Failed to Run Away After Transmigrating as the Scummy Alpha's Wife of the Villain - Chapter 10

The four members of the Red Team finally arrived at the supermarket, only to encounter peak tourist season.

This small town known as the “Hometown of Peaches and Plums” had only one major supermarket. At a glance, the place was packed with a sea of people, a dense crowd of heads everywhere. Long queues had formed in the checkout lines.

So when Jiang Ci, Chi Yuan, and the others walked in, trailed by two cameramen, they immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The budget given by the production team wasn’t generous. After setting aside funds for lunch, they only had five hundred yuan left, forcing them to budget carefully.

Gu Meng stared at the overwhelming variety of goods, unsure where to start. “Five hundred yuan for nine people—what can we even buy? Should we just grab a few more packs of instant noodles?”

Jiang Ci frowned. “Rice, flour, meat, vegetables. Buy as much as we can.”

With four of them present, they split up to cover more ground.

Chi Yuan wandered over to the rice section and picked out the largest bags, hoisting them onto her shoulder without hesitation. A middle-aged man nearby, also shopping for rice, stared at her in astonishment.

She carried two bags on her shoulder and two more in each hand, her expression completely unstrained as she walked with surprising ease.

The man, skeptical, walked over and tried lifting a bag identical to the ones Chi Yuan was holding. He staggered, barely steadying himself after a moment. Attempting to lift another was out of the question.

What was going on?

The average person struggled to carry even one bag of rice, yet here she was effortlessly hauling five without breaking a sweat.

At first, Chi Yuan didn’t realize anything was amiss. It wasn’t until she reached the checkout line and noticed everyone staring at her in shock that it dawned on her.

Superhuman strength wasn’t something her current body originally possessed—that had belonged to the Chi Yuan from before she transmigrated into this novel.

Chi Yuan: System, system, what’s going on with my body?

System: As your mission progresses, your current body is gradually merging with your original one.

Chi Yuan: So my old strength is coming back!

This revelation thrilled her. Imagine being a max-level powerhouse suddenly reduced to a beginner, forced to start from scratch—it had been agonizing.

So agonizing that even beating people up hadn’t felt satisfying.

Chi Yuan was practically floating with joy, her steps lighter than ever.

Jiang Ci stood at the back of the queue, holding their spot, and looked up just as Chi Yuan arrived first.

His gaze landed on the bags of rice she was carrying, and he fell silent.

In front of Jiang Ci stood two little girls wearing sun hats, sisters of similar age who had come with their parents on vacation. When they saw Chi Yuan approaching, they gasped in awe.

“Wow, that big sister is so strong!”

“She’s carrying so many bags of rice—is she stocking up for a store?”

“Is she like Popeye? Does she eat a lot of spinach too?”

Jiang Ci: “…”

“I didn’t realize you were this strong,” he finally said when Chi Yuan reached him.

Chi Yuan raised an eyebrow, feigning modesty. “Oh, it’s nothing special. Just a bit above average.”

Jiang Ci: This isn’t just ‘above average’—it’s freakish natural strength. Judging by how relaxed she looked, it was as if she could easily carry five more bags without issue.

“But—” Jiang Ci drew out the word, his expression serious. “We’re staying for three weeks, not three months. There’s no way we’ll finish all that rice.”

“So, leave two bags. Put the rest back.”

Chi Yuan: …?!

What followed was a cycle of the same scenario repeating itself.

“The weather’s too hot, the frozen fish might spoil on the way back.”

“Yogurt has a short shelf life and is expensive. Let’s switch to large bottles of drinks and mineral water instead.”

“We should also buy some hotpot base. It’s more economical to make hotpot ourselves with so many people.”

In the end, through Jiang Ci’s meticulous calculations and strict budgeting, the red team managed to purchase abundant supplies while keeping expenses within reasonable limits.

The production team, who had expected the first supermarket challenge to trip them up with pricing, began to worry.

“Originally, we thought when they exceeded the budget, they’d have to repurchase. Failing to meet minimum supply requirements would also count as mission failure.”

But Jiang Ci’s sharp mind didn’t even need a calculator. Just by glancing at prices, she devised perfect allocation plans. Even if they had to restart, she could find alternative solutions.

She was essentially a hidden bug.

The team, having completed the task with remarkable speed, couldn’t resist teasing the production staff.

Gu Meng: “Pfft, that’s it? No challenge at all.”

Wang Wen: “So easy~~”

A staff member’s voiceover retorted: “Without Jiang Ci, you wouldn’t have solved this in three tries!”

Chi Yuan coolly crossed her arms, effortlessly carrying several pounds of groceries like they were weightless. “Jiang Ci drew the red slip—that makes her our team member.”

“Luck is also a form of strength.”

Behind the elegantly decorated two-story restaurant lay a beach strewn with rocky outcrops. The rhythmic crash of waves grew louder as they approached the shore, the sound of bursting foam whispering past Chi Yuan’s ears.

She couldn’t help but spread her arms, closing her eyes to savor this moment of spiritual cleansing.

In her vision, the sea breeze lifted thick, swaying locks of hair like undulating seaweed.

