I’m Definitely Taking This Scumbag Alpha Role! - Chapter 3

Wei Zhixu’s voice was neither light nor heavy. Because of the fragrance of the peaches, this compliment of hers even seemed to carry a trace of sweetness.

If the person standing in front of her right now had been the real Ying Que, she probably would have been so happy she jumped up.

But the impostor, Qin Ye, could not feel even the slightest bit of that joy. The red rash rising on her wrist was like a warning light that had suddenly lit up, stiffly pinning her beneath Wei Zhixu’s gaze.

Qin Ye felt that her luck had been terrible lately. Because of a mistake in the main system’s adjustments, she, who was supposed to be on vacation, had been forced to take on a new mission.

On the first day she transmigrated into this world, Qin Ye’s system lost contact with her. She had waited in this body for four or five days, yet still had not obtained all of the original owner’s information.

Never mind being allergic to peaches. Right now, she did not even know what her own pheromones smelled like.

Where was her golden finger? Where was her system buff?

How was she any different from the protagonists in those book-transmigration novels?!

Whether it was because of the peach allergy or not, Qin Ye felt her breathing grow tighter and tighter.

Wei Zhixu watched her quietly. Those seemingly calm eyes were sharper than a surgical knife.

Cold air slowly blew against Qin Ye’s scalp. She swallowed stiffly, then relied on the good acting skills she had developed from playing dozens of roles in different worlds. Imitating Ying Que’s way of speaking, she began to argue unreasonably. “How could I possibly be doing this for that cheap young aunt? Clearly, I only came over because Sister had been standing here for so long.”

“I’m allergic because of Sister, so Sister has to put medicine on me.”

Since Qin Ye was acting, she played the whole part. As she spoke, she handed both the peach in her hand and herself over to Wei Zhixu.

The hand covered in red rashes did indeed look pitiful, but paired with such a domineering action, it no longer seemed all that pitiful.

Wei Zhixu did not shake her hand off and separate from her as Qin Ye had expected. Instead, she raised her thumb and slowly, unhurriedly stroked Qin Ye’s tiger’s mouth.

This woman’s fingers were very cool. The way they wound over was like a snake.

Half of that small face was hidden in the shadow cast by her hair, making her expression impossible to read.

Qin Ye was so frightened by the touch that her heart trembled, but she forced herself not to break character.

“Sis—”

“Buzz, buzz.”

The phone’s vibration was like a life-saving bell, ringing from Wei Zhixu’s pocket.

Without lingering on Qin Ye’s hand for much longer, Wei Zhixu simply withdrew her hand.

“What is it?”

“Little President Ying has come to the studio. She said she wants to discuss the shooting plans for the second half of the year’s scripts with you.” On the other end of the call was Wei Zhixu’s assistant, Zhouzhou, who was also an Omega.

Wei Zhixu glanced at Qin Ye standing beside her and replied, “Got it. I’ll go back as soon as possible.”

Most likely, this sentence was also meant for Qin Ye to hear. So after Wei Zhixu hung up, unsurprisingly, she heard Qin Ye say, “Work is important. Sister can put medicine on me after you come back.”

The woman was smiling, still looking as carefree and cynical as ever, only her words carried a sense of propriety.

Just like the “scumbag Alpha” in those scumbag Alpha novels who had turned over a new leaf.

Wei Zhixu quietly watched the person who said this, for so long that Qin Ye’s scalp nearly exploded. Just as Qin Ye thought Wei Zhixu would not respond to her, Wei Zhixu finally withdrew her gaze and nodded. “All right.”

Wei Zhixu agreed, but Qin Ye could no longer hold on.

Watching Wei Zhixu’s back as she left, Qin Ye could not control herself and began scratching at the wrist covered in rashes.

No. She had to find an excuse to hide outside for a few days, until the system sent her Ying Que’s complete information.

In all her years of doing missions, Qin Ye had never had a target make her feel this much pressure.

If Wei Zhixu really discovered that the person inside Ying Que’s shell had been replaced, that would be terrible.

