I Heard I’m a Scummy Alpha? [Transmigration] - Chapter 2

To gather more information and confirm whether she had truly transmigrated into the novel, Qi Yunwei followed Qi Jiusi back to the Qi household.

It was nothing more than an ordinary townhouse. The small garden out front held a few red roses, their petals wilted under the blazing sun. Beyond that, there was little scenery to speak of.

At the front door, Qi Jiusi motioned for Qi Yunwei to open it. Thinking it was an iris scanner, Qi Yunwei leaned forward and fixed her gaze on the circular sensor in the middle. Yet the door remained utterly unresponsive.

Qi Jiusi tapped her shoulder impatiently.

“Yunwei, fingerprint.”

Ah. So it was a fingerprint lock.

That was one more piece of evidence confirming her transmigration.

Fingerprint locks had been obsolete for over a hundred years—too insecure, too easy to crack. Having one was practically the same as telling thieves, ‘Hey, come rob me, I’m a fool.’

“What’s wrong with you today? You’ve been walking around like you’ve lost your soul,” Qi Jiusi muttered behind her.

Well, of course I’ve lost my soul. It fell straight into a book.

Qi Yunwei pressed her thumb against the sensor. A cheerful jingle played, followed by a crisp click. The door swung open.

Expressionless, she stepped aside to let Qi Jiusi go first, then followed her inside.

Qi Jiusi didn’t bother changing shoes, so Qi Yunwei didn’t either. They passed the shoe cabinet, rounded a corner, and entered the living room.

The three-story townhouse sounded large, but each floor was only about seventy square meters. The small living room connected to a bedroom and bathroom on the left, and an open kitchen on the right.

On the sofa sat a teenage girl, seventeen or eighteen, her hair in twin ponytails. She stared fixedly at the television, not sparing them a single glance when they entered.

Qi Jiusi, clearly used to this, walked straight over, bent down, and switched off the TV with the remote.

The girl sprang to her feet in anger, eyes wide.

“Auntie, what are you doing?!”

Calm as ever, Qi Jiusi replied, “I need to talk with your second sister. Go to your room for a while.”

The girl screwed up her face, gave Qi Yunwei a once-over, and curled her lip.

“Auntie, what on earth do you even have to talk about with her?”

Then her gaze flickered with malice.

“Are you going to talk about how she’s an Alpha who can’t graduate from university, can’t find an Omega to marry, and is a total failure?”

Qi Yunwei: “…”

Well, that does sound pretty useless.

But now that the “failure” in question was her, she felt distinctly displeased. She had never, in all her life, been linked with the word failure.

“Qi Fangyue, Yunwei is your elder sister. Show some respect,” Qi Jiusi scolded sharply.

“Tch. Who’d want a useless sister like her?” Before Qi Jiusi could continue lecturing, Qi Fangyue quickly changed the subject, grumbling, “If you two have something to talk about, can’t you do it in her room? Why interrupt my show right when the leads were about to kiss?”

“I’m too old for all those stairs,” Qi Jiusi said evenly.

When Fangyue still looked ready to protest, she added briskly, “Can’t even manage one floor anymore. So the second-floor study is out too.”

Realizing there was no room for negotiation, Fangyue shot Qi Yunwei a resentful look and stomped upstairs in a huff.

Once her figure vanished, Qi Jiusi sat down on the sofa, patting the seat beside her with enthusiasm.

“Yunwei, that marking must’ve been exhausting. Come sit, rest a bit.”

Qi Yunwei found this family dynamic rather curious.

From the father and from Qi Fangyue’s attitude, it was obvious they all considered “Qi Yunwei” a good-for-nothing. Yet Qi Jiusi treated this so-called failure with unusual warmth.

Leaning back, Qi Yunwei replied lightly, “Not really. Just one bite—nothing exhausting about that.”

She still wasn’t entirely sure what exactly marking meant.

Back in her original world, work pressure had left her with mild insomnia. To help herself sleep, she would play random audiobooks at night. Within ten minutes, she’d usually be out cold.

Words like Yan Zui, marking, and Omega had popped up often in those brief snippets, so she remembered them clearly enough to suspect she had transmigrated into that very novel.

“Auntie, Yan Zui and I are worlds apart. Just one bite—would Chairman Yan really agree to marry her off to me?” she asked, feigning concern.

Qi Jiusi poured tea for them both, took a sip, and chuckled.

