After Transmigrating as a Scum Alpha, a Cold Omega Stole My Heart - Chapter 20

In the meticulously cleaned and beautifully decorated garden, a young girl raced through the rain, finally bursting into the villa at the center.

“Phew… we’re here!” Xie Shuyun gasped as she pushed open the door, standing at the entryway to catch her breath.

Water dripped from her hair, sticking to her face and arms. Her clothes were soaked through and clung to her body; fortunately, the uniform fabric was breathable yet thick enough to prevent any “spring scenery” from leaking out. As for her sneakers… they had likely evolved into rain boots.

Setting the umbrella on the floor, Xie Shuyun ignored her own disheveled state and carefully lowered the girl from her back. She didn’t let go until the girl’s feet were planted firmly on the ground.

“Are you okay? Did you get wet? Hurry and take off your shoes and socks; they’re soaked. Remember to take a hot bath later to drive out the cold.” Seeing Cheng Lingxue’s rain-covered leather shoes, Xie Shuyun spoke hurriedly.

Just then, Qin Yu’s voice drifted over. She was holding her phone, apparently in the middle of a call, but seeing the two in such a mess—especially the drenched Xie Shuyun—her brows knit tight:

“Heavens, Eldest Miss, Miss Cheng, what happened to you?” Turning her head, she shouted to the nearby maids: “You lot, go get some towels!”

“We thought it wasn’t far, so we just ran back,” Xie Shuyun said, brushing her wet hair away from her face and tucking it back. Although it was a mess, strangely, paired with her bedraggled look and dashing features, it gave off a unique sense of handsomeness.

Cheng Lingxue, sitting on a low stool removing her wet socks, took all of this in. Naturally, she also noticed the young maids bringing towels; their eyes could hardly move away from Xie Shuyun, filled with an almost undisguised heat that only a fool like Xie Shuyun would fail to sense.

“Eldest Miss, you’ll catch a cold like this. I’ll have someone brew ginger tea for both of you. Honestly, you should have just called for a car; why run through the rain?” Qin Yu nagged like a worried mother.

Hearing about the ginger tea, Xie Shuyun’s head slumped. That spicy, pungent stuff might warm the body, but it was truly impossible to like. She was just about to beg for mercy when—

Suddenly, something white fell from above. Xie Shuyun instinctively caught it—a snowy white towel. Looking over at the person who had thrown it, it was actually Cheng Lingxue!

Seeing it was her, Xie Shuyun tried to give it back: “Lingxue, why didn’t you use it first? I’m fine, Alphas have strong constitutions. It’s just a bit of rain; you should dry yourself off first.”

Unfortunately, her words were immediately shut down by Qin Yu: “Eldest Miss, don’t forget how weak your health was as a child. You’d catch a cold the moment you touched cold water.”

Staring at Qin Yu, Xie Shuyun never expected her own person to pull the rug out from under her. However, she thought she saw an emotion other than worry in Qin Yu’s eyes—was it fear?

“Eldest Miss, please just dry yourself,” Qin Yu said, lowering her gaze. She remembered that the change in the Eldest Miss’s personality had happened right after a severe fever; after that, her health had declined, and even her temperament had…

Whether it was Qin Yu’s prediction or a bodily reaction, Xie Shuyun actually began to feel a chill. She couldn’t help but lower her head and sneeze.

In the next second, she felt a weight in her hand. Cheng Lingxue had shoved the towel into her grasp. Looking up, she saw Cheng Lingxue frowning slightly:

“Hurry up and dry off…” Her tone turned a bit colder: “Behave.”

“Oh, okay!”

With Cheng Lingxue’s word, Xie Shuyun didn’t dare act up anymore. She obediently pressed the towel to her head and began drying her hair.

“Eldest Miss, let me help you too.” A young maid tried to step forward, casting a somewhat smug glance at the other maid whose towel had been snatched by Cheng Lingxue. To her surprise, her towel was also taken by Cheng Lingxue in the next second.

Ignoring the frustrated but silent maids behind her, Cheng Lingxue used the towel to wipe the water droplets from Xie Shuyun’s back. The soaked clothes clung to Xie Shuyun’s body, revealing her toned physique despite the opaque fabric.

This made Cheng Lingxue involuntarily recall the morning in the dressing room—those shallow abs and deep mermaid lines… wait… what was she thinking?

Realizing what she was remembering, a faint flush rose to Cheng Lingxue’s cheeks, standing out against her fair skin. It happened to be caught by Xie Shuyun, who was glancing back to check on her.

“Lingxue, you should go back to your room and rest. I can do this myself, I’ll be—ha… ha-choo!”

“Fine, stop talking and stand still.” Lifting her eyes to glare at the person who was sneezing incessantly yet still trying to talk, Cheng Lingxue spoke with annoyance. She simply took the other end of the towel and muffled Xie Shuyun’s face with it, silencing the chatterbox.

After finally getting Xie Shuyun’s wet clothes mostly dry, the two were wrapped tightly in towels by Qin Yu and seated on the sofa. Shortly after, a maid brought a tray with two steaming small bowls.

“Eldest Miss, Miss Cheng, the ginger soup is ready. Drink it while it’s hot.”

Staring at the cloudy yellow liquid and the pungent smell wafting from it, Xie Shuyun’s face twisted into a mask of refusal. At the same time, she watched with admiration as Cheng Lingxue, expressionless, picked up her bowl and began taking small sips, spoon by spoon.

