After The Shared Beta Was Abandoned By The Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 8

After returning to the room, Lin Xiaogu remained restless. Her gaze kept drifting toward the silent screen of her phone.

“Whose message are you waiting for?” Xi Bingye’s calm voice came from the living room.

Lin Xiaogu did not answer immediately. Her fingertips rubbed against the cold casing of her phone.

Xi Bingye waited for a moment before continuing, “The signal probably won’t be restored until tomorrow. If it’s urgent, you can use my satellite phone.”

“…There’s no need. Thank you.”

Lin Xiaogu’s voice was quiet, carrying an obvious sense of distance.

Xi Bingye raised her eyes. Her gaze passed through the half-open bedroom door and landed on Lin Xiaogu’s tense profile.

“Mhm.”

After a long while, she responded indifferently and withdrew her gaze.

It seemed that her question that afternoon really had crossed a boundary.

Her original intention had only been to break through the overly respectful barrier between them and understand her subordinate’s feelings from a professional perspective. She had not expected it to provoke such a strong reaction.

Although Lin Xiaogu’s current tone contained less timidity, it now carried a rigid resistance, as though she had raised invisible thorns all over her body.

Lin Xiaogu kept herself shut inside the bedroom for the entire afternoon.

Xi Bingye remained in the living room, sitting in front of her laptop as she dealt with the accumulated emails and reports.

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened before sinking completely into deep blue.

Xi Bingye stood and placed the ready-made meals they had bought at noon into the microwave. The aroma of food quickly spread through the room.

She walked to Lin Xiaogu’s bedroom and knocked with her knuckles.

“Secretary Lin, dinner is ready.”

A muffled reply came from inside, tinged with a nasal tone.

“You should eat. I’m not hungry.”

Xi Bingye looked at the door and said calmly, “The food won’t keep for long. If you don’t eat it, I can only throw it away.”

There was silence behind the door for several seconds.

A minute later, it opened a crack.

Lin Xiaogu walked out with her head lowered and sat across from Xi Bingye at the dining table. When she picked up her fork, her fingertips were still trembling slightly.

“…Thank you.”

The two ate in silence. The only sound was the occasional soft clink of cutlery against porcelain.

The wind outside seemed to be their only background noise.

Suddenly, Xi Bingye put down her silver fork.

The clear clink broke through the stagnant atmosphere.

Lin Xiaogu paused and looked up.

“Secretary Lin,” Xi Bingye said, looking at her openly, “about the question I asked this afternoon, I believe I need to explain. What I said… may not have meant what you assumed.”

Lin Xiaogu’s fingers tightened around her fork.

“Then what did you mean?”

Xi Bingye tilted her head slightly and asked in return, “What did you understand it to mean?”

“It was…” Lin Xiaogu’s cheeks heated, and she struggled to speak. “Prosecutor Xi, I’ve always respected you. I hope you… won’t ask questions that can so easily be misunderstood again.”

She took a deep breath.

“Your question this afternoon made me feel… offended.”

“If my words made you feel offended, then I apologize,” Xi Bingye said solemnly and clearly. “My intention was merely to understand, as your superior, how you genuinely feel about your working environment and direct supervisor so that I could adjust the way we cooperate in the future.”

Xi Bingye emphasized once more, “That was all. Beyond that, I had no other suggestion or intention.”

Lin Xiaogu froze, her mind going blank for a moment.

So…

Had she misunderstood everything from beginning to end?

“…Really?”

She lifted her head. Her eyes contained confusion, embarrassment, and a trace of barely perceptible relief.

“Really.”

Xi Bingye smiled. It was a faint smile, but it carried a soothing warmth.

“It seems my manner of expression was inappropriate and caused a misunderstanding.”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s all right,” Xi Bingye said gently. “As long as the misunderstanding has been cleared up. The snow should be mostly cleared by tomorrow morning, so we can begin working. This will be your first time participating in a field investigation. Rest properly tonight and make sure you have enough energy.”

Lin Xiaogu nodded firmly and replied seriously, “Understood, Prosecutor.”

