I Was Just a Scumbag Extra, But She Loved Me Anyway [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 19

As the elevator doors closed, the faint trace of jasmine scent vanished completely, as though it had never existed. Su Chenli subconsciously took a step forward, fingers twitching slightly—about to press the emergency stop button.

Before she could act, the assistant beside her spoke with confusion,
“Miss Su? What are you doing?”

Su Chenli froze.

She realized she’d lost focus again. Under the assistant’s puzzled gaze, she forced down the bitterness rising in her chest and casually lowered her hand.
“It’s nothing.”

Why would she think that was her beautiful professor’s scent…?

As Su Chenli stood there, dazed, the system suddenly spoke—its tone unusually serious.

【Host, you need to pull yourself together.】
【Your focus now should be on completing the task. Do you really want to fail the mission, waste time… or worse, get your consciousness erased? You’ll never see Jiang Youning again if that happens. Staying hung up on the last world will only drag you down.】

For a long moment, Su Chenli stood still. Then she slowly clenched her hand into a fist.

This time… the system was right.

If she kept this up—distracted, unfocused—not only would she fail to advance the plot, she might not even manage the simplest part: convincingly playing the role of a spoiled rich girl.

How many times had this assistant NPC already questioned her behavior, and she’d only been in this world for a few minutes?

If she couldn’t even perform the basic “face time” role correctly…

How would she ever earn the points to see her again?

Taking a deep breath, Su Chenli began reassembling her thoughts, carefully recalling everything the system had told her. With a forced, wry smile, she asked lightly,
“Why didn’t you tell me about the memory-wipe or the erasure risk before I took on the mission?”

【…】
Caught off guard by how quickly the host had rebounded, the system went quiet for a beat.
【Host, isn’t it kind of cheating to regain your rationality this fast?】

“Don’t worry about it,” Su Chenli replied calmly, eyes following the climbing floor numbers above the elevator door. Her posture relaxed, effortlessly slipping back into the easygoing, careless energy of her character—a second-gen with too much money and too few worries.
“Just tell me—what exactly is this ‘erasure’ you mentioned?”

Physical poise was an actor’s basic skill. And when it came to performance, Su Chenli had never once faltered.

Like all her other fundamental skills, she’d mastered emotional control.
Every actor had to learn how to compartmentalize.

Until now, Su Chenli had never struggled to exit a role.

But this time, it wasn’t a role she’d fallen into—it was an emotion she’d fallen for, knowing from the start that it might never be reciprocated. That it might not end well. And maybe that’s what made it so hard to let go.

Still, the one thing she was grateful for now was that she’d never missed a single class in college. She knew exactly how to lock her emotions away when she had to.

【You really switch gears fast, Host…】 the system muttered.

“Answer the question,” Su Chenli said, ignoring the complaint.

【Fine. It’s not that big a deal. ‘Erasure’ is a punishment applied to task agents who cause irreversible disruption to a worldline. The conditions to trigger it are very strict. In your case… well, you were accidentally pulled into the system to begin with. Your mission is just low-level identity maintenance—nothing difficult or risky. I never imagined you’d get anywhere close to triggering it, so I didn’t mention it.】

That was fair enough.

Even she hadn’t expected to get emotionally attached to a mission world.

Ding—a soft chime sounded. The elevator arrived at the designated floor.

Su Chenli blinked, dragging herself out of her thoughts, and followed the assistant out.

She was about to meet the Devoted Supporting Role of this world, wasn’t she?

What kind of person would she be?

“Miss Su,” the assistant said, walking ahead and speaking in a lowered voice, “It’s been a while since you visited the company, so you might not be up to date. The business is no longer being managed by Director Li.”

Su Chenli had no idea who “Director Li” even was, nor why this was being brought up. But she played along smoothly, without missing a beat:
“Then who’s running the company now?”

