Transmigrated as a Scum Alpha Cannon Fodder, Sweetly Pampering the Heroine - Chapter 49

After speaking, Xu Yincheng glanced into the car, his gaze lingering on the passenger seat before returning to Xu Jinman’s face. “Still ignoring me, huh?”

 

Xu Jinman composed herself and asked, “When did you get back?”

 

“Just tonight,” Xu Yincheng replied, tapping on the car window to signal her to get out. “Bring your wife down too.”

 

After a moment’s hesitation, Xu Jinman and Shen Shu stepped out of the car.

 

Xu Yincheng was tall, and the dim light obscured his true complexion, but his face was strikingly handsome, with deep-set features that combined a rugged, untamed air with a casual coldness.

 

His demeanor resembled that of a soldier, yet carried a worldly sophistication beyond military bearing.

 

Xu Yincheng’s true identity remained a mystery. Based on the Xu family members’ reactions and descriptions of him, it was clear he was no ordinary man.

 

“You know the nature of my work,” he said, his tone clearly conciliatory. “I couldn’t call you back. I only got my phone back half a month ago.”

 

“I tried calling, but you’d blocked me?” Xu Yincheng didn’t wait for an answer, immediately turning to Shen Shu beside him. “I couldn’t make it to your wedding, but I’ve prepared a gift.”

 

Xu Yincheng turned and waved. The man by the car opened the door and retrieved a box.

 

Xu Yincheng took the box and handed it to Shen Shu.

 

Shen Shu paused, glanced at Xu Jinman, and only accepted it when she saw the latter’s reassuring nod.

 

“Thank you,” Shen Shu said.

 

“Don’t mention it. You’ve brought her peace. I should be thanking you.”

 

Xu Yincheng checked his watch. When he wasn’t looking at them, his cold demeanor became much more pronounced. “I have other matters to attend to. Come home for dinner tomorrow night.”

 

Though he showed no hostility, Xu Jinman remained wary. She still couldn’t determine whether Xu Yincheng was friend or foe. She probed, “I might not have time tomorrow.”

 

“Not even time for dinner?” Xu Yincheng raised his head, smiling knowingly as if he assumed she was still angry.

 

Xu Jinman was taken aback by the indulgent look in his eyes. “I only have two days this time. If you’re truly busy, I can have the Xu family members come to your company for dinner. Just bring your sister-wife.”

 

Xu Jinman was speechless.

 

Judging by his demeanor, she had no doubt he could make it happen.

 

After Xu Jinman finished speaking, she didn’t refuse. Although she wasn’t sure of Xu Yincheng’s motives, she had been planning to visit the Xu Family anyway.

 

The Maybach pulled away and disappeared from Xu Jinman’s sight.

 

Xu Jinman stood there for a few seconds, lost in thought, when Shen Shu suddenly asked, “You don’t have a good relationship with your brother either, do you?”

 

Shen Shu’s tone was light, but if you listened closely, you could detect a hint of worry.

 

She had clearly seen the wariness in Xu Jinman’s eyes when she saw him.

 

Shen Shu had never met Xu Yincheng, nor did she know his name. She had only heard rumors that the Xu Family’s eldest son had a mysterious background—how mysterious, no one really knew.

 

The man had seemed friendly to Xu Jinman just now, but Lu Yun had also been friendly, and look what happened…

 

Xu Jinman snapped out of her thoughts. “I don’t really remember,” she said.

 

Given her dissociative identity disorder, such an explanation required no further elaboration.

 

Realizing belatedly the emotion in Shen Shu’s earlier words, Xu Jinman added, “It should be fine. Just do your work as usual tomorrow. Don’t worry about this. I’ll go back myself.”

 

She couldn’t let Shen Shu go to the Xu Family.

 

The Xu Family’s affairs were too murky; she didn’t want to drag Shen Shu into them.

 

Shen Shu looked at her silently for a few seconds before quietly agreeing.

 

The next day…

 

Xu Jinman looked up from her stack of documents to find it was already past four o’clock. She leaned back in her chair, tilted her head, and checked her phone. Lu Yun had sent several messages asking when she would be home.

 

One message caught her eye: Manman, you didn’t say anything to Xu Yincheng, did you?

 

The tone of the message revealed nothing of Lu Yun’s emotions, but the question betrayed her apprehension toward Xu Yincheng.

 

Xu Jinman casually replied, Later, and ignored the rest of the messages.

 

Her gaze drifted to the white-background profile picture with a black X at the top of her chat list.

 

No messages all day.

