After Transmigrated As The Scummy Ex Of The White Lotus Female Supporting Character - Chapter 4

In order to let her granddaughter go outside and stop staying cooped up in her own room all the time, Grandma Pei wanted to take both of them out for more walks while Shang Yuqing was here visiting her.

“Pick flowers.”

Shang Yuqing had just finished breakfast and was helping Grandma Pei wash dishes in the backyard, while Pei Wu was clearing the table inside the house. When Pei Wu was not having an episode, aside from not liking to talk and having no expression, she was actually rather obedient most of the time. She looked just like an ordinary well-behaved, filial girl.

“It’s a kind of flower you can eat. There are a lot of them in this season.”

Shang Yuqing became a little interested. “Is it good?”

“So bad you’ll throw up.” Pei Wu suddenly walked over and coldly struck her down, putting the bowls on top.

Shang Yuqing smiled without minding it. “How would I know if I haven’t tried it?”

“Ah Wu, why are you using that attitude with Xiao Qing?” Grandma Pei reproached her softly.

After being scolded by her grandmother, Pei Wu looked a little unhappy. She turned her head away and gave a cold snort.

For some reason, Shang Yuqing actually thought she looked a little cute like that.

“Will you go to Xiaxijian with Grandma later?” Grandma Pei asked.

Pei Wu did not really want to go out. But looking at her grandmother’s expectant eyes, she also knew that Grandma Pei had worried a lot over her madness and hoped she could go outside more to ease her mood.

After weighing it over, Pei Wu reluctantly nodded. Shang Yuqing smiled at her. “That’s more like it.”

“What does that have to do with you? What are you smiling for?” When facing Shang Yuqing, Pei Wu automatically switched expressions and threw her a glare sharp as a knife.

Shang Yuqing was impervious to blades and bullets. “I’m happy on your grandmother’s behalf. Look at how much your grandmother worries about you. You’re finally being obedient for once.”

Pei Wu looked at her as though looking at an idiot. The corner of her mouth tugged. With a wicked attitude, she threw all the washed bowls by Shang Yuqing’s hand back into the basin of dirty water, made a blank-faced grimace at her, then turned and left.

Shang Yuqing: “…”

May I ask how old you are?

Grandma Pei looked very happy at the side, her smile never stopping. Shang Yuqing pretended to sigh. “Grandma, are you laughing at me?”

“No.” Grandma Pei picked up the bowls from the dirty water basin and helped her wash them again while smiling. “I just feel very relieved. Although Ah Wu was not very sensible just now, it’s rare for me to see such a childish side of her.”

“Why?”

Grandma Pei thought of the past, and her tone became somewhat sad. “When Ah Wu was little, she was still very lively. Every time I came to see her, she loved acting spoiled beside my legs.”

Shang Yuqing imagined Pei Wu acting spoiled. All this time, the impression Pei Wu gave her was that of a younger sister with a not-so-good temper. If she acted spoiled, she should be—rather cute, right?

“Then… what happened later?”

“Later, when she was six or seven, she became less and less fond of talking. Until the year she turned eight—” Grandma Pei paused. Perhaps because no one had listened to her talk for a long time, she said a little more than usual. “Both her parents died. After that, she stopped seeming like a child. She didn’t make friends and could barely be heard speaking in a day. And now, it’s become even more serious.”

Grandma Pei called Shang Yuqing’s name. “Xiao Qing, ever since you came, she’s clearly been speaking more. Can you stay a little longer?”

After listening to everything Grandma Pei said, Shang Yuqing’s mind went blank for a few seconds before she quickly answered, “Mm. I’ll stay a little longer.”

Until you heal, I won’t leave.

Grandma Pei took a basket and led them to Xiaxijian. Before they went, Shang Yuqing took a wide black hat from her bag and handed it to Pei Wu.

Without even needing to think about it, Pei Wu naturally rejected it with a cold expression.

“Wear it. The sun is a little strong. Don’t get heatstroke.” Shang Yuqing tried to persuade her. Although summer in the countryside was not as insane as outside, it still could not be underestimated.

“Who wants to wear your hat?” Pei Wu refused impatiently.

Shang Yuqing had her own magic weapon. She smiled slightly. “Grandma asked me to give it to you. Otherwise, you can go talk to Grandma yourself. Hm?”

This move indeed hit Pei Wu right where it mattered. Sometimes, Pei Wu felt that Shang Yuqing might be deliberately tricking her. She kept bringing out her grandmother at every turn. It was really something.

Extremely annoyed and very reluctant, Pei Wu put on the hat. Today, she wore a black mid-length dress. Her hair, which had originally been loose, had been braided by Grandma Pei into two plaits that hung on both sides of her shoulders. Far from looking rustic, it made her seem rather charming and lively. It was just that her face looked like someone owed her eight million—cold and arrogant.

Once she put on the hat, almost half her face was covered, making her seem even more mysterious.

Xiaxijian was a very clean river. The water was very shallow, only reaching about the calves at its deepest point. Jagged rocks piled up along the river surface, and many small yellow flowers grew in the middle of the river or along both sides.

It was summer vacation now, and many people came to the countryside to escape the heat. Because of that, there were people picking flowers as well, including several children.

Grandma Pei gave each of them a basket and reminded them, “Some of the stones are slippery, so you two be careful. Ah Wu, if you feel tired, sit somewhere shady and rest. Xiao Qing, you too.”

Both of them agreed.

Grandma Pei was an old hand after all, and before long, she had already picked her way farther off.

Shang Yuqing and Pei Wu had not really done this before. Pei Wu was still all right, at least walking through the stream with relative ease. Shang Yuqing rarely walked on this kind of watery path. The stones were wet and slippery, and several times, she almost lost her footing.

