The Sickly Girl Becomes a Scum Alpha - Chapter 38

Standing in the hospital corridor, Chu Ci called Butler Sun.

Before Chu Ci joined the company, most matters were handled by the butler, and this would likely be no exception.

Butler Sun nearly thought he was seeing things when he saw Chu Ci’s call. He answered quickly. “Young Mistress?”

“Mhm. Check for me if the things I gave to Jian Sui’s parents can be recovered. Send me a detailed list.”

Since that was what they feared most, Chu Ci would grant them their wish.

Butler Sun was a bit surprised, but since it hadn’t been long, he remembered it clearly. “Young Mistress, everything you gave to the Jian couple was not a formal gift; of course they can be recovered. You mentioned back then to be wary of them, so everything from the residence and vehicles to miscellaneous furniture—including cash—has a detailed record. Do you want to recover everything?”

“Everything. Ideally, let them wander the streets without a penny to their names.”

A dark glint flashed in Chu Ci’s eyes. “Go do it now.”

“Understood. I’ll get on it immediately.”

Butler Sun didn’t even need to ask why. Whatever Chu Ci instructed, he simply executed.

After hanging up, Butler Sun contacted his team and pulled up the original records. However, before setting off, he didn’t forget to report the matter to Chu Xiong.

Far away abroad, Chu Xiong heard the news and naturally linked it to his previous conversation with Chu Ci. Pressuring Jian Sui to submit by suppressing her parents was a logical move; he was pleased that Chu Ci was strictly following his intent.

“Do whatever Chu Ci tells you to do. You don’t need to ask me.”

Butler Sun immediately understood Chu Xiong’s meaning and proceeded as Chu Ci had ordered.

Chu Ci twirled her phone. Leaving such matters to Butler Sun meant that, given the Chu family’s usual style, the Jian couple certainly wouldn’t have a good end. But that wasn’t enough.

Before moving further, she had to clarify one thing: why did Jian Sui’s “happy family” from the original novel suddenly turn into this? And how did biological parents become adoptive parents?

[System? System!]

[I’m working my side job. Make it quick.]

Chu Ci summarized the recent events for it. [Don’t you owe me a rational explanation? Is the original novel even real?]

The system was clearly incredulous after hearing this. [Wait a second. I’ll apply for an error-reporting audit. Something must have gone wrong.]

[How long?] Chu Ci felt an audit wasn’t even necessary to know there was an error.

[Thirty seconds.]

The system’s voice vanished; it had gone to investigate.

Chu Ci leaned against the corridor window, twirling her phone and thinking. What kind of luck does Jian Sui have? Meeting nothing but scumbags her whole life.

Thirty seconds passed quickly, and the system returned.

[I found it! Those aren’t Jian Sui’s biological parents!]

[…I already know that. Tell me something useful.]

[Listen to me! In the original novel, her parents were biological. I just did an error-rollback and found the point where it diverged. See for yourself.]

The system finished, and Chu Ci closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt as if she were standing on a bustling street. There were many people, but it seemed to be many years ago; the fashion was different, and phones weren’t smartphones yet.

The people around her were frozen in time. They couldn’t see Chu Ci. She looked around, and a little girl in a princess dress caught her attention.

For some reason, Chu Ci instinctively felt this was Jian Sui. The system’s indication was blunt; the name “Jian Sui” appeared over the girl’s head, and everything began to move.

Simultaneously, Chu Ci saw younger versions of the current Jian couple. They stood not far away, their gazes frequently landing on little Jian Sui.

Chu Ci looked at them, then back at the little girl, and finally saw the labels “Father Jian” and “Mother Jian” over a different couple in the distance. So those were Jian Sui’s biological parents?

Little Jian Sui was completely unaware she had drifted away from her parents. She was captivated by a clown performing on the street.

Soon, the current Jian couple moved. They walked up to little Jian Sui and pointed in the opposite direction of her real parents. “Little girl, your mommy and daddy are waiting for you over there. Why are you still watching this?”

Hearing about her parents, little Jian Sui panicked and looked around. Sure enough, she couldn’t see them. She was too young to know lies existed; she thanked them in a milky voice and ran in the direction they pointed.

Chu Ci instantly guessed what happened. She was sweating with anxiety, but she couldn’t touch anyone or do anything. This was the past, unchangeable.

Sure enough, the two quickly followed little Jian Sui. When they reached a secluded spot, they snatched the child up and vanished into a narrow alley.

“Thief!”

A child standing nearby pointed at the alley and shouted. But she was too small. The people around merely checked their wallets, found nothing wrong, and shook their heads, assuming the kid was talking nonsense. No one noticed that a child had disappeared.

Chu Ci snapped her eyes open, returning from the vision. Her heart was pounding, and her forehead was covered in sweat.

[Isn’t Jian Sui the protagonist? How could no one notice the protagonist was stolen?]

[Calm down. That was over twenty years ago. The novel’s main timeline starts when she’s in her twenties; everything before that is background. Besides, who knew it would be such a coincidence—her biological parents and those two shared the surname Jian, and even her name stayed the same. It’s possible for it to go unnoticed.]

The system sounded somewhat guilty. This was indeed a massive oversight.

