The Sickly Girl Becomes a Scum Alpha - Chapter 49

With all the work completed, it was time for the group to leave the school.

Cao Xi looked at Chu Ci, who was still oblivious to the danger, and then at Jian Sui, who seemed even angrier because of a few things she had said. Her sense of guilt told her she couldn’t just stir up trouble and run.

So, just as Chu Ci was about to get into her car, Cao Xi grabbed her and pulled her into her own vehicle instead.

Chu Ci was completely dazed. “What are you doing?”

“Friend, I am saving you,” Cao Xi whispered to her, then looked out at Jian Sui. “Jian Sui, you go ahead and get busy. I’m borrowing Chu darling for a bit; I’ll send her back to you later.”

Having said that, Cao Xi immediately drove away with Chu Ci.

Chu Ci watched Jian Sui grow smaller in the rearview mirror, still not quite understanding the situation. “Cao Silly, what are you doing? I’m not done with my work yet; I need to go back to the office. Send me back, quick.”

“Stop worrying about those trivial matters at the office. Can you please handle the crisis right in front of you first?” Cao Xi looked at Chu Ci with exasperated disappointment, unable to believe her friend was thinking about work at a time like this. “I’m finding a place so we can have a proper talk.”

“What crisis? What are we talking about?”

Chu Ci, who had already convinced herself that Jian Sui wasn’t angry, had no idea how serious the problem was. She was even more puzzled by Cao Xi’s interference.

Ignoring Chu Ci’s questions, Cao Xi drove directly to her own place.

Cao Xi had long ago tired of the rules at her family home and had moved out to live alone. She owned a massive luxury flat in Jiangcheng’s most expensive residential district.

Taking the elevator up, Chu Ci wasn’t certain it was Cao Xi’s home until the door opened—primarily because of the giant portrait of Cao Xi at the entrance. No one but a narcissist like her would do that.

“Why did you bring me to your house?”

“I have to tell you a secret today, otherwise you’re finished.” Cao Xi kicked off her shoes at the door and spoke to Chu Ci solemnly.

“Say it, then.” Chu Ci frowned, unsure if Cao Xi was being dramatic or if it was something substantial.

Cao Xi was about to go fetch something, but she turned back just as she reached the study. “Sit down. First, promise me that you won’t get too angry after you see this. Otherwise, I’ll just take you to the hospital before I show you.”

“What could it possibly be? Are you going to tell me or not? If not, I’m leaving.” Chu Ci felt that if Cao Xi was trying to build suspense, she had done enough.

“One last question: is there really nothing between you and Bai Qingqing?” Cao Xi was struggling with herself, hesitating repeatedly.

Chu Ci recalled the surgical form and that headache-inducing promise. While she couldn’t account for the original host, she herself certainly had no improper relationship with Bai Qingqing. “No. What could I possibly have with her?”

“Fine, I’ll believe you this time,” Cao Xi said, though she clearly wasn’t entirely convinced. “Next time you answer, don’t use a rhetorical question. It’s a sign of a guilty conscience.”

Chu Ci: …Go to hell!

She stood up to leave, but Cao Xi grabbed her firmly and pressed her back onto the sofa.

“Wait a second. I’m going to get something for you. After you see it, stay the hell away from Bai Qingqing.” Seeing that Chu Ci’s last bit of patience was about to evaporate, Cao Xi steeled herself. She stopped hiding and ran to the study, bringing back a file box.

Chu Ci looked at the box handed to her. “Do I open it?”

Cao Xi nodded heavily. “Prepare yourself mentally. Whatever you do, do not get angry. Think of your health; it’s not worth getting angry over this.”

The more she spoke, the more mysterious it became. Chu Ci, not believing in ghosts or legends, reached out and snapped the box open.

Clack!

Chu Ci closed it again immediately. “What is this?”

Cao Xi shrugged. “It’s exactly what you saw.”

Chu Ci looked at Cao Xi for confirmation, then slammed the box onto the coffee table with a dark expression. “I have no interest in looking at your ‘artistic’ boudoir photos.”

“Huh?” Cao Xi froze, then hurriedly opened it to check. “Oops! Wrong one! Hehe!”

Chu Ci held her forehead; Cao Xi was giving her a headache.

Cao Xi rushed back to the study and swapped it for another. This time she cautiously opened it herself to check. “This is the one, this is the one.”