Not only would she be locked in the little black room to write a ten-thousand-word self-criticism and be reported across the whole system, she would also have ten times the points for this mission deducted.

Losing face was a small matter.

Losing points would be worse than killing her.

How did the original owner fall for this Omega?!

Wasn’t she scared?

.

“I don’t remember anything.”

The glaring light stopped on Ying Que’s pupils, making her lashes tremble slightly. That weak, fluttering movement made the confusion she performed seem even more real.

“But from the examination, your body is still fairly healthy.” After learning that Ying Que had woken up, the doctor came over to give her a simple checkup.

After thinking carefully for a while, she moved the pupil light away from Ying Que’s eyes. “It may be psychological. The subconscious wants its owner to forget these things, and coinciding with a serious physical impact, it produced this result.”

“So that’s how it is…” Ying Que looked downcast, but in her heart, she let out a breath of relief because she had found a doctor’s endorsement for herself.

Since talking about the soul swap would get her struck by lightning, she might as well stay in this body for now, immoral as it was.

“When a person’s state of mind is relaxed, it becomes easier for them to remember the past. Miss Wu, don’t rush to recover your memories. Don’t put pressure on yourself.”

The doctor advised Ying Que, her eyes full of pity.

But Ying Que did not need such eyes, nor was she an obedient patient.

The moment the doctor left, Ying Que looked around, then secretly opened the phone placed by the head of the bed, searching for “her own” memories.

Wu Lan. Alpha. Eighteen years old. Last year, she had just gotten into the country’s top-ranked performing arts school and was now a freshman, which technically made her Ying Que’s junior schoolmate.

However, Ying Que did not have much of an impression of this junior. Her older sister, Ying Xu, had specifically opened an entertainment company for her, and when Wu Lan enrolled, Ying Que had already started filming.

But as Ying Que flipped through the text messages Wu Lan had received, she vaguely remembered why she had felt that the surname “Wu” sounded familiar earlier—

On the day the Wu family went bankrupt, the news had flown all over the school. Even Ying Que, who was about to graduate, had eaten that melon.

It was said that Wu Lan’s parents had been coaxed into investing in a project. In the end, the project had been rejected by the authorities above, leaving them with a complete loss and debts as high as eight figures. The couple had directly jumped off a building and killed themselves.

No wonder she had been beaten so miserably by those debt-collecting thugs that day. The married couple had simply dusted off their hands and jumped off a building, as though they were some deeply devoted pair, leaving the entire mess to Wu Lan.

“Making a kid who just turned eighteen repay the debt—this really opened my eyes. They’re all bastards. Getting hit with a stick hurts so much.” Ying Que spoke up for Wu Lan’s injustice, not realizing in the slightest that from now on, Wu Lan’s burden would be hers to carry.

“Miss Wu, don’t worry. The thugs who beat you that day have already been sent to the police station by Miss Wei.” The housekeeper auntie pushed the door open, seeming to have heard only Ying Que’s last complaint. “Madam has also contacted the police station. They’ll handle it seriously and absolutely won’t let them harass you again.”

The two people who had gone out to buy things for her had never returned. Only supplements and fruit baskets were piled all over the hospital room.

The housekeeper auntie walked in gently carrying a lunchbox and filled Ying Que in on a bit of the current situation.

“Madam originally wanted to wait at the hospital for you to wake up and bring you home herself. It’s just that something suddenly came up at the company, so she had no choice but to go on a business trip.”

Ying Que listened to only half of what the housekeeper auntie said and let the other half slip by. Her thoughts were not on the matter of “debt” at all. She only sighed inwardly, thinking, This is normal behavior for Madam Ying.

Ever since Ying Que’s mother, Ying Qingzhi, passed away, Ying Ming had become terribly busy.

Ying Qingzhi had been an orphan. When she met Ying Ming, she did not even have a real name. Ying Ming had always brooded over this matter, and the passing of her beloved wife had made her even more heartbroken. She went everywhere doing charity and giving aid to orphans.

