After Transmigrating as the Abandoned Rich Wife O, I Turned the Scum A's Life into a Crematorium [Transmigration] - Chapter 19

The debut song for “Super A-Buff” was complete. The members were knee-deep in rigorous dance rehearsals, and during their breaks, they had to rush to the studio to record vocals. Gu Bei followed them around, spinning like a top, yet she never tired of it.

“The MV shooting schedule is finalized.” Magna ran behind Gu Bei, who was lugging a pile of clothes, holding out the itinerary.

“Okay, okay.” Gu Bei was in a hurry to deliver clothes to Jian Peiyun for her solo promotional shoot; she barely paid attention to the schedule Magna was reporting.

If anyone was to blame for this chaos, it was the fact that after the trending topic, the girl group’s popularity had skyrocketed. The fan club had already surpassed 100,000 members and was growing exponentially every day.

Jian Peiyun, who was already somewhat famous, was on another level; she had successfully “broken out of the circle” even before her official debut. Two magazine publishers had already booked her for promotional shoots—though not for the cover, she occupied significant space in the inner pages. For a rookie, this was already quite an achievement.

Over the past two days, Gu Bei’s schedule had revolved almost entirely around Jian Peiyun.

“We’ve been too busy lately. I feel like it’s impossible to have the MV ready before the debut,” Gu Bei said, looking at Magna with a troubled expression.

“But that’s against the rules.” Magna grabbed Gu Bei’s arm. “Unless you can get exclusive sponsorship from Shen Siying, you have to consider the other sponsors. They require an MV…”

“I don’t want it to be like this either! But look, the debut press conference is set for next Friday, and today is already Saturday. With only a few days left, you know how full the schedule is!” Gu Bei spoke with a hint of helplessness, but internally, she was over the moon.

The group hadn’t even officially debuted yet, and they were already trending with a packed schedule. Clearly, stardom was just around the corner!

As Gu Bei thought this, a silly grin spread across her face.

Magna knew exactly what she was thinking and immediately snapped her out of it. “At the very least, we need to put out a short video, right?”

“If we can get it done in a day, then let’s shoot it!”

Magna: “…”

After finishing her meetings, Shen Siying sat in her office, resting with her eyes closed.

Just as the meeting adjourned, she had overheard some Beta employees in the elevator discussing a hot new girl group. She had pricked up her ears to listen, and upon hearing the name, realized it was Gu Bei’s group.

Now, with some free time, she started scrolling through Weibo. Sure enough, “Super A-Buff” was sitting right in the middle of the trending list.

At the bottom, there was also a trending topic for Jian Peiyun. When she clicked into it, she found that someone had even posted about Gu Bei.

The comments section was buzzing:

[Floor 1: Is this an Omega? She’s too beautiful!]

[Floor 2: I’ve delivered coffee to their studio. She’s a real striver—handling both sponsorships and management. To have a boss like this, I can only say, it’s just too good!]

[Floor 3: Why is an Omega being made to work so hard? I heard she’s married. It seems her Alpha isn’t treating her very well.]

…

[Floor 11: Rumor has it their relationship is bad.]

…

[Floor 23: I think there’s some gossip—she’s involved with the group’s top star, God Jian!]

…

Rarely did Shen Siying have the patience to browse through every single comment on a post. She tossed her phone aside and looked out the window at the colorful neon lights with an expressionless face.

What do they mean by “relationship is bad”?

“Our relationship is perfectly fine!” Shen Siying muttered to herself in a low voice.

Thinking of this, she picked up her phone again, clicked on the Weibo post, and zoomed in on a photo of Gu Bei. It was a candid shot of her looking a bit silly while clutching a pile of clothes.

Xiao Ye knocked and entered, only to see Shen Siying smiling foolishly at her phone. “President Shen, Doctor Chen is looking for you.”

“Patch him through.”

Shen Siying picked up the call, and Doctor Chen’s voice on the other end sounded urgent. “The Chairwoman found out your wife is forming a girl group and is quite displeased. She is on her way to your house right now. Don’t say anything to provoke her.”

By the time Shen Siying rushed home, her grandmother had already arrived half an hour earlier.

Xin Mengyao and Grandmother were sitting across from each other on the sofa. During the interval, Xin Mengyao got up to refill Grandmother’s water and hand her a fruit plate, but Grandmother didn’t bother to say a single word to her—she didn’t even spare her a glance.

Seeing Shen Siying step through the door, Grandmother slammed her white-and-gold bone china cup heavily into its matching saucer, letting out an unpleasant “Hmph” from her throat.

Xin Mengyao looked at Shen Siying with some embarrassment; Shen Siying spared her a glance in return.

“Grandma…”

“Do you still have me as your Grandma in your eyes?!” Before Shen Siying could say another word, Grandmother launched into a stern lecture. “I was wondering why this house felt so unfamiliar lately. It turns out you’ve already ‘dismissed the old to welcome the new’!”

“Grandma, let me explain,” Shen Siying walked toward her but didn’t dare sit down. “She is my classmate, Xin Mengyao. You’ve met her before.”

“Oh, the piano player?” Grandmother extended her weathered, wrinkled hands and studied them carefully. “So?”

Shen Siying’s grandmother was a merchant. In this world, aside from Shen Siying, she only cared about the Gu family. For anyone else, if there was no profit margin, there was no conversation to be had.

Grandmother continued to squint at her hands, which looked younger than those of most seventy-year-olds. On her left ring finger, she wore a “pigeon egg” diamond, and on her right, an emerald. She casually slid off the dazzling diamond ring and pushed it toward Xin Mengyao.

“Miss Xin, this is for you.”

