After Becoming a Scummy Alpha, I Became a Slave to My Beloved Wife (GL) - Chapter 23

Soft lights glowed in the main hall of the Jiang estate. Jiang Nian sat upright on the sofa, hands resting on her knees like a schoolgirl waiting to be scolded—nervous and tense.

She and Qiao Wenyu had just returned from the island and came straight to the main house without stopping to rest.

Now, she had been sitting there for over half an hour. It wasn’t until the wall clock chimed the hour that Jiang Xian finally entered through the front door, bringing with her the cold chill of the night.

“Mother,” Jiang Nian said, glancing toward the door but not daring to lift her head. She felt like a poor student being called on in class—afraid to meet the teacher’s eyes.

Jiang Xian’s eyes were naturally pale, and when she was in a bad mood, they seemed especially cold. As she approached, her voice rang out sharply: “Look up at me.”

Jiang Nian straightened her back and slowly raised her head to meet her mother’s gaze.

The moment she did, a hard slap landed across her face. Her right cheek burned with pain. She could taste bl00d in her mouth—it felt like the inside had been cut.

She took the slap in full, without dodging.

“Fool. I thought you were finally starting to improve. Turns out you’re just getting more reckless,” Jiang Xian snapped, eyes blazing. Her voice was harsh. “Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you caused by offending Yan Zhong? Jiang Nian, don’t think I’ll spoil you like your Mama did.”

“But Mama’s not here anymore. No one’s spoiling me. I did it because I wanted to,” Jiang Nian replied softly.

She knew her mother had been upset about Mama leaving home, but this kind of outburst still felt like too much.

In the original story, both of Jiang Nian’s parents were women. The alpha was referred to as “Mother,” and the omega as “Mama.”

Her mama had been a gentle, softhearted woman, endlessly loving toward her child and unable to bear even the slightest thought of hurting her.

Jiang Xian laughed coldly, furious. “So, you’re not even going to admit your mistake?”

Jiang Nian stayed silent, her eyes fixed on her mother.

“Speak. Look at me when you talk. Do you understand what you did wrong? Do you know how you’re going to fix it? Hm?”

Jiang Xian had been overwhelmed these past few days—searching for her runaway wife, only to receive a warning from Yan Zhong on the road. Her mood was already on edge.

Still, Jiang Nian didn’t say a word. She didn’t think she’d done anything wrong by protecting Qiao Wenyu. It was the Yan family who acted first, and now they had the nerve to play the victim.

Anger surged in Jiang Xian again, and she nearly raised her hand to hit her daughter once more. But when she saw Jiang Nian lower her eyes, looking so much like the wife who had left her, she stopped herself.

She took a deep breath and forced her tone to calm. “You’ll go and apologize in person. From now on, don’t offend anyone from the Yan family again.”

Jiang Nian wanted to refuse. But after thinking it over, she realized that disobeying her mother would only make things worse. It was better to agree for now and figure things out later.

So, she gave a reluctant nod.

“I’ll be away for a while. While I’m gone, think before you act. Don’t go around making enemies,” Jiang Xian said, grabbing the papers from the coffee table and walking out in a hurry.

Only then did Jiang Nian finally breathe a sigh of relief. She even asked one of the house staff for some dessert to take home to Qiao Wenyu.

The chefs at the main estate were specially hired. The meals and desserts they made were flawless. Jiang Nian still remembered how Qiao Wenyu had cried with joy after just one bite of cake. Since then, she’d always wanted to bring sweets home for her.

By the time she got back to her own villa, it was already late. She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to wake Qiao Wenyu. After thinking about it for a while, she decided not to disturb her.

She was just about to put the cake box in the fridge when she heard footsteps coming from the kitchen doorway.

Qiao Wenyu appeared, wearing her pajamas, her hair loose around her shoulders. She had just chatted with Jiang Fenyun and found out that Bai Ye would be returning soon. The news left her too restless to sleep. After tossing and turning in bed, she decided to get up and drink some water.

She hadn’t expected to run into Jiang Nian.

“Since you’re still awake… would you like to try the dessert I brought back?” Jiang Nian offered, holding up the cake box. Her eyes—naturally shaped like rising phoenixes—suddenly carried the soft, pleading look of a puppy.

Qiao Wenyu shook her head. “No, I think… I should cut back on sweets.”

“But why? I thought you really liked them,” Jiang Nian asked, puzzled.

Qiao Wenyu’s hand, hanging by the hem of her nightgown, clenched slightly—then slowly relaxed.

Yes. She did like them.

Was it because Bai Ye was coming back? Was she going to change her tastes again, just to match Bai Ye?