“One bite? That was marking! From what I’ve heard, Yan Zui’s a firm singleist—she never planned to marry or be marked by an Alpha. Chairman Yan’s furious about it. The two of them argue constantly over this. Yan Zui is his only daughter—do you think he’ll let her stay unmarried forever? By marking her, you’ve done him a huge favor. He’ll definitely agree.”

“Even if, I’m a useless failure?”

“As long as you’re an Alpha, nothing else matters.” Qi Jiusi set her cup down, frowning in disapproval. “Yunwei, don’t put yourself down like that. To me, you’re the best. It’s those who mock you who fail to see your worth.”

The “best” Qi Yunwei hid her awkward smile behind her teacup.

“Relax,” Jiusi said warmly. “You have me.”

“I know you’ve always treated me the best, Auntie. Thank you,” Yunwei replied sweetly.

Qi Jiusi beamed, her face lighting up like a blooming flower.

“Oh, what’s the need for thanks between us? This is only natural.”

“Your father’s gone to your grandfather’s place to discuss things with your mother. Most likely, tomorrow he’ll take you to the Yan family to propose marriage. Be prepared—Yan Zui will certainly say some nasty things. For the sake of your future, endure it. Once you’re married, once she’s your rightful Omega, then you can teach her a lesson.”

On and on Jiusi went, listing every possible precaution she could think of.

Qi Yunwei nodded along, though her mind drifted elsewhere, working through countermeasures.

Her biggest problem right now was that she had absolutely no idea what the plot ahead held.

She regretted not paying more attention to those audiobooks. Ten minutes each night wasn’t much. She only remembered the name Yan Zui and nothing of real use.

She tried to piece together scraps of memory, but came up empty.

In those brief nightly snippets, Yan Zui had entanglements with a different Alpha nearly every time. In just a week, Yunwei had heard at least seven different names.

But “Qi Yunwei” was not among them.

So who exactly was “Qi Yunwei” supposed to be in the novel? Or was she never in the novel at all?

Half an hour later, the front door opened again. The middle-aged man who claimed to be her father, Qi Jiuyuan, walked in with his wife, Luo Yi.

Qi Jiusi hurriedly tugged Yunwei up and greeted them warmly.

“Big brother, sister-in-law—you’re back! Must be tired. Sit down, have some tea.”

The couple nodded at Jiusi, then sat, completely ignoring Qi Yunwei.

Father doesn’t love her, mother doesn’t care for her, only Auntie truly does.

Jiusi busied herself serving tea to the couple, then asked eagerly, “Big brother, sister-in-law, how did the discussion go? When will you take Yunwei to the Yan family?”

From upstairs, Fangyue came clattering down the stairs, lips pouting in grievance.

“Mom, Dad, you’re finally home! As soon as I came in, Second Sister and Auntie kicked me out of the living room. They even said if I came back down, they’d break my legs!”

“???” Are you just allowed to make things up like that?!

Qi Yunwei stared at her shamelessly lying little sister.

Fangyue bared her teeth at her like a smug little cub.

“That’s nonsense! I was the one who told you to go upstairs—not your second sister,” Jiusi corrected, though really the explanation was aimed at Jiuyuan and Luo Yi.

But clearly, they trusted Fangyue over Jiusi.

Luo Yi pulled Fangyue into her arms and soothed her.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Be the bigger person. Don’t lower yourself to your sister’s level.”

Fangyue nodded obediently. “Mm-hm. I’ll listen to you, Mom.”

“That’s my thoughtful daughter,” Jiuyuan said approvingly.

Qi Yunwei: “…”

After the mother-daughter act was over, the conversation returned to the matter at hand.

Luo Yi said, “I’ve already heard from Jiuyuan. The truth is, we’re the ones at fault here. Yunwei has no accomplishments whatsoever. It’s only natural for Chairman Yan to be displeased. So tomorrow, when we visit, we need to put on our best manners.”

Her gaze finally shifted to Qi Yunwei, eyes flashing with something between contempt and coldness.

“Especially you. Your father still works for Yan Corporation. Don’t you dare pull any of your disgraceful stunts again.”

Since marking Yan Zui had indeed been “Qi Yunwei’s” doing, she had no ground to argue back and kept quiet.

But Fangyue immediately piped up, excitement bright in her malicious eyes.

“Mom, what are you talking about? Did Second Sister offend Chairman Yan? I told you she’d cause trouble if she went to that banquet! But no, she insisted on going—see what happened?”

What a delightful little sister. Always ready to kick you when you’re down.

Qi Yunwei didn’t owe her anything. She had no reason to swallow this.

With a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, she drawled:

“Children shouldn’t poke their noses into everything. Be careful, or you’ll grow up into a gossiping busybody.”