Chu Ci leaned her head against the window, rubbing her temples to calm the throbbing veins. [Where are Jian Sui’s biological parents?]

The error had happened, and the past couldn’t be changed. She could only try to make up for it now.

[…Can’t find them. Because their identities were usurped by the current Jian couple, there are no relevant records in the system database. You’ll have to investigate on your own.]

[Aren’t you high-dimensional administrators? You can’t even do this?] Chu Ci felt her headache worsening.

[I really can’t. We used to be able to control everything, but because some hosts exploited the systems to destroy world balances using ‘God’s eye’ cheats, our permissions were completely restricted. Except for plot-related data, we know nothing. Only the most primitive systems still have those powerful permissions.]

The system told the truth. Chu Ci didn’t care about their operations, but she realized something else.

[You mean that besides the main plot, you don’t care about anything else, even if it involves the protagonist’s background? You don’t guarantee any truth?]

[…Correct.] The system responded guiltily.

Chu Ci felt her world go dark. She had believed the original novel so implicitly, yet it turned out that besides the major plot nodes, nothing was necessarily true.

In the novel, Jian Sui married the original host for her “parents,” but in reality, she was driven to a dead end by her adoptive parents. Only the node where she married into the Chu family was “true.” The “sea of family love” was a lie.

Did that mean everything else could be a lie too?

The system sensed her thoughts and hurried to explain. [Not necessarily! It’s unlikely there are this many loopholes. And like this time, errors can still be detected.]

[And after they’re detected?]

The system went silent for a while. [I’ll go check everyone for you to see if there are any other identity thefts.]

Chu Ci didn’t stop it.

Tapping her fingers on the window, Chu Ci knew she couldn’t rely on the system. She had to do it herself. But the problem was that even if she found Jian Sui’s biological parents, they might not be as the novel described. What if they were just like these two?

No, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

Since “biological” didn’t guarantee “good,” she would set that aside for now and deal with those two first. Their actions were criminal, but there was currently no evidence…

She looked at her phone. Even if she couldn’t bring them to justice yet, she would make their lives a living hell.

That evening, when Butler Sun arrived at the Jian villa with lawyers and bodyguards, the two were in a violent physical altercation. One didn’t want to give up their lifestyle, believing the Chu family cared too much about “face” to do anything to Jian Sui’s “parents.” The other wanted to run with the money, only to find the cash and cards had been squandered by both. They were accusing each other of extravagance and had come to blows.

Butler Sun watched coldly as they beat each other black and blue. He didn’t care. He had them searched to ensure they didn’t take a single thing or a single cent from the villa, then had them dumped at a landfill. He also had the tenement building they previously looked down upon sealed off.

Amidst their cursing, Butler Sun leisurely pulled out bank records and held them before their faces.

“These are the debts you’ve accumulated during this period. I will have people watch you pick through trash here until you pay them off.” He let go, and the papers fluttered down. He brushed his hands in disgust. “Also, modern medicine is very advanced. Curse one more time, and I’ll have someone ‘clean’ your mouths so you never need to speak again.”

The two were instantly silenced. As they recognized the figures on the bills, their worlds went black. When Chu Ci gave them the money, she never said it had to be paid back!

Butler Sun turned to leave. The two tried to chase after him, but two burly men with scarred faces emerged from the landfill and pinned them down.

“You owe money to the Chu family, and yet the Chu family finds you a job with room and board to pay it back. How merciful. Remember to be grateful.”

Butler Sun spoke without looking back as he walked to the car. Once inside, he called Chu Ci. “Young Mistress, everything is handled. Don’t worry, they will be ‘working hard’.”

Chu Ci glanced at Jian Sui, who was talking to Jiang Xun, and pushed open the door to the corridor. “Mhm. From what I know, Jian Sui seems to be a child they stole. Check how to legally sever their parental relationship. Don’t let too many people know; investigate secretly.”

“Understood. Do we need to call the police?”

“I’ll discuss it with Jian Sui.” Chu Ci wanted to respect Jian Sui’s wishes.

Hanging up, Chu Ci turned to see Jian Sui and Jiang Xun walking out. Jiang Xun had just performed a psychological evaluation. The good news was that Jian Sui’s mental state was healthy.

“All done?” Chu Ci asked.

Jiang Xun nodded, her gaze moving back and forth between them. “You two truly are a match made in heaven.”

“Hmm?” Chu Ci didn’t quite understand.

Jiang Xun gave a small “tsk” and looked at Chu Ci. “Your body’s self-healing ability is breathtaking, and her mental self-healing ability is breathtaking. Two unkillable cockroaches?”

Chu Ci & Jian Sui: “…”

“If you can’t use metaphors, keep your mouth shut. Can we leave now?” Chu Ci found Jiang Xun’s expression skills equally “breathtaking.”

“Of course. Be my guest.” Jiang Xun waved them off. “Oh, right. This is the ointment for Jian Sui. Apply it twice a day; it won’t leave a scar.”

Chu Ci took the ointment and walked out with Jian Sui.

The sky was completely dark. A driver had arrived, and the two sat in the back. Looking at Jian Sui beside her, Chu Ci felt an immense ache in her heart.

“It’s all in the past.”