The Sickly Girl Becomes a Scum Alpha - Chapter 7

Bright morning light streamed in from the bedroom’s balcony window. The sun was already high in the sky when Jian Sui finally opened her eyes.

She hadn’t slept at all on her wedding night, and then had spent the day searching for Chu Ci and enduring punishment at the ancestral hall, so she was making up for it now by sleeping in. But the person beside her, Chu Ci, showed no signs of waking up; she was in a deep sleep.

Jian Sui quietly got out of bed, careful not to wake her since Chu Ci had been so considerate last night. After a quick wash, she headed out, knowing that even though the wedding was over, she still had work to do.

But Jian Sui, focused on being considerate, didn’t notice Chu Ci’s abnormally flushed face as she lay with her back to her. Even her breathing was hot.

Unaware of this, Jian Sui drove to her company’s building. Thanks to her marriage into the Chu family, her company, which had been on the verge of bankruptcy, was revived overnight. The employees in the building were all beaming with joy, and cooperation offers were pouring in from all sides.

The influence of the Chu family was truly extraordinary. Seeing the scene before her, Jian Sui felt relieved. As the saying goes, it’s good to have a big tree to lean on. Even if the upper-class social circles didn’t accept her as the Chu family’s young mistress, the convenience in the middle-class business world was enough to take her company to the next level.

After greeting her employees, Jian Sui went into her office to handle the backlog of documents.

She had barely sat down when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

“Ms. Jian, you’re a busy woman.”

The person who entered wore black-rimmed glasses and a sharp business suit. It was Jian Sui’s good friend, Zhao Rong, who was also the company’s second-in-command and Jian Sui’s right-hand woman.

Seeing that it was Zhao Rong, Jian Sui pinched her brow and put down her documents, her expression relaxing significantly. “I have to deal with things you can make decisions on yourself, so of course I’m busy.”

“Do your own work,” Zhao Rong said with a smile, sitting across from Jian Sui and carefully looking her over. “You seem to be in good spirits. Are you holding up okay?”

At Jian Sui and Chu Ci’s wedding, the Chu family had separated the two sides’ banquets for “customary reasons,” so Jian Sui’s family wasn’t present when she was being difficult. Zhao Rong had no idea what had happened either.

However, before seeing Jian Sui, she had been very worried. They had all expected a difficult life for her in the Chu family, but unfortunately, there was no other way to save the company. Now that she saw Jian Sui still looking vibrant, she finally felt relieved.

Jian Sui always shared good news and kept the bad to herself. And since her situation in the Chu family was much better than she had expected, she readily nodded. “Everything’s fine.”

“Good. Just keep a level head. Let Chu Ci do whatever she wants outside. You just ignore her completely. Think of it as a good thing that you don’t have to worry about her.”

Zhao Rong didn’t know about the wedding day, but she had seen the news about Chu Ci not coming home on her wedding night. She also knew that Jian Sui had no feelings for Chu Ci; it was just a matter of face. So she offered words of comfort.

When Chu Ci was mentioned, Jian Sui hesitated. “Actually, she… she’s not like the rumors.”

“What’s so different? Is she even more awful?” Zhao Rong scoffed. “My imagination is limited; I can’t even picture what that would look like. Tell me all about it.”

“No, she’s actually a good person.”

Jian Sui said this truthfully.

Zhao Rong’s jaw dropped. “Do you know what you’re saying? Chu Ci? A good person? Are you okay?”

The four quick questions showed that Zhao Rong thought she might be hallucinating.

Jian Sui understood Zhao Rong’s disbelief, as she had felt the same way before. But seeing was believing. “Maybe Chu Ci is a little high-profile and flashy, but there’s nothing wrong with her. She’s also very good to me.”

“Blink twice if they’re holding you hostage.”

Jian Sui: “…”

Zhao Rong confirmed multiple times that Jian Sui was neither being coerced nor lying but was speaking the truth.

Although she still found it hard to believe, she reluctantly accepted the fact. “So, what have you decided? Are you really going to spend your life with her?”

“No. This is just a passing phase for her. It won’t last long.”

Jian Sui answered quickly. Chu Ci was indeed a better person than she had expected, but there was no love between them. They were not meant to be together forever. Their relationship was a whim of Chu Ci’s, and she could lose interest and get a divorce any day now. This was a shared belief among everyone.

Thinking of this, Jian Sui felt a strange tightness in her chest.

“That’s good. I was worried you would fall for her. You have to know, there’s no such thing as true love in a powerful family like the Chus. Don’t be fooled by her temporary act.”

Zhao Rong reminded Jian Sui. Her friend was great in every way but completely clueless about relationships. Going up against a seasoned veteran like Chu Ci could lead to heartbreak.

“I know.”

Jian Sui’s voice was muffled. She felt that Chu Ci was different from the others, but she knew Zhao Rong probably wouldn’t believe it.

Just then, Jian Sui’s phone rang. She glanced at it. It was Butler Sun.

What could he want?

She answered the call while thinking. “Hello?”

“Young Mistress, you should come back home. The young lady has a high fever.”

The voice on the other end was full of annoyance, as if blaming Jian Sui for not taking care of Chu Ci.

But Jian Sui had no time to worry about that. She remembered Chu Ci’s cold shower last night. That must have been when she caught a cold.

“I’ll be right there.”

She hung up, grabbed her coat, and prepared to leave.

