The Scumbag Who Bowed for Money (GL , ABO) - Chapter 9
Xie Yuanwei held Le Shi’s hand tightly and pulled her closer, completely ignoring everyone else in the room.
“Sit down.”
She naturally pulled out a chair and guided Le Shi into it. Her eyes held a soft smile as she looked at the omega, her gaze warm and focused.
The members of the Xie family exchanged glances. Seeing how close the two were, they couldn’t help but smile smugly. As long as they had control over Xie Yuanwei, there was a chance they could involve Le Shi as well.
Xie’s father walked over and sat at the head of the table. He smiled with feigned affection.
“Yuanwei, you should come home for dinner more often. Bring Xiaoshi along too. It would be good for our family to spend more time together.”
His deliberately warm tone made Xie Yuanwei feel nauseous. She gave a faint smile while glancing at the dishes on the table, not one of which suited her taste. That alone was quite an achievement. An entire spread of food and not a single dish she could eat.
She didn’t bother being polite.
“Dad, I can’t eat spicy food. Have you already forgotten?”
The entire Xie family preferred heavy, spicy flavors. Xie Yuanwei used to enjoy it too, but the original host had a weak stomach and needed to eat lightly.
Xie’s mother hesitated for a moment and tried to ease the moment.
“There’s soup at least—”
“Don’t eat this. I’ll make something for you when we get home.”
Xie Yuanwei gently brushed aside a strand of hair from Le Shi’s cheek. Her fingers felt warm against her skin, and the heat slowly traveled upward.
Le Shi kept her gaze fixed on Xie Yuanwei, her expression soft. She nodded and replied with a quiet voice,
“Alright.”
The two of them clearly didn’t care about anyone else at the table. The four members of the Xie family looked displeased, realizing the guests hadn’t come to enjoy dinner but for something else entirely.
Xie Hefeng put down his chopsticks. Though he was only two years younger than Xie Yuanwei, he looked far older. His voice was low and sharp.
“Big Sister, seeing how well you and President Le are getting along puts us at ease.”
Xie Yuanwei turned her gaze toward him. Her eyes were distant and cold.
“Thank you for your kind words, Second Brother. I heard your project got taken over by someone else. Maybe you should focus more on your work. It wouldn’t look good if you end up on the news again.”
It had been someone from Le Shi’s team who sabotaged the project. She had done it on purpose. And Xie Hefeng had already trended online once for a personal scandal. Le Shi had simply added fuel to the fire, and Xie’s father had nearly stormed into Le Corporation over it.
When they talked about it in the car, Le Shi had commented dryly,
“Some people think having money means they can pretend they’re respectable.”
Xie Hefeng clearly understood the implication. He forced himself to stay calm, unable to react directly. Instead, he responded with sarcasm.
“Just be careful not to get yourself burned too, Sister.”
Xie Yuanwei grinned and leaned against Le Shi’s shoulder with a proud look that she made no effort to hide.
“Thanks for your concern.”
Xie’s father finally lost his patience. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice.
“Xie Yuanwei, is that how you speak to your brother? Hefeng was just being considerate.”
“Thanks, Dad. If you have nothing else to say, I think Xiaoshi and I will head out.”
Xie’s father dropped the act and scoffed.
“Is this how you act at home? You come back, don’t eat a bite, and speak with such sharpness. Where did your manners go?”
Le Shi glanced at him but didn’t speak. Just as she was about to say something, Xie Yuanwei squeezed her hand and gently rubbed the back of it. She leaned back with a lazy posture, her tone becoming noticeably arrogant.
“If we’re talking about manners, maybe we really should have that conversation. Are you referring to the kind of manners where you party outside and come home crying and making scenes? Or are you talking about how both of my dear brothers marked people and then forced them to erase it, which ended up on the news multiple times? Or maybe you mean when you pushed me out in front to take the heat and hide their problems for them?
But it doesn’t matter.”
Xie Yuanwei spread her hands as if she truly didn’t care.
“My reputation is already ruined, isn’t it? None of us are good people anyway. So can we stop pretending we’re some kind of respectable family? You were so pleased when I got involved with Le Corporation. I won’t even get into all the requests you’ve made to Le Shi. And now that my two precious brothers lost a project and found out Le Corporation was behind it, everyone’s panicking.
If you think this pathetic dinner is enough to get something from her, save your energy.”
She pulled Le Shi to her feet and looked back with a smirk full of challenge.
“There’s no chance you’re getting anything from her.”
With a wave of her hand, she added without turning around,
“Goodbye. We won’t be seeing ourselves out.”
Le Shi allowed herself to be held by Xie Yuanwei. Just before leaving, she glanced back. Her eyes were cold and full of warning.
The four members of the Xie family sat in silence, exchanging frustrated looks with one another.
Outside, Xie Yuanwei opened the car door for Le Shi and got in as well. She didn’t start the engine right away. Instead, she slowly exhaled, then murmured under her breath a few seconds later.
“That felt so good.”
The original character she was playing had always been submissive and mistreated, but Xie Yuanwei was never going to indulge this family.
There was an obvious pride in her eyes that she couldn’t hide.
“You…” Le Shi turned to look at her, her lips curling into a smile. She laughed quietly.
“Did that feel satisfying?”
Xie Yuanwei nodded without hesitation.
“Of course it did.”
But then her shoulders slumped, and she lowered her head like a guilty child.
“President Le, I’m officially homeless now. Look at that bunch. There’s no way I’m going back without getting beaten up. I’ve got no choice but to rely on you now.”