Although Ying Que knew Ying Ming did this to prevent her mother’s tragedy from repeating itself, it was hard not to feel a little sour about it.

She still remembered the year Ying Qingzhi died. Ying Ming had gone mad helping orphans, to the point where she kept bringing children home to stay.

If not for what happened later…

Thinking up to this point, Ying Que’s brows furrowed.

“Tastes awful.” She tossed the spoon aside and began throwing an eldest miss’s tantrum.

The housekeeper auntie’s expression remained calm. She was used to serving the family’s second-generation ancestor, so Ying Que’s current dissatisfaction was nothing unusual to her. “I’m sorry, Miss Wu. I don’t understand your tastes well enough yet. You can tell me directly what foods you like or avoid, and I’ll go back and inform the kitchen.”

“As long as it has flavor, it’s fine. But nothing sour.” How would Ying Que know what Wu Lan liked? Everything she said was based on her own preferences.

The housekeeper auntie noticed this too. “Miss Wu’s tastes really are quite similar to our Second Miss’s.”

It was just that who, upon meeting them for the first time, would ever think that these two people who seemed to have nothing to do with each other were actually the same person?

The housekeeper auntie explained it as fate. “In the future, Miss Wu will definitely get along happily with Second Miss.”

“Who wants to get along happily with her?” Ying Que complained irritably. “Who could get along happily with her?”

Although Ying Que’s words were aimed at that impostor with disdain, the housekeeper auntie actually expressed agreement. “Miss Wu, don’t feel pressured. Our Second Miss often stays with the crew to film, so at home, you probably won’t run into her often.”

“You’re really letting me live at the house?” Ying Que found it unbelievable.

Back then, when Ying Ming brought Wei Zhixu home, Ying Que had thought it was an exception.

“Yes. Madam is very willing for Miss Wu to come live at the house,” the housekeeper auntie told Ying Que. “Miss Wei, who saved you, is in a similar situation to yours. She is also currently living at the Ying family’s home.”

A housekeeper generally would not reveal the family’s private matters, so that last sentence was probably meant to lighten Wu Lan’s burden.

But Ying Que did not feel burdened about returning to her own home in the first place. Still, that sentence did indeed remind Ying Que of something.

Wherever Wei Zhixu was, she had to be there too.

Now that an impostor who had pushed her soul out of her body had appeared out of thin air in her home, she had even more reason to go back.

“Auntie Wang, when can I be discharged and go home?” Ying Que was full of crisis awareness.

Housekeeper Auntie Wang was a little surprised that Ying Que had blurted out her form of address, but she still answered her. “The doctor said Miss Wu’s body is recovering very quickly, so you can be discharged tomorrow.”

“What do you mean tomorrow? I think now is fine.” Ying Que could not wait. As she spoke, she pulled the needle out of her hand.

But how could she be allowed to leave before the IV was finished?

After pulling the needle out without permission, Ying Que got stuck with another one, then was threatened by the head nurse with restraint straps. She would not be allowed to leave until the drip was done.

In the face of absolute power, even refusing to yield to force did not work.

Ying Que could only lie down obediently and stare at the IV as it dripped clean drop by drop.

After going through all that trouble, the time it took to get home did not lessen at all.

However, Ying Que genuinely felt this body’s recovery ability. After sleeping once, the pain in her body had decreased by more than half again.

Wu Lan, this Alpha, looked like she could not fight at all. Who would have thought all her skill points had been placed into recovery?

“Miss Wu, we’re here.” Auntie Wang took the initiative to open the door for Ying Que, taking care of this child who, in theory, should have been completely unfamiliar with this place.

The heat of noon swayed along the willow trees lining the road, sketching out several delicate houses here and there.

Her bangs pressed against her gauze-wrapped forehead, somewhat obstructing her vision.

Ying Que barely looked at the scenery outside the window. The eyes hidden in the shadows once again held unwillingness and anger that had been hooked out of her.

—Returning to this manor again, she had actually become a guest.

“Where’s Ying Que?” Ying Que went straight to the point, wanting to clash with that impostor.