However, Lin Xiaogu did not sleep peacefully that night.

In her half-conscious state, she kept remembering the way she had shouted at Xi Bingye during the day.

It was too embarrassing…

She buried her face in the pillow in frustration.

Yet even she was surprised by the almost instinctive intensity of her reaction.

It seemed that the word “like” represented a special forbidden area for her. It could only ever be associated with Yu Baiyi. The moment anyone else touched upon it, strong rejection and discomfort would rise from the depths of her heart.

Yu Baiyi…

That was right. How was Baiyi doing now?

Her phone still had no signal, and she did not dare truly borrow Xi Bingye’s satellite phone to contact her.

This was the first time in so many years that she had been away from Yu Baiyi for so long.

It truly made her feel a little…

Sad.

Early the following morning, the two women followed a vehicle from the local police department and arrived at a slum near the border.

The snow had been roughly pushed to both sides of the road. Meltwater mixed with mud and filth, leaving the ground unbearably slushy.

Xi Bingye’s expression remained unchanged. Her gaze was calm and focused, and she did not mention the previous day’s awkwardness again.

Lin Xiaogu also tried to suppress her chaotic emotions and concentrate on the work before her.

The sight of the slum was horrifying.

Low, crooked shacks were packed tightly together. Sewage flowed across the roads, and mountains of garbage had accumulated everywhere.

The blizzard had only ended the previous day, yet several ragged figures were already curled up motionless in the corners.

The officer leading them sighed and gestured for her subordinates to handle it.

Lin Xiaogu turned away, her throat tightening.

They were led deeper into an even narrower and more dilapidated alley.

“This is one of the most densely populated and complicated areas in the district,” the officer explained quietly.

Xi Bingye nodded. Her sharp gaze swept across the surrounding environment before she stepped into a house with a half-closed wooden door.

The interior was dim.

Several holes had been torn into the paper-covered windows, allowing cold wind to whistle inside.

Large patches of mold spread across the walls, releasing a damp, rotten odor. The only source of light was a dim yellow bulb hanging overhead, swaying slightly in the moving air.

When the police entered, a middle-aged woman and a thin child inside hurried forward to greet them.

The woman’s eyes flickered as she quickly looked between Xi Bingye and the officer.

“Officer, what… what is this about?”

“A population census. We only need to ask a few simple questions. Just cooperate,” the officer said evenly.

“Yes, all right.”

The woman nodded repeatedly, unconsciously rubbing the hem of her clothes between her fingers.

The officer turned toward Lin Xiaogu, indicating that she should begin.

Lin Xiaogu took a deep breath and opened the notebook she carried with her.

“Please provide your basic information.”

The woman replied, “My name is Wang Changchun. I’m forty-two years old and only an ordinary housewife. My child is six this year and hasn’t started school yet.”

Lin Xiaogu lowered her head and recorded the information.

Xi Bingye casually observed the room.

The woman before her had rough skin and indeed looked just over forty, so she had not lied about that.

However…

If she was a housewife, why were there no calluses on her hands?

Suspicion gradually rose within Xi Bingye.

She interrupted the woman’s rambling about her child and asked directly, “Is it only you and your daughter living here? Where is your husband?”

The woman lowered her head, her voice becoming tearful.

“My ex-husband… He was a terrible man. He cheated on me several years ago. We divorced long ago.”

“You’re divorced?”

Xi Bingye narrowed her eyes.

Her gaze landed on a pair of men’s leather shoes in the living room.

Xi Bingye raised her hand to interrupt Lin Xiaogu’s questions and said to the woman, “Would it be convenient for us to look inside the bedroom?”

The woman’s face changed. She instinctively positioned herself in front of the way to the bedroom.

“The bedroom… is very messy. It’s full of the child’s belongings. It wouldn’t be convenient, would it?”

“We’re all women. What would be inconvenient about it?”

Xi Bingye stepped forward, her voice gradually turning cold.

The woman became anxious and turned toward the officer.