When she looked up again with those round, wide eyes, she somehow looked innocent and obedient. She stared at Le Shi like she was about to throw herself into her arms and beg for comfort.
Le Shi stared at her for a few seconds, then replied calmly,
“I can take care of you. Don’t worry. I can afford it.”
She leaned back against her seat, her eyes on the road ahead.
“This generation of the Xie family is already ruined by their own hands. They hate me but don’t dare to say anything, afraid of offending me. They’re completely useless.”
Xie Yuanwei adjusted the steering wheel and nodded.
“They really are. Neither of my brothers will amount to anything.”
She clicked her tongue, finding the topic annoying, and changed the subject.
“What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll cook for you.”
Le Shi rested her chin on her hand and casually listed two dishes. Her gaze drifted toward the window. The greenery and the crowd outside rushed past her view. Fine rain quietly fell, creating soft splashes against the pavement, stirring a faint, thoughtful silence.
It was almost eight o’clock by the time they got home. Le Shi had dozed off briefly in the car. When she woke, she seemed a little sluggish and stayed seated for a minute before getting out.
Xie Yuanwei held the door open and waited silently. She had noticed that the omega always needed a few minutes to fully wake up. Her eyes were still slightly red from sleep, and her tousled hair gave her a much softer appearance than usual.
“I want… noodles.”
Le Shi mumbled the words sleepily, then stepped out of the car. The underground garage was dim, the moonlight unable to reach inside. Shadows blurred the floor. She was wearing heels and didn’t pay much attention to where she was stepping.
She stumbled forward and nearly fell.
“Careful!”
Xie Yuanwei immediately reached out and caught her. Her voice was low and firm.
“How did you even twist your ankle just getting out of the car?”
Le Shi didn’t respond.
The atmosphere turned stiff. She slowly loosened her grip on Xie Yuanwei’s clothes, pushed her away gently, and without saying a word, began walking toward the exit.
What just happened?
Xie Yuanwei stood frozen, completely confused about why Le Shi seemed angry. The air was filled with the faint bitterness of peach scent.
“President Le!”
Xie Yuanwei hurried after her and grabbed her hand. She looked down at the injured foot and coaxed softly.
“Please don’t move. Let me check your ankle. You can be mad at me, but don’t risk hurting yourself.”
Le Shi refused to look at her and simply said,
“I’m not mad.”
Xie Yuanwei said gently,
“Alright, alright, you’re not angry.”
She crouched down and turned on her phone’s flashlight. With one hand, she carefully examined Le Shi’s ankle. In just a short time, it had already started to swell. Le Shi’s skin was fair, which made the injury look even more alarming. Xie Yuanwei furrowed her brow and stayed silent for a moment. Then she turned around quietly and patted her back, signaling the omega to climb on.
Le Shi looked at Xie Yuanwei’s back. She bit her lip, but eventually leaned forward and rested against her shoulders, finding a comfortable position to lay her head.
Xie Yuanwei felt both frustrated and amused. She adjusted Le Shi on her back and started walking. It wasn’t far, and soon they reached the front door.
She closed her eyes and let out a short laugh.
“I’m going to crouch down a little. You open the door. I won’t look at the password.”
But Le Shi didn’t move. Her arms remained loosely wrapped around Xie Yuanwei’s shoulders.
Xie Yuanwei spoke again.
“Not to nag, President Le, but maybe next time go with a smaller place. Living alone in such a big house is a little scary. And you really should be more careful with those high heels. Twisting your ankle like that must have hurt.”
“You can be angry if you want, but can we talk things through calmly?”
The rain, which had stopped earlier, had started falling again. The temperature had dropped further. Along the path leading to the villa, Le Shi had planted plenty of greenery. The raindrops gently fell onto the leaves, creating a soft rhythm in the quiet night.
Xie Yuanwei’s body was warm, and with the two of them so close, the cold was barely noticeable.
Le Shi still hadn’t opened the door. In front of them was home; behind them was nothing but rain and moonlight. The omega lowered her gaze and spoke softly.
“I was a little angry. It’s not like I wanted to get hurt. But the way you spoke, it felt like you were blaming me. I thought, who are you to lecture me?”
“It was my fault.”
Xie Yuanwei’s voice softened.
“Are you still mad now?”
Le Shi rested her chin on Xie Yuanwei’s left shoulder and whispered,
“Am I heavy?”
“How could you be heavy?” Xie Yuanwei chuckled under her breath.
“Right before we got out of the car, what did you say again? What did you want to eat?”
Le Shi pressed her fingerprint on the door panel. She clearly heard the soft beep of the door unlocking. She also heard herself say,
“I want noodles.”
Xie Yuanwei carried her inside. The sound of rain gradually faded as they stepped into the house.
She took off her shoes and freed one hand to carry Le Shi’s heels. Then she carried her straight to the sofa.
“Time to change shoes,” Xie Yuanwei said as she knelt on the floor.
Without hesitation, she helped Le Shi change out of her heels. Looking up, she asked,
“Where’s the first aid kit?”
“Under the TV cabinet,” Le Shi replied.
Xie Yuanwei stayed in the same position, her head tilted up slightly. The warm indoor lighting cast a soft glow on her face. Her eyes looked especially clear and beautiful in the light.
She said to Le Shi,
“I’ll get you some medicine. If you’re afraid of the pain, just wait for me. I’ll also make two bowls of noodles. It won’t take long. If you need anything, call me, alright?”