I’m Definitely Taking This Scumbag Alpha Role! - Chapter 2

The torrential rain smashed June’s temperature down, coldly overturning the newly lush leaves.

There was only one streetlamp, hanging unsteadily beneath the bridge in the wind and rain, dim yellow and old, barely able to protect even itself.

Ying Que stared into Wei Zhixu’s eyes for a very long time.

From the first clap of thunder onward, everything that had happened around Ying Que had been like a twisted nightmare.

She had heard a report that did not belong to this world, fallen down the stairs, been chased by lightning as a soul, and finally been surrounded and beaten by a group of thugs whose origins she did not know.

And standing at the end of this nightmare was Wei Zhixu.

Novels always followed formulas. In the end, good people were meant to live long lives, while bad people were never meant to rise again.

The swaying streetlamp stirred Ying Que’s vision, spoiling the ending of the story in her mind ahead of time.

It seemed that in the story, she—the person the system called a scumbag Alpha—had reached her moment of judgment. Wei Zhixu had also held up her face like this, but there had been none of the gentleness in her eyes that Ying Que saw now.

The Omega’s hatred was more turbulent than tonight’s typhoon, as if she had a thousand knives, ten thousand knives, all waiting to stab into this Alpha’s body.

And the Alpha standing in the eye of the storm was perverse and frivolous, without the slightest remorse.

A bead of blood rolled down from her forehead along the tip of her faintly twitching nose, slowly drawing a smile at the corner of Ying Que’s mouth.

—She had easily scented the trace left on the Omega before her, the scent of having been marked by her.

“Does it smell good?”

“The scent on Sister is the best scent in the world.”

“Then smell it a few more times. Once your gland is gone, you won’t be able to smell it anymore.”

In that exchange, Wei Zhixu’s voice was even colder than usual, her gloom carrying disgust.

This was not the Sister Ying Que knew. Even when she heard her own voice, she felt it did not sound like herself.

That flamboyant arrogance had already reached the end of its strength, twisted beyond recognition.

Her dignity had shattered at some unknown point. She had abandoned herself completely and sought only death.

The cold wind of reality kept rushing against Ying Que, making her tremble uncontrollably.

It was different from the image in her mind.

Ying Que did not want to die.

So the head being held by someone struggled to lift itself, looking toward Wei Zhixu.

Her swollen, bruised eyes could barely open. Her mouth had been split open, leaving a bloody cut, and she forced out a sentence with difficulty.

“Save me…”

Who knew if this should be called a pity?

A pity that tonight was not the ending of the script. Tonight was only the first chapter of the restarted story.

A pity that this violently beaten face was completely different from Ying Que’s own.

And so, what happened next was once again different from the image in Ying Que’s mind.

No trace of disgust would appear on Wei Zhixu’s face.

Wei Zhixu would save her.

“Don’t worry.”

Unlike this woman’s cool, clear voice, the hand Wei Zhixu used to lift Ying Que’s cheek was warm and soft.

Only the decorative ring pressed a little painfully against her skin. But Ying Que, once she came back to herself, pressed her face even more tightly against it, right up until she fainted.

.

She did not know how much time had passed when sunlight gently teased Ying Que’s lashes, waking the sleeping Alpha.

This was already the fifth day after the typhoon had passed. The sun was bright, and not a cloud could be seen for thousands of miles.

But unlike the comfort and relaxation one should feel under such brilliant sunlight, the instant Ying Que regained consciousness, pain came surging toward her from all directions.

Five days still had not been enough for an Alpha to recover from the beating she had suffered beneath the bridge.

Her eyes were probably no longer swollen. After struggling slightly, Ying Que managed to open them.

A clean room, filled with the smell of disinfectant, unfolded in her vision. The characteristic layout of a single hospital room made Ying Que understand where she was.

She had survived.

She did not even have time to think about how her soul had returned to her body. Relief occupied all of Ying Que’s thoughts.

