anything about the Bai family or Yaoyao.

On the way back, Xu Yayi briefly explained some high-society drama.

To establish a connection with the eldest Miss Guan, the Bai family had actually used a currently highly underdeveloped surgery to change Bai Yaoyao’s pheromones to an orange scent.

Xu Yayi didn’t describe the surgery in detail, but Ruan Ci felt a lingering fear: “Since it’s underdeveloped, won’t there be side effects?”

Xu Yayi scoffed: “What can they do? Look at how clingy Guan Jianyue is with all that ‘Yaoyao’ stuff; she really won’t be able to shake her off anytime soon.”

“…Why would she want to shake her off? Isn’t it her favorite orange scent?” She had smelled it, there was no mistake, and she didn’t detect anything off about it.

Xu Yayi didn’t think Ruan Ci’s question was stupid. Everyone knew Guan Jianyue’s nature, yet there was still a little dummy who thought she would take responsibility.

The Alpha replied casually: “Guan Jianyue isn’t a picky eater, but she isn’t brain-dead. She would never marry a person like that.”

Guan Jianyue liked well-behaved little white rabbits (Omegas) and Alphas who seemed hard to conquer. The former she could play with and marry as a decoration; the latter she could play with to her heart’s content.

Yaoyao had spoken up for Ruan Ci once or twice. The first time, Guan Jianyue could treat it as a novelty, but by the second time she used that tired trick, Guan Jianyue wasn’t buying it anymore.

Ruan Ci was speechless for a while, then whispered: “Serves her right.” She was talking about Guan Jianyue, not Yaoyao.

Xu Yayi: “Aren’t you curious about Lin Shu’s recent movements?”

An Alpha could never tolerate their Omega escaping their range of control; the freedom given had limits. Someone like Ruan Ci… was truly rare.

“It’s alright. Lin Shu is an adult; she can take responsibility for what she does.” She was a bit curious, but not much, and only within controllable limits.

“…” Xu Yayi: “I’m not talking about that. She’s run into some trouble. Blame it on her lack of background.”

Ruan Ci: “!”

I… I am her background!

…Even if it’s just self-proclaimed, QAQ.