Xin Mengyao was somewhat overwhelmed. Like most female leads in books, she waved her hands and politely declined, citing it was too valuable.

“Take it,” Grandmother said again, her expression unreadable.

Since it was their first meeting and Grandmother had said it twice, Xin Mengyao found it hard to refuse the old lady’s face. She accepted it with some hesitation.

“I originally thought this irregularly shaped emerald only had a special color that suited my skin, with no other attractive qualities. But compared to this generic diamond, it seems its attractive points have increased,” Grandmother remarked, gently stroking the surface of the emerald with a look of deep affection.

Old ginger is indeed spicier than young.

The old lady had given the item away and would absolutely not take it back. Since Xin Mengyao had accepted it, she couldn’t return it. Grandmother’s maneuver was incredibly subtle—indirectly implying that Xin Mengyao couldn’t compare to Gu Bei.

Xin Mengyao was no fool; she naturally understood the underlying meaning. The diamond ring instantly became a “hot potato.” Afterward, her face remained downcast, and she didn’t dare lift her eyes.

“Where is Bei Bei?” Grandmother picked up her teacup again and took a sip of the amber liquid.

Shen Siying told Grandmother everything about Gu Bei forming the girl group. It wasn’t that Grandmother didn’t know; she knew all too well. She disliked the nature of Gu Bei’s work for two reasons. First, a married Omega staying out all day and not coming home might lead others to think the Alpha’s family was bullying her. Second, the entertainment industry was a mixed bag of fish and dragons; with so many Alphas around, what if someone with ill intentions tricked Gu Bei? What would Shen Siying do then?

Aside from Shen Siying, Gu Bei was the only child of a different surname that Grandmother truly doted on. Therefore, no matter how much Grandmother disliked Gu Bei’s recent antics, she would never allow anyone else to lay claim to the title of the Shen family’s wife.

Grandmother stayed at Shen Siying’s house until evening, when Gu Bei finally returned, dragging her exhausted body.

The old Gu Bei wasn’t exactly flamboyant, but her style was certainly elegant enough for the public eye. Today’s Gu Bei was dressed in dull colors and looked haggard. Upon seeing her, Grandmother’s dissatisfaction instantly melted into a level of concern that could give one goosebumps.

“Bei Bei!” Grandmother beckoned Gu Bei to come to her. “Have you been doing hard labor? Does A-Nan not give you pocket money? Does she dare?”

Gu Bei shook her head quickly. Having been puzzled by a sudden bank transfer on her phone earlier, she certainly couldn’t say it was for lack of money.

Grandmother followed up with at least ten questions: “How did you get so thin that you’re unrecognizable?”, “You haven’t been eating properly, have you?”, “You haven’t been bullied by other Alphas, right?”

Nearby, Xin Mengyao’s face turned ashen.

Gu Bei acted with total nonchalance. “Grandma, I’ve formed a girl group! You have to come to the debut press conference!”

Gu Bei wasn’t just being polite; she was truly inviting her.

“Good, good, good!” Grandmother’s eyes crinkled into slits with her smile.

Shen Siying looked at her grandmother, who was acting one way to someone’s face and another behind their back, and felt momentarily speechless. Though she had secretly funded Gu Bei, she had thought it wouldn’t be a bad thing if Grandmother were the one to personally end Gu Bei’s so-called career. But now, that was clearly not going to happen.

Xin Mengyao really couldn’t listen any longer. She stood up to leave, and an exquisite key slid out of her pocket, rolling to Grandmother’s feet. Grandmother’s sharp eyes caught the locust flower design. If it hadn’t been for that locust flower, her granddaughter might have lost her life.

“Locust?” Grandmother asked.

Xin Mengyao hurriedly picked up the key and gave a small nod.

“I remember Bei Bei liked locust flowers. Why, do you like them too?” Grandmother questioned Xin Mengyao after glancing at Gu Bei.

Gu Bei looked at Grandmother, completely bewildered. “I don’t like them!” After saying this, she stuffed a slice of mandarin into her mouth. “I just think they look nice.”

Xin Mengyao gripped the key, a flash of hesitation in her eyes. “I… like them.”

Grandmother narrowed her eyes at Xin Mengyao, then turned back to look at Gu Bei, reaching out to brush a stray hair away from Gu Bei’s mouth. “Bei Bei, I remember you and Siying used to go to that nameless mountain to see the locust flowers since you were little.”

Looking at Grandmother, Gu Bei felt lost. “I don’t remember. Did we?”

Then, her mind flickered between clarity and a blur, unsure if it was the original host’s memory or her own—she did like locust flowers, and whenever they bloomed, someone would take her to see them.

Shen Siying’s expression suddenly turned sour; her cheeks, which had been a bit flushed, gradually turned pale.

Shen Siying hadn’t hated Gu Bei from the start. When they were little, Gu Bei was like a soft, sweet piece of cotton candy that everyone loved. She would often act spoiled in a milky voice, calling Shen Siying “Pretty Sister.”

But after starting school, Shen Siying made her own friends; her meetings with Gu Bei became less frequent, and they had fewer topics to discuss. Faced with Gu Bei’s clinginess, Shen Siying began to find it boring, which later evolved into annoyance.

That childhood memory, for Shen Siying, was a nightmare that had woken her up countless times; yet it was also the only sweetness in her life, moistening her youthful years.

Shen Siying walked to Xin Mengyao’s side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Grandma, you remember wrong. That person wasn’t Gu Bei; it was Mengyao.”

Grandmother cast a sidelong glance at Shen Siying. “A-Nan, it’s you who remembers wrong. That person wasn’t Xin Mengyao; it was Bei Bei.”