Ying Que deeply realized just how good it was to be alive. With longing, she looked toward the window, wanting to see what the new world looked like—

Sunlight dyed Wei Zhixu’s shirt a pale beige, outlining her figure slowly and unhurriedly.

Her long black hair was like velvet cloth used to set off jewels. Her emerald eyes rested on a notebook densely covered in writing. No emotion could be seen in them; they only seemed like two quiet gemstones.

It was truly a picture that made one’s heart yearn.

To Ying Que, it was practically the best gift in the world after surviving a disaster.

“Sister, do you want an apple?”

Ying Que had just been about to joyfully accept this gift when she suddenly saw her own figure beside Wei Zhixu.

In an instant, Ying Que froze.

Someone who looked exactly like her had appeared.

Fox eyes, long curly hair.

This person, who looked exactly like Ying Que, was wearing a dress Ying Que had just bought from a fashion show not long ago. Around her wrist was the snake-head silver chain Ying Que habitually wore, completely matching Ying Que’s taste.

Not only was there nothing wrong with her appearance, there was not the slightest unfamiliarity in the way she dressed either.

After confirming several times that the thing in front of her was not a mirror, Ying Que looked at this impostor in confusion as the impostor handed Wei Zhixu a peeled and sliced apple.

And Wei Zhixu actually accepted it very naturally. “Thank you, Ying Que.”

The piece of apple was bitten into, making a crisp crunch.

The sweet, fresh scent slowly spread through the hospital room, continuously squeezing Ying Que’s thoughts.

What was going on?

If this impostor was Ying Que, then who was she?!

“Young Aunt, you’re awake.”

Ying Que did not know if this counted as another kind of telepathy, but at the same moment she noticed the impostor, the impostor also noticed her.

The person looked at Ying Que with surprise, only those sharp brows and eyes had been deliberately restrained, losing Ying Que’s usual, signature flamboyance.

Seeing the impostor make such an expression with her face made Ying Que furious. She did not even hear clearly what the impostor had called her before she shot upright with a whoosh.

“Who are you calling a little pig, you impos—”

Before she could finish speaking, a piercing pain spread along Ying Que’s left chest.

She clutched her chest in agony, and a bolt of lightning flashed through her mind.

What the hell.

The pain in her chest forced Ying Que to shut up. But she had never been the type to swallow her anger. She had not finished speaking, so how could she possibly let it go? “You…”

This time, the pain was even more lethal than before. Before the words “impostor” could leave her mouth, the arm Ying Que had been propping at her side went weak.

The brief yet intense electric shock in her heart left her in painful disorientation. Ying Que trembled and curled in on herself, a layer of cold sweat breaking out across her forehead.

This time, Ying Que saw it clearly.

The bolt of lightning that had been trying to kill her not long ago had appeared.

It was like a hunter who had searched bitterly for its prey for a long time, finally catching her scent at this moment.

The instant she realized this, the hand clutching her chest tightened and froze.

Unable to tell whether the pain was deeper or the fear was deeper, Ying Que fell silent.

This perverse and arrogant Alpha, who had run wild for twenty-two years, learned for the first time how to obediently keep her mouth shut.

A person’s sixth sense was often frighteningly accurate. Ying Que was certain that the three words she could not say—“you impostor”—were the reason the lightning had been drawn over.

What a joke. Did that mean if she did not say it, no one would be able to tell this impostor was fake?

With the genuine article and the impostor appearing in the same frame, did Wei Zhixu not find it strange at all…

Ying Que’s thoughts charged wildly forward, then abruptly came to a stop—

When the Alpha’s peripheral vision caught sight of the mirror at the head of the bed, every question had an explanation.

In the mirror was a face with no aggression at all.

Ying Que, who had just woken from unconsciousness, could not believe her eyes.

And what made her believe them even less was that in front of a real mirror, she had completely changed into another person.

It was a face with no aggression whatsoever.

Her carefully tidied bangs lay against her slightly baby-fat cheeks, heavy and dull.

The only thing worth praising, her eyes, were also pressed down by trimmed gauze. They were clearly full like apricots, yet were covered in helplessness. Even when angry, they drooped, making her look listless and lacking in spirit.