“She’s an executive the chairman poached from Huanyu Group just before the New Year. You probably haven’t met her,” the assistant explained in a lowered voice. “Her name is Xie Xunyu. She’s a young Alpha, incredibly capable, and the chairman really appreciates her.”

Then, in a quieter tone, he added,
“Madam also hopes you’ll learn properly under Director Xie.”

Su Chenli paused and glanced at the assistant NPC.

So that’s it. She had been wondering why this character was so eager to supply her with background exposition. Turns out he wasn’t entirely aligned with her “father” in the plot—he had been assigned specifically to advise or “guide” the original Su Chenli.

“Alright,” Su Chenli replied with a perfunctory nod. “I got it.”

Going by her character’s setting, she wasn’t the type to take this kind of suggestion seriously. She could listen without actually listening—totally in character.

Honestly, she cared far less about company drama than about information related to the major characters.
For instance—the Devoted Supporting Role in this world was an Alpha.

…She should probably start figuring out how to deal with her.

The door to the CEO’s office opened. But instead of seeing a young, capable executive, Su Chenli was greeted by the sight of a stern middle-aged man—her in-world father—standing in front of a wide panoramic window, arms crossed as he stared out at the view.

“Chairman,” the assistant greeted politely.

Chairman Su turned, nodded once at the assistant, and waved him off.
Without further conversation, the assistant and aide both exited the room.

Su Chenli: “…?”

The moment the door closed behind them, Chairman Su’s face darkened. He knocked firmly on the desk and snapped,
“What took you so long? Is no one able to get through to you anymore?!”

Su Chenli: “…Traffic was bad.”

This wasn’t even her fault. She had barely stepped into the world and was already catching heat from the in-world dad. She couldn’t do anything about that.

“Hmph.” Chairman Su remained visibly displeased.
“You didn’t forget who I told you about yesterday, did you?”

Wait… a pop quiz?!

She hadn’t even entered this world yesterday! After a moment of mental scrambling, she decided to gamble:
“Someone named… Xie something?”

“Watch your tone!” Chairman Su barked. “I told you—you’re here to learn from her. Xie Xunyu may have a temper, but she’s immensely talented. I had to pull a lot of strings to bring her into the company, and it’s all to help Su Group grow.”

“You’re my heir. If you can’t be bothered to think about real business development, what are you going to do—drift through life forever?”

Su Chenli paused. She wasn’t sure exactly how the original character would react here, so she put on a reluctant, vaguely annoyed expression.

Chairman Su sighed as if disappointed but still patient.
“Xie Xunyu knows her stuff—especially in tech. She’s got a sharp eye for investments too. You’ll learn a lot from her.”

With a lecture like that from her “father,” Su Chenli figured rejecting the arrangement outright would seem ungrateful. So, with effort, she replied:
“Alright. I understand.”

And just as the saying goes—speak of the devil.

Before they could finish their conversation, someone knocked on the office door.

At this hour, there could be only one person walking in.

The Devoted Supporting Role, no doubt.

Su Chenli turned around lazily, half out of curiosity.

She didn’t know what kind of Alpha this one would be.
If she was easy to work with, that’d be great. But if not… it would make pushing the main AO plotline that much harder.

As the door swung open wider, a tall and strikingly elegant woman stepped into view.

Her long, slightly wavy hair fell freely around her shoulders. A single strand slipped past her ear, trailing in front of her chest and brushing lightly against a sleek, dangling earring. That—paired with her sculpted jawline—only enhanced her delicate yet commanding beauty. Her nose was straight, her eyeliner clean and sharp, accentuating her strong presence without overplaying it. Her tailored suit hugged her slender, tall frame perfectly.

Not a single feature was the same—but something in her eyes, in her expression, made Su Chenli feel a jolt of familiarity.

From across the spacious office, their eyes met.

Xie Xunyu.

In that brief, wordless exchange, Su Chenli felt a strange resistance rise in her chest.

They hadn’t even spoken yet, but she was already instinctively pulling away.