The kitchen lights were off. Under the faint light spilling in from the living room, Jiang Nian could tell that Qiao Wenyu’s mind was somewhere else entirely.

“Sis, what’s wrong? Is something bothering you?” Jiang Nian couldn’t help but ask.

Qiao Wenyu blinked, coming back to her senses. She forced a smile. “No, I’m fine. It’s just… an old friend is coming back. I was wondering if I should meet up with her.”

Jiang Nian instantly caught the key phrase.

Old friend. What kind of old friend?

“She’s just an old classmate. We haven’t seen each other in years,” Qiao Wenyu explained, taking a few steps back. “It’s late. I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Xiaonian.”

Jiang Nian smiled faintly. “Goodnight, Sis.”

After Qiao Wenyu left, the smile slowly faded from Jiang Nian’s face, replaced by a worried frown.

Based on how Qiao Wenyu described her, this so-called “old friend” could only be her white moonlight—Bai Ye.

Jiang Nian couldn’t sleep at all that night. She sat on the couch in the living room, her thoughts restless.

In Qiao Wenyu’s room, the lights stayed on until morning as well.

The next day at dawn, Jiang Nian woke up groggily on the sofa. She hadn’t slept for long, but it was time to head to work.

Ironically, today’s task was to finalize a celebrity endorsement deal for a new clothing line. Jiang Nian had to go to Fenyun Entertainment to confirm the proposal and sign the contract.

She gathered her documents and went to Fenyun Entertainment’s executive office—only to find the office empty.

Jiang Fenyun’s assistant quickly brought over tea and water. “President Jiang, our boss had something urgent come up and had to step out. She’ll be right back.”

“I see. Go ahead with your work—I’ll wait here,” Jiang Nian said, picking up the teacup beside her and sitting quietly.

About ten minutes later, Jiang Fenyun finally appeared, arms full of notebooks and papers, every inch of them covered in notes and print.

“Sorry, sister—I’m late!” she said breathlessly, setting everything down on the table. Freed from the weight, she stretched her sore hands, let out a long sigh, and grabbed the cup on her desk, finishing all the tea in one gulp.

Jiang Nian saw her gulping water and kindly reminded her, “Slow down—you’ll choke. No one’s fighting you for it.”

“Ugh, I haven’t had a sip of water all morning. I got cornered by several people, all wanting me to personally assign work.” Fenyun plopped down into her leather swivel chair and spun around expertly. “My cousin’s coming back in a few days, and our headquarters is busy splitting up responsibilities.”

“Your cousin—Bai Ye?” Jiang Nian asked.

Fenyun nodded. “Of course. She suddenly rushed back to the country like it was an emergency. No idea what’s so urgent. When she told me she was coming back, her tone was terrible—she wouldn’t even tell me why, no matter how many times I asked.”

Jiang Nian could already guess why Bai Ye was returning. Her expression grew serious. The one person she feared facing most… was coming back.

Fenyun was busy organizing the stack of documents on her desk and didn’t notice the change in Jiang Nian’s mood.

“A’Nian, the proposal is basically the original version. If you’re okay with it, we can go ahead and sign the contract,” she finally said, locating the file. “We’ve worked together so many times—come on, if there’s no problem, just sign. Oh, by the way, Qiao Wenyu’s downstairs in a dance training session today. We can go take a peek after this.”

“Is this how you always work during office hours?” Jiang Nian asked, eyeing her.

Fenyun blinked, confused. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“You don’t have any real work, so you go spy on my wife instead? That’s not very appropriate, is it?” Jiang Nian rested her chin in one hand.

Fenyun laughed, caught between amusement and exasperation. “Don’t joke like that! I thought you didn’t even recognize her as your wife. Now you’re teasing me like I’m some homewrecker.”

“Who said I don’t recognize her?” Jiang Nian shot back calmly.

“What’s going on with you? You literally gave me the green light to chase after Qiao Wenyu, and now you’re backing out?” Fenyun hooked an arm around Jiang Nian’s shoulder. “Alright, enough fooling around. Let’s sign the contract first, then go see your wife. Happy now?”

She figured Jiang Nian was just joking and played along.

Truthfully, Jiang Nian really did want to visit Qiao Wenyu’s practice session. Without saying more, she reviewed the contract, confirmed everything was in order, and signed her name, stamping the document.

Fenyun followed suit. Once the formalities were done, she grabbed Jiang Nian and led her toward the door. “Let’s go—time to see your wife.”

The ground floor of Fenyun Entertainment’s building had professional rehearsal rooms. Usually, regular artists didn’t have access to them, but Qiao Wenyu was under Fenyun’s special care and received top-tier treatment.

