After Becoming the Scummy Alpha in a Substitute Romance (GL) - Chapter 20

After hanging up the phone, Shen Shuyi slowly exhaled.

Her eyes lowered slightly. Ever since Jian Ya appeared, she had found herself getting distracted during work more often than usual.

She needed to reset her mindset.

At the moment, the most important thing for her was this project. No matter what happened, she had to ensure its successful completion.

Just as that thought settled in her mind, the break room door opened again.

She looked up—it was her assistant, Xiao Bai.

There was still a hint of amusement at the corners of Xiao Bai’s mouth, which didn’t escape Shen Shuyi’s notice.

“What’s got you smiling?” she asked casually.

“It’s that new colleague of ours—surprisingly entertaining.” Xiao Bai chuckled, recalling what she’d just witnessed.

“Jian Ya?” Shen Shuyi raised an eyebrow. “What did she do?”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” Xiao Bai said, then recounted the scene she had just witnessed.

“I’ve been meaning to give Li Lu a wake-up call for a while now, but never found the right opportunity. Who would’ve thought she’d trip over Jian Ya instead?”

“She tried to pull rank on her—gave her a workload that would normally take several people a few days to complete, probably hoping to watch Jian Ya struggle or give up. But Jian Ya actually got all the core functionality done in just one day. The look on Li Lu’s face was… priceless.”

“And the best part—though I can’t tell if Jian Ya was being innocent or subtly savage—after Li Lu confirmed everything worked, Jian Ya calmly asked what she should do next.”

“But Li Lu wasn’t ready. Her part of the project wasn’t done yet, so she couldn’t hand over the next stage. Which basically meant—she was the one holding Jian Ya back. She had no choice but to awkwardly tell Jian Ya to wait until she finished.”

“And Jian Ya? She just nodded and asked, ‘Need any help?’”

“You should’ve seen Li Lu’s face. I almost felt secondhand embarrassment.”

Shen Shuyi shook her head with a sigh. “Li Lu’s personality really isn’t suited to research.”

“Agreed,” Xiao Bai nodded. “But she’s led the team this far—it’s not easy to change leaders midway. Still, honestly, Jian Ya’s pretty impressive. She picks things up fast. I think we should consider giving her a bigger role later on.”

There was a hint of suggestion in Xiao Bai’s tone—as if testing the waters to see how Shen Shuyi felt about Jian Ya.

Though she didn’t know the full story, Xiao Bai could tell that Shen Shuyi seemed to hold some reservations about Jian Ya.

“We’ll see,” Shen Shuyi replied, not giving a direct answer.

Xiao Bai shrugged, letting the subject drop.

“What’s she doing now?” Shen Shuyi asked offhandedly.

With her assigned task already completed and nothing else scheduled at the moment, who knew what kind of trouble Jian Ya might stir up once she was idle?

“Right now? When I left the lab just a little while ago, she had already gone out. I think she said she was going to buy some fruit,” Xiao Bai replied.

“Buy fruit?” Shen Shuyi raised an eyebrow.

What was she up to now?

“It seemed like Jiang Shuqi said something to her, but I’m not sure exactly what. Then Jian Ya just said she was going out to buy fruit. She should be back soon,” Xiao Bai added.

Just as she finished speaking, the sound of footsteps echoed outside the door.

A moment later, Jian Ya appeared at the entrance of the break room.

Both of her hands were holding bags full of fruit, and from the weight, red marks had formed on her wrists where the bags dug into her skin.

She stepped into the doorway and paused when she saw Shen Shuyi standing inside. She looked surprised for a second, but quickly smiled—a warm, gentle smile that lit up her whole face, as if it could brighten the room around her.

“Professor Shen, you’re here. That’s perfect. I wasn’t sure what kind of fruit you liked, so I bought a little bit of everything,” Jian Ya said as she walked into the room, still holding the bags.

Shen Shuyi frowned slightly.

She didn’t want to get involved with Jian Ya beyond work. She turned to leave.

But Jian Ya quickly followed, still carrying the fruit.
“Huh? Leaving already? You don’t like any of them? There’s a lot… do you like apples?”

“Not interested,” Shen Shuyi replied flatly, quickening her pace.

“No? Well, I also got pears, peaches, honeydew, watermelon…”

“Oh! And cherries—I got some of those too.”

“The only thing I didn’t get was durian. I thought the smell might be too strong for the lab.”

“But if you like it, I can go back and buy one. We’d just have to find a good spot to eat it.”

From the break room to the lab wasn’t far, and Jian Ya kept talking as she followed behind her.

Even as Shen Shuyi walked faster and faster, Jian Ya didn’t give up.

Finally, just as they were about to reach the lab, Shen Shuyi stopped abruptly.

She turned to Jian Ya and said coldly,
“Jian Ya, please stop interrupting my work.”

Jian Ya froze in place.

She looked at Shen Shuyi’s eyes, which had suddenly turned distant and cold—so different from yesterday. She had no idea what had changed.

Still, remembering what Jiang Shuqi had told her earlier, she gently raised one of the fruit bags and held it up for Shen Shuyi to see.

“I really just wanted to give you something. I bought these for you. They’re sweet,” she said softly, her voice cautious.

Her gentle tone and uncertain expression only made Shen Shuyi feel more agitated.

That mental wall she had just built during her phone call with Ni Ruoyun—one she thought was strong and unshakable—suddenly felt like it had cracked, just a little.

She had believed she could face Jian Ya with complete indifference. That she could stay unaffected.

But in this moment, facing her directly, she realized that every little action Jian Ya took—every word, every look—somehow disturbed her peace of mind.

Ni Ruoyun was right. No matter what Jian Ya said or did, her presence had a powerful, disruptive effect.

Shen Shuyi took a deep breath and said firmly,
“I’m not interested. Also, it’s work hours. If you keep distracting me like this, I’ll have reason to remove you from the project.”

The hopeful light in Jian Ya’s eyes dimmed instantly.

She glanced at the screen beside Shen Shuyi that had lit up with activity, then forced a smile. It was still bright—but behind it, the disappointment of being rejected was hard to hide.

“I understand. I won’t bother you again.”

With those quiet words, Jian Ya turned around, carrying the bags of fruit back into the break room.

Shen Shuyi watched her leave and thought that would be the end of it. She sat back down, ready to return to work.

But all she could think about was that cautious smile Jian Ya had given her—how she had held out the fruit so carefully, and how her expression had changed the moment she was turned away.

It left a strange irritation in her chest.

Even the lines of code on the screen started to look blurry and chaotic.

After several failed attempts to concentrate, Shen Shuyi stood up, grabbed her water cup, and walked toward the break room.

She had assumed Jian Ya would’ve left by now.

To her surprise, she was still there—sitting quietly.

Shen Shuyi paused in the doorway, uncertain whether to go in or turn back.

But then Jian Ya stood up.

She picked up a small plate and walked toward her, still wearing that same warm, radiant smile.

Her eyes curved softly as she looked at her—sincere and clear.

“Done with work? That means you have a moment to rest, right? I already peeled and sliced the fruit. It won’t take much of your time. Would you like to try some?”