What was placed before Chu Ci this time was a diary. Chu Ci looked at Cao Xi suspiciously. “You have a habit of keeping a diary?”

“What? No, this belongs to Bai Qingqing’s roommate!” Cao Xi denied quickly.

Chu Ci: …

Cao Xi hurriedly opened it for her. “Read it before you say anything. This Bai Qingqing has been up to no good regarding you since she was a kid. Her roommate wrote it all down—Bai Qingqing had designs on you and wanted to harm you!”

As someone who had read the original novel, Chu Ci knew quite well how Bai Qingqing “had designs” on the original host. “First, tell me how you got this diary.”

Cao Xi was frustrated that Chu Ci’s focus was so skewed, but she explained anyway. “During our second year of high school, weren’t there a ton of rumors about you? They were incredibly nasty. You were too lazy to care, but I couldn’t stand it. I had people investigate where the rumors were coming from and traced them back to Bai Qingqing’s roommate. She was a pushover; she flipped immediately and told me she’d recorded everything Bai Qingqing did. She just gave me the diary. It details exactly how Bai Qingqing had her spread those rumors and many other plans—all to ruin you. I just didn’t expect you to be so thick-skinned that you weren’t affected at all.”

Recalling the rumors of that time, Cao Xi finished her reminiscing and looked at the unmoved Chu Ci. “You don’t mean to tell me you don’t even remember such a big thing?”

Chu Ci blinked. “Mhm.”

Cao Xi: …Beautiful.

“Anyway, take this as a warning. Even when we were just kids, Bai Qingqing was capable of being this malicious and using such underhanded tactics against you. The idea of destroying you just to have you is a move I wouldn’t even dare pull now. Tsk, who knows what she’s evolved into now? Just stay away from her. Don’t get entangled. Just stay with Jian Sui. Jian Sui is so good to you…”

Cao Xi had always considered herself a broad-minded person who rarely hated anyone; Bai Qingqing was the sole exception. Before she knew the truth, she had ignored Bai Qingqing’s inexplicable hostility, figuring it was just inevitable jealousy. But when she learned all that hostility stemmed from a possessive desire for Chu Ci—that Bai Qingqing just couldn’t stand seeing Cao Xi by Chu Ci’s side every day—Cao Xi exploded.

Crucially, to knock the most popular girl in school off her pedestal so that fewer people would like her, Bai Qingqing had resorted to slander and defamation. Such a poisonous approach had left an indelible scar on Cao Xi’s young mind. Because of this, Cao Xi had fully turned against her.

At the time, Cao Xi had thought about telling Chu Ci the truth. But considering how terrible it was—and that Chu Ci and Bai Qingqing were friends then—she worried about how much it would hurt Chu Ci. So, she decided to bear the burden of the “injury” alone.

She had hidden this secret for years. Later, after Bai Qingqing’s “incident,” Cao Xi thought the day would never come when Chu Ci would need to know. But unexpectedly, not only was Bai Qingqing back, she was getting “involved” with Chu Ci again.

Now was the time for the secret to see the light of day—to let Chu Ci see Bai Qingqing’s true face and stay away from that terrifying person!

Cao Xi went from an impassioned critique of Bai Qingqing to a heartfelt, earnest plea, but she realized that after talking for so long, Chu Ci had no reaction.

“Are you even listening to me?”

Chu Ci was flipping through the diary. This roommate was interesting; the diary wasn’t about herself at all—it was entirely about Bai Qingqing. The entries spanned over a year or two.

“Yes.”

Interrupted by Cao Xi, Chu Ci closed the diary and answered while rubbing her temples. She reached out and patted Cao Xi’s head with pity. She didn’t know how Cao Xi would feel if she found out that while she was carefully protecting her friend’s “innocent mind,” her friend was actually darker than the person she considered most evil.

“Hey, what’s with that look?” Cao Xi huffed and slapped Chu Ci’s hand away.

“I understand. I won’t have any improper relationship with Bai Qingqing. You can rest assured on that point.” Chu Ci felt it was best if Cao Xi never knew the truth. She pulled the topic back.

“That’s more like it,” Cao Xi said, feeling gratified that her persuasion had brought Chu Ci back from the brink. “Now go back and give Jian Sui a proper apology and explanation. The fact that she’s still willing to cook for you proves she has you in her heart far too much. Don’t let her heart grow cold over this.”

