After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Alpha, I Was Pampered by a Paranoid Omega - Chapter 3

Bai Manruo intentionally lightened her breathing, afraid to disturb the person behind her.

Her nose caught a faint scent of flower tea; the pheromones swirled around her, a sweet fragrance laced with a hint of bitterness. The fine strands of hair brushed against the gland on the back of her neck. She suppressed the tingling sensation and the surge of her own pheromones, closing her eyes to force herself to ignore the presence behind her.

When Bai Manruo woke up the next morning, as expected, she was the only one in the bed.

How on earth are they sneaking in?

Frowning slightly, she turned on her phone’s flashlight to check every corner of the room. Strange—there were no secret passages or hidden doors here either.

Her stomach let out a loud growl. Bai Manruo decided to search again after eating; she had to tell Butler Li about this bizarre occurrence. However, when she went to the villa, the staff told her Butler Li had gone out and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.

Before leaving, Butler Li had specifically instructed that her daily work was to be confined to the castle. Most importantly: Entering the third and fourth floors was strictly forbidden. Failure to comply would result in docked wages and double the penalty for breach of contract.

After her meal, Sister Liu personally escorted Bai Manruo to the castle gates, refusing to leave until she saw her walk inside.

Today was the third day. She had no idea what would happen.

Giving up on the struggle, Bai Manruo grabbed a rag to start cleaning, only to find every corner of the castle was already spotless. Why was she even here? Perhaps the castle held some sentimental value, so the butler sent someone to “clean” every day as a formality.

Noticing the soft sofa in the center of the living room—dark green velvet that felt smooth to the touch and embroidered with gold thread—she sat down and gave it a press. She raised an eyebrow in surprise: “Actually quite comfortable.”

She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in two days, so Bai Manruo kicked off her shoes and lay back, feeling as though she were sinking into a soft cloud. Her phone was finally fully charged, and she discovered the Wi-Fi here was actually faster than at the villa.

She tried calling her black-hearted agent, but the phone was off. She gritted her teeth in frustration; that trash clearly had a guilty conscience! She remembered Butler Li mentioning the breach of contract fee was ten million yuan. Surely the original owner had a few million after years in the industry?

Bai Manruo opened her banking app. Balance: 222.20 yuan.

“…Two hundred yuan??”

Dressed to the nines but with only two hundred in her pocket? Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at the transaction history: it was entirely comprised of buying expensive gifts or being scammed by “fair-weather friends.” In the last six months alone, she had spent three million yuan just paying for drinks at bars.

If the original owner was a “Child of Wealth Redistribution,” Bai Manruo was a total miser. Panicked, she sat up. She had so many “rich second-generation” contacts on WeChat; surely she could scrape the money together. She drafted a long message, hit “Select All,” and sent a mass text. Leaning back, her pale toes curled nervously against the edge of the sofa as she waited for a reply.

Ten minutes passed. Her toes were sore from curling, but there wasn’t a single reply.

They really were just drinking buddies. Usually, they’d call her “Sister Bai” while spending her money and dragging her to clubs every other day, but the original owner was always the one left with the bill. She scrolled through her chat history and picked someone she remembered being close to her.

Blocked?!

Her heart sank. She desperately messaged everyone again. As expected, she had either been blocked or deleted. Some saw the message and ignored it, while their Moments were still filled with photos of them out partying.

Ten million yuan… at her current salary, she wouldn’t save that much in a hundred years. But she didn’t want to be a maid in a haunted castle forever. She was terrified she’d be scared to death sooner or later. But with only two hundred yuan, if she left now, she’d be sleeping under a bridge.

She sighed and faced reality: best to work as a maid and save some money first.

Suddenly, a notification popped up. It was the original owner’s social media account. She had over six million followers, 99% of whom were “face fans” who followed her for her looks, constantly leaving thirsty comments calling her “wife.”

Because she had disappeared for a few days, her notifications were at 99+. But this time was different. People were tagging her just to curse her out.