Jiang Ci brushed back her wind-tossed hair, slipping off her flat white sandals. Her delicate, fair feet sank into the soft sand.

Fine grains nestled between her exquisite toes, kissed her heels, and cascaded like water over her bare instep.

She waded a few steps into the shallows, letting the briny water swirl around her ankles before retreating seaward.

For a moment, Chi Yuan thought she glimpsed weariness and melancholy on Jiang Ci’s face.

She must be seeing things—how could the brilliant, formidable Jiang Ci ever show such fragile vulnerability?

Even when misfortune struck, she’d persevere relentlessly. That was the image established for Jiang Ci’s character.

Shouldering her family’s bankruptcy debts, acting to earn money, caring for her mother—she’d operated like an endless cycle machine until finally seeing hope.

Yet the author’s predetermined path of dark revenge pulled her deeper step by step, ultimately pushing her into an inescapable abyss.

Perhaps prolonged helplessness and loneliness had been the true themes of Jiang Ci’s life.

Chi Yuan reached out vaguely toward her retreating figure, fingers closing on empty air as if trying to grasp someone about to dissolve in the wind.

Jiang Ci kicked at shells churned up by the waves, wet sand splattering her rolled-up pant legs.

As another wave rushed in, she suddenly lost her footing and began toppling backward.

Jiang Ci: Oh no! My clothes are going to get soaked.

But then a warm chest pressed against her back. An arm circled her waist, steadying her firmly on her feet.

The soft voice carried a hint of moist sea breeze as it brushed past her ear. “Professor Jiang, be careful.”

“If you get too close to the waves, the sand beneath your feet will get washed into the sea.”

Jiang Ci froze momentarily before being pulled back onto the dry sand by Chi Yuan’s hand.

The beach volleyball court had already been set up by the production crew. A two-meter-high net stood firmly planted in the sand, with a yellow-and-blue volleyball placed at its center. On the opposite side stood four barefoot local residents dressed in athletic wear.

Sometimes, harsh reality reminds us: don’t get too cocky, or you’ll get beaten.

Provoked by the challenge, the production team decided to make lunch difficult for them.

Wang Wen protested, “This isn’t fair. I asked—they’re all professionals on that side, while none of us know how to play. We’re obviously going to lose.”

The rules were clear: if the red team won, they’d enjoy a luxurious restaurant meal without paying a cent.

But if they lost, their lunch would consist of instant noodles provided by the production team, plus they’d have to pay a 100-yuan game participation fee.

Wang Wen suggested, “Maybe we should just skip the game. With this hundred yuan, the four of us could still have a decent meal.”

The production team’s response was clear: the game was ready—they couldn’t just back out now.

“Any hitting method is allowed. The ball touching the ground means you lose. You may use assistive tools.”

The four rummaged through the prop box containing inflatable batons, electric mosquito swatters, washbasins, plush toys—nothing that looked remotely useful for volleyball.

Their spirits sank. Instant noodles for lunch seemed inevitable.

When the game began, the red team scrambled across the court—kicking the ball, catching it with their faces, heading it… all sorts of ridiculous moves emerged.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to play properly—they simply couldn’t receive or return the ball properly. Running on sand made them slip easily, tumbling and getting covered in grit.

The inexperienced red team struggled bitterly.

Another whistle blew. The volleyball soared into the air under intense scrutiny before being smashed toward their side. Gu Meng’s supposedly powerful hit was effortlessly intercepted by a burly man and sent flying back.

They lost the first point immediately.

Gu Meng glared at the man’s bulging arm muscles, fighting the urge to curse.

Chi Yuan quickly moved beside him and said calmly, “Switch positions with me.”

“Sis Chi, are you sure?”

Chi Yuan nodded firmly. “I’ll mark him.”

Her sharp gaze and the powerful, composed aura radiating from her brought an inexplicable sense of reassurance. Gu Meng agreed and swapped positions.

Ten minutes into the game, the scorching volleyball landed in Chi Yuan’s hands. Her eyes narrowed as she assessed the relatively weaker spots on either side of the burly opponent, but ultimately locked onto him as her target.

Having never played volleyball before, her hitting method was simple and brutal—just punching the ball, since the rules allowed it.

With tremendous force, the ball shot forward at multiplied speed, whizzing past the burly man’s ear before slamming into the sand, leaving a visible crater.

The red team finally scored, breaking their zero-point deadlock.

Chi Yuan maintained her powerful strikes throughout the game. Anyone attempting to receive her serves either failed completely or got a face full of sand.

Thanks to this display of monstrous strength, the red team’s chances of winning improved significantly.

But their opponents soon recognized Chi Yuan’s prowess and adjusted their strategy to avoid her whenever possible.

With their advantage gone, the tide of battle turned sharply. At this rate, defeat seemed certain.

Jiang Ci’s gaze shifted as she looked at Chi Yuan, who was anxiously watching the score. “Do you want to win?”

Chi Yuan turned to her, her short hair damp with sweat from running back and forth, clinging tightly to her cheeks. Her eyes burned with unyielding determination. “I want to win.”

Jiang Ci nodded. “Alright, then I’ll make sure you do.”