Chu Ci felt that if anyone else heard Cao Xi, they would think she had been possessed. She was actually speaking like a sensible human being.

“I know. Take me to the office; I really have things to do.” Chu Ci stood up and picked up the diary. “I’m taking this with me. You have no use for it anymore, right?”

“Take it, take it. I’ll drive you.”

On the way, Chu Ci was still reading the diary, making Cao Xi frown. “What is so interesting about that thing?”

“You never read it closely?” Chu Ci asked without looking up.

“No. Why would I? It’s just evidence.” Cao Xi had only glanced at it when she first got it before tossing it into the box. She had no time for a deep dive.

“It’s useful to me.” Without the original host’s memories and with the novel being unreliable, Chu Ci wasn’t going to pass up a chance to understand the original novel’s biggest antagonist. More importantly, she was still burdened by that promise to Bai Qingqing; learning more might help her find another way out.

Cao Xi didn’t understand, so she just let her be.

When Chu Ci returned to the company, Jian Sui was in her office, sitting on the sofa and focused on her laptop. Tucking the diary away, Chu Ci looked at Jian Sui and thought about Cao Xi’s words. They did make some sense.

She and Jian Sui currently held the title of wives. If she didn’t offer an explanation after such an event, it would be a sign of extreme disrespect. Even if Jian Sui wasn’t angry, Chu Ci needed to show some awareness. This was a matter of mutual respect.

Steeling herself, Chu Ci stood up and moved to sit beside Jian Sui. “Are you busy?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Chu Ci felt like an idiot. Initiating conversation was truly difficult.

To her surprise, upon hearing Chu Ci’s voice, Jian Sui snapped her laptop shut. She turned calmly to Chu Ci. “I’m not busy.”

“Uh…” Under Jian Sui’s gaze, Chu Ci immediately became nervous. The words she had prepared came out stuttered. “I… wanted to explain… about the thing with Bai Qingqing… the situation then… uh…”

Staring directly into Jian Sui’s eyes, Chu Ci’s mind went blank. What exactly happened back then?

While Chu Ci was still racking her brain, Jian Sui reached out and gripped Chu Ci’s hand. “Like this?”

“…Mhm.” Chu Ci felt something was off, but that was roughly how it was.

Jian Sui leaned in closer. Chu Ci was forced to lean back against the sofa cushions, her eyes wide and frantic as she looked at the Jian Sui who was now inches away.

“And like this?”

Is Jian Sui reenacting the scene? Chu Ci, her back pressed tight against the sofa, gave a small nod.

Jian Sui seemed to give a nearly imperceptible smile, but it was one that made Chu Ci feel a slight chill.

“And was it also like this?”

As she spoke, Jian Sui’s other hand moved to Chu Ci’s face, tracing the spot Bai Qingqing had touched, rubbing it as if trying to erase something.

The weak, helpless, and pitiable Chu Ci blinked repeatedly. Although Jian Sui’s hand was warm—unlike Bai Qingqing’s, which felt like a cold snake—why did this tone make her skin crawl so much?

“Was it like this?” Jian Sui asked again.

Chu Ci nodded slightly, not daring to move an inch. Their posture was such that Jian Sui was almost completely pressing Chu Ci into the sofa, far more intimate than Bai Qingqing had been. Their bodies were nearly flush against each other. “Was it like this?”

Chu Ci shook her head nervously. She and Bai Qingqing had been standing face-to-face with an iron box between them, at least twenty or thirty centimeters apart. “Not this close…”

“Oh.”

Upon hearing the answer, Jian Sui responded calmly but did not retreat. Instead, she stared intently at Chu Ci, her hand still slowly rubbing Chu Ci’s face. Watching Chu Ci’s frantic, fearful, yet unmoving state, she finally seemed to confirm something.

“You really were unable to resist.”

A question mark appeared over Chu Ci’s head. What does that even mean?

Jian Sui didn’t answer. Maintaining her position, she reached out and pulled a wet wipe from the coffee table. She slowly wiped the area of Chu Ci’s face she had just been rubbing. The cold sensation made Chu Ci flinch slightly. She instinctively tried to turn her head away, but Jian Sui caught her chin and tilted it back.

“Don’t move.”