Scumbag A's Plan to Save the Heroine - Chapter 9

Ruan Ye’s transformation today was striking. In the past, she always maintained a meticulous appearance, regardless of the circumstances. But today, her hair was disheveled, and her pale gray eyes, fixed on the bewildered woman, gradually misted over until they blurred with tears.

Since entering the game, everything had unfolded smoothly according to the book’s plot. This was the first time Zhi Qiu had encountered a deviation from the main storyline.

Seeing Ruan Ye’s reddened eyes, Zhi Qiu instinctively dropped the bouquet of fresh flowers. She raised her hand to wipe away the tears at the corner of Ruan Ye’s eyes, but then hesitated mid-motion, her hand freezing awkwardly in mid-air. She could only stand there helplessly.

In the silence, a single tear slid slowly down Ruan Ye’s flushed cheek, warmed by her recent run, and dripped from her sharply defined jawline onto the ground.

In that moment, Zhi Qiu seemed to hear the tear’s impact on the floor, allowing her to vaguely understand the emotions behind it.

There was sorrow, resentment, and longing—all these feelings, wrapped in a heart overflowing with love, surged forth in the form of tears.

Ruan Ye had always presented herself as gentle, but only Zhi Qiu knew that beneath her soft exterior flowed an unyielding spirit. Now, this girl who refused to show weakness in public was weeping bitterly because of her own actions. Zhi Qiu felt a pang of shame and withdrew her hand, which had instinctively reached out to wipe away Ruan Ye’s tears. She lowered her head, unable to meet those tear-streaked gray eyes.

Zhi Qiu felt Ruan Ye’s rain-soaked hand, still damp from the downpour, reach toward her cheek. She closed her eyes, a sense of relief washing over her.

Hit me. Hard.

Everything that had happened today was her fault. She was an emotional fraud.

She had betrayed her own feelings to return home, and she had betrayed the trust of someone who had always believed in her.

A chill ran down the back of Zhi Qiu’s neck. The icy rain jolted her eyes open. Glancing down, she saw the woman’s raven-black hair, smooth as silk, draped across her chest.

It was Ruan Ye.

She had wrapped her arms around Zhi Qiu’s neck, pressing close against her chest.

The tart scent of green apples filled the air. The Omega’s exposed nape, vulnerable in her palm, stirred the Alpha’s possessive instincts. Zhi Qiu’s throat tightened as she clenched her jaw, struggling to push Ruan Ye away. But the woman in her arms only clung tighter, burying her face against Zhi Qiu’s chest.

Soon, the crisp, clean scent of cedar was drawn out by the tartness of green apple. The two fragrances intertwined, creating a strange chemical reaction. The cedar’s cool, woody aroma deepened into an intense, clinging scent, while the bitter green apple, constantly enveloped by the woody fragrance, transformed into a cloyingly sweet scent. It was like a hedgehog, its quills raised to protect its soft belly, finally relaxing and exposing its tender underbelly to someone who cherished it.

Seeing her vibrant lover trying to push her away, Ruan Ning’s pent-up feelings, which had been simmering since Zhi Qiu’s car accident and coma, reached their peak. She closed the distance to her retreating lover, her hands, which had been around Zhi Qiu’s neck, now cradling her cheeks like precious jewels. Softly, she asked, “Zhi Qiu, do you love me?”

Do you love me?

At that moment, Zhi Qiu felt as if she were hearing the siren’s song in her ear.

Instead of crying or arguing after being pushed away, the woman coaxed her with gentle words, urging her to confess the truth in her heart.

This caused Zhi Qiu, who had been suppressing her emotions for so long, to finally break. She had always been ashamed to admit that from the very first day she transmigrated into the game, she had felt desire for Ruan Ye, whom she had just met.

This desire, which had been forcibly suppressed by the plot and Zhi Qiu’s formidable willpower, hadn’t vanished entirely. Her primal instincts overwhelmed her rationality, and she wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist, clumsily pressing her lips against hers.

The cool, woody scent of cedar invaded the sweet, green apple fragrance, and as they clung together, their pheromones truly merged, entwining inextricably.