Ying Que could not believe this was what she looked like now.

But the person in the mirror turned her head in perfect sync with her.

“Zhi—!”

The cicadas’ cry was sharp, piercing Ying Que’s ears and bringing with it a clap of thunder.

In an inconspicuous corner of her memory, Ying Que remembered what had happened before she fainted.

Her current appearance was exactly the same as that Alpha girl she had run into beneath the bridge!

At the time, Ying Que had felt as though she had entered someone’s body.

So all of that had been real…

Ying Que could not believe it, but the face in the mirror moved in perfect sync with her.

Even every wound she saw through the mirror echoed on her own body.

She had really entered another Alpha’s body!

So that was why she, who had seemed innocent, had been beaten by those hateful thugs.

And when Wei Zhixu saved her, she had not been saving Ying Que. She had been saving a complete stranger she had never met before.

How could this be…

She had fallen down the stairs, and that was how her soul had been knocked out of her body.

Then what about the soul of this body? Where had it gone? Had Ying Que knocked it out?

Or had it already… died?

A trace of panic flashed through Ying Que’s eyes. She did not dare think about the original owner’s ending, nor did she want to occupy the magpie’s nest.

But the one who had truly occupied the magpie’s nest seemed to have completely merged into the role. Her clothes and styling were identical to the Ying Que of the past, except for an extra bit of “kindness” that should not have been there—

“Young Aunt, what’s wrong? Is your heart uncomfortable?” Seeing Ying Que clutching her heart, the impostor, who still did not know she had already been caught by the real owner, took the initiative to step forward and hold Ying Que’s trembling arm.

“None of your business.” Ying Que was annoyed and shook off the impostor’s hand. “And do you have any manners? Who are you calling a little pig?”

“Little pig?” The impostor looked completely baffled. “Who called you a little pig? I called you Young Aunt, okay?”

Without her earlier friendliness, the impostor’s voice rose a little.

That was more like it. A bit more like this young lady’s old self.

Ying Que felt satisfied for some unknown reason and calmed down slightly.

At the same time, she finally realized she had misheard earlier.

—Not “little pig,” but “young aunt.”

But when had she ever had such a young aunt?

She looked so wilted, as though anyone could bully her a little. She did not resemble a member of the Ying family at all. “Little pig” suited her better.

“You didn’t get it wrong?” Ying Que confirmed.

Perhaps because this was about seniority, the impostor gave an annoyed “Yeah.” “My mom checked the genealogy. Your Wu family branched off from my great-grandaunt’s line. According to the order, you’re her sixth younger female cousin, and she’s your eldest female cousin.”

“Wu… family.”

She seemed to have heard that somewhere before?

Ying Que extracted the keyword and had a vague impression of the surname, but her eyes were still blank.

So blank that the gaze Wei Zhixu had kept on her shifted slightly.

The impostor was even more puzzled. “Don’t tell me…”

The person looked over with Ying Que’s beautiful light-brown eyes, studying Ying Que seriously, as if she could really make out something from the Alpha before her.

Ying Que did not know why she felt guilty, as if she were afraid that bolt of lightning would turn back again and split her out of this body.

“You lost your memory?” the impostor finally finished after a dramatic pause.

Ying Que immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Exactly. Amnesia was what fit real-world logic.

Who would so easily think that the person inside the shell had been replaced?

Although Ying Que did not know what ending awaited her if her identity was exposed, for now, this amnesia setup was extremely advantageous to her, so she went along with it. “Mm.”

“Then do you remember what your name is?” Wei Zhixu rarely spoke.

The familiar voice rang out, giving Ying Que even more confidence to act.

Many directors who had worked with her had praised her as someone born for acting. The look she gave Wei Zhixu immediately filled with confusion, along with a little bit of fear. “My name?”

“No way. You don’t even know your own name? Is your head really okay?” the impostor blurted out.

At that second, Ying Que felt that it was not good for the impostor to imitate her too well.

