After Transmigrating as the Villain’s Scummy Alpha "Dainty" Wife, My Escape Failed (GL) - Chapter 8

At first, Chi Yuan thought she was dreaming. The owner of those hands followed the curve of her bare abdomen, sliding delicately over her well-defined core muscles until they reached the side of her waist at the edge of her jeans.

The fingertips were slightly cool. Everywhere they passed, Chi Yuan involuntarily developed goosebumps; her senses were magnified a thousandfold, the touch seemingly accidental yet thick with provocation.

Chi Yuan couldn’t hold back anymore. She reached out to grab Jiang Ci’s wandering hands and said in a raspy voice, “What are you doing?”

Jiang Ci glanced at her with a cool, detached air and pulled her hands back.

She leaned over to pick up a green bottle of ointment from a pile of items. “I saw you bump your waist in the kitchen earlier. You’d better apply some ointment.”

“Since you’re awake, do it yourself.” Jiang Ci casually tossed the ointment at Chi Yuan, hitting her square in the stomach.

Chi Yuan clutched her belly in mock pain and picked up the bottle. “You could be a bit gentler. If you want to care about me, at least be a little sweet.”

Jiang Ci gave a light scoff. “Gentle? Giving you the ointment is already more than you deserve. Don’t push your luck, I’m telling you.”

She grabbed her pajamas and toiletries to head into the bathroom. Before entering, she turned back and arched an eyebrow at Chi Yuan. “Though… your figure is quite good. I couldn’t tell you worked out so much.”

Chi Yuan sat up, looked down, and hurriedly smoothed her clothes, looking extremely flustered. “Who told you to go feeling around? The place I hit isn’t even there—it’s my lower back.”

“Fine, fine, my mistake. President Chi, I shouldn’t have defiled your purity.”

Jiang Ci teased as she tied her smooth long hair into a simple bun, revealing the elegant curve of her neck and her exquisite collarbones.

Chi Yuan was dazzled by that flash of white skin and quickly averted her gaze.

Only when she heard the bathroom door close did she breathe a sigh of relief. Clutching the bottle of ointment, her grin nearly reached behind her ears.

Did this mean Jiang Ci didn’t actually hate her that much?

A night of sweet dreams followed. Chi Yuan felt as if she were wrapped in a soft layer of sugar, surrounded by a fresh lemon scent, sinking into a pink ocean.

In the kaleidoscopic scenes of her dream, faces were blurry as if behind a veil, except for those clear, misty eyes that were deeply engraved into her mind.

The morning light wasn’t strong, peeking through the gaps in the curtains and falling on her beautiful features. The woman’s profile was vibrant yet soft; her long, curling lashes shimmered with a chestnut light in the soft glow. Her smooth, black short hair was scattered by her ears. Sensing the light, she frowned slightly and burrowed further into the quilt, only to nuzzle against another warm body.

The two narrow single beds, which had been strictly separated before sleep, had lost their boundaries due to the messy quilts and pillows.

Chi Yuan’s sleeping posture was terrible. She had spent the night squeezing to the left, leaving her own bed empty while two people were crammed onto Jiang Ci’s bed.

Jiang Ci lay flat and orderly, letting Chi Yuan hug half of her body as she slept soundly and undisturbed.

A click echoed in Chi Yuan’s mind—hidden in the shadows, the System silently recorded this heartwarming scene.

As the light shifted, the wall clock pointed to 7:30 AM. The mechanical gears whirred, and the next second, a little figure with a gong popped out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!—

The deafening, chaotic sound of gongs and drums erupted in every room simultaneously.

Chi Yuan was jolted awake by the noise. She squinted at her surroundings and reached out, only to feel the warm body she had been leaning against suddenly vanish, along with the quilt being yanked away.

A dull thud sounded in the room—

Jiang Ci had fallen off the bed.

Realizing this, Chi Yuan immediately sat up. Brushing her hair out of her face, she crawled to the edge of the bed to check on Jiang Ci.

“Ugh, are you okay, Jiang Ci?”