Ruan Ning’s mind reeled from her lover’s sudden, passionate kiss. She freed one hand from Zhi Qiu’s neck to shut off the Light Brain embedded in her necklace, but the moment she pressed the power button, her hand was seized and pinned against the hotel wall.

The assertive Zhi Qiu now radiated predatory intensity. Her gentle kisses rained down on Ruan Ning’s delicate, vulnerable glands. Her throat bobbed as she rasped, “You’re not focused.”

The Alpha’s sharp teeth pierced the Omega’s fragile glands, injecting the crisp, clean pheromones of cedar into her body. For the first time, Ruan Ning bitterly regretted designing this world as ABO. Now utterly powerless, she couldn’t even stand against Zhi Qiu’s overwhelming strength, collapsing limply into her arms.

In the hospital, Li Te was engrossed in the game when the screen suddenly flickered and went completely black.

He scratched his head in frustration, shooting a resentful glance at his boss, who was sitting in a chair with her Light Brain.

The Big Boss, lying in bed receiving an IV drip, had her vital signs fluctuating wildly on the medical display screen. The doctors surrounding her scribbled furiously.

One of them, an elderly physician with graying hair and a white coat, pressed a hand to his chest, which was pounding with excitement, and exclaimed, “A true medical miracle!”

At this thought, Li Te clicked his tongue. The 1.75-meter-tall man squatted down inelegantly, his legs splayed wide, and frantically rummaged through the blanket spread on the ground.

Normally, this street saw little traffic. The street vendors typically sold the game world’s hard currency items, such as AO Inhibitors and various fruit-flavored nutrient solutions.

Anyone needing these items would simply pick them up while passing by. Among these vendors, only Li Te bothered to sell trinkets—uniquely shaped accessories and masks resembling animals from Ancient Earth. Despite his dismal sales, he stubbornly set up his stall every day, undeterred.

While rummaging through the stall, Li Te swept aside piles of rings, bracelets, and earrings with a broad gesture, creating a small mountain of useless trinkets. Only then did he finally find the jade tag Dr. Chen had insisted he take before entering the game, tucked away in the corner.

Now things had become complicated.

If Ruan Ye hadn’t immediately fallen for the fox mask and President Zhi hadn’t been by her side, Li Te wouldn’t have risked making a move. The mask was equipped with surveillance capabilities, a commemorative gift the Boss had prepared for President Zhi.

Li Te sighed, repeatedly rubbing the jade tag between his thumb and forefinger. Ultimately, he chose to contact Dr. Chen rather than remain silent and trust the Boss.

It wasn’t that he distrusted the Boss, but whenever President Zhi was involved, the Boss’s rationality seemed to be crushed under the treads of five massive tractors, leaving no room for reason.

In the quiet of the night, the red emergency light in the private hospital’s emergency room had already gone out. This exclusive hospital employed Hua Guo’s finest doctors, catering solely to the elite and powerful.

Deep within the hospital, the only light came from Zhi Qiu’s ward. Tonight’s on-call physician was Chen Ru, the director of neurosurgery and Zhi Qiu’s attending physician for her Light Brain therapy.

True to his name, the kind-faced old man had reached the age of sixty. Though past retirement age, he had volunteered to continue working, a gleaming resume that both surprised and delighted the founder of this private hospital, making it impossible to refuse.

No one would have guessed that this ordinary-looking doctor, whose hobbies were no different from those of the old men who played chess and teased birds at the neighborhood entrance, had once been a military surgeon. Thirty years ago, he had spent his days killing enemies on the battlefield and his nights saving lives in the military camp.

Chen Ru joined this private hospital shortly after Zhi Qiu’s car accident left her unconscious. Almost as soon as Zhi Qiu was admitted, he volunteered to take on this critical case. He was one of the original pioneers of Light Brain therapy.

In the vast, silent room, Old Chen, his eyes magnified by reading glasses, intently monitored the fluctuating data on the instruments. He spoke rapidly, occasionally interjecting explanations. The three nurses beside him scribbled furiously, barely keeping up with his train of thought, terrified of misrecording or missing any data, lest they miss out on learning something crucial.

The woman lying in the hospital bed had skin that was fair yet flushed with health, showing no signs of pallor or illness. Only her once jet-black, long hair had been cut into a short, ear-length bob for treatment. Without the hair obscuring her face, her naturally refined features and regal bearing were even more striking.

