The Sickly Girl Becomes a Scum Alpha - Chapter 5

Chu Ci was woken up by a loud bang from outside.

“Is that an earthquake?”

Startled awake, she was still a little disoriented and looked up in a panic.

Jian Sui met her gaze and pointed toward the door.

Staring at Jian Sui, Chu Ci’s brain was still booting up. She blinked blankly. Who is this person? She looks familiar.

Jian Sui looked back at Chu Ci, equally confused. They stared at each other for a long time until Cao Xi, who had just kicked the ancestral hall door open with her head, broke the silence.

Chu Ci’s long-dormant brain finally recalled the situation. Right, I transmigrated into a novel. The person across from me is Jian Sui, the female lead, and we’re being punished together in the ancestral hall. The person who just came in is my current hanger-on, Cao Xi, and she’s here to bring us food.

Cao Xi looked incredibly disheveled. Her perfectly styled curls were messy and tangled with grass. Her red dress was torn to shreds, she only had one high heel left, and her body was covered in dirt and crushed grass stains. Her hands and face were splattered with black ink, making her look ready to beg with a broken bowl.

Chu Ci was shocked. “What happened to you?”

“You have the nerve to ask!”

Cao Xi was furious. She slapped two takeout containers on the table in front of Chu Ci, and then held up her ink-stained hands in an act of protest. “Look! This is what happened when I was trying to copy your stupid family rules. That darn fountain pen leaked all over me! And then you made me bring you food! Your family’s wall is so high, and the bottom is full of weeds! Your dad even planted a row of thorny bushes at the base!”

Chu Ci: “…”

Well, it makes sense. Cao Xi had been pampered her whole life. She probably hadn’t written a single word by hand since she was a kid, so it wasn’t surprising she didn’t know how to handle a fountain pen… But who climbs a wall in a dress and high heels?!

She held back her sarcasm. Chu Ci felt she should be grateful, as Cao Xi had done this for her. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“You…”

Cao Xi felt like she’d just punched a cotton ball. She had a whole list of angry words ready to unleash on Chu Ci, but then Chu Ci said “thank you,” and all the fight went out of her, like a deflated balloon. She stammered for a while before muttering, “When did you learn to speak like a normal person?”

Chu Ci offered her chair to Cao Xi. “Just pay someone to copy the family rules. The old man won’t check them one by one anyway. Take a break. Later, go to my room and pick out some clothes to change into. Use the main gate when you leave. Don’t climb the wall again.”

“Okay… um,” Cao Xi said, clearly uncomfortable as she sat down. She hesitated and glanced at Chu Ci. “Are you alright? Did your dad’s punishment turn you into a good person?”

Chu Ci finally remembered that she was supposed to be in character as the original host. She immediately sat down in the chair next to her, crossing her legs. “If you can’t say something useful, then don’t say anything at all. I’m only being nice because you worked so hard. You should appreciate it, understand?”

Cao Xi, on the other hand, let out a huge sigh of relief. “There, that’s more like it. You scared me just now.”

Chu Ci: …She’s a masochist, isn’t she?

Ignoring Cao Xi, Chu Ci’s mind was clear, and her stomach started rumbling again. She reached for one of the food containers Cao Xi had brought. What the—what’s with this pile of steaks?

“It’s from your favorite steakhouse in the north of the city. Five-minute steak, medium rare. Don’t worry, I got everything exactly how you like it.”

Cao Xi watched Chu Ci staring at the steaks and proudly waited for praise.

“Tell me, is a medium-rare steak that’s been stacked high in a sealed container for half an hour, shaken around, and steamed in its own heat, still delicious?”

It was hard to even think about eating it. Chu Ci put down her knife and fork.

“Hey! Don’t be so picky! I didn’t know any of that! Besides, I also brought you rice, didn’t I? Just mix it and eat it.”

Cao Xi pointed to the other container, which was full of white rice.

What a genius. Chu Ci looked at the bizarre combination. Fine, a beggar can’t be a chooser. “Alright, it’s good.”

She took three of the four steaks and put them over the rice, then used her fork to put a little rice on the last steak. Don’t ask why she used a fork; Cao Xi hadn’t brought chopsticks or a spoon.

She pushed the extra portion over to Jian Sui. Chu Ci ate her steak and rice with her knife and fork. It tasted surprisingly good.

“I can’t eat this much.”

Jian Sui looked at the food in front of her, ready to give some back to Chu Ci, but Chu Ci stopped her with a hand.

“Cough, cough!”

Slightly choked by a bit of pepper, Chu Ci lowered her head and coughed. “I can’t eat anymore.”

Jian Sui put down her utensils, frowned, and patted Chu Ci’s back. Unfortunately, there wasn’t even any water here.

Cao Xi, who was sitting next to them, looked back and forth. Her suspicion was almost tangible. Who are these two loving, harmonious partners in front of me?!

It was too strange.

To break the weird atmosphere, Cao Xi cleared her throat. “Ahem! Chu Ci, why did your dad punish you?”

“For not coming home on my wedding night. I even dragged Jian Sui into it,” Chu Ci said.

Jian Sui couldn’t help but look up at her.

Cao Xi didn’t notice. She just scratched her head in confusion. “That can’t be right. Your dad wouldn’t punish you for something so small.”

Then, Cao Xi realized her words were inappropriate in front of Jian Sui. “No, no, Jian Sui, that’s not what I meant. I meant that Uncle Chu is usually very lenient with Chu Ci. I wasn’t saying your marriage is a small thing.”

“It’s fine.”

Jian Sui gave a gentle smile. She knew everything already. Her marriage to the Chu family wasn’t just frowned upon by the entire upper class in Jiangcheng; even Chu Ci’s friends looked down on her. They all thought this was just another one of Chu Ci’s games, and it was only a matter of time before she got bored and kicked Jian Sui to the curb.

Faced with Jian Sui’s generosity and smile, Cao Xi felt a little embarrassed. Whether it was because of Chu Ci’s different attitude toward Jian Sui today or because she was looking at Jian Sui directly, the flippant things she used to say now made her feel a little guilty.

“Well, I’ll hurry and have someone finish copying the family rules for you. I’m leaving now. Call me if you need anything else.”

Cao Xi couldn’t take the feeling of being in the hot seat anymore, so she made an excuse and fled.

Jian Sui looked at Cao Xi’s retreating back. Was this clumsy person who scrambled over a wall just to bring her friend food, and then ran away in embarrassment, really the same person as the arrogant, unruly Cao family heir from the rumors?

She then looked at Chu Ci, who was eating seriously like a well-behaved child. Maybe you have to really get to know someone to see who they are. Rumors are always unreliable. Chu Ci is a lie, and so is Cao Xi.