The Sickly Girl Becomes a Scum Alpha - Chapter 45

When Chu Ci arrived at Chu Xiong’s office, she found that he had clearly rushed back from abroad in a hurry. He was still wearing golfing attire, and she guessed his jet lag hadn’t even worn off yet.

Recalling what Cao Xi had said yesterday, Chu Ci was mentally prepared.

Chu Xiong pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the daughter standing before him. This girl was already vastly different from the one in his memory; her previous sharp and arrogant edge had been entirely retracted, replaced by a calm, steady gaze that held an unfathomable depth one dared not underestimate.

“Was the Shengyun matter your doing?”

“Yes.”

As expected. Chu Ci knew there was no need for an investigation. Her high-profile visit yesterday, combined with Jian Sui becoming the Chairperson of Shengyun Investment, was all out in the open. She admitted it candidly.

Chu Xiong was relatively satisfied with her accountability, but he didn’t forget his objective. “You took over Shengyun just to give it to Jian Sui?”

“Of course not. I just gave it to her as a side thought. Initially, I simply felt that having Shengyun in Zhao Zhu’s hands was a waste of resources.”

Since her initial move against Shengyun wasn’t because of Jian Sui, Chu Ci naturally wouldn’t let Jian Sui take the fall. “Later, when I asked Jian Sui to give up Bamboo Dream Original, she agreed without hesitation to stay home and focus on me. Since that’s the case, I couldn’t treat her poorly.”

Chu Ci felt every word she spoke was true; only the chronological order of reality was slightly different.

“Then what position did you arrange for Jian Sui at Shengyun?” A look of scrutiny flashed in Chu Xiong’s eyes.

“No position. She only takes dividends. Tang Ze handles the management.”

Chu Ci had known this day would come, so she hadn’t let Jian Sui officially join the staff. Tang Ze remained the General Manager; she had more experience, and Jian Sui could learn and train by her side.

Chu Xiong looked at Chu Ci in silence for a long time, as if doubting or verifying her words. An oppressive atmosphere filled the room, but Chu Ci appeared entirely unaffected. After a long while, he spoke again. “Was Zhao Zhu’s situation in Cantras also your doing?”

Chu Xiong seemed very displeased, but Chu Ci knew what kind of person he was. In the original novel, Chu Xiong had praised the original host for taking down a project through illegal means, proving he didn’t care about legality.

Furthermore, judging by his true attitude toward Zhao Zhu, he didn’t seem to care about her much at all.

If there was one thing he might be angry about, it was likely that the situation was too messy, and the Chu family’s internal strife becoming public made him lose face.

In short, his displeasure was likely an act, which meant he was testing Chu Ci. She had no idea what Qian Quan’s group had done.

Her mind whirred. She told the truth and denied it, but mere denial wasn’t enough; she had to find a suitable reason.

“That wasn’t me. It was likely Qian Quan and his group. That kind of tactic leaves too many openings; the risk outweighs the gain.”

Chu Ci lowered her eyes slightly. This still wasn’t enough.

Sure enough, Chu Xiong wasn’t satisfied. “So our Chu family just gave them all that money for nothing?”

“The Chu family didn’t give it; Zhao Zhu did. I have no hobby for cleaning up other people’s messes.”

Chu Ci looked up at Chu Xiong, her tone equally filled with dissatisfaction.

The two faced off, neither yielding.

[Ding! Plot progress +2! Current score is 5/100. Host, please keep up the good work!]

The sudden notification startled Chu Ci. What did I do? Why did the plot line jump?

While she was confused, Chu Xiong spoke again. “You’re right. Zhao Zhu is no longer part of the Chu family, so the Chu family shouldn’t bear this loss.”

As he said this, the ruthlessness on Chu Xiong’s face was as if he were disposing of a common object.

Before Chu Ci could analyze this, her phone chimed with a notification. She glanced at Chu Xiong and then at her phone.

1.3 billion yuan had just been deposited into her account.

Barely suppressing the shock in her eyes, Chu Ci guessed something. She tried to maintain a calm gaze and asked casually, “What happened to Zhao Zhu?”

“Divorced,” Chu Xiong said airily. “You received your money, right? That ‘killing with a borrowed knife’ move was well played, but don’t borrow my knife so casually in the future.”

“Yes, I’ll be more careful.”

Chu Ci was nearly unable to control her expression. She lowered her head and acknowledged him submissively.

“Go back to your work.”

The displeasure on Chu Xiong’s face vanished. He didn’t look like someone who had just gotten a divorce at all.

Emerging from Chu Xiong’s office, his phrase “killing with a borrowed knife” made her realize the situation.