Frowning, she clicked the trending topics and found that a “nobody” like her had actually trended near the top. It was clearly a paid “smear campaign.” She clicked into an article filled with paparazzi-style photos of her at bars and fabricated chat logs. The person in the photos was definitely her, but the angles were clearly surreptitious.

The tabloids spun a story: Bai Manruo’s chaotic private life revealed; the industry’s most notorious “Scumbag Alpha” spends every night at bars.

She accepted the “scumbag” reputation, but “chaotic private life” was a total lie. Her memories told her that while the original owner looked like a player, she had never even been in a relationship, let alone held hands with anyone. Her most intimate contact to date was sleeping in the same bed with… whatever was in the castle.

Looking at the “evidence,” she could tell from the profile pictures who leaked the chats—it could only be that trash agent.

Since her fans only cared about her face, the damage wasn’t fatal. However, she noticed the people attacking her most were fans of Gu Ran. It was a classic “step on one to lift the other” move. Gu Ran was in the same company; she wasn’t as beautiful as Bai Manruo and was often mocked as a “foil.” Now the company had sold Bai Manruo and was sucking her remaining dry to boost Gu Ran’s new variety show.

The original owner and Gu Ran never got along. Bai Manruo was blunt, while Gu Ran was a “White Lotus” who frequently framed her during work because she was jealous of her looks.

Bai Manruo had never been in showbiz, but she understood enough to be disgusted. The agency was squeezing every last drop of value out of her even after “selling” her. Since she only had two hundred yuan, she couldn’t afford to clear the trending topics. She’d have to let it cool down naturally.

Ironically, because she hit #1 on the trends, many people saw her stunning photos. Some who were cursing her one second found her account and followed her the next. Her follower count was actually skyrocketing.

She closed Weibo. Online drama couldn’t touch her now. She was already blacklisted; her immediate situation was more important. Since it was daytime, she was determined to catch the person playing ghost.

She looked at her phone. Too weak as a weapon. She scanned the room and saw a porcelain teapot—small, easy to grip, and heavy. She picked it up and continued her search, eventually eyeing a celadon vase on a counter. “This is good. A bit bulky, but one hit to the back of the head would definitely take a bad guy down.”

Armed and ready, she headed to the first floor. Every door was closed. Finding nothing, she moved to the second floor. She muttered to herself as she climbed the stairs; she feared nothing except the supernatural.

The second floor was the same. No sign of life. She sat on the floor, exhausted. If they weren’t on the first or second floor, they had to be on the third or fourth. But Butler Li had forbidden her from going up.

Earlier, she’d told the butler the castle was haunted, but Li had looked at her like she was an idiot. It seemed protecting the castle was up to her. Maybe if she caught the intruder, the butler would be so grateful they’d release her from the contract.

Gripping the vase tightly with slender fingers, she hunched over and crept upstairs. The third floor had only four rooms. To minimize noise, she walked barefoot, hugging the wall and holding her breath.

The doors weren’t locked. Does this thief think they’re so safe because no one comes up here that they don’t even bother locking the doors?

She heard the sound of running water from the last room. She wiped the sweat from her palms and raised the vase over her head. Caught you!

She used her big toe to gently nudge the door open. It didn’t make a sound. Success.

She crept inside, and the light instantly vanished. Why is it pitch black in here during the day?

Not wanting to alert the “thief,” she kept moving. The room was massive, the water sound was faint, and her sense of direction was zero. Five minutes passed, and she was just walking in circles. Her arms were numb from holding the vase.

She sighed and set the vase on the floor to rub her wrists. Suddenly, a dark shadow flitted past. Terrified, she sprang back and huddled in the corner.

Swallowing hard, she reached out with trembling hands to find her vase on the floor. Her fingers touched something cold and smooth.

She exhaled. Thank god, the vase is still there.

But as she gripped it, she realized it wasn’t a vase at all.

Her mind went blank. She was so frozen with fear she forgot to let go. Mom, help me!

The person hidden in the darkness seemed to sense her terror. They reached out and grabbed her hand firmly. In the silence, the owner of the hand let out a faint, airy chuckle and intentionally squeezed her rigid fingers.