“Officer! We trusted you, which is why we let you inside! Didn’t you say you were only asking questions? We haven’t broken the law. What right do you have to search our bedroom?”

“If you haven’t broken the law and aren’t hiding anything…”

Xi Bingye’s gaze suddenly sharpened, and her voice carried a suffocating pressure.

“Then what are you afraid of?”

The moment she finished speaking, a sudden commotion came from inside the bedroom.

The bedroom door was violently thrown open.

A heavily built man with a vicious expression charged out, roaring. He was holding a sharpened iron spike and thrust it directly toward Lin Xiaogu, who was standing closest to the doorway.

“Lin Xiaogu!”

In that split second, Xi Bingye shouted sharply and lunged forward, forcefully shoving the completely stunned Lin Xiaogu aside.

Rip—

The sharpened spike scraped across Xi Bingye’s raised left arm.

Her clothing tore, and a vivid red wound instantly appeared. Warm drops of blood rapidly welled up and ran down her fair arm.

“Prosecutor Xi!”

The officer shouted, drew her gun, and rushed forward.

The other officers swarmed the attackers and quickly subdued the violent man and the screaming woman.

Lin Xiaogu sat where she had fallen, her mind completely blank and a loud ringing filling her ears.

Only when she saw the glaring red spreading across Xi Bingye’s arm did she abruptly return to her senses.

“P-Prosecutor Xi… You’re bleeding… There’s so much blood…”

Lin Xiaogu reached out as though trying to catch the blood flowing from Xi Bingye’s arm.

Drops of warm blood landed in her palm.

Lin Xiaogu could not stop herself from sobbing.

Everything had happened far too suddenly.

For a moment, Xi Bingye’s ears rang.

When she regained her senses, she found Lin Xiaogu crying in her arms.

Lin Xiaogu’s tears poured down uncontrollably. She tightly bit her lower lip, yet still could not stop sobbing.

“I’m sorry… It’s all my fault… Please don’t let anything happen to you…”

Enduring the pain, Xi Bingye forced a faint smile.

“It’s only a superficial wound. It isn’t that serious.”

“Take Prosecutor Xi to the First Hospital immediately!”

The officer rushed over and began issuing orders while carefully helping Xi Bingye to her feet.

The police vehicle sped all the way to the hospital.

The moment they arrived, Xi Bingye was taken into an examination room.

Lin Xiaogu waited outside in a daze, her fingernails digging deeply into her palms as she stared fixedly at the door.

No one knew how long passed before the doctor emerged.

Lin Xiaogu immediately rushed forward.

“Doctor! How is Prosecutor Xi? Is it serious?”

The doctor removed her mask and reassured her.

“Secretary Lin, there’s no need to be nervous. The wound isn’t particularly deep, and it didn’t damage any major blood vessels or nerves. It has already been cleaned and bandaged. As long as the dressing is changed on schedule and infection is avoided, it should heal quickly.”

“You’ll need to help her change the dressing once tonight. Be extremely gentle and make sure the wound doesn’t split open again.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll be very careful.”

Lin Xiaogu nodded repeatedly.

“Also, she should eat light meals and rest properly. For the time being, she must not drink alcohol or engage in… strenuous activity. There are no other major concerns. She can return after a short period of observation.”

The moment the doctor finished speaking, Lin Xiaogu eagerly pushed open the door as gently as possible and entered.

The lighting in the examination room was soft.

Xi Bingye sat at the edge of the bed with her back to the door. She had already changed into a clean hospital jacket.

Her head was tilted slightly, revealing the elegant line of her neck.

Her distinctive long silver hair had lost its usual meticulously restrained appearance and now fell smoothly over her shoulders and back. A few strands slipped beside her cheek, gleaming beneath the light with a cold, magnificent luster that blended strangely well with her composed temperament.

When she heard the noise, she turned around.

Her high nose cast a faint shadow across her profile. Her lowered eyelashes softened some of her usual sharpness, leaving her looking more gently fatigued.

When she saw Lin Xiaogu, the corner of her lips curved slightly.

Her voice was warm.

“Can we go home now?”