The Sickly Girl Becomes a Scum Alpha - Chapter 50

Chu Ci didn’t dare move an inch. She waited as the cold wet wipe gradually absorbed her own body heat. After an unknown amount of time, Jian Sui finally retracted her hand.

Just as Chu Ci was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Jian Sui reached out to straighten Chu Ci’s collar. “When others get close, don’t you know how to dodge?”

“I just… didn’t react in time.”

Chu Ci looked at Jian Sui, who had her eyes downcast while fixing her collar, and gave her answer after a moment of thought.

Actually, it wasn’t exactly a failure to react. It was more that she was holding her ground and putting on a performance; she couldn’t show any weakness, so she hadn’t been able to worry about anything else.

Jian Sui seemed to let out a faint sigh. “What if this happens again in the future?”

“It won’t. There absolutely won’t be a next time.” Chu Ci felt she had been scared enough this time. If there were a next time, she’d just run the moment she saw Bai Qingqing.

Jian Sui was satisfied with Chu Ci’s proactive attitude in admitting her mistake.

“So, what was inside that iron box Bai Qingqing was holding?”

…

Chu Ci had thought no one noticed that detail, but it turned out Jian Sui had seen it after all.

She hesitated. She didn’t want to lie to Jian Sui, but this matter didn’t just involve herself—it also involved Bai Qingqing and Jiang Xun. She couldn’t just talk about it loosely.

Chu Ci’s expression of difficulty was too obvious. Jian Sui frowned slightly. “Is it something you can’t say?”

“Yes. It concerns Bai Qingqing’s personal privacy,” Chu Ci said. Feeling that sounded a bit ambiguous, she added, “But it has nothing to do with romance or anything like that. Really. I didn’t have any feelings for her beyond a normal range in the past.”

Purely calculated matters shouldn’t count as romance, right?

“I believe you.”

To Chu Ci’s surprise, Jian Sui didn’t press her further.

Since Jian Sui trusted her so much, even as a wife in name only, Chu Ci felt she should give Jian Sui some assurance. Not cheating was a matter of basic morality.

“Don’t worry, I know how to handle this. This won’t happen again, and I’ll keep my distance from Bai Qingqing.”

Looking at Jian Sui earnestly, Chu Ci felt that Jian Sui likely shared this sentiment. After all, regardless of which side cheated, it would look bad for both of them, and the gossip would surely cause a huge impact.

Chu Ci’s combination of docility and honest, serious attitude made Jian Sui’s initial anger deflate like a punctured balloon. Especially seeing the damp marks on the side of Chu Ci’s face that hadn’t been wiped away yet, it looked as if she had been bullied.

Seeing Chu Ci’s eyes grow increasingly anxious because she remained silent, Jian Sui felt she looked even more pitiful.

Pulling out a tissue, she helped wipe Chu Ci’s face and put away her serious expression. “Today was my fault too.”

“It’s fine. I was too careless today.” Seeing Jian Sui say this, Chu Ci immediately waved her hand and took the tissue to wipe her face herself.

Jian Sui’s gaze, however, fell on Chu Ci’s raised hand. The small scratches on her palm were red and swollen; they weren’t obvious unless one looked closely, but such injuries would sting like fire.

Frowning, she took Chu Ci’s hand. “How did your hand get hurt?”

“I accidentally tripped. I caught myself on a tree and scratched it. It’s nothing.” Chu Ci only just remembered this. Now that she noticed, her palm felt hot, stinging, and itchy, but it wasn’t severe enough to be a real problem.

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left you alone. Where else did you fall?”

Hearing that Chu Ci had fallen, Jian Sui immediately became tense, pulling Chu Ci’s arm to check if she was injured anywhere else.

Chu Ci assumed she understood the reason for Jian Sui’s earlier seriousness—it turned out Jian Sui saw Chu Ci as her responsibility. Just as Cao Xi knew Bai Qingqing was dangerous and constantly tried to guard against her, Jian Sui was the same.

“I didn’t fall down, I caught myself. I’m not hurt,” Chu Ci said, unable to bear Jian Sui’s self-reproach. She took Jian Sui’s hand in return. “Don’t blame yourself because of me, otherwise I’ll feel bad too. Jian Sui, I’ve already caused you too much trouble.”

Chu Ci’s smile held a trace of helplessness and apology. In any world, her body was a burden to those around her. In her previous life, since she was a child, her parents had flown back from out of town countless times, staying by her hospital bed all night. As she grew up, others became their parents’ pride, while her parents’ only hope for her was that she simply stay alive—and she hadn’t even managed that.

It seemed to be the same in this world. Jian Sui was so busy, yet she had to worry about Chu Ci’s three meals a day and accompany her everywhere, unable to even focus on her work.

Fortunately, she wouldn’t be a burden to Jian Sui for much longer.

Chu Ci’s smile made Jian Sui’s heart stop for a moment. She had a bad premonition, and her heart ached with a dull pain.

A knock came from the door. There was a routine meeting for the Project Department in the afternoon that Chu Ci needed to attend.

As Chu Ci rose to leave, Jian Sui couldn’t help but feel a surge of panic. She reached out to grab Chu Ci’s arm. “It’s not a trouble. Don’t say things like that again.”

Chu Ci nodded with a smile. Seeing that Jian Sui still looked worried and upset, she gave her a light hug. “I’m going now.”

Releasing her hand, Chu Ci went out for the meeting.

Having been reluctantly comforted by Chu Ci, Jian Sui had not yet sat down when her phone rang again.

It was Tang Ze.

“Things have been handled over there. They’ve met up with our people in Cantras and will be boarding the plane shortly. Do we need to arrange someone for a pickup?”

“Arrange it.” Jian Sui lowered her eyes. “I’ll ask Chu Ci where to take her and call you back.”

“Understood.”

Hanging up, the resolution of this matter was a weight off her mind.

The meeting ended; it was just a routine report on work progress. The managers could run things smoothly even when Chu Ci wasn’t there, and it was the same now.

As Chu Ci stepped out of the conference room, her phone rang. It was another unknown number.

Last time was Zhao Zhu; who was it this time?

She answered the call. Before she could speak, a voice came through.

“Ci, why didn’t you tell me when you ran into trouble? A quick word with Black Beast would have handled it. I heard you even made a deal with them to get her out? Did you lose out on the deal?”

The woman on the other end couldn’t hide her concern despite her grumbling.

Chu Ci looked at her phone suspiciously. Which big shot is this?

She suddenly remembered the original host’s network mentioned in the novel—the kind where a single phone call could settle anything.

What was wrong with the original host? How could she not save the contact for someone this important? Now, Chu Ci didn’t even know what to call her!