 

She sensed that Shen Shu had been unusually quiet since returning home last night.

 

This morning, Tong Jia had mentioned in the group chat that Shen Shu had a photoshoot today.

 

Xu Jinman sent Shen Shu a message: Are you home yet?

 

After waiting a while with no response, Xu Jinman put down her phone and finished the remaining tasks. By the time she checked the time again, half an hour had passed.

 

She glanced at Shen Shu’s profile picture again—still no reply.

 

Realizing it was time to leave, Xu Jinman got up to head to the Xu Family residence. On the way, she noticed Tong Jia had tagged Shen Shu in the group chat, but Shen Shu hadn’t responded even after several minutes.

 

Then she saw Tong Jia’s private message: @Xu Jinman President Xu, are you home yet? Tell Shu Shu to reply to me.

 

Xu Jinman frowned slightly. When did she get home?

 

Tong Jia: Around 4 PM. I drove her home.

 

Xu Jinman immediately called Shen Shu, but the call went unanswered. As she was halfway through her second attempt, preparing to have Zhou Pei drive to Star City, the call finally connected.

 

“Hello?”

 

Xu Jinman’s heart eased slightly. Keeping her tone casual, she asked, “What are you up to? Tong Jia’s been looking for you.”

 

Shen Shu paused for two seconds before replying, “At your house.”

 

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Jinman heard Xu Yincheng’s voice through the receiver: “Tell her to hurry up.”

 

Xu Jinman’s expression turned cold. “Can you leave right now?” she asked Shen Shu.

 

Sensing the concern in her voice, Shen Shu replied, “It’s fine. My phone was in my bag earlier. I’ll explain when you get here.”

 

Xu Jinman hung up without another word and told Zhou Pei to speed up.

 

Twenty minutes later, Xu Jinman entered the Xu Family mansion. In the living room, she saw Shen Shu sitting on an armchair, surrounded by Xu Tao, Xu Yincheng, and Xu Li.

 

She first glanced at Shen Shu before Xu Tao greeted her casually, “You’re back?”

 

Xu Jinman perched on the armrest of Shen Shu’s chair, her smile betraying little emotion. “Why did you come alone? You didn’t even wait for me.”

 

Shen Shu wouldn’t have come alone. Xu Jinman wanted to know who had brought her here behind her back.

 

Seemingly oblivious to Xu Tao’s darkening expression, Xu Jinman kept her gaze fixed on Shen Shu, leaning sideways and reaching her arm around Shen Shu’s other shoulder for a brief, affectionate hug.

 

“I had someone pick her up,” Xu Yincheng said, setting down his teacup. His voice was low, tinged with a hint of amusement. “My sister-in-law hasn’t dined at the Xu Family yet. It’s time the Xu Family’s daughter-in-law familiarized herself with the place.”

 

Xu Jinman glanced at him. Xu Yincheng’s smile was shallow, revealing no malice.

 

In truth, Xu Yincheng’s words were an acknowledgment of Shen Shu’s status.

 

Before this, none of the Xu family members had taken Shen Shu seriously.

 

They had even demanded a divorce after Shen Shu’s acting scandal.

 

What was Xu Yincheng up to?

 

Lu Yun emerged from the kitchen at the sound of voices.

 

“Manman, go check the table and see if there’s anything else you want to eat. Mom will make it for you.”

 

This would have sounded like a typical family conversation, but having witnessed Lu Yun’s cold demeanor and her efforts to shield Xu Tao, Xu Jinman found no warmth in her words.

 

“No need,” Xu Jinman replied. “Anything is fine with me.”

 

“Alright, then. What about Yincheng?” Lu Yun asked, turning to Xu Yincheng.

 

Xu Yincheng didn’t even look at her, merely raising a hand. “Just make whatever Manman likes.”

 

The smile on Lu Yun’s lips seemed to freeze. “Okay,” she said stiffly.

 

Xu Jinman noticed this exchange and sensed something was off.

 

Xu Tao and Lu Yun seemed slightly intimidated by Xu Yincheng.

 

Even Xu Li, who usually never stopped criticizing her, remained silent today.

 

Whether Xu Yincheng’s kindness was genuine or not, at least on the surface, there was nothing amiss. His attitude toward the others was far less warm than his treatment of her.

 

She suddenly wondered if Xu Tao’s friendliness and Lu Yun’s WeChat messages were perhaps due to Xu Yincheng’s influence.

 

This suspicion was confirmed at the dinner table.

 

Xu Tao sat at the head of the table, with Xu Yincheng and Lu Yun flanking him on either side. Lu Yun initially tried to seat Xu Jinman beside her, but Xu Yincheng called her over.