But the person tangled on the floor didn’t make a sound.

Chi Yuan panicked. She knelt beside the “silkworm cocoon” made of blankets and pulled back the fabric covering the woman’s face.

A face in peaceful, deep sleep—utterly unbothered by the noise—appeared before her. Amidst the earth-shaking racket, Jiang Ci’s breathing was steady and her expression serene.

Chi Yuan: “…”

Gotta admit, her sleep quality is incredible.

No wonder Jiang Wan succeeded so easily in the novel; even if the world ended, Jiang Ci probably wouldn’t wake up.

She opened her arms and picked up Jiang Ci along with the quilt she was rolled in.

Too light. That was Chi Yuan’s first thought. She had noticed at the banquet that Jiang Ci, at 167cm tall, barely weighed 45kg. There wasn’t a gram of extra fat on her; the bones of her spine felt prominent against Chi Yuan’s touch. Curled in her arms, she was like a sleepy kitten.

Chi Yuan gently placed her back on the bed, walked to the clock to turn off the mechanism, and shuffled out of the room in her slippers.

In the living room, Chi Yuan wasn’t the only one awake. The twins sat on the sofa, bleary-eyed, watching the high-energy Momo bouncing in front of the cameras.

“Good morning, viewers! The weather is perfect today. Let’s welcome a high-energy new day with the ‘Bo-Bo Peaches’ produced right here in the Home of Peaches and Plums!”

Wearing an orange T-shirt and white denim shorts, she held up a fruit plate piled with peaches, spinning around to show the camera. Her pink twin tails swung back and forth with her movements. It was a natural studio setup with perfect ad movements.

“Our peaches are picked from the peach forest out back. Natural and additive-free! Just click the link below to enter our official store for a chance to bring these crunchy, sweet peaches home. What are you waiting for?”

After her string of ad copy, Momo blew a kiss to the camera. Her professionalism was heart-wrenching.

Clap, clap, clap! The twins applauded her. For that level of dedication, more sponsors really ought to notice her.

Seeing Chi Yuan walk out, Momo excitedly handed her the fruit plate. “Sister Chi, want a Bo-Bo Peach?”

Bo-Bo Peach?

Chi Yuan had heard of this before the show. It was the key product this season—peaches grown and sold by the village. To stir up marketing hype, the investors specifically named them “Bo-Bo Peaches” (Kiss-Kiss Peaches), claiming they were as red, sweet, and romantic as a first kiss.

Though, in Chi Yuan’s eyes, they looked exactly like any other peach.

Chi Yuan waved her hand, declining Momo’s kindness. “I’ll stick to lemon water. My mouth is dry from waking up.”

Momo: “But you and Sister Jiang ‘kissed’ last night. Eating a ‘Kiss-Kiss Peach’ now is just perfect for the occasion.”

“Cough! Cough!” Chi Yuan choked on her own spit. What the hell “occasion”? How is that an occasion?!

“Momo, how did you know that Teacher Jiang and I… um…”

Momo blinked and turned to look at Gu Meng on the sofa, who was shaking his head frantically at her. “Gu Meng said so after he came out of the kitchen! We were all shocked. Who knew such a big ‘oops’ would happen right as the show started?”

Chi Yuan: “…We?”

Momo nodded. “Yeah, everyone knows.”

Chi Yuan immediately shot a murderous glare at Gu Meng, who held up his hands with a miserable expression. Didn’t you say you’d never tell?!

He sold her out the moment he turned around. Not even a minute of hesitation.

Gu Ning punched his brother. “Sorry, he’s a big-mouth. No filter at all. If he knows a secret, he can’t hold it in.”

Gu Meng pouted. “Sister Chi, even if I didn’t say it, the cameras caught it. The crew edited the pilot episode overnight; it’ll probably be released by noon. That ‘accidental kiss’ is so explosive, there’s no way they’d cut it.”

Chi Yuan looked up stiffly at the cameras with red infrared lights in the corners of the room. She asked weakly, “The cameras were on yesterday?”

All three nodded in unison.

“And the pilot is already edited?”

