The Villainous Scum Alpha Was Reborn (GL) - Chapter 17

After Nan Ke dropped Jiang Ying off at the Jiang residence, she suddenly remembered the report that had been stuffed behind the car seat. When she returned to her building, she sat alone in the car for a long time.

Staring at the results on the report, she took a photo of it with her phone. Then she casually folded the paper twice and tucked it into the car’s storage compartment.

The issue of Bai Ruoya’s miscarriage still hadn’t completely cut ties with the Wei family. Most likely, Wei Hongbo and Xu Bingzhi would continue to take responsibility on the family’s behalf. It wouldn’t be long before they hosted an engagement party for Wei Huan and officially introduced Bai Ruoya to everyone.

The memory of her past life came rushing back. Bai Ruoya had stood in a gown between Xu Bingzhi and Wei Huan, looking proud and confident. That image made Nan Ke feel breathless with discomfort.

She wasn’t obsessed with her sister or overly attached to her mother. When Wei Huan successfully differentiated, Nan Ke had fully supported her dating and falling in love with a woman. But she simply could not accept someone like Bai Ruoya becoming Wei Huan’s wife.

Calling Bai Ruoya manipulative wasn’t enough. In a family like theirs, a little scheming wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. But if someone had a flawed character, it could become a serious problem.

Over the years, Lan Zifan had always shown up as Bai Ruoya’s close friend. Now that the child was gone, it made no sense that the biological mother wouldn’t visit Bai Ruoya at the hospital. Nan Ke had already asked Jiang Ying to inform the hospital to keep records of everyone who came to visit.

But what puzzled her the most was that if Lan Zifan and Bai Ruoya had already been intimate, Bai Ruoya’s pheromones should have changed. Why hadn’t Wei Huan noticed anything?

Omega and Alpha pheromones are fundamentally different in scent. After intimacy, the smells mix. This is something even high school biology students learn.

Unless Lan Zifan’s scent was exactly the same as Bai Ruoya’s or Wei Huan’s, there was no way someone as sensitive as Wei Huan wouldn’t have picked up on a change.

Besides, the scent that results from mixed pheromones is completely different from the usual individual scent. It cannot be fully hidden by artificial methods.

The more Nan Ke thought about it, the more suspicious she felt. To get to the bottom of this, she knew she needed to approach Lan Zifan again. Without solid evidence, someone as shameless as Bai Ruoya could easily find a way to twist the story.

If she cried, played the victim, acted fragile, and made up excuses, Wei Huan might still believe her. In that case, everything Nan Ke had done would be wasted.

This was a second chance, and she had already learned from her past. She had to be absolutely certain this time, with no room for Bai Ruoya to escape.

Nan Ke rubbed her tired eyes and got out of the car to head home.

The sunflowers she had casually bought with Jiang Ying earlier at Yi Meng were still lying on the coffee table. She had forgotten to take care of them. Without a vase or water, and after hours in the sun, the petals had already wilted.

She picked them up and glanced at the fresh gladiolus nearby. After a moment, she decided to let the sunflowers go and dropped them back where they were.

The housekeeper would probably notice them tomorrow and throw them out while cleaning.

The sun was already low in the sky and had lost its warmth. Nan Ke leaned back on the sofa. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, landing on her skin. The brightness was uncomfortable, and she turned her head slightly to avoid it.

When she turned on her phone, the screen showed a WeChat Moments post from Liang Qingqing. It had been posted ten minutes ago and read, “I’m here.” The photo attached was a backlit selfie.

In the picture, Liang Qingqing had changed clothes. Her usually loosely tied hair was now completely down, and she was wearing light makeup. It was obvious she had dressed up carefully.

“So she really did go on a date…”

Nan Ke was caught off guard by the trace of disappointment in her own voice.

She really was losing it. What Liang Qingqing did had nothing to do with her. Why was she even bothered?

She turned off her phone, curled up on the sofa, and stared blankly at the crystal chandelier that reflected a soft orange glow. Before she realized it, she had fallen asleep.

Meanwhile, Liang Qingqing, the one Nan Ke had been thinking about, was sitting in a hot pot restaurant. She was competing with her old friend Chen Ning, who had just returned from graduate school, to see who could handle spicier food. Their lips were red from the heat.

Chen Ning finally finished the last chili, grabbed a yogurt cup, and took a big gulp. She waved her hand in surrender.

“Alright, alright, I give up. You win,” she gasped.

“I told you, you’ve been living in the south too long. You can’t handle spice anymore, but you still want to act tough.” Liang Qingqing laughed as she dipped a piece of sweet corn from the tomato broth into her extremely spicy dipping sauce.

Chen Ning laughed too and looked at her. “It’s been months, but you’re still just as competitive.”

“You’re the one who’s even more competitive than I am. I’ve actually mellowed out since I opened my shop.” Liang Qingqing said this while using a spoon to scoop some shrimp paste into Chen Ning’s bowl, knowing it was her favorite.

Chen Ning looked at the shrimp and sighed softly. Her expression changed slightly. Her ex-girlfriend used to do the exact same thing. Liang Qingqing’s gesture brought those memories back.

Liang Qingqing noticed something was off and leaned in a little.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing serious.” Chen Ning gave her a small, forced smile. “Zhou Tengteng and I broke up.”

“What?” Liang Qingqing was stunned. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise. “Why?”

Chen Ning and Zhou Tengteng had started dating in college. They had been together for five years. Earlier this year, Liang Qingqing had heard they had met each other’s parents and were planning to get married after graduation. So why did they suddenly break up?

Chen Ning trusted Liang Qingqing more than anyone and had no intention of hiding the truth or making excuses for Zhou Tengteng.