 

“Sit next to your brother, let’s chat.”

 

Lu Yun remained silent.

 

“Brother, haven’t you seen what’s been happening with Shen Shu online?” Xu Li finally blurted out, unable to contain herself any longer.

 

Xu Yincheng: “I saw it. What’s the problem?”

 

Xu Li took a deep breath. “Because of their scandal, even you almost got dragged into it. Aren’t you worried? That circle is so chaotic; something like this could happen again. Don’t you care about our family’s reputation?”

 

Shen Shu lowered her head, and a peeled shrimp appeared in her bowl.

 

Xu Jinman seemed oblivious to Xu Li’s words and said to Shen Shu, “Eat.”

 

She picked up another shrimp.

 

Without gloves, her smooth fingers twisted open the shell of the boiled shrimp.

 

Shen Shu understood this was a signal to ignore the conversation. It was her first time at the Xu family, and she couldn’t quite grasp the atmosphere—it was just very strange.

 

Everyone seemed to harbor secrets and hidden agendas.

 

No one was transparent.

 

Xu Jinman, however, seemed perfectly at ease in this environment, as if she were accustomed to it.

 

Amidst the two women’s seemingly oblivious interaction, Xu Yincheng picked up Xu Li’s thread. “I’d like to see who’s capable enough to drag me into this.”

 

The arrogance in his voice was undisguised. This matched Xu Jinman’s impression of him from the previous night: outwardly stern and aloof, yet his words were casual, bordering on roguish and arrogant.

 

Xu Jinman found herself genuinely curious about what kind of person Xu Yincheng was.

 

“I rarely have the chance to come back,” he said casually. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to visit again, so I wanted to share my thoughts now. Since Manman is married, Shen Shu is my sister-in-law. When she used to act recklessly, no one dared to slander her. Who would dare to do so now?”

 

Xu Yincheng added calmly, “As long as Manman is happy and they’re content together, no one else should interfere. Understand?”

 

His words were spoken with nonchalance, yet each sentence, though lengthy, left Xu Jinman stunned.

 

Xu Li was Xu Yincheng’s own sister, yet he was defending Xu Jinman so fiercely right in front of her? Who was the bl00d relative here?

 

Xu Li gritted her teeth and slammed her chopsticks down, saying nothing.

 

Xu Yincheng ignored her, turning to speak with Xu Jinman. She responded briefly, but apart from her and Xu Yincheng, the other Xu family members wore dark expressions.

 

Xu Tao remained silent, seemingly unwilling to speak.

 

After the meal, Xu Yincheng and Xu Tao settled down for a game of chess downstairs. Xu Jinman wanted to take Shen Shu upstairs to discuss having her move back in. She planned to sneak into the study later that night, while everyone was asleep, to test the waters.

 

Xu Yincheng called out to her, “Manman, come join us for a bit. Is your sister-in-law interested?”

 

Shen Shu was clearly uncomfortable in this environment. Xu Jinman answered for her, “She’s a bit tired. I’ll have her go upstairs to rest.”

 

With that, she told Shen Shu to go up alone first. “Go wait for me upstairs. I’ll be up in a bit.”

 

Shen Shu nodded. “Okay.”

 

Xu Yincheng withdrew his gaze and casually placed a white stone, capturing Xu Tao’s black stone. Xu Jinman glanced at Xu Tao’s expression.

 

Having seen Xu Tao in his usual arrogant mood countless times, this was the first time she’d ever seen him so subdued.

 

“What’s this ‘Super Topic’ thing?” Xu Yincheng asked abruptly, his tone serious.

 

Xu Jinman blinked in surprise. “…”

 

She sat down on the nearby armchair and gave a brief explanation.

 

Xu Yincheng: “I’ve followed your Super Topic.”

 

Xu Jinman: “……?”

 

Xu Yincheng: “And I’ve even checked in.”

 

Xu Jinman: “?”

 

As they spoke, Xu Tao lost the game.

 

Xu Yincheng asked if he wanted another round, but Xu Tao waved his hand and leaned back on the sofa, his interest waning.

 

Xu Yincheng tossed down the chess piece and turned his head. His cold, hard profile suddenly softened, his tone completely different from before. He leaned slightly closer to Xu Jinman, a faint smirk playing on his thin lips. “Tomorrow, have my ‘sister-wife’ give me an autograph to take with me.”

 

“……”

 

Xu Jinman’s expression was complicated.

 

How is this playing out so differently from what I expected?