Again, three nods.

Chi Yuan: “…”

I’m starting to think joining this show was a mistake.

At 8:00 AM, the nine guests gathered at the long table. The TV facing the living room turned on right on time. A person in a cloak and a black skull mask sat in a white chair, reading the day’s task from a card.

“The Home of Peaches and Plums has reached harvest season, but the farmers are short-handed. We request the guests’ help. You will be split into two teams: Team A will head to the peach forest to help with the harvest; Team B will leave the island to go to the supermarket and market to purchase supplies.”

The teams would be decided by drawing lots. In the drawer under the TV, there was a box containing red and blue slips of paper. Red meant leaving the island for shopping; blue meant picking fruit. After the day’s tasks, an internal vote would be held to elect the “Village Head” based on the day’s performance.

“What if everyone votes for themselves?” Momo asked.

The Cloaked Person replied: “You can only vote for others. To become the beloved Village Head, you must win everyone’s trust.”

Everyone eyed the red box, eager to start. Jiang Wan scanned the room and summoned her System.

Jiang Wan: I want to be in the same group as Chi Yuan. Arrange it. Now that my ‘Everyone Loves Her’ attribute is upgraded, she’ll definitely fall for me again.

System: [Your points are zero. Relevant services are unavailable.]

Jiang Wan: Just this once. Once the pilot airs at noon and my popularity spikes, I’ll have points.

System: [That is a violation of rules. If the Monitoring System finds out…]

Jiang Wan: It’s not like I haven’t violated rules before, and I was never caught. Besides, I’m the female lead. What’s wrong with using a few perks? Isn’t the Female Lead Rising System here to help me?

But a system isn’t meant to be abused like this. Jiang Wan was reckless, relying on the system for everything; such a path would eventually collapse. However, having tasted the benefits of unearned gains, she didn’t listen and urged the system to cheat.

System: […Once you have points, you must pay them back immediately.]

Jiang Wan: Got it, got it. I’ll follow the rules.

At the same time, Chi Yuan was also talking to her own System.

System: [According to the predicted distribution, you and Jiang Wan will be grouped together.]

Chi Yuan: …She’s like a haunting spirit. Is such ‘lucky’ hand-drawing also part of the protagonist’s halo?

System: [Novel leads are usually ‘Luck Gods.’ Jiang Wan is likely no exception.]

Chi Yuan: Tsk. Then we have to pull some strings.

The nine people drew their slips one by one. Chi Yuan drew a red slip. Those with the same color were Jiang Ci, Gu Meng, and Wang Wen.

Jiang Wan slowly unfolded her slip, and then: “…”

Chi Yuan saw Jiang Wan’s look of profound disappointment and the blue slip in her hand. She felt a surge of secret delight.

“Since the teams are set, let’s head out,” Chi Yuan stood up first. “Red team, follow me! The boat won’t wait for anyone~~”

But when they reached the pier, the four of them were told that to board the boat, they had to answer a question.

“Of your initial impressions of the other eight guests, who do you like most and who do you dislike most? State their strengths or weaknesses.”

Gu Meng held his head in despair. “Is the crew doing this on purpose?”

This was clearly a “drama-inducing” question set specifically for the show’s ratings. To board, they had to “sell out” their teammates.

Gu Meng: “Most liked—Sister Chi, because she’s generous. Most disliked—my brother Gu Ning, because he nags too much.” This was a high survival-instinct move.

Wang Wen: “Most liked is probably Xiao Wan. She was the first to speak to me when I joined; she’s gentle, generous, and always thinking of others. Most disliked is my roommate Gao Yaohui—his snoring sounds like he’s shouting military drills! Hahaha! You guys have to film him tonight; that sound is way more effective than the monkey with the gong this morning.”

Even the cameraman laughed. As expected of a crosstalk comedian, he was full of “bits.”

When it was Jiang Ci’s turn, she was prepared to give a standard, official answer, but she caught sight of Chi Yuan, who was listening with perked ears and a serious face.

The urge to tease her couldn’t be suppressed.