Pei Wu mocked her from behind who knew how many times.

Perhaps because she felt Shang Yuqing was too embarrassing, Pei Wu went to pick flowers on the other side. When Shang Yuqing turned her head, she saw Pei Wu crouching slightly. Without using scissors, Pei Wu skillfully and neatly picked the flowers.

Her expression was very focused. The shadows filtering down from the treetops fell across the side of her face, then landed on the clear, rippling surface of the water. Her skin was pure white, her brows and eyes calm and delicate. Standing there, she looked like a painting.

It had to be said that Pei Wu like this was very attractive.

Shang Yuqing smiled and walked toward her. “You’re picking them so quickly.”

She stepped onto a slippery stone, and Shang Yuqing nearly stumbled again.

“…”

Pei Wu’s lips moved slightly, and she showed no mercy. “Useless.”

Shang Yuqing: “Not at all. You’re just too amazing.”

Pei Wu did not want to bother with her flattery. She ignored her completely and continued picking flowers.

By chance, Shang Yuqing spotted a cluster of pink flowers on the other side. They looked like roses. Thinking of something, her eyes turned, and she walked over there.

Her movements were a little big, and the ripples in the water spread all the way to Pei Wu’s side. Pei Wu’s gaze swept over there. Seeing Shang Yuqing walking with such difficulty, another mischievous idea rose in her heart.

She slowly walked behind Shang Yuqing. Shang Yuqing had just picked the brightest flower when she sensed someone behind her. With sharp eyes, she saw Pei Wu’s hand about to push toward her back. Just as she was about to turn around, it was already too late. Shang Yuqing simply pulled Pei Wu down with her.

The two of them fell into the river together. They were not hurt, but their clothes were soaked. Shang Yuqing was wearing black shorts today, so getting them wet was still all right. But Pei Wu’s dress seemed to be soaked over the entire lower half.

Pei Wu instantly became furious. “Shang Yuqing, are you sick—”

Before she could finish speaking, Shang Yuqing tucked the flower in her hand beside Pei Wu’s ear. Her smile looked gentle and bright in the sunlight. “Very pretty.”

Pei Wu: “…”

“What the hell is this? Take it off.” As she spoke, she reached up to remove it.

“Hey, don’t.” Shang Yuqing grabbed her hand. “You look very pretty like this. Like a fairy.”

Pei Wu froze when she heard that. She vaguely remembered that many years ago, someone had said the same thing.

“Ah Wu, this flower is very pretty. When you wear it, you look like a little fairy,” a young woman said gently to a little girl.

“Really?” the little girl asked happily.

“Of course.” The young woman smiled, as though carrying endless brilliance. “Ah Wu is the prettiest. You’ll always be Mommy’s little fairy.”

Ah, right. Her dead mother had said that.

And later? What happened to the person who said those words?

She died. Died at the hands of Pei Wu’s father. Of course, her father had also been killed by her mother. They had lain in a pool of blood.

Before she could even become Mommy’s little fairy, in the blink of an eye, she had turned into a little beggar no one wanted.

And no one would ever tell her she was a fairy again.

Because she was a mad beggar. Other people were too busy feeling disgusted by her.

She had thought she would never remember it again.

But now, it was so clear—only, it had come from this person’s mouth.

Seeing that Pei Wu had gone blank, Shang Yuqing snapped her fingers in front of her eyes. “Come back to your senses.”

“I…” Pei Wu seemed to find it difficult to speak. “Do I… really look like a fairy?”

“Of course.” Shang Yuqing smiled brightly. She was not lying. Pei Wu had been born beautiful to begin with. With the hat taken off and the pink flower by her ear, the frost and snow between her brows seemed to melt, and even her pale face gained color.

“Sisters, where are you from?”

Several children suddenly came closer to them.

“Why are you asking that?” Shang Yuqing and Pei Wu were already sitting on a large rock. Shang Yuqing smiled as she asked the children.

A very young-looking little girl smiled sweetly. “Because both sisters are pretty, like fairies.”

She really was very small, so small that she measured sisters in “both.” Shang Yuqing did not know whether to laugh or cry. Then she coaxed her, “Do you think this sister looks like a fairy?” She pointed at Pei Wu.

Another child rushed to answer first. “Yes. This sister looks even more like a fairy than you.”

Shang Yuqing instantly laughed and turned to Pei Wu. “See? Children speak without restraint. Even children think you’re a fairy, so don’t take it off.”

Pei Wu finally smiled.

It was a smile in the truest sense. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, and the arc of her eyes curved upward. In an instant, color bloomed fully, brilliance layering upon brilliance. When she smiled, there was not the slightest fierce feeling about her. She only seemed pure, clean, and bright.

Shang Yuqing immediately reached out and gently pinched both sides of her smile, trying to preserve it. Her brows and eyes curved as she said,

“That’s it. You should smile.”

“Pei Wu, smile more. As long as a person smiles, the bitterness will lessen a lot. You should live more sweetly than anyone else.”

Pei Wu froze for a long while. Their eyes met. Pei Wu could see the sunlight held in Shang Yuqing’s eyes. It was dazzling, and also very irritating.

Only belatedly did Pei Wu push her hand away. Her tone was somewhat stiff. “Pick flowers.”

“Don’t take the flower by your ear off.”

Pei Wu might have hummed in response, or she might not have answered at all. In any case, she did not refuse.

Until they returned home, that flower was never taken off.

Occasionally, when the wind blew, it would send one petal drifting down. It landed on Pei Wu’s shoulder, then floated onto the back of Shang Yuqing’s hand, before finally being carried off toward some unknown, flower-scented distance.