Chu Xiong had clearly misunderstood her intent. Her elaborate efforts were only meant to cut off Zhao Zhu’s financial source and teach her a lesson. She hadn’t expected it to trigger such a chain of events—that Zhao Zhu was such a compulsive gambler she would create such a massive mess.

By cutting off her funds, Chu Ci had essentially sent a gambler to the table with a mountain of gold. Previously, the people at Shengyun restricted her spending and filled her bottomless pit, but this time, Chu Ci had personally sent her to a dead end.

Unless one is a “god of gamblers,” the more chips a gambler has, the more insane they become, and the worse the backlash—eventually leading only to death.

Clearly, Zhao Zhu was the latter. After reaching a dead end, she had pinned her hopes on Chu Xiong, her husband. But she hadn’t expected that with Chu Xiong’s cold-bloodedness, he would only send her away sooner.

Chu Ci felt a chill in her limbs. Chu Xiong thought she had designed all of this, which was why he had tested her earlier—and why he was clearly satisfied afterward.

Truly a psychopath.

In the descending elevator, Chu Ci recalled a plot point from the novel. Since the original host could even kill a child like Chu You, she certainly wouldn’t have shown mercy to Zhao Zhu.

In the original story, however, Zhao Zhu’s death happened later. The original host first killed Chu You and watched Zhao Zhu go mad. When the time was right, she used Zhao Zhu’s death to pull Chu Xiong down and seize the Chu Group…

It was chilling to the core.

Chu Ci didn’t even know how she got back to her office. She was dazed and out of sorts, only coming back to herself when she saw Jian Sui. She forced a smile and sat silently on the sofa.

There was no way Jian Sui could miss Chu Ci’s abnormality. Knowing Chu Xiong had called her, she grew even more worried. Sitting beside her, she looked at her pale face. “What happened?”

“Chu Xiong and Zhao Zhu are divorced.”

What Chu Ci didn’t say was that Zhao Zhu might already be dead, as the plot progress had even been reported. She remembered the last jump was when she first joined the company.

Because she didn’t explain clearly, Jian Sui was even more confused. How could a divorce between Chu Xiong and Zhao Zhu leave Chu Ci in this state?

Just as Jian Sui was trying to gather some useful information, Chu Ci’s phone rang. It was an unknown number. Chu Ci answered it; the original host hadn’t been in the habit of saving contacts, not even for people like Jiang Xun.

The moment the call connected, chaotic noise came from the other side.

“Chu Ci! Save me!”

The voice startled Chu Ci. She looked at her phone suspiciously. “Zhao Zhu?”

She’s not dead?

“It’s me! I’m in Snami now, save me quickly… I’m going to die!”

Zhao Zhu seemed surprised that Chu Ci even answered. Hearing her voice, it was as if she had grabbed a final lifeline.

“Don’t panic. Tell me your exact location and the situation. What’s going on?”

Chu Ci came back to her senses, feeling somewhat relieved. No one died because of me. Thank goodness.

“I only know this place is called Snami. I can’t understand the language here. I don’t know anything, and the way they look at me is wrong… Chu Ci, you have to come save me…”

Voices from others talking nearby came through, and Zhao Zhu’s voice dropped instantly. She didn’t dare speak.

Chu Ci frowned. “I understand what they’re saying. Don’t hang up.”

“Mhm!” Zhao Zhu immediately understood and quietly turned her phone toward the speakers to capture the audio better.

“Was this woman sent here for free? Has the Boss seen her yet?”

“The Boss is out, but if he doesn’t want her, she’s ours. I’ve never seen such a beautiful woman!”

“Keep a close eye on her. Don’t let her run. Though she looks pretty stupid; she doesn’t even know to run.”

“She can’t run. Our Qi Dian terrain is so complex even our own people can’t get out, let alone a woman. If our Black Beast Base couldn’t even trap a woman, how could we be the overlords of Qi Dian!”

“True!”

The conversation continued with a heavy accent that was hard to decipher, but the key information was clear. Chu Ci hadn’t expected Chu Xiong to be so ruthless—sending his own wife to such a place.

The only good news was that they wouldn’t touch Zhao Zhu until their “Boss” returned. But no one knew when that would be.

“Don’t panic yet. I’ll find a way. Call me again if anything happens.”

“Chu Ci, I was wrong,” Zhao Zhu didn’t dare speak loudly, sobbing into her hand as she confessed. “I targeted you before, I’ll never dare to again. Please save me. There’s no way to charge my phone here; I have less than 10% battery…”

“I’ll be as fast as I can.” Chu Ci’s face was solemn as she hung up.