“I’ve taken good care of your wife, you know,” Fenyun said playfully. Then she paused and added, more seriously, “Okay, okay, I’ll stop joking. I sound like some sort of villain.”

Jiang Nian teased back, “You kind of do. Always thinking about my wife.”

“There you go again! Didn’t you say you weren’t good enough for her?” Fenyun walked ahead, not noticing how Jiang Nian’s expression had turned solemn behind her. “How about this—I’ll work hard and take good care of Wenyu for you, sound fair?”

She walked a few more steps before realizing Jiang Nian had fallen silent. Just as she turned to check, Jiang Nian gently pressed a hand to her back.

“Fenyun… I think…” Jiang Nian covered half her face with her hand, her phoenix eyes shining softly. “I think I’ve changed my mind.”

“What?” Fenyun turned, stunned. “A’Nian… are you serious?”

“I think I really do like her,” Jiang Nian said with a bitter smile. She placed a hand on Fenyun’s shoulder. “I mean it.”

The hallway was empty. Fenyun stood frozen for a while. When she finally came to her senses, she let out a short laugh.

“You only have the guts to say this because I’m your sister,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Nian murmured, patting her shoulder. “And that time you went on a date—I crashed it. Is your outfit okay? I’ll buy you a new suit.”

“What?” Fenyun looked confused for a second, then suddenly remembered. “Wait, that high schooler… that was you?! You little—”

Jiang Nian blushed with embarrassment and quickly covered Fenyun’s mouth. “Okay, stop. This is so embarrassing.”

Fenyun burst into laughter. After their teasing subsided, her expression turned serious again. She looked Jiang Nian in the eyes. “A’Nian, she’s your wife in name already. If you’re truly serious about her, I’ll back off. Luckily, I didn’t fall too deep—or we might’ve had to fight it out.”

She raised her fist jokingly and gave Jiang Nian a light punch on the side.

The two of them laughed and bickered down the hallway like a pair of kids who never grew up.

Some employees passed by, saw them with their arms around each other, and quickly turned away, covering their eyes as they scurried off.

Jiang Nian gave Fenyun a shove. “Cut it out. People are going to think we’ve got something going on.”

“Oh no, what if Wenyu gets jealous? What if she sees us hugging and gets mad?” Fenyun said in a high-pitched voice, twisting her body dramatically as she spoke.

Jiang Nian burst out laughing. “Enough. You’re being gross.”

Still laughing, they finally reached the training rooms on the lower level. The floor was lined with soundproofed individual rooms, and everything was quiet as they walked down the corridor.

Fenyun pointed ahead. “That one—your wife’s room.”

“Mhm.”

Fenyun went ahead and gently knocked on the door.

A well-groomed male beta opened it and poked his head out. Seeing the unfamiliar but impressive-looking visitors, he tilted his head. “You are?”

“I own the place,” Fenyun replied. It was normal that the downstairs trainers didn’t recognize her—she didn’t show her face much.

The beta immediately opened the door wide and gestured respectfully. “President Jiang, please, come in.”

Fenyun peeked inside and noticed no one else was there.

“You’re the only one here?”

“Are you looking for Miss Qiao? She just said someone was waiting for her at the company entrance, so she stepped out.”

Jiang Nian noticed Fenyun standing still at the doorway and stepped closer. “What is it?”

“Wenyu’s not here,” Fenyun replied. “She went to meet someone at the front entrance.”

Since Qiao Wenyu wasn’t there, they decided to head to the company entrance themselves to see who had asked her out.

It was only a short walk from the rehearsal room to the front door. As Jiang Nian stepped outside, she immediately spotted a figure at the bottom of the stairs—someone who looked very much like Qiao Wenyu, standing beside a sleek sports car, talking to another person.

They were too far away for Jiang Nian to see who it was.

Fenyun, walking ahead, stopped suddenly and squinted to confirm the face. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, “Cousin?!”

Jiang Nian froze the moment she heard that word—cousin.

She looked toward the woman standing by the car.

The woman wore a cream-colored suit dress. Her long, slender legs and perfect figure were hard to ignore. When Jiang Nian saw Bai Ye’s face, the unease in her chest deepened.

She had once asked Qiao Wenyu what kind of woman she liked most.

And this was it—someone cold, elegant, and mature. Someone with that distant, restrained allure. Bai Ye, with her gold-rimmed glasses and aloof presence, was exactly Qiao Wenyu’s type.

And they shared a past that Jiang Nian knew nothing about.

At that moment, Bai Ye also looked up, her gaze landing on Jiang Nian. Their eyes met—and sparks seemed to fly.