“Eldest Miss, hurry and drink up. This bowl is yours.” Qin Yu held the bowl out to Xie Shuyun, her tone and expression stern and brook no refusal. But Xie Shuyun decided to play the turtle this time, constantly turning her face away and refusing to let her approach in a silent protest.

“I’m really fine, cough… I don’t need to drink… I—”

Clack. A crisp sound rang out. Xie Shuyun turned her head slightly to see that Cheng Lingxue had placed her empty bowl back on the table. Then, Cheng Lingxue shot a glance in Xie Shuyun’s direction.

Though she didn’t say a word, Xie Shuyun felt a chill run up her spine—not from the rain, but from the aura of the girl beside her. Xie Shuyun shivered:

“I’ll drink it!” With that, she grabbed the bowl and ditched the spoon, gulping it down in small drafts. The pungent spice made her eyes sting and water, and her entire face contorted into a ball.

After finishing the tea, the once-dashing girl looked like a defeated dog, slumped over the sofa in despair. That “dying” look was both pitiful and silly, making Cheng Lingxue feel helpless. It’s just ginger tea, is all this necessary? It’s not poison.

“Hurry and go bathe. Change out of those wet clothes.” With that, Cheng Lingxue picked up her schoolbag and walked upstairs without looking back.

Xie Shuyun blinked, a grin nearly splitting her face as she scurried after Cheng Lingxue. Was she just concerned about me? As expected, hard work pays off!

Unfortunately, that night, Xie Shuyun developed a high fever. Her temperature spiked to nearly 40°C. If it weren’t for Qin Yu’s past experiences making her uneasy enough to check in occasionally, Xie Shuyun might have burned her brain to a crisp.

The young master’s illness threw the entire Xie household into chaos. The family doctor moved into a guest room to diagnose her every hour, and the kitchen prepared a constant supply of tonics and medicinal soups.

This also alerted Xie Yun (the mother), though she was abroad for a major business deal and couldn’t return immediately. She had to settle for video calls via Qin Yu to check on Xie Shuyun’s condition.

Cheng Lingxue initially felt the Xie family was overreacting. Usually, when an Alpha has a fever, they take some medicine and are back on their feet the next day. Why was their attitude as solemn as if they were caring for a terminally ill patient?

Despite her outward indifference, Cheng Lingxue left her door cracked open just a sliver to listen to the commotion outside.

Upon hearing a maid say worriedly that Xie Shuyun had taken fever reducers twice and the fever still hadn’t broken, she could finally sit still no longer. With a cold, stern expression, she pulled open her door.

As she prepared to enter Xie Shuyun’s room, she bumped into a maid carrying a basin of water. Seeing her, the maid spoke with a sarcastic tone:

“Oh, if it isn’t Miss Cheng? The Eldest Miss worked so hard to carry you back through the rain, and now she’s burning up like that, yet you were nowhere to be seen. Quite a grand attitude you have.”

“Move.” Cheng Lingxue snapped coldly. These people loved to give her attitude when Xie Shuyun or Qin Yu weren’t around. She could usually ignore it, but right now she had no time for this.

The maid opened her mouth to argue, but was frightened back by the ferocity in Cheng Lingxue’s eyes. She instinctively made way, revealing the bed where Xie Shuyun lay.

Cheng Lingxue walked in quickly. Xie Shuyun was wrapped tightly in blankets, her cheeks flushed deep red. A cooling patch was stuck to her forehead, and she was exhaling hot, heavy breaths through her slightly parted lips. Her brows were knit tight; it was clear she was in great pain.

Cheng Lingxue dipped her fingers into the water basin nearby; the water was icy cold. It was meant for wiping down Xie Shuyun’s body.

She lightly pulled back a corner of the blanket, and her frown deepened. Xie Shuyun wasn’t just red in the face; her entire body was flushed. While family doctors of great clans are highly skilled, if this fever didn’t break soon, a hospital would be more practical.

She finally understood why Qin Yu’s expression had been so grim upon their return. At the same time, Cheng Lingxue felt a pang of regret for her decision to walk home.

She picked up the towel, wrung it out, and carefully wiped Xie Shuyun’s face. When her fingertips brushed the other’s skin, she could feel the radiating heat.

“Ugh… hot…” Xie Shuyun let out a muffled, incoherent moan. Her cheeks twitched; it was unclear if she was just in pain or trying to say something. Cheng Lingxue leaned in tentatively:

“Xie Shuyun… Xie Shuyun? Are you speaking?”

Whether she heard the call or not, Xie Shuyun’s closed eyes opened a sliver, filled with a hazy daze, meeting Cheng Lingxue’s eyes directly.

Only then did Cheng Lingxue realize their faces were inches apart, almost like lovers. Their hot and cold breaths intertwined. What was meant to be a worrying situation suddenly transformed into something awkward and bashful.

Then Xie Shuyun moved, instantly snapping Cheng Lingxue’s attention back. A flushed arm slid slowly out from under the blanket, reaching toward Cheng Lingxue. Under Cheng Lingxue’s stunned gaze, the arm wrapped around her neck and pulled her down.

In an instant, the gap between them vanished as they were pressed tightly together. Hot breath swept across the back of Cheng Lingxue’s neck, causing her pupils to shrink and her body to go rigid.