She was usually the one mocking others. When had she ever been mocked by someone else? Gu Yuan was right. This kind of contemptuous tone, carrying ridicule, really did make people angry to hear.

Ying Que refused to swallow this anger. She turned her head away and simply lay back down on the bed. “Forget it if you won’t tell me.”

The impostor still had not fully immersed herself in the role of “Ying Que.” The moment Ying Que pulled a long face, she rushed to explain. “Your name is Wu Lan. Wu as in crow, Lan as in the one with the three-water radical.”

“Uncultured.” Ying Que disliked the impostor’s explanation of her name.

The impostor was unconvinced and immediately pressed her. “Then say a cultured one.”

Ying Que stared at her own face, lifted her head, opened her mouth, and declared loudly, “Wu as in wuhe zhi zhong—a disorganized rabble. Lan as in bolan zhuangkuo—magnificent waves!”

“Hahaha.” A scoff sounded. Ying Que’s explanation drew the impostor’s ridicule. “Now I’ve really lived long enough to see everything. First time I’ve seen someone introduce their own surname with a derogatory idiom.”

To be honest, even though Ying Que had attended drama academy, her literary accomplishment was not that high. Grabbing idioms and using them wildly had already become one of her trademarks.

But it was one thing for her older sister and friends to tease her about something like this. How could she let this impostor laugh at her?

Ying Que did not notice Wei Zhixu’s gaze falling on her. She stiffened her neck and snapped back at the impostor. “This is also the first time I’ve seen an actor like you. Be careful. If you don’t act well and expose yourself, they’ll kick you out, and you won’t get anything.”

After saying that, Ying Que even paused for two seconds, as if waiting for that bolt of lightning.

Perhaps what she said was insinuating enough, and the lightning was even more uncultured than she was and had not understood, so it did not come after her to strike her.

“You—”

“Ying Que, Miss Wu just woke up. Let’s go buy Miss Wu some things and let her rest more.”

The impostor still wanted to snap back at Ying Que, but Wei Zhixu spoke and interrupted her.

This woman’s voice was cool and indifferent, always able to press a situation back into calm.

But looking at the impostor so angry she resembled a puffed-up turtledove, Ying Que did not feel especially pleased.

Why had Wei Zhixu taken the initiative to invite the impostor?

She had never taken the initiative to invite Ying Que before!

Of course, going out with Wei Zhixu was more interesting than arguing with a cheap young aunt.

Thinking that this was the first time Wei Zhixu had taken the initiative to invite “her” since she came into this body, the impostor gladly said, “Then let’s go now, Sister.”

“Young Aunt was unconscious for several days, so she needs more vitamins. Let’s go pick out some supplements and fruit for Auntie. What do you think, Sister?” The impostor said the words “Young Aunt” to Wei Zhixu with affectionate intimacy, quite like the way Ying Que used to be so good at seizing any topic and making use of it.

Ying Que clenched her teeth so hard they hurt. She had never felt this frustrated before.

She stared at the impostor and Wei Zhixu as they left side by side, a wild gale sweeping through her heart.

Wei Zhixu, that isn’t me!

.

The scorching heat of summer roasted the earth, and fruit slowly rotted in such temperatures.

Rich people always shopped without restraint. The things bought for the cheap young aunt quickly piled into a small cart.

The impostor was weighing an orange in her hand when her gaze curved over and landed on Wei Zhixu standing in front of the honey peach stall.

No one knew how long she had been staring at Wei Zhixu. In the next second, she stepped into Wei Zhixu’s line of sight. With a casualness that seemed to cater to her tastes, she picked up a peach. “Sister, should we choose some peaches too?”

Wei Zhixu looked at the peach held in the Alpha’s hand and finally narrowed her eyes. “You really are good to your aunt.”

The impostor did not understand why and teased, “Sister, are you jealous?”

Wei Zhixu was not. Her gaze deepened little by little, finally landing on the faint red dots beginning to appear on “Ying Que’s” wrist. “I just think that personally picking peaches for your aunt, even at the risk of an allergic reaction, shows very rare familial affection.”