Jian Sui had overheard some of it and recognized it was a minority language, though she didn’t know the meaning. She looked at Chu Ci in confusion.

“After the divorce, Chu Xiong dumped Zhao Zhu in Snami. She’s now in a place called Qi Dian, held by an organization called Black Beast. I don’t know exactly what happened, but we have to find a way to get her out.”

Confirming Zhao Zhu was alive brought Chu Ci’s soul back to her body. If she had truly caused someone’s death, she didn’t know if she could ever live with herself.

Jian Sui was surprised that Chu Ci could actually understand such a rare language, but then she frowned. “An organization like that must be illegal, right?”

Chu Ci nodded. She was thinking: What are the chances of success if I ask Chu Xiong directly to bring her back?

Probably zero.

This place was in a remote corner of another continent, near the “gambling city” of Cantras. It had always been a haven for crime, crawling with different factions. If that lackey wasn’t bragging, they were one of the most powerful local groups.

It was tricky. The safest way would be to negotiate with their boss through a middleman, but who knew what kind of person the boss was?

While Chu Ci was thinking, Jian Sui seemed to remember something. She searched her phone and confirmed it. “Shengyun Investment once had an investment in Snami. That place has rich and diverse ore reserves at low prices. The person Shengyun traded with was a local… well, a General. He should have some influence.”

Though she didn’t know the relationship between him and the Black Beast boss, Snami was small; they were bound to know each other.

Chu Ci hadn’t expected to find a connection. She quickly had Jian Sui ask Tang Ze; even a sliver of hope was good.

Since it was a matter of life and death, Jian Sui called Tang Ze immediately.

Having just collaborated with Snami and having traveled there personally, Tang Ze listened to the situation. “Black Beast is indeed a major local power head. It shouldn’t be a huge problem. Leave it to me; I’ll see if I can have her transferred out.”

To be honest, Tang Ze was both surprised and not surprised. She wasn’t surprised Zhao Zhu had ruined herself to this extent, but she was surprised Chu Ci was willing to save her. Tang Ze felt that, for herself, she would likely have just watched coldly. But since Chu Ci had asked, she would do her best.

Jian Sui hung up and looked at Chu Ci. “Don’t worry too much. Based on the timing, Zhao Zhu has probably only been there for less than half a day. She’ll be fine for now.”

Chu Ci shook her head. “I’m not worried for her sake. I just can’t accept someone losing their life because of me. Zhao Zhu is detestable, but she doesn’t deserve to die.” Not to mention a fate worse than death in a place like that.

Jian Sui understood. Chu Ci was always soft-hearted; she couldn’t just stand by. Zhao Zhu was lucky her time wasn’t up yet.

As they spoke, an assistant came in to remind them that Bai Qingqing had arrived.

It was a truly busy day. Thinking of their scheduled itinerary, Chu Ci nodded and stood up. Jian Sui rose as well. “I’ll go with you.”

“Okay. I’ll call Cao Xi and have her join us too.”

Chu Ci rubbed her temples. She remembered to call Cao Xi because she didn’t have the original host’s memories. Returning to her “alma mater” alone would be impossible to manage.

Just as she finished the call, Bai Qingqing came up. She looked at Jian Sui beside Chu Ci. “Ms. Jian is here too?”

Chu Ci stood between them, wanting to limit their interaction. “Yes. Shall we head out now?”

“Fine. The Principal has already reached out to me. Everything is ready.” Bai Qingqing nodded at Jian Sui with a smile, and the three went downstairs.

Two luxury cars set off one after the other, heading straight for Cosleto Secondary School. When they arrived, the Principal and others were waiting at the entrance.

However, beside the Principal was a familiar figure. Cao Xi stood there with a wide grin, waving at them. “What a coincidence! I felt like visiting our alma mater today on a whim, only to hear you were coming too, Chu darling. We really are in sync!”

Admittedly, Cao Xi’s acting was as terrible as ever. Chu Ci nearly couldn’t hold it together as she watched Cao Xi push the Principal aside to enthusiastically shake hands with her and Jian Sui.

After her warm welcome, Cao Xi turned to Bai Qingqing. Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of pure disdain. “Oh, you’re here too?”

Bai Qingqing’s expression remained perfectly unchanged. In response to Cao Xi’s cold shoulder, she gave a light laugh and spoke in an incredibly “sweet” tone—

“Heh. What kind of filth is talking?”

Chu Ci quickly grabbed the explosive Cao Xi, wiping away a non-existent sweat from her forehead. Was this attempt a bit too bold? These two together might not have time to reminisce, but they might actually start a fight.