Despite her robust physical condition, the patient remained stubbornly unconscious, no matter how Old Chen tried to rouse her. This had caused him countless sleepless nights, and his already graying hair had turned even whiter.

Li Hui, with her sharp ears and keen eyes, found herself distracted by the persistent buzzing vibrations. Even for a brief moment, she lost track of Old Chen’s train of thought. Regretfully, she decided to end her learning session there. Softly, she walked toward the source of the vibrations.

She initially assumed it was someone’s alarm, but as she drew closer, she realized the vibration wasn’t coming from a phone. Instead, it was Old Chen’s jade pendant, which he carried with him at all times.

Remembering Old Chen’s stern warning on the day he took her on as an intern, Li Hui didn’t waste time wondering why a jade pendant would vibrate. She swiftly snatched up the pendant, tucked it into her pocket, and hurried toward the patient’s room.

When Li Hui pushed open the door, Zhi Qiu’s vital signs had just stabilized. The other two intern nurses, having completed their tasks, exited through the opposite door to fetch medication. Old Chen remained alone in the room, slowly wiping his reading glasses with a cloth.

Hearing hurried footsteps, Old Chen looked up with a gentle smile and teased, “Weren’t you going to take a call from your boyfriend? Why are you back so soon?” Li Hui said nothing, merely stepped sideways to block the surveillance camera and slipped the jade pendant she had been clutching into Old Chen’s sleeve.

Chen Ru’s expression immediately turned serious. He gripped the vibrating pendant in his hand and instructed, “You two get off work early tonight. I’ll handle the patient’s medication and watch over the room. Go up to the twentieth floor and inform the other two interns.”

Li Hui nodded earnestly. Always quick to act, she turned and hurried to the elevator to find her fellow interns.

She understood that Old Chen now needed a private space. She was willing to help him not only because of his miraculous healing skills, which could teach her how to save lives, but also because she trusted him as a doctor worthy of her faith.

In the game world:

Li Te sat sprawled on the filthy steps, having rubbed the jade pendant countless times. His handling grew increasingly rough, as if he were trying to gouge a hole through the stone.

Without colleagues, a boss, or the pressure of competition from peers, the elite mask he wore in the real world had long since shattered into dust.

In this world, there were no bosses with attentive assistants who never lost their temper, only irritable old-timers forced to “work overtime” on orders.

Just as he was about to smash the useless jade pendant in frustration, a familiar voice came from within it.

“What’s happening?” It was Dr. Chen.

Li Te raised an eyebrow, surprised that the jade pendant Dr. Chen had given him could communicate in this world like a Light Brain. But he wasn’t interested in prying into others’ secrets right now; he just wanted to resolve President Zhi’s coma quickly and get off work.

He honestly recounted what had happened earlier, then voiced his concerns: “President Zhi has completely altered the game world’s plot. My boss becomes incredibly impulsive whenever President Zhi is involved. She insists on using the Light Brain at the hospital to enter the game world immediately, but this isn’t the optimal point in the Game Progress. Rushing in like this… could it negatively affect my ability to get off work… I mean, President Zhi’s health?” Li Te chuckled awkwardly, “Heh heh.”

Old Chen shook his head gravely. “The Light Brain used for the patient’s treatment is connected to the hospital’s systems. Ruan… Ruan Ning’s situation, I’ll handle it.”

Hearing this, Li Te breathed a sigh of relief and was about to agree when Dr. Chen added, “Ruan Ning can’t be involved for now. I’ll need your help with the plot. I need to understand the Game Progress to determine the best time to intervene. This jade has a special function: after grinding it ten times, it can project your location onto the hospital’s Light Brain. From now on, I’ll need you to participate in the plot and set things right.”

Li Te gasped, about to protest when something flashed through his mind.

He stammered, “So… so they can see me right now?”

“…Yes.”

Dr. Chen, just past sixty, had seen his share of two-faced people. But this—

The once impeccably dressed corporate elite, now squatting shirtless in the street in his underwear and weeks-old slippers, his sweat-soaked hair slicked back to reveal a receding hairline, slapping and pounding a piece of jade—this was a sight he’d never witnessed before.