“Our families don’t match. We started arguing when we talked about marriage and buying a house. Things fell apart, so we ended it.”

“How could it fall apart over that? You have a house and a car. You’re more than enough for her.” Liang Qingqing didn’t understand at all.

She had grown up with Chen Ning and knew her situation well. Chen Ning’s parents both worked at state-owned enterprises. While their salaries weren’t high, their benefits were excellent. They were frugal and practical people who had bought a four-bedroom apartment in G City for Chen Ning after she was accepted into college. They had even promised to get her a car once she started working.

With that kind of background, how could she not be a good match for Zhou Tengteng?

Chen Ning shook her head with a helpless tone.
“She said she wasn’t good enough for me. Said the apartment my parents bought is too big, and she had to rely on student loans during school. She can’t afford the renovation and doesn’t have the money for the dowry I asked for. She told me that if I really couldn’t compromise, then we should just let it go.”

“What do you mean, let it go?” Liang Qingqing was shocked.

Chen Ning let out a bitter laugh.
“It means we broke up.”

“Then good. Let her go. You were too soft with her anyway.” Liang Qingqing was starting to get angry.

Chen Ning shrugged.
“Yeah, we’re done.”

“It’s fine. When the old one goes, the new one comes. She, Zhou Tengteng, just had no taste.” Liang Qingqing handed her a tissue.

It had been nearly a month since the breakup. Chen Ning was no longer overwhelmed with sadness. Plus, with the beautiful makeup she put on today, her tears only welled up in her eyes before disappearing. She pressed the tissue to the corners of her eyes and smiled.
“Enough about me. What about you? Still single?”

“Yep. Still single.” Liang Qingqing didn’t mind at all. She had never been in a rush to find someone. After all, she had just turned 24.

Chen Ning nodded in understanding.
“At our age, being single is totally normal. It’s really not a big deal. But—”

“Don’t use that tone. You sound just like my parents.” Liang Qingqing quickly put down her chopsticks and waved her hand.

Her parents were both senior teachers at one of the city’s top high schools. One was the grade coordinator, and the other was the deputy coordinator. Every time they talked to her, it felt like she was back in the classroom, stiff and uncomfortable. That was one of the main reasons she moved out right after college.

“Alright, I’ll hold back.” Chen Ning laughed at her reaction. After clearing her throat, she continued.
“But seriously, you can’t stay completely clueless forever. Look at me. I’ve only had one relationship, but in the past twenty years, I’ve liked quite a few people. Now look at you. You’re 25 by traditional age. How have you not met a single person who makes your heart skip a beat? Back in school, you used studying as an excuse. But now you run your own flower shop. Don’t tell me you still haven’t met anyone who gave you that spark?”

Liang Qingqing looked at Chen Ning and answered with a helpless tone.
“My shop keeps me really busy. I have to go to the flower market before sunrise to pick out flowers, then spend the whole day arranging and selling them. I’m working straight through until night. I honestly don’t have time to date.”

“Don’t use being busy as an excuse. I asked you if you’ve met anyone who made your heart flutter.” Chen Ning emphasized those last six words.

She had known Liang Qingqing since they were toddlers. There was no way she would let her get away with brushing this off.

Seeing that her little secret had been exposed, Liang Qingqing blushed for a second and tried to resist.
“Chen Ning, I’m not just being stubborn, okay? It’s just…”

Chen Ning looked at her, curious.
“Just what?”

Liang Qingqing hesitated before explaining.
“It’s just that I run a flower shop. The people I deal with every day are either the ones selling flowers to me or those coming to buy them. The suppliers are mostly middle-aged or older, with families and kids. And the customers…”

She paused, then threw a question back at Chen Ning.
“Tell me, what kind of people usually come to a flower shop to buy flowers?”

Chen Ning was stumped.

She thought about it seriously but didn’t want to give up so easily.
“I know what you’re getting at. You’re saying that most people who come to buy flowers already have someone to give them to. And yeah, it’s true. A lot of them are buying flowers for their partners. But there are also people who just love flowers, or who want to give flowers to friends or family, or even buy them for themselves for a bit of ceremony in life. There’s no law saying you can’t buy flowers for yourself.”

Liang Qingqing didn’t respond.

Chen Ning could tell that her friend was being cornered. When she got to this point, it meant she was determined to get a real answer. Liang Qingqing finally sighed and gave in.
“Alright, I won’t dodge anymore. I have met someone recently who made me feel something.”

“You should’ve just said that from the start.” Chen Ning propped her chin up with both hands and grinned.
“Tell me about them. What kind of person are they?”

Leaning back in her chair, Liang Qingqing looked at the dishes in front of her and described carefully.
“Tall, very pretty. Long wavy hair, really elegant. Seems like a nice person. Looks like they’re doing well financially too. But I think she probably already has someone she likes.”

“You think?” Chen Ning was confused.
“She’s a customer at your flower shop?”

“Yes.” Liang Qingqing nodded.
“She even specifically asked for gladiolus.”

“Gladiolus? That… might be tricky,” Chen Ning said thoughtfully.

Since her friend had opened a flower shop after graduating, Chen Ning had picked up some basic flower meanings over the past year.

Flower language is always open to interpretation. Most people who buy gladiolus bouquets usually give them to elders or use them for formal blessings. But since last year, when Liang Qingqing started selling gladiolus, she had chosen to advertise one specific meaning among the many associated with the flower.

One sword like an orchid. Love at first sight.

Most people who came to her shop asking for gladiolus had heard that slogan. So if this person had come in and specifically requested that flower, it was probably to confess to someone.

The two of them sighed at the same time and fell into a thoughtful silence.