But to her surprise, Auntie Wang told her, “Second Miss returned to the film crew last night. Now that the typhoon has passed, she needs to catch up on the shooting schedule.”

Ying Que felt a wave of disappointment. How had she forgotten about this?

She wondered what that impostor’s acting skills were like. The impostor had better not ruin the career she had painstakingly built through all that business operation.

Hopefully, her acting skills…

No. Why was she hoping the impostor’s acting skills were good?

She should hope her acting was rotten to the core, that she could not act well in a drama and could not act well as Ying Que either, that her older sister, her mother, and Wei Zhixu would discover her, drive her out of the house, leave her with nowhere to go, and make her kowtow and kneel to invite Ying Que back into her original body!

Wasn’t it just sacrificing a bit of her reputation for acting?

It was not like she could not salvage it.

Impostor.

Pah.

“…Miss Wei’s room is at the end of the east side of the second floor. Miss Wu’s room is next to Miss Wei’s room, the second room from the left.”

Ying Que had been too busy imagining the impostor’s miserable end after being discovered, so she had not listened carefully to Auntie Wang’s introduction. When she came back to herself, the two of them had already entered the manor’s main building.

Everything was so familiar. The living room with the huge crystal chandelier, the reception room that carried the scent of sandalwood…

Even the staircase that had sent Ying Que rolling down now looked especially dear to her.

“Does Miss Wu want to tidy the room herself, or do you need our help?” Auntie Wang asked.

Relying on her familiarity with this home, Ying Que chose with great confidence, “I’ll do it myself.”

“Then if Miss Wu needs anything, just press the communication device on the wall. The servants at home will respond immediately when they see it.” Auntie Wang had more or less grasped the personality of this Miss Wu before her and handed Ying Que the simple luggage she was carrying.

“I know, I know.” Ying Que was not the kind of person who had the patience to listen to others finish saying things she already knew. As she spoke, she took the bag and walked upstairs.

The morning sunlight climbed upward along the staircase, refreshing step by step.

Ying Que looked at the surroundings that were carved into her soul, feeling a tangle of emotions. Fire seemed to burn in her eyes. She truly wanted to tear that impostor’s soul out of her body and rip it to shreds.

The girl moved with terrifying steps, going against the leisurely morning—and also going against Auntie Wang’s introduction just now.

Standing in the hallway, Ying Que looked toward the side where Wei Zhixu’s original room was, her eyes narrowing.

Had Auntie Wang misspoken just now?

Wei Zhixu’s room should have been the second room from the left. The room at the end of the hallway was the one Ying Que had kept for herself.

That room had a balcony extending outward, from which one could see the garden downstairs in full.

Wei Zhixu liked flowers and had planted a large patch of Chinese roses in the garden. Ying Que would invite Wei Zhixu over here from time to time to admire them.

“Tsk.”

Ying Que was dissatisfied with Auntie Wang’s lack of professionalism. With large strides, she walked to the door at the end of the hallway. Without even thinking, she raised her hand and pushed that door open.

In an instant, a through breeze surged in from behind her, making the white window gauze billow.

In this room that had originally belonged to her, someone was sitting.

Filtered sunlight poured over that person’s body, and her slender arms were as delicate and fair as jade.

Just as Auntie Wang had introduced, Wei Zhixu was in this room.

Her thin back leaned against the red sandalwood chair Ying Que had found at an antique market last year. She had taken a thin sheet of paper with only a few words written on it and covered her face with it, reclining with her eyes closed. It was an unrestrained, relaxed laziness.

Perhaps the sunlight had fallen too coincidentally, creating an illusion, but through the thin paper, one could actually see a faint flush on Wei Zhixu’s cheeks.

The wind came at just the right moment, landing squarely on the tip of this Alpha Ying Que’s nose.

In the air floated a faint layer of Omega pheromones, like lily of the valley secretly blooming in wet grass.

Ying Que’s mind stirred, and she stood frozen in place.

Then she heard a voice by her ear.

“Close the door.”