Su Chenli didn’t understand what was happening.
She couldn’t tear her gaze away from Xie Xunyu—but even so, she didn’t want to get closer.

Right now, more than anything, she wanted to turn and run out of the room.

Forget the mission.

Just leave.

If not for the last shred of rationality keeping her grounded, Su Chenli might’ve already turned and fled.

Thankfully, Xie Xunyu soon looked away.

“Apologies for keeping you waiting, Chairman,” Xie Xunyu said politely as she turned to Su Chenli’s in-world father. “There was an unexpected issue that came up last-minute. I had to handle it, so I was delayed.”

Chairman Su nodded.
“No problem. I only stopped by on a whim—didn’t tell anyone I was coming. Since you’re here, I might as well make introductions. This is my wayward Alpha daughter. Spent years studying overseas, yet still can’t manage a single project properly. I should’ve just had her stay in the country and build a proper foundation—like you.”

With that, he gave Su Chenli a push, practically shoving her toward Xie Xunyu.

As she was nudged forward step by step, Su Chenli’s eyes never left Xie Xunyu’s face. She clearly saw the flicker of a complicated emotion flash through Xie Xunyu’s eyes.

“Not at all,” Xie Xunyu said after observing her for a moment. Then she reined in her expression and offered a polite smile.
“I imagine Miss Su just hasn’t been focused. If she were to apply herself, even copying Chairman Su’s style would yield great results.”

Chairman Su chuckled, shaking his head.
“I don’t have the time to mentor her personally anymore. Might as well throw her into the company and let her figure it out herself. Whatever she makes of it is what she makes of it.”

With things stated so plainly, Xie Xunyu naturally understood the implication. It wasn’t like she could reject a directive from the very top. Still, she hesitated for a second and said,
“If the chairman trusts me… how about assigning Miss Su to me? Although, regarding the position—”

She clearly didn’t want to be saddled with a privileged, clueless heiress who would slow her down or compromise her efficiency.

Chairman Su, sharp-eyed and quick-witted, instantly picked up on her hesitation.
“She doesn’t know much. Giving her a senior role would be a waste. Just have her serve as your assistant—give her a chance to learn the ropes.”

That role would give her access to important documents and the chance to observe project workflows, but it carried no real authority. She’d have no chance to interfere—only to watch and absorb.

That, Xie Xunyu could just accept.

Sensing her agreement, Chairman Su sealed the deal with another verbal assurance.
“Once she’s in the company, she’s just another employee. Don’t hold back, Xie. If she steps out of line, you’re free to discipline her however you see fit. Just treat her like any other member of the staff.”

Xie Xunyu paused, then gave a perfunctory nod.
“I’m sure Miss Su won’t be that kind of trouble.”

“Great!” Chairman Su clapped his hands together.
“Then Chenli will be your assistant from now on.”

Su Chenli: “???”

Wait a second.
Does no one here care what I think?!

She didn’t want to work with this Alpha. She didn’t want to interact with this Alpha.
Not even if she was stunning.

Still fuming internally, Su Chenli watched as Xie Xunyu’s calm gaze landed squarely on her. After a moment of silence, Xie extended her hand.

“Let’s support each other from now on, Miss Su. My name is Xie Xunyu.”

Su Chenli instinctively frowned and almost took a step back, but Chairman Su elbowed her sharply, forcing her to begrudgingly extend her hand.

“…Su Chenli,” she muttered.

The moment their hands met, Su Chenli—who had been entirely resistant up to now—was suddenly distracted.

She could feel the softness of Xie Xunyu’s skin, the warmth of her palm… and for some reason, it made her pause. Part of her wanted to hold on tighter.

But before she could do anything, Xie Xunyu had already let go.

Su Chenli snapped back to herself: “???”

What the hell was that?
Was she rejecting me?!

Watching Xie Xunyu calmly withdraw her hand, Su Chenli was more certain than ever—she was being rejected.

And that only made her more irritated.

This hand—!
Why did I even reach out?!