Zhao Rong was startled by Jian Sui’s serious demeanor and quickly stood up. “What’s wrong?”

“Chu Ci has a fever. I have to go back. The company is in your hands.”

After saying this quickly, Jian Sui hurried out.

Zhao Rong stared at Jian Sui’s retreating back in confusion. “A fever?”

What was the big deal about an adult having a fever? Seeing Jian Sui so worried, you’d think Chu Ci was a toddler!

Zhao Rong furrowed her brows in concern. It felt like her friend was falling for it after only one day.

Meanwhile, Chu Ci was lying in bed at the Chu family mansion, a needle stuck in her pale, slender wrist as she painfully endured the nagging system in her mind.

If this sudden high fever had happened to the original Chu Ci, it would have been enough to kill her. Even now, it was extremely dangerous. If the system hadn’t detected an anomaly in Chu Ci’s vitals, she probably would have left this world in her sleep.

[Do you know how many points I used to pull you back from the gates of hell?! I threw in all my life savings! You owe me for years of hard work!]

Chu Ci: …Electronic life savings?

[Can you earn them back?]

[Yes. Torment the female lead and fulfill the original host’s twisted persona.] The system perked up, trying to coax Chu Ci. [If you complete the plot, you get your health back, and I get my points. It’s a win-win for both of us! What a great deal!]

[No way.]

Without thinking, Chu Ci refused. She was a person with her own principles.

[…Then we’ll both die together!]

The enraged system threw out that last sentence and disappeared from Chu Ci’s mind. If it had a physical body, it would have kicked Chu Ci before it left.

The world went quiet. Chu Ci’s guilt toward the system was fleeting. Despite everything, the system had saved her this time. If its demands weren’t so outrageous, she wouldn’t have refused so vehemently.

Lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, Chu Ci heard the door open. She looked over and saw a little boy, about seven or eight years old, walk in.

This was the original host’s younger brother. Although he was young, he was a bad kid. In the original novel, he and his mother did countless disgusting things. But he couldn’t get the better of the original host, so he turned his attention to Jian Sui. He was constantly making false accusations and framing her. Jian Sui suffered greatly because of him.

Thinking about this, Chu Ci couldn’t stand the sight of him.

Chu You wore a small suit vest. His clean face held a harmless, innocent smile. He looked like a sweet, well-behaved child, but the words that came out of his mouth were utterly malicious.

“So, you’re really weak, Sis?”

Chu Ci clenched her fists. For the first time, she had a tiny bit of sympathy for the original host. If the original host had heard that, she would have torn off Chu You’s skin.

“Don’t look at me like that. It just makes you look even more useless,” Chu You said, seeing Chu Ci glare at him. He became even more brazen, sitting on the edge of the bed and tugging on Chu Ci’s IV tube. He smiled with a punchable expression. “Mom said that the day I differentiate is the day you get kicked out of the Chu family.”

Chu Ci gritted her teeth and closed her eyes to avoid looking at him. No wonder the original host didn’t let him live long enough to differentiate. With a thoughtless brat like him, he deserved everything he got.

“Say something! Do you think not talking will make it go away?”

Seeing that Chu Ci was silent, Chu You went a step further and tugged on the IV tube. The needle in Chu Ci’s vein wiggled.

The sharp pain made Chu Ci look at Chu You with uncontainable anger. She was about to say something when a wave of coppery sweetness rose in her throat. She leaned over the side of the bed and spit out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing the fresh blood, Chu You was not scared. Instead, he got excited. The twisted gene in the Chu family bloodline was awakened. “You really are dying!”

“Bang!”

The room door was slammed open. Jian Sui stood in the doorway, glaring furiously at Chu You. She never thought the words “human nature is evil” would be so perfectly embodied by a Chu family member. How could a seven or eight-year-old child say something like that?!

Chu You was startled by Jian Sui, but then he crossed his arms nonchalantly. “What are you looking at, you country bumpkin?”

Hearing those words, Chu Ci’s brows furrowed. A surge of anger gave her a burst of energy from nowhere. She yanked out her IV, got up, and slapped Chu You across the face. Then she kicked him off the side of the bed.

She got off the bed and stepped on Chu You’s chest. Chu Ci bent down, grabbed his ear, and pulled it hard. With a terrifying look, she warned him, “You will call Jian Sui ‘Sister.’ If you ever say that again, we’ll see if your mother can protect you. I don’t think you’ve figured out who runs the Chu family.”

“Now, get out.”

She kicked Chu You one more time before letting go.

Chu You looked at Chu Ci with a mix of fear and resentment, then shoved past Jian Sui in the doorway and ran out. Soon, they could hear his wails from outside, probably going to his mom to complain.

Chu Ci sat on the edge of the bed, exhausted. Blood was flowing from the needle prick on her hand. The metallic taste in her mouth made her frown, and she covered her mouth, coughing a few times.

Jian Sui stood in the doorway, staring blankly at Chu Ci. She was shocked that Chu Ci had been indifferent when Chu You said she was dying, but she had gotten so angry just because he had called her a “country bumpkin.” Was she really that important to her?

Jian Sui slowly walked over to Chu Ci. Looking at the large puddle of blood on the floor, her heart ached as if it were being pricked with a needle. What was wrong with Chu Ci?

[Ding! Torment and Abuse progress +1! The current score is 2/100. Host, please keep up the good work!]